The last of the house pictures!

Here are the few "before" pictures I still have.  Notice the washer hook up in the kitchen.  Once we resolved where to put the washer, we were able to re-do the kitchen. 

The wall came down as well, which allowed us to do the Great Room we wanted when we bought the house.  Because we took down the wall, that made us have to level out the floors.  This is something I thought I would never be able to do.  It seemed insurmountable. 

Here is the kitchen.  Notice the great granite tile I acquired off of KSL classifieds.  I love that site.  This kitchen window looks out to Cascade mountain.  I wouldn't mind living here just for the view.

This is the closet that housed the dryer in the beginning.  We popped the corner out and fit the washer inside as well.  We have about one inch to spare.  My dad also raised the floor of this closet so he could extend the stairs.  They were very short and you almost hit your head each time you went down into the basement.  Now they are a full set that is a pleasure to walk down. 

This might be the window that made us buy this house.  It is huge and has the best view of Timp.

The boys, Dalmatian, Super Doggy, and Little Woof

The front door.  From the inside.

Here are the stairs my dad did.  He had to do them twice because by the time I re-leveled the floor at top, they were off on the first stair.  He could have left them, but it would have driven him crazy.  Hum, I wonder where I get that trait from?

We started this project in July of 2009 and completed it February of 2010.  We started with the idea of replacing one bathroom and putting in windows in the basement.  One thing led to another and we ended up re-modeling the whole house and some.  New plumbing, new electrical, all new windows, all new floor covering, two new bathrooms, and a new kitchen. 

I miss the project half of the time.  I loved working with my dad each day on the house.  Scott asked me one day what I wanted to accomplish in this life.  I think this is the biggest one so far. 

Thanks dad!

Me Time

It is so interesting how perspectives change.  In the past, I had to run miles and miles, then work really really hard to have a good day.      

People would avoid me if I didn't get to exercise.  I would be so very antsy.   It was annoying.    

NOW, if I get an hour of uninterrupted NPR, or even better, an episode of THIS AMERICAN LIFE, I am content.  

IF I get to sew while listening to above program, I am practically giddy.  

If by any lucky chance I get to meander through our meadow with my three cute boys, I have arrived.  

Really, when all is said and done, I am content with a bath and a book.

Am I alone in this?  I don't think so.  It seems all of my friends that find themselves with little ones feel the same.  Here is to this moment in our lives when taking a shower can make a day!  Oh, it is just the simple things.   





  

Jenna's flowers

I just sent off a dress yesterday for Jenna.  She was an out of town bride, which means she spends the week in Utah and we make a dress.  Usually I can get it done, but we ended up putting a whole lot of hand turned flowers on the skirt and shoulder.  I think the number was about 60 or so.  Because of the amount of flowers, I had to do that part after she returned home.  It is strange to not see the finished product on the bride.... 

So, did it work out Jenna? 
Dang, she doesn't have it yet.
I have to wait even longer to know.

I always have a time period when I am unsettled.  After I see the wedding picts or when I receive a call or letter about the dress, well, then I can calm down and know it was a good thing.  So to all of you who have called and thanked me, you really have no idea how happy that makes me.  Thank you. 

I now know that others feel the same way.  My sister Rhonda is an incredible painter.

(This is where I should insert a picture of a painting she has done.  Unfortunately I don't have one.  Sorry, I am a seamstress, not a blogger.)

Out of fear, she waited to ship a painting off for weeks to the person who she sold it to.  Once she sent it and didn't instantly hear back, she had all sorts of things going through her head.  I remember when the woman did call her back and was SO excited, then my sister could feel ecstatic about the situation. 

Am I weird, or do all of you other creative types out there understand this?  Do you understand that the more unrest you feel makes seeing the success even that much better?  It is about the high you get when someone loves something you have created.  It is about coming together and designing something that is beautiful and that IS the bride. 

Or, in the end, this blog entry could be all about the Fray Check I inhaled while making the flowers.
It is probably that. 

Here's to you, Jenna, hope your wedding is delightful and so much fun!   Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do a flower skirt!

The Party

As most of you know, we have been pouring our life and soul into a home remodel.  It started with putting big windows into our rental house basement.  It ended with replacing everything, leveling floors, extensive re-wiring of most of the home, all new plumbing as far as we could, and on and on and on.  We finally had a party celebrating the ending of this process.  I would say completion, but I am beginning to understand there is no closure to this project.  These photos are not the best, but they do contain so many people that mean so much to us.  We wish all of our family and friends could have come.  We are grateful for those many people who did show up for a bit of a visit. 

I didn't include names because I don't know how the people featured would feel about that.  FYI.

I don't know what type of with drawls I will go through, not being able to go to the house to work every day.  Thankfully, I have some incredible dresses lined up that I can't wait to start.  Wheww!

Thank you everyone.

Sarah's second bridals

Sarah is a bride that I was lucky enough to work with last summer.  We created a champagne silk dress with a french lace overlay.  The icing on the cake, so to speak, was a huge bow placed on the side back of her dress.  She wanted something a bit edgy, and as those who know me can attest, I am always for that!  We did a ruffled edge at the hem to bring in the fabric once more and justify the bow a bit.  Again, I had a fun with this dress and enjoyed working with Sarah and her, now, mother in law. 

This winter, Opie opiefoto.blogspot.com, a great photographer from Salt Lake City, called and asked to use a dress for a photo shoot.  So I thought Sarah would be a good match.  It looks like they had fun. 

Sarah was pampered by Enizio enizio.com who did her hair and make up.  Doesn't she look just beautiful?  Also, Sarah's stunning flowers are by Studio Stems studiostems.com.  I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to put their dress on again and get all done up.  I remember doing that with a great friend of mine, Maren Ogden, and having such a fabulous day.  Here's to all of the photographers out there who make us feel special and give us an excuse to dress up once more. 

Thanks Opie for the great photos!  Sarah looks amazing! 

Open House Party

How could you resist being welcomed to the "Project House" by these two handsome boys?

Are you a slight bit interested in seeing this counter with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on it instead of work materials.... I am.

You might also want to see these stairs that my dad built twice, on account that I leveled the sloping floor at the top, so the stairs had to be redone to match my adjustment.  Would you like to see them with carpet?

If you are interested in seeing the two month bathroom and window project that turned into a SEVEN MONTH complete home remodel, let me know.  We will be having an open house on Saturday evening and would love to see you! 

We were driving the other day listening to music. 
Slade all of the sudden cried out, "but dreams don't come true!" 

I guess the song referenced how dreams do come true.  In his little mind, he wants to believe his parents who tell him that his bad dreams are just dreams and they can't really happen to him.  This song was singing so innocently that dreams come true and it really scared our little 5 year old. 

Such a clear example that we all interpret what we hear so very very differently. 

What a great lesson.