Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

I worked hard to reuse existing furniture in our new house and was mostly successful. The only place where my resolve broke down was with some new mirrors. For a (relatively) small amount, I bought three new mirrors that make a big impact in the house.

Here's a mirror I found at Meridian in St. Matthews.

I hung it vertically above our living room mantle. I love the way it reflects the orb fixture.

And I found two mirrors at Work the Metal, a cool shop in Butchertown.

The one at the top I've hung above our painted orange chest in the upstairs back hall and the second one I've hung horizontally above our bed (thanks to sister Julie's great suggestion). When you walk into our bedroom, it feels like you are looking out a window into a forest of trees.

So, you tell me: which is the fairest one of all?

That "New" Feeling

Our new home feels so new: the way the light comes into our bedroom in the morning, the smell of new wood and new paint, the unfamiliarity of which wall switch turns on which light. Everytime I walk in the door, I smile. I know it won't last long and soon I won't pay attention to all the details that capture my attention, but for now, I'm loving it.

This week I've been trying to balance my desire to stay at home and unpack boxes with my realization that my clients' patiences are wearing thin. Because we still don't have full Internet, I've made two all-day trips into town this week to do some real work. Sure hope that cell tower gets built quickly...

Each room still needs lots of attention, but I thought I show you how the family room is shaping up. It is missing a coffee table. The one I had chosen is back ordered until late April, so I'm hoping I can find a replacement. And our books aren't quite organized how we want them. But here's a look at how the art adds to the room. We chose a grouping of our acrylic or oil paintings, mostly by unschooled artists, to feature above the bookcases.  I love the way they all seem to go together, maybe its the bright colors, or as Maggie pointed out, perhaps it is because most of the portraits are of red heads!

Life is Good in the Country

We've been living in the country for over a week -- and loving it. Yes, our backs hurt from lifting boxes; and we fall into bed exhausted, but everyday we make progress in making this place feel like home. We even had friends over for dinner last night and walked up the drive to meet one of our neighbors.

Unfortunately, we are not able to get Internet yet, but are hopeful that a new tower will provide us coverage "shortly". In the meantime, it is difficult to create posts and so I'm hoping Maggie, Jack and Mary will provide posts from the field. Stay tuned....

The Moving Van Arrives (Twice!)

Sure enough, the moving van showed up bright and early on Friday morning and three energetic guys loaded it up to the gills and then informed us that they would need to come back for another load. I knew we had a lot of stuff, but this was ridiculous (and slightly embarrassing).

In addition to the professional movers, we benefited greatly from Mary and her friends. I'm sure it was not the way they had envisioned spending their college spring break, but it sure was nice for us to have them around. I'm hoping we can lure them out to the farm once they are back for the summer.

Katie Beth and Mary got quite a workout moving our stuff.

The Big Day

At 8 a.m. tomorrow morning, the moving van will pull up Calumet Road to move us to the country. Tonight Jackie and Paul showed up with a huge truck and the offer to help us load it up with art work, lamps, and other odds and ends. Patrice provided a feast from The Cheddar Box. And John and Mary enthusiastically pitched in all afternoon/evening to pack us up. I am continually touched by the thoughtfulness of friends and family. And grateful for their help!

Ed is catching up with NCAA ballgames and I'm turning in. Tomorrow is the big day. I can't wait.

Test Run on A Move

We helped move Maggie into her new home at Fox Hollow Farm today. She has recently moved back to Louisville from Madison, WI,  and taken a job as an executive assistant at the farm, which is only about 10 miles from our new farm.  Ed, Mary and I helped her move into a two-room wing of an old farm house on the property. I'm hoping she'll guest blog about her new home and her new job. But in the meantime, I just wanted to welcome her "home." It feels really good to have her close by.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

It's a very good place to start.

As you pull up to our drive, you'll notice (at least) three new things. The daffodil bulbs that Jack planted by the roadside in November have made an appearance, the fence is up (but not yet painted) and the mailbox is in place, so please send us a letter.

And all sorts of things were going on inside the house this morning. It felt a bit like I was in the middle of an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The electrician were installing light fixtures; the hardwood floor guys were sanding the floors; the carpenters were up on ladders installing the gutters; and the concrete guys were pouring concrete for the front walk, the area just outside the garage, and outdoor shower. At five o'clock today, things will become very quiet -- at least on the inside. The floors will be varnished and all will be banned from walking on them until week's end.

I'm hoping progress will still be made on the outside and on the cottage. Because...in just twelve days, we're moving in! Ready or not.

Here are some scenes from inside the house this morning. It is a bit hard to take inside shots that make any sense, so I've added captions to explain what you are looking at.

Family room, taken from the loft.

Loft, looking into the back upstairs hall. The yellow nook that you see is where an upright piano or Jack's keyboard will eventually go.

The upstairs hall, looking back through the loft into the family room.

Closet in the upstairs bedroom.
Just upstairs, I painted the narrow sides of the doors
and all the wooden pegs yellow.

Upstairs bath. I get a kick out of the little wall-mounted sink.

A look into the other bedroom, with built-in beds for four.

Sconce on the landing of stairway to loft

Our study with sliding "barn door" between it and our bedroom.

Master shower

Kitchen, looking at pantry "barn door."

And here are a couple of outside shots.

Gutters going up.

Our lake, surrounded by a sea of mud. Keep your fingers crossed for dry weather
this week, so the finish grading can happen and seed and straw put down.