We've Moved, Life Update And Some Christmas

Hi, Friends,

How are you?

My word it has been a while. I finally have time to breathe. 

We have officially moved to East Texas. 

The addition is almost finished. Shower glass is here now and the plumber comes today! 

Finish out takes a long time. Everything was drywalled in my last post. 

We had to texture, add doors to the entire house, trim out windows and doors, paint, electrical and tile. 

We also screened the back porch. 

The guy who did the exterior trim work also did most of the finish out except for the electrical.

As we neared the end of the tiling for the bathroom, I was tired of staying in Arlington alone so I hired movers for the last week of October. 

The movers handled all the big pieces, boxes and some decor. I stayed behind to clean since the house was going on MLS that afternoon. It took several hours to sweep and straighten. 

I moved paintings and china in my car. 

The movers were unloaded and gone by the time I got to East Texas. 

Our plan was to leave the house semi staged with the items I didn't want or need yet i.e. the kitchen stuff. In hindsight, I should have stayed longer in Arlington. Moving in and around the messy tile situation was very frustrating. The our guy had started another job so he trickled in here and there to finish up a few little details. Kindly, I put my foot down and kicked him out. I could finish out those small details myself and then we would be done and ready for the plumber and glass. The plumber had surgery so we've been waiting for him for about a month. Fortunately, we have been able to use the sink and toilet. 

I also should have had movers move more of our stuff. 

I've been back to the old house for a couple more loads and Bill and I went back to get the Christmas stuff and all the plants. 

After the house was listed for two weeks we got an offer. Two days with negotiations resulted in a contract. 

The inspection was just two days later. We were to have a very quick closing before Thanksgiving. We were thrilled to be getting rid of the house before the new year and Bill's retirement in mid January. 

We went back to the house with a trailer to load up the rest of the kitchen, shed and garage. 

I was frantically giving away beds and other furniture. 

We had piles for the dump and the thrift store in the garage but we had nearly emptied out the house when we heard that our buyer was pulling from the contract due to problems found in the inspection. 

Nothing in the inspection report was insurmountable but the buyer was not willing to come back to the table to discuss it. This was a huge inconvenience as now Bill had to live at the Arlington house to handle the repairs but he had almost nothing. There wasn't even plastic silverware. He had to buy sheets for the remaining bed. He had to scrounge around for towels in the garage. Fortunately, our toiletries were still unpacked when we got word that she pulled from the deal. 
We had planned on having the house for the holiday season but now we owned the house but couldn't use it. I guess I'm still a little salty about it. 

It has been a month of moving. We do not have an attic or a garage at this house, so finding storage solutions has been tricky. We are going to have to optimize under the bed storage.  I feel like I've just shuffled stuff around trying to make it fit. I made the first load fit and then it was time for another load. I gave a boat load of stuff away in the process. 

We will figure out long term storage solutions, but we'd like to wait until the house sells in case we decide to get or build a garage. Right now all the seasonal decor is in the creepy shed. 

The new end in our room. It used to be the closet and bathroom. Door leads to the bathroom addition. 

The old carport is now the new den 

We were able to weave the new flooring in with the existing house. They still had the color and how it snapped together was the same. The dye lot isn't as perfect as I'd like but it wasn't noticeable once the rugs were down.  

Dining area in old portion of the house. The opening was shortened to create a corner for the corner cupboard. I love it here. 

The dish dresser fit in the butler's pantry. That was a very happy surprise. 
The stained glass window came from a friend and was built into the wall. 

However, I love the house and what we have done. The new den and dining room are beautiful.  We love how our antiques look in the space. Most of my favorite pieces were work at the new house and those that didn't have gone to friends or family.  

The new bathroom will be amazing once it is finished. 

 The mudroom/laundry seemed small once everything was in it. Our closets are a little smaller as well. Our old closets were galley style and these are L shaped but I'm sure we will get used to everything once we are into a routine. 

We love the butler's pantry. We use it for coffee and wine. It is one of our favorite things. 

I still had a few boxes siting around when it was time to pull out the Christmas decor. 

I'm heartily sick of piles everywhere. 

Here are those Christmas photos, I promised. 

I'm still debating whether to paint or stain the cabinets. 

There are still some paint touch ups to do, cabinets to stain, and trim to install but we are nearing the finish line on the new house. 

There are some repair things going on in Arlington this week. Hopefully, the house will sell soon. 

That is all for now. 

I hope to be back soon. 

Katie 

Our Vacation, Sickness and Progress In East Texas

Hi, Sweet Friends,

How are you? I hope you are well. Seriously, I hope you have avoided the latest variant.

It's been brutal. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have already seen this. If you don't, you should. 

We took the "kid's" to Seattle for our son's 40th birthday. We took the ferry over to Victoria for three days. 

It was cooler. The flowers were amazing! 

I finally got to Butchart Gardens. We had adventures and fun. 

Here are some photos from the trip. 

We had tea at The Empress. 

It was lovely but that is where two of us started getting sick. 

I managed to wait until we got home for which I'm thankful. 

I've snuggled my cat and watched Christmas movies. 

This morning, I decided to get out the fall totes. 

My husband did not get sick, thankfully, so he's been overseeing the construction in East Texas. 

While we were gone, the never ending exterior trim project continued, the front door was installed. 

They painted the new siding on the exterior! 

Here is a before: 

The grass needs some rain and some time to repair from all the construction stuff but I am thrilled that the addition looks like it has always been there. 

The new board and batten siding was a must do for Bill. 

Bill took these for me. 

I haven't been able to get out there until I test negative. 

The porch got painted yesterday. 

It is stunning as is but we do need to screen it. 

The interior got the sheetrock. Tape, bedding has started this morning and texture will begin on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

The following are the old enclosed screened porch and carport. 

We are calling them the dining room and den. 

From the back porch door looking into the kitchen. 

The little opening to the left will hold a stained glass window. It's looking into the butler's pantry. 

When we took out the window, they made a larger opening from the kitchen into the new den. 

Bill did not want to see the sink from the den and I did not want to redo the counters so we have a bit of  step up to the bar. There was also no way to center the opening with the sink, unfortunately. 

These are the realities of an older home addition. 

'

We moved the laundry so now I have a new butler's pantry. 

Below in the new laundry room looking into my craft room. 

The following is the addition. 

My craft closet. I've picked out the cutest wallpaper for this space. 

My clothes closet

Finally, the new bathroom. 

Below is the vanity wall looking into the potty closet. 

We didn't have to move the potty closet which saved us on septic. 

 

Bill tapped out the outline for my new tub. Bill's closet is to the right of the tub. 

The shower will be to right upon entering the room. 

The last one is the new reading nook in our bedroom. 

We took out the old closet and bathroom which enlarged our bedroom. We are so excited about this space.  

That is all for now. 

I haven't seen it since the studs and exterior ply went on. This is will all be a special reveal as soon as I can get out there. 

Katie