yellow dog, green life

Energy Star Certified

2012-02-15T06:19:00.002-05:00

I'm sure you're aware of Energy Star appliances and light fixtures but did you know that an entire house can also be Energy Star certified? That's right, and guess what? Our house passed the test!

In order to be Energy Star certified, our home had to pass a number of tests and be issued a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) Index number. The HERS Index is a scoring system established by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) in which a home built to the specifications of the HERS Reference Home (ie a "standard" new home) scores a HERS Index of 100, while a net zero energy home scores a HERS Index of 0. The lower a home's score, the more energy efficient it is in comparison to the HERS Reference Home. Each 1-point decrease in the HERS Index corresponds to a 1% reduction in energy consumption compared to the HERS Reference Home. Thus a home with a HERS Index of 85 is 15% more energy efficient than the HERS Reference Home and a home with a HERS Index of 80 is 20% more energy efficient. Our home achieved a HERS Index number of 48 which means it is 52% more energy efficient than the Reference Home and up to 90% more efficient than existing homes. We'll save over $1000 a year in energy costs compared to existing homes and because we qualified under various state and federal incentive programs, we'll also get a couple big chucks of change back on some of the energy saving investments we made during the construction of the house. Sweet deal!

We worked with a local HERS rater from the very early stages of planning through the building stages and the finishing details to ensure our home met all of the standards and criteria. Some of the major factors that influence a home's energy rating include:

Effective Insulation Systems (remember the spray foam?)
High–Performance Windows (remember the low E Anderson windows)
Tight Construction and Ducts (see the super-highway of ductwork here)
Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment (remember we went geothermal)
ENERGY STAR Qualified Lighting and Appliances (well, that's just a given).

After the house was finished our HERS rater came to do the final inspection (they literally count every light bulb in the house!) and perform a blower door test and duct test (to test the "leakiness" of the house and ductwork). Together with the results of the tests and taking into account all of the standards of construction (spray foam insulation, energy efficient windows, geothermal heating, etc) they crunch the numbers and issue your home a final rating. 48 was our number which means we passed with flying colors! Yippie. You can learn more about the HERS Index here and the Energy Star Home Qualifications here.

Summit checking out the blower door test and the ductwork test

Our official badge of honor

My Long Distance Valentine

2012-02-14T22:34:00.005-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! My Valentine happens to be in St. Louis this week for work so Facetime is as good as it gets for us tonight. James would die if he knew I was sharing these with you. Good thing he doesn't read the blog all that often, hehe. Happy V Day to you all! xo

Table(s) for Two

2012-02-09T07:53:00.006-05:00

We decided long ago that we wanted a rustic farmhouse table for our dining room. Now, I'm not sure if you're in the market for farmhouse tables, but if you look around the web, you will see they are not cheap to buy (see this and this). It didn't take us long to realize that there was no way we were going to drop $1500 or more on a dining room table. So, what did we do? We made one ourselves! It was really pretty quick and easy and because the process went so fast, I didn't really take many pictures of the process. We used FSC certified wood and stained it "weathered grey". James sanded the heck out of the top so it is smooth and glossy rather than rough. I think it makes a nice balance between the "rustic" look we were going for and the "retro" look of some of our other furniture (more on that later). The table is HUGE too - 9 feet long and seats 10 comfortably. You are getting a preview of our dining room chairs and chandelier here too. You'll get to see more when we reveal the rest of the room (ie, when I finish refinishing furniture!).

Of course, we couldn't stop there. James needed a table of his own. Our game room has a long "bump out" section of about 5-6 feet where there are two doors leading to the outside. It is the perfect space for a game table so James decided to build a custom shuffle puck table. Again, if you were to buy a shuffle puck table, you'd drop anywhere from $1200-$4000. Ummm...no. Not in the budget. So James got to work, designing, constructing and painting his own table. Can you tell what teams he routes for (he was a very happy camper last Sunday)?

Cool, right? Both tables have been a big hit already. There's no doubt they will provide both a place to gather and play with friends and family for many years to come!

It's Official

2012-01-30T21:43:00.003-05:00

Our mortgage was finalized today and the papers were signed. We are officially homeowners!

Room Reveal: Kitchen

2012-01-27T21:21:00.000-05:00

Several months ago our kitchen cabinets were installed and slowly, over time, the rest of the kitchen has come together. It's been exciting to see our vision come alive. Yesterday I shared photos of us putting up the tile backsplash and today, we're finally ready to reveal the whole thing. The kitchen is probably my favorite room in the house (our master bedroom is pretty high on that list too). We socked a chunk of our home building savings into this room and decided to do several "upgrades" in the kitch beyond the standard affair. I'm so glad we did because I love every inch of it. Love, love, LOVE! No regrets. And besides, everyone always ends up in the kitchen, right? So worth it. Take a look.

Here's a closer look at a few details...

I think I died and went to heaven the day I met our new 36" Italian gas range.

Does it get any more retro than that?

Still not sure what to put on the shelf here. Our wedding plate looks nice for now.

More wedding details hidden in secret nooks.

Industrial pendants

Summit's "T" Jar has a home too!

Speaking of Summit...

Ready to entertain!

Tile Trials: Kitchen Backsplash

2012-01-26T18:55:00.001-05:00

If you remember, James and I tiled the laundry room, powder room and entire downstairs ourselves (with a little help from friends!). What we learned from that process was that tiling isn't hard or scary and it is definitely a DIY project. I wish we had learned that before we hired someone to tile our master bathroom - but more on that later! Anyway, after all the lessons learned from tiling those big areas, we were more than ready to tackle our kitchen backsplash tile and I was definitely ready to finally complete our kitchen.

We found a medium sized glass subway tile in the perfect shade of bluish green in Lowes. While it was the perfect color, the price wasn't so perfect. I was able to save quite a bit of money by purchasing it through a wholesale distributor and a few weeks ago the tiles arrived on our front porch. It feels like I have been waiting and waiting and waiting to do this project but there were a bunch of other slightly more critical projects that had to be finished before we could get started on this one. Luckily, once we started, it didn't take long to get the tiles up and grouted. Like I said, tiling is easy-peasy (term borrowed from my friend Nicole). You should totally try it!

Placing the tile on the Thinset cement. No going back now!

The next step is grouting and sponging.

And then...it's done. And oh so pretty to look at.

What do you think? Do you like the color? It's hard to tell in pictures but it is the perfect shade and the size of the tiles is just right for the square footage we had to cover. Also, it adds a splash of color and retro style to our lovely white kitchen.

Tomorrow I'll reveal the rest of our kitch. All I have to say about it is that I think I'm in LOVE. Hope you like it too!

Room Reveal: Powder Room

2012-01-19T22:18:00.003-05:00

We are at a point in the moving process where most of our "important" rooms (bedroom, kitchen, living room, bath) are set up just enough to be comfortable and livable, but are still quite unfinished in terms of decor. We have a long way to go before we're done, but I figured I'd share a few "room reveals" as we get each living area up to snuff. Since our powder room (or half bathroom - what do you call it?) is the smallest room in the house, I figured I'd start there since it didn't take all that much to get it ready for use.

This room is tiny. I think it's about 5' x 5' square. There is not much room in there for more than a small vanity and a toilet. I spent a long time looking for the perfect vanity for this room without much luck. Either they were all too generic, too cheap looking or too expensive for our budget. We considered using a pedestal sink but I wasn't convinced I really wanted one. They are a little too popular for my taste. So...we got creative! I was able to find a tall (almost 31") side table on sale at the Pottery Barn (made out of reclaimed wood - bonus!) and a glass vessel sink also on sale on Overstock.com. We bought a vessel sink faucet and with just a little tweaking, managed to put them all together to make a custom vanity for the small space we had available in this room. We had to make the two upper drawers "dummy" drawers because of the plumbing, but the bottom four still function and are big enough to store extra TP and cleaning supplies.

We picked a dark bluish-grey color for the walls that coordinate well with the tile floor. The color shows up lighter in these photos but I LOVE this color, it turned out to be one of my favorite wall colors in the whole house. We also used it in the laundry room, which is also tiled. We found the mirror, vanity light, and glass shelf at Lowes for a pretty reasonable price and swapped out the vanity hardware to match the fixtures. The light is pretty unique and matches the green glass of the vessel bowl perfectly. I still have to add some artwork in here but besides that, this room is pretty much complete. One down...so many more to go!

First Snow

2012-01-17T21:27:00.005-05:00

Last night we finally got a little snow. It's hard to believe but it was the first time it has snowed all winter here in southern New England. This time last year we were swimming in snow. The snowfall only amounted to a couple inches and is mostly melted already, but it was pretty while it lasted. I got out early to snap a few quick pictures while things were still white. And James was excited because he actually got a chance to test out the new snow blower we bought back in October. Here's hoping for a little more of the white stuff before we get too tired of winter.

It's been awhile since I shared any photos of the outside of the house. Check out our deck railing - my dad's awesome handiwork!

First Week

2012-01-08T20:38:00.004-05:00

We've been "moved into" the new house for a full week now. It has almost felt like we are playing house or staying at a vacation home or something, but I think it's finally starting to sink in that we are really home. We spent the week moving bit by bit and even entertained guests - on three separate occasions! In down time, we've been arranging items, unpacking new furniture and unfurling our feathers. It feels good to finally nest and we're really excited to move on to the final phase of the project - transforming the house into a cozy home. Here are a few paint shots of the living room, master bedroom and office before any furniture was moved. I can't wait to share more as we settle in.

Revisiting Goals for 2011

2012-01-06T20:35:00.009-05:00

Remember last January when I shared 20 goals for Twenty Eleven? Let's look back and see how we did. I can tell you now, there are some that were achieved and some that were a big fat FAIL.

Ringing in a New Year with wonderful friends in the new house!

Goal #1: Read at least 20 books.
I don't honestly know how many books I've read because my Kindle battery has been dead for the past three months because I haven't read a single book in the past three months. I did read a bunch of books in the beginning of the year though and some favorites included: Let the Great World Spin, The Help, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, The Hunger Games Trilogy, Animals in Translation and A Dog's Purpose. I'm pretty certain I didn't make it to 20 though.

Grade: C

Goal #2: Run 1011 miles in 2011 (Cary).
Ha! No.

Grade: D-

Goal #3: Volunteer somewhere. More than once.
I officially volunteered once this year by taking pictures for the Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven. I unofficially volunteered on a few occasions to take pictures for friends and family as well. All of these were a great use of my time because I got to help others out and work on my photography skills!

Grade: A-

Goal #4: Change up our fitness routine.
I would say I definitely changed up my fitness routine this year. And by that I mean little to no running in favor of swinging a hammer and lifting heavy objects, which resulted in surprisingly large arm muscles. I also took up yoga and am finding that I really, really enjoy the change of pace.

Grade: A-

Goal #5: Stop biting my fingernails (Cary).
Ha! No. Stubby, half-gnawed nails are still in full effect. I blame it on stress.

Grade: F

Goal #6: Go vegan for an entire month (Cary).
Yahoo! A goal accomplished in full. Remember my month of veganism?

Grade: A

Goal #7: Declutter. This applies to our lives as well as our basement.
Technically we are currently in full declutter mode. As we make the permanent move to our new home, we are weeding out all the "excess" stuff that we don't need to bring with us. So, in that way, the physical things in our life are being decluttered. The rest, well, there hasn't been anything in our lives this year to declutter because all of our time has been devoted to homebuilding.

Grade: B+

Goal #8: Participate in a bike race (Cary) and a 5K road race (James).
Big Fat Fail on all accounts. Maybe in 2012.

Grade: F

Goal #9: Complete an ultramarathon (Cary).
Riiiiight. I barely made it to the Turkey Trot this year.

Grade: F

Goal #10: Lose those five pounds that came with 2010 and do it without dieting (Cary).
I haven't had the time or inclination to weigh myself in more than six months. I lost five pounds starving in the first two weeks of my vegan diet, but that doesn't count. Really, I'm over it and what's five pounds anyway? The good news is I didn't GAIN five pounds this year either!

Grade: B

Goal#11: Find a new date night activity.
Technically, we nailed this one. But, unfortunately, that date night activity was a regular Friday AND Saturday night trip to the Home Depot. Yes, seriously.

Grade: C

Goal #12: Restore a piece of furniture. This one is in progress. Remember those thrifty furniture finds? I'm working on them as we speak and I'll be sharing them soon!

Grade: Incomplete

Goal #13: Be smarter about our finances.
Technically, we spent more money this year than we ever have in our entire lives. BUT, I was able to save a TON of money by shopping smart. My two favorite ways to save online: Ebates and our Discover Card cash back bonus points. Check out how much we saved just in the last few months. Also, we purchased a lot of new furniture for the house and didn't pay full price for a single piece of it by taking advantage of all of the holiday sales and coupons. Woot, woot! Can't wait to share our finds with you soon!

Grade: A-

Goal #14: Reinvest in relationships. Honestly, we haven't had a lot of free time to spend date nights with friends and family (unless we happen to run into them at the Home Depot). But, I'm as close as ever with my BFFs and one of them even moved back to CT this year with her hubs and baby. It's been great having them both around more often and has given us an opportunity to grow even closer. We're also really looking forward to life living next door to my brother and his family. It's so great to be neighbors!

Grade: A-

Goal #15: Dress up more.
I think I did a fairly good job with this one. True, there were days where I skipped a shower or showed up to work with brushing my hair, but on the whole, I think my style ranking notched up a little in 2011. James on the other hand...

Grade: A-

Goal #16: Participate fully in the house building process.
Oh. Yes. We. Did.

Grade: A+++

Goal #17: Add three new "green" routines to our lifestyle.
Ummmm...no comment.

Grade: D

Goal #18: Open an Etsy site to promote (hopefully sell!) some of our creative projects.
Nope. Didn't happen in 2011. I'm hoping this is a highlight for 2012.

Grade: F

Goal #19: Practice patience & Communication.
I honestly don't think James and I could have gotten through this year in one piece and our marriage intact without a lot of patience and constant communication. Home building is HARD. Especially when you submerse yourself in it like we did. It's stressful and exhausting and all consuming. I think we did good on this one. Much better than expected actually.

Grade: A-

Goal #20: Reduce stress.
In hindsight, this wasn't a good goal for a year when we were taking on so much. There were times when my stress level was so high that my hair started falling out. No joke. But, I'll be rolling this one over to my 2012 goals. I'm going to make it happen!

Grade: D

Overall, we could have done better but considering the year we had, we didn't do as bad as I expected. I'll try to come up with a list of goals for 2012 soon. You'll probably see a few repeaters on there but writing them down seems to help keep us honest. What are your goals for 2012? Are you a resolution keeper or breaker?

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T00:04:00.003-05:00

Guess where we're spending the last night of 2011 (or is it the first night of 2012)?

Happy New Year, friends! Here's to another adventurous year ahead.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:51:00.002-05:00

Love,
Cary, James & Summit

Certified to Occupy

2011-12-23T14:35:00.002-05:00

This past Tuesday, exactly 234 days after breaking ground last spring, we officially received our "Certificate of Occupancy" or CO for the house. This means we can legally and legitimately move in. Woot, woot! BUT...wait for the but...having a CO doesn't mean it necessarily makes sense to move in. Why? Well, because we're not quite done yet. One big thing still stands in our way. Painting. Ick. There are lots of little loose ends to tie up, many that will probably still be loose for some time after we move in, but we both decided that painting is one thing that needs to be done before we officially move into the new house. It just doesn't make sense to move all our stuff in only to have to cover it up and work around it to get the house painted. Luckily, we've enlisted the help of a few good friends who paint houses professionally to get the job done as quick as possible. Hopefully, we'll be officially occupying our house just after the New Year. Yippie!

Here are a few pics showing the painting prep. Sorry for the bad pictures, they were taken on my phone. Maybe we should just stick with the red, white and blue color scheme throughout the house!

Floors Galore!

2011-12-19T18:02:00.006-05:00

There have been a lot of things going on at the house in the past few weeks and I'm behind on blogging. I'm behind on life to be honest with you. Is it really Christmas time? It feels like we just celebrated the Fourth of July. Seriously. Lately, James and I have been feeling a little worn thin. It's understandable considering where we are and what we've been up to for the past nine months, but I'm pretty sure we're about at our breaking point. Although, I think I said that last week and we didn't break so we'll see what's in store for us this week and next. Anyway, my intention was not to complain to you but rather to show you some of our finished floor.

Laundry room tile work

After our tile trial in the upstairs half bath and laundry room, we felt we were ready to tackle the downstairs. With the help of a few friends, we were able to tile the entire space in just a few days. It turned out great. I wish I had better "finished" pictures, but I kept forgetting my camera and now the pretty tile is covered with paper so I can't show you better pictures until moving day.

We also had our upstairs oak floor stained. We decided to go with a pretty dark stain. It turned out beautiful and we both really love it. What I don't love so much is the footprints, dust and dog hair that show easily on it. But that's why we got a good central vacuum cleaner and James promises he'll help with the daily (ha) cleanup. Too bad it's also not Summit proof. But we found a solution for that, at least for now...

Summit and her scratch proof booties...we'll see how long that lasts!

James and the Giant Vacuum. We'll see how long that lasts!

Gratitude

2011-12-11T09:34:00.003-05:00

I realize this is about two weeks late. Everything seems to be two weeks behind schedule these days but even my type A personality has learned to adjust. So really, what's two weeks, right?

This post is about gratitude. A few months ago, I visited a yoga studio with one of my dear friends. After just a few classes, I was hooked. Being one of those "crazy runners" for almost my whole life made it easy to laugh off yoga as merely a "silly stretching exercise". I went to that first class thinking it would be a breeze and left with shaking limbs and a completely humbled heart. Because this is what yoga does for you. Yes, with enough practice you will get incredibly toned and "stretchy", but yoga also gives you so much more than that. It opens you. Opens your heart, your mind, your spirit. It provides a still moment in a life filled with busyness and stress. And in that still moment you are reminded of all that is perfect in this world, perfect in your world. It reminds me of all that I am eternally grateful for.

Our family, friends and co-workers. You all surround us with love, encouragement and understanding. There aren't words to describe what you do for us. We love you all so very much.

Our health. Our bodies are strong and our health in good standing. Nothing is more important.

Our home. Warm and inviting, it will be a place to gather loved ones and grow a family.

Our love. It's gotten us through the most challenging and rewarding year of our lives and it continues to grow stronger every day.

James and I recognize that we are very fortunate to be able to live the lives we do. We have worked hard to get where we are and have wonderful things in our lives, but without the support and love of our family and friends and the strong bond of love that joins us together, we know we wouldn't be where we are today. It is in the quiet, still moments at the end of a fulfilling yoga class, when I can put aside all the busyness of my day and forget about the insignificant bits of life, that I am reminded of this gratitude and come to the full realization of just what a lucky girl I am. It gets me every time. Namaste.

Priorities

2011-12-05T18:37:00.001-05:00

We might not have our floors sanded and finished, our trim completed, our master bathroom tile finished, our sinks, faucets and toilets in, walls painted or our light fixtures hung, but we do have our new TV, cable and internet hooked up. Priorities, right?

Take a closer look at our living room TV. It's a Samsung LED Smart TV. That means it is directly hooked up to the internet and because it's LED, it's also incredibly efficient. And oh my is in thin! I'm a little bit of a traditionalist when it comes to living rooms. I like this TV, but not enough to want it hung above our mantle. Maybe in the game room, but not in my living room. So James came up with a genius idea and handmade contraption to store the TV behind the wall. It glides out on a rail system when we want to watch TV and glides right back in when we want it out of sight. Cool, right? It's nice having a handy hubby.

We also got a Christmas tree last weekend and set it up on our deck. It's a 4.5 foot Douglas Fir. We planned all along to get a live tree this year (and every year!) so that we could plant it to mark our first year in the house. When I was a kid we used to do this and plant the trees in our back yard after the holidays. Well now, thirty years later those trees are huge! It will be fun to watch this one grow over the years as we too grow old in the "new" house. Now we just have to find the perfect place to plant it! And remember the smart home system that James introduced you to a few months ago? He's been working hard to get it set up. For example, now we can control our Christmas tree lights (and all the house lights) on our iPhones or iPads from our current apartment 4 miles away. Pretty cool, right (or are we just really nerdy)? More to come on the smart home stuff. Stay tuned!

Ground Control to Major James

2011-12-02T16:27:00.008-05:00

I am giving you all special clearance to view our top secret (not really), super technical (yes, definitely) "Control Room" (aka our basement). You'll mostly see pictures here because I personally cannot explain exactly what each piece of the puzzle does or even what it is technically called. I intend to get the details at some point, but as long as James understands how it works (don't worry, he does), I'm good. If you have questions though, be sure to ask away and I'll get James to give you an answer. =)

Let's start with our two 400' geothermal wells that were drilled in our front yard several weeks ago. These puppies tap into the natural energy stored in the ground. Because the temperature down there is typically very stable year round (approximately 55 degrees F), we can use it to heat and cool our house. A few statistics for you "greenies": geothermal systems are 3-4 times more efficient than oil, natural gas or propane systems (wowzas!). For example, geothermal systems provide 3 to 4 units of space or water heating energy for each unit of electric energy consumed by the system. In comparison, the most efficient oil, natural gas or propane system delivers less than 1 unit of energy for each unity of energy consumed by the system. Systems that burn fuel can never deliver more energy than is available in the fuel. Geothermal systems can typically result in energy cost savings of 50% over fuel systems. (source) And of course, they are GREEN! Here's a NYT article explaining a little more about residential geothermal systems. As a bonus, we will be getting a federal tax credit to cover 30% of the total cost of the entire system. Not the we needed much incentive to invest in this system but that is big $$!!

Ok, enough about the details, here are some pics. Big shout out to the guys and gals at Nutmeg Mechanical who installed our geosystem. They were incredible.

Geowells are surprisingly small in diameter and are capped and buried.

Here are a few glimpses of "Ground Control".

James' very organized electrical panel.

Geowell access points shown on right.

James and Summit tinkering with the system.

Heat pumps on left, well water system on right.

The "thing" on the top circulates fresh air throughout the house several times a day.

Tankless water heater on left, air handler on right.

Radiant heat pipes and manifold and a few of our digital thermostats.

Summit heating her toes up. Notice anything else about that picture? Hint = tile.

Last but not least, I want to share with you one of MY favorite parts of Ground Control. My central vacuum! Seriously, I didn't know it was possible to get so excited about a vacuum cleaner. If you have a dog and a husband that both track in dirt like champs, you'd feel the same way. The coolest part is the foot activated dirt sucker in the bottom of our kitchen island. Basically you just sweep a pile of dirt and dog hair near it, open the vent with your toe and just like that, it's gone! Yahooo!

Two of My Favorite Things

2011-11-28T23:06:00.003-05:00

Best friends...

and November sunsets.

Kitchen Preview

2011-11-23T07:23:00.004-05:00

I love so many things about our new house but one of the things I love the most is our kitchen. Many hours have gone into designing and planning this part of the house so it's exciting to finally see it all start to come together. I barely slept a wink the night before our cabinets were installed that's how excited I was to finally see my kitchen. Dork, I know.

I might be able to bathe in our farmhouse sink. It's a monster!

Our kitchen countertops will be the grey one, on the right. Coming soon!

Our "industrial" pendants. Three smaller ones over the island. Big one above sink.

Appliances just waiting for their turn!

A little special note needs to be said about our island countertop. Simply put (and I understand I may be biased) it is to die for. The pictures don't really do it justice either, especially since I took them at night. First off, it is HUGE! We have more space than we know what to do with in this kitchen, mostly thanks to the giant island centerpiece. We had the top handmade for us in Michigan out of a sustainable type of wood called Lyptus. You may know Lyptus better by the name Eculyptus. As in the stuff that koala bears eat. Why is it sustainable? Because like bamboo, eculypus grows exceptionally fast. Additionally, is grown using sustainable practices on plantations rather than being harvested from wild spaces like old growth forests or rainforests. Lyptus is a dense, close grain wood making it ideal for millwork. The color you see is its natural tone so no additional stains or harsh chemicals were needed to finish it to achieve the look we were going for. We shopped around quite a bit for a wood countertop that met our needs and our budget (Lyptus is surprisingly affordable!) and this one definitely did both.

Every little detail of this kitchen was designed by us. From the layout to the giant island, the mantle shelf over the range hood to the coffee station and pantry nook. I searched high and low for the perfect sink, lights, facuets, hardware and appliances. It took a lot of time and planning to get it just right, but we're really happy with how it has turned out so far and can't wait to see all the finishing details come together! Stay tuned for more.

Our Modern-Industrial-Farmhouse

2011-11-18T07:48:00.013-05:00

James and I have lived in a series of one bedroom apartments since we moved in together five years ago. Needless to say, we don't have much furniture. Between all of our house projects I've been thinking a lot about how I'd like to furnish and decorate our new home, partly dreaming about how I'd do it if I had an unlimited budget and partly scheming up ideas of how to make it happen on our limited budget. I've discovered that filtering through all of my personal style and design preferences to determine how I want those influences to be represented in our furnishings and home style is a challenging process to say the least. Throw in James' design preference and it becomes even more complicated. After months of thought and many, many bookmarked inspiration pictures we are finally settling on a style "theme" if you will...or really, themes. Me- I trend toward mid century modern. James likes the industrial farm house appeal. Together I like to think of our design aesthetic as "old school goes modern comfort". Take a look at one of our Pinterest boards to get a better idea of our style inspirations.

Lovely mid-century Danish style credenza

Rustic industrial farmhouse vibe

The challenge will be to achieve this look throughout a much larger living space than we've ever had...on a budget. It's not too hard to find furniture these days, but quality and/or quirky furniture will cost you an arm and a leg and the cheap stuff is just...well cheap. Since our style trends toward "old school" we decided to start shopping at antique stores, something we have in abundance in New England. I spent last weekend with my mom, touring many shops looking for just the right pieces at just the right price. We had a fun day and saw a few interesting options, but the prices just weren't right. The last place we stopped was our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. If you haven't heard about these, they are awesome for so many reasons. We found two perfect mid-century dutch modern pieces for our dining room, a low dresser which will serve as a credenza and a little hutch for displaying some of our serving dishes. We believe they are authentic 1950's era and they are made of quality solid wood, something you don't find too often anymore. The two together cost $150, a real steal if you compare it to new furniture or antique store prices. It feels nice to give these pieces a new home too. Reuse and recycle! I'm planning on refinishing them both which should be a fun learning experience.

In order to achieve the more rustic yet modern farmhouse look, we are on the hunt for furniture pieces made from rough, raw or reclaimed wood. Several months ago I saw a bedroom set in a magazine that caught my eye. At the center of it was a reclaimed wood platform bed. It was gorgeous and eco-friendly. Read about the bedroom set here on Re-Nest. But at $2400 for the bed alone, I just bookmarked it in my "dream list" and forgot about it. Last week I was sorting through random furniture listings on Craigslist and guess what I came across? THE bed, never used, listed at a greatly reduced price and just 45 minutes from home! It was so unreal that I had to go see it. It must have been fate because after just a few minutes of discussion and negotiation, I was able to purchase the bed for $400 (remember, this bed was originally $2400!) and I was on my way home with my dream bed! It was still expensive but I consider that a pretty good deal, especially because almost all of the similar style beds we have been looking at would cost us at least that much or more and were of a much poorer quality. We haven't put it together yet, so I don't have any pictures but the Re-Nest picture of the bed is below. Now we're on the hunt for the perfect night stands to go with it.

Stay tuned for more furnishing decisions to come. And next week we'll be talking kitchen design. Things are coming together. We're finally closing in on the FUN stuff!!

Tile Trials

2011-11-13T23:23:00.004-05:00

James and I tackled our first tile projects this weekend. We started and finished the tile work in the upstairs laundry room and the half bath. It was the first time either of us had tiled anything before so we were learning as we went. It turns out tiling isn't all that hard, it just takes a bit of time and patience. This little weekend project was a bit of a test for us. We wanted to try tiling these two smaller rooms before we decided if we were up for tiling the game room and full bathroom downstairs which is a much larger project. After our successful go this weekend, I'd say we're ready for it!

We started by screwing down cement board over the plywood floor

Then we laid out a few rows of tile to be sure the spacing was correct.

Some tiles had to be cut to size.

Next we glued each tile down using thin set concrete and let it dry overnight.

The next morning we spread grout evenly between the tiles.

And before we knew it, we were done!

Just waiting for it to dry!

And Then There Was Fire

2011-11-07T20:47:00.004-05:00

and it was warm and beautiful.

upstairs

and down.

Staircase Update

2011-11-06T08:37:00.002-05:00

Last week our staircase install was completed. Here are a few pictures of the finished, yet un-finished (still to be stained and painted) stairs. Our staircase is pretty funky, with several twists and turns and two landings. I had some reservations about how this would look but now that we see it completed, I'm in love. It's a little like climbing a mountain, especially with your hands full, but hey, we climb mountains.

As for the finish, here are a few pictures of the look we're roughly going for.

Fall Photography

2011-11-02T18:55:00.006-04:00

I'm sad to say I haven't spent much quality time with my camera in the past few months. With every free minute consumed by house stuff, there just hasn't been time. I really, really miss spending a quiet Saturday morning with my camera. Luckily, I had a good reason to pick it up recently, and just in time too because the beauty of autumn in New England is quickly passing us by! My sister-in-law's family was in town and asked me to take a few family pictures. Every time I spend time with my camera I learn something new. This time, I learned that it's not easy to take pictures of kiddos - their feet and their moods move fast!

Check out my photography site to see more. Happy Fall!!

Halloween Snow

2011-10-30T14:15:00.006-04:00

I've lived in Connecticut my whole life and I can't recall a time when it snowed before Halloween. This weekend the state didn't just experience a few snowflakes, we got some serious accumulation. James and I woke up to about 6 inches at our house but other parts of the state got up to a foot of fall snow. Since many of the trees still have leaves, the heavy wet snow also caused branches to fall and even resulted in some downed trees. We lost power last night but thankfully had it restored this morning. I don't know about you, but I feel strongly that it's a little to early in the season for this and I'm hoping it's not a sign of what's to come. Remember last year? It makes me sad to say it, but I truly think we all are going to have to get used to these crazy weather events. Global warming seems unstoppable at this point and extreme weather patterns (among many other warming-related atrocities) that result from it are here to stay. Sorry for my bummer attitude, it's just how I'm feeling at the moment. Maybe a few funny pics will help lighten the mood...

first snow at new house

It's not too often you find a mix foliage, flowers and snow here in CT!

Day 181

2011-10-28T21:11:00.006-04:00

Remember this week's to-do list? Happily, I can report back to you all and say that we got some of the big stuff done, or at least started. I just love crossing things off a list, don't you? Here's a look back on our busy week.

Our power is here! No more extra long extension cords or flash lights. I'm so over that. And since our ceiling is painted now, we can install some light fixtures.

Our garage doors were installed! And we LOVE them. They are big and quiet and smart and beautiful. We still have to install the hardware handles on the outside to complete the look. Also, notice the outdoor lights on either side of the garage? I'm in love with those too. It took me a long time to find them. We have similar ones to go on either side of the front door as well.

I couldn't get a good picture of the front of our house with the new garage doors because our two geothermal wells were started today. As you can see the giant well truck takes up most of the picture. It will take them another few days to complete the two 400 foot wells for our geothermal system. I'll follow up on that process with details soon.

Progress was made on our staircase as well. The upper half is just about done and the wood floor install is moving along as well.

Let's hope the progress and productivity continue into next week!

Day 176

2011-10-23T21:50:00.008-04:00

Yikes! I'm falling behind on blogging and the truth is we are so busy with the house project and so many things are happening all at once that I can't find time to even take pictures, let alone blog about them. But alas, here are a few and a half-hearted attempt (I'm so tired, sleep sounds better than blogging right now) to catch you all up.

We are finally through the sheet rock phase of the project. What a difference walls make! Also, check out our gas fireplaces - a double sided one in the living room and master bedroom and one down in the game room.

Our grass is growing like a champ.

As you could see in the sheet rock pictures, we are also starting to install the hardwood floors. Almost the entire main level of the house will be hardwood. We ordered 5 inch FSC certified unfinished oak from Kentucky. FSC wood is harvested in a socially and environmentally friendly manner and oak is a native species so I can rest well knowing that no Brazilian rain forests were harmed to build our house. We plan on staining it a dark color to contrast with our white kitchen and trim. Yay. Can't wait for the kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen, we've been doing a ton of planning and buying for the kitchen and other areas of the house. Light fixtures, appliances, sinks, tubs, tile. Oh my! I'll be posting about some of those choices soon. So. Many. Decisions!

Things on our to-do and hope-it-happen list for this week:
1. Power. The utility company is supposed to hook up our power tomorrow. Let there be light!
2. Geowells. We are having two 275 foot geothermal wells drilled this week. Or next.
3. Garage doors. Installed on Tuesday. Can't wait!
4. Stairs. Our custom staircase is supposed to be installed this week. Woot, woot.
5. Hardwood install continues, hope to make significant progress this week.
6. Tile for downstairs and bathrooms should be delivered. Can't wait to see it!
7. Actually find time to blog about it all!

Here's to hoping for a productive week!

PS - There's a new poll on the right side bar of the blog. Guess our move-in date! If you get your updates in a reader or you're viewing this on your smartphone, you'll need to visit the actual site to vote. Wish I could tell you I had an answer to that one!!

A Little Greener

2011-10-16T17:18:00.003-04:00

Remember when our backyard looked like this?

And remember when we spent three straight weeks picking out rocks from the soil? (Maybe you don't but I'm pretty sure we'll never forget THAT fun).

Well, not anymore! All the hard work paid off. Look, we have grass! Grow, baby, grow.

And look, we also have some fall colors. Not as beautiful as years past, but I'll take it.

View from the master bedroom porch.

A Fourth Trip Down the Aisle

2011-10-11T08:44:00.005-04:00

Last spring I sold my wedding dress to a very excited bride. It was a little sad to see her go but I always knew I was going to pass her on. I remember so clearly the excitement I had when I discovered this dress in a swanky (read overpriced) dress shop on the Connecticut shoreline. I also remember the crushing disappointment when I realized very quickly that I would never be able to afford it. Then came the reversal of emotions when I was able to find it used (twice used, actually), the excitement on the day it arrived, the anticipation upon opening the box and the pure elation of finding that it fit like a glove. It was truly meant to be my dress. I wanted to pass on all those emotions and I was so happy when I found Nhi to be the next happy bride to walk down the aisle in the dress. Nhi and I have been emailing back and forth, before her wedding and now after the happy day. She recently sent me pictures from her big day. It looked like an amazing celebration and this dress was very clearly also meant to be hers as well. I hope she decides to keep the magic going and pass it on to yet another excited bride. Check out all of Nhi's wedding pictures including more pictures of the dress here.

Ambition and Imagination

2011-10-05T22:11:00.006-04:00

The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world...are the ones who actually do. RIP, Steve Jobs. I can only imagine what you would have brought us if you had 30 more years...

The "Greenest" Building Material

2011-10-05T19:25:00.001-04:00

Wood...who knew!? At first I was a little surprised by the newly released report from the U.S. Forest Service identifying wood as the greenest building material. I would have guessed concrete, steel or some other alternative material. However, according to the report, 2.1 tons of greenhouse gases were saved for each ton of carbon in wood products verses non-wood materials. Trees and the lumber products made from them sequester carbon from the atmosphere and continue to store it long after a building is constructed. The report calculated that over 100 years, net greenhouse gas emissions of wood-based homes would be 20-50% lower than for homes built out of concrete or steel. Really?! That's a big difference! I'm happy to hear this because it eases a little of my eco-guilt about building a new home and makes me feel more comfortable with our decision to build with wood. Early on in the planning process we had researched building the home with insulated concrete forms instead. We stayed away from it mostly because it was new and quite expensive. Who knows how it would have turned out, but I'm feeling better about our decision now!

concrete forms used for construction of some new homes

Rocks for Sale

2011-10-02T09:14:00.003-04:00

This week we are pushing hard to get our backyard in shape so we can plant grass before the ever shrinking growing season passes us by. We have a lot of rocks. I mean A LOT of rocks! I know we live in New England and should expect rocky soil but I never imaged we would find this many rocks. You remove one and another pops up in its place. It's just too bad we can't sell them because if we could, we'd have the house paid off in no time! Rocks anyone, rocks for sale...

Vegas, Round II

2011-09-27T13:47:00.006-04:00

Home building has been all-consuming in terms of time and income this year. Vacations have been out of the question. In a somewhat tragic scheduling of events, James and I both had to go to Las Vegas this month for work...two weeks apart. Where were the scheduling gods on that one? It sure would have been nice to visit this crazy place with each other. Still, getting away from the house and the chaos for a few days has turned out to be a much needed break, even in a city that never sleeps. And no worries, I'm staying far away from the oysters.

View of the Bellagio fountains from the 50th floor of our hotel, Planet Hollywood.

Playing Catch Up

2011-09-24T07:16:00.004-04:00

It feels like I'm always playing catch up these days. There is just so much going on and simply not enough hours in the day. With James getting sick this week and both of us feeling somewhat overwhelmed and exhausted by balancing housework and actual work (as in the kind we get paid for), this blog has sort of fallen by the wayside. Ooops. So, without further adieu, here's an update with pictures from the past two weeks on the job site.

First...the big reveal! Drumroll, please! Yellow or Green? Yellow or Green? Yellow or Green???

Green!

We chose to go with a mix of vinyl clapboard siding and polymer shakes from Certainteed. We were torn about how to finish the outside of our house and had a lot of factors to consider while making the decision. Material type, environmental impacts of the products, and of course, cost. We settled on siding from Certainteed because while it's vinyl/composite, it has some redemptive qualities because it is made of 60% post-consumer recycled material and will last at least 30 years without needing to be replaced, which is a "green" quality in itself. You can read more about Certainteed's sustainable building materials here .

Work has been moving along on the inside of the house as well. Insulation is complete! As I mentioned in a previous post, we insulated the house with a hybrid approach of super efficient closed cell spray foam and traditional fiberglass batting. The house feels and sounds so different now that it is insulated. Maybe that's because it's super duper insulated (yes, that's an actual "official" designation). Our ceilings are insulated to R-40 and our exterior walls better than R-21. In addition, we went through the house and sealed every crack and crevice with caulk. Nothing's getting through those walls!

Our amazing stoneworker, John did an awesome job on our front stoop. Isn't the bluestone beautiful?! We have smaller matching ones for our two back steps as well.

This was also an exciting week because the sheetrock was started! Having walls totally transforms the entire floorplan. This is the only picture you get until it's all done. Looks different, doesn't it?!

What Happens in Vegas...

2011-09-23T18:03:00.004-04:00

...apparently doesn't stay in Vegas. Just ask James. He spent last week in Las Vegas for work and came home with a nasty bacterial infection in his small intestine. After going through the list of possible offenders, we are pretty sure the culprit was the raw oysters on the half shell he ate the night before he came home. Note to all - don't eat raw oysters when you live in or are visiting ANY land locked state!! He's doing much better now, but we spent an unpleasant night in the hospital and if that wasn't bad enough, I came home with a cold. Hospital germs...yuck! And to top it all off, I'm off to Las Vegas myself on Sunday for a week of work. I'm not going anywhere near the oysters!

First meal in 48 hours!

A Little Too Much Fun

2011-09-19T08:30:00.000-04:00

Shout Out

2011-09-14T08:32:00.002-04:00

To my dad! He's working so hard for us as our general contractor as we navigate the tricky, trying and exhausting process of building a custom home. He's the best! We love you!

Day 135

2011-09-12T21:15:00.004-04:00

The last couple weeks have really run James and I ragged. It took us a solid four weeks to complete the electrical rough-in. That's a lot longer than we expected it to take and I'm not going to lie, it was rough. Work all day at the office, work all night at the house. Eat take out. Repeat. All the hard work paid off though. We passed our electrical inspection last week and got the go-ahead to start insulating the house.

Part of our green building plan is to create a super energy efficient home. Insulating the house is one of the most important pieces of this puzzle. It certainly doesn't stand out the way, say, a nice set of photovoltaic solar panels in our back yard would, but it's fundamental to creating an efficient "envelope" in our home. When it comes to insulation, there are a lot of choices - traditional fiberglass, blown in cellulose, open cell polyurethane foam, closed cell polyurethane foam, etc. All of them have different R-values and of course, different price tags. We settled on a hybrid system of closed cell spray polyurathane foam and traditional fiberglass batting. The closed cell spray foam hardens when it dries and seals any gaps or crevices to the outside and is an excellent insulator, preventing conditioned air loss and greatly reducing heating and cooling utilities consumption. And since we are investing in a geothermal heating and cooling system, having a well insulated home is essential.

(excuse the terrible iPhone pics!)

The insulation should be finished by the end of the week and I'll have more pictures to share with you. Other fun things are going on this week on the outside of the house. Siding is going up! I don't want to share any pictures until it's done so you'll all just have to wait a little longer to find out what color we went with. I'll give you a hint though...it's one of the two most popular votes...yellow...or green? Check back soon to find out!

Revisiting the Galapagos

2011-09-08T20:25:00.006-04:00

No, we're not revisiting our beloved Galapagos Islands in real life, just in the blogosphere. I realized that I never really blogged much about our honeymoon. I had intended to create a whole website devoted to our trip with day by day recaps of our adventures, but like so many things, I never got around to it. Since today is officially the two year anniversary of our trip, I figured I'd share some photos and video of our most amazing adventure to "Las Islas Encantadas" or "the enchanted islands." Hold on tight, it's a long recap but totally worth the read!

We spent the first day and night of our honeymoon getting to the country of Ecuador. After a night on the mainland, we took a two hour flight that brought us to the Galapagos Islands. Our first stop was to the island of San Cristobal. It is one of the largest of the 18 islands that make up the famous archipelago. We were greeted almost immediately by our private guide, Richard. In order to protect the natural environment visitors are only allowed to enter the national parks in the Galapagos with a guide. Every guide has to be a life long resident of the Galapagos and is trained as a naturalist. Throughout the trip Richard provided us with a rich history of the islands and its people and of course all of the plants and animals we came across during our week long stay. He also took us out at night to meet with the locals and took us to places "off the itinerary" so to speak so that we could experience the Galapagos in ways that many other travelers don't get to. He was awesome. Not only did he make sure our honeymoon was perfect, but his passion for his job and his islands were obvious from the minute we met him.

Upon arriving, Richard dropped us off at our accommodations and told us it was time for our afternoon "siesta" or nap. At first, we were just anxious to get out and see things but after a few days, we began to love our siesta time. It's definitely something Americans should do more often!

The way our trip was planned, we spent a few nights on three different islands and took day trips from our land based location. Every place we stayed on our journey was fantastic and the food was to die for! Fish and fresh fruit and vegetables for every meal, even breakfast. It was so fresh and delicious because everything grown on the islands must be organic by law in order to protect the environment. All of the fish are reel caught and bought and sold daily at local markets. I've never felt so healthy at the end of a vacation as I did when we got home from our honeymoon, haha.

Our breakfast nook and view from our room

Nom, nom, nom...

After our siesta, we set off on our first hike. We explored the San Cristobal Visitors Center and learned about the history of the islands and of course, the Voyage of the HMS Beagle that brought a young Charles Darwin to the Galapagos in September of 1835. It was on that expedition that Darwin famously made observations about the distinct variations between species of finches and giant tortoises found on each island. His observations greatly influenced the development of his theory of natural selection which explained evolution and were described in his publication On the Origin of Species. So you see, this trip was not only about seeing and feeling an extraordinary natural environment, but as a young scientist it was something of a dream to see and feel all of the things Darwin experienced 175 years before our visit and know how they influenced the way we think today.

Darwin Bay where the HMS Beagle was anchored in 1835

For such a smart guy, you think they could have at least made Darwin's head a little bigger

On our way back to the hotel, we had our first encounter with the famous Galapagos sea lions. They are famous because of their complete lack of insecurity around all other animals, including humans. In fact, what's so unique about the Galapagos is that all of the animals have evolved to have very few natural predators. Because of this, nothing is afraid of you. Birds, reptiles, even fish will approach you with no fear. This allowed us to get so close to animals you could only dream about seeing up close anywhere else. It was spectacular if not somewhat unnerving at times.

Sleepy sea lions didn't even know I was there

Darwin's famous finches, about a foot away from our toes

Even the crabs couldn't care less...

We spent the follow two days exploring San Cristobal by land and by sea. We climbed the to the highest fresh water lake in the Galapagos, Laguna El Junco, located in a volcanic crater high in the lush uplands of the island. We opted for mountain bikes on the trip down from the crater which was an exhilarating way to take in the scenery as the landscape changed from rainforest to desert before our eyes. We kayaked through Darwin Bay and had encounters with sea lions, sea birds and even spotted a far off whale tale. We took a boat tour around the island, spotting rare species and stopping along the way to snorkel at Kicker Rock where we saw tropical fish, sharks and sea turtles. And of course, we had several encounters with the giant Galapagos land tortoises.

Whale fins at Kicker Rock

Notice anything funny about that sign?

Giant tortoise = giant poop.

Our next stop on our trip was Isabela Island. I think the flight over to the island was the scariest part of our whole trip. I'd take swimming with sharks over that any day!

Isabela Island was my favorite of all the islands we visited on our trip. The island is the largest island in area but has a much smaller population than the other inhabited islands. The locals are friendly and the atmosphere was so relaxing. The island itself is stunning and largely untouched and the beaches were the most spectacular beaches I've ever visited.

Isabela Island had a lot to share with us. Marine iguanas thrive on this island. These prehistoric looking iguanas are huge and like all other animals in the Galapagos, allowed us to get up close and personal with them. We also saw lots of Blue Footed Boobie birds, reef sharks, sea turtles and Galapagos penguins, the only penguins that live in warm weather climate.

While on Isabela, we visited the highlands where Richard took us deep within the National Park to a volcanic crater. Locals had set up a series of ropes and ladders that took you deep into the crater. It was really amazing to rappel deep into the earth like that and it was so exciting to go somewhere that few tourists get to visit.

When we got back to our hotel, we found wine and chocolates waiting for us and the best meal of the trip ready for our hungry bellies. Later that night, Richard took us out to meet his friends who all welcomed us in with Caipirnha s (pronounced Kai-Pee-Reen-Yas) in hand. Caipirnha is a popular mixed drink in South America and as we found out, Ecuadorians like the make them strong! We had a blast that night but I'm pretty sure I may have had one too many Caipirnhas because I was hurting the next day, especially during the long boat ride from Isabela to the island of Santa Cruz where we would wrap up our week long adventure in the Galapagos.

Santa Cruz is the second largest island in the Galapagos and is the most inhabited. Of all the islands, this one was the busiest and most touristy so we only spent one night, our last in the Galapagos, on this island. Upon our arrival at our hotel, we were greeted by Norman, a one-winged pelican that frequented the pool area and lived off scraps from the kitchen. He was quite a sight and made sure you knew he ruled the pool.

We had a day to spend on Santa Cruz island so we toured the Charles Darwin Research Station, visited the organic coffee bean farms and stocked up on provisions to bring back home with us, explored a huge lava tube which was formed many years ago by volcanic activity on the island, and of course, saw more amazing wildlife along the way.

Coffee beans

Heading into the lava tube

Siesta time for the land iguana

And then, well before we were ready to leave, it was time to head back to the mainland. We said our final goodbyes to Richard and boarded our flight back to Quito, the capitol city of Ecuador.

We had decided during the planning stages of our trip to spend an extra day in Quito before coming home. I'm glad we did this but if I could go back and repeat the trip, I would have planned this day ahead of our trip to the Galapagos. Quito is a city rich in history and culture, but it is so vastly different from the Galapagos that the experience of being in a big unfamiliar city, where very few people speak English and there's no Richard in sight, was a little disorienting to say the least. We managed to make the most of it though and toured what we could on foot, amazed by the architecture, especially some of the old churches.

We also managed to find our way to the Teleferico, a gondola that took us high into the mountains. We hiked around for awhile but it wasn't long before we felt the effects of the 13,500 ft elevation. Still, the views were spectacular, even through the fog.

And then... It was time. So we headed home. Married, exhausted and happily swimming in memories of the best vacation ever. The end.

Sea lion lovers.

Two Years!

2011-09-06T07:32:00.003-04:00

Today marks our two year wedding anniversary. Any guesses on how we'll be spending it? If you said a quick trip to Home Depot, followed by some take out and a late night of work at the house, you'll likely be right. Oh well. I guess our celebrations will just have to be post-poned for now. Maybe we'll go big for Three.

Hurricane Irene

2011-09-01T21:51:00.007-04:00

Last weekend, Connecticut took a direct hit from Hurricane Irene. We actually lucked out a little because by the time she actually made landfall here, she had been downgraded to a tropical depression. Still, we got a ton of rain and sustained winds and since we didn't really know exactly what we could expect from the storm, we took as many precautions as possible. We spent the day before the storm battening down the hatches at the new house. We covered the wide open garage doors with plywood, tied down parts of the structure with metal straps (literally called "hurricane straps"), put up temporary gutters to slow down runoff from the roof, reinforced our silt fences and added drainage pipes and hay bales to help reduce the effects of the major rainfall we were about to receive. Whatever we did seemed to work because the house came through the storm without an issue. The hillside behind our house took the biggest hit because it is still just bare soil. Thankfully the silt fences held up so we just have to push it all back up the hill.

There is still a lot of flooding in many coastal and low-lying areas in the state. Many trees fell during the storm, taking power lines with them. We lost power for a few days but consider ourselves lucky as there are many others in CT that are still without power, including my parents. Word on the street is that in some areas the power won't be restored until next week. One unfortunate side effect from this storm that will directly impact our building project is that the utility company was scheduled (previous to Irene) to come put in our utility pole this week. With all the issues with the power lines and many residential homes with existing lines needing attention, I imagine it will be some time before we see them. Bummer. Still, it could be worse. Below are a few short videos I took on my iPhone as we headed over to the house on the day of the storm to access the damage. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't get any more hurricanes this year!

Day 105-113

2011-08-23T23:30:00.011-04:00

Nine straight days of manual labor is no joke. Especially when you are used to a desk job. As I mentioned in the previous post, James and I took last week off to focus on the house. We got a lot done but I can honestly say I've never felt the kind of exhaustion that set in by the end of the week. It's taken a few days just to recover. Going back to work this week was like a vacation from our 'vacation'. While we got a lot accomplished, we didn't quite finish the electrical rough-in so James is taking a few extra days off this week to wrap things up. After all I learned about how to wire a house last week, I'm pretty sure James and I could start up our own electrical business if things ever feel through with our careers.

Here's a few other exciting happenings from last week...

We had to figure out how to get the downstairs shower/tub down the stairs. Not an easy task to be sure (we basically had to take the staircase apart) but it made it to its final resting spot in the end.

Speaking of staircases, we finally figured out how our stairs will be configured. We changed the bottom of the staircase so there is a second landing that brings you directly into the game room and figured out how to tie the support beam into the railing.

We built concrete support posts for our deck.

Speaking of decks...we made progress on that too!

While digging in the yard we excavated pieces of some poor animal. My guess is a cow? Dinosaur??

The equipment and duct work for our heating and cooling system went in last week too. Our house will be heated and cooled using a geothermal energy system. I'll post more about how it works soon. I'm soooooo excited about this!!

It was a long, busy week but as you can see we accomplished a lot. Here's to many more productive days in the weeks ahead. And keep your fingers crossed that hurricane Irene or any other hurricane doesn't hit us this fall, that would really screw things up!

Trading in the Desk Jobs

2011-08-19T19:34:00.004-04:00

James and I took the entire week off of work to focus on the house. Our work days started 7 am and at least a few nights this week James didn't get home until 10 pm. In fact, as I write this, he's still at the house. So much for vaca, I think I'll take back my desk job, ha!

It's been great though, we got a lot done this week. Too much to blog about right now, because quite frankly I don't have the energy or inclination to process and post photographs, but I promise I'll give you a full update soon. In the mean time, check out our finished garage floor, just one of the many tasks crossed off our to do list this week!

James, Cary & Summit's Paw - 2011

Honey, I'm Home!

2011-08-14T10:34:00.004-04:00

One thing that I plan to be strict about after we move in is that our new garage will be used for CARS not tools, machines or tractors. If you know the Chadwick - Pulaski family, you know we have A LOT of garages and many of them are filled with things other than family vehicles. James has a separate three car garage on the property (his current "workshop") so I'm hoping this will not be an issue. Ha!

We spent yesterday bringing fill into our garage and grading it so that it's ready for concrete later this week. As you can see James has already found a way to get the bulldozer into the garage. At least in this application it was useful!

One plus from all the work - look at my new arm muscles!

Using the compactor to pack it down

Summit taking it all in!

Let's Talk Floorplan - Part II

2011-08-10T21:30:00.010-04:00

Last week we toured the main level of the house. This week I'd like to share with you the lower level. Here's the floorplan. Click on the image to view in detail. Notice where James and Summit are hanging out?

If you remember, when you walk into the front door and enter the foyer of the house, you will be standing near or in front of the staircase leading down to the lower level.

As you walk down the stairs, you'll land in the game room. This is actually the largest room in the house. The game room will be an entertaining room with a gas fireplace, comfortable seating, perhaps a pool or gaming table and eventually, a wet bar for accommodating a sink and small refrigerator. Large windows and two glass doors leading outside help to make it feel nothing like a basement. The 10 foot ceilings help too! Another great thing about this level of the house is that it will have radiant heating in the floors. That means toasty toes in the winter!

The actual staircase will have two landings so that you're facing the windows at the bottom

There are two large bedrooms on either end of the game room. Both have spacious walk in closets and large windows.

There is also a full bathroom downstairs with a double sink vanity separated from the tub and toilet by a pocket door. We even squeezed in a window up high.

The rest of the lower level is for mechanical equipment and storage. There is actually quite a lot of space in this area. We've talked about the possibility of making another room someday off the game room that could be used as a sewing or exercise room. We are even putting in the door now from the game room so that it's an easy addition down the road.

Our final stop on the lower level tour is the wine cellar! When we poured the foundation we built in a hollow space under the front stoop that can be used as a wine and root cellar. It should be the perfect temperature all year round in here. Can't wait until this is finished!

There you have it. The next time you get a full floorplan tour, the house will be nearly complete! Still have a long way to go before we get there though...hang in!

Day 99

2011-08-07T20:21:00.004-04:00

Here's an update on the eve of our 100th day of the building project. This week the roof was completed and our builders installed the windows and exterior doors. Take a peek!

We're so happy with our super energy efficient Anderson 400 Series windows. We decided to put double hung windows throughout the house because they are practical, easy to use and easy to clean. With all those windows in the house and with Summit's wet nose, I DO NOT want to be spending a ton of time washing windows! Each double hung has grills for the upper sash that will be installed later. We decided to only do grills on the upper half of the window so they didn't look so traditional-colonial because we're not going for much of a traditional New England look if we can avoid it. One of the windows was ordered incorrectly and came with the grill between the glass. We originally were going to order our windows with the grill between the glass because it seems to be a popular option these days but at the last minute I changed my mind. I like the idea of being able to remove the grills if we want to and something about the between the glass look just wasn't as appealing. I'm really glad we made the last minute switch, even if it means the odd window sash in our laundry room needs to be reordered and replaced.

The windows will have removable grills in the upper 1/2 like the small one pictured on the right. This one has to be replaced though - we didn't want grills between the glass!

And oh! Check out our living room windows. They are huge! These pictures almost don't do them justice. On thing there will be plenty of in this house is natural light. We'll have lots of passive solar warming in this room.

Exterior doors went in as well. We'll have to figure out what color to paint our front door. I want something fun and inviting, no boring colors! I'll be soliciting suggestions once we reveal the color of the house.

Windows and slider in the master bedroom

Even the front door has lots of windows!

Day 94

2011-08-02T21:26:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, James and I were busy wrapping and taping up the house. The thick, sticky tape is used to seal the Typar paper seams to help to keep moisture from reaching the plywood beneath.

The other big news this week is that the roof will be completed and the windows and doors will be installed. I've been amazed how much the house transforms at each step of this process. I think having the roof on and the windows and doors in will really be a big step forward. I'll be sure to take and share more pictures later this week!

Energy Star skylight for our kitchen

Now that you know what our roof will look like, be sure to share your vote for siding color in the poll in the right hand side bar of the blog. All will be revealed in just a few weeks!

Under the Lights

2011-08-01T07:27:00.001-04:00

All work and no play makes Cary a cranky wife. James knows this so he took me to see the Yankees crush the Orioles under the lights at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night. The Yanks scored 12 runs in the first inning alone and the final score was was 17-3!! Guess they knew they needed to win big for me, haha.

Let's Talk Floorplan

2011-07-29T05:50:00.003-04:00

Below is the floorplan for the main level of the house and pictures of each room. You'll have to use your imagination a little since we have a way to go until the sheetrock goes up so the walls are still just framing. Ever since we decided to build (more than a year ago now!) I've been bookmarking inspiration pictures for all the rooms in the house so I shared a few of those with you as well. Thank goodness for Pinterest!

Here's the floorplan for the main level of the house:

Let's start with the front entrance and foyer of the house. As soon as you walk through the door, you'll see the view. The foyer and stairs going down are open. These are just temporary stairs.

To the right of the foyer is the large, open dining room. We intend this to be a "casual eating" area, not a stuffy formal dining room. It has big open walkways to the foyer and the living room/kitchen.

Top: dining room looking into kitchen; Bottom: kitchen looking into dining; Below: Inspiration

The foyer, kitchen and dining room open to the living room with its vaulted ceilings and a wall of windows. Includes a double sided gas fireplace (other side is in master bedroom) and door to covered porch. It's also open to kitchen.

The kitchen is connected to the living room and dining room. There are also french doors to the left of the window that go out to the back deck. We are planning a white kitchen with a big farmhouse sink, industrial lighting and a wood island countertop. Pretty similar to the inspiration pictures below.

Off the kitchen will be a door attached to the garage, a short hallway with access to the guest bath and a laundry room.

The two car garage and an inspiration shot of my grand plan for the outside of it:

Moving back to the other side of the house...when you come in the front door into the foyer, I'm hoping we can find or build some kind of bench and coat rack. A few examples:

Off the foyer is the study with built in bookshelves, maybe another bench and room for two desks. This room will likely also have a double personality as a nursery if we decide to have a family because the extra bedrooms are on the lower level.

Our master bedroom shares a wall with the living room. The best part about this is the ability to install a double sided fireplace in order to maximize enjoyment. The master also has a masterful view thanks to its location in the house and two walls of glass. A triple sliding door leads out to the covered porch. If you're wondering where the bed goes, the answer is in front of the windows! Apparently this decision was quite scandalous ("nobody puts a bed in front of a window!") but it was our plan all along. I think it will turn out just perfect. Check out the bed inspiration below. I think we can even make it ourselves!

Between the master bedroom and the master bath is a short hallway with double sinks on one side and access to the closet on the other. James likes to joke about how the walk in closet may not be big enough to support my shoes, bags and jackets. I should have shown him my inspiration picture, haha!

The last stop on our tour of the main level is the master bathroom. Pretty standard here - jacuzzi tub, toilet, shower, linen closet.

Phew! That took longer than expected. Part II: The Lower Level is coming next week. Stay tuned!

Day 86

2011-07-25T20:52:00.006-04:00

The roof is covered and ready for shingles which should hopefully be added this week. Much of the inside framing is complete as well and later this week I'll take you through it room by room. We have a ton of things on our "to-do" list for the week. At this point, we've resigned ourselves to taking things week by week or at times, even day by day. I think it's going to get worse before it gets better because as soon as the roof and windows are done, we'll be set to start on the electrical and plumbing inside the house at which point we'll be taking our vacation days and working all out.

Here's a list of this week's happenings, mainly for my benefit, not yours (thank goodness for list making!):

1. ~~purchase sinks for kitchen and master bath so they are ready for custom built ins~~
2. decide on size of kitchen appliances so dimensions can be used in finalized kitchen design
3. contact custom countertop maker to design woodgrain island countertop
4. finalize kitchen design and set up meeting with kitchen guy to visit site
5. meet on site with insulation contractors to finalize plan for spray foam insulation
6. ~~decide what color/style shingles will go on roof~~
7. decide what color/style shakes and/or clapboard for siding
8. contact stairmakers to discuss plans for staircase
9. ~~place order for front door~~
10. install septic system, trench and leeching field
11. research DIY installation of gas fireplaces
12. visit flooring depot finalize decision on wood floors
13. purchase and install window above garage
14. make a final decision about decking and railings

See, making progress already!

Summer Favorites

2011-07-25T08:17:00.005-04:00

Last week was a scorcher here in the Northeast (and almost everywhere else). This called for as little kitchen cooking as possible. Below are three of my favorite recipes that I found this summer. Great for grilling days and ones where you want to limit the amount of time cooking over a stove or oven. Enjoy!

Grilled Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza dough (I used fresh dough bought at our local grocery store)
Olive oil
Your favorite toppings (for us that's tomato/basil/mozzarella over pesto pizza - yum!)
flour or corn meal for dusting pizza peel

Method:
Prepare the grill for high direct heat. Lightly grease clean grill grates with olive oil. Shape the pizza dough on lightly floured pizza peel (or rimless cookie sheet). Slide dough off peel directly onto hot grill grates. Close lid and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes. Once the pizza has browned lightly, use your pizza peel or cookie sheet to remove it and then flip it so that the uncooked side is now against the grill. Add your toppings, cover and cook until pizza is done. Slice and serve!

15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

Ingredients:

1 or 2 ripe avocados, pitted (depends on how "creamy" you want your pasta)
1 lemon, juiced also save peel for zest to garnish
2-3 garlic cloves (add more or less depending on how much you like garlic)
1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
6-8 ounces of your favorite pasta
fresh ground pepper, to taste
a sprinkle of fresh Parmesan cheese

Method:
Bring water to boil, add pasta and cook until Al Dente. Meanwhile, place garlic cloves, lemon juice and olive oil in food processor and process until smooth. Add pitted avocados, basil and salt. Process until smooth. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse. Combine pasta with avocado sauce. Garnish with lemon zest, black pepper and fresh Parmesan. Serve immediately and finish your plate, this recipe does not reheat well due to the nature of avocados!

Best of Everything Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 cup water
2 (16 ounce) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 green bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 onion, quartered
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
6 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP ground cumin
1TBSP garlic salt
1 TSP hot sauce
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs - or as needed

Method:
Cook brown rice over medium-low heat until rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Preheat outdoor grill for high heat. Lightly oil sheet of aluminum foil. Mash beans in a large bowl with fork until think and pasty and set aside. Place the bell pepper, onion, mushrooms and garlic in food processor and chop finely. Stir the bell pepper mixture into the mashed black beans. Place the brown rice and mozzarella cheese in the food processor and process until combined. Stir mixture into the black beans. Whisk together eggs, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt and hot sauce. Stir mixture into black beans. Finally, add in the bread crumbs until mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide into large patties. Place on prepared foil and grill until browned and heated through, about 8 minutes on each side.

Day 81

2011-07-20T23:12:00.003-04:00

This week the roof is going up. The first two pictures were from Tuesday and the last three from today (Wednesday). It's coming along!

Smart Husband, Smart Home

2011-07-20T08:30:00.004-04:00

James is going to tackle all of the electrical work in the new house himself. He's spent a lot of time mapping out the electrical layout of the house and preparing the electrical boxes inside and outside the house. We'll be ready to start the rough in for the electrical and plumbing in just a few weeks.

From the beginning, James has wanted to build a smart home to save energy and as he puts it, "because it's cool." He spent a lot of time researching products and methods that would allow us to control lights, thermostats, appliances and even things like door locks and window shades online or from a wireless device like an iPhone or iPad. So say we're both at work and a fast moving thunderstorm rolls through, we could close the skylight from our desk. Or maybe we forgot to lock the front door on our way out - no problem, I'll just do it from my iPhone app. More importantly, the system will allow us to control the thermostats and electronics in our house and specify energy saving settings that would be applied when we are away from home. Here's a quick video of James testing out some of the technology. He's customized an iPhone/iPad app that allows you to set up the system to meet your specific energy and entertainment needs. Even I'm a little impressed.

On Display

2011-07-19T17:54:00.005-04:00

I have been taking pictures with my DSLR now for seven months but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I finally got a photo printed. This is the blessing and the curse of digital photography I suppose. I gifted a few of my favorites to my sister-in-law Mandy for her birthday in early July. They were of pictures I took in or near her backyard. Recently, I decided to put some of my photographs online so that I can keep them organized and share them with others. It's also a good way to ensure they are backed up in case something happens to my computer. If you'd like to browse through my galleries, hop on over to my new site and take a peek. If you are interested in any prints, let me know, I'd be thrilled to share them with you!

Hanging in the Chadwick Family guest bath

Dream Big Sweepstakes

2011-07-15T08:35:00.005-04:00

I've had mixed results when it comes to winning lotteries, drawings or sweepstakes. Two lucky moments do come to mind though. The first time I ever won anything I happened to be strapped to a stretcher at a blood drive, about to pass out (I'm 1 for 8 when it comes to successful blood giving) when I heard my name called for a drawing for a free iPod shuffle. I don't know whether it's because the nurses just felt bad for me since I had been "giving blood" for two hours at that point so they fixed the drawing or if it was just my lucky day, but I ended up going home not only with an arm full of bruises and a nasty migraine, but also with a shiny new iPod. My other lucky day was when my name got picked in a raffle at a charity golf tournament. I think I won like $500. I gave it all back to the charity because let's face it, they can use it more than me. Still, I felt lucky.

I'm hoping some of my luck will carry over and win us the West Elm Dream Big Sweepstakes. Oh to have $10,000 to spend at West Elm and $5,000 in paint from Benjamin Moore! It's like a new home owner's dream come true. James could tell you that I have a West Elm catalog with dog ears on every page and I dream nightly about how I want to decorate our new digs. Part of me knows this is a nearly impossible sweepstakes to win and will turn out the same way the HGTV Green Home Giveaway did (for the record, I entered that one every day for three months straight!). But oh, a girl can dream!

Day 72 and 73

2011-07-12T21:39:00.002-04:00

This is what the house looked like at the end of the day yesterday...

View from the master bedroom

...and today!

James at the front door

Dining room looking into the living room. You can also see the staircase going down.

Looking into the kitchen from the living room

One of the most important rooms in the house - my closet!

Day 71

2011-07-10T20:09:00.002-04:00

The framers are working fast, all this went up in two days. I'm trying to get pictures often but it's difficult to keep up with them! It's so exciting to see the framing, we're finding just having walls up around the foundation makes the place feel so much bigger. I'm starting to realize this house is going to be a lot larger than it looks on paper. Hopefully in the end we'll have a house that blends in with the surroundings, not a giant monstrosity on a hill. One thing's for certain though, just about every room in the house will have a great view!

These guys work fast!

Wasting as little wood as possible

View from the driveway of the main level

We also spent today digging a giant trench from the house to the well house and garage for our water and communications lines. The trench literally looked like our very own backyard Grand Canyon. I think it would also make an excellent luge run in the winter.

Ready to greet friends at our future front door!

Day 68

2011-07-07T22:00:00.003-04:00

Hallelujah! Our builder started working today and the framing has begun! It feels like it has taken us forever to get to this point. Saying we are excited to be here is the understatement of the century. I may not even be able to sleep tonight. We can't wait to see what it will look like at the end of the day tomorrow...and the next day...and the day after. Yippee!!

I think I could get used to the view from these windows

Keywords

2011-07-07T15:23:00.009-04:00

Do you use Google to search for things on the Internet? Okay, that's a silly question because everyone uses Google to search for things on the Internet. Today I just happened to log into my Google Analytics account for this blog to check on the site stats. I set up Analytics for this blog about a year ago just to get an idea of how many visitors we were getting, how they were finding us and where they were located. I couldn't help but laugh (out loud and repeatedly) at some of the "keywords" that people were typing into a Google search that eventually landed them on our blog. Here are just a few of the funniest.

"yellow dog with a smile"
"green life yellow lab"
"swallows swarming CT"
"great bear and yellow dog cultural pictures" (yes, seriously)
"my girlfriend inflating inner tube exploded" (yup)
"the green site day by day yellow lab"
"yellow dog national lampoon"
"nemo-yellow dog"
"good outdoor fun"

Haha! I wonder what these poor people must have thought when they landed on yellowdog-greenlife.blogspot.com

In related news, in the past year this blog has had 9062 page views and 5712 unique visitors speaking 27 languages from 37 different countries. Cool! The map below shows where y'all are from. I'm not convinced we're all that interesting but I sure hope you keep coming back!

Fourth of July

2011-07-05T18:09:00.001-04:00

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Fourth of July weekend! We spent our holiday at the Chadwick Lake House. Lots of family and friends, food, fun and of course, fireworks!

Day 61

2011-06-30T20:17:00.000-04:00

The concrete floors got poured today. Framing is scheduled to start next Wednesday. Finally!

Standing on our future front porch!

The Riddler

2011-06-29T08:19:00.002-04:00

Last week James finished up a paint job for a customer. Here's the result. It's not exactly what I would have picked but the customer was looking for a paint job inspired by the comic book character The Riddler.

The Riddler aka Batman's nemesis

First layer of paint

Hand painted details

Hand painted head badge

Can't be the Riddler without the ?

Pinstripes

Signed by the artist

Lost and Found

2011-06-27T08:24:00.003-04:00

While working at the house this weekend we unearthed a 1940-1950's era Coca-Cola bottle. It is fully intact and in surprisingly great shape considering it has been buried in a pasture for at least 60 years. It's a pretty cool find - we'll have to make a special place for it in the new house.

Day 54

2011-06-23T18:18:00.004-04:00

Between the regular downpours we've been experiencing over the past few weeks and the fact that our builder quit on us rather suddenly (because we were off schedule), we've fallen just a bit behind on the house project. Not hugely behind, perhaps just a couple of weeks. The good news is we don't need to rush since we're happily settled in our current home, but we can't help but get a little anxious. We've had lot of people have been asking when we expect to be able to move in. I hate to put a date on it in case the project gets bogged down any further, but for now we are still hoping to be in by the end of the year. I really don't want to move in the middle of winter!

Even though the framing hasn't started yet there still has been plenty of work going on. We had to finish the foundation details which included bringing in fill for the garage and foundation, grading and compacting the basement floor and installing R-10 foam insulation and piping for our radiant heating system that will heat the lower floor of the house. The schedule for the next week (if it ever stops raining) is to get the basement floor poured at which point we'll be ready for our new builder to get started on the framing by the end of the week. I'll have plenty of fun pictures to show you at that point because the place will really start looking like a house in no time at all.

Dad and James filling and grading the foundation

Me pretending to know what I'm doing

Dad running the compactor

I work too! It's just hard to find someone to take my picture!

Laying out the floor insulation and grid for the radiant floors

The pink stuff is energy saving insulation to prevent energy loss through the floors

Laying out the piping for the radiant floor system

Yesterday we placed our order for the windows and exterior doors of the house. We ordered energy efficient, low emissivity, argon filled windows. These windows can reduce energy loss by 30-50% and the Anderson 400 series windows we bought are Green Seal approved.

It turns out there are a lot of details when it comes to windows. Sizes, shapes, hardware, grills, screens...so many decisions! And did you know the rule about matching the window hardware to every light fixture in your house...say what?! It makes perfect sense to me now that I think about it, but if someone didn't tell me that I bet it would have gone right over my head and for sure, our window hardware and our light fixtures would not match. Dang, there's so much to think about!

Yankees Win!

2011-06-20T22:16:00.007-04:00

Hold on tight, I have several posts I hope to get up this week. I'm behind and there's been a lot going on and no time to write about it!

Let's start with our outing to Yankee Stadium last Thursday. It was my older brother Curt's birthday so we decided to play hookie and head to the Bronx for an afternoon game against the Texas Rangers. There is no bigger Yankee fan than my brother Curt and he's working hard to groom his son Andrew to follow in his footsteps. We had a great time and the Yanks served up a W in honor of Curt's birthday.

Like Father Like Son

Heading into Yankee Stadium

The Stadium was packed with die-hard fans

Andrew reacting to a run scored by the Rangers

...and a run scored by the Yanks!

which helped the Yankees WIN!

Victory Dance!

We had a great afternoon at the ballpark. Hopefully we'll have time to visit the Stadium again this season. There's no greater team in baseball. Go Yanks!

Antiquing We Will Go

2011-06-12T20:53:00.010-04:00

This weekend we visited the Harwington Antique & Design Festival. Last fall James and I spent a weekend in the Finger Lake region of upstate NY and while there visited several large antique outlets. It's just fun looking through old stuff. To think about where some of the things have been and what the previous owners were like. We don't buy much but it's really interesting. Now whenever we are on a road trip we make a habit of stopping whenever we pass an antique shop, the weirder looking, the better.

Here are some sweet finds from the day. I decided to give the photos an "antique" look to go with the theme of the day. It gave me a chance to play around with some Photoshop techniques.

Gorgeous wooden trunks. Great for a living room or bedroom.

Pair of owl fireplace stands

Looooong bench. Would be perfect for the entryway of the new house.

Tea anyone?

Check out those rockers! Oh how we could grow old in those...

This mirror was a beauty. Can you picture it hanging above a mantle?

Drooling over this dining table.

Probably my favorite find of the day. Imagining these on our future front porch.

Old books. I can still smell them. love.

Skeleton keys. They don't make them like they used to.

While I can dream all day, the only thing that actually came home with us (aka the only thing that we could afford) was a handful of the skeleton keys pictured above. It's fun to think about what each key actually unlocked in its glory days. I'm glad we came across them today, there's lots creative ways we can incorporate them into the decor of the new home: exhibit A, exhibit B, exhibit C.

Day 40

2011-06-09T20:36:00.005-04:00

This is what it looked like at the construction site tonight:

So we spent the night inside the workshop painting bikes instead.

I guess it worked out alright, I don't have any real exciting update photographs for you all anyway. Things have been moving along slowly the past week or so. The biggest development is that we backfilled the foundation and brought in some fill so now we can get a better idea of what our yard will look like. The other big development is that our framer quit for no real good reason at all. I'll spare you the details but as you can imagine it does put a little wrench in the plan so at this point we're working like honeybees to secure another contractor and keep the project moving forward. Ahh, the drama. Everyone's gotta have a little drama, don't they? A house is no different. I'll keep ya posted!

2011-06-04T09:09:00.000-04:00

Attention my crafty, artsy, inspired friends! Have you heard of Pinterest yet? I just discovered it a few weeks ago and it's quickly become my greatest find in some time. Here's the premise: find a photo online that inspires you or woos you and "pin" it to your personal, virtual pin board. You can sort your pins into different categories and go back to any of your boards at any time to see your saved pins. You can also search through everyone's pins and repin excellent finds to your own boards. This has been great for cataloging ideas for the house that I come across on blogs or websites. It's also fun to pin inspirational photographs, artwork and style ideas. Try it out, if you're anything like me, you'll be hooked!

Here's a sneak peek from each of my personal inspiration boards. If you want to follow me on Pinterest, click here.

From my "Home Design" board.

From my "Home Decor" board.

From my "Projects" board.

From my "Photography" board.

From my "Art & Fashion" board.

From my "My Style" board.

From my "Pretty Things" board.

From my "Critters Great & Small" board.

From my "Words to Live By" board.

Happy Pinning!

Day 32

2011-06-01T21:15:00.004-04:00

Below are a few photo updates from the construction site. I last posted on house progress about a week ago when the foundation was poured. Since then we've completed the footing drains, tarred the foundation and put in the pipes for the basement plumbing. Doesn't sound like all that much, but it was a lot of dirt pushing and hand shoveling. All in the 90 degree heat of this past weekend. I think it was sometime on Monday, under the brutal mid day sun, that I looked at James with sweat pouring down my face and blisters forming on my shovel ready hands and asked, "does house building get better as we go?" Thankfully he said yes.

The Start of Summer

2011-05-30T10:47:00.003-04:00

I hope you all had some time this weekend to share moments with family and friends and relax in the sunshine. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer and since this year our summer promises to our busiest yet, we're happy to take the opportunity to enjoy some family time at the Chadwick Lake house.

With all the fun, it's sometimes easy to lose sight of what really should be celebrated this weekend - all of the U.S. service men and women who have fought and died for our country. For me, the closest to heart and home is the life of a very good friend of mine, Army Sergeant Jason Lantieri, who died serving our country on October 10, 2007 in Iraq. Thank you, Jason and thanks to all of the brave men and women serving our country today.

Jason Lantieri ~ July 24, 1982-October 10, 2007

Check Another One Off The List

2011-05-26T18:22:00.004-04:00

Remember my list of goals for 2011? Well, maybe you don't, but they haven't stopped haunting me since I posted them for all to see on the right sidebar of this blog. I'm slowing working on a few of them (I'm up to book #5 or 6) while others are falling by the wayside (I chewed right through my fingernails this morning, eew!). In an effort not to fail miserably on my goals for the year (and to avoid writing a pathetic "recap of 2011" post in December), I decided to pick one and focus on completing it as soon as possible. So I went online and Googled "volunteer opportunities in CT" and found myself browsing through a list of wanted ads for various organizations on the VolunteerMatch website. One of the first listings I came across was for an organization in New Haven looking for a volunteer photographer to take pictures for them. Hold the phone? You mean I can get in my volunteer hours (goal #3) AND practice my photography craft (unlisted goal) all at once?! Yes, please!!

The organization is called the Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven (NHS). NHS works to rehabilitate houses and revitalize neighborhoods in the city of New Haven. They buy and renovate run down houses and sell them to low and moderate income families. We toured a few of their houses and I took pictures for them for their website and educational materials.

The NHS is also collaborating with the Yale University School of Architecture to design and build a new home in New Haven. I took a few pictures for them of the building progress, which was really interesting because they are only a few steps ahead of us in our own house project. The student project is really neat because they designed the house and are doing all of the building themselves.

I hope to work with the NHS again (notice the goal says volunteer more than once) in the near future. It's given me the opportunity to not only give back to a community organization but it has also allowed me to work on my photography skills. And now I can finally scratch another goal off the list. Yes!

Day 23

2011-05-23T17:10:00.002-04:00

This is what our building site looked like this afternoon while the foundation was being poured.

Dad Chadwick working hard

Andrew taking in the construction

Day 18

2011-05-18T21:46:00.006-04:00

Here we are more than two full weeks into the house building project (more if you count our false start) and so far we have a big hole in the ground and the footing for the foundation complete. Getting the footing in was a fun step in the process because it allowed us to really see how the house would be laid out and situated on the landscape.

The next step will be to finish putting up the walls (not sure exactly what you call them) for the foundation and then pouring the cement. We were hoping to have the foundation close to done by now, but it has been raining for several days here and the forecast doesn't look to improve much over the next few days so we're just sitting tight for now. More updates to come...

At 29

2011-05-10T07:52:00.013-04:00

Today is my 29th birthday. Soon, I'll start a new decade. There are a lot of things I've learned in my 29 years and many more things I'll learn in the years ahead of me. I had a quiet night this week to think about where I am at 29. So here you go. Sorry for the sap.

At 29, I can officially recall my “early 20’s.” And when I do, I wonder who was that twenty-year old girl, and how is it possible that she was ever me?

At 29, I realize every day of my life that I have been lucky in love and lucky to be loved.

At 29, I don’t look back on things that “could have been” because where I am right now is where I was always meant to be.

At 29, I have one grey hair that has been in place for several years now (yes, just one) and upon closer inspection I have not just a few but many fine wrinkles around my eyes.

At 29, I have two amazing parents that I can’t imagine living without, even at this stage of adulthood. They somehow figured out how to right my wrongs without ever over-parenting. They also taught me about humility, honesty and unconditional love. Additionally, I have a father who has taught me to be stubborn. Thank you, Dad.

At 29, I have the same girlfriends I had when I was 6 (plus a few "extras" I picked up along the way). Relationships forged on playgrounds sometimes struggle to keep up with the pace, challenges and personal growth of adulthood, but regardless of time and change, we still carve out special moments for each other and I know they’ll be there for me long into my golden years.

At 29, I have learned many things about life that can’t be taught in school or from storybooks but rather only from personal suffering. I wouldn’t take back the pain because without the scars, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Those scars remind me everyday of the lessons I fought so hard to learn.

At 29, I have a closet full of shoes. And I can’t help it but I love them all and most of them I got on sale.

At 29, I continue to evolve and know that the person I am today will not be the person I am at 39 or 49 or certainly not the person I’ll be if I see 79.

At 29, I have a brother and sister-in-law who are now close in proximity and even closer to heart. They have two beautiful children whose laughter is infectious and whose touch makes me wonder what it might be like to be a parent someday.

At 29, I am settling into my career and I’m proud of how hard I’ve worked for it.

At 29, I have aches and pains that weren’t there five years ago and when I wake up in the morning with stiff, swollen fingers, I think of my grandmother who had debilitating arthritis and I wonder if I’m next.

At 29, I have many hobbies but only two passions: running and making art.

At 29, I have fewer questions about who I am in the world and more concern about how I can better the world around me.

At 29, I have life insurance and a 403(b). Soon enough, I’ll also own a mortgage.

At 29, I have a husband who knows me better than anyone. At times, even better than I know myself. A man who accepts my flaws, encourages my talents and holds me up when I need support. A gentle, kind and caring man. The keeper of my heart.

At 29, I have a strong sense of self. I have role models and men and women in my life that I aspire to be like. But I am my own woman and dare I say there really is no one quite like me.

And finally, at 29, I am settling in. Because let’s face it, at 29, there’s still a long road ahead of me.

In Bloom

2011-05-07T18:56:00.004-04:00

I love winter but ever since James got me my first digital SLR camera for Christmas, I've been itching to take pictures of the earth in bloom. We experienced a somewhat delayed spring this year with cool temperatures and a fair share of rain drops and gloom taking up the better part of the past month or so. It's true what they say however, "April showers bring May flowers" and indeed in this first week of my most favorite month of the year, the earth is in bloom. The trees, flowers and insects have given me plenty of opportunities to improve my shooting skills. If you are interested in seeing more of my latest photos, visit my Flickr page.

Breaking Ground

2011-05-02T18:40:00.000-04:00

We officially broke ground on the house project a few weeks ago and already had a minor setback that involved us changing the design of the driveway in order to meet the town regulations. Essentially the length and grade of our planned driveway was such that a fire truck could not access the property in the event of a fire. This meant that we had to change the location of our driveway, re-survey the site and re-apply for a driveway permit. It set us back about two weeks. The first setback of many, I imagine. In any case, we are back on track and things are moving so fast I'm finding it hard to keep up. It will be a challenge to keep the blog updated as things get into full swing, but I'll do my best. Ready or not, here we go!

Let's take a look at the "before" pictures of the site, taken last summer:

This will be the view from the back of our house. Rooms with this awesome view include kitchen, living room, master bedroom, porches and patios and lower living area.

Summit taking it all in, without a clue about how her life is about to change.

Here's a reminder of what the exterior of the house will look like. We've made minor changes since these plans were drawn, but they give you a general idea of what the house will look like from the outside. I'll share the interior floor plans with you in a bit but right now that seems so far off!

Front of the house facing the road. We've made minor changes to a few windows and added a pergola/porch that are not on these prints. Windows from left to right: master bathroom, study, front door, dining room, mudroom, garage. New driveway will curve in front of the house and exit the lot on the right. We'll have to come up with some interesting landscaping but it was the only way it was going to work.

Back of the house looking out to farm and valley. Garage on left. Main level from left to right includes kitchen with skylights and walk out deck (not drawn), living room with vaulted ceiling and lots of windows and master bedroom with covered porch. Lower level (finished walk-out basement) includes two bedrooms, a full bath and a family room.

Currently, we are finishing off the site work, installing the septic tank and preparing to pour the foundation. Below are recent images of the ground breaking, driveway making, site grading and dirt pushing activities of the past two weeks.

Looking up to the construction site. Our driveway will be off the road above construction. My brother and sister in law's house is on hill behind barn and garage. Farm entrance is off road I'm standing on while taking this picture. The property includes the barn and silo, three car garage (James' workshop), riding ring, pasture and pond.

A Family Affair: James' dad on the excavator and my dad on the bulldozer.

A closer look at the construction site, looking up from the barns to what will be the back of the house.

James' dad is doing the site work for the project with help from James and my dad. I swear they could spend all day pushing dirt around if we let them.

Nobody said building on a slope would be easy -boy were they right!

Andrew and Aubrey getting in on the digging too!

Summit's sitting in her future back yard....still trying to figure it all out.

And there you have it. I'm sure if I went over to the site right now it would look different already, that's how fast it's changing right now. I'll do my best to keep you posted on our progress!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:08:00.006-04:00

This is what our Easter dinner spread looked like:

I had nothing to do with the cooking (that was all James' mom, Renee) but it did taste yummy! Think pierogis, veggie casseroles, salads, potatoes, ham, kielbasa, oh my!

And, of course I couldn't help taking pictures of the cutest kiddos on the planet, our nieces Aubrey and Ava and our nephew, Andrew.

And other news to celebrate - we FINALLY broke ground (for real this time) on the house project. More details and photos coming as soon as I get my act together (soon - promise!).

Happy Earth Day

2011-04-22T15:13:00.004-04:00

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Happy Earth Day, Friends! I hope you take some time today to think about what Earth Day means to you today and everyday. I started the day off with a walk. I've been so busy lately that I practicably missed the fact that everywhere around me, the earth is in bloom. Oh how I love spring. This afternoon Aubrey, Andrew, Mandy and I planted trees to celebrate the day.

Happy day to you, happy Earth Day that is!

Return to the 'Burg

2011-04-12T21:00:00.014-04:00

Last weekend I returned to my alma mater, Gettysburg College for the first time since I graduated in the spring of 2004.

Gettysburg is a small, isolated Pennsylvania town best known as the site of the most pivotal battle of the Civil War. It also is the site of a small liberal arts college and where I spent four of the most formative years of my life. I loved my time at Gettysburg and had such an amazing experience as part of the Environmental Studies (ES) program at the college. So when Gettysburg asked me to come back and speak to current ES students about my career as a GIS professional and my experience in the 'real world,' I couldn't say no. It was quite something walking around campus again. The sights, sounds and smells brought back so many memories. I couldn't quite decide if it made me feel young again or just old, haha.

Pennsylvania Hall served as a hospital during the Civil War and is said to be haunted by a ghost who stands at the ready upon the cupola on top of the building. Read about it here.

Two of the oldest buildings on campus - Penn Hall (L) and Glatfelter Hall (R)

The new fitness center, built after I graduated (sad face)

The Science Center, where I spent 99.9% of my academic life at Gettysburg

My totally awesome academic adviser, Dr. John "Doc" Commito. Can you believe there was still a picture of me up on the bulletin board outside the Environmental Studies department? It's been there for seven years!!

Of course, I also had to take time to visit the historic and sprawling battlefields again. Gettysburg is really an interesting place to visit. Did you know that today marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War? The gravity of the events that occurred there almost 150 years ago hits you the minute you enter the township. Over 50,000 people died in three days at Gettysburg. That is really unbelievable. The college itself sits on a portion of the battlefield and its oldest building, Pennsylvania Hall, served as a hospital during the war. During my four years at Gettysburg I ran every mile of the battlefields, often alone, often at dawn or dusk. I tell you, there is nothing quiet like that experience. It's an eerie and awesome thing.

If you get the chance, visit Gettysburg. I can promise you that you will not be disappointed. I cannot however promise you that you will not see a ghost.

Saying Goodbye

2011-04-06T11:39:00.003-04:00

Last week I had to say goodbye to my wedding dress. I always knew I wanted to resell my dress so that she could make another bride as happy as she made me, but it was bittersweet boxing her up and sending it off. When I bought the dress, she had already been worn in two weddings. Sharing her with another bride means that this will be her fourth trip down the aisle. That's pretty impressive. I'm not sure exactly what her first wedding was like, but the second owner of this dress had a very formal Texan wedding. I of course, worn her in our more casual farm wedding and bride number 4 is planning a small beach wedding in Florida. I think it's so cool that the dress has such a diverse history and has put a smile on so many faces. I sure will miss it, but I couldn't be happier to pass her on.

Here's an excerpt from an email that I received from the new owner upon seeing the dress for the first time:

Hi Cary,

I received your gorgeous dress today- and it fits amazingly! I almost had an emotional moment because when i tried on the dress, it looked like it was handmade for me and my body. It's moments like these I believe in a higher power. The shape, details, and sweetheart neckline of the dress are all very flattering. I'm so thrilled to have the opportunity to wear such a remarkable dress. The dress is beyond beautiful and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Yippie! It was definitely meant to be. I can't wait to see a picture of her in the dress on her wedding day. And for any of you brides looking to buy or sell a used dress, check out these two sites: Once Wed and PreOwnedWeddingDresses.

Happy Birthday, James!

2011-04-02T13:05:00.007-04:00

Today is James' 28th birthday. That means he's caught up to me, if only for a month. I thought I'd celebrate James' birthday blog by sharing with you some photos of his home away from home. By that I mean his workshop. If you're ever looking for James on a week night or weekend, there's a good chance he's tinkering away on something in the shop.

Happy Birthday, love. Now come home please. =)