Let There Be Lights! (and Carpet!)

Monday, June 20, 2011 - Day 127

Wow, the electricians were hard at work today and all the lights are installed.  The carpet layers came and installed the carpet too.  The house is really starting to look incredible!  We can't wait to move in!

The garage lights on the front of the house:

The carpet running up the stairs:

The chandelier over the entry door. Nice!

The ceiling fan in the living room:

The light and can lights in the kitchen.  There will be two pendant lights in the foreground once the counter tops are installed and completed.

All the vanity and bathroom lights are in. This is the half bath just off the garage.

This one wins the Frugal Fixture Award!  Lindsey got this ceiling fan/light combination at work for a grand total of $4.  It was somewhat assembled with some pieces left in the box when she bought it.  This thing sat in her apartment for about a year and has sat upstairs in our current place for the past year.  We were a little surprised and very pleased that it actually works!

Here's a view into the kitchen from the living room.  The new carpet coordinates very well with the paint and the other flooring.  The light that will hang above our kitchen table is in this one too.  All the interior doors are lined up waiting to be installed.

The Garden is Sprouting!

June 14, 2011

Things are starting to sprout in the garden.  Unfortunately weeds are sprouting too!  Lots of work to do.

Some cucumbers are starting to grow, and a few thistles too.  We'll have to do something about those.

Carl took some time to spray some roundup around the outside of the garden to try and burn back the weeds and make room to walk around the outside.

More Cabinets, Dumpster Diving, and Sound!

Thursday and Friday, June 16 & 17, 2011 - Day 123 & 124

There's been a lot of progress in the house this week and it's finally Friday.  Carl did some work wiring up the surround sound system.  He also did a little dumpster diving.  The installers put the garage door openers on the wrong doors.  We had to dig the box out of the trash to prove to them that we labeled the boxes to show them which door that each opener was intended to be insalled on.  They'll be switching them next week!

Picking through the trash...hoping to find some treasure!

They got more of the upper cabinets installed on Thursday.

Here are the Master Bathroom cabinets.

They have a section of the kitchen counter top installed.

Here's the huge food pantry!

The master electrician hard at work...

Finished product (Left), plug in surround sound!

Cabinets and Modeling!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - Day 122

They started installing the cabinets today!  So excited to see the finished product! 

Here's Carl standing in the kitchen:

This is the cabinet in the laundry room.  There will also be a metal rod on the right to hang up clothes.

Here are the linen cabinet and vanity in the bathroom upstairs.  We have a linen cabinet just like it going in the master bathroom downstairs.

While we were checking out the cabinets, Lindsey did some modeling of different fabrics for curtains!

We Have Water & They Started the Floors!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - Day 121

Well, the new air conditioner finally got the humidity down low enough and the builders were able to install the hard surface flooring today.  They installed vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms and tile in the master bath. 

Sometime today the well drillers showed up and put in the well.

 Here's the flooring in the nook and kitchen.  Lindsey couldn't believe how dirty it was.  She was tempted to run home and get the Swiffer and clean it up.  The builders don't care about dirty shoes too much before the carpet is installed...it shows.

The tile in the master bath:

The entryway with the hard flooring installed:

And the electricians stopped in today and put some switch and receptacle covers on and installed the lights in the basement!  We walked down to the basement with the flashlight and were pleasantly surprised when we flipped the switches and all the lights came on!

The Cabinets Have Appeared!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - Day 115

All of the cabinets and countertops showed up today!  We have a garage full of cabinets.  The builders have to wait a few days for the humidity in the house to go down, then they will install the hard surface flooring and the cabinets will go in after that.  We're really excited to see them installed!

 The cabinets are Hickory and the finish is Cusp.

 The bathroom cabinets and vanities were delivered too.  Below are the cabinets for the master bathroom.

And, last but not least, they delivered the tiles for the master bathroom floor.

Cowboy Beans

My bridemaids (on Carl's side of the family) had a Pampered Chef bridal shower for me and requested that each guest bring a recipe to the party as well. Carl's Aunt Michelle gave me this recipe for cowboy beans at the bridal shower and these baked beans are delicious. The recipe makes alot of beans so I suggest only making half of the recipe unless you're making them for a large get-together. These go great with cheeseburgers off the grill and potato salad.

2lbs hamburger
1 medium onion
1/2lb bacon
3 cans pork-n-beans
1 can red beans
1 can baby butter beans
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 teaspoons mustard
1 2/3 cup ketchup

- Brown hamburger and onion together. Drain grease.
- Fry bacon and crumble.
- Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for one hour. Reduce heat to low or bake in the oven for a half hour.

Finally Got the Crops In!

This past weekend we got the entire garden planted.  We planted some on Friday evening and finished up on Sunday.  We had to take a short break on Saturday to watch Suzanne win the Semi-state softball championship.  Good luck at State!

In the garden we planted: Sunflowers, corn, zinnias, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions, garlic, green beans, peas, carrots, cilantro, beets, pumpkins, cantaloupe, cucumbers, squash, zucchini squash, and watermelon. 

It's a true ranch now, we have crops! Ha ha ha.  And the rabbits and deer count as livestock right?

Yard stick and string to get straight rows and nice evenly spaced plants. (Lindsey rolls her eyes and flutters her eyelashes...engineers.)

 Notice who's doing all the work in these pictures...

 Later on that day...she brings drinks from Starbucks and poses for a nice "after" picture.

Here is the finished product after some watering.  Evenly spaced plants and straight rows. Nice.

Now That's Something to Walk On!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - Day 114

Today the flooring crew came and prepared to install the hard surface flooring.  They laid down the Fiberock underlayment sheets and sealed up the joints.  Before they can install the flooring on top, the air conditioning has to run for a day or two to lower the humidity so it will adhere properly.  They should have it all installed by the end of the week and ready for cabinets and carpet!  We heard today that the cabinets would be delivered tomorrow or the next day.  It's all coming together fast.

 Here is our flooring.  The wood grain vinyl is going in the kitchen, mudroom, half bath, and entry way.  The piece on the right that looks like tiles is going in the laundry room and upstairs bathroom.  The master bath will get ceramic tiles.

Here's a view of the door coming in from the garage.

Stain and Paint Finally Done!

Sunday, June 5, 2011 - Day 112

Carl's Grandma Rivir stopped by this Sunday along with his parents to check out the progress on the house.  The painters were finishing up the painting.  They were sanding the walls, filling in divots and then finishing off the painting.  Enjoy the pictures!

Preparing the walls to paint.

 They painted the front door, trim around the front door, and garage door trim.

They also painted the trim around the back windows and door.

All the beautiful interior doors lined up in the den!

A view from the living room.

The master bedroom and bathroom are Koi Pond green.

A closer view of the front door.