The remodel marches on

I worked with our decorator on Friday to make some more selects for the updating at our new home. The lighter granite counters that were installed Thursday look so much better than the old orangey ones we removed. We also chose a distressed zinc plating with decorative nails for the bottom part of the ventahood to dress it up.

I ordered new vanity lights for all six bathrooms, as well as ten new ceiling fans. I'm waiting for delivery of the eight drawer pull options we're considering for both existing and new cabinetry. We went with ones made by the same company I used here in our existing house because they're so substantial, yet have clean lines. With a variety of both stained and painted cabinets that need new pulls, I went with an assortment of polished chrome, satin nickel, oil rubbed bronze and black bronze to be sure we get the right look for each space in the house.

The reason I've been in an ordering frenzy since the weekend is because our current house went under contract Saturday. I've been praying for the Lord to send us buyers who would be excellent neighbors, that have been looking for a home just like the one we created to meet the needs of their family. Sure enough, a lovely couple with two six-year-old twin boys seemed to fall in love with the place when they toured it Friday morning and wrote us a full price offer that included a lovely personal letter explaining why they chose our home. 

Y'all, God is so good! I was moved to tears because I truly believe He sent the right people who will love this home's set up and location. The big yard for kids to roam. Maybe build a treehouse. Get some critters for a 4H project. I'm just so happy for us and them, that we know it will be in the hands of those who will make some great memories here like we did. 

Over the weekend the husband and I trekked up to the new house to haul some things from our current workshop to the barn. We also cleaned up the pool and patio area. The sellers left a lot of old wicker furniture, pots with plants that have died with the winter cold snaps, plus the usual leaf debris and a thick coating of dust. Clearing it up really made the whole outdoor entertaining area look much more spacious. Porch swings for the pavilion have been ordered, and I've started looking for a new dining set, too.

When the breaker got tripped on our current freezer in the side-by-side unit several days ago, I took that as my chance to get it all cleaned up in advance of our big move. It's handy I enjoy a good purge, because I'll be busy with a lot of that in advance of packing up everything once we clear the inspection period on Friday.

Selling the dwelling

We bought our current house exactly six years ago this month. Now it's time to say so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye to the place. There are certainly things I'll miss about this property. With so many memories of my mother, both healthy and ill, it's bittersweet. However, the Lord has shown me it's time for the next chapter in our lives, and so we'll be moving out in a couple months once our updates at the new house are complete.

 For Sale

Our home is in a lovely location, not far from the heart of everything the city offers. And yet it's situated on 2.6 acres that offer a wonderful cushion from neighbors and the hustle of city life. You can click on the "For Sale" link above to see the advertising video for the house if you or someone you know might be interested. If you like what you see, please go to the website of our realtor extraordinaire, Binkan Cinaroglu with Kuper Sotheby's, for further information.

 

First year without my mother

Today is the first anniversary of my precious mother's release from the pain and sin of this world, when she traveled to her eternal home. Ah yes, the traveling. Boy oh boy did mother love a trip. It was a whole process with her, filled with anticipation and excitement. Booking the trip. Packing her suitcase. Waking up early to hit the road the day it started. London, Alaska or her old hometown of Sour Lake. It didn't matter the destination. She eagerly looked forward to the sites, people and wonderful memories she'd make. And so I have to think it was the same way for her as she anticipated her trip from this life to the next. There was undoubtedly some fear and anxiety of the unknowns, and yet there was that same excitement to be with her Heavenly Father. And hopefully peace, too. 

One thing that has stuck with me about mother's final few weeks, as the pain wore away her struggle to stay here and I imagine made her resolve to anticipate her home going, was seeing her old pugs Max and Ruby, even though they had died the year before. I think the pugs especially brought her comfort because she'd get this smile on her face and happy lilt in her voice when she'd comment on hearing and seeing them. I believe God directed His angels to bring the pugs back into her world where she alone could see and hear them again as a bit of a sneak peak of the homecoming with those she loved who had gone before.

Last month, I arrived at Bible study leaders meeting and remembered there was some rain in the forecast. Since I had walked around to get my purse and tote bag out of the front passenger seat, I reached into the door's cubby and pulled out the umbrella I always kept there for mother to use. After our meeting ended, I trekked back out to my SUV and went around to the passenger side again to load my things and return the umbrella to its spot. The clouds had been swept away by then and the sun glinted off something shiny in that cubby. I reached in and pulled out mother's emerald ring. I was immediately taken back to that place of pain and loss, quietly crying in the church's parking lot as waves of grief rolled over me. 

The first thing I wanted to do was call mother and tell her I found it. As her final decline began when the cancer continued to beat back any treatments thrown at it, mother's weight slipped away. At some point she realized she had lost this ring as her fingers became too small for it. She asked her home health caregiver to search the guesthouse looking for it, but became resigned to it being gone forever.

Today I reflect on this object lesson I believe the Lord sent me about loss. The reminder that mother isn't gone forever, but rather just gone from here. She has traveled to a place where there's no more grief or pain, and I'll join her someday. And yet it doesn't stop me from wanting to walk across the back yard to mother's guesthouse and catch her up with what's going on in my world. How the girls are doing. Ask her the best way to make dumplings from scratch because I can't find the frozen ones in my local supermarket. Pet her old pugs that shed all over the place. Instead, I'm resting in the knowledge that mother was a believer and the Lord called her home just as He'll do the same for me one day. That all is not lost, but rather peace can be found because of God, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jesus said... Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. John 16:22

For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!  Ezekiel 18:32

If we died with Him, we will also live with Him.  2 Timothy 2:11

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die."  John 11:25-26

Another bowl game in the books

The big college football national championship game will be played tomorrow night. It's always sad when the season ends and we have to wait for fall football to come around again. As Texans, we're rooting for TCU. Who knows, maybe they'll pull off another upset and win it. Last month we attended our own local bowl game at the Alamodome. Since the college coed will graduate from UT in May, we told her and her older sister to invite friends.

 

 

Since we had a bigger crowd than usual, we enjoyed watching from a sky box this year. The food was pretty good and so were the views. The Longhorns didn't pull out a win, but we enjoyed all of the festivities. We let my brother-in-law, his dad, nephew and a family friend use our sideline passes during the first quarter. My BIL's dad was a member of the 1964 UT national championship football team and has the ring to prove it. At 80, we were happy to see him down on the field with the team one more time.

 

 

Our girls also enjoyed taking in the spectacle of college football from the player's perspective and getting a gander at mascot Bevo, who made the trip from Austin. Better luck next year, Longhorns!

Demo & decluttering this week

The last bit of demo has been done at the new house. Bye-bye, dated bathroom cabinets. And those ugly up lights need to go, too. We're about a week out from the cabinetmaker finishing his current job so he can get started with the designs I provided him for our new cabinetry. With things moving along, I got busy ordering the tile backsplash while paying the balance on our slabs of granite and quartz so they can be delivered to the fabricator.

Our contractor removed the old high top bar and has dropped it down and expanded it to make that area more useful for serving, just like we did at the river house. With seating for twelve at my new tables, I didn't see a need for a bar area to house a couple stools that would undoubtedly block the flow of traffic from kitchen to living when we entertain.

All of the materials to finish the barn were organized this week so that process can kick off next week. The rearrangement of wood and such was necessary because we're getting a bid to put down crushed granite that will create a better roadscape from the house to the barn area. We received an email that the architectural review committee approved the barn's paint colors we submitted, so that's another box ticked.

The past couple days we've cleaned out the cabana and are doing the last bits of de-cluttering in anticipation of our realtor bringing in his photographer to take pics of our house for the listing. I'm excited about moving, and yet it's still bittersweet to contemplate selling the ol' money pit we've been in the past six years. 

I worked with our decorator to make some lighting selects this week, so that's exciting. Ceiling fans are still up in the air since I'm not sure if the one I ordered is the best fit for the space. We zipped over to a local furniture store to purchase things like a coffee table, end tables and desk for the new place. I also found this 10x14' fun blue rug below that the decorator agrees will work in the downstairs living area. Now I'm just starting to gather ideas for some wreaths or swags to decorate the double front doors. Hopefully by Easter the new house will be up and running to host family.

Updating underway

Our realtor has advised us that we should get our current house on the market by the end of January, so it's a good thing the updates for our new digs have kicked off this week. Now that the seasonal decor shelving was assembled in my garage and filled yesterday, it's time to start working on the interior changes.

All of the unattractive old granite was pulled off in anticipation of building out the bar serving area at counter height, reworking the ventahood, replacing cabinet pulls, adding new granite and a backsplash. Thankfully, our contractor was able to save big chunks of the old granite as well as sink and faucet. Hopefully that can be repurposed in the barn's new bathroom and/or kitchen area. I hated the idea of tossing out the old granite, even though I'm not a fan of it in the main house.

We removed an unattractive storage cabinet to replace it with a coffee station, see below. The cabinetmaker will give us lots of deep storage drawers across the bottom, with the same kitchen backsplash tile running up the wall accented by a couple floating shelves to hold cups and decor. I think it will be a great use of this space because the husband and girls are big coffee drinkers.

Around the corner where the large family who built the house had cubbies for each of the kiddos, we pulled those out to create a butler's pantry. The house already has great storage, but a bit more will make it even better. 

Tomorrow I'm working with our decorator to select new ceiling fans and light fixtures. The front dining area's chandelier is lovely, but absolutely is not my aesthetic. Especially after I have our contractor build an accent wall behind it like the one below. I'm all about clean lines with a modern twist, not fussy or fancy. Let me know if anybody's looking for a slightly used crystal chandelier.

 

I also need to order the dining tables since I didn't get that accomplished before the holidays hit, as well as look for a long, skinny coffee table for the living area downstairs. Decisions, decisions. These projects always start off small and then tend to snowball a bit. While we've got a cabinetmaker creating custom built-ins for my office, why not have him make new cabinets for the master bath, too?  And what about a coffee station? That's how it goes, y'all.

New year, improved storage

With the girls returning to Austin a couple days ago, the husband and I kicked off 2023 with several trips to the new house. We hauled all of my many bins of seasonal decor up there since Christmas was packed and ready to go. I'll be sharing my two car garage with all the pretties in easy reach on new metal shelves we put together this afternoon. Needless to say, the husband is glad he won't have to share and gets his own separate two car garage for tools and such.

Sometime this week I need to work on selecting things like new ceiling fans and light fixtures. I postponed ordering new dining tables, so I also need to get that off my to-do list.

I have two Restoration Hardware tables that I've really enjoyed, so I decided it was a waste of time to look elsewhere. I'll be putting the 72" round Aero (above) in the formal dining to seat six, while the informal dining space will have a 72" oval Aero to seat another six. With twelve large and comfy orb style dining chairs, I needed basic pedestal style tables that would accommodate them.

We selected new granite for the kitchen, coffee bar and butler's pantry before Christmas. I chose Snow Fall, seen above, since I didn't want anything too busy. It's always a lot of fun to walk the stone yard, looking at all of the pretty choices. I also picked out a new granite for my office, while quartz goes in the master bath. 

It will be lovely to watch this new place come together. Our contractor is juggling the main house upgrades, while working on completing the 4000+ sq foot barn. I believe it may steal the show once it's finished because it already looks great minus the windows and doors that still need to be installed.