Travels, Family, and Necessities

The month of October has been a blur so far. We have had family/friends visiting us on every weekend since the beginning of the month. My Aunt and Uncle came to visit first, then our best friends from Oregon, then Matt's parents for two weeks. It's been really fun to show off all of the progress we have made on the property, but it has been exhausting too in the best possible way:) Matt and I are both primarily introverts so having visitors around all of the time has been a bit of an adjustment. It has definitely helped us to communicate better and reminded us to take some family time instead of just working all of the time.

When our best friends came to visit, we spent a little time in Bennington and then we took off for a vacation in The Hamptons. My best friend and I have talked about going there for years and we decided to combine it with a little business research too. I've decided to decorate the rooms with a theme of "Hamptons Chic" which primarily means a lot of very clean lines, a lot of black and white with a few tasteful accent pieces. I have always loved the Hamptons style of decorating and I intend to incorporate a little Hygge style into it also. Hygge style is something that incorporates a lot of cozy pieces and trying to emulate a feeling of home and safety. Woodford Rest will be the embodiment of Hygge décor since our whole goal is to make our guests feel as though they are safe and at home. The trip definitely helped me to feel that we know what we are doing:) Also, it was so much fun being able to spend time with my very favorite people, drink wine, and relax. I finally was able to rest.

My best friend and I at dinner in Montauk, NY.

Matt and I at a winery near Southampton.

This move has helped me to get a new perspective on life in so many ways. I have been reminded by the universe that I need to be grateful for some of the basics. I mentioned before some of the plumbing issues we had when we first bought the house. Continuous hot water just seems that it should be a given, but when you live without it for four months, it helps you center your priorities in a way that nothing else can:) I am still saying a thank you out into the universe every time I take a shower in the morning. In the same vein, I say a little thank you with every load of laundry I do in the new laundry room. It's nothing fancy, but I absolutely love that little room. We recently had a meeting at city hall for some approvals and someone was asking Matt about that scary laundry room. It's nice to know it wasn't just us that thought it was scary:)

Laundry room before...

The finished laundry room!

During all of our travels, our two contractors have been hard at work on various projects around the property as well. Matt and I have been so lucky to find such great people to work with. We seriously couldn't have done so much of our outdoor renovations without them. When we first moved in, we walked into the garage and the floor was super squishy. The floor was just a vapor barrier, some boards and plywood over that. Matt and I decided to pull the floor out and replace it with concrete before we moved everything in. Instead of having to move all of the garage things twice, we decided to move the garage items into one of the unused motel areas and start right. During our first weekend of guests, our contractor and his team poured the new concrete floor. It's amazing what a solid floor can do! I think Matt was almost ready to cry the first time he walked in there. At least now we can have a safe place for all of our tools, tenant laundry, and work space.

The new finished floor!

That's not the only outdoor project we have been working on:) The property the motel and house are located on are near several ponds and the area has a high water table so our basement regularly has a little stream running through it. From what I have heard and read, this is very common in New England. In fact, we have a pretty dry basement compared to some. However, we knew that if the conditions in the basement continued, it could lead to problems down the road. Matt worked with one of the contractors and was able to devise a new drainage system outside to safe guard the foundation and stop some of the rivers of rain falling to disperse in a safer way. This will especially be helpful when we have snow runoff etc. The house is covered in snow for several months of the year and very little had been done to preserve the wood around the exterior of the house. Our hope is that this new drainage will give our house some new life and make ensure our changes last for many years to come.

My sweet husband and our amazing contractor plotted together and made a dream of mine come true. I have always wanted to drive large trucks and excavator equipment. I've never had the ability to do it, but I told Matt years ago that it was a dream of mine. He surprised me with being able to drive the contractors excavator for about fifteen minutes and it was glorious! I was a little afraid at first, but had so much fun once I got the hang of it. There will need to be many more hours of practice before I make this a career, but it was super super fun:)

Driving the excavator:)

Matt's parents are still here so I probably won't be back on schedule with the blog for the next week or two. We are starting to get into the cottages and putting some of the finishing touches on the mother-in-law suite attached to our house. Never a dull moment around here! Take care of yourselves and don't forget to rest:)