We're still living on the upper floor because the rest of the house has been gutted, which is actually working out just fine. Most of our things are packed up & in the garage... We labeled things as best we could & had a lot of help from our family, but some things have still just ended up "missing." Right as we were moving into our house, a huge storm hit and the movers got our stuff under cover as quickly as possible so "organization" sort of hit the fan. We're slowly climbing through the garage in search of some really important (A.K.A. "work") things. Dave's whacked his (bald- completely exposed) head on the garage rafters mulitple times during his searches. :(
We had a new nanny start last week & it didn't work out so we're on the hunt again. I've realized I can pretty much deal with stress calmly in any situation- except when it comes to my kids. When I'm worried about them & who I'm leaving them with, I am not okay. I may not freak out & show it, but inside I pretty much just want to give up & quit everything & just be with them. This past week, we watched as the new nanny we hired (very sweet, I think?) do things over & over that just didn't sit right with us. As the week went on, I realized we'd completely lost trust in her & that it wasn't going to work out. I'm swamped with deadlines at work & having to constantly check in on the kids &and worry about them being okay or not didn't work out so well. SO, she's out and now we're on the hunt for Mary Poppins again! For now, we're trying to make it work.
We handed the keys over to our old house this weekend (tear!) and getting the holes in the walls patched up & getting all of our things out was so intense that I really don't think I ever want to move again. (Please remind me of this next time.) There's just SO. MUCH. STUFF. I broke multiple vaccuums & Dave was out until 2 AM getting the house ready Friday night for the Saturday morning walk-through. We did so much of it with our kids with us because we were afraid to leave them with the nanny, which was one of the hardest parts. You just can't get as much done holding a 3-month old.
{Bye bye sweet home!! We loved you!!}
...And it's onward march!
So... for a very long time, this house is it. We're done.
Which brings me to the overall conclusion that I want this house to be just right. Just right to raise our family in. I want it to flow & work well on a daily basis & then be able to convert easily into party space for gatherings. At around 2400 square feet, we need to make the most out of it. I want the materials to feel good & to be perfect for the vibe I'm after. I'm willing to wait for the right things and I don't want to rush anything. (Although I can't wait to have a kitchen again!! And a washing machine too for that matter!! ;)
{The back view}
The messiest things need to happen first and so one of those "messy" to-dos is sanding down the pine beams on our living room ceiling... They currently have a dark brown stain on them that hides the old pine beams. I really want to be able to see & appreciate the wood iteself, so the team from CarrMichael Construction is hard at work, hand-sanding the dark stain off the wood & hand-scraping and wire brushing the wood to give it a rough-hewn look.
{above, beams before}
{You can see in the pic above that they're getting lighter!!}
If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.
As a decorator & a textile designer, this is my place to muse... perfection doesn't interest me; Reality and charm do. Fresh floppy flowers from the garden over long-stemmed roses any day, I love it when things are slightly off and tell a story. 