Day 83

Since the last post, we have been pretty much out of the loop for the house... kinda like when the Property Brothers kick you out at the last minute so you will be surprised at the end.  Lots of things have been happening on the inside but we can only give you a little glimpse, since we haven't been in much either.

We close on Friday, with our pre walk-through visit on Wednesday.  At this time, we will look carefully at all the little details, looking for things to be corrected by Friday.  On Friday, we will be able to just look for those corrections and make it to the title company to sign all the papers! 

So this is what I am going to leave you with, a bit of a teaser, before we do a big reveal later on.  It won't be Friday, because we have painters coming and other odds and ends that we wanted done before we move in.  So, around October 17, we should be completely moved in, and we'll be sharing pictures at that time!

Until then....

Day 68

Thirteen days have past since my last post.  Since then the house was locked and it was harder to see what progress has been made.  Some of it was very visible, such as the Thomas Hardie siding getting put on!  The garage is finished and the house is 3/4 done.  For some reason the front of the house is still not finished, even though the last piece was put on the east side several days ago.

James Hardie siding, Boothbay Blue

The sheet rock is completely done, and painted with construction grade paint.  My favorite painter will be coming from Jefferson City to paint the entire house.  Our color pallet is yet to be determined, but it will have shades of sand, gray and blue in it.

The wood flooring, the ceramic flooring and the linoleum have all been laid.  It looks so nice!  The construction workers have cardboard over all of it so I was only able to snap a few pics of the floors.  The upstairs bathrooms have cabinets. 

Ceramic in master bath and closet

Linoleum in laundry room and two bathrooms upstairs

Wood floors in LR, DR, and powder room

 Downstairs the fireplace mantel and the marble have been put into place, and the bannister is in place.  The square slats are not in yet but we saw them in a wrapped package.  It will be so pretty!

Beginnings of the bannister with a lovely model behind it!

Fireplace with Newton mantle and baltic brown marble.  LOVE the marble!!

We saw some mechanical things done, boring stuff, but necessary!

Cabinets in all bathrooms and kitchen!

We have about three weeks until closing!  The next post will most likely be about our walk throughs but hopefully when the lighting gets in, I will be able to get a few preview pics!  I am getting very eager to move in and enjoy our house.

Day 55

I think I am going through mid-construction crisis.  With the sheetrock nearly finished (all but the nails are covered), I can see design flaws that I should have thought out and corrected before it was too late, as it is now.  There is nothing that I can't live with, and I still haven't submitted any change orders (at $250 a pop) so I am feeling good about that.  Maybe when the fun pieces start to be put into place, I won't see all the "mistakes".

Part of the siding is up!  I think the contractor was excited to see a different color come into the neighborhood.  We chose James Hardie Boothbay Blue and we are the first to use it.  I am hoping others will like it and start using it, too.  Bob calls it a steel blue.

 

I do love the amount of natural lighting that is in the house. The living room and kitchen and dining room feel bright and airy.  The bedroom, which is in the opposite corner of the dining room is quiet and dark.  Love it!

 

We have four cans, four pendant lights and a chandelier for overhead lighting in the kitchen/dining area.  I think Bob will find it bright enough to read a new recipe or two when he cooks.  That was my thinking when we started adding lights!

I am very happy about the nine foot ceilings, too.  That really adds to the feeling of spaciousness in the living room, which is fairly small and cozy. 

My next excitement will come with seeing the house fully sided.  I think by then I will be over my mid construction crisis and ready for the final stages of home building.

Fifteen Years

It is hard to believe that the book club I helped start in 1998 is still alive and going strong.  Four women, Barb Kuebler, Karlene Diekroeger, Azalene Evans and myself were having lunch at the Jefferson City Country Club when we started discussing books.  The lunch extended well beyond a regular lunch time as we consumed bottles of wine and discussed book after book.

Azalene, Karlene, Terri and Barb

 The purpose of our luncheon was to celebrate Barb's turning in of her National Board Teacher's portfolio.  She had worked so hard to put it together and we had been her main readers for the project. 

As we were discussing book after book, it came out that we needed to formalize a book club.  We started with a name, BBL, and our first book and set a date.  And, for fifteen years, continued to meet to discuss a book a month of various genres and interests.  I know that this book club made me a better reader.

Karlene, whom I am sure is a Blue by Kolbe, organized the sheets that follow of all the books we have read since 1998.  Many of these books became foundational, meaning, we told new members to read these since we refer back to them often.

Since moving to St. Charles has made going to book club a little difficult, our first trip back was to the 15th anniversary celebration at Karlene's home.  It was a perfect summer feast of grilled hot dogs, Lutz's homemade potato chips, Sue's baked beans, a wonderful salad and deviled eggs.  Karlene made hot fudge sundaes with her homemade fudge topping.  After eating, we discussed the book, I am Forbidden and enjoyed every minute of it!

As we left, I felt sad at what we had given up by leaving Jefferson City.  Friends with a lifelong commitment to learning, who love you no matter what, and who are happy for you even if you move 100 miles away.  I know that St. Charles will someday feel the same.

Day 41

With school starting this week, all I really had time to do was drive by and wave at the workers.  That just means there aren't a lot of pictures, but there were some significant changes this week!

Mainly, the roof!

Roof lines of house and garage

You can really see the pitch of the roof now!

In addition, HVAC was in putting in all the different ducts and vents through the house.  We chose a pretty traditional heating system with a Tyvek house wrap and R30 insulation.  We are using natural gas.  We had an all electric home in Jefferson City, and most of the time that was fine.  There were just a few times when the power was off in the middle of winter that was not fun at all. 

New Town requires a certain shingle and color, so that wasn't an option for us.  It is a architectural fiberglass shingle with a 30 year warranty and that's all I know about that.  I will need to find out the brand name for future reference.

One little thing was bothering me... have you noticed that the door in the garage that leads to the house is so much shorter than the window?  It's been bothering me like crazy.  I went inside the garage and guess what???  They didn't cut the plywood all the way to the top of the door for some reason.  The door and the window will be the same height.  Whew!

Day 33

Since our last post, the homebuilders have made so much progress!  Here is where we are on Day 33.  The house has four walls, the second story is framed in, windows are in, the back door is in and the fireplace has been framed in.  The porch floor is built and the back side of the house has the roofing plywood done.

Below you can see the dining area.  The kitchen and dining area are combined.  We've had a formal dining room and even though I loved it, it wasn't used except for holidays.  Our first house in Jefferson City had the kitchen/dining area combined and we used it much more.  I chose to have a lot of windows in this area.  The back windows will look into our courtyard, which we have designed and will be beautiful.  The side windows will have views of our side garden and sunsets. 

The fireplace has been framed up.  We have chosen marble to around it and we will sheet rock the top since the TV will be placed above it.  You can see the spaces created by the framing that will be perfect for built in shelving.  We want the shelving and the mantle to be at similar heights.

Here are the first shots of the porch.  We love how deep it is and it will be covered with a roof.  The poles will be replaced with columns like these.  The columns really shape up the craftsman style feel.

The steps going upstairs are going to be covered in carpet.  At Lakewood in Jefferson City, we had hardwood stairs and they were loud!  We have carpeted stairs in our apartment and really like them.  There's Bob, eager to see for the first time what the upstairs is going to look like!

This is my office/blogging room/craft room/guest room.  Doubled the windows in this room for the light when working.  We will set up a hide a bed sofa in this room to be able to accommodate more people. 

This is Ashley and Eric's room.  It has a gorgeous view!  We decided on crank out style windows.  We had these at our apartment in Kirksville and always loved the retro feel of them.  This is designed as a second master suite, with a walk in closet and its own bathroom.  Now Ash can leave her favorite shampoos and soaps, an extra hair dryer, etc, so coming to visit will be a piece of cake!

This is Bob's loft.  It has a 1/2 wall coming up the steps so there is plenty of light, even with just one window.  There will be a loveseat, TV, exercise equipment, and probably all with a sports theme.

To round up the upstairs, there is a hallway bathroom and a laundry room.  Ashley and Eric like to do their laundry before they leave and this will give them that opportunity.  The hallway bathroom will be for other guests when they come.  

It is fun to see it all come together after doing so much planning this past year!  So far we haven't made any changes to our plan.  Bob's OCD thoughtfulness ahead of the game has made that possible!!

Day 26 of Housebuilding

Remember earlier I said I wasn't very patient?  So I found a way to help me put this whole thing in perspective, and that is to count the days to a finished house.

Twenty six days into the process we have gone from this~

 

to this~

 

and I start to feel a lot better!  That's digging, basement walls, moving dirt, digging, moving dirt, moving rock, putting up a garage, a floor, and four walls.  Plus stuff I don't know about like plumbing.  Plus, I am trying to live "in the process" so I can enjoy each change the day brings.  

I found an app that allows me to add text to photos very easily, which helps explain what you are seeing when you look at these photos.  In the top photo you are seeing the west side of the house with windows in the dining room and living room.  In the bottom photo you are seeing the north side of the house, windows for the master bedroom and dining room.  Between the dining room windows is the back door, which will have 3/4 glass in it to take advantage of the courtyard between the garage and the house. 
We decided not to have any windows on the east side of the house, one, we are very close to our neighbors, as St. Charles allows building on the property line. 

Here's the front:

 

The space in the center is the front door.  You can see the cement footings where the porch will rest.   The front of the house faces south, southeast.  I was in my car when I took this photo, it looks crooked to me.  So of course I had to go back by and make sure, nope, the house is level!

Twenty-six days from nothing to something pretty easily imagined into our house.  Enjoying the process!

Pinterest Trial~New Takes on Summer Food

I hosted our July Bunco here in New Town.  Since so many people cannot usually make the July Bunco, this is called UnBunco night, where the host introduces a new game to the guests.  I introduced the App game Heads Up, which Bob, Ashley, Eric and I played on vacation.  I just did a quick demo because we were having a great conversation, getting to know one another.  I love meeting New Town people!

Tonight I made two Pinterest pins:  S'mores Cookies and Corn Dog Muffins.  Both super simple and very good!!

To make the S'mores cookies, break a graham cracker in half along the lines.  Place graham cracker halves on a cookie sheet.  Top each graham cracker with a marshmallow.  Place cookie sheet into a preheated 350 oven.  In the meanwhile, unwrap Hershey kisses, one for each cookie.  Watch the cookies in the oven, when the marshmallows are golden brown and puffy, take out of the oven.  Press down one Hershey kiss into the center of the marshmallow.  Let cool a bit.  These are best slightly warm when the chocolate is melted.  They are good cool, too.

The corn dog muffins are equally as simple.  Prepare two Jiffy cornbread mixes according to package directions.  Spray muffin tin with Pam, fill muffin tin 1/2 full of corn bread mixture.  Lay a cocktail weenie across the top.  Bake according to package directions, watch carefully.  Serve with ketchup and mustard.  I made these ahead of time and then microwave before serving.  Again, these are best served warm.

These two pins are winners in my book!  Cute summer food, served up in an easy-to-make manner.  Enjoy!

Pinterest Trial: Cool Whip Cookies

Bob was invited to his Jefferson Junior High School reunion this summer and wanted to take a dessert with us that was easy to pack, didn't need to stay cool, and was easy to transport.  That sounded like cookies to me and I love to look at cookie recipes!  I had pinned this recipe for its versatility and decided that this was the one to make for the Reunion!

Funfetti Cool Whip Cookies

The ingredients are simple:

1 cake mix (flavor of your choice)
2 c. powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 8 oz cool whip, thawed

Blend the cool whip and the eggs together.  Slowly add in cake mix.  When fully incorporated, refrigerate for at least an hour (I did it overnight, because I was tired).

Place the powdered sugar in a bowl.  Using a teaspoon, scoop out balls and form them loosely with your fingers, drop them into the bowl of powdered sugar.  Coat, and place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until a light golden crust appears on the bottom of the cookies.  Cool complete before stacking.

These are a soft, cake-like cookie.  The powdered sugar provides some crispness to the outside.  I can see making these again, perhaps in chocolate or lemon.   Packed well and are yummy!

Our House: The Exterior

Ground has broken for our house! Bob says its ALL I talk about so I thought I would give him a little break and write about it here!

We are building a house called the Pawtucket, which is a craftsman style home.  The craftsman style home paid homage to the individual workers, or craftsmen, of the times, using local materials.  The craftsman style homes were built to suit middle-class Americans. One of the more famous craftsman architects of the time was Frank Lloyd Wright.  Bob and I toured some of his homes in the Chicago area many years ago and always loved the style. Our house isn't a complete craftsman style, it is a mixture of a bungalow and craftsman style, with a low pitched roofline, a gable, story and half, and a long front porch.  Sears and Roebuck used to sell bungalows through their catalog!  Our house slightly resembles the Vallonia model that sold for $1500-2500!

The builder is McBride and Sons, who have been building in the St. Louis area for 60+ years.  I like that they were a family business that started after WWI to help provide affordable homes for returning soldiers.

This house is the correct orientation, with the wrap around porch on the left.  The yellow door is not at all correct, looking more like mustard than buttercream!

We have chosen Boothbay Blue James Hardie siding for the exterior.  It is a medium gray with a hint of blue.  Neither one of us wanted a blue house, but the Mist was too light and the Charcoal was being selected over and over.  We chose white Anderson windows, Arctic White trim, and a buttercream front door.  I love the door, this one is similar.

I visualize the front of the house with knockout roses and a bright coleus bordering the porch, but that is getting way ahead of the game and besides, Bob is much better at putting the right plants in the right place.  I sure hope there is some color, though!!















I am eager to sit on the front porch!  We are installing two ceiling fans, one centered on each set of windows.  On the left side we will have two chairs with a table between.  I saw some wonderful adirondack chairs when we were coming home from Cincinnati on Hwy 270.  I think they could be a perfect choice for the outside.  The windows to the left are on the living room side of the house.  We spoke to our neighbors last night and it looks like the porches will be aligned.  We will be able to chat with our neighgors while they sit on their own porch!

Patience isn't my strongest virtue so I am happily planning and writing about it so I can enjoy the process.  Blogging will preserve our mindset as we build this house, for all our generations to come!