Just a Peek at The Result (thus far..)

As previously stated, I am uncomfortable putting pictures of my home on the Internet... but here are just a few of my most favorite projects..

FYI- Not a decorator blogger. Not sure how they take such awesome pictures..

Our Intention was to blend both of our styles.  We also wanted to do most all of the 'decorating' work ourselves.  Which meant a LOT of sanding, painting, sanding, building, painting (my hand was a claw). We wanted to home to feel brighter, yet cozy.  Each piece needed to feel like it had a story, which weaved its way into our lives.

 

1. My new Metal Message Board. Created from a large piece of sheet metal and pallet wood.  I LOVE this.  It's pretty insignificant, in the grand scheme, but it makes me happy.

 

2. Ok.. ok... now the big stuff.
Below is our main entrance.  Otherwise known as The Red Room. (Do not ask me why... but we name the rooms in our house.  It's my fault. I'm odd-ish.)
This was the Red Room before:

And this is our main entrance, after:

3. The small TV space.  Now referred to as The Nook.
Our main goal, Cozy.  The Nook before:

 And again, The Nook Before:
(Please pay special attention to how this extends all the way back to that large window...)

And The Nook After:
You'll see that a wall has been built.  Enclosing The Nook.  That door, now leads into our 'Master' Bedroom.

 The Nook now has some of my favorite new pieces.  New comfy couches (of course) but more importantly... The old items, I have gathered at sales/shops. 
The old wooden drawers (purchased for free in Warhol's shed) were painted/aged by me and then hung on the wall to become our end tables.
The old 'ruler' was found at a sale and attached to barn wood.
MY MOST FAV!! Our entertainment stand.  Was an old work bench I found at an Estate Sale of an old family friend.  I stained, aged, sanded, sprayed the heck out of it and I LOVE IT!!

Below: was once the entrance to the furnace room.  We moved the door around to the hall and created a flat wall.  We got the old Ball/Strike/Out from the high school's old scoreboard and attached the signs to barn wood. (Coach loves this.)
(Again, thanks to Warhol for the shed shopping)

 (Ignore that the trim is not done...)

4. The 'Master' Bedroom.  I continue to put 'Master' in quotes because this space was designed with the plan to one day become a den.  When our 42 children move away, we will return to an actual bedroom.  The Kid is currently living in the old Master Bedroom and he refers to it as his dorm room.
In the Before picture below, I would have been standing on the spot which our bed now sits.  This was obviously our most ambitious project to date.  We enclosed walls, took down the bricks and created a pretty sweet little space.
Before:

When you first walk thru the door on the Nook wall, you will see our bed. (the space is much larger than it looks in the below pictures... but we gotta keep part of our bedroom for ourselves!)
After:

Our headboard is an old wooden door I spotted lying in a burn pile.  It is covering that large picture window, I told you to notice a few pictures back.
Our sconces are actually outside lights and our nod for our love of New Orleans.
The end tables were snatched up at the local resale shop.

And there you have it.
There are SOOOOO many more little projects and changes that I didn't photograph but I hope you can at least get a sense of what we are trying to accomplish.  We have really put our heart back into our home.  I hope that our guests can feel that.

The Plan.

When we decided to stay in our home, it was with the understanding that we would make the house feel like 'ours'. And not 'my grandparents home which we're living in'. I like to fancy myself a bit of an eclectic and my house did not reflect my heart, at all.  In my head, I am not a basic 1950's Brick Ranch kinda girl.  (If we're being honest, in my head, I'm not a living in dumb Midwestern USofA kinda girl either... I'm more like a funky walk-up in London, with exposed brick interior walls covered in Art pieces and framed maps of our travels...)
We made a detailed list of the changes we would like to make and created our Seven Point Plan. (Side Note: Turns out, Coach and I are complete horse sh!t at making detailed plans...FYI.)

1. The Front of the House.  I needed to round the corner and see MY house when we pulled up.  Not my grandparents.  We wanted a large porch for friends.  Window boxes.  Less clutter and way more color.

2. Building a new 'Master' Bedroom and Bath from a spot of wasted space/laundry room.  By closing off exterior doors and building walls in semi-logical locations.

3. Moving each child into their own unique bedroom, which reflected who they are.(Done-ish)

4. Moving the furnace room door and making changes to create a cozy Nook.

5. Character.  Purchasing or making art/furniture pieces which feel like 'us'.

6. Knocking thru a wall and making a new back door space from the kitchen. (NOT DONE)

7. Creating the feeling of a backyard. By cutting down a bajillion trees, making a basketball court and clever fencing. (Started but NOT DONE)

We still have MUCH work to accomplish.  I'd say... we're maybe 74% done with this list.  Unfortunately, due to weather, we are on hold.  With the exception of trim work and decorating details.. the remodel has stopped until March.
So how has it been??
Crappy.  But not terrible.  We're still married.  We still like each other.  The kids have not completely failed out of school... We definitely see the progress.  People seem to be responding to the changes.  The Kid took the stress the hardest.
I received multiple dramatic texts from him... He essentially wanted to live at school until his 'dorm room' was ready.  I replied to each text with the appropriate mom empathy "Kid, we all hate it." "Stop being a Drama Queen." "You'll survive" and maybe a few "Life isn't Fair."

As for Coach and I??
No actual arguments.... I mean, I'm still pretty confused about why we can just put a tool back into a tool box or at least a designated tool location or even maybe fill the entire length of the counter, when we have finished with it... because then when you ask me "Have you seen my drill??" or "Do you know where the measuring tape is??" for the 5 millionth time, I could simply answer "Have you checked your toolbox?" sweetly and without any sarcasm or resentment in my tone, whatsoever.  Because it is completely baffling why we own 22 different tape measures and can NEVER EVER find ONE!!

Any hoo... We're still married. We still like each other.

Exactly 3 Months of Complete Radio Silence.

No, I did not quit writing this blog.  That was not the intention.  I would like to think, if I decided to completely give up on Tru Stories, I would end the series with something a little more dramatic than a list of my ten favorite books.  It doesn't feel like I would go out like that.
As you know, we have been deep in a pretty massive remodel and for lack of a better term "Sh!t Got Real".  My brain could only handle so many details and something had to go... ie. Blogs. Reading and writing blogs. 
Also ie. Some pretty basic parenting skills were ignored.

I don't really enjoy showcasing the inside of my home on the Internet (Privacy, Fear of Judging, I hate to clean...) But to prove we really have been working, I'll post a few.

Today's Post: The Mess
Actually, these pictures are the Good Mess.  They don't even come close to showing the Bad Mess we lived in... Why?? Because when your children are living in the deep dark places of remodeling filth, you really don't wanna take a picture of that.  No one needs to see that (DCFS...) No One.

Sometimes you think you are just going to paint a wall next to a bathroom that is not currently even being worked on... and after you scrape at that wall for a bit you realize... wait a minute... we might have a problem here... and come to find out the pipes are leaking and rotting inside of the WALLS YOU WEREN'T EVEN IN THE PROCESS OF REMODELING AND THEN YOU HAVE TO CALL THE PLUMBERS OUT AGAIN TO WORK ON A TOILET THAT YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK NEEDED TO BE WORKED ON!!!
That was a fun day...

I'm going to do my best to showcase what we have done... Maybe that will be excuse enough to forgive my absence.
And we'll see if anyone is even still checking this site...

June, in Three Parts. #1 The House.

So our house was For Sale. And then it was not.
After a not long enough time period of looking at houses and having our house looked at... we decided to pull our house off the market.
I'm not 100% committed to that decision.
I have officially declared us The Bipolar Couple of Home Sales.
And yes, we are annoying even ourselves.
It kept feeling like the houses we were looking at needed work done, work that we have already done (and paid for) at our current home. It was always going to be hard to leave this location and our neighbors really stepped up their cute factor during the home viewing process. (which really hooked Coach back.)
The only way I agreed to stay, was with some MAJOR changes. To both the yard and the house. Most importantly we need to A.) seriously simplify the yard and B.) Put all three kids in separate bedrooms. Currently, Tink and Coco share a room. Tink is very much OVER sharing. Coco is very much NOT over sharing.
We already starting cutting down trees left and right. Digging up gardens. Tilling spots for new grass. All we discuss, every flipping day, is redesigning this house/yard. And talking about redesigning a home, into a dream home, is actually less fun then one would imagine.
It stresses me out. Normally, I am not a very stressful person. It may surprise people to know, I'm actually fairly laid back and mostly up for anything... but constantly discussing major home changes and/or purchases? Not fun for me. And if I'm not having fun... then Coach is not.. well... Coach is still have fun, because for Coach life is always fun... but it's maybe a little less fun than usual, when I am stressed.
And all of my stress, led Coach to book our #2 big event of June....

#2. Last Minute Road Trip!

Our good friends had been planning for months to vacation in New Orleans... We knew they had an open invitation for friends to join their trip but with The House Drama of 2014 we could not commit to going.  At the very last second, Coach declared Fudge It and booked a hotel room with only 49 hours notice.  And we took off on our first ever Road Trip as a couple. We decided to only tell Really Nice Guy and surprise The Teacher.  And after only 45 stressful minutes chasing her oblivious stubborn a$$ around the French Quarter, we finally cornered her and the weekend commenced!

 Inside The Pirate Bar.

 

You know how you're Down South and you notice signs and tees and whatnot for Mint Julep's??  So then you decide Know what... let's try a real life Southern Mint Julep for fun?! Heads Up: Mint Juleps are AWFUL.  And the little ol ladies that drink Mint Juleps are obviously hard core.

 Coach standing against our hotel room.

On the swamp tour I was THIS close to the gators.

The swamp was awesome.
The tour, a little rehearsed.

Random snaps on my favorite streets in America...

 He's cute. And the other boys on this street agreed.

Final Assessment of my third trip to New Orleans: I would go again. And again.
Who wants us to bum off their next trip??
Two days after returning to the real world, Coach Commented to me: I already miss your smile...

Coach.

Yesterday, we traveled out of town, to a school which caters solely to children with behavioral issues, children living within unfortunate circumstances or in foster care.  We arranged to do a brief demonstration on using yoga to calm negative thoughts and improve self esteem. Next, Coach cut two boys' hair.  Typically, all the boys are not afforded the opportunity to go to a professional Barber (because of money or because of the lack of attention).
Coach has been doing these cuts at another similar classroom environment, several times a year for the last couple years.  He goes on his Mondays off, when I am teaching yoga.  I have never witnessed first hand, the impact he has on these boys.
Coach began by showing the kids a few basketball tricks.  Drills they could do in their home, when they do not have access to their own hoop.  The boys immediately responded to Coach.  Loving the attention he paid to them.  After the first hair cut, I was near the back of the room and watched the boy sneak over to a mirror... He smiled so big but immediately tried to hide his smile, wanting to be too Jr High cool to show pure emotion.  Rather than be jealous, the other boys in class were genuinely happy for him. "You look so fancy! You look like a movie star!"
Coach did not receive parental permission to cut all the boys in class and it killed us, to leave the others scruffy.  I was so moved by the confidence and pure joy that a child can receive from a $14 haircut that so many other children take for granted.
The children loved Coach.  Asking him so many questions.  I wished The Kid could have been with us, to see the impact his father had in just a few short hours.  Many of the boys in that classroom, lack a positive male example in their lives. Coach has learned to be such an extraordinary and humble man from his own father.  Coach will hate that I used the Internet, to discuss his Monday. He would never want a Big Deal made out of something that was simply the right thing to do.

Long Story Short:
Today is our Wedding Anniversary.
And it continues to be confirmed that I made an amazing choice.
Coach's loving spirit, still makes me catch my breath and pause.
Happy Anniversary Coach-
choosing to take the path that led me to you, was the smartest decision of my life.

Statement made Last Night.

Me: "I li-ter-ally could not Survive even one single night naked, in our very own backyard."

Never, has there been a more Tru-er Story.

Labels: We watch Naked and Afraid.

House for Sale by Owner $159,500

The Details of Our Home:

 

One Story Brick Ranch. Built in 1957.

 

 The Front Room/Formal Living Room 21 X 12 1/2 feet

Front door Entry.
With built-in shelving and new mini Office Nook.

The Family Room Area. 12 X 23 feet
Open Concept to The Kitchen.

The Large Foyer Room.
With hook-up/chimney for Wood Burning Stove.

Newly Remodeled Kitchen. 14 x 18 feet
Dishwasher and large stainless steel sink
All of the open rooms have BRAND new Wood Floors.

The Laundry Room. 7 x 13 feet
New energy efficient Washer and Dryer.

 One of Two Full Bathrooms.
This bath with double sinks.

 Bedroom #3 (12 x 15 feet)
Bedroom #2 (not pictured) 11 x 11 feet

Master Bedroom with attached bathroom.
12 x 15 feet

Our home sits on a double lot, now combined into one large corner yard.  With a 2 1/2 car detached garage.  Beautiful mature trees, a large patio and lots of pretty, flowering landscaping. The play ground will be included in the sale. This home is one short block to the high school and the Friday Night Lights.

Additional Details:
Updated all Electrical in 2010 with Pope Joy
ALL new Windows in 2008
Brand new Roof in 2013
New Energy Efficient Furnace/Central Air in 2010
All the plumbing in crawl space replaced in 2011 by Pope Joy
Home sits on a crawl space with a large attic
Taxes for 2013: $4311.22
Professionally installed underground pet fence included.

We are putting our home on the Market (Sale by Owner for a limited time) for $159,500.  Please direct all phone calls and inquiries to Jeremy's Barbershop (you may leave messages on the machine.)  We plan to schedule entire afternoons or evenings (in a block) to show our home to potential buyers.
Thanks!