Oh man guys, it's been far too long since I wrote anything here. I really don't want to be a one and done blogger. I can't begin to tell you how busy Jared and I have been working on this old farmhouse of ours. As I told you a couple of months ago, when I started writing about the Marin Dream House, after the windows were installed our next job was going to be finding an electrician who could bring some power to the party. We got so lucky with a local electrical company, and we now have access to light and heat in this drafty old stone place. You would think that I would be most excited for the heat, but you would be wrong. I can't wait to hang Christmas lights all over our new home. I blame my sister. 

Carly, my little sister, surprised me for my birthday this year, with a little get away. She is a flight attendant, and has had the hardest time with all of the lack of travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, so in order to spend some time together we took a trip to New York. Brooklyn to be exact. I know, I know, travel is dangerous and New York was an epicenter, but we rented a condo (which isn't a crumbling stone farmhouse from the 19th century) in Crown Heights and spent some sister time together. We had the best time cooking some meals in the condo, drinking lots of red wine, and experiencing some of what pandemic New York had to offer. The thing about Brooklyn is that no matter what, it is a community atmosphere, even when everyone is wearing a mask you can see the smile in the eyes of the passing pedestrians. We got our hair done at a real Brooklyn Hair Salon, The Wayward Hairdresser, and I have never had better highlights in all my life. But possibly my favorite part of the trip was the fact that the whole city was decked out for the holiday season. There were sparkling lights and ribbons and garlands everywhere you looked. For as quiet as the area was (restaurants at half capacity and very little rush hour) it seemed like such a beautiful sign of optimism to close out a terrible year. It really made me want to bring the same spirit into our little Texas town. Here are some inspiration pictures I took while in New York that are going to guide my classic Christmas style this year.

So while I was always happy that the electricity is fixed, I am extra grateful as I string twinkly white lights on a house we can't even live in yet. I can't wait to show you guys the result. Let's end this crazy year in brightness and beauty.

So, the first project we absolutely had to tackle after getting the keys to the Marin house was to make sure that when we move in (don't worry -- we are still living with my parents for now) was to fill in the gaping rectangular holes with glass, you know those things called windows. When we can actually live in the house, I'd like the only wild animal to be Bruce. It was quite a project, because the window sizes weren't standard (this is not a cookie cutter house). Jared and I spent a whole day measuring each of the windows meticulously before we sent the numbers off to the manufacturer. We decided to go with a local guy because while we are planning on some modern conveniences in the old farmhouse, we would like to maintain the charm of the stone exterior. Some of the front windows remained in tact, and we wanted to match the wood frames on the original windows as closely as possible. 

For the new windows, Charlie our window guy, was able to build white oak frames so that the overall look of the house from the exterior can remain uniform. He was also great about coming out to the house and removing the windows that were showing signs of age and wear and either repair or replace parts that would cause problems down the road. We are so happy with the results of this first major project. Charlie was great to work with, and the house is now (mostly) critter proof and water tight. One step in the right direction. Next post I am going to tell you about the mess that was the lack of electrical system in this house.