Dreaming of Fall........

The back porch..allready affectionally known as the "party porch"

20 points to the person who can accurately guess what this is. Give Up? It is called a manifold (I thought those were only in cars). It is the basically the heart of the plumbing operations in our house. Everything runs through there. Fancy schmancy. or at least I think it is.

No, this is not Gracie's time out box. This is the custom made, thanks to Danny, woofer (see where I got the dog pun?) box for the woofer for our TV.

Foam insulation. Very cool. And foam like.

The fireplace is in! A single long, skinny gas flame. Super cool. Well hot. See through on both sides. Turns on and off with the flip of a switch. That is my kind of fire.

So it has been like a 115 degrees here, but that has not stopped Danny and the work on Dolce Vita. Work is progressing nicely and we are still on schedule for a Thanksgiving move-in date. How is that for planning so I don't have to cook Thanksgiving dinner? Not that I have ever done that, but there is a first time for everything, right? Not this year. Now our Christmas Eve open house party that has been dormant for a few years? That is back on like donkey kong. Doodle is very excited about that!

But, I need to quit planning parties in our house that isn't finished yet and give an update on progress. I know you are on the edge of your seat.

The plumbing is finished...well at least as finished as it can be before we plug everything in (that is Tracy speak for plumbing) and turn on the water. The water line has been dug to the house and is in place. That was no fun for Danny and Brian, the plumbing angel, who both ended up with horrible cases of poison ivy from digging through tree roots and such. Both of them ended up at the doctor for cream, lotions and shots. They are both better now, but Danny is still itching.

The gas line is done inside the house and the power line is also run to the house. So, we are closer to having electricity, water and gas. All very important things.

The house is also now insulated, we used both foam and regular fiberglass insultation. Danny says it is allready working and the house is warmer inside b/c it holds heat better. That is good I guess except when it is 120 degrees outside.

This will be another big week for Dolce Vita. The sheetrocking will begin, which will really make it look like a house inside. Sophia will be sad b/c she thinks it is really cool to walk b/w the framing from room to room. She calls it her "shortcuts". The rock for the outside will be delivered all the way from Dallas this week. NOTE: we will not be responsible for any broken windshields resulting from the 2 semi trucks traveling up highway 75 with 48 tons of rock for our house. Just stay out of their way. And, the stucco work will start this week. We still need to figure out the final color, but that will be easier once the rock is here. Or at least that is what Danny says.

We started light shopping last week. We made good head way...ceiling fans, cool lights for girls' room (if they fit in budget), very neat formal dining room light. We are still stumped on entry light. We want something unique and different, but within budget. It is a large space, so it also needs to be a good-sized light. We found the perfect light, but then a little thing called the budget got in the way. The light we picked was more than double what Danny had budgeted for that light. Back to the drawing board on that one.

We have also ordered cabinets and Danny is looking at flooring options. So, it is moving along at a rollicking pace. Of course, we are headed to Dallas for Labor Day weekend to hang with friends and do fun stuff with the girls. I thought Danny would be upset b/c he would lose a weekend to work on house. Actually, he was much more upset about missing OU's home opener (really? it is Utah State), but he got over it and moved on. Of course, he spent most of the evening trying to figure out where he (maybe he'll let girls and I come) is going to watch the game. Gotta have your priorities you know.

That is the update for now. Be sure to be watching for your invite to the Christmas Eve open house party. It is only 4 months away. Gotta start planning some time!

Wires, Plumbing and Patios...Oh My!

This is what the house looks like now. The stucco guys are waiting for drywall to be done inside so that all that banging doesn't knock off the stucco. We finally picked stucco and rock/trim colors. YEA US. One major decision down.

Steak, anyone? Welcome to Danny's grillin' space. I can almost smell the goodness!

The downstairs party patio. Lots of room for everyone.

The bottom hole is the super cool, fancy fireplace that will be see through on both sides-- so you'll see it in the living room and the kitchen. And, it will turn on with just a flip of a switch..that is my kind of fire.

This is the controls for our shower. I'm allready confused.

Even though this blog has been quiet, it has been anything but quiet at Dolce Vita. A lot of small, but very important detail work has been going on.

Plumbing? Check. Security System? Check. Electrical? Check. Heat and A/C? Check. Duct Work? Check. Cable/Phone/Surround Sound? Check. Central Vacuum? Going in on Friday. It doesn't make for great photos, but it is moving along.

Even the outdoor shower is plumbed. Thank you El Dorado Royale in Cancun, Mexico for the great idea.

The front porch and back patio were also poured this week. Danny even has his own grilling spot. Very nice. Of course, he did have to do some work to the steps off the back porch. They were way too short and small and I would have wiped out way too many times.

So, what are next steps? I'm pleased to report they will be a little more visually stimulating....insulation and drywall. Woohooo. Real Walls. This is gonna be fun.

Then the hard part begins....picking colors -paint, floors, cabinets, etc. Well, let me rephrase that...then the tough part starts for Danny. I have absolutely NO business weighing in on those decisions until they have been narrowed down, so I'll let Danny (and our online consultant Joia) begin that process. They are very good at including me though.

And, Danny suffered another minor injury tonight. The hammer mistook his pointer finger for a nail. OUCH!!!!!! It does not look pretty and is bruised and his fingernal is turning a nice shade of purple. He is currently icing it as I type and waiting for it to quit throbbing. We've been fortunate so far that Danny and Brian and George haven't had a heat stroke out there (no, the AC is not hooked up) and I worry about them during the weekends. Well, not enough to go out there and babysit them, but I do check on them often and offer to bring beverages. The girls last about 20 minutes out there before they start complaining about being hot. We are all ready for fall weather.

If we add up all the sweat equity in Dolce Vita, we'd have a million dollar plus home and that doesnt' even take into account this miserably hot weather.