We're In

Hi everyone! I am standing in the empty kitchen at our old place, about to embark on a massive floor mopping session. I left the phone connected so I could check my emails and still attempt to run my business! Our phone lines get connected next week but internet possibilies might be a bit tricky.. still working that one out.

Our move was exhausting ...7am start, truck left at 9pm. 2 truckloads and 2 very sick removalists that I kept watered and fed during the day. Hubby and I worked full on, loading with them...great exercise... made up for all the disgusting takeaway we have been eating over the last week. Hubby ended up completely taking over for the sickest removalist at about 8pm, when it started RAINING and we were down to moving the mattresses from the truck!!!!

I haven't really slept much in the past 48 hours. We heard from our bank at 4pm Friday that they had approved our loan transfer. Hence our builders said, yep, you can camp at 'The House'. I am so grateful that we were able to move in before handover. A double move would have killed me. The first night, I just couldn't believe where I was. I kept waking and listening to the different sounds in a different neighbourhood. Last night, once I'd had about 5 hours sleep, I was up, unpacking books for the Great Room. It's going to take a while to unpack..... loving every minute of it... especially discovering stuff that has been in storage for over 2 years.

Hubby and I have shed tears many times over the weekend. We are so emotional about our journey and as soon as my Mum started playing 'Blue Moon', on our piano, under the chandelier in the Great Room, well I was gone. I can honestly say I am living in my most favourite house in the whole world..... mud and all.

Well work continues on the house. Painting is still not finished, driveway is being done this Thursday. Pool is being started on again this week. There is mud everywhere so my floors are disgusting. They'll come up a treat when we have a driveway and less dirt is being tracked into the house.

I don't know when I'll be able to update bloggy blog again so I'll say farewell for now and I promise some photos next time I'm online. You are going to love it! I promise!

I'm Outa Here

Image Courtesy Debi Treloar

I am deliriously tired from a very long day. Spent the day cleaning, helping with appliance deliveries (fridge arrived all dinged so I will be getting replacement doors in a fortnight or so!), paying bills, rushing home to fax documents, vacuuming new carpet and pretty much detailing the new abode. We left the house after the sun went down and after we played with all the lighting combinations. I am so pleased with our lighting... very simple, basic actually, but considering combinations of pendant, task and lamp lighting, it all looks spectacular.

I started taking photos this morning, then got distracted and never considered the camera again so I'm sorry you will have to wait until at least some of our furniture is in before I post some more.

We have done our sums tonight, while paying stressfully large bills! and I am also pleased to say that we came in right on budget, give or take a few thousand. I'm wrapped. I've kept control of everything I could have down to the letter and the few unavoidable blow outs... plumbing, electrical circuitry... couldn't be avoided, but were offset by bargains where I could get them......

Boy this has taken a physical toll on me... I STILL HAVE MY COUGH ..... but it has been well worth it. The place tonight (despite the mud) looked magical. My heart skipped a beat when we left. I'M FINALLY EXCITED! Thank you for all your wonderful support, my friends. You have helped me deal with the tough times and have been so generous in your compliments. I am sorry I have not been able to visit many of you lately. Once I am settled, I will have a big 'session'. This bloggy blog is not over. I will continue to post as often as I can but I will also be spending time over at my shop blog.... now need to pay for all this. Good night my friends. See you on the other side... whenever Telstra can get their act together and get me a phone line! (another story).

Down To The Wire

Blurry photo sorry. I was talking while I took it!

The cleaners were in today. Oh they were doing a good job. It was all I could do to not join them. Itchin' to get in there too! The windows were scraped of all bits of paint and polished to perfection. Who needs window coverings with such perfectly clean windows! The cleaners were so lovely and said to me, "wait until you see your bathrooms when we're finished".

The front concrete path has been completed. It will be enough for us to manage the move now. My stalking of Energex paid off. They arrived this morning to connect up the power. I almost hugged them when they arrived. I don't think they have ever received such an excited welcome. Gas people have been notified of our Form 8 and duly stalked all day. City Council 'water meter relocation department' gave in to my daily phonecalls and have now rescheduled the water meter relocation to TOMORROW and not June 17th... this means we will 1. have water, and 2. be able to do a driveway next week. Shower screen door arrived just in time for the final building inspection/certificate. Our bank.... hmmmm, couldn't be more unhelpful. They will be the reason we will be camping on the floor this weekend. I am still hoping that some sort of miracle happens before Friday... but that's only a day away... we'll see.

'Red dot defects' walkthrough is tomorrow. Carpets will also be laid tomorrow and appliances arrive first thing in the morning. I will take some photos of everything all clean and tidy tomorrow during our walk through.

A Few Photos

Yes , we have a broom, a bucket and a SHOVEL ,on my beautiful stone benchtop!

I managed to get a few photos of the floors today. The place is pretty much finished on the inside, just waiting for the final clean. Everything is covered in dust... but apart from a few little sock prints, the floors are absolutely perfect. I tried to capture them via camera but these photos don't do them justice... they are beautiful.... half way between semi gloss and matt finish. Jim, the floor man, said they are super hard so they will withstand anything that's thrown at them!

Knobs are on the cabinets in the Great Room

Family/Dining - my dining table will sit under that chandelier.

Study - that wall to the left will have Designers Guild - Cabriole, all over it next week!

Wayne (painter) is putting the finishing touches to the balustrade while the concrete guys set up the form work, for the front steps and slab, from the gate up to the porch steps. Look at all that mud in the driveway! .... and that's the 'dry' version! Access has been a problem.... understatement of the century!

You can see the steps formwork, for the front gate area, sitting in the garage. Concreting will be done tomorrow. Please don't rain. Please don't rain.

Laundry knobs are in. Everything needs a good clean! Look at that grout dust. I myself, would love to get in there and give it all a good scrub.

Still no permanent power or gas... they're going to make us wait, those utility companies. Final invoice from my builder tomorrow. Armed with that, and an occupancy and insurance certificate I am going to start my 'sit in' on the front steps of my mortgage broker, until they send out a valuer in order to process our final loan drawdown. I'm blowed if my paperwork is going to sit in someones 'in-tray' over the weekend, while my babies are camping out on camp beds! Stay tuned!

Home Stretch

Image Courtesy Southern Accents

The last 2 weeks.... theoretically. Moving day is the 29th. Hasn't it come up fast! We still don't know where we will be sleeping on the 29th. The rate limiting step is my bank. I have been assured that the house itself (everything in our contract) will be finished...... but approvals take time, we are running this one right down to the wire and well.... you know banks... they don't hurry.

The floors are being sanded and polished this Thursday. It will take a few days. So until then, everything inside has to be finished. I saw a cabinetry person floating around on Friday so I assume there will be 'knobs' on stuff, when I turn up this morning. Most of the internal painting has been done. My airconditioning guys are finishing off their stuff today and tomorrow. Range hood is in. Stove will be fully installed, once the floors are done.

Random stone will be finished early this week and 'Lloydy' will make an appearance to finish the pool. My little one's eyes bugged out last night when I informed him that he would have a pool in 2 weeks. It never occurred to him that the hole in the ground would be filled with water and actually become a pool. We've never had a pool before..... pity it's going into winter. Stay tuned for shots of 'winter swimming boys'... I'm sure they will give it a go!

My focus this week is arranging window coverings. I love the one pictured. It would look great in the study with all the black furniture. Sorry folks, but in the first month of occupancy, I feel that 'The House' windows will be shrouded in 'dinosaur sheets'! I have left a few projects for after we move in. It was hard enough keeping my lungs together to get the house built. The fiddly bits can wait.... just get in there A-M, just get through to May 29th (all inclusive!). Meet you all in the pool house, Saturday 30th, for a morning coffee!

A 'Perfect Piece'

I'll leave you this week with a picture of one of my main bathroom mirrors... awaiting the 'picture-mirror hanger man'. I sourced them through my favourite little Brisbane Interior Shop, 'Found In France'. Have a great weekend. I'll be packing!

Random Snippets

Had a significant paparazzi session yesterday, taking pictures of mainly my lights, which are now available through my webstore.

Hall lantern, complete with attractive electrician's ladder.

No fancy 'staging' in this project!

Media area bulkhead, awaiting a coat of paint!

Kitchen tiles are up, just waiting for grout!

Grouting done.
Not a very good picture but the subway tiles go to the ceiling for the splashback. Stove and rangehood will be between the windows!

Tap is in.......remember, we had to compromise on the taps.
Hubby would not have anything 'old fashioned'!

.....and the lights! Next the rangehood and stove.

Laundry

Laundry light, minus bulb!

First coat of gloss on the stairs.

Fireplace - waiting for the stone hearth.

Front steps to nowhere.

Concrete will be laid next Monday. There will be more steps from this level down to the front gate (that we haven't met yet). Can anyone recommend some good electronic gate people in Brissie? Our gates will have to come later. Our landscaper is going to pave this area in the same stone as out the back but in a 600x600 stone tile, to do something a bit different. We will have some beautiful pots in this courtyard area. I've yet to meet them but I know they are out there somewhere!

Front steps, waiting for white gloss paint.

Study

Shower tap.

Dining area chandelier. I have left the bottom bauble off as it is hanging quite low, waiting for a dining table. I can just see the floor people knocking themselves out on it.

Random stone laid out. Almost ready for grouting. Yey, they made it to the back doors. What a big job!

More tomorrow!

Blonde Moments

My major 'blonde' moment for yesterday........looking at the fireplace tiles all laid out on the floor, by my tiler, I exclaimed," oh they're a different colour to the ones I ordered". "They're wet from just being cut", he said sympathetically, obviously marvelling at how I have survived this far in life with such a limited number of firing neurons.

The 'moments' continued.... driving to the lighting shop for lightbulbs, purchasing outdoor lights and forgetting lightbulbs for them!....... ending up being 2 light bulbs short for one chandelier... despite counting and recounting before I left.

Next - wringing my hands over a missing light fitting, checking every cupboard as instructed by the electricians.... and standing there when they walked to the first cupboard on their arrival and found it.

Next - sitting in the car, waiting for school pickup, tallying powerpoints and light switches, with the keys in the ignition.... slightly turned on....... FLAT BATTERY!!!!

I think I'm done. I need to go back to handbags and pretties for a while. In a few weeks, after handover, I am going to move my blog over to my webstore blog once the house is finished. I will still post about the house and it's 'leisurely paced' (my way of saying, we have run out of mortgage) interior fit out over at my new site. The place might be a bit empty for a while.... beanbags look ok with chandeliers, don't they?!! At least we will be in!

Closer

Image Courtesy Pottery Barn

Rather quiet on the block (house!.... it's a house, A-M) yesterday... just a lone painter and a lone tiler. Final electricals are done today. I am going to sit cross legged on the filthy floor in the Great Room and put my chandelier together, this morning. All my other light fittings will also be installed today. I have a feeling I am going to be doing a 'light bulb run' down to the lighting shop some time today too. Unfortunately we don't have any electricity to the house so we wont know if any lights will actually work at this stage!

Our painter reckons he is going to be finished the inside by the end of this week and the exterior by the end of next week...... that's good...... as we move in the following Friday. The paint fumes are not for the faint hearted. My little one does the melodramatic clutching at the throat every time he is 'forced' to walk through the place. "I can't breathe, I can't breathe". He still doesn't get that he will be living here in 3 weeks. He associates the place with.... " sit in your chair in the garage and read your book, while Mummy has a meeting. You are not to climb up the ladder or go near the pool. If you interrupt me, there will be no Nintendo on the weekend". Bad Mother. How else do you build a house with kids in tow?

The big pile of dirt in the driveway is gone and now it is just a mud path! The council gas box/water 'thingy'?? is smack bang in the middle of the driveway, sticking out like a sore thumb. Well, that's going to have to go somewhere else.... somehow!

Our tiler is tiling the fireplace today. He can keep me company while I assemble light fittings. I will take some more photos for you today.

The Perfect Day

Mother's Day with my 2 boys? Well it had to involve some sort of fauna.... so we decided on... snakes!

... looking at them.....

....looking for them.....

and hugging them.....

.....of course....

Perfect!

The Best Job In The World

My Mother's Day tribute to the 2 little men who have made my life just perfect.

Happy Mother's Day!