the post you've been waiting for...

Well folks, this is it. Our lovely little home is finished...enough to move into that is. There are still a bunch of little things that need to be done, but they are minor compared to all that has been done in the past 3 months! Whew! We had some of Steve's family stay with us for Brian's wedding, and I think that kind of broke in the house...somehow hosting other people made it feel like our home faster than it would have otherwise...if that makes sense. I'm still getting unpacked and trying to get organized..but that will be a long process =) I am thrilled with the way the house looks! It has so much charm, and is so cozy and homey feeling. One of my favorite things are the wood floors - I can't believe how great they cleaned up. I also love the trim throughout the house. Brian used wide, craftsman style trim pieces, and I really think it gives it more of an "old" house feel. I hope you enjoy all the pictures...I should have done a slide show, but I didn't think of that til I was half way through uploading them =) Oh well. I'll update you on everything else going on in our lives in a later post. It's late and I'm heading off to bed!

(we don't have front steps yet..one of the many projects left to do)

I love the trim on the front door!

this is going to be our art wall..we want to cover it with art pieces. the one on there now is a wood block print by my cousin John.

the breakfast bar...holding all our clutter at present

Trim detail...

my huge pantry...love it!



nothing much in our bedroom yet...

our closet

the guest room/office

one of my other favorites...the bathroom floor.

these are some pics of the wood floors during the process of refinishing them

staining them...

the cutest boy in the world...workin away...

tada! beautiful...

We're in!

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Things have been busy to say the least! We moved into the house over the weekend, and it feels so good to be able to settle in and call it home :) Saturday was "finish all random projects that needed to get done day." Thanks to Dad, Jonathan and Brian for helping out. Then Sunday was the official move-in day. We were blessed by everyone's help that afternoon! We had lots of people show up to move our stuff, and Jim Benson graciously let us use his truck to haul everything over! That definately made things faster and easier. I haven't had time for pictures, but I promise I will be posting those soon! I can't wait for you all to see the amazing progess that took place during June. I can't believe how good this place looks. It's really crazy to think back to what a dump it was in March. Steve says he still has flashbacks when he's in here. That'll probably be the case for a while...haha. I'm going to try to do a before and after post for you all, but it probably won't be till next week sometime cuz Steve's family gets in tomorrow for Brian and Jessica's wedding this weekend! Wooohoo! Crazy fun times =)

packing the apartment...

We are moving in less than two weeks so I've been packing up our apartment and getting things ready for the move! It's a little bit sad packing our stuff and thinking about leaving our first little home together. But don't get me wrong, we can't wait to move into our new little house on Rokeby Ave. It's looking so good people!!! I've decided I'm not going to post any more pictures of it until it's done, and then I'll give you all a grand finale tour =) But until then, I gotta get back to packing....

color on the walls and tiles on the floor!

Lovely front door color..trim still needs to be repaired and painted

the living room...a goldish yellow. it's the same color we have in our apartment. love it!

kitchen with sort of a pear green paint and tile! looks cool with the chimney, huh?

the kitchen floor is almost done..needs a few more pieces and then grout.
this is the color for the bedrooms...in this picture it looks like the kitchen color, but it's actually quite a bit different..deeper and more toned down. I love it! It's a very relaxing color :)



bathroom color...slate blue. it's going to have real slate tiles on the floor and white wainscoating on the bottom half of the walls.



We pick up the cabinets tonight and the appliances will be delivered tomorrow! So all of that needs to be installed, the ceilings need paint, the trim will be done this weekend Lord willing. Then they will refinish the wood floors, put on doors, do all finishing touches, etc. Whew! Still a lot to do and not a lot of time! We'll hopefully be moving in near or on June 21 if all goes as planned. Can't wait to open up our new home to our family and friends.

we have walls!!

Here are some updated pictures of the house I took last night. The sheetrock is up and the first coat of mud is on! I can't tell you what a relief and excitement that is for us, especially Steve. I think both of us were beginning to doubt it would ever get to this stage. It is so fun to walk in and have actual walls dividing actual rooms! I really thought it would make it feel smaller and boxed in, but it actually feels bigger to me now which is sweet! I love the living room/dining room area and the fact that it flows into the kitchen so well. It is so open and roomy feeling. Perfect for entertaining and hospitality..which is what we were aiming for :) There are pictures of when it was just insulated and then sheetrocked. We'll be moving in before we know it!!! Well in a month or so anyway :)

Steve hired a guy to blow in the insulation. It's torn up paper and other stuff that they moisten and then blow into the spaces. It dries out and stays pressed into the walls. It's pretty cool and is supposed to cut your energy bill by 40%

Starting to look like a real house!! the living room looking into the kitchen.

looking into the living room

After the mudding is done Steve is going to spray the walls with primer and then paint! We picked out our colors the other day, and I can't wait to see them on the walls! We also ordered our cabinets a couple nights ago, so those will be delivered this next week. Today we are going to Home Depot to purchase our light fixtures and maybe all the appliances! Things are really coming together, but there's still a lot to do. We'd appreciate prayers during the next month as we finish everything and move before the end of June!