Building: Progress report!

Alright, y'all, it's that time again. We have some major progress to report on the house. It's crazy what can happen in a week. Last weekend we had a basement with a first floor, it kind of looked like a stage, and now, well just see for yourself.

I mean really??? It's really starting to look like a house, I'm so excited but also kind of freaking out, I mean we are going to be home owners. Crazy.

Fur the love of the babies

Haha, that was an awful pun, I apologize.

Anyway, we obviously love our fur babies like crazy. They are such spoiled little sweeties, there isn't much they go without.  Today I would like to talk a little about some products that make our life a little easier with the "kids".

First up, the Rok Strap Leash. This baby is amazing, especially if you have a puller. Pepper and Murphy are both pullers and we use this to help control them on walks. There is rubber in the leash to absorb the shock of them when they pull. It's pretty funny when they get really excited and they spring back like a bungee jumper.

 

DogCasino

 DogFinder

Next up: Nin Ottosson Dog Puzzles. We have the two pictured above and they are amazing. We have two super smart dogs that tend to get bored and when they get bored they destroy things. These puzzles require the dogs to figure out how to get the treats out from either drawers or under the bones. It's really fun to watch them try to figure it out and get so excited when they find it. Plus it stimulates them mentally and tires them out a little bit.

Last but not least, the Breeze Litter System. We only recently switched to this system but so far I love it. I hate cleaning up the loose litter all over the floor, we also hate cleaning the litter boxes. What is awesome about this system is that the pads in the bottom absorb the urine (and smell!) and need changed once a week and the pellets get changed once a month!!! Seriously, couldn't have asked for a better system.

So those are some of our favorite things, fur baby edition.

A merry, merry un-birthday (and birthday)!

On Sunday we celebrated Andy's birthday, it's a week early but my parents will be coming in to town on his actual birthday and I work the day before his birthday. I wanted him to be able to celebrate his way. He decided we would get up early and go to the zoo, then the driving range, and then to Schmidt's Sausage Haus in German Village for lunch. Everything went as planned and it was a wonderful day. The weather was gorgeous for a trip to the zoo and many of the animals were active in the cooler weather. The driving range was interesting, I remembered a little too late that I suck at sports but it was fun. Lunch was delicious and an experience. Afterwards, we ended up going home and napping which was glorious. All in all, I think he had a pretty good birthday.

Yesterday was my sister Arielle's actual birthday. She turned 21. Yeah. Seriously. When did that happen? It seems like just last week she was starting kindergarten. We didn't get to go up (boo) but hopefully we will be able to see her soon and buy her a drink. I'm fairly certain that she won't have a drink unless we buy her one because she's just too cool for that stuff (honestly, very proud).

You know what really grinds my gears?

(Pat yourself on the back if you get that reference!)

On to my rant style post.

It really bothers me when people talk about marriage as if it is hell on Earth. You know people who look at a happy couple and say, just wait, it won't be like that forever. Now I'm not really that naive; I know that marriage is hard. We have had our share of ups and downs already and I know we will have more, but I am so in love with my husband, he is a great man and we are so happy together. Every day I grow more in love with him and appreciate him more.

I also can't stand married couples who constantly bash their spouse. I mean seriously, if they are really that awful, why did you marry them? Seriously, I can not imagine talking about Andy the way that I hear some people talk about their spouses. I mean he annoys me sometimes, but not to the point that I would verbally bash, insult, or berate him, especially in front of other people. It blows my mind.

Anyway, I'm done. I'm glad to have gotten that off my chest. Have a good night!

Death by DIY

With the new house zooming toward us I realized our decorating/DIY projects really need to get going, then I took a look at the list. Geeze. I think I over did it just a tad. Take a look yourself:

 A console table by Young House Love. We really love the idea of having some lamps and storage behind the couch, we may not build this exact one but we want something similar. Honestly, I think that our living room is going to be pretty similar to this just because I think that's the couch we may end up with.

 A drying rack for the laundry room, I have really wanted some place to hang my air dry only pieces for a while, in the new house I will finally have the space to do so.

 Laundry sorting by Ana White. Love, love, love this for sorting our clothes both before the wash and after.

 Liquor Cabinet from Ana White. We aren't major boozers or anything but I love the idea of having a liquor cabinet.

 Apothecary media center for the living room, again from Ana White (sensing a pattern?). I love the look of this and it will fit lovely into the living room, unlike the behemoth media center with have now.

 Cable spool coffee table from Country Living. I found this on Pinterest and HAD to have it. I have already got my hands on a cable spool to make this pretty piece.

 Ceiling medallions as wall decor, found on Pinterest.  It's an easy way to liven up a wall space.

 Pallet table from Sew Homegrown. We want something similar to this and also some pallet end tables for the living room as well. 

The worst part about that list is that it isn't even the extent of my projects. There are still some others that I don't have pictures for, like a bench for the entry way and framed shelves. I honestly wondered if we should cut back some of the list and then I realized that the reason we are doing so much DIY is to save money. Many of these projects are lower cost than it would be to buy, in some instances basically free. We really need to get started on these. I promise once we do I will share the process. 

P.S. Anyone willing to come help out?

Building: The Progress!

It's about time for some progress pictures. I haven't had much to show you, just some dirt and you don't want to see that but now there is something there! Yay!

 

 

Excavation!

The hole, one from the back and one from the front!

Footers from the back of the house!

Stuff to build the basement.

 

 Voila! A basement!

The basement, with the tar seal started! (I love that you can see our shadows in this one!)

Nearly fully sealed and the garage and front yard leveled out!

Well that's about all we've got, these have taken place over the last month or so. Our contractor e-mailed us today and told us our lumber is being delivered tomorrow and framing should start this weekend. Things have been moving a little slower than everyone thought they would, the brick layers were behind in their work which put us behind, but we are excited with the progress so far and can't wait to share more with you.