Workin all the live long day...

OK, so I haven’t really been slacking.  That much.  I completely underestimated how busy life was going to be with two kids and the desire to still have a social life!  Add on top of that a second job teaching at a local Technical College, and you have one busy Justin.  I have, however, been working around here.  We decided recently (after a lot of painting has already been done on the house) to add on a second bathroom and just stay put at 538 for a few more years.  Hopefully we’ll get to that by the end of 2012!

Last weekend was a banner weekend here at 538.  After MONTHS of dragging this project on, I FINALLY finished painting the back of the house.  I used a heat gun and a sander and got the house down to the bare wood…then primed and painted the house and trim!  All I have left to do is scrape the windows and put the screens and shutters back on and the back of the house is complete!  Until we rip it off in 6 months…

I also got around to re-painting the back door after it had been scratched up and test painted ages ago.  We went with a deep, almost brownish purple color after seeing how great it looked on Lara’s house.  Which brings me to my next project:  the new front door! 

I’ve been looking for a door like this since we moved in.  The current front door is a solid metal door with no windows whatsoever.  It’s the definition of depressing and makes the house look like it’s still a rental property. 

 

Well, I snagged this bad boy for less than $100…so we’re gonna paint it the same purple as the back door and splurge on the hardware…which will look something like this: 

 

Last but not least, we finally replaced the dining room light fixture.  I really liked our old cantilever lamp that came with the house, but it was a bit too heavy and blocked the view into the kitchen after we opened up the wall.  This new fixture is from CB2 (via craigslist at 30% discount!).  Installing it was a BIOTCH, as moving the fixture 3’ over to the south resulted in re-wiring the living, dining, and kitchen because there was absolutely no slack in the wiring in the attic and the circuits in this house are whack!

Really brightens the space up!  Now it's time to patch the hole...

update: I'm in love. AGAIN.

It's amazing how you can fall in love. Three times. So completely that you lose your breath more than once per day. I knew when I met Lauren I'd found love. Then we had AC...I had no idea what I was in for. She completely blew me away with her sweetness and grace. I thought that was it, how could I possibly love yet ANOTHER person this much?

and then we met her:

Stunning eh?

This is why I haven't been on here in ages. Coming home at night, I've been completely consumed with having both kids and trying to get everything done that needs to be done to keep this life afloat.

I guess at some point I'll have to get my butt outside and finish re-painting the outside of this place, eh? oh well, maybe after Christmas...

yes, yes, yes

Yes, it IS almost September. And yes, it's been over a month since I posted. I promise I've been busy. No, really. I've been working on the house and playing catch-up with other things in life. Plus, I had a *ahem* procedure done, so I'm a little doped up and out of it. So I will be back soon. Promise.

oh yeah, this thing...

Bad blogger! Bad. Blogger. OK, I'm not really a blogger, but I happen to have a blog which I'm too lazy to keep up. I never understood why people always said life got so busy when you got older. Until I got older...I'll be 30 in a few months yaknow?

Lately, life's been full of diapers, feedings, and just plain trying to keep up. A little extended time off for L meant a bit less pay this summer. While it was worth it for her to be off with Emmy for 3 months, it's slowed progress down here quite a bit. I STILL haven't ordered the remaining glass for the kitchen cabinets. It's also going to be a while before the new floor and lighting make their way in.

I have, however, started working on the outside of the house. Sigh. What a project! I've scraped a large section of the back of the house and washed sections. Once I get a couple of dry days, I'll sand it all down, putty what needs it, then prime and paint it. Stay tuned, there'll be pictures coming eventually. Until then, enjoy this:

Catching up...

Whew! It's been a crazy month or so around here. We got the majority of the kitchen done juuuust in time for Emmy's un-prompted 3-week early arrival. There are still plenty of small things to do: get the glass for the upper cabinets, adjust a few knobs, sand here, paint there, fix the trash can drawer, etc. All little things that only I notice, but things to do anyway.

First things first:

Emmy enjoys a nap. Pure sweetness.

The simplified cabinets and new dishwashwer.

The simplified lower cabinets. Clean and timeless!

The bar with the updated cabinets!

The trash can drawer...love this thing!

Our world has grown a little bit more

God has blessed us yet again! Emery Kate Lemoine was born at 7:37pm on May 3, 2011 weighing in at 5 lbs 15 oz, 19.5 inches long.

I must say I feel like an extremely lucky man to have been given such riches in life. Now it's time for me to start showing how thankful I really am.

My bathing beauty...just before things got REAL.

Our first picture as a family!

Emery Kate Lemoine (yes, I'll put better pics up later)

This weekend was a banner weekend in the ongoing 2-year renovation of the kitchen. We FINALLY installed a dishwasher! Also, we re-faced all of the bottom cabinets, stained the butcher block top, and re-ran a new copper line to the fridge (over a year after it burst during a cold snap and flooded the kitchen while we were away).

There are still tons of things to do, like sand, paint, finish installing hardware, new magnetic catches, add braces to the bar and re-frame the bar door, but he majority of the heavy lifting is over!

My nanny, mom, Lolly, & AC spend the weekend painting in AC's big girl room too...those pictures are at the end.

Below are a few pics of progress in the house:

New drawer fronts & door faces

newly stained & varnished bar top

New cabinet faces and dishwasher!

The tree & owl Owl behind the old window