Prepped and Primed

I am thrilled to be up and about today after spending much of my weekend with the view above. Snuggled up in bed not feeling well. Not exactly ideal. Unfortunately, I never got to see my sweet sister after our surprise sushi night because of all the sickies in my house. We are now all almost back to health. I'm still pretty dizzy and nauseous, but I'm UP.

Sickness didn't keep us from pressing on with renovations! We finished the pine ceiling and prepped everything for our first coat of primer...applied with our paint sprayer.

It's getting lighter and brighter every day! I know many of you have said "leave it natural!". And to that I say..."Noooooooo!!". I'm not a fan of naked pine in my home. Not a fan at all. Northwoods cabin is not exactly my style. I'm going for open, bright, white, spacious...FRESH! The big beam on the ceiling is going to be capped with barnwood. *sigh*. Can I just do my whole house in barnwood?

We had initially decided to whitewash the fireplace...but I think that we are just going to paint it completely white instead. I cannot wait to get that part done...it will change the dated look of the living area dramatically! Our main dilemma with the fireplace is what we will do with that left side. The living room layout is not super TV-friendly, and the fireplace might be our only placement option. Yuck. Not my first choice! Today we talked about creating a built-in bookshelf on the entire left side of the fireplace. I prefer to keep it all brick to maintain the sheer size of it. It creates visual impact! Does anyone want to brainstorm with me? 

We are in the midst of kitchen layout and cabinet finding as well. I've been spending lots of time on Pinterest and on lighting websites. Matt found CRAZY DEAL for us on a dual-gas range! An open box item that they were just trying to get rid of fast and we saved TONS of money. So excited. We now have all of our appliances...next up: apron sink!

In the tiny window of time when everyone was well, we headed into town on beautiful sunny Saturday and picked up supplies we needed at Home Depot. I love walking down the aisle where they cut the wood...my favorite smell ever!

Happy healthy Monday everyone!

The Little Kitchen in the Basement

When we bought our new house, the first thing we did was tear the kitchen clean out! But it's not super easy to nourish a family with no running water or stove. I know there are amazing mamas who do it with grace every day around the world...but whoa. It's a big challenge. So in an effort to make our transition a bit easier, Matt built me this sweet little kitchen. 

We have a bank of cabinets with open cupboards on either side of my barnwood plant stand...with succulents on top of course! A mini-fridge and a sink on the left. Matt tapped into the water spigot for the washing machine and rigged a large bucket underneath with a sump pump that drains the grey water out automatically when it gets full (yes, he's a genius). What a relief to having running water downstairs now! Love it. We also added a single hot plate and a griddle for cooking up some delicious meals. I have my crock pot too, which will come in handy.

What makes it even more special is that all of these pieces were either free/salvaged or thrifted. The cabinets, cupboards, fridge, and countertop were all picked from discards at Matt's job sites. And then we made a quick stop at ReSource in Boulder on Saturday and came upon the utility sink and grabbed it right up...along with my vintage teal blue metal shelf that I am repurposing as a magnet board for all of my happy little pieces of love. 

Isn't it adorable?! When I walked into the ReSource warehouse, my eyes immediately darted around and around for TEAL. Find the teal! Yes! I won't even tell you about the perfect teal kitchen island that I bolted towards...only to find a SOLD sign on it. Drat. Foiled again! I am predicting many more trips there in the next couple of weeks...on the prowl for the perfect salvaged goodies. The shelf is hanging on the side of our sauna...which we have yet to fire up, but I'm hoping this week we will enjoy some heat! 

And look! Remember those yummy flags Em sent me last week? I hung them here in the little kitchen and I ADORE them. The round shape is so soft and whimsical. And you know I just can't have a space in my home without flags flying. I asked Em if she would make them available online so y'all could buy them too...AND SHE DID!! Jump on over there to snag your very own. She also has an insta-store on Instagram if that's more your style! You can find her at @shopembers. Her super comfy tee-skirts are there too!

I absolutely love taking an empty space and turning it into something that inspires me every time I am there. Temporary spaces can still be fantastic with just a little bit of love. And by love I mean flags, succulents, and layering light and textures! Worth every minute!

It's looking to be an exciting week at the house...with drywall being finished, texture being sprayed, and wood being laid on the ceiling. It's convenient to be living in our construction zone...so now Matt can run upstairs and work on a few items whenever he wants to. We love standing in the space and talking through our vision and how it's all going to come together. It's a process. Such a process. But one we are enjoying, day by day.

New Things

This man. Hard-working. Faithful to his core. Hero to three little girls. When I am frazzled and stressed, he is my rock. He never falters. When the boxes pile high and I can't find Emma's socks for the 49th time this week, he pulls me close and whispers reassurances. 

Every day when I arrive, he has fun new developments to show me. I am starting to see how it's going to come together. Oh how thankful I am to call him my love and to be working side-by-side with him on our new home.

Our living room is grand central...the hub for tools of transformation! We'll move into the basement on Thursday and will create a mini-kitchen/living area there while we finish the upstairs. I can hardly wait for this great room to be completed...it's so hard to wait! This process is growing me in so many ways. Patience patience patience!

A picnic in the exact spot where our table will sit. I anticipate the laughter of friends and family and delicious aromas to rise from this place...

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness..." *Isaiah 43:19

Yes! I do see new things! So many new things. I breathe deeply of the wild mountain air every time I walk out the door. The snow is still glittering down on a regular basis and there are bright shiny stars overhead.  Lots of things are changing. This is a good life. 

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Side note: I have started a renovation timeline here and a renovation gallery here. I'll try to update those daily as we are creating our new space!