Cabinets

Just wanted to give you all a quick update on my cabinet selection. After looking at a few different cabinets made by different companies and cabinets made by Amish, I have decided that I am going to go with Amish made cabinets. Last Thursday, my Mom and I made a trip down to Stateline Custom Cabinets 8 miles south of Seymour just past the state line. Lewis Gingrich is the cabinet builder along with his brother in law. Lewis told me about his cabinet making and also gave me a quote. I was impressed with his work and the price. I had looked at one kitchen that he had built before I made the journey south and I fell in love with it. The quality was unbelievable! So I called him today and told him to put me on his list. He warned me on Thursday that it may be late April until he gets to me and that is totally fine. I know it will be worth the wait. This way I can get painting done and anything else before he comes and installs. I will post a picture of what the cabinets will look like. I am getting hickory with a toffee finish. I think that it will look really neat with my light yellow paint and my tin ceiling.
I also met with my electrician last week and today and we just walked through and marked where I want light switches and anything like that. He mentioned that it's going to be a challenge but that's what makes it fun, right?? ;) I have total confidence in him. He seems like he knows his stuff. I think he is getting started on that later this week. It is going to take him awhile because he'll have to run wires from the basement all the way to the attic.
I hope everybody had a good Christmas and got to spend it with the people you love! Thanks for reading!

They're Baaaaack

Welcome back everybody!! Travis and his guys came back this morning to do some work before my electrician gets here tomorrow (cross fingers). They finished knocking out walls that I was scared to and they put up a header where one wall was load-bearing. My jaw dropped when I walked in and saw the walls gone. I can't believe how open it is now! They also took out the wall upstairs in my loft area. You will see pictures here in a second. They are also getting the ceiling "stripped". This means that they are putting up 1 x 3's(?) up across my ceiling. They are doing this so that the electrician can run wires between the boards and then after he is done wiring they can go ahead and screw the dry wall up. I will take pictures so you can understand it better. I think I am learning way more than I would like to ;).
I am also taking on another project. I have decided to get new cabinets! I went to Lockridge in Centerville and got some very good help from Dena. She had my kitchen and bathroom all drawn up and it looks amazing. I am really excited about this! I am going to go check out some Amish made cabinets and look another couple places before I decide what I am going to get and where I am going to get them from. I will keep you all updated.
Enjoy the pictures and I hope every single one of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

1st of the Year...

December 7th, 1941 is a date that we should all remember. The attack on Pearl Harbor changed our lives (even if we weren't born yet) and America forever in so many ways. Today is one day that we should especially be thankful for our troops that are fighting for our freedom all over the world. Without them we might not have been able to enjoy the simple things in life. And I might not have had the freedom to be doing what I've dreamed of doing and fixing up this house.
Nothing has changed on the house other than me putting up Christmas decorations, taking out the old toilet, and knocking out some of the wall between the dining room and my stairs. Something that has happened within the last week that is news worthy is that Kevin, the contractor I had lined up for inside work, has discovered that he has to have hip replacement surgery. I was kind of put in a bind and didn't know what to do since I told him he could have the job. I didn't want him to get started on something he couldn't handle with his bad hip or have him get started on the house and then have to quit to have the surgery done. I had talked to several people over the past few days and I also talked to Kevin about my concerns and it was decided that I should get a new contractor for my inside work. LUCKILY Travis and his crew, the guys that did my siding, have bugged me about wanting to do the inside work and told me they could get to me very quickly. So I call them on Monday and told them that the job was theirs. I thought they did a great job on the outside they are easy to talk to and that's something that I think is very important when you are doing something big like this. And after talking to Travis he told me that they could start in about 2 weeks. So to make things simple I'm telling people work should start around the 1st of the year. Pretty cool, huh??
I hope you enjoy my Christmas decorations. I know I'm not Martha Stewart (THANK GOD) but it's a start. Do you guys realize how much potential this porch has to looking awesome after I get it all decorated??? It COULD look picture perfect if the decorator knows her stuff. Thanks again for reading and if you haven't got your Christmas shopping done, you better hurry. There are only 18 days until Christmas. Don't worry...I haven't done ANY shopping yet. I'm still waiting for the sales ;). I'm also posting a picture of my new help. Although he can't do much now, he's still in training and I always make him wear a mask.

Attic

Have you ever been in the attic of a 100 year old house??




Now you have :)

Siding is COMPLETE!!!

Well Travis and his crew finally finished up my siding and soffit on Friday and I will say that the house looks pretty amazing. It looks brand new. It has been along time since she's (the house) looked this good and she deserves every bit of the new facelift. I also got the old tree cut up. Don't worry....I plan on planting a couple new trees this spring.
So now I guess I'm doing the waiting game and waiting for my inside carpenter to show up and start. I'm not sure when that will be. SOON, I hope!! I'm going to start tearing out walls and other parts of the house that need to be replaced and maybe I'll have all of that ready for him when he comes.
Fry Company from Millerton did get my furnace installed this past week so that's another positive. I was pretty lucky and all of my duct work was still in really good shape so they just used the old and didn't have to replace anything. They are suppose to come back and run my water line and get that ready here soon too. Marvin from Agriland FS got my LP line ran and got some LP in "Frank the Tank" so the heat can be turned on when ready.
But other than that there isn't much of anything left to tell you. I'm not sure when my next update will be. It just depends on when my other carpenter gets here and gets to work. Thanks for reading and enjoy the new pictures :).

TIIIIIIMBER!!!!

We finally got that old dead tree down that was right outside my front door. Everything looks sooooo good. They say they will finish up siding tomorrow. I hope so...they've been saying that for the past week! I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving and the bloat is finally wearing off from the turkey. Remember...in a month we have to do it all over again! Later!

Almost....

Now just picture it with blue shutters.....
Everybody have a great Thanksgiving!!

Siding Update

Just thought I'd give everybody the update on the siding. The guys are about half way done. They have about 10-13 feet up the side of the house done. They are going to bring in another lift tomorrow so they can work up high. I was told that it was going to be sided by Wednesday. So keep your fingers crossed. Work has also started on installing my furnance, getting my LP line ran, and running my water line. So I guess you could say that I am finally making progress.
I took a roadtrip to Payson, Illinois on Friday to get the church pew that I had bought off Ebay. It is exactly what I wanted and looks just as cute in real life as it does in the photo. I bought it from an auction house called The Grainery. They have a HUGE shed that is full of antiques. My jaw dropped when I walked in. I could have done some serious damage if my checking account was bottomless! It is a very cool place and I highly recommend it for people who enjoy buying/looking at antiques.
Here are a couple pictures of my front porch, which is done, and the north side of the house which is half way sided.
Enjoy the pictures and everybody have a good Thanksgiving! I hope you all spend it with people you love.

Siding to Ceilings

Well siding is coming along. Slowly but surely. My back porch and around the kitchen/bathroom/mudroom is completely done. They have started on the north and south side and will keep wrapping around until they meet. I'm hoping by the end of this week it will be done but that may be stretching it alittle. We'll all keep our fingers crossed and hope for good weather and no major setbacks. I'll include a couple of pictures and show the progress.
So this leads me to my newest (most awesome) idea. Today Dad and I went to Sully to look at new(er) corn planters and we went uptown to eat lunch at the Coffee Cup Cafe. As I was sitting there eating my cheeseburger and curly fries, I happened to look up...they had old barn tin as their ceiling. I immediately fell in love with this idea and began thinking of where I could find something like it. Dad and I both put our heads together and we thought of the perfect barn and it's even ours!! So this is going to be super cool that the tin will come from a building that is owned by family. I am really excited about this plan and I'm most certain that it's going to be pretty neat when it's done. I will show you guys pictures of the tin that I will be taking off and using. Thanks again so much for reading and I'll post again this weekend with more siding pictures.

Thank you Ebay!!

Well I finally got my church pew. I found it on Ebay and luckily it is only in Illinois and it is EXACTLY what I wanted!! So guess what....ROADTRIP!!!

Holy Sh...iding!!!

Sorry it's been awhile since my last update but things have just been going really slow the past few weeks at the house. Today changed though...
Travis and his crew were working at the house last week putting up soffit and they did get most of that done. They have to bring in a 45 foot lift to get to the tallest places on the house. Just doing that little thing made it look alot better. Today they came back and got some siding up. It looks AMAZING!!! Hopefully they can get a big chunk done before the rain shows up on Friday. But what they do have done is pretty sweet. The electrician came over the weekend and put my new electrical box in and ran a new line from the overhead power line to the basement. I also had a couple guys working earlier this week sealing up cracks and repairing some old bricks in the basement. When I got to the house first thing this morning there were 6 vehicles in driveway. It was a pretty cool sight. The guys were back finishing up some stuff on the basement when they brought up the idea of me walling up the basement entry that goes outside. I thought about it for a few minutes and when ahead with the idea. Hopefully this is the right decision and so far I haven't had any objections. The outside entry is just another place for mice and cold air to come in at. It will also look better...I think.
But things are starting to change and hopefully they can change enough for me to keep updating regularly and posting new pictures.
Here are some pictures of the Travis putting up soffit with the lift, the new siding, and my walled up basement door. Enjoy....and I'm still looking for that church pew...

Extreme Porch Makeover

Well my back porch is starting to take shape. Kevin came today and knocked out that ugly wall between it and the outside. He also took the floor up. He did that because we are going to have to think of something to do so that the water doesn't blow in under the boards and into my basement. I'm sure him and Jeff Wells from Lockridge have something figured. I have complete confidence in those two guys. So for an idea what doors lead where...the door in the middle goes to the kitchen and the door to the left will go to my mudroom. I plan on getting a railing installed as well...and steps of course. That would be a pretty big step.
Dad and I also went and got my Grandparent's grain truck they aren't using this year and got it backed up to a window upstairs. Earlier this week I cleaned up the plaster and lathe that I knocked off the wall upstairs.
So until I update again, everybody take care and hopefully my next update will be about siding...HOPEFULLY. Enjoy the pictures...

DESTRUCTION

Well I lied....Kevin just came to install the windows for now. He is waiting for Travis, my siding guy, who told me he would be here at the end of next week or the beginning of the next week. That's OK though, it'll give me more time to clean up some of the junk that was left in the house. It will also give me time to clean up my mess that I made earlier this week...
This week I decided that I would start tearing walls out that I wanted out. This way it would cut down on the labor cost and I figured if I could do it then I would. I took the plaster and lathe off the wall at the top of the stairs. I'm going to turn that area into a loft area. Before it was just a room without a closet and the hallway was dark so knocking out the wall would lighten up the hallway and I could do more with that area than if it was closed. Then after seeing the mess I made I decided I should make another one. I went downstairs and started tearing out half the wall that I'm opening up between the living room and dining room. As you will see, I left the studs because believe it or not, I'm not exactly 100% positive on what I'm doing. So instead of taking out the studs and watching the house fall down around me, I figured I better stop while I'm ahead. My next wall that I'm showing no mercy will be the one between the bathroom and pantry. With the help of my sister and brother-in-law, that should come down pretty fast.
Also...I'm looking for an antique church pew. If anybody has any suggestions on wehre to look, please let me know! I think that an old pew would be pretty fitting in the house.
Enjoy the pictures and thanks again for reading :)

WINDOWS!!!

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. With all this beautiful weather we've been having, being in the field is first priority. Things are going good. We really haven't had too many accidents, other than the couple mistakes I've made. Both of my accidents happened on the same day so I think I'm safe for awhile. I tore all 3 hydraulic hoses off the batwing mower at one time. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to DO IT! A few hours after fixing the hoses, I managed to get the tractor stuck in a waterway that apparently stays wet year round. No worries, Big John and Dad got me pulled out and we've been accident free for 3 days now!!
I want to thank everybody that made it out to the Brown party. I'm sure everybody had a blast on the Pub Crawl on Friday night. I think the bus made it to every bar in every town around here! There was a great turn out on Saturday night. We packed the barn. There was alot of food, friends, and entertainment. I hope everybody enjoyed themselves. We will have to have another one when the house is done and I'm settled in. The next one will be in the house and not the barn ;).
So on with the big news...my carpenter, Kevin, came and installed my windows on Friday! I can't believe how much brighter the house is on the inside and just how different and better it already looks with doing just this little thing. It's awesome! Another awesome thing is that the guy putting on my siding plans on starting Tuesday. I couldn't believe how soon he said he could start. This is going to be so fun watching the transformation. I hope you guys are ready to be AMAZED!! I know I am.
I also have an assignment for all you blog readers. Today as I was getting rid of my old windows I saw that some window frames are still in decent shape. I couldn't get rid of those yet. I want to maybe save them and do something neat and creative with them. I'm at a loss so far so if any of you have any ideas, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know. I can post pictures of the ones I saved later to try and give you an idea of what I have to work with. No idea is a stupid idea so comment/text/call away!
Enjoy the pictures and stay tuned. There may be updates everyday from now on and I don't want you to miss it!

APPROVED!!

A-P-P-R-O-V-E-D!!! I walked into the bank in Corydon first thing this morning with all my paperwork and walked out with access to an unlimited amount of money if I wish! HAHA! I also talked to my contractors today so they are all up to date on the process. My main carpenter has 2 roofs to shingle and then he will be ready to start and the carpenter that is going to be putting on my siding, windows, and installing my septic gave me the approximate starting date of middle October. Pretty sweet, huh??
I also got my colors picked out this weekend with my sister's help. I have a tan picked out for my bedrooms, living room, and dining room. For my kitchen, bathroom, and mudroom I have a light yellow picked out. It's a pretty yellow...not too bright and not to light. And something cool and making the rooms a little less boring, I'm going to paint a wall in the living room and dining room a dark red. It looks really good with my tan. But things may change, I have A LONG ways to go until I start painting.
So that's all with my update right now. I hope you are as excited as I am!! Sorry I don't have pictures this time. Rest assured though, I will be bombarding you with pictures as soon as the first load of materials is dropped off.
One more thing....I want to personally invite all you readers to a party that will be going on at the house on September 18th. The festivities start at 5:00 but will be going on all evening. I'm sure there will be a campfire buring all night too. It's not going to be like the old high school and college parties you all attended though. Wellll.....this party won't be at least. Anyway....my Aunt and Uncle, Craig and Shirley Paugh, that own the farm that the house is on are back in Iowa and they are hosting it. A few of their friends from California are also coming back. So along with the "out of staters" there will also be alot of people from this area and lots of our family members. It is a potluck type supper with some entertainment and good people. I'm sure I will also be giving tours of the house and telling everybody about my plans. So I would love it if some of you could make it. The more, the merrier. If any of you would like to join and need directions, feel free to contact me...641-344-9815.
Thanks again for reading and now the fun will really begin :)

Newest purchase and house update

Hi guys,
I'm home on a Saturday night and what better thing is there to do than update my blog :)??
A couple weeks ago I purchased something pretty cool...A NEW CAR!! Or, I guess, a new-ER car. It's a 2005 Dodge Stratus R/T. My old Grand Prix had over 160,000 miles on it and I found somebody that wanted it for a work car so I figured I might as well get rid of it. I immediately started car hunting and found this car at Toyota of Des Moines. The day I went up to get it they had that thing shining like you wouldn't believe!! When the salesman took me to the showroom to see it for the first time, I gasped. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! So after like 400 minutes of signing my name over and over and over, it was finally mine. And after two weeks of ownership, I am still in love with it and I think I'm going to enjoy it very much for the next few years.
House update...ALL of my estimates are currently sitting in a pile right next to me on this messy desk :). My abstract is done and is at the lawyer's office for him to look it over. When I get my abstract, I will be able to go to the bank. This is really going to happen!! I've waited so long and dreamed so much about this house. I'm really starting to believe the saying, "Good things come to those who wait."
I'm going to attach some pictures for you all to look at. One of them is a screen door I'm going to have re-done and left on the house. The second one is of my "naked ladies" that are growing near my porch. I'm really hoping that these stay undisturbed during renovation. They are really pretty flowers! And then the last one is of my car. Thanks again for reading and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Awesome August

We meet again! I'm glad too!! Well alot of things have happened since the last update. I'll start with the non-house stuff.
The Wayne County Fair was once again a success. My cousins, Emily and Matt, took 6 lambs to the fair and we had 4 class winners and 2 class reserves. Pretty good showing, don't you think? Emily also had Reserve Champion Market Lamb with her lead wether, Zeus. Congrats to Emily!!
On to State Fair...last Thursday was the FFA Market Lamb show and the family I work for took some lambs up there and telling you that they did good is kind of an understatement. Alecia Moser ended up with Reserve Champion FFA Market Lamb as well as a couple reserve divisons. It was a very exciting day for all of us. So congrats to Alecia and the whole Moser crew as well!!
House update...I have all but one of my estimates gathered. The only one I'm waiting for is my septic system installation estimate. I had Horton Floor Covering come out and measure my kitchen, bathroom/laundry, and bedroom last week for tile and carpet. I do have a few samples picked out that I think will look really good. I also had Jeff Wells from Lockridge figure out a couple more costs for the bigger items, like shutters to name one. I think that blue shutters will make the house look more inviting. Kevin, my carpenter, also gave me a labor estimate. So as of right now, I think I'm pretty set on everything. And just in case you don't know notice, we took care of the weeds, little trees, and that big ugly bush in front of the house. I/we am/are cleaning up for the fall party that is going to be happening on September 18th. Plus those things needed to be taken care of anyway. I will post more information about it in a future post. Everybody is invited!! Good food, good people, and good music will all be avaliable.
Another thing I'm thinking about doing in the future is decorating the little shed to the south of the house. When Marjorie, who owns Horton Floor Covering with her brother and is a very good friend of mine to say the least, was out measuring my floors she brought the idea up. I will admit that I did turn my nose up at it at first just because I only looked at it as an old, rickity shed. But the more I think about it, the more ideas I have for it. Sorry Marjorie :(. You were right...like always ;). It could be a cute little decorative piece to my little piece of God's green earth that I own :).
Well I better get going, Corydon is celebrating their Old Settlers this weekend and there are some people in town that I haven't seen in awhile and I would like to go chat and visit with them.
Enjoy the pictures of the sheep and the house. Thanks again for reading. Again, I really appreciate your support. This is your house as much as it is mine. Until we meet again.....

July update

Hello blog readers,
Just thought I'd give a July update. This may be the last update until I apply for my loan the middle of next month. The end of July/beginning of August is looking really busy for me.
I'm pretty sure that most of you have heard this but our little town of 1,500 people had a pretty exciting week last week. Our Wayne Lady Falcons softball team made it, not only, to the State Tournament but to the the 2A State Softball Championship game! Most of Corydon was in Ft. Dodge this past week cheering on our girls. Although the girls weren't able to bring home the title, they did bring home the state runner up trophy. Make sure you check out the picture I posted of the team after the trophy presentation. It was a pretty neat experience for the fans. I can't imagine what it was like for the girls. I have a younger cousin who plays so you can say I was a pretty proud older cousin. Emily is only an 8th grader and she's already starting varsity. I'm pretty excited to watch her mature as a ball player and hopefully be able to watch her in future state tournaments.
As for the house...I haven't really done much since my last update, still on hold until my loan goes through. I did talk to my contracter a couple weeks ago and he told me again that he's ready to start as soon as I get approved. That makes me feel good knowing that he's just as ready to start as what I am! Right now I am just jotting ideas down on paper on what I want to do with each room. I have alot of rooms so therefore I have ALOT of notes. I'm pretty sure I'll be doubling my notes in the next two weeks and hopefully I'll still have some hair left! I'm up for ideas so if you guys have any just let me know and I'll see how/if/where I can fit them into my plans.
Next week is the Wayne County fair. If any of you are in southern Iowa Wednesday-Sunday make sure you stop by. There is always things going on during the day and then there is nightly entertainment each night of the fair. The fair is usually a place you get to talk to or see somebody you haven't since last year's fair. It's always a good time.
I've been meaning to let you all know that if any of you ever want a tour of the house just let me know. I'd love to show it and get your opinions. This is brand new to me so I'm up for any suggestions/ideas/help/etc. As I said in my very first post....I'm glad you all are in this with me and I want each and every one of you to feel that way! So don't be afraid to call and tell me you want to take a peek at it! I'd be thrilled to show it.
Thanks again for reading and the support. I really appreciate it :).

Come inside....

Happy 4th to everybody!! Today is a day we should all enjoy celebrating but also think about what we have/are going through to keep our freedom. America is such a great country and I'm proud to say I live here.
A few weeks ago I finally took some pictures of the inside of the house after people had been asking me and asking me but I was always too busy to really find time. So I will post some pictures of the living room, dining room, and kitchen. In the living room I plan on opening up the doorway to the dining room and having an open staircase. I am pretty excited about this idea. I'm pretty sure it's going to be gorgeous. The dining room I plan on keeping the same. I do want to close a couple doors up so I don't have so many. I will either add a window or simply just put a wall in. My kitchen is what I'm really excited about. I am going to close two doorways. On one side of the kitchen I have a pantry and bathroom. Well I am going to close the door to the pantry and the knock out the wall between the two and have one big bathroom. On the other side of the kitchen I have a door that goes to the laundry room and to the porch. I plan on getting rid of the laundry room door and knocking out the wall between those two rooms and having one mudroom/laundry room. Closing up those two doors will give me alot more room for my cabinets. I am also going to eliminate the windows and put my sink on that wall and then have a window over my sink. I also plan on having an island in the middle. It is going to be totally different but I'm pretty sure it's going to look good too. I also plan on keeping my wood floors in the living room and dining room and re-doing them. The floors are in good shape because they have had carpet laid on top of them their whole lives. I plan on putting ceramic tile in the kitchen, bathroom, and porch.
I have also been looking for colors for the downstairs. For the kitchen I want to go with a light yellowish color. And for my dining room and living room I have been thinking about a light brown/tan. I have also been looking at more unique colors to maybe do one wall as but I haven't found anything yet that has caught my eye.
Enjoy the tour....