House Tour: Exterior

I can't believe I still have never posted photos of the outside of our house yet! We (Chris) have worked so stinking hard out there, along with my dad. Grading, edging, sod laying, tree planting, and landscaping, we are amazed on what has been completed this year. Real quick here is a video of the uprising of Casa de Shupe:

Minus the driveway, everything you see was done by us. 

I love our walkway. I love it so much. The kids go around and around it on their bikes and wiggle cars.

Hopefully by next year we will have this area complete. We have added some grasses and rock and stepping stones since this was taken. Mulch, additional bushes, and a pad for a playhouse will go in next. Then the playhouse, I am so excited for it!

This patio is one of my favorite spots. I am so glad we decided to put it in. It has added so much extra space during our backyard barbecues. Plus it is real purdy.

We put in about 8,000 square feet of grass this year. And we have about that same amount of space to go in the back. Oh, mama. But the next phase is kind of exciting to put in. Just right of the wheelbarrow back there is going to be another jut out where we are putting our swing set. Behind that (and what I am most looking forward to) is going to be our garden. Opposite of the swing set on the left side will be a basketball court. Behind the court will be an RV pad and shed.

Yet again, a lot of work. I think we are going to try and pour the concrete this fall, but the rest will happen in the spring as money allows. 

Even though whenever we look out the window we see endless things to be done, we have had so much fun running around this yard playing football, soccer, wiffle ball, you name it. So it's all worth it.

House Tour: Three Rooms

Six weeks since we have moved in. Six weeks of move this here, unpack this there, dirt and dust everywhere. But, in classic Shupe style we had the mountains of boxes and clutter semi-neatly packed away within a couple weeks of moving in.

Then the real move-in begins. The organizing and hanging and no wait, let's move that here, begins.

We don't have everything the exact way we want it, but everything is findable. (Except the crib screws, they are probably tucked away in a Millie hiding spot) We also have lots more to hang on the walls, but that is such a commitment. And the teenager in me is not ready for a picture and wall marriage.

Here is what we have committed to and are still in the honeymoon phase of. Not everything is perfect, but this is my house on a picked-up day. The good parts, the unfinished areas, and the mirrors covered in tooth paste splatter. Welcome to our home bad camera shots and all...

Entryway
I am still on the hunt for a tall bookcase to go where you see the trunk. When I find one I will move trunk over underneath the coo coo clock. The trunk and coo coo clock were my grandma's and great-grandma's. We have tried really hard to incorporate touches from all sides of our family and are thankful we have items in our home from each of them.
Other than the bookcase, there is not much else to purchase for this area. Maybe a bench. Maybe a coat rack. Maybe nothing. And as for now, my cardinal picture stands alone in all its cuteness and quirkiness. I want to let the entryway wall grow overtime with pieces of art that we fall in love with.

Office
Eek. This room is kind of an eye sore. It's just full of stuff. Pictures to be hung. Papers to be filed. This room is way down on my list of things to finish in this house. We still have dreams of painting, adding something cool to the far wall, adding shelving, and maybe another desk area. For now here is a glance. Yikies, skim quickly please...

Master Bedroom and Bath

Oh, we love this room. It is so cozy and comfortable. I am on my way to finishing the headboard. There is a hodge podge of art hung (at my hubby's 6'2" eye level, love you babe), but that is about it. We still have some stuff to do to warm it up, but for now we love it. And yes there is a pack and play. It is set up for my niece. I am not that ready for baby yet, I am just a lazy 34-week pregnant lady who didn't want to move it.

The rest of the lower level is up next. Then up to kid mania zone. Including the baby's room which I am getting more and more crazy excited about the more that gets put up in there (six weeks until we have a sweet new face to smooch!). And actually upstairs has the most complete rooms in the whole house soooo, holla! And finally to the outside (fingers, toes, legs, arms and eyes crossed that it will be done). I tell myself everyday, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, the dog will be fine, just keep swimming. 

Hey, hey, Foye!

That would be a fancy way of saying foyer. Cause you all know how fancy I am. As I type here in my Chuck Taylors and favorite baseball tee. Classy!

I have never had a foyer before. All I really have to go in it is a table from our old living room and  some art. Speaking of art, here comes the inspiration, people! Last year when we were at the Park City Arts Festival I came across an artist and fell in love with his work. I looked (which is what I normally do at the festival, just look) and looked and looked and then decided to keep trudging up the hill. As we walked back down the other side of vendors, I decided I had to have that print of the cardinals on the branch.

It is from an artist named Tai Poon (I can picture in my head which two of you are snickering) and he is UH-MAZE-ING. Any artist who works with water color is an absolute genius to me.

I fell in love with this print first because of the colors. And second, because of the actual cardinals. A group squawking at the one. The one looking at them like, "Just keep on squawking your squawk and I will just keep walking my walk." Or flying my fly? Either way, he is who he is and ain't leaving that branch any time soon. A life lesson, cardinal style.

Jack also helped me pick out this runner from Joss and Main (yes, I made the plunge and bough one):

I am on the thrift store hunt for a bench (among other things) to allow for friends and family to have a place to sit and take shoes off when they come in.

We have some plants, but I want to add a large dracaena or rubber plant to help clear the air in the house. I visited this website that gives you a list of air purifying plants.

Alsooo, we are currently on our second light for the foyer. We will see what we think. I'm sure we are over thinking it. It comes this week. But with a two-story foyer and the staircase turning the way it does, it is hard to gage size and style when picking a lighting fixture.

And lastly, I am on the hunt for a display/storage cabinet to go next to our entryway table. I really like this one from IKEA, but we couldn't bring ourselves to pay the money for it this weekend. I will check out KSL or DownEast to see if I can find a better deal.

That's the idea for the foyer. We have been in the house for two weeks now, and things are starting to come together. They say it takes at least a year for a new house to feel like home, and that may be true. For us, we can say that it feels right. We are settling right in. All anxieties we had are left behind us and we are ready to be happy and excited for the choice we made to build this home. 

If I am not typing or running around with the kids, I have a hammer in my hand. Can't wait to show some pics of how it is all coming along! 

Hey, so when will your house be finished?

Answer: SK!*B WA$D (tears) BLS&**! (furrowed brow) GGRBL$$ 

I have no idea what any of that means.

I kid, I know people are just wondering and also trying to make conversation. The great part is that the inside is coming right along, paint this week! The big fat inversion air filled bummer though, is the outside can't be done until temps are up and the sun comes out. Freezing rain, really? Really? Please come out sun! Not only for my precious concrete that needs to be poured, but for my lungs and quite honestly, my mental state. Has anyone else seen national news covering our air quality? Plek!

Now onto the real Emily who is back and happy to a part of society again! Other than I just ate a BLC (bacon, lettuce, & cheese), OMG what was I thinking? My stomach is going to kick my ass in about twenty minutes. It was maple bacon though, it can't be mad about that, right?

Onto our lovely-never-going-to-move-into-house house. It would be a total injustice if I didn't take a few photos of the out of this world gorgeous stairs we have. All because of my generous dad who spent the last umpteen weekends building and putting the newel posts together, one panel at a time. It was meticulous work guys. Check them out!

Aren't they just the purdiest darn newel posts you ever did see? The entry way turned out just as we had hoped. With it being so high and open we really wanted it to show some sort of interest when you came in the door. And in our dreams we always dreamed of a craftsman style house, and this is about the best we could do to incorporate it.

Actually looking at all we have going into this house (our old furniture, lighting, the cabinetry, flooring, and decor) we have quite a mixed style. We have traditional, over sized couches mixed with more modern pieces of furniture from Ikea. Our cabinets seem to have a more streamlined, clean feel, while our flooring is reminiscent of weathered barn wood. So yeah, I'm nervous! But really excited, too!  It feels like it will be totally us. A modge podge of things that are different, but come together and work really harmoniously. Like me and my main squeeze. Hey, I don't go there a lot, so keep your snickers to yourselves. 

Stay tuned! I have much more on the way. A couple sewing projects, purchases, room ideas, and kiddo updates. Feels good to be a functioning human again!

HIZOUZZ UPDATE

I know ya'll have been dying, dying I say, to hear an update on the house building. Well it has been a tad boring with a dash of frustrating up until last week when the framing finally started to make this process fun.
Here is a very broken down version of what the past couple of months have been for us. No worries, I am compiling a post of The Shupe Do's and Don'ts When Building a House.

First you patiently wait weeks on end to dig a giant hole for the neighborhood kids to ride their bikes on, over, around, and through. We have some serious street cred:

Then, you wait another week for the footing supports to go in. Then the footings get poured. Then another for the rough plumbing, gas, and electrical to be done. Another week to back fill dirt and prep for the slab:

After that, you get a slab of concrete! Its taking shape. And hello neighbors to the East! Why, yes, we should have gone five more feet the other way. I will send you over a copy of The Shupe's Do's and Don't When Building a House. It will all be explained in there.:

Now the fun begins, the lumber was delivered a week and a half ago. Oh wait, it didn't begin because it rained. And sat. And made a muddy mess:

Then the sun came last Wednesday. Do you see it?! It's glorious! Let's get our frame on:

And here we are tonight. Day light savings is not on our side, so the next few pics may have a crew or two in them if I take the shots earlier in the day. Chris has been taking them every day after work. 

We have most of our exterior walls up and had a whole lotta wood delivered today. They are rollin' in the crane tomorrow. The kids are going to love it:

We are excited....now. We have been through every emotion under the sun, mostly stress and questioning our every decision. That'll make fore a few more gray hairs or a few less days in our lives. But we are in a great place now. Let the Shupe hizzouzzz rise!

Betchya didn't see this coming!

Okay, I bet half of you did. Anyhoooo, so after a couple months of scouring the southern half of Weber County, we have decided to go back to building. On the same lot as before. With the initial builder we interviewed. C'mon, you can say it, "Yay! You guys finally made big person decisions!" 

It wasn't without some mental struggles though. It was just that every house we looked at in our price range was 90's out. By that I mean, lots of peach, lots of pink, lots of oak after oak after oak. I like oak, I honestly do, just not ev-er-y-where. I grew up in a gorgeous oak filled home. I appreciate it, I DO. We just have a little different style than those of let's say, our parents. Love you moms and dads!

With that said, all the homes (except for two, which were in different school districts that we weren't sure of) would need some serious make-overs. And I am all for that, but we wouldn't have much money left over to do those things. So we went back to building. The anxieties are fading and excitement is taking over. I think finally signing the papers on this home and knowing that IT IS REAL. WE ARE MOVING, has helped us too. 

As always, I will keep you posted!