Posts Tagged With: love my life

Sunday morning at the home site 1.3.21

Fourth floor loft and roof deck level is up!

It was cold and rainy on our first visit in the new year.
YBW and I went alone.
It was muddy as hell so we didn’t go around to the back of the house.

I took this pic standing in that same spot in the garage where the stairs will be.

To the right:
second floor living room
third floor main bedroom
fourth floor out to the roof deck

To the left:
second floor pantry powder room and dining room (kitchen is in the middle of the house)
third floor two guest bedrooms (full bath and laundry room are in the middle of the house)
fourth floor powder room and loft space and small front roof deck

Sometimes I can hardly believe it’s real!

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Sunday morning at the home site 12.27.20

Third floor is up!
We have a bedroom level now.

It was in the twenties Sunday morning. Damn cold even bundled up.
Baby K and her parents joined us, but after a bit of trying to break the ice over the puddles, she got too cold and they went to wait in the car.


This is from that same spot in the garage that will eventually be under the stairs. I’m shooting towards the back of the house this time. That open space on the third level will be our bedroom.

I’ve not yet shared the back of the house, and I couldn’t back up any more without falling down the hill, so this is as much as you’ll be able to see.

On the ground level you can see what will be YBW’s office space. French door on the left and double window on the right.
Above that, the telescopic sliding door in the living room that will lead to an open deck.
On the third floor, the windows on the left are in our bedroom, the high window on the right is above the double vanity in our bathroom.

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Sunday morning at the home site 12.20.20

Y’all!!
We have a second story!

That bump out part over the garage is the dining room.
The window all the way to the right above the front door is the powder room.

It was cool and sunny this Sunday morning and once again, Thing 1 and Baby K joined us for our weekly visit.
After the snow last week, the site was so muddy, the concrete floor of the house was puddled up, and water dripped on us while we were inside.

Baby K climbs down from underneath where the front stairs will be into the garage while her Papa (YBW) takes photos.

She was being super careful!

I took this shot standing in the garage under where the stairs will be. I’m facing out the front of the house so what you can see above will be the top of the first flight of stairs, the pantry, and the powder room. Down below you can see the top of the front door.

I love exploring the build site. I love engaging the building process. I love sharing it with y’all!

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Sunday morning at the home site 12.13.20

Sunday morning was sunny and almost warm when we went over to the new house.

OH MY GOODNESS!
So! Much! Squee!
We have an actual ground floor!

Thing 1 and Baby K came with us again this week.

I’m in the garage and Baby K is standing in (what will be) the bathtub in the ground floor bathroom. Thing 1 is slipping through from the mechanical closet. YBW is in the background taking a photo of…the floor…? Must remember to ask him.

Baby K picked up each of these items. The pieces of concrete and the washer were in the pocket of her hoodie. I carried the nail, screw, and nut for her. I’m adding this to the rocks she brought home in the previous weeks.
Maybe I’ll find a way to incorporate her collection into the decor of her room at the new house.

I know

But being there was even more exciting than I expected!
It gets more real each week, y’all and I am SO here for it!

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September gratitude

Today is October first.
The official start of Halloween month!
But before I get all SQUEE about that, I’m going to express my gratitude.

September was straight chaos. But it was also quite lovely.
As I look back on this month I find myself grateful for both.

I’m also grateful for:

a porchlife lunch with Mike and Josie
Husband N’s willingness to transport a 16 foot ladder
a successful and fun flea market day with YBW, his brother and sister-in-law
meeting with the builder about electricals in the new house
stackable jewelry organizers
a tearful conversation with YBW

Target run with Thing 1 and Baby K (sassy thing chose her own new shades and bag)

finally getting to talk with Jessica
Husband N’s mad landscaping skills
cool Autumn mornings
Thing G seems content at his mom’s
winery day with Nora and Dale’s family
joyfully ‘hate watching’ the Twilight saga with Thing 1

bathroom construction progress

windows open for several days in a row
playing a game called Bye Felicia
making good use of my instant pot
two of my alternative healthcare providers
Saturday morning snuggles with YBW and Baby K
exercising my 19th amendment right and responsibility by voting early
TJXrewards points

inventing this ridiculously delicious cocktail with Thing 1

having airline miles to purchase tickets for Thing 2 and Boyfriend M to visit in November
the post office in Old Town Manassas
taking a chance on the curated bundles at Bards Alley and getting some great reads
red toenail polish
CBD oil capsules
being in the car by myself

My heart is full of gratitude as I look back at this lovely and chaotic month.

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tricked out kitchen in a smart house

When it comes to the new house, YBW is eager to make it a smart house. He’d love for there to be a central command (thingie) that we can tell to do what we want it to do. You know, like saying “OK Google” or “Alexa” but it’ll be connected to all of our house and have it’s own name.
It feels so Varrick to me.

(For those of y’all that don’t know, this is a The Legend of Korra reference. I did not enjoy Korra anywhere near as much as it’s predecessor, Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I absolutely adored.)

Anyway…
YBW is all about making the house work for us. To be able to control lights and thermostat and even the garage door from a tablet. That if we weren’t sure we’d turned out the lights on the ground floor he could push a button from the bedroom so we didn’t have to go down and back two flights of stairs. He wants the house to do as much as possible from a central hub.
I love to watch his brain work. See his face get all excited at the smart house possibilities. He’s committed to making our forever home one that does all the things we need, and many of the things we want.
For the most part, I’m interested in learning how to use it once it’s set up, but I’m less enthusiastic about choosing how to set it up. He’s cool with that, as long as he can get his geek on. He’s super patient when I ask questions that probably aren’t applicable, or he just explained to me.
I’m more concerned about surround sound for the big tv, and speakers around the house so I can play music. But there is a bit of pleasure at the thought of being able to turn things on and off from a screen…
We each love what we love, right?
My husband loves science and math and tech and super cool nerdy things. He is getting to play with that in creating a smart house that works for him.
I support this fully!
I’m like, get your geek on, bud! Hook it all up and make it do your bidding. (But please let the command be “Zhu Li do the thing” so I’m constantly amused.)

I want to get my geek on in the kitchen!


This picture is the kitchen at the model.

My kitchen will have a bigger island (my favorite design option). It will have another row of cabinets above the wall cabinets up to the ceiling. The hood vent will be hidden behind cabinetry. And the lower cabinets will have more drawer units than cabinets with doors.
All the cabinetry will be navy and look a little something like this.

I’m salty about paying so much for a brand new house and having wire shelving, so…
I may want to trick out the pantry.
I’m already designing closet systems for our closet, probably Pax from IKEA, but I’m also looking at Easy Closets.

The laundry room is on the bedroom level (thaaaaaank yooooou) it’ll start out boring, but I’ll fancy it up too.
With a roof deck, main level porch deck, and ground level back yard, I’m getting excited about designing outdoor spaces too. Plant life and lighting, water features and accessories will create beautiful spaces for us to be outside.

Now, if YBW’s smart house can control outdoor lights and fountains, etc. or could somehow make my laundry run, I’d be inclined to get as excited as he is!
“Zhu Li do ALL the things!”

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

IWotB 2020 edition ~ day one

Yesterday was Mother’s day. Also the first day of International Week of the Birthday.

YBW and I planned a shoot day, but as it turns out, he was feeling a bit wonky in his belly, and my head was trying to hurt, so we decided against that. Instead we went over to the construction site where our new house will (eventually) be.
The first building has plumbing and electrical.
The second building is missing the topmost floor.
The grading is almost finished for the third building.
The fourth building is still a big ass pile of rubble.

This is the same model as ours at the end of the first building.

After about an hour going through and taking photos of the unit, we headed for home.
We sat at the table on the porch for a while before YBW decided he wanted a nap.
I got settled with a coca cola, book, and notebook. (the coke helped my head feel better)


I’m eager to dig into this book.

And then the phone rang.
Thing 2 said: Happy Mother’s Day!
We talked for nearly two hours.
I said: Thanks for letting me be your Momma.
She said: I’m so glad you’re my Momma. She paused for a moment and said: I’m so glad to be your kid.
We talked for a few moments about the difference in meaning between those two statements.
Essentially, my daughter is content to have me as her mother, as well as being content to be my child. And these are two very different things.
(this may actually become another post)
As we do every single time we speak, we said: We need to do this more often.
She giggled and told me, I’m going to talk to you Tuesday anyway!
I said: Wow! Twice in two days. That means we probably won’t talk for a few months!
We decided that might be too long.

While I was talking with Thing 2, Thing 1 called. We exchanged texts earlier in the day, but hadn’t yet spoken. I texted her I was talking with her sister and would call her asap.
We talked about how even though this is her second mother’s day, it feels so much different than last year. Baby K was still brand new, and she was excited to be with her Momma on mother’s day for the first time in many years.
But this year, mother’s day is real. She has a daughter who can walk and talk. She has a daughter who can express her joy and love. She’s having a ‘real’ mother’s day.
My eldest daughter is a mother.
It doesn’t get any less weird the more I say it.
I can tell you that it is so wonderfully cool though!

When YBW woke from his nap, we ordered delivery food and watched the last two episodes of season two of Westworld.

I had a very Roby sort of mother’s day and first day of IWotB.

Even though the world is still shut down and in chaos, and I’m not getting to celebrate the way I’d like…
I’m chock full of love.
I’m chock full of gratitude.
I’m celebrating the forty-ninth anniversary of my birth in new and creative ways.

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ready for porch life

Ever notice how everything is straight chaos while you’re trying to organize?
YBW and I spent the majority of Saturday on the porch. Bringing out the rugs, furniture, and cushion storage containers. Putting together new outdoor dining furniture.

The breeze was chilly, but it was warm in the sun. You can see the abandoned hoodie on the chair.
We moved all that cardboard to a sunny spot in the yard and asked Thing G to come out and break it down.
Because the winter was rather mild, most of the herbs are coming back. I need to get more basil and lavender, but all the peppermint, cat nip, thyme, and lemon balm is growing like gangbusters! (In case you’re wondering, yes, these herbs do help deter mosquitos.)

We rearranged a few times before we got it right, but were pleased with where we landed.
So much so that we made cocktails and a late lunch/early dinner about four o’clock and ate at our new table on the porch!

We went over to the construction site Sunday morning and walked around in the townhouse unit that’s like ours will be. YBW spent time looking at where to put some sort of chase in which to connect future solar panels on the roof with the electrical system. I was all about furniture placement.
We had our cameras with us and planned to visit a park and walking trails, just to get out of the house. But as we were leaving the new houses, it began to rain. No sense walking around the park in the rain, so we headed home. We drove right out of the rain in one county and into a warm sunny day in the next.

I picked up Meredith’s book and plopped myself on the porch all afternoon until it got windy and rainy and I had to come inside.

The maple tree helicopters are flying about. The oak trees haven’t yet dropped their weird little wormy-pollen-things. I’m waiting to set up the fountain until after that mess. I missed the water sounds as I sat out there, but I’ll be patient, I hate cleaning oak tree pollen out of the fountain.
I’m ready for porch life, y’all!

Of course it’s pouring and windy with mad storms on this Monday morning.
But I’ll be patient because I’ve got all spring…and summer…and fall to spend on that porch. And when the world opens back up, I’ll invite loads of folks to share in my porch life!

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bon voyage

YBW and I are at the airport waiting for our flight.

Can you guess which coffee is which?
I’ll give you a hint…I don’t take cream.

We just arrive at the gate.
I’m going to journal for a hot second then crack open the first book. He’s going for a walk.

I’m going to miss all y’all! Plesse try not to do anything terribly interesting while I’m gone!
See you in three weeks! ❤

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October gratitude

As I look back on October, it was chock full, and I have much to be grateful for.

While this may not be what I’m most grateful for, I can assure I am most excited about it.
My Washington Nationals winning the World Series!
Those seven games were something to behold! Winning four away games, losing three home games. We laughed. We cried. We were ready to admit defeat. We literally jumped for joy when we won game seven! This post season was some of my most emotional baseball, but every moment was worth it!
My baseball bae (third baseman Anthony Rendon) and side bae (first baseman Ryan Zimmerman) celebrating the end of game seven.

Photograph: John G Mabanglo/EPA

I’m also super grateful for these things:

my acupuncturist
popcorn and coke with YBW at the double feature of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
Bobby Flay’s new cookbook
teaching and learning with kindergartners, second, fourth, and fifth graders
celebrating our anniversary (4 years married, 10 years together)
whiskey cocktails at the distillery with Holly
my favorite bookshop, Bards Alley
breakfast with Nora
a visit to Naked Mountain

HGTV’s Rock the Block
going to the movies by myself on a Friday morning
Thing 1, Thing 2, and Baby K here!
cocktails
weird weather
Baby K’s giggle
Halloween as the Mystery Gang

(Thing 1 as Velma, YBW as Freddie, Baby K (in the wagon) as Scooby Doo, Thing 2 as Shaggy, and me as Daphne)
good talks with my girls
celebrating Meredith’s ninth birthday
truly wonderful friends and neighbors
Baby K still smiles when I say, “Birdie loves you, girl!”

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