Summer of Shack

I wrote you a poem:

I just wanna be me, but I’m a little scared you see.
What if someone’s looking when I take a wee wee?
Will they call me names, or say I look so lame?
When did being me, become such a strain?

Clearly, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Sugar Shack, but I jotted it down this morning so I thought I’d share.

And in the land of all things Sugar and Shack, things have been a bustling! Summer’s been good to the Shack. Reeaaal good.

Here we have the family room, complete with computer desk cabinetry. You know, for all that important computering we do.

Here’s the living room, complete with bar cabinetry. You know, for all that important boozing we do.

Speaking of boozing, my husband, my mother and myself drank approximately $220 worth of red wine last night (3 bottles: Andrew Murray Terra Bella Vineyard Syrah 2007, Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, and L'Aventure Côte à Côte 2009). I didn’t even think that was possible, but I’m glad I lived to tell about it. Now excuse me for a moment while I do penance for my gluttony.

I’m back!

Whoops! How did that photo get in here? I wasn’t supposed to reveal how we dispose of all our dead bodies and use their blood for laundry room floor waterproofing! But don’t worry, once we get the nice tile in you won’t be able to see the red anymore.

Here’s the garage where my husband plans on electrocuting himself because he covered the top of the work bench with sheet metal. Men, I tell you. He thinks it’s more “industrial” or something like that.

And now we’re back in the important part of the house. The kitchen! If there’s anything I love more than boozing, it’s eating. Speaking of eating, last night I asked my daring husband if he had to choose between having sex or being able to eat wine and cheese for the rest his life (we were only on the first bottle of wine too), which one would he choose. Without hesitation he said sex (men, I tell you). When he asked me the same question, I said I’d really have to think about it. THAT’S how much I love my eating and drinking.

And to round up this riveting tour, we have the master bathroom, complete with vanity cabinetry. You know, because we’re so vain.

Come back next time to see if the pool’s graduated from being just another giant hole in the ground!

XOXO Jelly

Shackin It Up

Has anyone been to the Sugar Shack lately? Because apparently I don’t go there anymore. It’s been almost two months since I gave a remodel update!

Despite my neglect, things have been chugging along in the remodel process. The most prominent updates are the addition of stone and primer paint to the exterior of the house, the construction of a stone fireplace in the living room, and the application of drywall throughout the interior of the house.

Come on in, let's take a look.

Drywall is very interesting to me. I don’t know much about it, except that I used to think drywall and stucco were synonymous. They are not.

Now that the drywall’s in, we have walls and ceilings where there used to be gaping holes! Progress I tell you. Progress.

And there’s the stone fireplace in the back. You can’t really tell from the photo, but some stone pieces were strategically placed to create shelves, which will be useful if we want to place photos or other decorations over the fireplace. They are also some smaller, broken stone pieces that jut out between the larger flat pieces. I’m not sure what we can use these for yet. Christmas stocking holders?

The view from the living room into the dining room.

Here’s the kitchen. Notice the green board drywall. That's special waterproof drywall which is placed behind all the sinks, toilets, and other areas of the walls that are liable to come in contact with water. Apparently, regular drywall will disintegrate if it gets wet. I’m glad we got someone who knows what they’re doing to build this house!

The view from inside the kitchen looking into the dining room and living room.

And our super exciting, cement back porch! With a bunch of junk on it.

Things should really get moving in the next couple of weeks. That is of course, if I manage to get my act together and help out. Home Depot here I come!

Shackin Fixtures

The Sugar Shack’s in this phase where the changes do not produce the most compelling photos (there are only so many pictures of wood framing that I can take). But in an effort to document the process, I present you with some pictures of the electrical fixture installation.

Here is the entrance where a single fixture will hang. We’re going for a wow-that-fixture-is-so-cool-I-want-to-buy-the-house look. It will also be accompanied by two wall scones off to the left.

The kitchen will have recessed lighting as well as two pendant lights overhanging the island.

The dining room will have a centered chandelier and a couple of recessed lights along the south facing wall. Or maybe they’re can lights? I’ll have to check with my builder.

And to round it out, here’s the laundry room where the mac daddy of all electrical panels is set. Very, very nice.

I hear that drywall might be going up this week, so I promise I’ll have something more exciting to share soon! Although I’m getting pretty good at being a boring blogger. “And most boring blog of the year goes to…… The Jelly Logs!” I would be so honored.

Visions of a Shack

It donned on me that I haven’t shared any pictures of the remodel process that’s going on inside the house. I know porches and roofs and changes to the facade are thrilling, but what about the inside?

Well here’s a look at the living room and dining room areas in before and after.

The view from the front of living room before (the dining room area is off to the left):

 
And now:
 

It doesn't really look like much is different with these two examples, but notice the fireplace has changed and the shelves to the right of the fireplace are gone. A bar is going in where the shelves once were! Woohoo!

Now the dining room area before:

 
After a couple weeks of remodeling:
 

 
And the dining room area now:
 

 
The ceiling has been raised significantly and exterior wall has been pushed out to make the room more spacious. I think the raised ceiling is my favorite part of the remodel. It might be a little out of place considering the rest of the house, but it makes this room feel so large and inviting. I like that.
 
And until next time, thanks for stopping by the shack!

Shack Attack

The Sugar Shack is coming along. Did you know that with money and hard work you can accomplish anything you want in life? I hope you don’t come here to gather Pearls of Wisdom, because all I dish out are Opals of Obvious.

Things to note:

1) The entrance is almost done!

2) There’s a sexy man on the roof! That one’s mine, but usually there’s two other sexy men on the roof of the Shack. Apparently the roofers are skin kissed, man gods who are just as deft wielding a chainsaw as they are holding a baby; or so Wes says. He’s got a serious man-crush. And that’s cool, everybody’s got their crush. Gwyneth Paltrow would be my lady-crush (How come my hair never comes out that blonde!?! Damn her!).

3) It’s starting to look like a mighty fine house!

Come Sit on Our Porch

Time for another Friday Remodel Roundup!

Many people will tell you that the entrance is one of the most important parts of a house. It's the first thing people see when they arrive and it establishes the feeling of the place. The Sugar Shack needed a new entrance; something that commanded attention and indicated sophisticated design. But something to also make people feel welcome.

Well in our case, progress...

is...

being...

made!

Soon we'll be able to invite you to come sit on our porch! Except I'm using the term "our porch" very loosely. I haven't had much to do with it, besides the profound photographic evidence you see here. And I actually think Wes took one of those pictures, so again I'm incorrect.

Anyhoodle, Happy Friday!

There’s a Hole in My Shack

The hole in my Shack is not to be confused with the hole in my head. The hole in my head is much more wide and gaping.

There’s been some serious demolition going on over at the Shack, so I thought I’d do a Friday Remodel Roundup for y’all.

Front of house before:

Front of house no more:

Dining room area before:

Dining room area no more:

Side of house:

See through the house:

Cocoa sitting:

Cocoa standing:

See! Lots of changes are happening! Eventually it will be kick-butt house. Right now it's just a real expensive pile of lumber. 

A Remodel, I Think

While I spend my day hammering at the keyboard and prattling away like a ninny on this here site, my better half spends his day in a more productive manner: building homes. One project in particular has drawn most of his attention lately. It’s a little ‘ol remodel on a house we’ve come to call The Sugar Shack.

The house wasn’t in too bad of shape before the project started, but it was a little “dated” and required a little updating. I wanted to use an official construction term here, like “the house wasn’t unlivable, it just needed a new set of tits” or “we need to slap some lipstick on it”, but I’m not sure if either of those are the phrase I’m looking for.

I snapped a couple photos several months back, so we could remember what the place looked like pre-demolition... I mean pre-remodel.

Hello Sugar Shack.

 
Goodbye front porch. Until we meet again...
 

 
Here's a little breezeway:
 

 
Here's what happens when you think breezeways are dumb:
 

 
This is a shot of the back of the house. Don't mind the dogs. They're "inspecting" the construction site. 
 

 
Here's what the back of the house looks like now. Don't mind the human holding up the peace sign. She's "working" to document the construction site.
 

 
Feel like going for a swim?
 

 
Too late!
 

 
Not much has changed in the backyard. What used to be dead grass...
 

 
Is still dead grass. It's just been run over by a bulldozer several times now.
 

So that's a peak at the exciting things my Lovies gets to do all day! It's in a very unattractive phase now, but you know what they say: After a storm comes a rainbow.

Or something like that.

XOXO Jelly