For the last five days, I've been relaxing with my parents here in Kansas City and catching up on my domestic skills.  We've been gardening (I'm bringing home-grown garlic back with me), sewing (I made my very own shirt from Amy Butler's fabric and pattern- and it's adorable - I'm wearing it now!), cooking (we're having stuffed shells for dinner - DELISH), shopping (Hello, Anthropologie), hemming pants (for a second interview), making earrings (for fun), and even polishing shoes (because my parents have the gear and I have the time).  Phew - who knew relaxation could produce such wonderful results?

Tomorrow I return to Knoxville and will be required to run off the plane and into the car so I can immediately begin tackling the growing "to-do" list that awaits.  Paint colors are waiting to be finalized, painting needs to be completed, cabinets need to be purchased from IKEA - in Atlanta - and husbands need to be hugged. 

Well, one husband, in particular.

 Oh my goodness - we have garage doors!  And really, they are the most spectacular additions to the garage.  Something about the glass and aluminum causes the light to bounce around the space in really dramatic and beautiful ways - I am totally smitten, as are Hank and Mable.  Yesterday, they spent the entire evening parked in front of the doors, just patiently watching the scene unfold.

Here are the doors from the interior.  Soon the construction gear will be replaced with kitchen cabinetry - the plan is to anchor an island there in the center of the space to divide the open kitchen + living room.  We're still trying to devise a way to hang drapes or shades in front of the garage doors in order to control the light and gain privacy.  Ideas are welcome - bring 'em if you've got 'em.

And here we're looking at the garage from the main house.  I feel like I should hold some of these images for the "big reveal," but what fun is that? 

Just for kicks, let's take a look at what we started working with just seven short months ago...

(Click the picture to get the scoop.)

Because I've heard most all of this already and LOVE it, I thought I should share it with you.  Enjoy. 

I'm heading out to the farm in just a bit to continue painting, but I'll be back soon with pictures of the newly installed garage doors.  They are beautiful - even better than I imagined.  I can't wait to show you!

At the moment, I'm listening to Fresh Air's review of the Fiery Furnaces new album, "I'm Going Away."  I can dig it.  To help pass the time while we're working on the garage, and to lend some rhythm to the overwhelming monotony of the swishing brush strokes, we've been listening to Eth's iPod shuffle, which presently contains a mix of Dead Prez, Benji Hughes, the Beastie Boys, Aimee Mann, and Of Montreal, along with other equally disparate selections.

Needless to say, we could use some new music recommendations, particularly selections that are a little less explicit.  What are you listening to at the moment and loving?  What should we add to our "Music We Need To Purchase From The Disc Exchange" list?  Feel free to steer us in a new direction.  We love everything, and if it makes painting more enjoyable, it will be most appreciated.  While I wait for your comments, I'm going to listen to wuog online until I get homesick.

So while I've been in a funk, twiddling my thumbs and doing my very best impressions of Eeyore, very talented and devoted individuals have been busy working on the garage.  Which is really fantastic, because the Eeyore I knew never made a good carpenter.  (He was much too slow, and that bow on his tail might get caught in the table saw. Yikes.)  And for the last couple of weeks, Ethiel and I (with the help of my super generous mother-in-law) have been little elves, coming in on the weekends and evenings to paint or work on casement windows while admiring the work of people who really know what they're doing.  CRAFTSMEN.  I love them. 

Each evening when we arrive to put another three coats of white paint on the old wood that acts more like a sponge, we take time to marvel at the accomplishments of the day shift.  The concrete floor has been poured, the front door has been hung, and the skylight is magically lighting the tiny bathroom and stairwell.  Electrical conduit, plumbing lines, and HVAC ducts are all in place, just waiting patiently for the finishing touches.  We're currently making decisions on kitchen cabinets.  And keeping our fingers crossed that funds aren't depleted before the wood stove is installed...

Why don't we take a quick second for a progress report?

This is the current state of the main entrance.  It's not particularly inviting now, but it will be!  I've named the little tree in the foreground "Slingshot."  That was a mistake, because he'll be coming down soon.  I suppose then his name will be "Mulch."

This is the view from the front door.  We've started painting the rafters and will still be at it a year from now, because someone I know, (his name starts with "E" and ends with "thiel") refuses to rent a sprayer and so we have to do it all by hand. 

Hello, future new kitchen.  While I'm not excited about the prospect of hand-washing dishes again, it will be nice to enjoy the view out of that window while doing it.  Maybe.

Here we're in the living room looking out the imaginary garage door - to be installed VERY soon - how fantastic is that view?

And here is the upstairs bedroom, with my tiny closet there in the corner. 

I can't wait to have you over!  You can help me with the dishes.  I'll wash if you dry.

Here is the new tub for the garage, which is actually a galvanized trough we salvaged from Ethiel's grandfather's farm.  We went back and forth about whether or not we should actually use it, but the dimensions were too perfect - it had to happen.  Now I'm more excited than I should be about bathing in a vintage farm implement.

So, we'll use leftover slate tiles from the main house to cover the floor, and the wall surrounding the shower and tub will be skim-coated with concrete.  We've selected an inexpensive white ceramic vessel sink for the lavatory, which will sit on a salvaged piece of black granite.  This weekend we scored an old mirror that will fit perfectly above the sink, and at 48"H it will help to visually enlarge the tiny little niche that surrounds the lavatory.

Now we just need to acquire a door, preferably vintage with textured glass, that we'll use to separate the bathroom and bedroom.  If I knew I could schlep a door from Athens to Knoxville on my own, I'd start my shopping here at the local Habitat Thrift Store.  However, I can already picture that scene in my head and it's not pretty.

I'll just be patient.

Maybe.

After spending a portion of the weekend discussing the electrical plan for the garage, I'm super excited about the process once again.  I've been so torn about so many things, many of which I'll discuss here later, but for the moment I'll just leave you with these beautiful images from Remodelista, one of my very favorite sources for online inspiration.

I'm loving that garage door and concrete floor, both of which will soon make an appearance in our own little garage conversion.  Actually, the concrete floor was poured last week but in my excitement I forgot to take pictures.  I'll post them soon, I promise.  By the time I make it back to Knoxville, the plumbing will be complete and perhaps even the electrical!  It's all happening so fast at this point. 

And how gorgeous is this door against the board and batten siding?  Ever since our trip to Maine, I've been spying this blue color everywhere and coveting it.  And see that cute galvanized outbuilding in the background.  Perfect. 

 As the work on the garage comes to a close, we only have a few key decisions left - like the design for the kitchen island.  Being that it will be our main task area in the garage, it's going to have to serve multiple purposes.  I love this concept, but think we'll need a closed unit to disguise the copious amounts of stuff we're going to need to hide.

Any ideas?