We have Walls!

Yay the walls are up!  The blueboard and plaster were finished today and the trim and doors should be complete by the end of the week.  Nick is already anxious to start priming and painting, especially the office so that we can get our furniture back in there and sit on the couch this weekend!  This makes us sound lazy but it's difficult to not have your usual lounging place available.  We have a wedding on Saturday night so I'm sure he's already planning his afternoon nap on Sunday. 

Here are a few pics of the progress this week:

Construction Progress

Although the framing went up super quickly and gives the immediate sense of progress, the utilities don't feel quite as exciting.  The electricians and plumbers have been working away installing new wiring, conduit, switch boxes and piping/valves.  We've been specifying the minute details of where we want outlets and switches with suggestions from the contractors.  The inspections should be done by the end of the week - electrical, plumbing, framing.  Heating and cooling are scheduled for early this week and then the insulation and plastering should also be done with insulation inspection by the end of the week.  I didn't realize how many inspections take place during the course of the project.  Hopefully all goes well.  We're very eager for the end of the week when the space will look and feel like almost complete rooms.  Here are some photos of the recent work.

Letters from the Hearth: Dear August

Dear August,

You have certainly got the best of me.  Two weddings, a bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, baby shower, going away party, concert, online class, significant work project, and a couple other craft projects for a future event have left little to no time to even think about the addition project never mind get anything productive accomplished for it, like choosing our light fixtures, carpeting, etc.  We've been so busy lately that these selections have somewhat been put on the back burner.  There hasn't been much talk of the project other than the constant reminder when we're actually home that we have been living in the kitchen and spare bedroom alone for the past couple of weeks since our office and bedroom furniture are dispersed throughout the house.  The only time I seem to think of all my to-do list items that I'm so eager to cross off my list is in the middle of the night when I can't fall asleep bc my mind is doing somersaults.  But who needs sleep anyways?!  Night time is the perfect time to plan for the day ahead! 

During my sleepless nights and tiresome commute to work, I've been thinking about the things I'm looking forward to in hopefully the near future:

The King of All Credit Cards

Let me tell you about my friend Discover.  It is by far my favorite credit card.  I receive cash back for EACH purchase.  They also have this cool program where they feature certain merchants for 3 months at a time and you receive 5% cash back on those purchases.  For example, this month is gas stations, theme parks, and movies (think summer vaca!) and in the Fall, online shopping and department stores (Hello holiday shopping!).  Last year, they even had a 'double your cash back bonus' during the peak of holiday season.  Other merchants featured throughout the year include restaurants, hotels, etc. 

I'm not even close to finished.  They also have a program called 'ShopDiscover' where you earn 5% - 20% cash back bonus when you shop online at almost every retailer under the sun (over 200 of them anyways).  You simply go to the Discover website and click on the retailers site through the Discover site and continue shopping as you would if you went directly from google or as if you typed the website directly into the browser.  I can not even begin to list the top retailers because all my favorites are on there and the list is endless.  But I feel like I haaaave to give you a few examples.... (Lowes - 5%, Home Depot - 10%, Target - 10%, Home Decorators - 5%, The Container Store - 10%, Crate & Barrel - 5%, Walgreens - 10%, Groupon - 15%, White House Black Market - 5%, Ulta Cosmetics - 15%, Ugg Australia - 10%, DSW - 10%, Macys, Nordstroms - 10%, Shutterfly, The North Face - 15%, Underarmor - 10%, iTunes - 5%.  Seriously, the list goes on and on and on from home, electronics, sports, kids, clothing, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, vacations, etc.