not a drywall in the house..

Actually.. no.. lots of drywall in the house!  It's Wednesday, July 8th, and we have walls!  I have to admit, walking in it was really weird to not see through the studs across the house.  Instead we have actual rooms.. with actual walls..

The garage still seems pretty big,

But my laundry room seems much smaller now that it's not open to five other spaces.

 Not to complain, I think it will be a perfect fit for my washer and dryer and still have room to spare.

 Looking through the kitchen to the breakfast nook, it's cool to see how the space is going to be laid out.  Especially when I see how much natural light comes in through the windows.

 I am just smitten with the way the living room and deck are coming together.  I can imagine lots of fun times in this space.

 I've always wanted a formal dining room, and I think once the remaining drywall is cut from the windows, this space will be flooded with light as well.

 Hard to tell, but this is a shot of the high ceilings in the entry and the alcove by my office.

 Looking from the front door through to the kitchen and living room.

 A shot of the entryway and dining room from the porch.

There's still some work to be done in the dining room, and my island  will need to be drywalled as well.

But oh, how I love the ceiling in our master bedroom.  I am smitten.

Drywall continues -  day 172 of our build

omg...look up!

I just love it when new things are delivered to our lot.. and to the correct lot (we've had some mix ups between our house and the neighbors, to say the least).  Monday, July 6th -  the delivery was drywall.

Lots and lots of drywall!

There were stacks like this in almost every room. 

Beginning Tuesday, we saw some installation - we have ceilings!

Looking into the kitchen and seeing all those holes for can lights was exciting.

It's so different now that we can't see all the way to the rafters.

I am loving the high ceilings in the living room.

The tray in the dining room was finished-ish.

The tray in the master is starting to take shape.

They have a lot of work ahead of them, but it's so nice to see our house looking more like a house every day.

I'm just counting down the days until we can call it home.

Drywall delivery - days 170 & 171 of our build

the man was right all along...

Our last house had a patio.. I guess you could call it that.  It was a concrete slab that was vulnerable to the elements. Heat, direct sun, no shelter from the rain, and no privacy. "Why hello neighbors! Oh yes, my hair does always look a mess!"  

The concrete was cracking and it was almost always covered in leaves.  Our poor grill.. it almost rolled down into the neighbors yard during a bad storm.  It just wasn't very hospitable or enjoyable to sit out there.

I think we might have sat out on that patio 20 times over the course of the five years living there.

Don't get me wrong..there were some good nights drinking glass bottle cokes while Adam grilled.  Even a few where my Dad's dog Molly romped and chased bugs while we enjoyed the rare cool evenings in late summer. A few times we had friends over and congregated outside; but we really didn't have much use for it.. or any of the outside spaces of our first home.

So, imagine my surprise when one of the things Adam was drawn to when we first started looking at builders, was the two story deck.  I didn't understand the appeal as most of them were decks overlooking a subdivision and off the master bedroom. I mean, when would you use it? First thing in the morning?

I am not a coffee and watching the birds in the morning type of person.

I am a sleep as late as I can while still making it to work on time type of person.

But my husband wanted a two story deck.. so a two story deck we were going to have. 

And then we found our builder, and toured his houses.. and I too felt the draw of the two story deck.

Grilling below, chilling above.

Hanging out on the porch even during a storm -- feeling the air change from hot and humid to cool and refreshing as the rain pours down.

With walls on either side, we can enjoy the view with some privacy.. who cares if my yoga pants don't match my shirt..or if my hair is a total mess..

And the view is much better than a subdivision.. 

I get it now, husband.. and as most often.. you were right all along.

Here's to many more afternoons, evenings, and maybe even an early morning.. of looking out over our deck, into the trees, and soaking it in.

How right you were, my love.. how right you were...

Back porch is complete - day 166 of our build.

it was a good day...

I don't know if the stars just aligned, or if we caught the timing just right.. but June 30, 2015 was a good day at the lot.

We haven't had too many days where there was just a ton of progress.. especially not recently. 

But our builders stepped it up in celebration of the last day of June, and our hopeful "2 months to go!" mark.

They added siding to our janky gable:

They installed cotton candy insulation:

AND..

Yes, there's more!

AND they started working on our back porch!

Love the view SO much!

Looks a little dangerous right now..

But it's a start!

Here's to many more productive days.. we're desperately hoping to close at the end of August.  

Let's keep up the pace, guys!

Siding, Insulation, AND a porch -  day 164 of our build

it smells like...

On June 30, 2015, as Adam and I walked up to the house.. we noticed a big change.

We have insulation!

Then we noticed something else.. a unique smell..

I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, but Adam confirmed it.

The dang insulation made our house smell like cotton candy!

Weird as it sounds.. but I swear it.

Talk about hazardous.. fluffy, light, sweet smelling...

..itchy, toxic fiberglass.

At least I'm assuming it's fiberglass.  

Doesn't much matter.. we could tell the difference in temperature already.  And that is the main point in all this, right?

Now... to find me some cotton candy...

Insulation installed -  day 164 of our build

when you wish upon a star...

A little "when you wish upon a star.." moment for you.

After seeing the house and the icky unfinished gable just gloating at me.. I reverted back to our Disney honeymoon and decided to make a little wish on a star that night..

[Not really.. closer to the truth would be that I, while trolling the Pinterest app for Halloween decor ideas, muttered to Adam, who was reading tech news or playing a game on his phone, that "I hope to hell the gable is at least covered with hardi-board before the 4th of July weekend".]

Let's go back to wishing on a star.. much more romantic and poetic.

Star light, star bright

First star I see tonight

I wish I may, I wish I might

See the gable of my dreams at first light..

or afternoon, or tomorrow.. hell, as long as it's before July 4th I'm happy!

Tahhhh! Dahhhhhh!!

No paint yet, but isn't she lovely? 

Ah... much better..

Still waiting on caulking and paint, but so much better than the pieced-together before.

It's almost as if the construction workers borrowed some of Tinkerbell's pixie dust.

Just magical.

Our new gable has siding -  day 164 of our build

shingled and ready to mingle..

So..I still haven't fully recovered from gable-gate, but there have been some good distractions going on at the house to keep me happy.

We have more paint!  The back and sides of the house have been painted except for the highest points.

More paint on the front as well.  Anywhere that has exposed house-wrap still showing will be covered with stone (except for the janky gable).

The biggest development (and one of the harder ones to document)...

We have shingles!  The roofers were working on June 26, 2015 even during a summer storm.

I always make friends with the workers.  They probably think I'm loco taking all these pictures and waving and clapping excitedly all the time. But hey, at least I'm entertaining!

I wanted to yell at them to "please be careful" or "please don't die" as the skies grew more gray and a few lightening bolts leapt through the air.

I headed home that day, but was hopeful the roof would be closer to finished soon enough.

And it was!!

Ooh!  Ahh!  Look at those lovely shingles! Isn't it marvelous!

I still haven't tested for waterproof-ness, but I plan on spending some time in the house during our next monsoon to see how things hold up.  For now, everything seems nice and dry.. and ready for the next step!

Another coat of paint and a fully-finished roof! - days 159-163 of our build.