Moving Mania

It's Thursday...it's almost the weekend...AND I SLEPT IN MY BED LAST NIGHT!!! My real honest to goodness, haven't seen it in 6 months, bed!

We're all moved in (and living out of boxes) but IN THE HOUSE!! 

We've been working this week and next to get everything in order and hope to do some room by room tours as they come together.  

Hopefully I'll show my face around here a bit more once my office gets hooked up -- but for now I've got some shiplap to stare at, walls to decorate (with some help from my little people) and pillows to fluff! Toodle-looh!

 
 

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!

Cabinet Designs

Hey Gang! I'm here today to share some sneak peeks of our cabinet designs! If you've been following along or would like to reference our renovation project to date, feel free to catch up here:

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

And here we are, to all of the fun stuff - finalizing the INSIDE!  I've received all of my sample doors, and I'm totally in love. Again, we're sticking with a farmhouse theme and going distressed and neutral on most of the designs. They are in production by Blue River Cabinetry and I'm hoping to pick out my hardware next week. I only have a couple of "real life" pictures I took at the tile shop, but I screen shotted my 20/20 drawings so you can see the layouts as well.

Starting in the kitchen ... I've chosen a faux brick backsplash and absolutely LOVE this tile. The grayish tone will be going in the kitchen and the red tone will be used as flooring in our hall/mudroom bath. And you can see the mix of cabinet colors we'll be using all throughout the first floor. The wall cabinets (most of the cabinetry actually) will be the distressed white and the island and wet bar will be the stained knotty alder (LOVE the exposed knots in the wood).

Wet bar ... the top wine racks when complete will only have one large "X" in the middle and the cabinets on the outside will actually be installed with the doors but we're removing the panels and I'm going to staple some chicken wire inside so it will be a pseudo open shelving concept. I stole this great idea from Erin when we visited her home a few weeks back ~ LOVE ~ And, my beloved husband some how weaseled his way into getting a Kegerator in our kitchen, HA! I guess when you're the President of a brewery it kind of comes with the job ... 

 The pantry:

The entire kitchen from above...

 Moving to the laundry room, theses will be simple mission style cabinets and I'm painting them a very neutral gray, and then I'm making the room a little more sassy by doing a fun teal on the walls.

 Next, we're inside the downstairs mudroom bath and this is where that pretty brick tiled will be laid. I'm also adding a reclaimed wood wall and I found the cutest little farmhouse sink that will sit inside the vanity (EEK!) and guys the lights and the toilet paper holder (ha! really though) I bought this week .... geeze who knew I could love a bathroom so much!

 The master bath and closet. I'm still toying with this design a bit, because we've ordered a couple of window options that would change the layout, but this will be the general theme. I've got a crazy idea to do an accent wall inside my shower with tile (I know, bizarre) but I kind of love it. I'll share once I've made the final decision.

Then, heading up to the upstairs bathrooms ... these rooms we're not doing much too. I'm leaving the existing tile and simply painting it white to update (because, it's currently pepto bismal pink...) but they're just getting a new vanity and a fresh paint job. They're essentially the same room just opposite one another. I also decided not to center the sinks and instead give the bathroom more counter space. I can't decide if I'm going to love or hate that decision, but I'm gonna roll with it.

And last but not least, the tiniest little's big bathroom! I'm totally in love with her tile paired with the distressed cabinets, and when I showed the selections to Shane he actually asked if we could put it in our master instead because he loves it so much too! Ha!

 And she's got a pretty fancy closet too. Whew, hopefully when she's a teenager she'll appreciate it.

 And that's a little peek inside what's to come!  I'm doing a lot of wood counter tops and the cabinet company is making those as well, and anywhere else I'm selecting granite. I met with the granite company and I'm really only selecting for the kitchen and I think I know what I'm going with there. And everything else he has a giant remanent yard of leftover granite from other jobs. You can get any grade for the same price and it's an awesome way to save some $$ ... so I'll be selecting all of our bathrooms and what not from the leftovers of other jobs.

Feel free to skip over this portion of my notes (it's more for my memory bank later) but if you're curious ... A breakdown of the colors/stains we'll be doing in each room are as follows:

• Kitchen Cabinets (same as sample doors):
• SW 7103 Whitetail with Brown glaze (wall cabinets)
• Knotty alder with clove stain (island)
• Granite counter tops
• Wet Bar Cabinets (same as sample doors)
• Knotty alder with clove stain
• Granite counter tops
• Pantry Cabinets (same as sample doors)
• Shelves - Knotty alder stained clove
• Wood top – knotty alder stained clove
• Base – painted SW 7103 whitetail with brown glaze
• Mudroom Cubbies (same as sample doors)
• All painted SW 7103 whitetail with brown glaze
• Bench top - knotty alder stained clove
• Laundry Room
• Painted SW 7015 – Repose Gray
• Wood top – knotty alder stained clove
• Laundry sink – granite
• Mudroom – Hall Bath
• Knotty alder with clove stain
• Granite counter tops
• Master Bath Cabinets
• Painted SW 7103 Whitetail with Brown glaze (same as sample)
• Granite counter top
• Master Closet
• Painted SW 7103 Whitetail
• Island and seat – granite tops
• Bonus Bath – 2^nd floor
• Hickory cabinets with charcoal stain
• Granite tops
• Bennett’s bath – 2^nd floor
• Hickory cabinets with clove stain
• Granite top
• Lainey Bath – 2^nd floor
• Painted SW 7103 Whitetail with Brown glaze (same as sample)
• Granite tops
• Lainey closet – 2^nd floor
• Painted SW 7103 Whitetail

And there you have it folks! Another renovation chapter almost closed. Can't wait to share pics of the real thing!

Have a great day!

What's Up Wednesday: March 2017 Edition

Hi. Is anyone still showing up around here? Because it's evident I certainly am not. I have the best of intentions to recap kiddos, house, and winter to spring transitions, all the changes and just general every day life. But, I'm going to be honest guys ... I simply don't know heads from tails anymore. Our life is a bundle of complete and utter madness. And when I sit down to write I can't even seem to find a way to compile all of the craziness that has ensued the past week/day/month and simply give up. 

So, I thought a post like What's Up Wednesday seemed like a good place to start. It's got direct questions, and exact things to answer, so I feel confident I can compile a good read for you today. For any newbies, these posts happen at the end of every month and we all link up and talk about these topics:

What We're Eating This Week: All the leftovers in the fridge. Spring Break will soon be upon us and it's time to get rid of everything we've got before it goes bad. Last night Sissy and Poppy took the kiddos to Bennett's karate class and I whipped up a super tasty chicken and mushroom spaghetti I was quite proud of. Does anyone else feel like their best dishes come from randomness? I've always fancied myself more of a "I really don't follow recipes" type of cook.

What I'm reminiscing about: Actually a lot of things. I've failed to blog most of them, but we've already discussed that. First, I'm reminiscing about meeting sweet babies (I still have one more, Miss Maple, to get my hands on). Little Brighton Marie first. We celebrated another birthday for my grandma and it was so fun to get the whole fam damily together. 

Then I got to snuggle little Knox Michael (and his mama ... and brother, Jack ... goodness I miss them so very much) when hubs and I spent a few days in Nashville.

And last but not least I'm reminiscing on the weekend getaway hubs and I spent in Dallas a couple of weekends ago. Shane's little brother from his fraternity in college was getting married to the sweetest gal in Dallas, and we packed our bags for a 72 hour getaway sans kiddos and it was FABULOUS! We got all dolled up and took our time doing so. We aimlessly walked without any whining, we drank adult beverages on a rooftop and dined at fun restaurants while we just talked and listened to one another. And - BONUS - didn't have to take one kid potty the entire time. We ordered room service and had breakfast in bed and watched an entire movie while sipping coffee. It was what dreams are made of my friends. And when it was all said and done we couldn't wait to get home and snuggle the crazy little people we call our family. But, I'd be lying if I said I can't wait to do again soon.

What I'm loving: Halloween in the smack dab middle of spring. This little three year old has become costume obsessed. And lucky for him, living behind his GoGo means Chasing Fireflies costumes that are available all year are at his disposal. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Masks (Michelangelo is his favorite) are on repeat nearly 24/7, made out of just about every household item we can find. Captain America is another fan favorite. And, last but not least the Storm Trooper made an appearance at Mexican night last week :)

What we've been up to: I think the better question is what have we NOT been up to. It has been a month ya'll. A jam packed, CRAZY, month. But, I'll highlight two of my favorites from this month. First, our visit to the Newport Aquarium. Bennett was so brave on the shark bridge and we had a blast!

Second, Sesame Street Live! Holy cute. My kids LOVED it. I mostly have video and not many pictures, but we had a ball. I got the kiddos the tickets for Valentine's Day and I'm so glad I did!

What I'm dreading: I'm not really dreading anything at the moment, but the big dread of this month was officially moving out of our Nashville house. We moved ourselves back to Kentucky late December/early January, but we still hadn't sold the house in Nashville, so all of our things remained there to keep it staged. I think because of that, I was able to emotionally block it off ... but this month we officially said goodbye and it was TOUGH. There was A LOT of life lived in that house. We brought home our second baby, we sent our first baby to school for the first time, we walked through a hard diagnosis, we celebrated birthdays, we made friends, we celebrated holidays, we potty trained, we made friends, we made memories and it was a tough one to leave. So, a part of me is still dreading the next time we go back to Nash and I have to drive by knowing it's no longer ours. But we boxed it up, we shed tears, we said our official goodbyes and we passed it along to another family to begin making happy memories. 

That yellow wall :) means more to me than most of you know.

What I'm working on: The new house! Obviously! All things house. House house house. So many selections have been made. So much progress has been done. I'm hoping to do an update post on everything soon, because there is A LOT to share. Here was how I spent Monday ... walking through a salvage yard trying to find a fancy pantry door we can re-purpose - #allreclaimedeverything and that friends is a Monday well spent. 

What I'm excited about: DISNEY! I can't believe it's real ... and I am PUMPED. And hate that I haven't blogged enough that you're just finding out about that noowwwww. But, we're headed down for a few days (it's the kiddos first time) and although I know it will be exhausting and probably frustrating at times ... we're making memories and it makes me so excited. Can't wait to recap all of the fun!

What I'm watching/reading: Madam Secretary. At gals night a few weeks ago someone mentioned they had started bingeing it and coincidentally I finished White Collar a few days later, so I thought I'd give it a go and I'm totally digging it.

What I'm listening to: The birds chirping. Spring has pretty much sprung ... I feel like the last frost has taken place and so, I'm listening to the birds and the rain and all things spring and it makes me happy.  Also, sports, because March. We've been watching a lot of basketball (but both of our teams are now knocked out - BOOOO) and we headed to the opening Louisville City FC game last weekend and had an amazing turn out.

What I'm wearing: Gap soft-spun tees/tanks/sweatshirts. This one is my fave right now. It's a great everyday wear and flows well from job site to snotty baby :)

What I'm doing this weekend: We actually have a relatively low-key weekend compared to the one's we've had the past couple of weeks. We've had a party (see below) or a function for nearly 5 weeks straight so I'm looking forward to a good hangout weekend with my people's.

What I'm looking forward to next month: We've got another big month coming up. Big highlights include: Disney, Tee-Ball opening day/game and parade (look at that cute little tee-baller), some more fun parties, Easter, The Neil Diamond Concert - HA!, My one year cancer free celebration!!!!!, So much good stuff!

What else is new: Actually, Lainey feels new sometimes. New in the fact that she's getting so big. She's talking more and more every day. Her personality is so so so full and bright. She is truthfully the happiest little gal. She's so smiley and friendly and I just love her little self. She's into absolutely EVERYTHING, eats even more than that (sometimes dirt, sometimes everyone's packed picnic lunch, sometimes the dog food....), and is OBSESSED (literally) with her brother. Watching them grow up together makes my heart happy, but can't really say that's new. 

And that's just about it gang. So very much life is happening and so very many memories are being made. We are anxiously awaiting moving into our new home and starting our life there, but we are taking full advantage of the incredibly awesome perks that come with living behind your parents/grandparents and dare I say ... farm life (psuedo) really is pretty great. 

**Linking up with Shay, Shaeffer, and Mel