3 Years later and I'm BAAAAACK!

Oh my....it's been awhile!

So much has happened in 3 years, I don't even know where to begin! Well, lets get started...

• Most of the entire house is DONE! Talk about a long hard road! Living inside the house being remodeled was one of the worst things I've ever decided to do! It was definitely a huge challenge and I've never appreciated a functional kitchen in my entire life. Not a nice one, just one with working appliances, plumbing and a decently clean countertop. 
• The project took just about an entire 4 years, and we're not 100% done, but then we never will be, so lets just say taking this house from complete scratch, we are about 95% done. 
• Latest projects have involved the exterior - front porch, back yard, deck, fence, concrete driveway, regrading yard, gardening, and hardscapes.
• My cute little bungalow, went from being the ugliest house on Locust St to a beautifully renovated craftsman taken back to it's original years...well sorta, and as much as you can and still have modern conveniences.
• Ok, just a recap on what was done on the inside - 
• Kitchen has granite counters, new antique white cabinets, new stainless steel appliances, glass front top cabinets, frigerator room, new slate tile floors, peninsula with drawers for pots, smaller window to make room for top cabinets, and a little corner for my Pita dog. 
• Laundry room has new built in counter, mudroom bench with hooks, and new cabinets, and new paint/locks/blinds on the backdoor.
• Bathrooms both completely renovated new toilets cabinets counters, lights mirrors, etc.
• Living room and Dining room didnt change much, just had new crown molding added, fresh paint and new lights.
• Bedrooms all have the same tiled ceilings, new crown, new trim on some areas, and master bedroom has new closet - bigger closet - not that much bigger because old houses suck on closet space
• All hardwoods completely refinished and new spaces have all new traditional trimwork painted white - crown, base, chair rail, etc.
• New lights throughout the entire house.
• All doors painted except front door
• All windows redressed with new curtains and blinds
• Most vents are replaced with new ones
• I think i've done everything on the inside. I'll post some pictures of the post renovation! Decorated and all....
• Backyard and front yard all started from scratch. Everything was level, all old stuff removed and redesigned and relandscaped, etc.

 Ok, give me a bit and I will make sure to create a gallery of the renovation! Yay! It was a long hard road, but we made it!

It's official! We tied the knot! Again, and for real this time!

We had our American Wedding on April 24, 2010. It was quite a rollercoaster of events...Oh, where do I begin...


There were so many variables that made the wedding full of opportunities and disadvantages, but everything happens for a reason. We sure have a story to tell though.


The days leading up to the event was looming with tension and anxiety as we obsessively watch the seemingly unreliable 10 day forecast. I still had hope that it will all turn out in my favor and my dream garden wedding will still happen...but as it gets closer, the hope begins to fade and I had to turn into emergency mode to make sure the day was not going to be a disaster. There were many times where I felt as though I was being pressured into something I didn't want...but it all worked out and we got the best we could with the weather we had to work with. Clearly our plans changed due to the weather, but the forecasts leading up to the big day were clear signs that we HAVE TO move indoors.


Two weeks before our wedding, a volcano in Iceland erupted and this from Fox News, "Up to 63,000 flights have been cancelled in Europe due to the volcanic eruption at Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which has spewed dust and ash across the country at a tremendous rate. Within the first 72 hours of the eruption, Iceland’s Institute of Earth Sciences reported the average discharge rate of ash at 750 tons per second -- a rate that could fill Yankee Stadium every few seconds. "


The weekend before the wedding, there were earthquakes in East TN, from local news "A 3.3 magnitude earthquake hit 5 miles WSW of Maryville, TN at 5:28am EDT Tuesday, that's 19 miles SSW of Knoxville. According to the US Geological Survey, 3.3 magnitude earthquakes typically are felt by people on top floors of buildings and feel similar to a large truck passing by. Standing motor cars may rock slightly with an earthquake of this magnitude."


The week of the wedding, the weather stations forecast thunderstorms, then it quickly turned into tornadoes. Rain is one thing, but when they forecast storms and tornadoes, tents won't be much of a rain plan. Even then, I'm still a skeptic when it comes to the weather. I still thought that we'd miss the heavy rains and storms, but at some point I needed to accept the fact that they don't forecast 100% precipitation if they truly didn't feel that there is a chance of storms.


On Thursday morning, we decided we needed to make a decision by noon that day and whether we like it or not, we needed something indoors. We somehow found a great place that was out of our budget, but we knew it would be the right place for a backup plan. It was 5 minutes away from the original location, so our guests wouldn't be traveling to a completely different destination.

Anyway, the plan worked out. Rain was not even an issue at this location. We still got the garden in the background under a covered pavilion, and the reception was inside, so no one had to worry about the rain and the intermittent storms that night. We all had a blast.

Details of the Ceremony

Music
Processional: Better Together by Jack Johnson
Bridal Processional: Stand By Me (Instrumental) by Laurence Juber
Recessional: You Are The Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne

Alter Decorations
Outdoor Fireplace that was lit up
2 Large Lanterns with Candles on the mantle
Cascading Floral Arrangement in the center of the mantle
2 Large topiaries at the foot of the fireplace

Aisle Decorations
Chairs embellished with peach tea roses
Petals along the sides of the aisle
Cones filled with petals hung on chairs


Reception Details

Guest Sign-In Table

Large Initials displayed in between 3 bud vases with bells of ireland, rose, and button mums

Guestbook

Blue tissue paper pom poms

Programs

Picture/Favor Table

2 Large Ferns staked with pictures hanging from it

Party favor boxes embellished in a blue ribbon spilling out of a copper tin bucket

Cake Table

96 Gigi's Cupcakes with assorted flavors ebellished with push button mums, tiger lilies, peach tea roses, and mixed flora inserted in between

2 wine glasses

White square dessert plates

Napkins that say, "Eat, drink, be married!"

Buffet Line

Grass display with the bases covered in moss

Gladiolus arrangement

Chafing dishes arranged in a diagonal

3 sets of 3 tiered servingware filled with chocolate covered strawberries, pineapples, grapes, and raspberries, blueberries, and more

Glass dispensers of tea and lemonade

Menu by Famous Dave's

BBQ Ribs

Roasted Chicken

Wilbur Baked Beans

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Corn on the Cob

Cornbread Muffins

Dining Tables

Linens by BBJLinen - Spring Kyoto, celadon blue with light gold/peach dahlias

Centerpieces: Square blue tinted glass vase with bells of ireland, peach tea roses, tulips, push button mums, ranunculus, and other stuff

5 Lighted Votives


Photos to come in 3 weeks! Here are some from family members posted on Facebook.

Holy crap, we're gettin' married! (again!)

Well, the second wedding has been quite the rollercoaster - of emotions I mean. We just decided on going forward with a wedding as of my last birthday. It gave us exactly 3 months and 2 days to plan the wedding. Granted much of the planning, like wedding colors, themes, and decorations have been thought out long ago when we had no doubt we were going to have one.

Anyway, long story short, it's 2010, and our wedding is in less than 3 months! Crap!

I've always wanted a garden/outdoorsy/casual wedding - no uptight overly traditional stuff for us - and just a good time spent with close friends and family is all we wanted. What's most important to us is the personalization of the event. We just want it to be us. Simple, elegant, casual, with a bit of flair.

Details of Our American Wedding

Date: April 24, 2010

Location: Hermitage, TN

Time: 5:30 -10:00pm (attentively)

Colors/Themes: Sea Glass Blues, Ivories, Pewters, Floral Prints - reminiscent of the beaches in Charleston underneath a backdrop of garden greens

Anyway, so below are some photos of some of the things I'd like to make happen at our wedding.

I really like the hair in the pic. Also the hairpiece is really nice.

I really like this collage, because our wedding ceremony will take place under a big willow tree.

I absolutely love the wedding dress in this collage. Also, that is the type and color of suit Scott's going to wear.

This collage has a better view of the dress.

I LOVE the paper floral balls! I bought some yellow/ivory ones last year, and will definitely have them hung somewhere on the willow tree.

The coughin', the coughin'....ack

I just eck..can't..ack...say..eck, ack,ugh, eh, ack, ack...a durn sentence...yack, ech, ah, without coughin' my lungs up. This is the worst coughin' sickness I've ever had. Just lately, I had thought to myself, man, I haven't had a coughing sickness since I was 10...sure nuff, here we go. Gosh, it's terrible, and I was sick the entire time I was at CES, and been working everyday, and very late, because I have so much stuff to do. I bet I'm going to infect everyone in my office. I have a virus infection and I'm highly contagious. But I can't leave work hanging - too much to do. So I just hang in there, and hack up bloody loogies, (wow that was graphic).

Anyway, I'm just tired, very tired, and i just can't get enough sleep for some reason.

Kitchen Reno Update - #1

Okie dokie - Last I mentioned was that they started on the reno. Yesterday and today, they finished the demo and cleaned up all the debris. Today they put in a new window for the kitchen, fixed the plumbing, and tested all the receptacles to make sure they all work.

1. New Window - I don't know how happy I will be with this, but it's almost sort of, we had no choice but to do this...the window is smaller than the old one, but the old one was not the original, so they messed up and got a much smaller window that the hole alotted...meaning that the outside looks messed up with a window smaller than the hole its made to go in. Well, on the inside, if we put a giant window, the original size "6ft wide" our cabinet layout would look pretty much, just messed up. We'd have this giant window, and almost no upper cabinets, because it takes up so much room. The new window is 48" wide I believe. It'll make the inside look better, but the outside will still look funny. I just can't win, so I have no choice but to have a small window.
2. Plumbing - they cut out alot of the old plumbing so that the fixtures will be set behind the wall and not sticking up through the floor. I feel like I have to compromise on this alot, because we're just so new at total renovations...like I didn't think about having extra plumbing for a laundry room sink...and I think it's too late to add it now, also, the roughing for the half bath sink/toilet...anyway, I'm sure it'll be ok. We're not living here forever.
   
3. Electrical - I'm trying my best to think of where every receptacle needs to be, but I forgot the OTR Microwave's plug today, and the undercabinet lighting switch...a novice mistake.
4. Demo - they demo'd the hell out of the kitchen. Busted walls all the way to the other side, I was upset, but mistakes do happen, I just know that Scott and I would have been much more gentle.
   

Holy crap! The kitchen just got started!

Can you tell I'm excited? I'm so sick of take out, fast food, restaurants, other peoples food, and eating on the couch!! The one grown up thing I do is I enjoy eating at a table. Unfortunately, we have not had a kitchen in almost six months so far, and it's looking like it'll be another 4 weeks before we will get a kitchen that will have stuff in it. So far, there is absolutely nothing in there.

Today was day one for the start on the kitchen, and it definitely smells like demolition.

Kitchen Timeline:
7 days - sheetrock, electrical, tile, plumbing, and lighting
3 days - cabinets & appliances
2 days - granite & fixtures

Thats the timeline for what the contractors/installers are going to do. We are going to put in the trimwork, door pulls, light fixtures, backsplash, and a few other things ourselves to help us save money on labor costs. But for the most part, the big things will be done, and we'll be able to use the kitchen once again.


Sometimes, I think to myself, maybe I should just flip houses for a living. I just love construction.

^^ view of the half-bath and pantry room w/fridge

^^ view of the kitchen into the laundry/mud room

^^ view of the kitchen w/window

^^ view of the pantry/fridge room

^^ chimney stack in the kitchen area

Pictures of the Exterior Renovations

I just realized that the exterior renovations have been completed for weeks and I didn't post any pictures. Well, these renovations were the ones we had the contractors do - new roof, new gutters, and new siding.

You can see the rest of them here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2258440&id=38403848&l=384b9bbb43