Progress

Got quite a bit done so far today. A little late start this morning due to getting stuck in plumbing looking for an adapter for a portable water cooler we needed but thanks to today's man in Orange, Doug we found the solution and got to work.
Today I've been helping cut the wood for Alan and he says my cuts are perfection!  That's right....mmhmm!  ;)
(Proof posting soon!)

We got lumber people!

So after getting the quote back from our framer we decided we would save a little by doing, what we could, by ourselves.  Or should I say, Alan could do?  Right now I'm just a gawk-er but I'm fascinated by what goes into building something so maybe I'm more of a cheerleader at this point.  :)

After a much needed Starbucks stop we head to Home Depot and start loading up lumber and tools.  A little side trip to Best Buy to return something and a little dreaming and then back home to open our goodies.  Strangely I believe I had just as much fun opening up and putting together a wet/dry vac as Alan did putting the saw together.  ;)  I must thank my dad and probably my grandpa too for including me in, when I was younger, with some of their building projects.  The cabin is kind of reminiscent of the tree house my dad and grandpa build my sister and I back in 1983 or 1984. 

Ethan found his way out back and we unloaded everything and prepared to do as much as we could before our 2:00 meeting. 

And so Alan gets started cutting our first piece to start framing out the flooring of our kitchen.  In our plans we are elevating the floor in the kitchen and bathroom about 6 inches so it seems like it's own room and separates them from the other areas of the house.

It is now 10:01 pm and Alan is still out there.  Now he's working on the bathroom floor.  We significantly underestimated the amount of lumber needed so we shall make another Home Depot trip tomorrow.  I believe I will get to know every person with an orange apron by name before this project is complete!  Day one HD employee: Marcus

So, I hope to share with all of you our ideas for decorating and at times possibly asking for advice on certain things.  Like right now I've been thinking a lot about the color I should do for the kitchen cabinets.  I've always been a more neutral person on the expensive items and then use color in the accessories.  But I've been kind of liking the idea of doing the cabinets in a light green, maybe sage, or in a buttery yellow.  Being that we will be covering the walls in wood paneling I want to bring in lighter elements so we keep it open feeling and not "cave" like. 

We are also in the works of bringing on sponsors of this project because there is great potential for other people wanting to build something similar.  Whether it be for a permanent residence or more of a mother-in-law quarters or vacation home.  We have a couple of people in line right now for windows...  Alan has interrupted me to come see the progress of this evening.  I shall update you all tomorrow!  Nighty night!

Today was the big day! A new blog and a new house!

Well, I am new to blogging so "bear" with me!  :)  

So for about nine months now we have been living in a trailer at the side of my in-laws house.  Using their bathroom, kitchen and one of their living rooms as our home office/living area.  Remind you, Grandma, as well as my sister-in-law and her husband are also living in the house.  They are  waiting for the apartment in the back to be completed for them.  One big happy family!  Including our two dogs, their two dogs and one big diva of a cat!  Ha Ha

I must say it really hasn't been that bad!  I couldn't ask for better in-laws.  We've really worked well together, everyone doing their part, sharing the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.  Except for Ethan's forgetfulness to pick up our dog's poo, but well, he's 9!  ;)

Our plan has been to live a more simple life and to have a "family compound" of sorts.  We've also always wanted to live on property and this worked out really well with them moving to this house.

We've been working towards living a more simple life and last year we ran across another blog about living in a tiny space.  Having only what you need and utilizing every square inch of your home to it's fullest.  But mostly being content with with what you have.  Their home is only 320 square feet and ours is 560.  You should really check out their blog, it was really inspiring.

http://www.320squarefoothome.com/

We're really looking forward to everything we have planned for the past several months to come together.  So follow us on our journey and maybe it will inspire you too!

Day One - Today the cabin was finally delivered!  A blank canvas awaits!

The dorm area shown here will be our son's loft area.

Sunday, April 22

Today we installed our Anniversary gift from Alan's parents to the outside of our cabin.  We also specked out the walls, rooms, windows & plumbing.  Also the outlets for electrical. 

Here's some specs: 560 square feet plus loft space. Kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, laundry area and mud room area. Completely off-grid solar (we will never pay an energy bill to anyone), composting/incinerating toilet system (no need for a septic tank or sewer system), grey water recycling system, rainwater recycling system, Vinyl Low E window system, LED lighting and more. The whole house will run on less electricity than the average electric stove! It will be portable and will not rely on any outside source or agency other than incoming water feed and I'm debating on implementing a solution for that!

We will post a floor plan soon!