Out with the OLD...

In with the NEW…

I don't consider myself a New Years Resolution kind of person.  I like to make changes in my life throughout the year, not one time a year. I think the pressure to come up with how you want to change yourself just because its a new year is kind of a waste of time and unfair to your life goals. I could hope for a ton of changes in my life - don't nag Andrew as much, volunteer in my community, exercise 5 times a week, see family and friends more, budget better, etc etc etc. Lets face it, the reality is that most people make these resolutions and they slowly fade away in 2-3 weeks, two months max.  Fitness facilitates have certainly learned how to capitalize on this one.

I am in favor of a new year and a fresh start. The prospects of a new year are exciting, especially when you realize you are getting married! So in lieu of fresh starts and a new year, I decided to have a few "Out with the old, In with the new" moments.

First thing, a new blog theme! Can I get some oohs and ahhhs?!? Thanks to my good old creative friend Etsy and 17th Avenue Designs I have a new stylish look for my blog. I even installed the theme myself and found out exactly how to put in the social media icons - hey, I'll give my not-so-tech-savy self a pat on the back for that one.

Secondly, has anyone seen the new season of Downton Abbey?!  I can't wait for my juicy gossip "stories" on Monday night, when I can finally sit down and watch it on the Apple tv.

There have been quite a few "out with the old, in with the new" in our house in the past 3 weeks! It's back…the massive, overwhelming white board.  Goliath meets David. Out with the old house goals and in with the new ones.  Ambitious?! Certainly, but this house isn't going to fix itself…



Oh, did I mention the new leak we found in our roof? Might be old, might be new, regardless I wish it wasn't there…

January 2 (yes, just 2 days after our engagement, so romantic) we started pulling old horse hair plaster from our bedroom.  We quickly filled a 20 yard dumpster via a chute in our bathroom in less than a week.  As with all house projects, what was supposed to be a one room project became two plus the hall. The original goal was to demo our bedroom and create an inviting bedroom with ample closet space.  It morphed into complete demolition of the master bedroom, office and part of the hallway.  And what a MESS it was!! Holy smokes! Horse hair plaster and old cotton, blown in insulation is absolutely disgusting.  Take my word for it. I felt like Pig-Pen from Peanuts the entire week of demo - like there was a cloud of dust following me even when I went to sleep.  Gross.

So in 3 weeks we have brought both rooms down to studs; removed both closet structures; re-insulated; removed the old window in our bedroom and replaced it with a new, Anderson 400 window; framed our new closet; added a hall linen closet layout; installed 9 can lights, 3 light switches, and 12 outlets; rewired the ENTIRE upstairs with 6 new home runs with proper conduit;  put in 2 coax boxes; and created a massive mess in our house.

Tomorrow is sheetrock, a trip to the dump, and the final touches on the framing for the closets. Somehow these Saturday plans get me excited (non-sarcastic), mostly because we can then turn on the heat upstairs...