2017 CoCo - Elf on A Shelf

Ahhh the Christmas Elf. A tradition we started two years ago and I both love and hate :)

2015 - The year the Elf joined our family and I failed to document any of it
2016 - The Elf's second year in Nashville

2017 - Here's a look at this Christmas in Kentucky!

CoCo arrived and brought us new PJ's

 Then checked out the new fixtures

 Reminisced on Christmases passed.

 Reminded us to brush our teefers.

 Went fishing.

 Sang loud for all to hear.

 Further explored the new decor.

 Had another snowball fight.

 Ate too many cookies.

 Got himself into another sticky situation.

 He seemed to really like the cotton.

 Went zip lining.

 Informed us he liked coffee as much as Mommy and Daddy.

 Read some books

 Got all tangled up.

 Hung out with our snowmen.

 Counted down to Christmas

 Explored the fixtures some more.

 And made sure to take in one last look at our family photo before he headed back to the North Pole!

We'll miss you CoCo! See you again next year.

Chinese leftovers for lunch ... at 10am

It's official. We have a move in date. I repeat, WE HAVE A MOVE IN DATE. And I'm so stinking excited!!! I've known it was on the horizon for a little bit now, and there was even possibility it would be this weekend. But, it's scheduled and the movers are on the calendar ... Wednesday, July 19! And therefore I can focus on NOTHING but that thought. Which include all things life ... like getting the dog food, preparing summer camp lunches ... all the things I'm responsible for have completely gone by the wayside.  It's been a long time, and I can't believe it's finally coming to an end.

If you need to catch up, here ya go:

• We announced we were moving home - September 2016
• We shared the realtor images from the house we purchased - October 2016
• We worked to draw new house plans and finalize the designs - January 2017
• We worked on selecting some finishes and decided on a farmhouse theme - January 2017
• We began demolition and pouring a new foundation for the addition - February 2017
• We finalized framing, plumbing, HVAC and electrical - April 2017
• We shared some cabinet design sneak peeks - April 2017
• We talked drywall and exterior paint colors - May 2017
• We chatted the home stretch of the renovation - June 2017

And here we are today with the final installment before the big reveal once we're all moved in!!  Back to the slacking at life thing for a minute though ... My poor family. I gave up on the grocery store, cooking and really all things domestic a little over a month ago ... I blame it on the fact that we haven't had a working stove in well over two months, but I think we all know that really isn't the honest reason :) Therefore, I'm eating Chinese leftovers at 10am. Sigh. We are getting to the point though where even takeout doesn't taste that good anymore.  And we're all really craving some back-to-normalcy and a lot of that is my fault.

It's kind of like that point in your first couple of weeks at home with a new baby ... everyone you know is bringing you food and goodies and the first couple of weeks you're like GIVE ME ALL THE THINGS. And then you hit that point where you really just can't continue to eat cheesy noodles for every meal; and it's totally time to get your booty back in gear. We're pretty much there (and have been there for a little too long), but in a different sense. But the end is in sight ... ONE WEEK AWAY! And that means Lainey will actually have a bed again and no longer has to sleep with Maggie in the dog bed!

(Guys, I'm TOTALLY kidding!)

I'm so excited, so overwhelmed and working my tail off to get all of my ducks in a row. When we moved from Nashville we were still in transition back here in Kentucky (ahem, we still are) so we didn't have a "home" per say to put all of our belongings inside. And therefore, EVERYTHING we owned was placed in the garage of our new house. No climate control, no order, just literally unloaded off the truck into a heaping pile of mayhem. So I'm currently trying to wrap my head around having to orchestrate the unload of the garage into the house and all of that hooplah.

Amidst the madness, I'm working on securing furniture plans for each room. This couch will go there, that chest goes to that bedroom etc. And - hoping to narrow down some furniture purchases as well. I've been eyeing these couches for the new great room. And I think I'm going to pull the trigger this week. I couldn't decide for the longest time whether or not I wanted to choose a new fabric and have them made - or if I wanted the ones they have in stock (pictured below) and call it a day. And I think I've finally decided we're going to go with the in stock sofas and call it a day. YippEEE! So, I've got the chair dilemma to solve, but couches - check yes.

Other happenings include, choosing the stain for the refurbed floors. I had the hardest time for a couple of reasons. One, my cabinet color combo made it a bit more challenging to match. With the dark island and side bar, I knew I didn't want to compete too much with the floors. Also, when we moved into our home in Nashville I LOVED our floors. They were dark, rich and beautiful when we moved in. Fast forward to two months of living in our house and OH. MY. DIRTY! I literally couldn't keep those things clean to save my life. Every spec of dirt and dust  (hello crumbs with two toddlers) showed up constantly and it was always a hassle. So, I knew without a shadow of a doubt I wanted to go lighter this time around. And I was trying to force myself outside my comfort zone so I told the flooring guy - all grey all the way.

We started on the top right of the picture below -- and if you look REALLY close you can see a white wash stain. He was telling me all about how great it is, and how much I'd love it and he put it on the floor and I just kind of stood there. Until I realized he was finished and I audibly laughed out loud. Uhm no. While I agree, I think that would look cool on certain spaces and floors, when I said I wanted to go lighter I didn't mean THAT light. I was cordial, but wow really missed the mark.

Second we tried gray (top middle of the above photo) and I took a deep breath - whew that maybe we would accomplish what we'd come to do. Third we tried ebony (bottom right) and I loved it, but had to tell myself "REMEMBER KATIE, you're going for something DIFFERENT"- so I nixed it. Fourth we tried walnut (bottom left above photo) and it was just entirely too warm and drastically clashed with the cabinets. So, while pretty, it didn't work in the space and we nixed it. At that point we were basically left with gray and I liked it but I felt it was missing something - so we cured it with both a water based poly (bottom half of the top middle stain) and an oil base (bottom half of the top middle stain above photo) and decided the oil base pulled too much amber and we lost some of the gray. But, I was still not 100% sold. I wanted a little more of the grain, so we added 50% of the ebony I originally liked (but nixed for some change) and 50% gray and made our own color (top left above photo) and whew it certainly popped the grain! But, once again it was coming through too warm and it got tossed out as well.  ~ is anyone able to follow this story?!

At that point I was just about ready to commit to the gray, when our flooring guy suggested we add 50% true black and 50% gray to a mix - and we would be able to pop more of the grain, but still keep the stain cool and expose the gray I wanted -- see stain bottom left in picture below. And he was right. It kept it on the "cooler" side and the grains were certainly more pronounced and I thought maybe we'd nailed it. But this thought in my head kept creeping up that the finish was pretty dark and was I going to be super disappointed after the first snacks were dolled out on move in day?! So you know what I did, I made a game time decision, trusted my guy and went back to our original gray stain (top left picture below)

I'm nervous about it. But the decision is made. The floors are being poly coated as we speak and I get to see them tomorrow! Fingers crossed I'm not super disappointed when I get there. I've been going to the house every day to peek in the windows - but I can't get a real feel for what's there without actually being in the space. And I'm nervous because in the window they look really brown and not grey. AHHHHH! Lol :) so these are the obvious reasons why I can't grocery shop right now :)

However, my builder did send me a picture of the stained banisters (old stain is still on the steps and floor in these pics) and I'm super happy with those, so that makes me feel a lot better!

And aside from my crazy house projects, I may bite off an ever bigger project all my own if I can get the courage to actually pull the trigger. I've been thinking about it a lot. Talking about it with my family a lot. Praying about it a lot. Drawing, googling, and planning about it a lot. But will I ever share with you about it a lot?! HA! I don't know ... that depends on if I do it or not ... but either way it involves a really cool space, a really fun idea, and a potentially really fun venture on the horizon that involves this really cool space.

So, let me get my ducks in a row, get moved in ... think on this space for a while longer and I'll get back to you. I've got a soggy egg roll to finish and that's enough for me right now :) Have a great week gang!

The HOME Stretch

Well gang, I'm here today to nervously report we're in the home stretch of house renovations! We're turning a sharp corner and finishes are FINALLY happening! I'm going to be honest with both myself and you, my readers, I have absolutely no idea when we will actually move in ... BUT I do think it will be soon :)

If you need to catch up, here ya go:

• We announced we were moving home - September 2016
• We shared the realtor images from the house we purchased - October 2016
• We worked to draw new house plans and finalize the designs - January 2017
• We worked on selecting some finishes and decided on a farmhouse theme - January 2017
• We began demolition and pouring a new foundation for the addition - February 2017
• We finalized framing, plumbing, HVAC and electrical - April 2017
• We shared some cabinet design sneak peeks - April 2017
• We talked drywall and exterior paint colors - May 2017

I'm waiting to purchase any new furniture, rugs, decor, etc. until we move into the house and I have a true understanding of the space. Because, I personally think it's better to learn the flow of the rooms and what not before I make big time purchases like that. I have a good idea of what I want, and several options picked out, but I want to get a really really good feel before pulling the trigger, but walking through the house and seeing things come together is making waiting SUPER DUPER HARD! But instead of getting ahead of myself, on furniture purchases... I will share some exciting photos of what's happening at the casa, because I am getting soooo excited! I simply cannot wait when I get to publish the official BEFORE | AFTER photos!

INSIDE:

You may recall the great color debate a couple of weeks ago deciding the exterior paint color of the house. We were pretty strongly between colors #1 (SW 7075 Web Gray) and #6 (SW 6251 Outerspace) ... Shane was 60/40 Outerspace and I was 60/40 Web Gray. And to be honest, most of the feedback we got was pushing us towards Outerspace as well. However, after MUCH debate we decided to play it a little safer and stick with Web Gray. We had the painters start on the trim so we could go back and forth longer on our great debate.

So, all of that simply to say ... WE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE! YAYYY. We went back and forth SOOOO many times. Literally up until the painter took his brush and started on the wood we were second guessing ourselves. We left the house and agreed we wouldn't come back until a wall was finished and when we came back we were PUMMMMPED. The color turned out wayy more blue than we anticipated, yet still gray enough to achieve what we were hoping for. Winner winner, Web Gray Dinner!

We also polished and refinished the copper dormer covers and I'm loving them!! They've still got to finish painting the rest of the exterior and do a few more coats -- but I'm loving the direction! I think the white trim changes the entire look of the house!

INSIDE: 

Most of the inside stuff is pretty :) and making me so excited too! Cabinets are being installed, trim work is almost complete, most of the tile has been laid, the hardwood floor has been patched in, and we're working on final tweaks and built-ins as we speak. Along with finalizing granite choices, door knobs, pulls, etc. It's all coming together, FINALLY!

They began patching and completing the hardwood floor in the new great room addition.

 Then they painted it :)
 They painted the office.

They started the kitchen cabinet install.

 And my little helpers came to check on the progress with me of course!

My contrast island made it's appearance! EEk!!

 And my contrast bar area made an appearance as well ... and I raised everyone's eyebrows when they asked why cabinets were missing their inside panels and I told them I'd be gluing chicken wire to them! Ha!

 The kiddos and I also made a trip to the granite shop (they love it there...wonder why, HA!)

 And we picked this beauty for the kitchen!

They started laying the tile in the master bath. 

 Then put in the bottom of the cabinets.

 And then we picked this pretty slab for that room, LOVE that vein in the middle.

And after I picked it out I learned we'd have to have a seam in the granite (RATS!) so I had to head up to the shop to work with the vinyl templates to ensure we'd be happy with the final product. I'm a little anxious about this one.

We painted the laundry room this fun little shade!

 And added pretty cabinets.

And decided to add a pretty marble to the room for a subtle finish. 

 They started laying my most favorite tile EVER in the hall bath.

 And I'm in love with it.

This room gets a wood wall accent and also an apron front sink ... so I kept the granite simple and found an awesome dark honed remanent with faint lines running through it. So, hopefully it'll keep the focus on the floor and wall, while keeping the counter top clean. 

 We worked on some trim options to make the weird angle in our great room work. 

We got our cubbies! To which when I sent my girlfriend a picture she replied: #momporn hahahaha!

We're finalizing the kiddos bonus room.

 We're painting the guest rooms ...

And picking out sweet granite for that bathroom:

 Painting Bennett's bathroom,

 And finishing with this top:

And we're working on little miss Lou's room too.

 And her bathroom tile is completely swoon worthy.

Plus working to find a granite that will fit into her monochromatic scheme as well ...

Here's a look at her bathroom cabinets, still at the warehouse and about to be installed.

And our contractor built her the most adorable little window seat/chest. I've been trying to pick out the most perfect fabric for a cushion that will adorn the top. I can picture her (or maybe myself) reading a book and enjoying a warm cup of hot cocoa in the winter :) ... maybe she'll invite me in sometime!

 And last, but certainly not least ... we've  been working to pick out all of the final details (door knobs, stains, carpet, etc)  for the house ... and again I have the best helpers :)

And that's where we are folks! The HOME stretch (see what I did there?!).