"Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.

Don't save it for a special occasion...Today is special."

The Great Outdoors

The time has finally come for bonfires, gardens, sunshine, and lots of time spent enjoying the great outdoors.  I love summer!  Last weekend I went to a strawberry picking patch with a friend and picked 11 lbs worth, but I'm not done yet. We are planning on going back next weekend to get more to add to my stock pile. :)  Since I make fruit smoothies everyday for breakfast, I tend to go through fruit very quickly.  Picking my own fruit has become one of my favorite things to do.  It also has great benefits such as allowing me to eat healthy, spend time outside, help my local farmer, and it can be good exercise!  I hope to be able to plant my own mini-orchard at our house next spring or maybe even this fall. 

Hopefully our house will be done August/September-ish and we can get a head start on landscaping before everything dies off and freezes.  Here are a few pictures I have found for inspiration:

  

Robert Hursthouse

Satisfying Spaces

Hgtv RMS: redavanti

Cottage Living

unknown

Satisfying Spaces

Summerour Architects

Who wouldn't want a porch swing like this to nap on?......

Karla Morris and Monica Eith
Spitmiller Norris

 And with a view like this....I'd be on this porch all day.

New England Home

"Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere."

Second Floor

A look at the Second Floor....

 As I was driving to see the house after work, I was trying to picture it in my head what it would look like driving up to it. As the trees cleared, I saw the roof peaks and said "Whoa!"  You design it on paper and try to picture it the best you can, but it will never be the same as seeing it for that first time in person. I will never forget that moment.

The backside of the house looks beautiful. I can't wait to have a deck and patio installed so that we can have bonfires and cookouts with our family and friends. Some grass would be nice too.

 We finally got those stairs to the second floor I was telling you about. They aren't finished and are a little scary walking up since you can see straight through to the basement and my big skis barely fit on them. Other than that, they are my favorite part of the house so far. I fought hard for those 'lil U-shaped guys!

 Here is a look back down at the stairs landing from the second floor hallway.

This is the southfacing bedroom. The other bedroom looks just like this basically. We also have a bathroom upstairs that I forgot to upload.

 My lovely stairs again. I am standing in the living room in front of the fireplace, looking back at the foyer.

Our soon-to-be beautiful fireplace and focal point of the room. It will have stone from floor to ceiling with a barn beam from the old barn that was on our property as a mantle.

Can't wait to sit out on our front porch and watch the sunset with my husband!

"Essentials Of Life:

Someone To Love

Something To Do

Something To Look Forward To"

~Unknown

First Floor

Here is a look at our first floor....

 This is the front of the house looking from the road.

 A view from behind. It's already looking big and we still have another story to put on.

 Here is a look at the garage. We upgraded to an 18 ft rather than a 16 ft garage door. Although we had to pay a change fee (that my husband negotiated down since we were still in the basement faze at the time), it will be worth it to have a little extra space between vehicles. 

 This is the entrance into the kitchen from garage hallway area...if that makes any sense. I wanted a hallway that went from the garage to our bedroom without having to walk on carpet, since it can get pretty messy in the country. Also, I asked for this doorway into the kitchen without having to go through the main entrance through the living room which will be carpeted. Nope, still doesn't make any sense. :(  I guess it's just one of those things where you have to be there. Maybe more pictures will help....

This is the angle from the nook/dining room that looks back at the great room. Just barely out of the picture on the right is that doorway I was talking about that led into the kitchen. Our master bedroom is on the far left of the picture. And that big hole in the center of the picture is where the stairs will be located.

Well it's been a exciting, stressful journey so far. Once the concrete was poured, the house framing went up fast. They had a story framed a day. So Yes, the 2nd story is done, but it went so fast I haven't had time to journal about it. In less than a weeks time, it looked like what I had drawn on paper so many years ago. Our dreams are becoming a reality! :)

"Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true."  ~Leon J. Suenes

The Basement

After a couple of weeks of waiting for equipment to arrive from another job site, concrete forms to arrive from another state, and the weather to cooperate, we finally have a basement.....

 We are having a walk-out basement, so this is the view from behind looking towards the road.

 They poured the footers. 

Then put up the forms and poured the walls for the basement.

The next day they removed the forms and poured the basement floor. We were a little excited to see all of this happening so fast - if you can't tell by my husband's reaction in the middle of the picture - considering it had been over a month since we had torn down the old house.

Then we went over to see if any progress had been made and saw this. They had basically built us a basement! When they work, they work fast and get alot done!

We are praying for some nice days, so that the builders can work on our house and the farmers can get in the fields to produce enough for this world. We hope the rest of the building process goes a little smoother and little faster so that we can move out of my in-laws and get our - much needed - own space. Everyday I try to remind myself to be patient and be grateful for the chance to be building a new home on a beautiful piece of land. We have been very fortunate and will strive to be thankful for every opportunity and thing we have been given. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! :)

Out with the old, In with the new

I'm finally getting pictures up of the demolition of our old house. We had some awesome friends and family come over one Saturday and help us pretty much gut the house and strip the outside. That aluminum siding is worth some money! It'll help us pay for some extras we are putting into the new house. :)  This was an interesting day for me. I took my lunch hour at about 1pm to come see the house being torn down. I wasn't sure if I would cry or smile or how I'd feel. When it came time, I didn't cry but I didn't really feel excited. As I was heading back to work, my stomach felt a little uneasy like when you get butterflies as you are going to give a speech or something. More than anything, I was nervous about the future...hoping we were making the right decision because we were homeless now and we only could push forward now.

 This is the 1st hit with the excavater. There was no going back at that point!

 Here is what you would see from the road if you were driving by at this point...and we did have a couple curious spectators. The blue room on the left was our bedroom....r.i.p. bedroom :( The room on the right was what we called "The Dungeon." It was another bedroom that we left "as is" and used for storage. If you look closely you can see what was left of the half a century old wallpaper covered in water stains.  

 Within a half hour of when they took the first hit on the house, it was up in flames. Our deck's still holding strong though!

Who woulda ever thought an old, crooked, dirty house in flames could be so pretty?

Well, our first house as a married couple is burned and the remains are buried in our backyard. It was a little bittersweet, but we both know it will be worth all the stress in the end. We now have the starts of a new house!

Up and Running

I have INTERNET!!!....on MY computer!!!....with all MY pictures and favorites! :)   Yes, it's sad how spoiled and dependent I am on my computer. It's not like it's this cutting-edge piece of equipment that I paid thousands for or that it does crazy, newly advanced stuff.  It's just a normal 7-8 year old computer that has all my stuff on it. Since we are now moved in with my in-laws, I need something that is mine and reminds me of our lives before we took the plunge to making our dream home a reality. It's been a hard transition for me, so being able to escape to my blog will be nice. So I will probably be posting a lot more.

A lot has happened in the last month.  We have moved all of our belongings to either a family member's house or our outdoor storage building.  We have stripped, torn down, burned, and buried our old house and barn; moved into my in-laws; and just yesterday the walk-out basement was dug!  After no activity for a good 2 weeks, I was dying for the something...anything to happen.  When I get more time, I will post pictures.  Hopefully, (weather permitting) the concrete forms will be laid tomorrow and they will pour concrete on Thursday.  There will be no stopping it then!  I can't wait to see how much it changes day-to-day!  I started this blog in hopes to chronical our journey to building our dream home.  I want to be able to look back one day and have a visual reminder of where we started and to be grateful for everything in our lives.  Next time: Basement walls! :)