A few before and afters...

Before

After

Before - Front room of the house. Before there was a hall through that door, then a door into the tiny stairs that led to the ceiling. 

After. We actually have spindles and a railing...I need more pictures:)

Before - This was the kitchen, looking into the den.

Same look. We knocked out the wall and chimney

Upstairs bedroom. Notice the ceiling height.

Not the most up to date picture, but you can tell the ceiling was raised.

Play room/office/media room etc, upstairs. Again, the ceiling was not even 7 feet.

We made this one big room, and raised the ceiling.

SCARY basement. The stairs now come in from the upper right (hallway). They did come in from the kitchen which was odd.

This really isn't a great picture of the basement, but you can tell it's finally enclosed.

The other upstairs bedroom. We made that little cut out another closet. We REALLY needed more closets in this house! And, this room had short ceilings, too.

I didn't really capture the full room, but you can tell the closet was built in to the right. I feel like these after photos just look like a dusty mess.

Anyway, I need to go through the house with my 'before' pictures and capture the same angles. These were pretty good replicas, but many of them don't show the most recent look.

We're adding on to the back. This is 8 feet to the kitchen and den. We crazy.

I am supa pumped about it nearing the end! 3-4 months. Funny, I thought I'd be in the house by March. 2010. wellll, maybe March 2011 is more like it:) For a renovation, I have to say it has been low stress. Not there there haven't been moments of indecision, arguments, sweat and tears:), gosh even blood (demolition injuries), but I think we've gotten used to the decision making and have become immune to the stress. I do have occasional panic attacks, but mainly geared toward the fact that our high point terrace house hasn't sold. It's been nice to be close to work, and of course, to not be homeless, but I really hope it sells soon.

Mumford and Sons

I've really been liking this group lately. Their lyrics are neat and I like their sound. I'm not sure how to describe it...folk-ish/rock maybe. I love their instruments! They are made up of 4 guys from England, and I think they started the group around 2007/2008.

Anyway, the first song I heard was The Cave and I really like it. The second is Little Lion Man which is really dramatic. I have to apologize, there are some explicit lyrics which my mom so quickly pointed out when I played it with her around. Please mute them, I don't mean to offend:)

Check it out! I posted them in the 2 posts below. I'm technologically challenged, and couldn't figure out how to put them all in the same post.

Mumford & Sons - The Cave

Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man

Adding on????....why, yes.

So, after getting the house to the point that we were left with only needing to refinish floors, paint, and do lighting (and furnish)...we decided to add on about 8 feet to the back of the house where the den/kitchen area is. We put a lot of thought into it, and since this is our main area that we'll live in every day, we decided to go for it. It's something we had thought we might do in some years, but with the no sale of our Memphis home, and no 'real' rush to get in immediately, we thought this time is better than any. Later on we would have had to rip out the existing kitchen which would have been a big mess, so I'm glad we're doing it now. In the process of this, it gives the opportunity to add on to the bedroom upstairs, so that's another great part, since that bedroom was a little small.

We're so pleased with the house. I'm really COMPLETELY happy with it. I can't believe the transformation, yet the way it still looks like a 1920's home. There is much more work, and this has felt like the never ending project, but we're hanging in there, and moving along. I have dreams of a Christmas tree in the front room this year, but I don't want to get overly excited until we know how long the addition will take. We've been told 3 months, so we'll see:)

On another note, I'm so excited that Fall is here!!! So many great things are happening, and I feel so thankful. My nephew is a big joy in my life, and one of my best friends just gave birth to her third, precious boy. Work is going well, my family is healthy, our house is coming along, and I really can't think of real reasons to complain (although I know I do it too often:) ). I feel so blessed beyond what is deserved.

Here's to Fall and the upcoming holidays! I'll have to post some house pictures, soon. One day, we will really live in it, and it won't just be a project:)
Below are some pictures of Harrison. He's a mess!

He and Larry were ignoring each other

The blurriness represents how squirmy this little guy is now!

Progress

Somerville

This picture just reminded me of Somerville. PJ's, beer, cooking a hot dog on a homemade grill, camping out. So much fun! I love that about Somerville. Not trying to make it sound all country, but it is to me, and that's why I like it:) So laid back, safe, and comfortable! So comfortable that this scene just makes me feel relaxed and peaceful. I'm really ready to be back out there again! 

The house is still making progress. Now, we're debating adding on to the back, so that'd be another few months. It seems never ending, and like it's taking forever, but I'm not that stressed about how long it's taking. Even if it takes 2 years:), I'll just be so happy to have it the way we're wanting it, so can't complain. It looks so good, and the builders have done an AMAZING job maintaining the 'old' look. It's still 1924 to me. They are almost finished with the moulding, and the stairs are completely in...we just need to pick out the railing and whatever the post things are called. All that's left is refinishing floors, windows, and painting. Of course, filling it. We met with a cabinet guy, and then we have the lighting pretty much picked out, we just have to start searching for good deals on it! I'm actually about to head to Marrs in Arlington, and hope for some good deals on hardware, lighting, or anything:)

I'll have pictures later!