sadie olive ~ le journal

porch progress

We have been working hard over here on the house. The front porch has been the main focus of late, since it is the most unfinished. But we are getting there! Here are some progress photos for you to see how far we have come....

This will serve as the before picture, which is where we left off last time after we poured the new sidewalks.

Then we added stair railings. It's amazing how much they finished off the look of the porch. We also painted the wood under the porch white.

And now here we are today. (Well the picture wasn't taken today, but the house looks the same as a few days ago when I took this shot). We are getting ready to stucco the underneath of the porch, so you can't see under the house anymore. :) Once this is done, I am on to painting and planting!

She's coming along I tell ya! I can't wait until it's finished and we can enjoy the house without all the planned projects! (I know, I know, I will always think of more).   

Muses

I was feeling particularly inspired this weekend by photography. I started selling a few of my favorite shots in postcard form in the shop, so I wanted to capture a few more that I thought may be postcard worthy. These next few pictures didn't make the cut for postcards, but I thought they were worth sharing. :) I hope some of you find them inspiring.

A stack of old books in my collection.

I was loving the color combos of these three.

A few of my vices: Coffee and Sugar. :)

A small peek into my wild overgrown garden.      

Just popping in...

Thanks so much for all of your kind comments and encouragement left on my last post. I was feeling a bit like this project would never end! We managed to get our final inspection and we passed so that was great news. All that is left now is the cosmetic fun stuff. I have to take some more photos, so I will share next time. I can count on just two hands the few projects we have left to complete, which feels amazing!  (Paint the exterior, finish the soffit work, install the French doors in my office, rain gutters, and stuccoing the front of the deck to name a few). Keep your fingers crossed that we don't run out of steam and money before we get it all finished. :)

I am sharing a few photos today that I took awhile back with my Cannon Macro lens. I just love collecting ephemera and these bright bold pieces are a lot of fun to photograph....

As always, thank you for dropping in. I always appreciate your comments and read everyone of them even if I don't always respond.

Duckett Construction

Well I always get excited about progress around here, especially when it is progress on our never-ending construction project. The inside of our home and addition are basically complete, but we are still finishing up some of the outside projects with our added front porch and matster bedroom. This last Saturday, we recruited the help of our Dad's and my sister Morgan and brother-in-law, Mike and got to work. This weekends project was the concrete work. (Well originally the plan was for pavers, but when money is tight and your permit is about to expire since you are taking so long, it becomes concrete). :)

Here is a before shot (which was the last "after" photo I showed you when we left off).

And here are some photos of our Saturday:

Forming the concrete molds from the new sidewalk to the front door.

Leveling out the concrete.

Josh dumping a new load of concrete.

Starting to look prettier....

The curved path to the side of the porch from the driveway.

Stamping the rocks down to the bottom.

Morgan and I are even getting a little dirty. 

Hannah checking out the new path.

And I will leave you with this new "After" shot, which will be the "Before" shot on the upcoming project update post.  (Which I'm hoping will be very soon!). We are on the home stretch and I can't wait until it's done!