Wednesday, April 28, 2010

"No Story For Old Island"! as in "No Country For Old Men"!!

You all remember the old counter that I found at the Round Top flea market? It will be my new kitchen island after a major overhaul. Bob and I, (well really mostly Bob!) were out working on it a couple of days ago and we started talking about the history behind it. I don't have a clue where it came from and the woman I bought it from didn't know either. So now the fun begins! We can MAKE ONE UP!! I took a close up of all of different paint colors that have been splashed on it over the years so I am thinking it was either in a hardware store or maybe an artist was using it. It's YOUR turn! Let's see what kind of stories we can up with. Please don't disappoint me and have nobody respond. I may be sad and never post again....just kidding! Anyway, Bob did an amazing job of taking the top off and putting it on the bottom so that I now have a shelf in the previously open space. He also put new sturdy legs on it and fortified it so well that all 5 grandkids could hop around on it and it won't fall apart! He is an amazing carpenter. Thanks again Bob! The piece is now in the hands of a friend who is painting it.....you will LOVE what she will do! As far as the new top, I want a zinc top but if that doesn't pan out, I will have Bob construct one out of the old remilled pine we are using in the house. More pics as it progresses.

Pink, turquoise, white, black, yellow....hmmmm


Bob has also been busy working on the porte cochere. The ceiling was falling down so he tore it down and put new bead board up, which by the way he said is terribly difficult for a 57 year old with trifocals! Then the fun started. Well I thought it looked like fun since it is one of things in the house that I couldn't wait to see GONE. There were these really bad plexiglass windows with bad screen doors on either side of this wonderful space. So we thought we would just order new divided light windows to replace them. At a price tag of $10000, yes that is four zeros, we decided better. We thought it would make a great all weather kind of living space so we just tore them out and VOILA! It looks great and we know we will enjoy many a rainy day under it.


I think those rays shining down are from God!! Well done thy good and faithful servant! I don't mean that to sound sacrilegious , he really is one! I am convinced that one day Bob really will hear that from God, not just from me!

Ok folks...these are the first shots of the new garage apartment. It doesn't have alot of history since it was only built in 1996. But we plan on changing that. When I first saw this house you all know I fell in love with the doors, windows and staircase. But the thing that really sold us on the property was this apartment. We have a garage apartment at our current house and it's the cutest thing ever. It has been such a blessing to us and God has allowed us the share it with so many others in that last 11 years. But this new one has one special person that it is intended for. Bob's mom, or Veloise, or as we all call her Grandma. At some point she will be coming to live here. She is one the most amazing women I know and she has been like a mom to me since my precious mom passed away. On most days she has more energy than I do, despite the fact that she has heart issues and arthritis so bad it is difficult for her to do so many activities she has done and loved for years. She can no longer climb stairs due to the arthritis so our current carriage house won't work for her. But....this one has an elevator!!!! Can you believe that? It was built for the previous owner's handicapped son. It could not be more perfect. It has 1100 sq ft and although we have some tweaking to do to make it "Grandma ready" , it will be so great to have her so close to us. We are really looking forward to the great times and the grandkids will also love rides on the elevator! I know it will be hard for her to leave her home and we are encouraging her not to do it until she is 100% ready, but when she is it will be waiting for her. By the way, I will get a picture of her driving her VW bug....it is cutest thing! I will post more pictures of it.

The staircase with the NASTIEST carpet you had ever seen....gone! The old pine floors will soon cover them.

Last Thursday Halie and I had a Nana/Halie day. It was so much fun. We went down to the clinic to visit Papa. She totally did NOT like seeing those dogs opened up wide on the surgery table. She just buried her head in Papa's shoulder til they were out the surgery area. She went home and told her mom she did NOT want to be a vet!! So funny! Lunch with Papa and pancakes followed. After that we headed out to Hobby Lobby and got some paint supplies so she could paint on her first canvas. She was so excited! We came home and she painted the whole background a pale pink. My best friend Nan told me how to do this! Thanks Nan! Then she started painting her masterpiece. She called it Merry Christmas. It is so adorable. Maybe not a vet, but she could be an artist!




I had a wedding to do this past weekend and these are a few pics of the flowers. They were georgeous.....Pink and purple hydrangea, lilacs, and lots of different orchids. Surrounded by flowers....such a great job. I make NO money but I love the actual hands on work.

The bridal and bridesmaids bouquets.

One of the centerpieces. I will be back tomorrow with some pics I took tonight!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Lots O' Projects

The arch was redone again last night and we are 95% there....final adjustments yet to come!

The sun room ceiling has been completely torn down, replaced and Bob started putting up the bead board this weekend.

The dry wall is almost complete in the master bathroom.

The infamous purple bathroom before.....

and now....We will resurface the tub from purple to white.

Another before.....

and now....We are moving the toilet to the center and putting pedestal sinks on both ends. It seems to make more sense for a Jack and Jill bath. Just when our plumber thinks he is done, he gets another call from us. He is becoming a part of our family!


This was the bathroom tile that was under 2 layers of linoleum....I'm sure it was pretty in it's day!

This is a load of reclaimed, remilled old pine flooring. There is this great salvage company in Dallas. Bob did his mojo and got a great deal on the load! Way to keep us on budget Bob! We will be putting this down in our kitchen and the entire garage apartment.

Today I started tearing the future island apart! We will use the top to make a new bottom. I met with a guy who is going to make a zinc top for it. I have a picture in my head of what this will look like in the end.....we'll see how close it gets! I will update as it progresses.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Arch-itecture

This is IT!!! Or almost it! They have tried three times to get the angles in the arch to be correct. It has made me appreciate the importance of geometry in this whole process. It may look right from this angle but in all actuality it is still off and they will be tweeking it again tomorrow. But it is still amazing and I love how it turned out and how it made a small dark secluded kitchen so bright and open to the rest of the house. Good times ahead!

This is looking at the same wall 6 weeks ago. Can you believe the difference?

This the entry ceiling all repaired after three toilet leaks and all plumbing replaced.

Remember this nasty picture? I think that was after leak #2!


This past week we were able to have three of our precious grandbabies here for a couple of days while Jeff and Kristen went to Tyler to house hunt. We had an awesome time with them and miss them already. This is 4 year old Avery....having a craft time. That is a constant here at Nanas!

Twin #1...Ben. They played out in the alley for a long time. It's incredible how long a few rocks will entertain almost 2 year olds!

Twin #2...Sawyer! Or "Sassy" as we all call her!

This is "the END" of this post so I thought it was the appropriate place to put this picture. Ben and Sassy LOVE to run around without diapers and they have become very proficient at taking them off....so we resorted to using duct tape! Use #1262! You can see that the little fingers are already at work perfecting a pediatric Houdini act! Have a great week!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Dry wall begins and some pics from my last tries!

This is just a random picture of the staircase and front doorway. It is the thing that first drew me to this house and I hope I will always love and appreciate it's beauty.

I didn't mean to post this one but since I did, this is the attic pulldown. Like everything else in this house, it is built to withstand a wrestling match on it! The mechanism on it amazes every man who sees it....women not so much! But regardless, it's pretty cool!

Wooohooo! Drywall up!! Just go back to one of the first posts and look at the blue kitchen. This is going to be great!!



Ok...this is another random shot but I was in Pier One the other day and saw this adorable slipcovered chair. Love it! Didn't buy it because I am being very restrained in what I am buying until I know I have a place for it. Surely I can find a place don't you think?!!

These are a few pictures that I was trying to post last week but couldn't get them loaded.

Master bathroom with new plumbing installed.


Ok....I went to Round Top last week with a few friends and here are a few of my "treasures". This old green counter may end being my new island. Of course when we get done "reworking" it you probably won't recognize it. I am still vacillating between have one built or using an old one. It has to be very kid friendly above all else. This will be Nana's craft table with the babies. It needs new legs, a shelf on the bottom and some paint! It is now on Bob's "honey-do" list!

I also found this great chair and my cow rug. You may be thinking 'what is she going to do with a white cow rug"? You will just have to wait and see! I love it. This is also a great chair. Great scale and just needs some linen on it. Linen fixes anything!

Another shot of the counter.

Papa baiting Halie's hook at the lake. oops..on further examination of the pic, maybe Bob shouldn't hold the fishing pole there! We had such a great time with the family but we missed Jeff, Kristen, Aves, Sawyer and Ben. We are hoping to spend alot more laketime with them after their move from Lubbock to Tyler. Jeff is graduating from med school next month and has taken a Family Practice residency in Tyler. Our son in law Paul is graduating from law school next month too! We are so proud of them and their wives for supporting and surviving these intense years of school.

Princess Halie!

Well thanks to sweet Kristen, I am up and running again. I have no idea what she did but she worked her magic while I wasn't looking and when I opened my site, she had done a guest blog! She is amazing! Thank you so much! She made me cry! Have a great weekend everyone!

guest blogger!

hi guys!! is this blog not the coolest thing youve ever seen??? i am jan's daughter in law, kristen and im just trying to see if i can figure out her blog kinks so jan can get back to wowing us with their awesome house redo!!
anyway, here is some behind the scenes from jan's life so you can see a little more about her! i wish i had some pics of her house but i have never seen it!! but this is at her lake house (which is my favorite house in the world and i want my house to look just like it) so you can look behind the pics at all the cool stuff .
here is jan doing what she does best- being a grandmother and a friend.
and a one of her crazy co-pilot being a fantastic grandfather!
ok jan! it worked for me, good luck getting your pics up! we cant wait to see them!!