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New Home Update

10/18/2012

My blogging has been a little scarce this week because it’s been busy ’round here. Ali got sick with a cold on Saturday and earlier this week I caught it too. Thankfully I’m not on deadline at work because there is a lot going on at the house and we’ve been running all over town looking at tile and flooring samples and meeting contractors and sub-contractors over at the house. A lot has happened since my last update. The interior walls have all been primed, though a few colors are in wrong places…we’ve been promised they’ll fix it when they do the paint. The doors have all been hung and the trim and baseboards are in progress. The exterior siding is a little more than half way done. We met with our kitchen cabinet guy earlier this week and made the final adjustments to the kitchen design. (I’m so excited about the kitchen!) We’ve had to make our selections for hard wood flooring and tile. We’re narrowing down the light fixtures and fans. A lot of things will be wrapped up in the next couple of weeks…we might even be totally done in a month! We’re hoping to move in or at least get our occupancy permit before Thanksgiving.

The “floating wall” we call it, in the living room is primed with SW Drizzle. The lighting is a little weird in this picture. It’s not quite that greenish.

One wall of the kids’ room will be SW Melangé Green.

Primed for SW Window Pane in the hall bathroom.

My office/laundry room. Boy, that primer is bright! I hope the paint color is not so bright…

Oops… this wall in Ali’s room is supposed to be pink (Rosebay). The black primer was for one of the walls in the den/playroom that will be chalkboard paint.

Oops #2… the kitchen side of the floating wall was supposed to be SW Greek Villa like the rest of the walls in this photo. The painter promises his crew will fix it.

We have a front door!

Interior doors! We were thinking about painting them white at first but once we saw them hung, we decided we love the wood grain.

I have a pocket door. I’ve always wanted a pocket door. It’s between the mud room and the living room. It’s one of those little details that our architect added (I had never mentioned it) that make me so happy!

Our friend Andy won the bid for our kitchen. He’s marking everything out to make sure it will all fit. He was able to include everything on my wish list and he used my sketch as a plan. Cool! I don’t love to cook but I’m determined to do it more once we’re living here. I’m really excited about this kitchen!

The hall bathroom will have turquoise (“Aegean” by Daltile) 1×1 tiles around the tub and some kind of yet-to-be-determined gray tile on the floor.

The master bathroom floor and walk-in shower will all be this 1×1 mosaic called “Beach” by Daltile.

While we were looking for floor tile, we found a great deal on the kind of hickory wood flooring we were looking for!

Hickory is an extremely hard wood (durable). We like the utility grade because it has a ton of color variation including some knots and mineral deposits. It lends itself to rustic design but Jason and I fell in love with it and think it’s going to look really pretty in our house. The variety of color means it’ll match our black-brown furniture as well as our walnut furniture.

It was such a blessing to find that because we were really squeezing our budget to afford hard wood and we really, really didn’t want to go with anything else.

On to the exterior siding!

Originally we were going to do cedar siding. Because of budget we decided to go with Hardie board instead. I love this solution for 2 reasons (3, if you count staying on budget!): 1. it’s very durable and low maintenance and 2. it can be painted any color in the world.

We’re doing a mix of board and batten design and flat panels. The board and batten will be our main color (SW Cast Iron) and flat panels will be our accent color (SW Restful).

3 Comments | Art, Art: modern design, Art: new home build | Tagged: construction, home, house, modern, new home update, new house, paint, siding | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

I Just Want to Go Home

09/26/2012

Have you ever had a “DUH” moment, when you realize God has been trying to teach you a lesson for, say, 7 months and then you finally get it?

The other night I was having a self-pity fest. It was just me and Ali hanging out for the evening and I didn’t want to be a bad influence so thankfully, this conversation was just in my head. I was so sick of living at my parents’ house and I was making a list. So sick of not knowing where the tomato sauce is. So sick of cleaning up other people’s drips on the counters. So sick of not having a big plastic serving spoon like the one we have in storage. So sick of storing dishes in my bedroom closet. So sick of this. So sick of that. So sick of feeling like I don’t have a home.

That’s when it hit me. My parents’ house is great and they have been so, so generous to let us stay with them. They provide groceries, many cooked meals, shelter, food, lights, help with childcare, and much more all for a little rent. They’re kind and they give us much grace. We’re getting a great deal and I know, I really do know, that we are very blessed to be here right now while our new home is being built.

Even with all that provision and all that love, its just.not.home. Not my home. Finally after all these months, the message was loud and clear:

Before you make your new home and open it up to more foster kids, I want you to truly understand how frustrating it feels to not have a home. Even with a cozy house, even with tons of provision, even with loving parents, you can still feel homesick—homesick for a place you cannot go.

6 Comments | Faith, Family, Family: Foster Parenting | Tagged: foster care, foster parenting, home, homesick, new house | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Forward Motion

04/19/2012

Some days it feels like nothing is happening with our adoption finalization or with our new home build…like we’re stuck in a holding pattern. The truth is, things are moving forward—just at a snail’s pace. I’m ready for Precious to officially be part of our family forever. I’m ready to have a home of our own again. Someone else is eager to move forward, too. Precious has been great at sitting up on her own for over three months now but she hasn’t figured out how to get from here to there yet. I can tell she’s thinking about. She has started lunging for things. It’s amazing how far Precious can reach when she puts her whole self into it.

I know how you feel, baby. I’m ready to move forward!

1 Comment | Family, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: adoption, baby, crawling, home, lunging, moving, reaching, sitting | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Retro Appliances

03/13/2012

I saw this article about red refrigerators on Retro Renovation and it got me thinking… would I ever put a colored fridge in my kitchen? Red is my least favorite color but I started looking at Pam’s links and imagining the possibilities. Maybe a minty green refrigerator?

Or a sky blue?

What about a white vintage style? White would be kind of sexy alongside glossy white cabinets, dark countertops and other stainless appliances.

I have a feeling we’ll end up with stainless but it’s fun to dream. (The above models are around $3500. Yikes!) Here are some inspiring photos:

Source: bigchill.com via Martina on Pinterest

3 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Art: new home build | Tagged: appliances, color, home, interior design, refrigerator, retro, vintage | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Home-Free

02/29/2012

Home-Free. That’s what I’m calling this combination of being homeless and debt-free. Last week we moved the rest of our belongings out of our house into storage and we closed on the sale of our sweet little green mid-century ranch. (I just updated my blog header, sniff, sniff.) I miss that house already. I’ve been driving past it everyday, just because, and I consistently have an impulse to check the mail or stop at the end of the driveway to pick up the paper. I have to remind myself, it’s someone else’s home now. We’re not really homeless. We have a home at my parents’ house for now, but it feels funny after owning a home for 7 years to no longer have a mortgage. Which brings me to…

We’re debt-free! We made a little money off the sale of our house. We put the first bit towards paying off the last chunk of our school loans and the rest we’ll set aside for the new house we’re building. I’ve been hearing for years, “The borrower is slave to the lender” but it’s still surprising to me how freeing it feels to no longer have any debts! And we’re soaking up the feeling because we’ll be taking out a construction loan soon. But you know, for the moment, we can shout a good ol’ Dave Ramsey style, “WE”RE DEBT FREE!”

Fun fact: Jason was out of town so I had to sign for him at the closing. Instead of just signing “Martina Ahlbrandt” on every page, I had to sign, “Martina Ahlbrandt, Jason Ahlbrandt by Martina Ahlbrandt his Attorney in fact.” And anywhere I had to initial for him, it was “JA by MA his AIF.” Isn’t that nuts?! I think he owes me a hand massage or something.

2 Comments | Other | Tagged: dave ramsey, debt free, finances, home, homeless, house sold, new home, real estate | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Ketchup

02/08/2012

er… catch up. It’s amazing how a couple of days without blogging gets me out of the groove and I don’t know where to start again. So how about a little bit or this and that.

Last week was miserably busy at work for me—the worst deadline week I’ve had in as long as I can remember. Long, tiring days in my cubicle, away from my husband and sweet baby girl. Jason was home for the week but we hardly crossed paths. It feels silly to even articulate those complaints because all I have to do is shift my perspective a little bit and I realize how much I have to be thankful for. I have a job. I have an awesome husband. We have a sweet baby girl.

The week was topped off with a weekend full of packing and moving. Mostly packing. We even skipped Super Bowl parties to work. Looking at the calendar with Jason’s tour schedule between now and the closing on March 1st and we realized we better get going on this moving out of our house business. Five years is long enough to forget how much work it is to move. And goodness, how did we end up with so much stuff?! It’s amazing how it multiplies when it starts getting put into boxes.

We have officially moved into my parents’ house and are getting settled in comfortably there. Our belongings will rest in storage until the new house is completed. As I mentioned before, leaving our mid-century ranch has been extremely bittersweet. We really love that place and planned to never move. Funny how dreams and goals can change so drastically in a short period of time. If we hadn’t felt called to become foster parents last spring, and to continue fostering after we complete our adoption of Precious, I really don’t think we’d be moving right now.

But again, a simple shift of perspective and I realize how much we have to be thankful for. We’re building a house—a dream we’ve always had but figured was a long way off. We have a great relationship with my parents and a place to stay right down the street from our new house. And the new house is going to be great—and most importantly have room for our family to grow.

As we were packing on Saturday Jason’s mom, Grandma K, spotted Precious’ first tooth finally poking through. She’s been working on that for a long time. Three days later my mom, Grandma L, spotted her second tooth coming through. I finally got a picture of them yesterday. Speaking of pictures, here are a bunch of random ones from the past few days:

I’m doing the February Photo A Day challenge on Instragram (#febphotoaday … I’m @mahlbrandt if you want to follow me). The one above was “your view today,” my cubicle…ugh! And below was day 2, “words.”

On Thursday night Jason played an industry showcase with Michael Dean Church at The Rutledge. It ended up being a fun double date night out with our friends Jeremy (who played drums) and Leila—without our babies for a change! We had dinner afterwards at a new burger place in East Nashville called The Pharmacy.

My first (unsuccessful) attempt at baby tooth photography.

Kitchen configuration… whatever spare creative juice I have has been going here lately…

Teeth! Caught them on camera with the help of Grandma L who got her smiling.

3 Comments | Art, Art: music, Art: new home build, Family, Family: Jason, Family: Me, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: catch up, first tooth, home, house, moving, new home, precious, random | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Homework: Eichler

12/13/2011

Have you heard of Eichler (pronounced ike-ler) homes? Jason and I have long admired the style and I decided to do a little more homework on the history and philosophy of Joseph Eichler and the “California Modern” homes he built.

Eichler was not an architect; he was a developer. Between 1950-1974, he built over 11,000 homes in California. He used architects who were students of Frank Lloyd Wright, like Robert Anshen. As I understand it, his philosophy was much like Wright’s: blurring the lines between inside and outside. One thing that set Eichler apart from his peers is that he wanted to keep his homes affordable to the middle class. His strict non-discrimination policy to sell homes to anyone regardless of race or religion led to his resignation from the National Association of Home Builders in 1958.

These paragraphs from Wikipedia (where I’m getting most of this info) really sums up the flavor of Eichler homes:

Eichler homes are from a branch of Modernist architecture that has come to be known as “California Modern,” and typically feature glass walls, post-and-beam construction, and open floor plans in a style indebted to Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. Eichler Homes exteriors featured flat and/or low-sloping A-Framed roofs, vertical 2-inch pattern wood siding, and spartan facades with clean geometric lines. One of Eichler’s signature concepts was to “Bring the Outside In,” achieved via skylights and floor-to-ceiling glass windows with glass transoms looking out on protected and private outdoor rooms, patios, atriums, gardens, and swimming pools.

The interiors had numerous unorthodox and innovative features including: exposed post-and-beam construction; tongue and groove decking for the ceilings following the roofline; concrete slab floors with integral radiant heating; luan paneling; sliding doors for rooms, closets, and cabinets; and a standard second bathroom located in the master bedroom. Later models introduced the famous Eichler entry atriums, an open-air enclosed entrance foyer designed to further advance the Eichler concept of integrating outdoor and indoor spaces.

Here are some visual examples (sources in • below image):

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2 Comments | Art, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: architecture, california modern, eichler, home, homework, mid-century modern | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

10/28/2011

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: gardening, Art: God's creation, Art: Phone Photo Friday | Tagged: cactus, cell phone photography, garden, home, landscaping, Phone Photo Friday | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Beautiful Fall

10/24/2011

I love this time of year in Nashville. Summer is hands-down my favorite but the start of fall with lower humidity and cooler nights is usually a welcome change. Most days it’s sunny with highs in the 70s and temps dipping down into the 40s overnight. I decided to snap a few pictures of some beauty in our garden before the overnight frosts start. Check out how tall our banana tree got this year! The leaves don’t survive the winter so it starts out as a stump each spring.

It’s been warm enough that some plants are flowering a second time this year, including our pink roses, orange zinnias and yellow canna lilies.

I love the furry fronds on the end of our pampas grass.

Our black bamboo has really filled in this year. If you’re not familiar with growing bamboo, the saying is “first year sleep, second year creep, third year leap.” This has definitely been a leap year for it.