What Do You Get When You Cross a Mudgie and a Squirrel???

Before

During...

When I last wrote in May, I was still looking for pretty baubles for Penny as Bill was busy bringing her up to code.  In July, as many of you know, Bill and Penny had an argument about ladders on her walls and he lost... falling somewhere between 16-18 feet.  He dislocated and broke his hip.  We're lucky he survived that fall.  Prior to that moment, there'd been a lot of arguments between us due to exhaustion and stress... deadlines were happening, work was happening and we just weren't getting much time together.  God works in mysterious ways... this brought our summer plans to a halt.  We found someone to complete the fascia work Bill had been working on... Penny got the pretty red hat we'd planned for her... and Bill got 8 - 10 weeks of much needed rest with me nagging over his every move.

Before Pantry

After Pantry

I've told everyone my hub is a HORRIBLE patient.  He can't stay still.  We found a happy medium where he could do small stints of working in the garage for 30 minutes at a time... working on pieces that needed to be done to have ready when Penny starts to get her interior walls...  He finished a BUNCH of projects that kept his stir crazy at bay.

Let's revisit a few of the "honey do items" I mentioned in May... Remember us wanting to combine this gorgeous old door with some stained glass I'd found?  Bill cut out the top panels.. scraped the years of grime away...  and we now have a BEAUTIFUL pantry door which will be hung on barn door type rollers that we purchased off Amazon last month.

Before Mantle

After Bathroom Mantle

Two of our three fireplace mantles were finished.  The master bath mantle had extra wood and way too many layers of wax and bad orange stain.  He stripped, cut and then did a grey wash... which will go beautifully with the charcoal grey tile floors that will be installed for the bathroom flooring.  The new color is gorgeous and it's shape is sooo much more defined.

Before Living Room Mantle

After Living Room Mantle

The mantle we purchased to replace the 80's waterbed headboard over the living room fireplace... we decided to not remove the mirror, but to keep it and use it as a matting/backing, like you'd see with mounted prints.  It makes the carved German door panel pop!  I can't tell you how much I LOVE the finished project.  Bill took that mantel apart, again took off years of grime, and put it back together, ensuring it was sturdy - not flimsy in any way shape or form.  This, and the original mantel in our bedroom, will be reworked exactly the same way.  It makes my heart sing.  It's truly a statement piece.

Inspiration...

Before

After

In the mean time he also took a boring white door we found at Habitat for Humanity Restore in downtown Atlanta, stripped it, stained and painted it... and made it look more like the antique Indian doors (above) that we found for our master bathroom... This door is for our utility closet in our spare bathroom.  The fine details will be in EVERY room if we both have our say.  I can't love each piece enough.  My hub is truly a master craftsman.  He missed his calling in his day job...  this is what he should be doing for a living.

In the few moments we were able to spend away from the house we managed to order our kitchen, which, if everything goes smoothly over the next four weeks, will be installed mid to late October... I can SEE THE LIGHT.  Light grey cabinets, farmhouse sink, gorgeous marble looking granite counter-tops, black stainless refrigerator...  and yes... we found the tile for our back-splash on clearance at Lowe's... I had to run to 3 different Lowe's stores to get the quantity we need... but it's perfect and will beautifully pull in the yellow of my grandfather's banquette table from the late 40's.

Let me do a sidebar here and talk about my grandfather.  I mentioned him last year when we found the blackberries in our garden.  My mother had told me that morning that she felt I was following in her father's footsteps by moving out of the city and into the country... the only difference is he built his home from scratch.... we tore it down to near scratch... but we had bones to start with...  anyway... she said that in the morning and I found the blackberries he was always picking that afternoon... I felt he was screaming YES to me...  this feeling has continued over the year... most recently the back-splash tile color... and when I went to meet with the kitchen designer I was referred to.  I almost fell over when I saw the name of the business.  "Frugal Kitchens"  You see my Gramps was TOTALLY a penny pincher.  The family was always calling him "cheap" or "tight wad"... at which he would calmly say "I prefer the term Frugal".  I saw that business sign and started guffawing.  Thanks Gramps, yes I will definitely work with this woman at your guidance.  Serendipity baby.

My last post I mentioned that we were still looking for an age appropriate front door for the farm... I found it at 7th Street Salvage in Macon, GA.  It's a heavy craftsman beauty... that will be sanded and stained... the windows will be taken out and replaced with stained glass that Bill and I are going to make.

We also found the sinks for our master bath vanities.  It's funny, the tiles we purchased in Italy are providing the basis for color pop throughout the house.  You can see how everything is blending with that design.  The sinks are Mexican made, purchased online at La Fuente Imports.  They're even more stunning in person.

To end today's blog, let me say that I'm still squirreling away things I find that I just KNOW will work.  It seems I carry things home from every state I visit...  Just this past weekend I went up to Richmond, VA for two days... and visited Caravati's Architectural Salvage as I always do.  I walked away with three sets of iron shelving brackets for our coffee bar area (Bill will make shelves out of reclaimed wood from the farm to put on top of these gorgeous babies).  I also carried home a 14x32" moving transom window... it doesn't have stained glass but I actually kind of dig the 50's vibe in it...  I know when I am carrying this shizzle through the airport that I'm the person I hate seeing walking onto my plane... but I also truly know what fits and what won't... and it makes me think twice when I see my passengers with stuff... a bit of empathy and patience goes a long way... (and when it's me travelling... chocolate for my flight crew)...

I know I haven't blogged much but this should be changing in the upcoming 2 months.  Our plumbing and electrical have passed inspection.  Our HVAC is being installed next Monday.  We're currently in the process of getting quotes for insulation and drywall... which need to be installed before mid October... and Bill will put the final sub floors in this week.  We'll order the wood we need to finish installing the flooring (not all of it could be salvaged so we're ordering reclaimed wood)...  I can't WAIT to have drywall up and all floors down... I know that's the beginning of the last couple miles of this marathon we've been running.  I'm excited to show you how everything will pull together as it starts to look like home...  Pray for us y'all... things are happening...

My House Overfloweth... aka I Was a Squirrel in a Past Life

Long ago I learned that you have to buy something that intrigues you WHEN you see it.  If you wait until you're ready for that item, you'll go back and it won't be there.  For example, my Christmas shopping is done year round ~ my closet shelves are emptied in November as I look to see what I've already acquired for my family and then figure out what still needs to be purchased.  It's great as you get the perfect gift, and it spreads the cost of Christmas throughout the year.  I'm working this concept with Penny too.  Whenever I find a deal I grab it and shove it in my current garage (much to Bill's chagrin).  Pieces that need a constant controlled climate, such as furniture, go into my sitting room... which is currently overflowing and causes me pain to look at.  My OCD goes into overdrive as I pretend to not see a packed and messy room.  Yet I know that when Penny's floors and walls are complete, each of these pieces will be rapidly removed and put into their new forever homes.

Let's just look at samples of what I have accumulated to date....  antique English and French Transfer-ware tiles that I purchased at Architectural Accents in Atlanta... Everything except for these I have found at crazy steal of a deal prices.  These were the most extravagant purchase I've made in my search for age appropriate items.... I love them... they'll be on our living room fireplace... with the mantle we purchased a few months ago from a Facebook marketplace post... and an old German door panel (I found junking in California) that will replace the mirror in the mantle...  I have a second panel that will go in the original mantle that is similar to this one in the master bedroom.

More tiles were purchased for the fireplace surrounds in Italy when we were there this winter... what better souvenirs are there than ones you can incorporate into your home right???  There's enough tiles to do the surrounds and accents in our master bathroom.  Each purchase is guiding the color schemes we'll have for Penny as we connect the dots.  If you buy what you love, things will just work out... the items blend and merge and begin to tell your story.  Can you see how the Italian tiles will work well with the Indian doors that we bought months before.  Apparently our accent colors for the master bathroom will be creams and teal blues....

Which brings me to the tiles we purchased at Habitat for Humanity Restore in Atlanta.... two different junking outings found us with trim and accent tiles that we bought at one tenth of their original cost... the shower will have box indents to hold our shampoo... with these Moroccan accent tiles... and the room will have trim with the glass tiles found on our last run.

Additionally we found similar tiles at Lowe's on CLEARANCE to use in the spare bathroom... different color but same Moroccan shape to keep the continuity.   I saw the clearance pile... then saw the price and bought everything they had.  Gotta love a score when you find it!!!!  Not pictured here but also a Lowe's score is our bathroom tiles... I knew that we wanted to use a charcoal grey tile on our floors in both bathrooms.  I'd been eyeing one every time we went to Lowe's... and one day a miracle happened.. they went on a deep discount sale... and I grabbed a pallet plus of them... then had my bff come to the store so that I wouldn't blow out my tires on my Jeep.

We have antique transom windows galore stored in our garage...  There'll be three windows down the hall above where the doors used to be and one in our master bathroom.  Three of the windows were purchased at Caravatti's in Richmond, Virginia... to bring a little of Bill's history into our home.

Those window purchases led to the purchase of the old hutch that will go above my grandfathers 40's banquette in our kitchen.  Once we figure out the color scheme of the kitchen, the wood will be painted, lights installed in the cabinet... Again this adds continuity to our house as you walk through and see the similar accents.... the home will have bits of red and yellow splashes throughout because of the items we've purchased and the items we're bringing in that were family pieces.  I can't wait to see how it all pans out.

Our bathroom vanities are also all vintage.  We'll be adding marble tops and stoneware bowls to these pieces... I have four vanities for the three bathrooms.  I'm currently on the hunt for the sink bowls that scream take me.  I'll probably buy those though after I choose the marble that will grace the vanity tops.  I don't want water to touch the wood.

I have lighting for all the rooms... and lighting for the rooms in our current house that we are removing and taking with us.  It's a puzzle this moving process... having everything we need for both homes... one to keep and install... the other to install and prep for the sale...  I'm making mental notes for everything I buy... and where it's going to go.... the lights on the left go in our master bathroom... the lights on the right go into our laundry room...  I just finished painting our current dining room... the light fixture will go in our farm dining room... a light fixture that my bestie took down from her dining room will be going in it's place.  I think all light fixtures have been accounted for, but I'm sure that I've missed one or two... my mind is this big whirl....

Today we added to my squirrel existance by buying the table that will be our dining room table.  I found it on Facebook Marketplace for a steal... It's circa 1920... and has beautiful details... AND 10, yes ten.... leaves... it can stretch out to 14'... I'm in love and it was absolutely worth the four hour drive to get it.  I had already bought a temporary table for next to nothing in case I couldn't find THE table... of course I've found the one now... and I'll need to sell the other round table soon...

I told my hub that we needed to come home via a different direction... and found an architectural salvage place in Otto, NC.  Culpepper's Otto Depot.  Oh my goodness, my jaw dropped when we pulled up... It's a beautiful barn type structure filled to the rim.  We spent an hour there and purchased a few things... the biggest is three of these cute iron pieces that will be painted and added to the farm front porch railing.  Can you just see them painted white... with a little spot of accent color in the circles?  <3

Our last stop today was at the Queen of Hearts in Buford.  We were in search for a front door to put these windows in.  We found this door that is an internal door.  We fell in love with the hardware, the patina and I saw the potential for it's use for our pantry.  Can you imagine the windows replacing the larger panels... the door put on barn tracks... and a light in the pantry?  We're still searching for an exterior door... but now we have less restrictions/expectations of what it needs to look like.

There are a LOT more bits and pieces I've collected since February 2018 when I put an offer on the farm... I know the time is coming soon when all of this will be pulled together like some sort of magic trick.  Until then I'm doing my best to not get stressed when I see the mess.  Soon we'll be down to one house... soon we'll reduce the amount of crap we own as we downsize... until then... I'll probably continue to find acorns to stash in my already overflowing piles... because I can't help myself..... SQUIRREL!!!!













 

A Sentimental Mom Moment...

Filing under those things that make a sentimental mom weep...

In 2009 I donated to Arbor Day and received ten trees.   Two of which survived because my, then eight year old, son felt sorry for the sad looking "sticks" that were planted in the ground and took care of them.   Just imagine Linus with Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. 😍😍😍  The two Redbuds today are easily 12' tall and glorious in the spring.  🌳🌳

I've been really sad about these damn trees.   In my mind they're my son's trees and the idea of leaving them this year was causing serious pain in my heart.   I thought about attempting to grow one from a clipping but I've never really been successful at that..

Today, I stepped outside to grab something out of my car and, as I always do, looked to see how my Spring garden was coming along.  I made a mental note that I need to do some weeding soon and that's when I saw them... the shape of the leaves on these little sticks made me do a double take...  They looked like little hearts.... which looked suspiciously like Redbud leaves...  I looked up at the tree and my eyes immediately started filing with tears...  My answer was in my "weeds".  

I ran into the garage, grabbed my buckets and a shovel... filled them with dirt and very carefully started digging up these grand babies of my son... His "stick" is sending us off with her children with her blessing.  There are a few more 'babies' under that tree, but I am hedging my bets and seeing if I can keep these alive in the pots the next couple of months.  If they survive, they'll be transplanted onto the farm... the more Redbuds the merrier.... after Dogwoods, they're my favorite Spring tree.... and I'll be able to look at my Redbud forest knowing they're my, now almost 20 year old, son's legacy in my garden.  I'm grateful and blessed for this unexpected present.  💑

It's Gonna Be a Pretty Penny

Hey y'all... it's been MONTHS since we have had something to post about.  Our ideas on our farmhouse have evolved into a house that currently looks like those houses you built as a kid with Popsicle sticks... there's nothing to show about the current farm situation... other than that vision... but I've got visions a plenty for you.... because it is the visions of beauty I see in my head that doesn't make me faint every time I walk into the Popsicle stick home we own.

Bill has been complaining lately that the farm has been trying to kill him.  About a week ago I read somewhere in some magazine on an overnight in some city... that someone else had complained that the house they were renovating was trying to kill her, and a friend of hers told her she needed to name the house and tell the house that she was trying to make her pretty... and then things would start going well... I decided that was a damn fine idea.... Bill and I bounced names off that were somewhat old fashioned and time appropriate... until we came up with the perfect name.  Penelope.  We figured that since she was gonna cost us a pretty penny that we could tell our Penelope she'd BE a pretty Penny.  He says his sweet talking her isn't working... I'm thinking I may have to come in with burning sage or something... because y'all know Bill's idea of sweet talking is rather unique... Case in point... one of the first times he told me he loved me he said and I quote "I'm horrified at how much I love you..."  I took one look at him and rolled off the bed unable to breathe because I was laughing so hard...  never had anyone been horrified to love me before... But I digress... I'm gonna have to help him be very sweet to our prickly Penny...  She doesn't understand that in between the f bombs and the gosh darnits that he's telling her he loves her and he means it...  I may have to go explain to her what she just isn't getting... She just doesn't understand what any good southern woman understands... a face lift hurts like hell but is worth the lifetime of youth and beauty after...

We've got upcoming surgeries scheduled for Penelope... Mid January she gets a sump pump installed.... as soon as that happens she'll get new plumbing... including a tank less heater... on CITY water... yes, she's no longer dependent on a well... that well will take care of the plants in her garden... Her floors will be reinstalled and shined... As much of the original hardwood will go back down....  Bathrooms are getting grey slate tiles.  February she gets insulation, electricity redone and a new HVAC... cuz no southern woman wants to be seen perspiring...  If all goes well... she should have drywall up by April... and that's when I'll be joining Bill again down there... because I can actually help paint... or just stand in the way planning his next thing to fix.... By our anniversary we should be finalizing what cabinetry and counter tops we want in our kitchen.... Around that time I'll also need to go out to my mom's to figure out how to ship my grandfathers banquet table out here...

Now we've come up with some really cool ideas while we have been staring at the sticks we call our farm...  We've decided since the front door has a transom window, we'd carry it all the way to the back of the house down the hallway, with three other antique transom windows we had shipped down here from Bill's hometown... Bill has also been saving what can be salvaged of any wood he's needed to cut out and reframe Penny to code...  there's a few beautiful beams that aren't going back up... that he's promised to make into to our kitchen island counter... and the pantry barn door...  they'll be stunning re-purposed.  We also bought old Indian doors that are going to be our master bathroom doors... and this is what actually lead me to blog today... the tie in of looks across the house...

Hang tight while I back step a minute...  Penny has three fireplaces... We have one original mantel that we're keeping and reusing... the other two were put up by people who didn't understand Penny's age and class...  So we're bringing her from a gawky youth of 113... to a stately, timeless, age appropriate grande dame...  when mom was out in July we found these amazing antique British and French transfer ware tiles... and a vision started forming... actually it may have been me foaming at the mouth and seeing all the old fireplace mantels I've ever seen and drooled over in my lifetime... here's two to help you see my vision...  I simply can't wait to get these up in our living room with a bad ass honey made mantel/surround... right next to my hidden wine closet... two things of beauty next to each other that will make me grin daily...

Anyway, in case you think I've digressed too much... there really is a point of me leaping from Indian doors to English tiles... We found the tiles for our master yesterday... oh Lord thank you Jesus they're the cost a box that one of my beauties were priced at... the more I see invoices for the January February work, the more I get realistic in my dreams... well as realistic as an only child can be....  but look at these closely... they'll be a muted version of the living room... but similar mantel... and if you turn them just soo.....  they look like a gate or a door... kinda vintagy like the Indian doors that will be on the opposite wall... right?  The heavens opened up and we sang hallelujah at $1.97 a tile... yes please and thank you... the box is in the garage waiting til... um.... June babe?

But wait there's more...  in looking for this tile for this blog... I went and looked at more tile online.... Ohhhh yeah baby...  I've got to go see this one close up... cuz I'm thinking the Master bathroom may need it...  Fire place surround?  Or in the shower egress/nook for the shampoo?  That with the grey floors and calsomethingcutta marble look counter tops?  Sigh... Can you catch what I'm putting down?  It's inexpensive too... run with me babe on this while I'm thinking pretty and cheap... before I run off with mom on another junkin adventure that leads to $20 tiles...

As I come out of my daydreaming of days to someday come... I realize what Penelope's problem is...  honey... You are in danger... just because Penny is country, that doesn't mean she's not a respectable southern lady... she's quite proper and doesn't like her knickers being down... better get her dressed soon!!!!  Or maybe we should post pictures on her exposed beams so she can see what she has coming for her... I CAN see, but she can't...

If that doesn't work... tell her after we've made her pretty we're gonna build a nice strong barn for her... and we've already named him... Buck...