How it began.....

We bought the house in 2012.  We sold our cute little bungalow in one day, and had to move quickly on some pretty slim pickins.  In fact, the house we have was the first one I looked at and completely dismissed.   First of all, it was still way overpriced.  Second, it needed major updates in my opinion.  Major.  I was not yet an initiate to the sisterhood of the miter saw at this point, so I was seeing all the projects I would need to pay someone to do.
The first house we made an offer on went into a bidding war that we were conscientious objectors to.  And there were just not many houses on the market.  So, we looked at the house again.  The Stone really liked it.  It had great bones.  All I could focus on was the carpet and brass door knobs.  But, it did have an excellent floor plan, was spacious, and hey, how expensive could it be to have a kitchen remodeled?  Plus the price came down and we negotiated even further.  So, we bought it.  I haven't had a moments regret since.
Below are some photos from the listing.  Definitely dated!

And a few teaser photos now that we have completed some work:

As if I needed one more thing to do.....

Welcome to the blog.

This is a chronicle of our house, what we make in it, and how we go about it.  We are fans of martinis, and make them frequently.  You can check out my interest here.  I also enjoy culinary pursuits, and recently made marmalade.  It was an excellent way to spend the weekend.
As if owning a busy veterinary practice and mothering two toddlers were not enough to keep me busy (it is), I seem to like to keep myself busy(er) with projects.  Luckily, we have lots to work on here!
I tend to dive into things with much vigor.  What began as research into making a martini turned into one of the most fully stocked home bars one could ever hope to encounter.  My desire to learn how to make marmalade turned into a weekend of clementine, meyer lemon, blood orange, cara cara orange gooey goodness.  And, the biggest project of them all, aside from raising the little primates we begat, the house.

Our first house was essentially turnkey when I bought it.  Aside from changing paint colors and adding mulch to the front landscaping, and appliance replacement, there were not too many "projects" for that house.  When it became beyond clear that we would like more space and needed to move, we "auditioned" for a home improvement TV show that was coming to Austin and needed families selling homes/buying homes to film.  Alas, we were not cast, but we did end up watching the episodes of the show filmed in Austin, and that must have ignited something in me, because I started to think: hey, yah, I could totally do that!

I did not intend to become a DIY-er in any way.  But once I saw how easy certain projects were, or how much money we could save if we undertook them ourselves (when possible), or got a little taste of the satisfaction that came from looking at something I made or created, it has been hard to turn back.  It helps that my partner, The Stone, is a renaissance man and pretty much knows how to do anything and everything.  Literally.  Between my (self perceived) eye for design and his ability to execute, we could probably quit our day jobs.  Gone are the days of leisurely weekends!

So, this is my forum to post projects of the home improvement type.  And in my book, home  improvement includes a delicious cocktail at the end of the day, or a yummy english muffin with homemade meyer lemon marmalade on it just as much as a home made mantel on our remodeled fireplace!