Help me choose

I added a poll because I would like your opinion on which color you like best for the hardwood floors upstairs.  You have three options-any help would be greatly appreciated.

Left is Jacobean, middle Special Walnut and right is Dark Walnut.

Jacobean: dark with a black tone



Special Walnut: the lightest



 Dark Walnut; darker with a warm chocolate tone

Out with the old

The first area of the house Bart and I are focusing on is the basement. Why the basement you ask? Because there is an apartment that we want to make into a LEGAL basement apartment that we can rent. Now that we have the permit, Bart has jumped in with both feet and is ready to go. We don't want the basement to feel like a neglacted old dungeon- which is exactly what it feels and smells like currently.

 Can you believe the taped windows? and yes we knowingly bought it this way...

The basement has 3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms and an office.

The first thing we are doing is adding some natural light by cutting out the small windows and replacing them with much much larger windows. Natural light is wonderful!  We hired Omar from ksl.com to cut out the windows because he was the least expensive and would do it on a Saturday, but before we could have the windows cut Bart had to DIG DIG DIG.

 Bart also had this delivered because he needed to fill the window wells with something...

he only had 11 tons of gravel delivered. Geeze, I'm not sure if we will have enough :)



After cutting out the windows, Bart has demolished the old bedrooms.  We plan to redo the ceiling (to make it soundproof), frame the bedrooms (currently it's just foundation wall), add insulation, change the duct work, run new electrical wires and boxes, drywall and of course new pain and carpet.  I finally will come in on the paint and carpet part.

LET THERE BE LIGHT!!!

This is the house that Bart will rebuild

Do any of you remember the children's book/nursery rhyme, This is the House that Jack Built? Well I have decided that the theme for our new house will be "this is the house that Bart rebuilt".  I think it's kind of catchy :)

This picture is of the house before Bart (BB). We think the house has "good bones" and a lot of potential.  We love that it is a brick rambler with a 2 car garage on the main floor.   Hopefully you will enjoy our house projects with us these next years.

By the way, the house is in Provo, we decided to stay here so Bart won't have to commute again. We would love for you to come visit and help us plan our renovations but we don't have any seating yet.

Guess What...

We BOUGHT a house!  That is why I haven't be able to blog...we don't have the internet set up, or television and for a couple days we didn't have water or heat. I will post pictures as soon as I can.



I am now in my last semester of school. I am doing my rotations in a variety of places like a family practice office, women's health, gastroenterology, dermatology and pediatrics.  I am very busy so it's a good thing Bart has hundreds of new house projects.

Roller Coaster

This last week has been one of ups and downs and then some more ups and ....more downs.  I will be glad when these next couple days are over.

I need a book to read

I am once again asking for suggestions on good books to read.  I know that I could go to the library or look on goodreads.com but you gave great suggestions the last time!!!

Rent this movie!

I would recommend that you go to your local Redbox or use Netflix and get Temple Grandin.  It is a fabulous movie about an autistic girl who grew up in the 1960's.  Claire Danes stars as Temple and Julia Ormond as her mother. I enjoyed this movie because it helped me understand a little better how people with autism think and function. It was worth watching.

If any of you have already watched this movie, what did you think?

A new blog

My mom, Renee, just started her own blog. She has been perusing blogs since cousin Kelli started her blog a couple years ago. She enjoys looking at pictures and reading about what everyone is doing. If you are interested in looking at her blog go to http://www.neesnews.blogspot.com/ or if you are one of the private bloggers (ie-Liz, Miranda, Joanna, Shannon, Marie, etc) she would love to be invited-that wasn't very subtle, was it.?. I'm not sure what email she is using but you could leave her a comment.

"Well, yes we could read you blog...or you could just TELL us about your school day"

 
By the way, thank you for your comments on the bathroom.  Even though 7 comments is dismal compared to "real" bloggers, I appreciate it and it makes me happy.

A new throne room

 Bart can't keep his hands off of his tools, and that means demolition and remodeling projects. He undertook our bathroom in our studio apartment in Provo and I love what he can do in a week.  We kept the layout of everything the same but  we tiled, painted, added a new ceiling with can lights, carved out some much needed storage and added bead board.

         Old Bathroom

Remodelled bathroom with new vanity, paint and tile.

Exposed beams, old red paint

              New can light, so I can see while shaving, tile to make the shower look pretty.

                                                   

   Old floor, with a few problems :) 

                               

New floor and a new toilet seat that isn't saggy and plastic.

      This real carrara marble vanity top and back splash was my best and favorite find on KSL.com



WalSmart

The other day Canessa left a shopping list for me.  My instructruction were to go to the store and buy the things on the list - very concise and to the point.  Naturally I drove to WalMart to purchase the necessary items.  Since I'm a snobby non-WalMart, WalMart shopper, I began my shopping excursion feeling somewhat aloof of those around me.  I sometimes like to watch the intersting people that are there, though I don't feel as though I am one of them.

Much to my chagrine, I soon found that instead of me watching everyone else, people began watching me.  Due to my lack of a plan (and a pen) I found myself walking from one end of the store to the other, over, and over again.  Apparently like things are not always located in "like" places.  I also learned that:

-There is fat free cheese, but it only occupies about 4 square inches of surface area.
-Just because something looks like it is gone, it doesn't hurt to bend over and look in the very back.
-WalMart employees don't know what Capers are.
-WalMart employees don't know what pancetta is.
-WalMart employees should not be asked for help.
-There are items placed on the top shelf and may not have a Great Value brand duplicate on a shelf below it.
-Men are not built for shopping.

-The latin lady with her daughters barking like dogs and chasing each other through the isles is better off than I am because she came and went in less than an eighth of the time that I was there looking for everything on my list.

After three hours walking up and down every isle at least four times I was finally on my way, horray!  Sadly - and I know nobody else has ever done this - just as I was pulling into the driveway, I realized I had forgotten apples and RAT food.

I may have used choice verbage at that moment - to go along with some choice verbage used in the store.

I am not WalSmart