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New house update – week recap

I can’t believe October is over!  I hope everyone had a great Halloween.  We had fun.  I took so many pictures that I’ve overwhelmed myself so I probably won’t post any.  HA.  :)  Except this close-up of my little witch.  And maybe a few more next week.  :)  Kenny stayed home and did therapy with Kole Wednesday morning so that I could help with the girls’ classroom parties.  They were so happy to have me at their school all morning.  It was a treat for all of us.  We partied hard all day and by the time it was dark I was SO tired.  But I perked up again taking Kole trick-or-treating for the first time.  He was so stinkin’ cute.  LOVED being footloose and fancy free outside at night.  He walked right up to each door step with the girls and said “a treat!”  Then he tried to run inside everyone’s house.  :)  This morning he woke up and ran to the front door and said “a treat!  a treat!” because he wanted to head outside and do it again.  Pitched quite the little fit when I told him we were all done with “a treat.”  And I have to say, as fun as the festivities were, I have no problem being done with Halloween.  This week has been such a whirlwind around here.  Our designer and cabinet guys were in town and Kenny and I were at the new house almost 24/7.  Kids were farmed out and total chaos ensued.  Halloween was the cherry on top!
I prepped for the first big day by making everyone banana bread muffins.
No surprise there.  :)
They sat in my new kitchen window and didn’t last long.  

Most of these pics were taken with my iPhone so they aren’t great quality, but here I am with my builder and designer.  Love these two!  Which is a good thing because we have been spending a LOT of time together lately.

Kenny and my designer going over facts of some sort.  Kenny handles the not so fun stuff – budget and logistics.  While I handle all things design.  One morning I was dropping Kole off at a sitters and when I got to the house there was a group of six guys standing in a circle relieved to see me because they know they can’t move forward without my stamp of approval.  They call me “the boss” and I have to say, it’s not a bad thing to be called.  :)  I do my best to be a nice one.

Aside from laying out the kitchen and cabinets in other rooms we also started looking at floor samples.  These are a few carpet samples my designer brought.  Kenny sometimes gets frustrated when my designer and I get together.  We tend to get sidetracked easily.  We’ll start out talking about the bathroom layout and the next thing you know we’re going on and on about tufted headboards with silver nail heads.  Kenny is always trying to rein us in.  But I can’t help it!  I’m so ready to be done with the building and onto the decorating so seeing things like this carpet that make it feel more real is so fun for me.

 We are putting in wood floors for most of the main level so we’ll need a big carpet-like rug for the family room.  I loved the one above.  It’s hard to see the true color, but it has a lot of grey strands in it.  Most of my cabinetry is white or grey.  Plus this sample was just SO soft.  It said come and take a nap on me!  But I might go with something more simple like plain grey.

 I loved this stripped pattern for a rug too.  You?  

We made a lot of decisions for the outside of the house.  The style of the home is ‘Nantucket’ so there will be a lot of grey siding, white molding, and some rock.  These two spent a couple of hours walking around measuring everywhere we are putting rock so we can start getting quotes.

Our siding guy stopped by and brought samples.  This isn’t painted yet, but is one style to choose from.  We are putting the short shake shingles on the peaks of the house and I need to decide if I want this staggered pattern or a straight, even one.  I like the one above, but our roof tiles are going to be staggered and I don’t want to over do it and make things look too “gingerbready.”  Kenny loves it when I use that word.  (I’m kidding.  It drives him crazy.  But how else do you explain something looking too gingerbready?)  I thought the decision for the rest of the straight siding that will be on most of the house would be made for us, but nope.  I can choose between smooth or grained, 7 inches apart or 8 inches apart…  The big decisions are easy, it’s these little decisions that really won’t matter much one way or another that are killing me!  SO many decisions.  I can’t even think straight anymore.

The back of my car today — groceries, cabinet samples (not the exact style or knobs I’m using, but samples of the white and grey finish), a stroller, wood floor planks, some quartz squares…  all in a day.

I’m so looking forward to the weekend.  I need to take a break from the new house and spend some time cleaning our current house.  I’m anxious to take down all things Halloween and start planning for my favorite time of year!  I’m also anxious to sleep more than 5 hours at a time.  That’s always a bonus.

What are you excited about this weekend?  :)  
xoxo, Erin
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30 thoughts on “New house update – week recap

  1. Please, explain sth!
    Why on earth would you put carpets in a house in a town soooo hot?
    I mean…wouldn’t you need a ton of money/energy to keep it cool??
    I live in Greece where hot is going stong for 10 months and every house has tiles or hardwood or marble. In the winter we put carpets to make rooms cozier and warmer but come spring we take them out.

  2. So exciting! Things are really coming together.
    We have tan carpets in our house & I hate them, After living here 5 yrs we just replaced our living room rug & I chose chocolate brown & its the best decision I ever made, it takes wear very well & you can’t see every little thing.

  3. I love how you just asked “what are you so excited about” I am so excited to go to Chicago this weekend for a girls weekend! Woot woot. So nice. I can NOT wait!
    Thanks for asking. :-)

  4. Thanks everyone!

    Dream Catcher – San Diego isn’t a hot town at all. October is our warmest month but it is usually around 70 degrees here. Perfect for any type of flooring. :)

    Stephanie – sounds so fun! Have a great time!

  5. Looking forward to the weekend here too. And after a very busy October filled with tons of kid activities I’m excited for a calmer November too! Tonight I’m scrapping with friends, Saturday is my younger sons last flag football game and Sunday my oldest son is completing his Eagle Scout Project for Boy Scouts.

  6. Dream Catcher- Not HOT in San Diego…I was there in March and WISHED it was hot! Most of our summer and fall Minneapolis days are warmer than San Diego’s. It’s funny how certain areas of the US get generalized. Minnesota gets hot! California gets cold!

    I love the house, it’s beautiful. I am sort of starting to see that you might be building MY dream house. This might be hard for me. : ) Can’t wait to see you organize the new house, I know you can’t either!

    Have a great weekend. I am planning to rest as much as one can with 3 kids. Not making a bunch of plans is the first step!

  7. Oh – scrapping with friends sounds so fun right now! I miss it.

    Lynnsey – so true! San Diego is “cool” most of the year. March and April are so rainy. I totally agree – rest? with three kids? Doesn’t happen. :) But a low key schedule is much better than a hectic one. Enjoy your weekend!

  8. Ok, I am overwhelmed just reading your post…I cant imagine actually going through it! We built a house once but used a builder that had set plans for that neighborhood and a design center…it wasnt actually too bad. I mean my hubby was deployed the whole time it was being built and I was actually moved in when he got home!

    Anyhow, its looking great and I love those white cabinets.

    :)

  9. Love the big carpet sample. We recently carpeted our house in Iowa with something similar. It’s great to sit on and play barbies with the young one. Love the posts. Renea.

  10. Thanks Jamie and Renea!

    Hi Shirley! We bought the land. They are custom lots that were for sale to build custom homes on. The lots on both sides of us were sold too but the people who bought them are both using different architects and builders. Everything is totally from scratch which is why I’m about to pass out daily from this process. :)

  11. I’d love to know what kind/color of hardwood flooring you chose for the downstairs. I see a glimpse of something in your trunk! :) Looking forward to seeing how everything will come together!

  12. I LOVE your carpet samples. I had the sample you love in my basement once…or one like-we ended up having to switch it out because of a flood. I wish I had it back…everyone loved that darn carpet.

  13. Love the house progress! it’s looking really fabulous! I’m jealous!! I love the big rug sample too!!! Go for it, go with what you love instead of practical – you won’t regret it ;)

  14. Erin
    I don’t know if this has been asked before, but I’m curious. How big is that house?!! It looks HUGE. What is the square footage and how many bedrooms will it have? Again, just curious!

  15. I love your updates! I am here in New Jersey where we just had Hurricane Sandy come through and left such devistation :( So many of us without power for almost a whole week. So many houses washed away at the coast line….so much to rebuild. This weekend I hope for restored power for all my friends and family and for the spirit of those who need to rebuild everything be kept stong, alive and determined. You blog had kept me sane this week as everyhting around us seems so unsure. Thanks! And the house you are building looks beautiful!

  16. Anonymous, that must be really awful. How have you coped without any electricity (power) for a week?

    Were you put up in a shelter? My friend lives in Seaside Heights & was in a shelter. I really hope that you get the help that you need.

  17. We just got power back but are the only ones on the street with it. Now I’m starting to feel guilty because of the many that don’t have it yet! We have a gas fireplace so that really saved us and our hot water is controlled by gas. Those without power and the 28 degree forcast tonight—won’t have an easy night. We have been hosting a lot of friends, making dinners, donating warm clothes to others….and just waiting. The kids have been out of school all week. Just happy to have a roof over our heads.

  18. Anonymous in New Jersey – oh my word. We have been thinking about and praying all week for everyone on the east coast. What a mess! I’m so sorry for everything you are going through and I’m SO grateful that you are all safe. How kind of you to help others without power yet. My heart goes out to everyone who lost their home. The flood that swept through my hometown last month left a lot of my friends in the same situation. It’s been so hard, but at the same time everyone has really chipped in to help and those affected have felt so much love and gratitude. It’s always amazing to see how people pull together in difficult times like this. I’m truly touched that my blog kept you company during the week. (Now I’m wishing I would have posted something really amazing – HA!) ;) Your comment was so sweet. Thank you. Hang in there! So glad you are safe in your home.
    xoxo, Erin

  19. Love reading your new house update! I know that you are going to have white kitchen. I wonder what color do you choose for your counter top?

  20. Anonymous in New Jersey,
    That’s really kind of you to help others when you’re going through so much yourself.

    I got an update from my friend in Seaside Heights. She’s lost her flat/(apartment) house & all her belongings. She’s still in a shelter. It must be so hard for her as she’s on her own.

    Please could you all remember my friend, Caryl Taylor, in your prayers at this difficult time. Thank you.

  21. I love reading your blog and have been following for awhile now. I just had to leave a comment when I saw those staggered tiles. We renovated our home and removed that style of siding. It looked messy and being a little OCD, it drive me nuts =). Now we have beautifully straight siding and we love it! Not envying you those decisions…who knew you had to think about how high you want to place your shower head or what kind of toilet seat you want…but it’s all fun and I can’t wait to see the finished result.

  22. Thanks for your sweet comment and your input anonymous! I’m leaning towards the straight! (still various sizes of shake shingle, but all in a straight line). Is that what you put on your house?

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