The new stairs...

Step 1:

We currently have a spiral staircase in our house. (See below) We are replacing the spiral stairs with a set of real stairs, but there are several steps to this process.

The first step to this process was removing the picture window from the kitchen/dining area. The new stairs are going to be put along this wall.

This is a view of the window from the outside of the house.

On Sunday, Adam and my uncle took the window out.

I suggested that we make a drive-thru window with the new opening...

But they decided to frame the window and close it in.

The window has been all closed in and if you look at the ceiling you can see the beginning of step 2.

Step 2 includes cutting a hole in the ceiling so that the stairs can be built. Before we cut the hole though we need to pack up both the kitchen and the room upstairs, which is my task for the week. We will probably be cutting the hole in the ceiling on Friday.

Home Improvements

We have recently started our home improvement projects that we have been planning on doing for a VERY long time! The first project we started on was the front steps. When we bought the house (4 years ago) the front door had 3 temporary steps that we have been talking about replacing for 4 years!

BEFORE: The 3 temporary stairs and flowers we had in front of the house for the past 4 years.

BEFORE: Looking along the house from the front steps

AFTER: The new front steps and mini porch and the raised flower bed.

AFTER: View from the driveway!

AFTER: The new flower bed!

Overall, we didn't do that much to the front of the house, but we like it soooo much more! Our next improvement is replacing the spiral staircase with a full set of stairs. More on that later...

Summer Reading...

I've been on vacation for one week and am currently reading my fourth book. (I will admit that I began my summer reading the Sunday before vacation started because I couldn't help myself.)
Here are the first three books of the summer...

1. Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand
http://www.amazon.com/SUMMER-PEOPLE-Elin-Hilderbrand/dp/0312628277/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277392575&sr=8-3#noop

I discovered Hilderbrand's books last year while browsing the books at Walmart. All of her books (that I have read) take place on Nantucket, which I love! Adam was a summer officer on Nantucket in between our junior and senior years of college and I visited him there. Since then we have dreamed of going back, but it is a bit too expensive. So instead of visiting, I dream of living in the summer home that the character lives in in the books that I have read. I am sure there will be more of her books listed on this blog this summer!

2. Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
http://www.amazon.com/Nights-Rodanthe-Nicholas-Sparks/dp/0446612707/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277393429&sr=1-1

While I have always wanted to see the movie because I have a large crush on Richard Gere, I have not. I did enjoy the book and found it interesting that as I read the book the main character's voice came across in my mind sounding like Diane Lane (who plays the main character in the movie). I do not think I will watch the movie because I find that most of the time a movie about a book tends to ruin the book for me. I do recommend reading it. Check out the link to find a summary about Nights in Rodanthe.

3. Love Walked in by Marissa De Los Santos
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Walked-Marisa-los-Santos/dp/0452287898/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277393987&sr=1-1#noop

To be honest, I found myself reading this book just to get through it and be done. (I don't like to start books and not finish them.) The main character of this book makes a lot of connections with old movies, most of which I have not seen, so that made it a bit hard for me to connect with at times. Also, the ending was very Disney movie, which I'm not always a huge fan of...Thankfully, it was a quick read. I definitely wouldn't put this book on the top of any must read lists. However, if you like old movies, you may enjoy this book more than I did...

Those are the first 3 books of the summer. Last year I was reading 3-5 books a week, which Adam thinks is crazy. Hopefully, I will update regularly. If you are interested in any of the books, let me know as I usually have most of them...and I LOVE to pass along a good book!

Time to get back on track...

It has been a long time since my last post, and I'm not really sure why...but now summer is here, I am on vacation, and we have plenty of things to share with everyone. My hope is to keep a list of the books I am reading this summer (I want to keep track of the number I have read and I like to pass on a good book!) We have also found out that we will be having a little boy that is due on October 28 and I hope to be sharing all of the happy news that comes with him.

Here's to a happy, healthy, and fun summer :o)