The man has an impressive skill set. I find myself asking him, “wait, YOU did that?” all the time. There are incredible perks when you marry a man like Matthew… I highly recommend it. But, this one’s taken.

The employees at the tile store were extra helpful as they told me that the tile Matthew had chosen was sold out. So I had to be brave and pick something. Choosing tile was NOT what Dad and I signed up for - we aren’t the color-scheming, tile-pickers in our respective marriages. So, I covered my eyes, he spun me around a few times, and my pointing finger landed on this.

I sure hope Matthew likes it…

*What? You say you haven’t heard of the Taco Truck? Well, then it’s neccessary that I introduce you to this delicious Mexican restaurant on wheels… which you can find parked in front of the Texaco here every day except Monday. (I learned THAT the hard way.)

The sheetrockers have one more day of sanding before the painters can begin. The rain and humidity last week slowed things down a lot, but the progress is still impressive. It looks like a real house now! I can’t wait to see it once the walls are painted white.

Matthew made a trip to Atlanta to pick up the cabinets for the kitchen. He’ll probably start setting those this week!

Matthew built a small door for our cats, and there was a little confusion with the pups. Sorry, no dogs allowed.

The guys poured this concrete step (side door to the office) and let it set up overnight… and in the morning found a lovely trail of kitty paw-prints through it. I may have keys to the house… but apparently it belongs to the cat!

(Matthew managed to smooth out the step, so no harm done!)

Matthew passed the framing inspection (YAY!) which means that we get to put up sheetrock!! So the insulation is being installed quickly – because everyone knows that once the sheetrock goes up, everything really starts moving!

Maybe you’ve heard me say, “things are about to really start moving” a few times before… maybe you’re a little tired of hearing it… that’s ok, because THIS time I mean it! Stay tuned!

Our house has keys!!

i decided to scrap the plan i had for using off the shelf doors and fabricate my own. you know, because i like to make things difficult. the good news is that it will allow the window and door system to be more seamless, and let us have glass in the door which was something we couldn’t have afforded if we were buying them. the bad news is that it is a little challenging to install traditional door hardware in a door made of 3/16″ steel tube. not one to back down from a challenge, i simply employed almost every tool i own, and a day and a half of my life. but now we have five doors with handles and deadbolts. and you need a key to get in the building. well, you can still walk THROUGH the doors because the glass doesn’t come in until thursday, but after THAT you’ll need a key!

Bye bye red, hello white… actually, white dove. After what felt like years staring at that dingy red brick (ok, ok it WAS years) this paint job has given our house an exciting transformation.

An even more dramatic change took place on our ceiling! Matthew and Will kept saying, “trust us, once it’s painted white you’ll like it” and they were right… it made a HUGE difference.

this project has been a (not so) delicate balance of time vs money. the idea is that i don’t have any money so i’ll do the work myself at the expense of the move in date (which has been pushed back so many times i don’t even remember what i originally promised!). the decision to do the electrical work myself certainly saved us a bundle, but i think it may have cost us a month! because i may know what i’m doing, but i ain’t fast…. the good news is that it’s done (well, it’s roughed-in)

and by the way, if any of y’all have glanced over the 2008 electrical code, you’ll appreciate that some of that junk isn’t exactly intuitive. the existing breaker box in the building had 8 spaces…. the one i just installed has 42. and there are eight more outside.