Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Our House

So our house is still a work in progress and will be for years to come! We had planned to do the bathroom first, but with a leaky old pipe draining each time we flushed the toilet or took a shower, it became evident that the bathroom would be put on hold. So with the leaky pipe, we needed to remove the wall where it's located since the whole cast iron and rotted pipe needed to be removed. So then came the removal of the rest of the dry wall, which in fact wasn't even dry wall......it was more like cardboard. Then the ceiling came down. And then the removal of layers upon layers of laminate flooring on the floor which was on top of the original hardwood floors. So here we go on the tour of the state of our current kitchen!!!

But first an updated outside photo of the house. We'll be painting the front of the house in the spring since we have to rent a boom to get to the upper portion above the front porch because of the slate roof which you can't walk on. We'll be redoing all of the landscaping as well and putting on all new lattice work, etc to make it perfect!

This is yucky pipe that had to be taken out....note the plastic bag we had to cover it up with until it was repaired!

We'll be replacing all of the windows in the house since they're all original and it'd be nice to have windows that work without propping them up!


This is where there must have been a wood burning stove or something at one time. We're trying to get a hold of the son that lives in Rutland so we can find out some more info about the house. We have a new over the range microwave that we'll be putting up as soon as we have a ceiling!A little surprise when we started lifting up the floor!


This has by far been the worst part of the remodel so far. Thankfully there was only one layer of subfloor, but there were probably 6-7 layers of laminate with some horrible stuff that was placed directly on top of the hardwood. I had to scrape and scrape for hours each day to get it off. Most of it is up now and the rest will be taken off when we sand them down.


The worst part was certainly underneath the stove.......so greasy and smelly. There's virtually no damage to the floor other than the holes from the subfloor so it's a bit odd that they ever covered it up. But we'll bring her back to life like the living room!!


These are the new lights in the kitchen. There's another one in between the windows as well that shines down on the butcher block. This wall will be turning into a half wall soon. I want to open it up and let the breeze from the river flow through the house a little more during the summer time. We're also going to be building a custom island that will house a larger sink and a new dishwasher. I want it to look like a separate piece of cabinetry....more like a piece of furniture. I'm really excited about getting a dishwasher though.....you don't realize how handy are until you don't have one anymore!
The remodel that we're doing right now is just the initial remodel. It was really horrible before and I didn't like being in there. Even though we still have aways to go, I don't mind as much being in there.....even with the studs exposed. So the big remodel in a couple of years will involve us tearing out this entire wall and opening it up to the dining room......like I said....I want it open! All of the cabinets will go on the wall where the stove is and we'll be putting cabinets underneath the windows as well to maximize our storage space. We'll be making the bathroom/laundry downstairs larger and possibly add a stand up shower. With the remodel that we're doing right now, all of the plumbing for the bathroom which is in the kitchen ceiling will be redone since everything is exposed right now. I hate these cabinets, but there's no point replacing them now since they'll all be torn out in a couple of years so we're just going to paint them in the meantime.



And here is the latest project around the fridge. We'll be getting a bigger fridge as well so Dan made the space larger. We're going to add shelves to add even more storage and a custom garbage thingy in the bottom of it. We're just really trying to maximize the space and the closet that was there before was sort of a waste.

So there you have it! Now I'm totally pooped from typing all of that!!!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Been busy

but here's a pic of Lillian!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Now at Pink Ink Studios......

ME!!!!!! Can I just say a big woohoo!!!! I've got some products up in the store now and a lot of ideas for new products! So in the meantime, here's a link to my stuff at Pink Ink and also be sure to check out the retirement sale that's going on right now MY STUFF

and here's a small sampling......

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Doing a better job....

at keeping up with posting pics of Lillian is easier said than done! Some days she'll let me take her picture and some days she wants nothing to do with me and my camera. I set up my backdrop stand today and she wasn't in the mood. I was able to get a few decent photos though.....
In other news we picked up our new over the range microwave tonight (thanks Pat!) I'm really excited about the extra counter space since the microwave that we have now is the same size as the new one. It's a good microwave and all, but it'll be nice to have that extra space and a light above the cooktop. Dan didn't want to do recessed lights because he didn't think that it fit with the house so I'll be really happy when it gets installed. This weekend Dan is going to be doing the framing around the fridge where we'll be putting some built in shelves on the side. He's going to be making the spot where the fridge is a little large since we'll be getting a new fridge eventually, but in the meantime we're just going to paint the one we have black. It's a newer fridge, but it's on the smaller side and I really want one with the freezer on the bottom.....but that's last on the list. We're going to wait to refinish the floors until all of the plumbing is done so we don't have to worry about it getting any dings.....even though the impatient me wants to get it done before! Hopefully everything will be done in the kitchen within a couple of months. Then we can slowly start to decide what we're going to do in the bathroom which also needs to be torn down to the studs. An older home can certainly be a lot of work, but I wouldn't have it any other way! It has character and charm and it's all ours......and I don't have to worry about putting holes in the walls!!

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

My joy


She really is just about the sweetest little gal there is (most of the time!) She found her princess dress that Aunt Betsy and Uncle Justin got her for Christmas and of course when she realized that it's the same dress that Snow White wears she just had to have it on and started stripping down! I told her that she had to go look at herself in the mirror and this was her reaction when she saw herself.

It's really these type of moments that make me ready for another one......I mean I've been ready for another one for some time now. A lot of people have been asking when we plan on having another one and if we're planning on having another one soon and each time I get asked I'll admit that my heart breaks a little bit. I know it's a natural question to be asked so it's not like I'm upset that people are asking or anything. I guess I get upset because I think that people expect you to have your second child within a certain time frame and while we were fully planning on having another a little sooner, we've decided to wait a little longer than planned. So now I'll get to the part that makes me sad.......I feel like for the first time in my life, I need to be a little selfish. My photography business has grown so much and I've finally found the one thing I was meant to do other than being a mother and I feel like I have to let the business itself blossom a little more. I've put so much into it so far and I still have a long way to go. Knowing that there is a chance that I'll be on bed rest with the next one if my blood pressure gets high again (have I mentioned that my blood pressure was normal for the first time in like 10 years at my last appointment!) means that I won't be able to shoot as many sessions or weddings that year. So I'd like to become a little more established before I take that time off. I have some goals that I'd like to reach this year and hopefully I'll be able to reach them. I'm not going to estimate when we'll have our next one, because when we're ready, we'll know it. So for the time being, I'm just going to be happy with the amazing daughter and husband that I have and treasure them while it's just the three of us!

Anyways, I'll be back later in the week with some updated pics of the house!