mi casa es su casa

well, i love conference for an infinite number of reasons.

reason # 1: my lil dry spiritual canteen exceeds capacity after the first musical number by the choir.
reason # 2: i now get to see my utah home...without actually being there...and yet it makes me feel like i'm there. like i'm home. it's wonderful.
reason # infinity: i get to feel the love my Heavenly Father has for me and all of his children. and what greater feeling is there than that really?
and somewhere in there is reason # thirty something...which is that it gives me a minute or two or four-hundred-eighty...to sit, listen, reflect..and do mindless things i often neglect, like organizing pictures.

hence, i finally organized my house post. i don't think anyone will appreciate this more than me, M, & M's dad (ok and maybe Jeff)...all of whom were helpers in this rennovation project we now call home. but, alas, it was a lot of work, and a lot of work always is worthy of a fairly lengthy blog post (one which includes a hefty amount of pictures..luckily downsized by the miraculous invention of "photo collages").

so, without further adieu, let me introduce you.....to....
ouuurrr house!

i will now divide this post into three parts: BEFORE pictures, DURING pictures (which include some heavy, intense demolition pictures), and the most exciting part, AFTER pictures (which really should be called "PRESENT" pictures...aka, "pictures taken at the present time, which in no way reflect an end result, but rather a work in progress"). ok. so here we go:

BEFORE PICTURES:
(take note of the awesome teal tub/toilet combo, the sweet floral wall-paper, the ghetto pool, 1/3 filled with murky-turkey water, and the awesome wood paneling that sandwiches the fireplace. this place was rockin' when we first saw it).

 

 DURING PICTURES: 

(demolishing things isn't really my thing...but i've never seen M or his dad so happy than they were when they showed us the pictures and videos they had taken of the pool being destroyed by the Bobcats. wow. also notice the pic of M underneath the house...now that's a tight crawl space. finally, you should know that we completely gutted the bathrooms-- tore down a wall to make a bigger shower, and did a lot of other crazy crap that i can't even remember. and when i say "we"...i actually mean M and his dad. and this usually all happened between 10 pm and 2 am on weekdays. awesome).

 

AFTER PICTURES:

(as aforementioned, these are not so much "after pictures" as they are "after the destruction" pictures. this means that we still have much to do...these are simply pictures of the house now being livable...this includes {but is not limited to}: new carpets, new doors, fresh paint in every room and on every ceiling, new floorboards, new light fixtures, new closet doors, and brand spankin' new everything in the bathrooms {yes they did those incredible tile jobs themselves. no they are not for hire}. our most recent beast is now: LANDSCAPING. dun dun dun....hence, a very empty, dirt-ful backyard).

 

and just because i'm a girl...and i know you'd appreciate these little details, i thought i'd share my two most favorite decorations in our house at this point:

and, not to be redundant, but that all resides inside this lil casita in the middle of our street:

and thus concludes the massively overloaded, long awaited post about our new lil house here in beautiful Northern California. hopefully it did not disappoint.

oh, and consider this an open invitation to come and visit anytime. bed & breakfast is our specialty (my fave is waffles or french toast, but i'd be more than willing to adjust and cater to your faves, wants, and/or needs).

xoxo
p.s. a special warm thanks to Rick for being the spine of this whole process, Jeff for your countless hours of painting, Lynne for watching Ellie all those days + afternoons while i painted, projected, or unpacked yet another box, and M for being the heart and soul behind this whole thing...i love you all -- a day doesn't pass that i don't think of you and how immense your contribution has been to our happiness in our first home. hug, hug, triple hug.
p.s.s. please note that i am aware there are TONS of empty walls, and tons of empty spaces everywhere. decor is on my to-do list....and i hope to share some of my favorite finds in the future.. ok, now i'm really done.