It never ends. But we like it!

This morning has been bliss. Jill had a friend spend the night. Instead of waking me up before the sun, I woke up to the two of them quietly playing upstairs. I drank my coffee in peace, while reading on the couch. I was up forty minutes before they ventured downstairs for breakfast. They ate quickly and went back up to their game, leaving me to watch a little HGTV. My favorite.

This morning's show on HGTV was about a family remodeling their kitchen. They had a contractor, and it still took four months! That seems like a horribly long time, considering we did the majority of our home in five weeks.

Five long weeks in hell. Working ten hours a day on the house. We ate countless fast food meals. We were sore and tired, as we did all of the work ourselves (although my parents pitched in a more than a few times!). A few friends stopped by to help. But they would work an hour or so half-heartedly then leave, claiming exhaustion (but we did appreciate the company.). Wimps! The kids were cranky from going from house to house, and never having much to do in the then vacate, under contrustion home.

Although, we finished quite a bit of the original work we had planned, a year later there is still a lot to check off our list. Our bathroom countertops still have not been replaced. The girls' bathroom has not even been touched, although we have already purchased tile, bathroom sink, fixtures, and faucets. Those items have taken up permanent residence in our garage. The pool is in and finished, but the outdoor kitchen is nothing more than gas, water, and sewer line connections. We have a door in the gameroom that leads to nothing but attic, although, it is supposed to be an office. The projects never end, but at the same time we have loved the process of making this home our very own. It has been fun to watch it transform. I am still blown away by how much has changed since the day we bought it.

And so I leave you with the before and after shots of our home. The pictures are not the best. Oh well!

In the kitchen we removed the white tile backsplash, and replaced it with slate. (That was my handy work!)

We added granite countertops, refinished the cabinets, and put in 18-inch travertine floors.

We took out the carpet in the formal living, dining, and den. We laid bamboo woods floors. Ourselves. We were covered in wood glue. Seriously. Weeks later, we still could not get the glue off of our hands. It was the worst part. We used the same slate tiles for the fireplace that we had used in the kitchen. I have fallen completely in love with the Ralph Lauren Metallics paints. It has allowed us to use color subtly without appearing drab. My favorite is the Harvest Gold in the living room. We used a linen techinique with a cranberry glaze in the art niche. I love the effect.

Jill requested a "pink" room. It has morphed into a french poodle theme, and is still a work in progress.

We again used the metallic paints. In the picture the colors are much more vibrant than they actually are. I wish the true color showed in photos.

Emmi's room still has a way to go. I oiginally matched the colors to her crib bedding, and went from there. Her own tastes are beginning to emerge. I have since learned that her favorite colors are yellow, black, and blue. Since, I believe my children's rooms should be a reflection of their likes and personalities, I think I will probably change it to fit her more. I have yet to come up with any theme other than bumble bees that uses black, yellow, and blue. I am thinking pale sky blue walls. Bumble bee accents. White bedding perhaps? I need to think on it awhile.

I got tired of arranging photos, so I left off the gameroom (complete with a cupcake theme!), our bathroom (which my father and I textured and painted and has my favorite tile in the whole house), our half bath (which I am still unhappy with the color of.), and of course the backyard.