House Update - err well it was Wednesday just a second ago:)

The house is coming along!! My awesome Dad came over yesterday to help me put in insulation. We used the good kind with plastic surrounding the insulation so there wasn't alot getting all over everything and that we would have had to breathe in, called John Mansville. It was alittle expensive but so worth it when I didn't have itchies all over me after! You might notice all the duct tape used to hold up the insulation. Usually people have wood studs up that they can just staple or nail the insulation into. We used metal studs, so there wasn't anything we could nail/staple into, so we used duct tape! My dad double checked with a builder first to make sure that was a good idea and they said yup, so we did it! Looks kind of funny, but whatever works! Now we move onto putting sheetrock up. With the sheetrock, we are going to nail the boards into the metal studs.  More on that in a few weeks after we actually do it! The stone is also finished!! We're so happy with how it came out, and the guys did a great job. They were from Pennsylvania, figures! Every person we've met so far from Pa knows how to do a great job on building house stuff without overpricing. Here are a few pictures!

House Update Wednesday!

This week is proving to be a beautiful one! Its been chilly in the mornings but sunny in the afternoon, which is really nice! I'm a bibliography away from finishing my 20 page paper for school in points and the way points are used in the three styles of acupuncture and we have stone!! (see below)

we are also having the pellet stove delivered tomorrow, and this weekend, thanks to the help of our awesome families, we're putting in the puffy stuff that goes in between the wall and the sheetrock, and the sheetrock!!! then next week, we're going to work on the tile and ordering the spiral stairs, that because of lack of funds, we've decided to take on ourselves! how does that go? creativity is the mother of necessity? something like that! hopefully we'll have the house done and ready by the holidays!!

House Update Wednesday - wordless!

I am so excited to show you this! My awesome Dad came up to the house on Columbus Day, (which was his day off) to help us finish the siding! How awesome is he!? He showed us some cool stuff, and not only showed us how to put up siding last year, but taught me that when finishing siding at the bottom, its best to have a piece of J-channel along the bottom (this will help separate the siding from the stone we're going to be getting in a few weeks, hopefully if everything works out). You can see the radon pipe, that big white pipe is now going straight through the roof, when the radon guys installed it, they made it go around the roof. We thought it would look better just going up through, so Martin got the tools and fixed it! He did an amazing job! Thank God for men lol. I think its something in their brains that know how to do this stuff instinctively, like how women just know how to multi-task. You can see Lealu and Corbin below playing, she looks kinda mean but I promise she's just defending herself. Poor girl gets pushed around when Corbin plays!

 Here is a gorgeous view of sunset on the lake. We were driving to dinner over the weekend, and pulled over to take this. Gorgeous, right!?

House update Wednesday - all words! :)

Good news! We received our certificate of occupancy! which means we can legally be here and all the inspections have been approved. This is a huge relief!

Our well water systems contact came through and installed a water softener along with another filter to clean the water and another system to bring up the Ph of the water. We also had a test by the town for the water to see the bacteria levels and all is well! Good enough to drink, and its great because its well water which means no flouride or chlorine.

We are in a standstill right now with a staircase because we are working on putting studs up, and then insallation can happen and then sheetrock and then the floor, and finally after that the stairs can go in...hopefully. We need them in before the winter though because we have to make sure the pipes downstairs stay warm. Hoping we get more nice sunny days like today!

Sometime soon I'll be painting the front deck and back stairs with water repellant stain so that should keep the life of the wood for longer.

Thats pretty much it for right now with the house! I can't tell you how great it feels to be taking showers and to be brushing my teeth and washing my face knowing we having good water! I feel like the richest person in the world lol.

I hope you're having a great week!!

Has it already been 3 years!?

House Update Wednesday - new deck!

I hope you're having a great Wednesday! I think I need to do alittle acupuncture to take away the monster headache I have from dealing with construction stuff but other than that things are good. We still have water (having water at any time is just wonderful) :) Today our carpenter came who is just awesome and he  finished the permanent back stairs and finished putting in the rest of the windows. He'll be here tomorrow to put in the doors and then he is done with his work with us! A great company that I got from the inspector came to put in a radon tube. A radon tube is for radon that might come out of the ground, and if it does, instead of going into the house, it goes into this tube and outside. Sounds alittle scary but hopefully we don't get radon. I spoke with a stone mason who came by with sample and to do some measurements. We another possible stone mason coming tomorrow, so that we can get a few different prices. If there's any advice I can give on working with contractors is to shop around! I spoke with the stone mason today and just by me saying that we are meeting with someone tomorrow, he dropped the price alittle. A-w-esome. Next thing is tomorrow I have to order a ton of pellets for heat this winter (we are only using pellet stoves) from Home Depot, pay the carpenter for all of this work and call the inspector to set up a time to meet for final inspection. How exciting is that!? I never thought we'd reach final inspection, but its here and I'm so grateful:) Here are photos of the house so far -

new front deck!

new permanent stairs in the back!

                                                here is the radon tube -

as I was cleaning off some chairs to bring on the deck that we had left outside all this time we were doing work on the house, I found this little guy, I promise its not one of those fake halloween spiders,  and...well that chair is still outside and I won't be moving it:) and it won't be coming onto the deck until M sprays it with a hose to make sure mr. spider is gone. I literally screamed and Corbin puppy ran over to save me lol.

isn't that like the biggest scariest spider you've ever seen!!??

Frugal Friday - a wreath for every season

Wow its amazing how fast the time is going! Its already Friday and almost halfway through September, just crazy! In celebration of our house getting water, and just in getting all this work done, I went to Michaels a few weeks ago with the intention of buying a pretty wreath for our front door. That intention ended quickly as I noticed all the signs on fully decorated wreaths, 29.99, 39.99, so I decided to buy the elements and make our own! I found a great stick wreath on sale for 4.99, along with flower/beaded garland that came in a circle on clearance for 3.99 each. I purchased 2. I wrapped both garlands around the wreaths, sticking the pieces in between the twigs. It looked alittle plain, so I found some old red ribbon from last Christmas and wrapped that around the wreath, alternating going on the inside and then the outside. The best part of this wreath isn't the low price (although the sales at Michaels are awesome), its that instead of having to buy a wreath every season, you can just change the ribbon! So for the holidays, I have red (its alittle early for the holidays but for Halloween you could even use orange ribbon!) for Spring you can switch it to a lime green and for Summer maybe a lavender or an eggshell color! Here is a photo of the wreath getting ready for the holidays:

Total spent - 13$

wreath - on sale 4.99
2 garlands on clearance - 3.99 each so 8 total
ribbon - you can just whats laying around or you could probably find some at Michaels or your closest dollar store!

Happy Friday! brrrr its already starting to get chilly! Where did the summer go??

House Update Wednesday - update*** we have water!!!

Today is the day, hopefully, I'm praying, that we will get water!!!! The plumber is just getting back from vacation but he knows that we are desperate and have been out of running water now for 6 weeks so he is making it a point to come today to hook us up! The well guy will also be here to test the water to see what kind of filter we'll need (whether its hard water or soft). The builders are here to to finally finish (thats right finish!!!) their work with us. I am so excited. Its been a long 6 weeks. Last week they did the sonnet tubes, which allow for the carpenter to build the front deck and the back stairs and landing. They are buttoning up (thats a construction term lol) the cement block where they had the steel beams coming out of when they lowered the house down, so the downstairs will be ready to start with sheetrock but before we can do sheetrock, first we have to put these things up called metal studs. Today Martin took an emergency day off of work and him and his Dad are putting those up. His Dad and him are amazing working with electric so they are also working on that so that we can get the well working once the plumber comes. Crazy amounts of planning, seriously you couldn't pay me enough to be a contractor!  So now I'm waiting here with Laura my MIL, for the plumber, drinking chai's:) We're even using real mugs and crossing my fingers that we'll have the water to wash them after lol. We have the windows and doors delivered but the carpenter has another job he wants to finish before he finishes ours, and so it goes...so we're waiting for either Thursday or Friday for him to come and finish the stairs, the front deck, and install the windows. We found a great electric heating fireplace that we might be using for heat downstairs, we have to start thinking of that because, I can't believe it, but its almost October. Here is the progress in photos so far.

This is Buddy, my FIL, starting work on the electric box.

landing check, stairs are off because the sewer pipe was exposed for plumber, and wasn't backfilled.

 will be our new doorway oneday! coming along...

 downstairs...coming along with the new floor.

 front of house with sonnet tubes in, ready for the front deck.

 window wells installed on 2 windows where the grade of dirt is high.

hopefully I'll be taking a shower...maybe shedding a tear or two tonight:)

*** Update! We have water!! the plumber came and surprised us while we were taking M's dad to dinner, and he worked until 8pm!! He gave us the greatest gift of running water! I gave him the biggest hug and thank you!! I'll be happily washing dishes and taking a shower tonight:)

ps did you know that you can cook using just foil!? Last night we cooked broccoli with cheese and olive oil, with chicken and sweet potato all in foil. So you can survive without water,  even though it probably didn't taste as good as if I had cooked in a dutch oven or something. At least if we are ever stuck in the woods, I won't panic without having running water, or maybe I will...lol.

House update Wednesday - wordless almost

The construction people and masons are here! and my wonderful in laws are here! Martin's dad helped us hook up the pellet stove upstairs so we have heat now! Its kind of crazy that its beginning of September and we need heat, but for some reason with all this rain, its really chilly out. And it works!  We got good news and bad news. The sonnet tubes which allow the carpenter to build the front deck and back stairs (permanent) couldn't go in because of all the rain so we have to postpone the sonnet tubes until Saturday, which pushes the carpenter coming until next week. Good news is we have a floor downstairs!!! The floor needs to dry but when it does after a few days, we can start ordering our pellet stove for downstairs, our spiral staircase, have the water put inside with a tube, and start work on the septic. Here are some photos so far -

Frugal Friday - changing pillows with the seasons

I have to admit, its been difficult to stay frugal during the house raising. Its hard. Because we have no dishwasher, its mostly eating fruit and veggies that don't have to be washed. Because we have no water we can't really cook, wash dishes, or wash clothes so I usually will bring laundry to my parents or M's parents to wash. But one thing I can do right now to get ready for fall, is change our pillows! I bought these pillows from Pier 1 last year for 5$ a piece on sale. Then I bought pillow covers at Target for 2.50$ a piece clearance. Its sad but I haven't washed them in a long long time. I've been noticing doggie hair etc on them, so its time to bring them for a wash! As I took off the pillow cases of the pillows, I noticed the older cases also had zippers. How awesome is that!? So I can wash all the cases and maybe I'll be able to find a clearance wintery/holiday cover for sale somewhere! It saves us tons of money to be able to wash pillow covers and give them a change of season instead of buying all new.

Here are the pillows with summer covers (2.50$ each from Target, you can see how horribly dirty they've gotten!)

And here are the older pillow cases on the pillows from Pier 1, a bit mismatched!

Do you change your pillows during the seasons? Do you have a system for washing you're pillows when they get dirty or when you want a change of style?

House update Wednesday - not totally wordless

After an urgent request to teach 2 yoga classes today because of crisis's, I fled as soon as the carpenter showed. He said he'd start today working on fixing the rotted wood underneath the floor (now the 2nd floor) and he could begin framing out the windows! Which is exciting! It was a bit difficult to focus on yoga while these things were happening but hey, thats what yoga reminds me to do! Focus on where I am instead of worrying about where I'm not. I won't lie, these days without water have been challenging to say the least. I'm used to running water, warm showers and being able to cook at home. Its all become a luxury and something I'm so looking forward to having again.  The backfillers are doing a great job, and the builders are supposedly returning this Saturday to pour the floor in the basement/1st floor! Can you imagine!? a real floor down there? Once they pour the floor, the builder is also putting in footings called sonic tubes for the deck legs to sit on. After that, the carpenter can come and give us permanent stairs, the front deck and build permanent supports under the house. Then the well guy can come and put in the hot water tank, we can get the pellet stove (for heat) in downstairs, and we can get the doors in! Then at some point we will have to get the septic fixed, which our builder said he could do also and then...wait for it....wait for it....we will actually have running water!!!!! Here are a few photos of where we are now with the house progress -

ok getting alittle nervous now in the house. I keep hearing all this loud banging and wood splitting. I'm guessing they are taking out rotted beams?? Praying that the floor is strong enough to hold whats here...

House is lowered! Hope you stay safe for the hurricane!

Hope you are staying safe during this hurricane! We figured the best way to fight the weather was to leave town...and go visit my sister and her husband in Pa! We're in Pittsburgh and so pretty up in the mountains and inland, here's hoping far enough away from the hurricane! And, after a long 3 weeks, our house is finally lowered! Its on temporary supports rightnow, and the carpenter just came this morning before we left to put hurricane clips on the house and bolt the top to the bottom. Crazzzzy stuff! Praying that our house doesn't get blown down! Stay safe during the hurricane!

A few photos of the house lowered:

Our house finally has walls!

We're so excited! Things are slowly but surely coming along. Our well guy finished our well so we are halfway to having water in the wintertime (cheers!) and the builders and masons just finished the walls! Here are a few photos of the progress!

Frugal Friday - how to live without water for 2 weeks!

ahhh water. We've been doing alot of our work on our house recently. If you've been here before, then you know Simple Frugalista was once Simple Living in a big city, we moved from NYC to the country to a little lakehouse, by little I mean little, about 20x24 with a loft upstairs for a bedroom. The house isn't winterized so we knew we'd have to do alot of work before the winter. When Martin my husband got a job transfer, we jumped at the chance at our dream of living in the country. And we're here! We're making it! I get to work at a dream job of mine (who can call it work really) teaching yoga, and I transferred to an acupuncture school beginning in September. Life is going great, the house just has to catch up with us! And it is! Slowly but surely I have faith that everything is meant to be, at the right time God and the universe work things out. Right now, we're living in our house, as its raised on stilts and steel beams, 11 ft in the air. We're waiting for the walls to be built downstairs...which has taken longer than we would've hoped, because of all the rain happening and emergencies at our contractors other jobs. But good news, the well guy is here today! and he is digging! alot! :) With his wonderful help, we are going to have water this winter. And with our builders, help, we'll get these walls done and be able to lower the house, and start on the walls and the floors downstairs. Fingers crossed:)

We are keeping our sense of humor throughout this house in progress, so I've decided to give you a Frugal Friday with 10 tips on how to live without water:)

1-  Make sure you have lots of places to stay in case of emergencies. Emergencies can happen all the time, without having lots of construction going on right underneath you. Make sure you talk to family who live within 2 hours of you to ask if its alright for you to stay there, go there for the day and use the shower, or just to get out of the house for the day, if needed. If you have puppies, make sure its okay if you bring them too:)

2- Have an alternative nearby. Without water, you don't have a shower. Check to see if you could get a one month membership to a gym that is close by where you could use their shower, or if you're work has a shower in their locker room, make sure to leave early for work to use their shower.

3- It works out for us that Martin took off for vacation during the time that the house is without water so we have a budget already for vacation to go out to eat. Remember without water, you have to way to wash dishes, which means cooking can be an issue. Plan on going out to eat, alot.

4- Because there is no way to wash dishes, its so important to buy foods that you don't have to cook. Salads are great, so are sandwiches and raw veggies.

5- For when you do eat in, have plastic utensils (you can purchase biodegradeable utensils if you'd like), paper bowls and paper plates ready to eat on. This way you can just throw those away after use and not worry about having to clean them.

6- Become friendly with the local cafe or diner. This way, in the mornings and at night you can stop by for a coffee, and use their bathroom to wash your face and hands!

7- Check out deals for water at your local grocery store. Right now, Poland Spring has 2 for 5$ 5 gallon jugs of filtered water! We're using this for everything, including tea/coffee in the mornings. Who can live without tea!??

8- If you own a keurig coffee machine, you don't have to worry about cleaning the filter, just simply take the kcup out, and put the new one in.

9- Brushing your teeth. Mouthwash is a great but you also need to brush. We've been taking a cup of poland spring water, and using the cup to brush with. I'm sure we're also saving water here! Yaye for the environment!

10- See about renting a local port-o-potty. We've rented one for 2 months, and...its...a...life...saver.

Thats it for now!  I might have more tips, the longer we have to go without water. I try to imagine its like camping right? What would you do if you had to live without water? 

Simple Frugalista signing off from the waterless treehouse:)

We have a winner of the Uprinting flyer giveaway! Comment #3, Shannon from Milk and Cuddles, is the winner! Shannon, Apryl will contact you within 30 days to set up your flyer winnings!

In an effort to prevent the dogs from running around in the mud...

we started decorating for Halloween early:)   and if you're following along with the house project, yes the house still hasn't had any new work done since Saturday last week. We are both frustrated but trying to keep peaceful and calm about it, but mostly we've decided to use humor to help us!!! :) We are laughing...and laughing...and drinking wine at night in our treehouse. The contractor had an emergency...we keep making a joke that we're living in the movie The Money Pit (except without the huge house, and the x husband, and the affair:)). We made a joke to our contractor that in the Money Pit all the contractors say it will take 2 weeks. Thats what our contractor originally told us...and 2 weeks would be up today. With all that, Martin and I are making as any jokes about it as possible (hence watching the Money Pit)...and we are keeping up hope and having faith in God and the universe that everything will work out as planned. Got any good jokes to keep us laughing?? please share below!

This Friday I'll be doing a post on how to live without running water for 2 weeks:)

House update

Our home is coming along. Although living here for the past week without water has been eventful to say the least, I'm ready to get on with the finishing of the work! :) No but really living so simply has taught me to be grateful, for small things like water and a bathtub...and just being able to wash dishes. Here's the work so far. (its been two weeks) they will hopefully be back Tuesday or Wed. to finish the walls and then the carpenter is coming to put the sil on and then they can finally lower the house! After that, they pour the floor, while the carpenter is working on fixing the top floor, putting in windows and doors, building the landing with stairs and building the front small balcony. After the floor is poured, we can start the well guy going and the septic guy putting in the new tank, as well as the walls and the ceiling downstairs. fun stuff:)  We're working on being feng shui friendly with new house stuff, any color ideas that are feng shui friendly? 

Here are a few pictures of where the house was a week ago and now:)