Priming and Painting!!

We are officially coating the walls! Sunday Jake primed all of the walls using a paint sprayer - a handy tool if I may add. Yesterday he painted the walls and the ceiling in what will be the main color throughout our house! The color is called Happy Trails and is a tan/beige hue. We will be doing white trim throughout the house so the color is dark enough to look good against white trim but light enough to not shrink the space! It is perfect! The walls will need a second coat, but it looks fantastic!!

Prime Time!

Jake has been hard at work mudding and sanding, mudding and sanding, mudding and sanding! The mudding and sanding is finally complete!! The area is clean and we are ready to start priming and painting!! The progress we are making is very exciting!! Fin was thrilled to help dad this week as Jake showed him how to mud, sand,and clean up!

Mudding and Sanding

This week is all about mudding and sanding the drywall. Jake will literally be spending the entire week doing this. Since he is not a professional drywall installer, he is taking his time and doing small layers to ensure he doesn't overdo the mud. So far, so good! The first round is complete and everything is looking great! It is starting to get very exciting in our house! 

We have all of the kitchen entrances sealed off so the only way to get into the kitchen is to go out the front door and walk around the house and go in the back door. This is a pain, but it is preventing large amounts of dust from getting everywhere else in the house. "Pain is temporary. Pride is forever" That is how I feel about this situation.... the hassle and mess is temporary but the kitchen will be beautiful and we will like it forever, or at least until we decide to move and do it to another house! :)

A New Door Opens!

Fin and I have spent the last two evenings at my parents house giving Jake an ample amount of time to get things done!!

He had been a busy guy!

He finished the electrical on the north wall of the kitchen.

He removed the siding, door, and window on the west wall of the dining room.

He built a header to support the new French Door that will lead out to the three seasons porch. 

He finished insulating and completed drywall installation! The paneling is officially gone! It has already been such an amazing transformation! 

He plans to take the weekend off and enjoy time with family! Next week begins mudding and sanding (a mess) :-)

How we are living...in chaos!

Jake has been busy working away finishing up drywall and electrical. The remainder of this week he will complete the electrical, insulation, drywall, and build the header for the French door which will walk out to our three seasons porch!

So, How are we living....

The living room is our entertainment area, Fin's playroom, the dining room, and basically where we spend all of our time.

The refrigerator and stove are located in the middle of the kitchen. Counter space is very limited and I often make my coffee on the floor. 

Due to the dust of the projects, everything needs to be completely put away and off of the counters and kitchen. After a day of work, everything needs to be wiped down and vaccumed.

The hallway is full of drywall.

The linen closet doubles as a pantry.

 Our bedroom houses all of the new flooring.

Fin's room, the bathroom,and the living room are the only "clean" rooms in the house. 

It is impossible to keep anything organized! I am starting to go a little nuts, but these are good memories right? One day I will look back and laugh at the fact that we decided to take on a major house renovation when I am seven months pregnant! 

In reality the projects are going very well and although yes I am a bit stressed that everything will be completed on time we are on schedule to have the kitchen and dining room complete by mid-October! 

We are a bit crazy, but we love it!

Weekend Work!! Inside and Outside!

This weekend we accomplished A LOT! My parent's came up to visit, help out around the house, and babysit Fin. 

Jake added new insulation to our exterior walls. My dad and Jake put up the drywall in the dining room and kitchen. It was so much help having him here to help Jake. They did a fantastic job! It is so exciting to finally see progress!!

My Mom and I worked outside while Fin was napping. She cut down all of our ferns and cleaned out the area in which they were residing. I trimmed the large tree that was in our backyard and broke down all of the branches and brush. Gus enjoyed himself outside in the beautiful weather. We even found an old lawn ornament - a bowling ball...we will not be keeping it.

Saturday evening grandpa and grandma watched Fin while Jake and I attended the wedding of my good college friend Danielle and her now husband Mike at Lambeau Field!

Today is my mom's birthday! We enjoyed breakfast at a local dinner, The Pancake Place, which has been voted the best breakfast in the Bay Area five years in a row. Living one mile from Lambeau Field we were really excited for today - the Packer's home opener. We took a break from all of the house work to walk up to the tailgate and enjoy the crowd! What a rush!

Thank you to my parents for all of their help this weekend!! We are still officially on schedule with all of our renovations!!