The kitchen BEFORE and AFTER...

Two years ago this month, Scott and I found this house.  We knew we could make it fantastic-we knew it would be hard.  We are still not finished.  But-we have accomplished enough and I have been remiss in capturing it.  Let's start with the kitchen-the before and afters are the most dramatic in this room.

 We kept the basic layout the same...kept the cabinets, and upgraded every other finish,

We painted the top cabinets white and the lower cabinets are a very light grey.  The color difference is very subtle...you can kind of see it in the pantry pic below.  We also mounted the microwave, added a backsplash and upgraded all the appliances to stainless steel.

Sink, dishwasher and fridge BEFORE

This was the view from the doorway to the dining room BEFORE

The view from the dining room AFTER.  We kept some of the upper cabinets open.  Most of the decisions we made in this house were tests to see how we like things for the eventual "forever" house.  I love the look of open cabinets but wanted to make sure we could keep them neat.  We have been upstairs for a year and a half and we have never had an issue.  I love it and am so glad we did a dry run in this house.

You might remember there were extra upper cabinets between the kitchen and dining room.  We took them out to open the space and put in a large peninsula to maximize counter space.

View from dining room toward the kitchen BEFORE

 
 First day of demo

Day three of demo...the floor removal

View from kitchen toward dining room once the upper cabinets were removed.

Same view today.  We left out one of the lower cabinets to leave room for the trash can and Molly's food.  This was a great decision for how we function in the space.

 This is the best total view.  The difference is almost too much to comprehend.  I think we brought this 1970 wonder into the current day, and then some.

Curtains....Curtains I tell you!!!

I knew curtains were important in the dining room.  I needed them to tie the colors of all my upstairs room together.  I also wanted to really love them.  After 5 months of searching I finally admitted that I wasnt going to find a inexpensive, off the shelf option that would work for me.  I searched for a fabric instead and at long last found something I LOVED.  Then I talked myself into spending the money to have the custom curtains and pillows for the couch made from a wonderful seamstress on Etsy.  I think it helps tie the living room/dining room together. 

Here are the new cushions on the couch-which tie into the curtains.

My new curtains.  I am in luurvveee....

The Living Room is finally liveable.

Progress.  Sweet progress.  Scott and I are really getting it done around the house.  I am going to split this into as many posts as possible since I have been so stingy with details and pics until now.  Here are some living room afters.

A view of the living room from the stairs...

The living room from the kitchen....

Close up of the new chairs.  I bought the green lumbar pillows to tie in the green used throughout the room.  I plan to monogram them eventually...

Close up of the new pillows on the couch.  Working to tie all the new colors together....

As a reminder-this is where we started...just over a year ago.  Shocking!!!

“If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.” Dr. Seuss

I have slacked on my blog.  I am not sorry.  It's been a busy couple of months.

I have been plotting, planning and running-yep running.

I have some big plans for 2012.  I am trying, with Scott's help, to finish this house.  I want to hang some artwork-get some pillows and curtains, acquire some more furniture.  It's been a (mostly) fun process.  I will share soon.

I am training to run a half marathon.  Yes-it DOES sound crazy!!  I know.  I am not exactly sure how I got here-here in the place where running 3 miles a day is not that big of a deal.  Here where 12-15 miles a week is doable.  But surprise-I am here.  I am a little bit behind in training but I think I can do it.  To be honest I didn't think I could until the last couple of weeks.  Maybe believing is half the battle?  The race is the end of April so I will share more as I go.

I am going to jump out of a plane.  Scott thinks I am nutso.  I want too-and nothing appears to be stopping me.  So GERONIMO...as soon as I find a place and make an appointment;)

I am learning to accept that we might be a one dog house for awhile.  I want another-don't get me wrong.  but Molly and Scott are not ready.  And that's OK.  Meanwhile I am focusing on Molly and her health.  I need her to live forever;)  I am switching her to a grain free food-which is easier on her kidneys.  I am exercising with her more.  Trying to convince her that cuddling is fun.  I miss Bailey every day-but it doesn't always make me cry now-so that's a step in the right direction!!

I am going to take out my fancy camera and teach myself how to use it.  I found an online course and am really excited about it. 

I am thinking about opening a booth and the antique mall.  I have acquired more than I can use-why not sell it?  I think it would be fun.  This plan is still very conceptual-but it excites me!!

2011- Year in Review

People talk about time moving quickly.  This past year has been the fastest year of my life.  Much of it a blur.  I took every effort to slow down and soak it in-and still there are months I can't recall.  I thought I would do a high level recap.

January 2011

• I put my first home on the market.  A little bittersweet but I had to make way for new beginnings.

My first house.



• Scott PROPOSED.  He caught me by surprise.  Read more about it here:   The story of my proposal.

February 2011

• Scott and I took a short vacation to Southern Florida for the Miami Boat Show and some needed R&R.  You can read all about our vacation here: Our trip to South Florida

March 2011

• We continued to look for a new home and we found one at the very end of the month.
• Thankfully less than a week later we went into a contract on Pandora's Box.
• We set a wedding date for early August and a reception date for late August-the planning begins.

April 2011

• We closed on the new house and began the demo that same week.  

The new house

May 2011

• My brother Shaun got married in Hilton Head.
• Scott and I had our first couples shower.
• I closed on my house
• I moved all my things from my house to the basement of the new house
• The renovations continued



Scott and I at Shaun and Allisons wedding.




 



Scott and I at our couples shower.




 






The group in Charleston for the bachelor/bachelorette party

July 2011




• We continued with the house.
• We took a brief, and very rare break to celebrate Fourth of July at the marina. 



The sheet between the top and bottom floor of the new house.  It helped with dust and chaos control

August 2011

• I celebrated with the ladies for a girls only wedding shower.
• We traveled to the Bahamas to get married and honeymoon.
• We came back and had all our family and friends in for a wedding reception




 



Our honeymoon




 

September 2011

• The upstairs neared move in ready.  Scott finished the kitchen with appliances.
• We attended a Univ of TN tailgate-the first of many games which would have better pre-game festivities than the games themselves.



Scott and the supervisor




October 2011

• We MOVED UPSTAIRS.  It took us 6 months. 

November 2011

•  Scott went hunting in Arkansas
•  We moved all Scott's furniture from his garage into the new house.  Finally we were mostly furnished.
• While he was gone I figured out how to use all my existing holiday decor in the new house
• We received our wedding license in the mail-so at last we can proof it happened;)
• We hosted our first Thanksgiving celebration.  In our brand new kitchen.  It went very well.




December 2011

• We attended holiday parties galore.  We hosted our third annual garage party which was a success.
• Bailey took a turn for the worse health wise and we had a very hard 10 days at the end of the month before his small heart couldn't take anymore. He dies on December 19th which was impossibly hard.
• Scott and I celebrated our first married Christmas-which despite the sadness was nice and good.




This past year was one of the most hectic I can recall.  I feel we did so much in such a short time.  We had some fantastic highs from getting engaged to getting married after almost 4 years together.  We got to celebrate our life and future with our loved ones.  Those highs made the horrible low of losing Bailey bittersweet.  But-its how it happens.  It can't be all good-bad things happen.  I have high hopes for 2012.  Can't wait to see what's in store!!

Bailey Christopher- In Memory December 1998-December 2011

Bailey Christoper

    
      I adopted Bailey in January 1999, when he was one year old.  I was going through a very rough patch personally and I really wanted some company.  He was my first dog and I had NO IDEA what I was doing.  He was a terror.  He didn't listen.  He bit.  He had so many accidents in the house.  It took me a few years to get things under control, but just barely;) 
      Bailey loved being around people and in the past few years he has been a constant shadow for Scott and I.  He would follow me up and down the stairs as I did chores-even when I would tell him I would be right back.  He would sit on the bathmat as I took a shower in the morning.  He "supervised" all of Scott's projects-making sure everything was under control.  He slept in our bed-oftentimes between us like the middle line in a "H."  We often commented on how it was odd that such a small dog could take up so much room in a king sized bed.  He would sit on the couch with us.  He would yodel when he wanted fed-and we would respond like the well trained pet parents we are.  He didn't play fetch-he did wear argyle sweaters.  He was much more like a cat.
      I loved him so very much and in the last 4 years he came to fill a huge roll in Scott's life too.  We joke that if I hadn't learned patience and tolerance from grumpy Bailey that I might never have fallen in love with cranky Scott. Scott even used Bailey to propose to me, in a small dog tuxedo-one of my favorite memories.    Scott and he were so much alike.    They would cuddle on the couch-and Bailey quickly trained Scott to do his bidding.  It took Scott a couple of years to realize that he was catering to the shih tzu.
      Bailey and Molly were part of our engagement photos.  We obviously love our dogs and consider them part of the family.  When Bailey passed away Sunday morning it was like losing a family member-a child almost.  It's a huge hole and the house seems very lonely and sad.  I know it will get easier...and this pain pails in comparison to the YEARS of joy that Bailey gave me and Scott too.  It was worth it.
     

Sometimes a bigger heart ISN'T better

Bailey just turned 13.  For a dog his size this is senior status but not the end of the road.  He has plenty of life in him but some of his internal systems are starting to need support.  He has kidney problems and has to eat special-CRAY EXPENSIVE- food.  He goes to the vet every 6 months, sometimes more.  One issue is his heart.  He has a murmur now and we did an exray a year and a half ago to get a baseline.    I have a list of issues to "watch" for that could show a progression.  One is coughing.  Last night we had ALLOT of coughing.  It was scary and upsetting and landed us both at the vet early this morning.  Another xray showed his heart had grown and was possible pressing on his trachea-causing the coughing.  The dr said this was considered slow progression and put him on some new meds.  Basically he now gets blood pressure medicine.  That's how he rolls.  The vet gave me a short list of side effects to watch for with the new meds and one made me laugh out loud-DEPRESSION.  A 13 yr old shih tzu comes across as "depressed" on his best days.  I brainstormed with a friend on signs to watch for.  Feel free to comment and share more:
1.  If Bailey starts wearing black (granted I control his wardrobe)
2.  If he stops contacting his canine cohorts
3.  Unusual piercings
4.  He stops talking
5.  Starts pawing morose poems...a shih tzu manifesto if you will
6.  If I come home and he is watching that awful ASPCA commercial over and over

In all seriousness-he will be fine.   I knew he would likely need these meds eventually.  He is too grumpy to be done yet;)