3rd month of ______ (fill in the blank)

It could be called the 3 month mark of being homeless. Or the 3 month mark of chaos. Perhaps the 3 month mark of no one has tried to strangle each other, yet. The 3 month mark of complete joy just seems like a lie.

I realize this is so not a real world problem. We have a beautiful home we are being able to stay in. And there are lots of pluses...but this week those minuses were wearing my patience thin. Deep breaths. Plus I think the feeling of the new house being so at a stand still doesn't help. Today I'm getting copies of the plans made, and we are going to the BANK! Why that gets to be in bold is because that means money will soon start to be spent. We are opening an account at a local bank to hold all our "house" money. So that its not all mingled in with our bills and spending money. And in the end, if we need a little financing, the bank can easily look at this account to see all the payments. That's the thought anyways. Kyle meets with the county permit guy on Wednesday to submit everything. And then we hold our breath for an unknown amount of time. And this is all I've got on the house front. Not a whole lot.

Camus family update: It was a mellow week. Typical cheer schedule. Ellie did get to change it up a bit with doing a clinic with the Capital High School drill team. She went there Saturday morning and learned a routine, and then she gets to perform with them at a football game in a few weeks. She'll love that. Friday Ellie's school had an all school BBQ, I had the day off so Peyton and I went and had lunch with her. Oh and Friday night we hung out with some of my friends, and the host had just installed a zip line in their front yard. So we did not see the kids for the entire 2+ hours. Best toy ever and I'm told we have to have one at the new house. Obviously if it keeps them away from me for that long.

I went grocery shopping on Saturday and I had to send my girlfriends a message because I was baffled. I'm at the store and Kyle tells me he needs deodorant. I swing over to that aisle and I'm checking out the options. The Old Spice brand catches my eye and I notice they have a "Swagger" sent. WHAT?! When did swagger get a smell? And then of course what the hell does swagger smell like? I just was so confused I didn't know what to do, so I grabbed the degree bottle and ran. When I tell Kyle this story, and ask what does swagger smell like, he replies "like me". Ugh, no no I am fairly confident that is not right.

And to end your day with a smile. My little sister got the new iPhone 6, and she left it on the counter without a password installed on it yet. So I did what any good big sister would do and took a lovely selfie and installed it as her wallpaper and screen saver. How lucky is she?! You're welcome April.

Inspiration: Flex Room

So after you enter the foyer, there is a room to the right. I'm calling it the flex room for now. One, because I'm not sure exactly what it will be. To visualize what I'm talking about here is a pic:

Click here to see the entire floor plan

Right now it's drawn where the room is just open. We are probably (for Truss reasons) going to extend that kitchen wall out, and we can make it have a door. Lots of ideas have crossed my mind for what to do with this space. 1) Craft room and study room for kiddos; 2) home gym; 3) entertaining room aka Beer & Wine room. All are great options I think. It's just picking which one, becase let's be honest I can't have them all. So I'm going to break down my ideas for each option and then you get to take a SURVEY!!! and tell me what you would do with the space. I know you missed the survey's.

Option 1: Craft Room/Study Room

I'm not a super crafty person...but I could be more if I had a special room. Right. I love wrapping paper and ribbon, and I have a nice collection. It's always been stored in that extra closet, and the ribbons fall down on my face when I try to grab one. So If I had a wall and counter dedicated to this that would be awesome. I have attempted scrapbooking, and I have some nice papers and other scrappy stuff. And If I again had a counter and space to do this in and be organized perhaps I would do it more. I do like to sew and I recovered a chair in our living room. Its actually not half bad, I just haven't finished the ottoman. So this would be a space I could do little DIY projects with sewing. See, endless option. Plus I do like the idea of having the family computer in a corner, with a desk for the kids to have a study space. I think seeing what the kids are doing on the computer is important, especailly as they get older (porn surfing, BOYS!) It happens people. By then who knows what the computer world will look like and they'll have screens installed in their backpacks or something.

   

Option 2: Home Gym

I surely would work out ALL THEM TIME if I had a gym right. Well, I would like to think I would. And it would be something Kyle and I could do together. I live out in an area where there is no local gym down the street. To have a membership to a gym is silly for me becasue it would be a 20min drive to and from, and well I don't have 40min I'm willing to give up for driving. And I have I job I work at from 730a-5p so there isn't daytime for squeezing that in. Also, I think if we had a gym it would encourage the kids to exercise. They are getting older and starting sports so they will hopefully see the benefits of that.

  

Option 3: Beer & Wine room

This was my first idea for the space when I considered that wall more open. I thought it would flow nicely to be a space you could wonder into while entertaining. And, that it's kind of off the kitchen. I liked the idea of a corner seating area and then a wall of cabs with fridges for wine and beer. Or a keg fridge for Kyle. My MIL says this is encouraging alcoholism. I say we just like to entertain. And when we had our own home we did.

So those are my options. Whats a girl to choose?! Do you have any of these spaces in your house? Do they get used? Which option just makes sense? Take my survey and tell me! *click NEXT to submit survey.
**As per the promise I made in Monday's post to update you regarding Kyle's meeting with the county- Kyle meet with the permit office Wednesday, and he only has to fix 2 little drawing things. Other than that they said it looks good to go. He planned a meeting with them next Wednesday to submit the whole thing! #miracle. This might be really happening.  



Powered By RationalSurvey

Another week, another wedding

Kyle has a large family. He has 4 siblings, plus his parents have multiple siblings and therefore he has a shitload of cousins. So we have gone through all his siblings being married, and Ellie & Peyton were in all of those weddings. Now we are moving on to the cousins, and they were in this wedding too. I kind of joke that Ellie is like 27 dresses, she has been a flower girl half a dozen times, and already has another wedding lined up for next summer. She's going to get a big head about this thinking shes some kind of flower girl queen.

 

So in typical fashion, I had put off getting Ellie the silver shoes she needed for the wedding. Of course we had some, but they had been worn all summer and now were on their last threads. Ellie had a cheer game at 9:30, so I got us ready quickly and we headed to the store to try and find anything. First we hit Target and they had nothing, literally. I don't know if they had some mad sale or what but there were literally no girls shoes. So we jotted across the parking lot. Famous footwear was not open yet, of course and Ross was set to open in like 10 minutes. So we waited. I'm not a Ross shopper, I just never think to shop there. My SIL Karlye loves it, and always finds cute stuff. I am just terrible at searching through the racks for one gem. Anyways, so they open and we happen to find one pair of silver shoes that I'm like "these will work". On our way out I spot something houdstooth, and I'm a sucker for that print, and this had faux leather trim to top it off. I grab it and its the most adorable stinking little girls jacket ever, Ellie must have it. Of course it looks like something I would actually wear, but her size. Which is totally ok. She likes it too, so its a win-win. oh did I mention its $11.99, SCORE! She also spots this red, black and white dress which I don't love, but she insists its amazing and she needs it. Its $8 so I cave. I'm creating a monster and this will surely bite me in the ass when shes 16. I hop over to my dress sizes just to look. I don't find anything but had to laugh as Ellie was helping me look, she spots a dress a few pieces down and states loudly "oh my gosh, leopard print!" Yep, all mine.

 The GEM find at Ross for Ellie

 

Thursday night was book club night. And the host had these great napkins. Who doesn't love a great napkin?! We read The Climb and some were really ambitious and read Into Thin Air which was the perspective of the climb from another climbers point of view. These books were about the Mt. Everest climbs in 1996 that were disastrous and left several climbers dead. I and a few others didn't have a chance to read, which I love that in my BC that is OK. So it was a little like story time. And I thoroughly enjoyed the hosts husband sat in because he too had read the books several years ago and he himself is a climber, so we got to pick his brain. Like, WHY do you do this?!  Oh and someone brought simple cream cheese and their homemade salsa and I inhaled it. It was just so good. Do you ever have that about a particular food, you aren't sure why but at that moment it is seriously the best thing you have EVER eaten. That's my excuse for nearly eating the whole thing. I tried to distance myself from it, but I swear the plate was following me.

Back to Saturday, Ellie had cheer, and we could only stay for half the game due to wedding plans. I love it when the two cheer teams get together. I like to think its teaching her sportsmanship. They are dong the PUMP cheer. I can do a demonstration if you ask.

Here is a quick pic of my SIL Nicole and I sweating it out while waiting for the wedding to begin. And yes, Kyle is in the background with a beverage in hand. Keeping it classy. We tried taking several pictures, but with the sun and the angles, none were FB profile pic worthy. We tried. So not flawless is what we got.

So Kyle and I were in bed last night and I began discussing wallpaper and some places I'd like it in our new house. He clearly stated NO. Apparently he hates wallpaper, due to the below pic. Which is what covers our wall AND ceiling in our current bedroom. And yes, the light switch is covered in the flower pattern too, to match of course. I was like...I will totally put it up, and IF I ever get tired of it I'll remove it. I've read all about it on pintrest, not a big deal. He seriously looks at me and says "I've read about heart surgery too, doesn't mean I'm going to try and do it!"  I think that's a little drastic comparison. He's so drama. So, I have a feeling this is a debate I'll be writing about again.

Hunter Green and Flowers, circa 1990

 

So house update: NADA. Kyle is now meeting with the county on Wednesday, cuz shocker no one works on Fridays. I'll give you an update in Thursdays inspiration post.

 

And the stories you have eagerly been awaiting for regarding this past week and Gma Annie's stay are not really there. Lets just says this, Sue was stressed. The flowers were not exactly the right color (in her eyes) They were really totally fine and pretty. She's a perfectionist on this, and because of that she is always asked to do wedding flowers and they turn out beautifully. I will just say she lost her shit one night, and well that stuff rolls downhill. Kyle got it in the face. But he's much better at handling that. She was tired and stressed, we've all been there. I stayed upstairs in the 'safe zone' during this show. When he asked why I didn't come rescue him I simply stated "really?!" and he acknowledged how wise I am. The wedding is now over and we will resume our "usual" chaotic lifestyle. 

Inspiration: Foyer

So lets move back into the house for inspirations. And to move back into the house, you must walk through the front door....and enter the foyer. My foyer is about 10ft wide. It will have a high 16ft ceiling so I can have a great statement light, of course. I definetly picutre wainscoating here on the walls, with a painted light grey of some sort above. I stumbled upon the Sunny Side Up blog last week and found a nearly identical foyer layout. I'm pretty happy copying this, and it will serve as an inspiration. Kyle is not happy about maybe copying the floor. So that is debatable. But doing something different to defne the space is what I'd like to do.

The hallway will be solid, like the above pic, with no doors and the entry will open into the living room. The below pic shows another great way to tile a foyer and define that space. And if I could have the dog too that would be perfect.

 

Another fun option I found was just criss crossing the hardwood, and doing a different stain. This may be more up Kyle's alley.  

Now having a great mirror, picture and table are a decor must for the entry. My friend Alexis has a great old church pew, and I would be pretty happy with something like that too. And as you can see, Erin@SunnySideUp just added a great mirrored table to her entry.

 

 

This picture is pretty much just becasue I liked it. I love the lights, and the rug, and the table... and if I had the space and the courage to do something like this I would. But for now I'll just pin it and like it.

Now on to the lighting for such a space. I really love Restoration Hardware, who doesn't. And I would be pretty happy with any of their lights. These two are what speak to me the most. I like how they are a combination of industrial and traditional with some sparkle.

Whats your dream foyer? What do you think is a must have? What makes a foyer feel inviting to you?

It's Monday, again

Monday's are just not my favorite day. I never feel fully rested; I'm trying to lay out the week ahead, I'm annoyed enough things didn't get accomplished over the weekend, etc. Monday's just suck. But the good news is, its just a day and it will be over quickly.

I slept terrible last night. I didn't feel great, went to sleep at like 8:30. Two kiddos ended up in our queen size bed in the middle of the night, and you know that is crowded. I was hot, then cold, then sweating. Before I knew it my alarm was going off, and I just told myslef I'm not ready to get up. I went to the kids bed and slept another hour. Sometimes you just need to do that for yourself. We are serioulsy sitting down and telling the kids NO MORE SLEEPING IN OUR BED! Its just so hard when they come in in the middle of the night, I'm half out of it and don't want to argue. I know this is the lazy way out and no one wins in the end. Anyone else have this problem?

I'm racking my brain for what happened this week. Its kind of a blur. M T Th Sat was cheer. Ive been trying hard to walk the track while Ellie's at these practices. Gotta do something with those 2 hours. I'll be sad once the nice weather is gone and its pouring rain.

Friday I had the day off work and got to hang out with Baby Bailey. We all unfortunately just had to hang out at the car dealership. The car needed an oil change, and then I got the good news that I need tires. I knew this was coming. They warned me the last time I was in that the tread was low. Now my inner and outter tread were done, and I was just running on middle tread. Its all very technial appearantly. Tread depth, and all these numbers. I was like look guy, you gotta write this down because 1) I gotta baby on my hip and a 4 yr old standing here, so I'm not really paying attention to you; 2) I have no clue all these details your telling me and have to relay it to Kyle anyways.  So in the end and $900 later we got new tires. Kyle texted asking me how they look, I'm thinking "really?" they look black becasue they are tires. If I spend $900 on something I would prefer to have something really exciting to show for it. But I know tires are just one of the realities of life. No one tells you this when you're 18, dang adult life!

Then Friday night was the BIG rival football game, Capital Cougars v Olympia Bears. And the highlight was that the University of Washington marching band came and performed. Such a great experience for the kids in the band program. Their cheerleaders/dance team came too. I was a little shocked at their performance, and I don't consider myslef a modest person. But this was a high shcool game, and that performance was way too provactive. I never knew band music could be danced to like that. That type of ass shanking needs to be saved for the club. I'll get off my old lady/mom rant now. It was a great night, and the Cougars WON!

Saturday was the auction for our local school. It only happens every other year, thank goodness. We always have a "really" good time. And the next day we always ask oursleves why we stayed up so late, drank too much, etc. This year was a 70's theme and everyone really got into it. I think some of the older people outshined us youngsters :-) I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was too busy chatting. Kyle almost won us an iPad air. It was a game they played where you had to pick heads or tails (by placing your hands on your head or your butt) and then the host flipped the coin. Kyle kept winning! out of the whole crowd, he was in the top 4. Well, he lost in the end, which is probably OK. Because the host was like "you should really just give iPad back to the school for the kids" and the lady did! which is awesome, I probably would have been like "I am! its for MY kids which are students, win-win". This is probably why we didn't win.

House news is SO not exciting. The trusses are engineered. We have to change a few walls in the bounus room for the truss sizes, so kyle made those changes to the floor plan this weekend.  For example, there was a 18 ft wall in the front, and it had to be made to 16ft, and then the other wall was like 24 ft, and had to be made to 22ft. So we lost a few sqft, and that is totally OK. So last weeks goal of having plans all submitted to the county this week were scraped, shocker. Kyle was like look, October 1 is the reality. This is what our command center for everything house looks like, good thing no one eats dinner at this table.

One good thing is we had called the school a week or so ago and had them submit the letter to the county that our disctrict does not have an impact fee. That is good because appearantly on the 17th this month, a impact fee goes into effect! Which is like $2k. So we got that in just in the nic of time.

In news that you can look forward to, I should have some really good stories for next week. The matriarch of the family, Grandma Annie, will be staying with us this week. I know right, how can one more single person fit in this house! Luckily she brought her monsterous of a motor home down yesterday. A cousin is getting married Saturday, and Gma Annie and Sue are doing the flowers. So I just know its gonna be chaotic and Sue will be in a dither. I am going to invest in a few bottles of wine. So stay tuned to those stories next week.

Inspiration: Front Doors

Doors I feel are such a focal point. And something that really makes a statmement about your house and what you are about to walk in to. The minute I saw this door, I said this is THE door for my house. Whats not to like.

 Paul Moon Design: Yarrow Point House
 

If I will have a black door, blue door, yellow door or red I do not know yet. But it looks great in fun colors too

  

For those of you that missed out on my artwork on Mondays post, here is some more with me attempting to still pick colors. So you get an idea of where our door is placed, etc.

 

 

I know, you're amazed at my skills. Its like an exact version. I'm a visual person and I have to see it somehow on paper or person to understand what it will look like. Telling me does not work. I charge a small design fee if you like to send me pics, I can color your house too :-) I'm sure my inbox will be overflowing with requests.

 

Now as you can see from our exterior , there is a family entrance/mud room entrance whatever you want to call it. Here I want a dutch door.

 



The Sunny Side Up Blog

Don't go visit, her blog outshines mine. j/k

 



 

I doubt my mudroom will ever look this clean. Maybe on day 1, but doubtful. There is no poll for this inspiration because my mind is made up on these decisions. 1 of 1000 I know. Hope you like my inspirations. See you Monday. 

This weeks episode of Camus Road...

I was going for a dramatic sounding title...like a soap opera "Days of our lives" or something. So hopefully that came accross. I'll start working on a sound app or something. Anyway....This week we've had a burst in sunshine for that last bit of summer. Which was really nice, because we know that I love the sun.  Ellie started school, which she  was excited about. She has already lost a new coat. We're hoping she finds it today, because of course I hadn't wrote her name in her new coats yet.

On the house front, I've been reading everyone's advice on last weeks Inspiration: Exterior post. And I'm still really undecided. So I decided to use my art skills and color an exterior photo and see what that looks like. I know, you are blown away by my coloring skills. I just had a .jpeg of the exterior and opened it in Microsoft Paint. Some bloggers I follow are really fancy and have photoshop programs and others. Well you aren't gonna get that here. I'm pretty sure if you compared this with one of Peyton's drawings, you may not be able to tell them apart. But it gets you an "idea" of what the exterior might look like. This blue is a shade brighter than what I'm thinking. But I couldn't get it just right with the color choices in paint. So imagine with me. Sue said it looks like a Seahwaks house. So I am still considering a dark grey. I found a new color called Perfectly Greige. I'm considering. But my eyes always wonder back to the Navy's/Blue. Ugh, decisions.

Ellie had her first cheer games Saturday. It was a bit long. The first game was at 9, then the second at noon. The girls were done by the second game, there were no firm motions, arms were just flailing. Also, it was hot for WA. Now try not to be too judgey here, but I ran my kids to McD's before the second game to get some food in them. I pull up to order their happy meals, and both of them start yelling at me from the back telling me HOW to order their meals. People, this is not my first time through the drive-thru. I've ordered them more happy meals than I'd like to admit. I got this OK. Why my kids think I have no clue on how to order their meals baffles me. And to top it off, I got the soft spoken employee who I can hardly hear. So, you probably see where this is going, I have to turn and yell at my kids to stop telling me how to order their meals...in my mom voice. Then I turn back to the screen saying THANK YOU. Yeah, his face was pretty classic when I got to the window.

We had a fun family night Saturday night. Ron and Sue were gone, so we had the house to ourselves. Karlye and Josh brought steaks over and we grilled them up for dinner. I had gone to the store earlier in the day and bought some Sangria. The evening then turned into beauty shop, Karley began making my hair into an afro and Ellie put a bunch of braids in Karlye's hair. Then the kids went to sleep. We drank some more sangria and somehow Karlye began chasing Josh around the island with the mop, then he grabbed the broom. It was more funny if you were halfway into a bottle of sangria. We then made chocolate chip cookies at 9pm, cuz it sounded really good. And we ate the dough. These are the times I really like living with so much family. Its always entertaining.

Today Kyle is meeting with the TRUSS guy. Hopefully its all put together. If there is any luck at all, we can put our whole package together and submit it to the county by the end of the week. My fear is, after talking to others, is that this building permit approval thing is going to take fooorreevvveerrrrr (insert dramatic tone). One person told me it took them a year to get it all approved to begin building! I will have a total freak out if  that happens. I'm realistic, I know it will not take a week, but after a month or so I expect something. So I"m sure my next several posts will be all about the waiting. At least in the meantime kyle can keep clearing and begin installing the septic system.

To end the post. Here's a cute picture of Peyton and Bailey cuz who doesn't love babies in baths.

Inspiration: Exterior

So I am told that the first major design decision I need to make is the exterior. Like what siding do I want, what pattern, etc. Color comes later (I think) but it has to be all planned out. I have thought a lot about this, and there are tons of different options. So I'll show you my faves, and what the pros and cons are to me. Then you take the survey below and help me. Who doesn't love a survey?!

Option 1: I LOVE this color. This is the Young House Love show house. The color is called newburg green by Benjamin Moore. I think its a nice pop of color without screaming. I see it being a nice alternative to the greys and browns. And I like how this house has a cozy PNW feel to it with the natural cedar.
Pros: Color, Ceadar accents, white trim, rock trim, single post, shingle siding painted and lap siding.
Cons: Can the same concept be acheived on a single story, kyle is not a fan of painted shingles

Option 2: I like how clean and neutral this look is. Its a classic, something everyone likes. I like how it uses a combo of all the materials: lap, shingle and board & batten. Plus the rock. And this has the dlb post colums.
Pros: Color, materials.
cons: Do I want grey like everyone else? Well all the materials make it look pieced together?

Option 3: Now you could go grey or blue with this scheme....which I like. Again, great PNW feel with the natural shingles. I don't like the rock they used, but thats easy to change. Has shed and peak dormers like us. And its hard for me to tell, but I think this house has grey windows.

Pros: mix of color and materials.
cons: Looks like we counldn't decide and threw everything on the house.

Whats a girl to do?! Kyle is on the fence about blue. He loves grey. He hates white...but its so clean and crisp. But we do live in the PNW where it rains, so would the house also have dirt splats on it?

This house is Chip and Joanna Gaines (Magnolia) house in Waco, TX. Of course I have a special place for that since I lived in waco for almost 3 years. I love Joanna's style and so wish I could go visit her shop for some decor. You can watch them on HGTV on their show Fixer Upper. They have great ideas.

 

Now granted, all these pics show houses with WHITE windows and WHITE trim. BUT, I'm not married to that. Because I have seen a lot of houses with black or grey windows too. And I kind of like it.

 

 So what would you do? To remember what our exterior looks like, go to the Floor Plan page and they are almost at the bottom. There is no pic of the back, but it too has two peaks.  

 I think the survey's are fun. I love getting your feedback. Do you like the surveys? Also, I think I set the answers to let you pick multiple answers, if you can't commit to just one- story of my life. So that may or may not be helpful :-)

*Click NEXT at the end to submit the survey.

Powered By RationalSurvey