Let the Real Fun Begin

It was time to get serious.  That wall needed to come down!

So, we made it happen.

They don't trust me with a big hammer.

On to the other side.

This is why I don't get the big boy toys...not too bad though.

Woo! Hoo! We have progress!

Aahhh....Now, that's the size kitchen I can work with. Totally worth all the bruises, tiredness, sneezes, and coughs.

xoxo,
kirby

Moving Along

Over the next few days we did little jobs around the house.  We started with trimming back everything.  It had been a few years since anyone lived in the house; therefore, no one was really taking care of it other than cutting the grass. 

Then, it was on to helping improve the curb appeal a bit. 

We were also working on the living room.  We were lucky in this room.  All it needed was some fresh paint after we pulled up the carpet. 

There's the next few days in pictures. 

xoxo,

kirby

Hallelujah!

Mom found an outfit to wear! A huge shout out to the (future) in-laws! They led us to this nice little shop in Montgomery.  They were so helpful.  They were so patient.  Mom had a great experience.  I had a great experience.  We all left happy.  I did NOT think that was going to happen...ever.  After the whole ordeal with her outfit for Kali's wedding...yeah, remember she's had to do this twice within eight months...I thought we had seen everything.  Not quite.  There were a few more outfit options out there we have overlooked.  It's exactly what I told her I wanted her to get from the beginning, and she loved it the minute she put it on.  Now she can hug and dance without making her "it's-too-tight-across-my-shoulders-awkward-move".  You (Mom) know what I'm talking about. :)

Yay. All is well. 

Nightmare

The next room we worked on was my dining room.  It was a nightmare.  That linoleum. Ugh. I know I already told you about it, but we worked on it for days. We finally got it up, and the floors are beautiful.

 

 

 

 

You wouldn't think these floors could be pretty, but they are. Trust me.

We had pretty much had it at this point with this room, so we moved on.  Let's fast forward a few days to see what else we did.

I had the dream of having red somewhere in the house.

 

First, I decided we'd do red on the bottom. 

 

Then, Dad decided no red on the bottom.

 

Then, I decided red on the top.

 

Then, Dad decided no red on the top. 

 

He won. No red. Pretty boring if you ask me.

 

But he did do these for me. 

 

 I helped out where I could. 

 

I'll have to find a picture of the floors, but I promise you they turned out beautifully.  We also hung a pretty new chandelier in there and called it a day. 

There's the dining room.

xoxo,

Kirby

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding Update

So my week of house in rewind is going to be longer than a week.  Let's just say it'll be as long as I need it to be to finish. :)  This post is not about my house.  This post is about my wedding.  It's FOUR months away! Whoa nelly.  I think we are on schedule.  Still have small things to do like deciding on how we want our cakes and what kind of flowers I we want.  We've already booked the people, so we just have to meet with them and let them know.  We've been trying to find Mom a good Mother-of-the-Bride (MOB) outfit.  That's hard! They don't make too many different ones from what we've seen.  And, they all seem to kind of look alike.  They all look pretty horrible to me.  Unless your mom is Cindy Crawford no one wants to wear a strapless dress or an outfit that should be worn by your grandmother.  We need a good in between... I have a looooong weekend this weekend (four days, woo hoo!), so hopefully we'll get to look a little more for Mom. She'll be beautiful in anything.  I just want her to look like her and be comfortable.

Me and my mama

I have been working with a company to make my invitations, but my design nerd fiance didn't like them. So, he decided to design them himself! I think that's pretty special. I'm picking them up Monday to proof.  They're so pretty; I love them!  TheKnot.com is telling me this month we are to book our honeymoon.  Well, I got news for ya, TheKnot.com, we've already booked it! Seven days in the Bahamas, and I can't wait!  That will be just the thing to help get me through the next few months.  That and the motivation to keep going to the gym. For someone who hates working out we usually go at least 4 days a week, but it's crunch time now. Maybe we'll push that to five days a week...maybe...

P.S. I heard yesterday teachers in Alaska make $100K/year. I asked Stephen if we could move there. He said no. He has no spontaneity. So, it looks like we'll be staying put. :) 

On the First Night

The day I closed on my house we couldn't wait to get started, so we did just that.  The easiest thing to do first was to paint the master bedroom.  Luckily that room didn't need too much.  When I say "too much" I mean: refinished the hardwood floors, new windows, fresh paint, new ceiling fan.

Oh, and we had to install central heating and air, too. 

Of course Beamer was there helping out.

Mom started trying to get the linoleum flooring off the dining room floor.  This would be an extremely difficult task. 

This would be our "dining" room for the next few weeks/ months.  We'd grab a bite to eat before getting straight to work.

Night one was the easiest.  We were chipper and happy and excited.  We weren't tired yet, but that would come...

So I Started Looking for a House

It was 2009, and I had become pretty stable in my job.  I was loving life, but I wanted to buy a house.  I thought it was out of the question, but then this little gem popped up.  Isn't she cute?!

The potential was definitely there and seen by us all, so I bought it. May 27, 2009. 

We closed on June ____ (I'm drawing a blank! Help me out, Mom!) 

It was mine! I couldn't believe it! Granddaddy, Mama, and Daddy were all such a tremendous part of this dream happening, and we couldn't wait to get started! Let's take a look at what we had to work with. 

The Kitchen

The Sitting Room

The Living Room

The Bathroom

The Master Bedroom

The Second Bedroom

And there's a dining room, but no before picture.  We'll get to that later

So, this was my house. The next few months would be exhausting and exciting.  I had the best support team working with me, so I had no worries or fears.  Just one big bundle of energy waiting to knock down walls, paint every room, pull up floor, and cut and cut and cut down trees, bushes, and plants! No one had lived in this house in quite some time, so it needed some love.  We were just the people to give it that.