More Barn...Again

The lights and chimney have been installed
I wanted an antique barn light (may still happen some day) but this knock off was $20 at Lowes.
We removed the hideous ceiling fan from our living room-YIPPIE!- and it has been put in the office. Now I just have to find a new fan for the house.
Trim has been added around the windows.

More Barn Updates

The door has been put in. I might paint it a fun turquoise color to match the star that usually hangs above the door.
The DSL/electric trench was dug from the side of the house.
Drywall has been put up. Also, the guys spent a few hours spraying some insulation under the barn/office(feels weird to call it the office at this point)

Barn Updates

We are on day 4 and here are some updates.

Side window installed. We will put a window air conditioner here.
Our precious little wood stove
Flu for the stove
floor

Little Artist

Bean just spent almost an hour drawing and erasing pictures on her Etch-a-Sketch. This is a beauty with lots of squiggles.

2 Days Progress=Giant Trash Pile

Marty's team arrived on Thursday (with 2 days notice) so we did not get a chance to clear the barn. Here is the progress they have made thus far...and our giant mess of barn contents. This weekend we are working hard (yes hard with a 16 month old "helper") to clear the barn and move everything to the lean-to/new barn storage unit.
These are our piles of crap. Goodwill, trash, potting shed, and crawl space piles. The front doors have been removed and put on the lean-to for our new storage unit.
A giant window has replaced the old small window. This was a $30 Craig's List find. Score! The sides open out.
The doors from the front are now here on the storage space.
Inside of the storage. They built some aewsome shelves.
Other side of the storage space. The white board is a retractable work bench.

Hallway Wall Project

I have finally finished my little art/picture collage in the hallway. This has been in the works for months. I have searched and picked pictures, art, and frames. It took forever to decide on all of these things. Then it took me quite awhile to decide the layout and then actually put them on the wall. I have to say I LOVE the finished product.
I still have some pics to pick out. I may do some black and white prints in the large 3 pic frame.
View from the livingroom
iRockin' convex mirror. It adds some depth to the wall and it is fun!

Barn to Office Project

We have undertaken a huge project. Converting our big red barn to an office/guesthouse. This has been on our minds for about a year now and the project has begun. Since Sami works from home, we have quickly realized he will lose his office when baby # 2 arrives. (Don't get excited, we are just planning for the future!) We have weighed all the many options and come to the conclusion that converting the barn to a living space is the best idea for us. Our friend Marty is doing the project and we are using as many reclaimed items as possible. Here are some before pics.
Front and side of the barn

Side view and lean-to
Lean-to and chicken coop

Holy Leaves!

We have been slowly raking all of the millions of leaves off the garden beds. This tarp is one of many we have dragged to the woods.

Gray

We have decided to re-paint the downstairs livingroom/dining/kitchen. It has to be all one color since it is all one big open space. I really want a warm light gray and have been looking at swatches for months. I finally narrowed it down to 2 colors and put them on the walls. Help, I cannot decide!

Bean's New Ride

Yesterday, Bean and I went into town to run a couple errands and hit the playground. We took a walk and passed a childrens consignment shop and saw this pimped out vehicle in the lot. Since Bean has been very into her music class car song "Vroom Vroom Driving in my Car" and even does the hand motions (turning the wheel and putting on the brakes, etc.) she about flipped her lid when she spotted this beauty. So, now she is the proud owner of this giant plastic car. I have to admit I am not a huge fan of the mass amounts of pointless plastic baby crap out there and prefer natural toys or just good old fashioned imagination and creative play, but sometimes Bean makes me do it. The only reason this huge plastic car has joined our family is because it is 2nd hand. Now our yard is beginning to look a little white trash. Now we just need a couch on the porch.

Welcome to the lot baby

Front Hallway Rug

I have been slowly adding little touches to the front hallway to make it feel more like a used space. Since we rarely use the front door and since we have n open floor plan, it has felt very bare. We have removed the hideous sliding closet door and installed the french doors. Painted a chalkboard square on the wall, updated the lighting, and now added this lovely chevron rug. I have one more art project in the mix, but that is a work in progress.

Yummy... Strawberry

I saw organic strawberries at the grocery and could not resist (even though they were a whopping $5.99!) They make me think of spring and all the strawberry picking farms in our area.. Cannot wait to take Bean this year.

Goodbye Wisdom

Sami got his last wisdom tooth removed on Friday. Bean was there lending some sympathy and cheering him up.

Scarf Play

One of Bean's favorite activities these days is to play with scarves. She loves dancing with them, making hats and dresses, using them as baby blankets, and throwing them to watch them fall.

Chores

Bean is hard at work helping me vacuum.

Slides

Bean LOVED going down this slide. She probably slide down it 25 times.

Duke Park

This was such a cool park/playground and it is right by Lala's house. Score!

Throwing Stones

It was 55 degrees today and Bean really enjoyed throwing rocks into this puddle in our driveway. She is slowly working on filling the hole.

Bathroom Re-Paint

As mentioned, I was not fully happy with the paint choice in the hall bathroom. This weekend, I re-painted the blue and love it! It is a bit greener.
New happier, sunnier, funkier blue
Old boring, country blue