What Moving's Good For

I hate moving.  Maybe it's because we've done it every year for the past three years, but I just really  hate it.  I resent packing the things that I haven't used since the last move, I struggle to pack boxes that aren't too heavy or aren't too light, and the thought of shuttling boxes back and forth to or from a moving van makes me shiver.  I am o-ver it.  The one advantage to having a back that goes out all the time is that my husband doesn't make me do the actual physical move- I'm just the packer and unpacker.  

In this past move, the packing was rushed and haphazard and still sucked, but I'm learning to appreciate things while unpacking.  Those of you who have read or practice KonMari will understand.

1.  It gives me the opportunity to touch each thing I own.  While I tried to sort through, sell, and donate as I packed, I just didn't have time to get it all done.   As I unpack and touch each thing I'm asking myself how much it's been used and if it justifies the space it will take up in the new garage.  Since our space is small, it has to really justify itself to be kept.

2.  It encouraged me to get my daughter involved.  People in some of the KonMari Facebook groups I'm part of insist that children as young as 2 can get involved in this process.  I was skeptical.  However, as we began unpacking all my daughter's books last night (which were getting out of control in the apartment) I began asking my daughter if she liked or didn't like a book.  I then asked her if she wanted to keep or say goodbye to a book.  I was amazed by how many books she was ready to say goodbye to.  Some of them I understood she outgrew, some I vetoed because I thought she hadn't grown into quite yet, and some surprised my entirely.  Because she's 2, she has a short attention span and we're only able to go through a few at a time before she becomes distracted by the books she likes and wants to read right then.  I'm thinking that once we finish all the books, I'll then take the box of 'discard' ones, lay them all out and just ask if she's sure she wants to say goodbye to all of them.  I'll then take them to the used bookstore to try to sell and all others will go into our neighborhood's little free library.  We keep her toys pretty minimal, but I'm going to try those after books.

3.  It gives me the freedom to be messy for a while.  I'm not talking about the kitchen counters, although they could certainly use some straightening up.  I'm talking about being okay with boxes and 'stuff' in the way for a bit while you try to go through, reduce, and find the best new home for or way to dispose of.  Going through everything means you need space to gather and sort it before putting it away, selling or donating.  

4.  It allows me to reassess my taste and ensure the space is right for who I am, right now.  I lived in New Zealand for almost four years.  I did a lot of growing up over there and learned so much about who I am.  I bought art and other mementos (such as a small clock) to remind me of that amazing time in my life.  I've loved having all of that surround me the past 7 years that I've been back.  However, in that time I met and married my husband, had a daughter and evolved in general.  Today as I picked up the NZ clock I've had for so many years, I suddenly realized it represented who I was a while ago, not who I am today.  I thanked it for the joy it brought me, wished it well in its new home and added it to the donation bag.  Instead of filling my home with memories of New Zealand, I want to fill my home with things that are significant to all the members of this family.  

5.  It helps me set the current priorities in my life.  This may be restricted to small-space living, I'm not sure.  While this space was built to maximize storage, it's still only 550 sq. ft on the main floor and that doesn't allow for a lot of 'stuff' before feeling cramped.  Last year I began doing the 21 day fix.  While it's nice to be saving on a gym membership, it requires me to have a yoga mat and several sets of weights.  I have to commit to doing the exercises regularly for them to be justified in this space.  I have a box of stuff that I use for meditation and general 'spiritual practice' that's been shuttled from place to place and probably not used since before my daughter was born.  I haven't gotten to it yet (it may still be in storage), but I will have to do some intense introspection to determine if it's worth it to me to keep when I find that once treasured box.   I'm sure I could come up with more examples, but you get the idea. 

At this point, we have no plans to move again any time soon, but we've said that before.  I'm trying to appreciate what this move has offered me and hope that any of you moving any time soon will find a silver lining as well.   

Life Since the Last Post

I last left you where we fired our contractor and were still hoping to get into the garage in December. Things were very bumpy for a while.  We had this great plan, you see.  I took our daughter up to my mom's house for Thanksgiving.  Grandma was then going to watch the little one while I came back to Nashville to help Scott finish things up and pack up the apartment.  We would move the following weekend, and when Grandma drove down with the little one, we would be all moved into the garage. You know what happens to the best laid plans. Unfortunately, the day after Thanksgiving, we got the phone call that my grandma took a turn for the worse and was headed for a short Hospice stay.  My mom, being the pillar of strength that she is, took my beautiful baby girl and one of her girlfriends, and raced down to be with my Grandma.  I still headed back to Nashville, somehow hoping that I could get everything done.  Once I got back and we had a real look at what needed to happen before we could apply for occupancy, we realized that moving the following weekend wasn't going to be possible.  I didn't feel comfortable asking my mom to keep her an extra week.  My Grandma's memorial service was set for the Thursday of that week, so I packed up what I could in the apartment, and headed to IL to say goodbye and pick up my sweet pea.
At this point we came back to an apartment mostly packed (all her art stuff and books, of course) and the further realization that it was going to take every extra second of Scott's nonwork hours to make this move happen (we had to get out of the apt on Dec 12, as they already had another tenant lined up).  We decided that it would be best for me to take Little Miss up north, again, to Grandma's.  This time the dog and I stayed also and settled in for the long haul.  Scott worked his magic, hired some people he trusted, called in his dad and did everything he could do get us occupancy.  It worked!  Our stuff sat in a Uhaul truck for about a week (the most reasonable short term option we could find), but we were finally in!
Here's what we learned- the Certificate of Occupancy just means that your place is safe to live in, not that it's finished.  So, when we finally arrived back in Nashville on the 19th, we had a livable space, but there were still no shelves installed in the kitchen cabinets or the built-in bookshelves.  Scott barely had time to install hanging rods in the closets and there were no drawers or shelves.  I'm not posting pictures, because I don't feel that the place is 'picture worthy' quite yet, but we're learning how to settle into a place that isn't quite finished and getting things done as quickly as we can (I now have kitchen shelves, yay!).  We didn't have a traditional Christmas tree, but we were able to draw one on the chalkboard wall and we did have presents, and our little one was thrilled so that was all good.
Life is settling back into a routine, but slowly.  School starts again next week and I feel like I'll finally have some time to breathe, settle in on my own, and finish doing what it takes to make this space really work for our family.

The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back

It's safe to say that I've failed miserably at posting daily pictures of the garage.  With Thanksgiving and some family issues, life has taken priority over blogging.  We were warned when embarking on this venture that a major renovation is a huge stress.  I would add that it is compounded several-fold when you don't click with your builder.  We got off to a bumpy start, but tried to soldier along because I REALLY wanted out of the apartment so we could begin our lives in the garage.  In hindsight (isn't hindsight great?) that was a mistake.
Over the summer I went to Home Depot and priced out the kitchen using KraftMaid cabinetry.  I had a price and the quote was saved in their system awaiting my deposit and go ahead.  I showed the estimate and picture to the builder and he said that he could build me the same kitchen at a competitive price, provided that the cabinets be painted, which I wanted anyway.  At one point we met in the main house while I was waiting for a repairman and I showed the builder the cabinets there, which I loved.  Raised panel, sharp corners, etc.  I asked again if he could do that and he said, 'yes.' In a separate meeting Scott asked again and he said he could do it.  We asked him several times over a period of weeks if he could build the kitchen at a competitive price with the squared corners to the point he probably thought we were crazy, and he always said he could.
Fast forward to when the guys actually started building the kitchen.  The labor alone has already exceeded the cost of the Home Depot quote.  They finally reached the cabinet fronts last Wednesday.  Scott decided to forgo family Thanksgiving to get some work done at the garage and supervise.  THANK GOODNESS.  In the afternoon, after hours in the car, Scott texted me this picture:

Clearly, the builder was not able to give me the squared corners he'd been promising for weeks.  Nor, apparently, was he able to go in a straight line on the bottom.  After doing this one, Scott quickly stopped the process and told the builder that this was unacceptable.  After the long weekend, the builder told us today that he would have to go off site for a week to complete the cabinet fronts we asked for.  This was unacceptable to us.  Honestly, I can't tell you how betrayed I feel knowing that he looked at me for weeks and lied to my face about 1. how much it would cost and 2. his ability to build what we wanted.  The utter lack of respect for us and our money is too much to bear.
After a culmination of mistakes and non-communication, which I will detail in another post dedicated to a review of his company, we have simply lost confidence in his ability to complete any further work, regardless of its complexity.  Luckily, we're almost fully functional, if not 'finished.' We will scramble to get the place tiled, the window installed and shelving installed in all the cabinets and then probably move into an unfinished space, which everyone warned us not to do.  At this point the idea of living in an unfinished space is far more tolerable than paying the builder even a single cent.

Progress Report: We have a shower and a kitchen!

I cannot say that we weren't warned about the stress and strife involved in a major remodel.  This project has surely delivered.  Unfortunately, Scott knows too much.  He knows the ways of building things, what products to use, asks too many questions and insists on certain materials.  He and the builder are having difficulties 'playing nice' together.  On the other hand, as a vegetarian, I question things like why I'm financing his Slim Jim habit.  There are so many decisions to be made.  All. The. Time.  My Mother's Day Out days are spent at the garage and running all over time buying things we need of the upcoming days' work.  I'm exhausted at the end of the day and rarely have energy left over for activities like making dinner.  Eating out when you're already hemorrhaging money isn't wise.  The last couple of weeks have been a struggle.
My daughter has been a true bright spot.  She's been very patient about going to the garage almost daily and, as a reward, I've made sure to try to include something fun or a special treat for her each day.  She reminds me to go outside and enjoy the beautiful fall weather while we still can.  She insists on stopping to read books or have dance parties, or tickle fights.  She is joyful and wants to be happy and each day gives me a reminder that I should strive to do the same.  Doing this project while having a toddler is difficult, but I'm so grateful for her throughout this process and the vital role she's playing in keeping me sane.
Fortunately, each time I go to the garage now I see progress.  (It was hard to get excited about seeing mud up on the drywall or watching them sand.)  For example, I have a finished shower!

It took so long to do this shower.  The rocks (which are inexplicably brown now that it's done) were uneven, making it very difficult to start the first row.  The shower niches took a long time.  (Here's where I digress:  One of our big beefs with our builder is that if there are two ways to do something, he never asks us our preference.  He bragged on the shower niches talking about how good they looked and the fact that something like that takes time and that the guy spent an entire day making the cuts right.  Personally, I would have just carried the pattern through and not framed them out, saving a lot of intricate cuts, time and money.  Sadly, I was never asked my preference.)  Now that it's grouted and sealed, I was finally able to take off my shoes and walk around on the stones for a bit.  They feel every bit as good as I imagined.
It's not just the shower that's complete.  I also have an entertainment center!

Once it's backed we'll be able to hang our television on those support beams on the back.  It's been framed out to look like one large built-in.
We also have the beginnings of a kitchen.

Let me assure you that there's nothing tiny about this kitchen.  In fact, if anything, it seems out of scale with the rest of the space.  Seeing as I cook at least 19 of the 21 weekly meals, and countless other snacks, having a large kitchen is worth it.  They will get going on the island next because they're coming to template for the granite on Monday.  
Stuff is happening, and to be honest, many of these pictures are already dated because each day there are so many changes.  I'm going to try to be better about putting up daily photos from here on out so that we can really see.
When we began this project in October the builder assured us that we would be able to move in on December 5.  Last week I pulled out my calendar and we looked at all the work that needed to be done and the realization hit that there was no way we would be able to move on time.  Then something amazing happened.  He started having his workers work longer hours and on Saturdays.  They're nice family men and I'm so sad that they're the ones having to sacrifice family time in order to meet our deadline (even having to work the Friday after Thanksgiving), but I'm so grateful that we will only have to move once and this is looking on track to be complete.  Please cross all your fingers and toes for us.

The Color Palette

Now that all the mechanicals are done and inspected, the sheet rock is going up.  This means that choices, such as paint color, aren't far off.  When we lived in the suburbs we repainted most of the interior.  The best thing that Scott did to help the process was encourage me to get as many samples as it took to get to the right color.  And get a lot of samples, I did.  I painted them on the wall, painted some on poster board, moved them around, checked them at different times of the day, checked them against each other...  You get the idea.  When the selections were made and the painter came, I was really happy with my choices.  

I have a lot of anxiety about choosing the colors for the garage because a) we don't live there b) it's really hard to go there at different times of day to check the colors c) there's a huge window yet to be installed that will make a difference.  Many people say that it's just paint and if I get it wrong, it's not a huge deal to change later.  I get that, but I also know that it's expensive to hire a painter and if I get these wrong, I'm just going to have to live with it.  Luckily, one of the designers we used is really good at this sort of thing.  I got into contact with her and she arrived Friday afternoon to help me choose the colors which will go up next week.  Eek!

I had absolutely no preconceived notions of what I wanted.  Because it's a small space we knew we had to stay light and I did want neutral.  Our granite sample went missing, but we did have the backsplash, floor sample and the pillow sham from the bedroom to use.  That was enough.  In 90 minutes, I had the colors (and some to try against each other) for each space, nook, and cranny.  Without further ado, here's where we landed.

Sorry about the shadow, but this lets you know where we are.  Repose Gray will be the main color.  It's very light, but will work well with the others.  Eider White will be the trim color, as well as the kitchen cabinets.  It may also be the color for the storage wall, I haven't figured that out yet.  The aqua color is Aqueduct and will be used on two walls in the bathroom as accent walls.  It is lovely and peaceful and calming.  I hope that it looks as good on a wall.  I would've been open to a darker, bolder color in the bathroom, but with it being so small and so dark, we knew we needed to stay light.  

There's all my talk of light colors, so what are the purples doing there?  One of these will be our outside door color.  They're both on paper so I can take them over to the garage to decide.  I also want to paint a few of the interior doors and we have some selections, but we decided to wait until after we moved in so I could do it and forgo the labor charge.  While I was with her, I was also able to shoot a bunch of easy to answer design questions at her.  For 90 minutes and $40, I can easily say that was the best money I've spent in a long time.  

The text you never want to get from your builder

The builders are working busily.  Inspections are being passed.  Sheet rock is going up.  Then, I get this photo and message from the builder.

Stop the presses!  You mean to tell me that a) the plumber never did this b) both my husband and the builder also missed this and c) it passed inspection?  Seriously???? And, of course, this was only caught after the sheet rock went up, making it more expensive to find a spot to tap on and run the line.  Obviously, it was the plumber's responsibility, but shouldn't the builder have caught this before now? I'm trying to just let things go, but this is becoming typical of our experience.  Do something, later realize there's been a mistake, and then have to go back and redo it (for more money, of course).  Ugh.

Windows and Doors!

For some reason I thought that our contractor said that he would start with windows, doors and floors.  I got 2 out of 3 right.  Now that all the mechanicals are complete, the contractor officially began on Tuesday.  I went over this morning and snapped some pictures.  

We have a front door!

I know that I've fussed that the style of this door doesn't match the rest of the doors in the space.  However, it really matches the exterior space.  I'm pretty stoked about it.  Now I just need tips on what paint treatment I give it.  Do I go purple like the double doors that face the yard, or give it a dry paint technique like the front door of the main house or do something different?  Tips?

We also have a bedroom window.

The view into the back nether regions of our neighbor's yard isn't fantastic, but it's the best we can do.  I wanted the window to line up with the door into the bedroom, but it really cuts into where I was thinking to put a dresser.  I'll have to think about that some more now.  It's amazing how you look at a piece of paper or a drawing on your computer and think that you have things figured out, but when you see everything in reality you realize that it might not quite work.  

They also fixed the headers and got things ready for when the kitchen window eventually arrives.

The window is still going to big big and beautiful and glorious.  I can't wait.  They were cutting the hole for the bathroom window as I was there so I imagine tonight there will be a bathroom window as well.  I hope that we have now reached the point where there will be visible progress each day so that I can put in notice on the apartment when I pay next month's rent.  Fingers crossed.