On the fast track.

I am making up for lost time here ... 3 posts (almost) within a week!  There has just been so much happening so quickly here and I want to get it all down so we can look back on it to see just how much progress we've made.  Because we have made a lot.  And it's amazing to us when we stop to think that we've only owned the house for 3 months now (and 2.5 weeks), and only lived there for 2 months (and 1.5 weeks).  Crazy. 

Although, we definitely would not be getting as much done this fast without help (the paid professional help).  So, the plumbing inspection was the day before Christmas Eve, and it went fabulously!  The crew was able to start assembling our bathroom ... everything is in order and ready to go!  As I previously (incorrectly) stated that all of the plumbing was done - of course it's not done!  The plumber can't do the second half of his job until after the first bathroom is done.  Why not (you probably already figured it out, smarty)?  Because we have to have a bathroom to use!  Duh, Marissa.  But he is scheduled to finish the updating to the plumbing after the contractors are done with all their work. 

Here is the updated pictures of the bathroom with the work before Christmas ... hopefully they'll be able to finish before New Year's, maybe?  (But, like we've been told ... drywalling and tiling can be a lot of waiting; waiting for mud/grout to dry before new coats and sanding ... kind of like all the time we spent hurrying up to wait for the spackle in the cracks to dry, sand, repeat before painting.  Ugh.)

Before Christmas Pics:

And two more after Christmas pics ... yesterday they started putting the tile in around the shower!

We had a good Christmas ... my parents, brothers, and sister-in-law were able to make it to our house to visit. We had a pretty uneventful, relaxing day, with good food. I successfully made my first Christmas dinner - prime rib, cauliflower bake, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, spinach salad, baked apples, and cheesecake ... and it all came out together and hot using just my one oven (well, except for the salad and cheesecake ... and also I had some help from my mom, who has done this a couple/few times before!  And, a thanks to Liz for bringing the pumpkin rolls, cranberry butter, and marshmallows - they were delicious!)

We do wish we would have been able to spend time with other family members ... my sister and her family didn't travel due to kids and newborns, and Pat's family was scattered across the country (and I mean across); but hopefully we'll be able to see and visit with everyone (or most) over the next few months ... and hopefully their Christmas's were good too!

And, a few pics of new stuff in the house ...

The final piece to my dining room set ... my parents were able to bring it down with them!

A lovely centerpiece sent by my grandma for Christmas ... THANK YOU!!!

The only tree we had this year, for our first Christmas in our first house ... it's fiber-optic and Pat's favorite!

This is what it looks like lit-up (pic taken without the flash) - it is futuristic Chirstmas!

Another Update.

And my second December post!!  Who says that just because I got a late start posting in December, I can't get several posts in before the end of the month!

So, the house is coming along swiftly this month.  It seems like every time we leave the house, we come home and something new is finished.  (Which, is awesome - because unlike before when we came back to the house and it was in the same shambles we left it in, and we were the ones that had to fix it, paint it, or clean it ... this time, we just get to marvel at the immaculate work that is being completed for us!)  They finished the kitchen ... ceiling is demoed, drywalled, painted, and the lights are hung! And, I love it, love it, love it. It looks so much bigger and grander than before, and I can't wait to finish painting, flooring, tiling!

Also, like I said in the last post ... the plumbing on the bathroom is completely updated (turns out I was wrong though, and the remainder of the plumbing is still in the works).  The rough inspection is going to be today or tomorrow, and then the contractor crew can start assembling the bathroom!  They did go pick up our tub, vanity, sink, and tiles for us though (great news since we don't have a way to haul stuff).  The fixtures all look awesome!  We can't wait until it's all put together and we can use our new bathroom.

This is what the underside/backside of a tub looks like ... in case anybody ever wondered that!

But, since they are waiting on the plumbing inspection, and can't do anything else until that happens ... we are going to have them insulate the crawl space in the basement.  Why would we need to do that, you ask?  Wasn't that addition built in the 50s and didn't people live there before?  Specifically, didn't their daughter have a bedroom and bathroom in that part of the house?  Yes, yes, and yes. 

The addition was built in the 50s, the previous owners did turn it a bedroom/bathroom, and yes, there is a lived-in uber-pink bedroom back there.  BUT ... the crawl space and piping/duct work was never insulated.  Therefore, when it's winter out (which happens annually here in Ohio), the floor in the back of our house gets cold, and the air being pumped back there from our furnace gets luke warm by the time is reaches the vent, the water is heated but then the frigid pipes do a nice job of cooling it before it exits the shower head, and all of that, in-turn, makes the back part of the house about 60 degrees (give or take), and a huge money pit for us. 

SO, Ritchie said that while they are waiting on the plumbing inspection, he could insulate for us ... this is actually exciting in the world of home-ownership.  It means less heating costs (at the beginning of winter), warmer floors & shower, and a guest bedroom that doesn't make our guests feel like they are perhaps camping.  (This was something that we did not know about prior to purchasing the house - and once discovered, we planned on doing this ... but we get to do it now!  It really is true that you need to add about 30 - 50% on to whatever you budgeted for a remodelling project to estimate an actual cost ... good thing we did that!)

And, as a Merry Christmas ... we got an awesome present from our good friends Katie, Shawn, and Avery.  An ornament for our first Christmas in our new house, and it is adorable and we love it!

The Update Post.

I started this post about 3 weeks ago, with the intention of posting a few times in December - because we have a lot going on! But alas, things happened (good & bad), and here I am, a week before Christmas with no December posts yet. And, to top that all off, I am taking this time this morning to post, even though we have no tree, no shopping done, no food bought, and remodelling fixtures to decide on and purchase - all before Christmas.

This is what my original post read. It was written the week after Thanksgiving ...

So, I woke up Wednesday morning to find snow on my car! Then, I noticed it was actually snowing (barely, but there were flakes!). Then, as the day progressed, it kept snowing! December is awesome!

Bad news ... The contractor is not coming until next week now ... he has been working on some roof jobs that just have to get done before winter and the weather has not been cooperating with him. Boo for us, but at least we know that we've got the right guy!

Good news ... So, we've been working on getting some stuff done. See mighty list below!

1. Rain & more rain. So, before the beautiful snow started coming down, we had a bunch of those 34 degrees and raining days (the worst). During those days, Pat did some rain checks on our house. Up until the last day, we didn't notice any water in the basement, which was great because they said it leaked pretty bad (which is does when the rain is significant ... old house, dingy basement, no big deal). But, what he did find was a couple of items that are a little more pressing ... a) the gutter is pulling away from the house above the window in our bedroom, so the water is just pouring/dripping down the siding (it creates a this noise that is just loud enough to keep you awake and annoyed when you're trying to sleep); and b) the roof leaks. Stupid previous owners. But, so far as Pat can tell, we should be able to patch it for now ... and since our roof is so small, at least it isn't the biggest set-back ever, even if we did have to replace it sooner than later.
2. Den is set-up, with new rug!
3. My picture wall is back up in the dining room! YAY!
4. Blown the leafs - several times. The paternal parents gave us a bunch of stuff in their process of moving down south ... and Pat got a 'bad ass' blower, trimmer, etc. all in one, gas-powered tool. He has been pretty excited to use it each and every time something needs to be done yardwork-wise ... and I am NOT going to complain about that (I just hope he's still giddy next year).
5. AND, Decorated for Christmas!!! Wreathes, lights, music boxes, and more!!

And, so now here is the actual list and pictures of some of what has happened this month of December!

It has snowed quite a bit since then!  And, for the most part it has been welcomed ... and hopefully it'll stick around for a white Christmas.  Pat & I are having my family over to our house for the holidays ... which means that I better get a list together for food and go shopping.  It also means that we have to get moving on buying those mattresses for the guest bedroom!

Contractors started working on the house!! YAY!! And, boy do they work fast ... even in small spaces!  The kitchen ceiling is done ... demoed, drywalled, and painted! Now, we just need to pick out a lighting fixture and they'll be done in there! (Then all we have to do is paint the rest of the walls, the cabinets, replace the sink and counters, demo the floor, refinish the floor, and buy new appliances!) Great news though ... dishwasher is in and working - it truly is the best ever.

The master bathroom is demoed. We ran into a bunch of plumbing work that just had to be done once they contractors finished the demo ... we knew it was all going to have to be replaced eventually, but lucky us, we got to do it now! We have purchased the tile, sink, vanity, lighting, and faucets for that bathroom and they are all ready to go ... except paint, which we have to decide on still?

Dry wall is up on the ceiling ... with cut out for fan/lighting!

Old plumbing ...

New plumbing!

We had 3 different lines running to the cold/hot water and drains in the kitchen and back bathroom ... so the plumber corrected those and ran them all into the same line.  He also took the drain pipe from the kitchen (that was running diagonal across the basement and being held up by the gas line) and married it into the bathroom drain.  So, we now have much less piping in the basement, and our plumbing is all up-to-date!

We got new rugs for both the living room and den.  The LR rug was not what we are really looking for, but should do for now (and by not what we are looking for ... I mean I want a different, more expensive, rug but can't spend the money right now!).  We also aren't sure what we are going to be able to do for a coffee table or ottoman in front of the couch ... there isn't a ton of room with the door opening right there!  So, I found a pretty inexpensive ottoman that has 2 smaller ottomans for seating/feeting inside, storage, and also the lids flip over into trays for drinks and food.  So, for now, this is what we'll use ... and it's been working out really well.

Our garage was partially cleaned out before Thanksgiving and looking pretty good ... now it has turned into a dump zone for contractor stuff, demo stuff, and other stuff. Some day we will get that cleaned out and Pat will be parking in there!

Christmas decorations are up ... other than the tree! We just haven't been home enough to buy one and set it up. Hopefully we'll head out today or tomorrow to get one?

So, in case I don't post again this week ...

We hope that everyone has a

Merry Christmas

and

 Happy New Year's.

(because who am I kidding, I truly might not get to posting again before 2011!)