Before and After

A little background on our house.  My husband's grandfather built this house in 1955, with the help of his son, my father-in-law. After my husband's grandparents died, he moved in.  The house has stayed in the family which I think is really neat.  There were three bedrooms and only one bath, so when we got married, we renovated a bedroom into a walk in closet and my "dream" bathroom.  Lots of changes were made to the kitchen too.  New appliances, granite countertops, and an island were installed.  I told my husband the deal breaker was the dishwasher- I had to have one.  So now, two years later, we are getting some much needed extra space.


These are pictures of the new addition to our house.  Construction began on August 25.  These guys waste no time!

Before- our sad little carport

After- it only took them 3 hours to do this!

Concrete removal

Foundation

Taking shape

French doors- yay!  Sept. 14

I Heart Pyrex

I did a little cleaning yesterday. I want to have things semi-organized before the new addition to the house is finished. The Pyrex cabinet needed dusting, so I took everything off of it and washed it. Still working on how to arrange it back on the shelves. Even Pyrex needs a change once in a while.

My love affair with Pyrex started last year at the Metrolina Fairgrounds Antique Market. I have always thought Pyrex was fun and practical, but never really started collecting it. That changed last fall when everywhere I looked I saw Primary Refrigerator Sets, Gooseberry Mixing Bowls, Snowflake Casseroles, etc. I started with a humble blue Butterprint refrigerator dish. Of course at that time, I didn't know what I was looking at until I found the go-to, all inclusive super Pyrex resource- http://www.pyrexlove.com/. Amazing pictures, descriptions, pattern names, even directions on how to safely clean it. The folks there have amazing collections and wonderful displays featured on the related flickr account. Love looking at everyone's favorite pieces and reading stories on how they found them.

It's easy to find Pyrex at the market or antique store, but to "happen upon it", at the thrift store or yard sale, that's just pure joy! My first by accident Pyrex piece was found at the local Salvation Army for $2. I had no idea what the pattern name was, so of course I bought it and went straight home to find the pattern name at Pyrex Love. I was happy to find that the piece I had was from a 1959 promotion. The name- Dandelion Duet. Who knew a $2 purchase could make me this happy? When my husband got home, I showed him the piece, explained the name, blah, blah, blah. He just gave me that blank stare as if to say----and? He didn't get it. He's learned now to feign interest in my Pyrex or whatever glass lovely I bring home, just so I'll be done talking about it and he can turn his attention back to Sportscenter.

As soon as my cold/allergy/whatever evil I am suffering with eases up, I hope to go happen upon a few more pieces. Pyrex therapy. It does a body good.

New Beginnings

I'm looking forward to the next few months for lots of reasons. One, Fall is my favorite season; two, we will be diving deeper into our greenhouse business; and three, we are building on to our house.

I have really enjoyed the past few days of cooler temperatures. I just feel better when it's cooler if that makes sense! The best sleep is when you can have the windows open. It's almost as good as camping. Even though it's been unusally cool this week, it will be short lived. We always have temps in the 80s and 90s here usually through the end of September. But it will seem like winter is coming quickly as we attempt for the first time to winterize and heat the greenhouse for the early spring vegetables and flowers.

Building on to the house is a much needed project around here. My son's room is really too small, as is the entire house. With the new addition, he will have a new bedroom with plenty of space to store his PS3 stuff, and I will no longer have to dodge Rock Band 2 drum sets and guitars as I try to navigate the tiny living room. My husband will have his big den, and the best part is I will finally have my own living area.

MY OWN SPACE!! With my stuff (an enormous term, we'll get to that later), my furniture and it's all mine. My room will even be off limits to the dog. I love her dearly, but I want one hair free, slobber free room. Is that too much to ask? The washer and dryer which now occupy the kitchen, are being relocated to the office- my son's current room. That means my Pyrex cabinet can go in the kitchen and I'll have room in the dining room for a real, grown up dining room set. Yes, I've made it all these many years without one. Now I can showcase china from both of my Grandmothers in a genuine china cabinet. Amazing isn't it? I only had to wait 38 years!

I'll be posting pics of our progress, with some before and afters of the inside. I will probably even ask for opinions on color options and how I should arrange the furniture.