For the Love of Blogging

Where do babies come from?

Ashley — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:10:14 +0000

This weekend my kid asked How are babies made? & How do they get in Mommy’s tummies?. He’s four years old for goodness sakes! Don’t kids ask these questions when they are like TEN?! And my child isn’t one that can be pacified with “God makes them” – he still wants to know how God does it. He wants some kind of scientific explanation for the whole thing. So… this weekend we talked about sperm and eggs and fertilization… and then Opie wanted to know how the sperm gets to the egg. Thankfully, subject changes work great on four-year-olds. What do you want for dessert after dinner tonight?

Of course, I sorta wish I’d had this story in my pocket on Saturday afternoon.

Unencumbered

Ashley — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:36:29 +0000

More images from our recent trip to Cumberland Island.

Sandy Wonderland at Cumberland

Ashley — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:19:08 +0000

Opie rarely sits still long enough for me to capture his cuteness, but sand is a pretty good excuse to sit still for at least 10 seconds.

Edited with VSCO.

Cumberland Isle

Ashley — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 02:01:54 +0000

We just got back from a marvelous place – Cumberland Island. A gorgeous, private barrier island off the coast of Georgia, it’s a haven for wild horses and a deadzone for cell reception. Paul, Opie and I had the opportunity to go there and stay with a client and good friend while I shot of few gigs of photos for a website project that ill be tacking in the next few weeks. Here’s a few iPhone shots that I snuck in. More to come later.

Family Pictures!

Ashley — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 03:43:45 +0000

There’s no better way to commemorate our new house than to have new family photos done on the property. The lovely and talented Anne Almasy was kind enough make the trek out to shoot our photos last month.

Moving Day

Ashley — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:41:48 +0000

It’s been scheduled! Saturday is the BIG day. We’ve been moving little things for the last few days.

Hardwoods came our gorgeous, but there’s a lot of them and they are a bitch to keep clean!

Tile is DONE!

Carpet is in!
Fireplace is rocked and I think it rocks.

Plants are planted!

Started laying our new Flor rug.

Thankful for Family

Ashley — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 04:44:56 +0000

Opie with his Grandma (GiGi) and Great Grandpa (PawPaw).

Chug Along : House Update : Sept 2012

Ashley — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:07:10 +0000

“Four more week!” – I’ve been saying this since July and here it is September, Fall no less! But for real, this crazy house project is ALMOST done. It’s all weekend warrior bits at this point, which is why it’s taken so long. There’s just no more budget… it’s over budget. I mean, duh! Let me just tell ya, Building a house is not for the faint at heart. Still to come… staining concrete, complete plumbing, install all 3 AC units, final insulation, grade and seed backyard, install cabinet hardware, complete hardwood floor staining, final trim details, hang interior doors, install all door knobs, pour concrete parking pad, final grading and gravel for driveway, landscaping and move-in. I am 100% positive that I’ve missed something, but it’s only a few big things and a lot of little things… check it out… Please excuse the lame iPhone photos.

Half bath and mudroom got a fabulous herringbone tile floor – installed by my super talented brother, Walter. Yeap… that’s faux wood tile floor! Can’t beat it at around $1.50 per sf. Seriously!

The hardwoods came out stunning and they aren’t even stained yet! It’s a mix of #1 and #2 Red Oak… the widest boards you can get. We got the deal of a lifetime too. It helps to have friends in the flooring biz who have friends with leftovers in their garage.

This is my all-time favorite part of the whole house… the covered part will eventually be screened (i think). We may love it so much without. We haven’t had bug problems yet so we’ll see. The deck runs the entire length of the house. Can you say “Party time!”? But Ouch! Do you know how much outdoor furniture costs?

Opie has been loving this process every step of the way. A construction site is full of all kinds of all-boy fun… bugs, scrap treasures, and lots and lots of DIRT.

Believe it or not… all our cabinets came from Ikea. We have them in our house now and love them. Saved us around 16K!Yummy granite in the master bath. Arctic White. We got all our granite for $30 per sf or less.

We are opting for a full size double fridge and freezer instead of a cooktop and double oven – which actually saved us money. We found a double convection oven with 6 burner range instead and added a convection microwave. Cookie Day, anyone?

This is our antique store find turned guest/office bathroom vanity. It’s gonna look pretty sweet when it’s done. Still have to finish painting and remodel the drawer.

This is just one of MANY craiglist finds. We HAD TO buy something to mow 11 acres with! This just came home this weekend. Just a little tweaking and it will be ready to go.

More to still to come! Stay tuned!

Frame it!

Ashley — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:22:25 +0000

We’re almost all framed up! The plumbers came yesterday so we’re seriously rocking’ and rollin’.

Something to look forward to

Ashley — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:43:26 +0000

I’ve done more yard work in the last 3 months than I’ve done in my entire life. I keep telling myself that it will all be worth. It will be worth it! But 11 acres is a really big yard so I expect it will never be done. Ha!

I look forward to Saturdays full of hard work and Sundays lounging in my hammock and picnics with friends and family. I’ve been working on the hammock spot today. Can’t wait to get that baby up and rockin’ and curl up with my kindle.