Faith & Joy Cottage

Although not an "official" name for my 

dear friends beautiful
HOME,

(located on Whidbey Island)

This cozy cottage is
a loving reflection of both
  Faith and Joy.

A few years ago,
after a season of heart breaking life events,

my dear friends started looking

for a new place to call home.

Knowing a house is just a building
 and not capable of filling

the loss they felt in their hearts,

they prayed for God to lead them to

a HOME. 

Somewhere to grow, live, love and heal as a family.

Shannon and I looked at many homes

together while her husband was at work.

Some houses were REALLY bad..
 and we found ourselves 

humming 'The Brady Bunch' theme song...

surrounded by total flashbacks of groovy decor.

We laughed hysterically and often
 during the process... So much so...

that her real estate agent started asking if I could come along 

for the entertainment. 

(Really! He DID!)

ANYHOW...

One day she invited me along to look at this house.

It took our breath away the moment we pulled into the long grassy/dirt

driveway.

Rear of house. Wood under tarp.

As we walked through the house

we squeezed hands and jumped up and down

like 4th grade girls at recess.

"Would God really give us THIS house"
 she asked.

"YES!!!"

of course He would,
I answered.

This was the dining room, but we switched the dining and living room
over the weekend. Pictures don't do justice
to the warmth in the room!

Dining Room with fireplace and HUGE mantel. 

The ceilings are at least 10 feet high!

This is a family home!

An old house that had been fully and lovingly restored

 by another family that

had to move due to a job change.

Looking down the center hallway from the living/dining area.
The office is on the right and kitchen to the left.
There is an adorable half bath on the left,
and the most charming phone station in the hallway!

Office sitting area behind french doors.  Tin ceiling, lovely bay window,
and space for 2 desks (not shown)!

Phone nook. See the phonebook storage under the phone?
The woodwork, and details all over make
my heart pitter patter!

This was hard to capture. But the original beaded board is
washed in a blue paint. The old door is fashionably
chippy with a glass doorknob!

The Kitchen is where we nearly
passed out with excitement.
See, my precious friend is an AMAZING baker.
She makes THE most moist, rich
chocolate cake from scratch.  AND her
filled cupcakes are Joyful
(heart)

Sorry about the glare! Do you see the old windows built into
the wall between the kitchen and breakfast nook?
This room is filled with sunshine all day long.
The door to the left goes into the dining room near the fireplace.

That amazing island is a table we found while out hitting garage
sales one day. It totally belongs in here!  She has a little
stool under it that is perfect for her daughter or son
to help in the kitchen.
I forgot to get a picture of the breakfast area.
Just to the left of the black table is a breakfast "station"
It has a coffee pot, beverages, instant hot faucet and sink.
All decked out with antique kitchen cabinets. LOVE!
I cant believe I forgot...its my favorite!

looking outside from the tv/family room

One of TWO staircases to the upstairs. Don't you love the
rope railing and the picture wall?

Lets head around the staircase into the Master Bedroom!

I am in love with the color in here!

The vanity is made from a antique sewing table!
She painted it the same as the bedroom walls...
But the real star is the TUB.

SEE for yourself!!!!!

This thing is like 8 ft long! One time I stayed at their house while
they were gone and I had the luxury of using
this baby.
I felt some jealousy while soaking here...
gotta admit it!!!

Let's head up those stairs, shall we?

The entire upstairs is dedicated to the kids!
Craft "bar" with stools looking over the fields and deer.
 (and a cozy guest room with my name on it)
ok, not literally, dang it

They are budding artists!

...and mommy's to sweet baby dolls....
(I totally missed her room!  It is very sweet with spots of
purple.  She is a ballerina, artist, and aspiring princess.

...and race car drivers...he was racing hotwheels...
but I missed the body??
Sorry buddy! This little guy has football on the
brain!  His daddy is a coach and teacher. They were throwing
passes down the loooong hallway while I was there.

More Art! The art is clipped on a wire that is strung on the wall.
The windows are actually old windows that "look out" into the stairwell.
this allows daylight in during the day, and
the lighted fixtures to glow in at night. Smart, huh?!!

Extra bed in the hallway wall!
This is where I got the idea for the one in my house.
So stinking cute, and great use of space!

This room is soooo cute, but my skills to capture it stink!
Her son has a bed in his wall too, and a window seat
that looks over the fields behind the house.

Well, lets head back downstairs...
the OTHER staircase.
It takes us back to the front of the house
by the kitchen/dining room.

See!
ya ya I know....its blurry:(

Perfect size, perfect location, perfect timing...

I hope you enjoyed the home tour.

My friends have felt much healing here.

 Faith and Joy

 and
love for Jesus

 overflow.

You feel Him when you enter,

and He is with you as you leave.

Without Jesus

this HOME would also be...
 just a house.

Blessings to you

xoxoxo

Jodi

Glimpse....

Hey Friends!

Im heading out to visit

my besties

on Whidbey Island.

BUT

before I go I thought I would give you a 

GLIMPSE!

This is the hallway between the kitchen and the Master Bedroom,
Bathroom on left, Living room to the right.
We are building a wall here so we can add more cabinets in the
kitchen, and a little more privacy to the bedroom.
I hope its not a decision I will regret
because this side of the house doesn't get much light.
But the extra kitchen space will be nice!

The WALL is down!
There is a HUGE support beam across the top. The contractor did
an amazing job preserving the plaster on this side of the wall!
This is the view from coming in the
front door!
(dining to right, living room to left, stairs straight ahead)
 We left enough of it to support
part of the countertop, and to trim out the opening
to match the other beautiful trim. We also
wanted to preserve the original corner cabinet.
We LOOOOVE how open it feels!

Looking from our Laundry/Pantry toward the front of the house.
There are so many wall finishes at this point, but
today my sweet husband and son are
putting in drywall and insulation.

OH...
and outlets and covers.
Because who knew that the covers and outlets
aren't included in the rewiring???

In case you are terrified with the SpOOky floors,
Halloween is over... and they are coming out!
Clean & creamy colors.

Appliances come NEXT weekend, so we need to be close to done!!!

Hurray :)


Headin' out to catch my ferry~
xoxox
Jodi

*Charm* update!

Naive

Unrealistic

Childlike Anticipation

Unprepared

All of these words could be used to describe the

person I was when I

saw THE listing for

cabinets on

Craigslist!

Hopeful

Proud

Patient

Impressed

These are the words that could 

best describe me

where we are TODAY.

Hopeful we will finish by Thanksgiving...

Proud *incredibly* of my husband's hard work

especially since he decided

to participate in a racquetball tournament last week.

He didn't expect to keep winning...and playing again

and again.

His shoulder has been in misery every since, but

being the MANLY man he truly is

He man handled those cabinets right off the wall!

Patient...still a work in progress, but hey...

Impressed by...hmm, not sure, oh I know...

Impressed that we have not had

one fight about this!!

ha ha ha

(If you don't count the "discussion" about why

microwaved baked potatoes

 are a great dinner choice....

But the "boys" squished their noses to the idea.

SO Safeway Chinese won)

pssst, fyi....Microwave Baked Potatoes TONIGHT.

NO WHINING.

This is what we started with...

Believe me, it was way worse than it looks in this picture!

Here are the photo's of where we are TODAY.

Gotcha!
I WISH!
ha ha ha
(source)

Removed the cabinet, window trim, part of the bulkhead...

Hmmm, Dealing with remodel ghosts of the past.
Unexpected expense #1
We have submitted permits and have a Electric Company
making a plan to get this fixed.

The holes were there, we think that is how the ghosts wired the outlet above...
The stove WAS there, but you can see Jeff marked where the
new sink will be
(that wall will be sooooo gone)

Hole where the old stove exhaust went outside.

Was the sink....The rest of this side is coming out tonight.
I am currently washing dishes by hand in the paint stained plastic
Utility sink, and resting them on a towel on the washer
to dry.  Not complaining one bit! Nope!
I love this stuff

one of many corners stuffed with kitchen CRAP important items.
breathe, just breathe!!!

Look at all the paint colors, and the flooring ends at the old cabinets.
The walls are plaster folks... hair and all!
Beyond the wall is the dining room...
out that dining room window is a dead on view of the
NEW Manette Bridge that is opening next month.
Maybe we will celebrate together?

The wall will be down this weekend.

THAT will be exciting

(honest, NO sarcasm there, really I just cant wait!)

*goody goody gumdrops*

OH, and we had company from Thursday-Saturday!
*They were very brave*
Now,  I have to run some
errands!!
Paper plates, frozen dinners, plastic forks,
you get the idea!
and sour cream for those baked potatoes....


P.S. Plumber comes tomorrow!
*woot* *woot*


Remember, if you don't want to miss our progress,
sign up on the right for automatic email
notifications. Just enter your email address and
a new post will be delivered automatically;)
I cant even see the email addresses
so its all private.
Thank you for visiting!

In with the new, Out with the old!

We have started the 

demolition...

Its a beautiful mess around here!

And...as it happens with any

home improvement project...

we are encountering some unexpected "stuff".

I don't know why

I say "unexpected"

after all, nothing has gone as

we expected in this

lovely old house.

They call that breaking the bank CHARM.

I will share more about

that there CHARM another day.

TODAY 

I am sharing my latest 

other project.

This armoire has been with us for 20 years.

I have a picture (somewhere)

of our oldest son (21)

standing in front of it at ONE years old.

awwwww *sniffle*

Its been a TV cabinet, 

pantry, and even a home office

over the years.

We bought it unfinished....

and never finished it.

Jeff wanted it stained....I wanted it painted

and after 

about 10 years neither even noticed anymore.

ha ha ha

But this week 

it finally got a fresh clean coat of

paint.

A light distressing to

accentuate the other 20 years of distress.

And a new bead board back panel.

(the other one was full of holes for wires and such)

She can be yours 

to love and hug and take home today!!!

You can find it listed on Craigslist Kitsap County

asking $275 OBO

(Need money to pay those unexpectedness's!!!)

ha ha ha..

no, really!

(btw... unexpectedness's is the CORRECTED version via spellcheck.)

who knew?

Something BIG is about to happen...

Pssst...

I only have a moment to write this because I

am supposed to be cleaning out

cupboards!

But I couldn't wait another moment 

to tell you what is

about to happen in our house.

THIS is NOT our kitchen....
BUT it soon will be
 thanks to
 a BARGAIN on CRAIGSLIST....

and THIS fine fellow....

who took a day off work to drive that there U-Haul to go pick 'em up!

So that we can store them HERE

In our dining room....

and

In our itsy bitsy garage....
(See that drawer hanging out? Thats a cool drawer dishwasher, that came with the cabinets!!)

and

On the back deck.

***I am so excited I can hardly stand it***

This has been a long time comin'...

STAY TUNED!!!!

Hint: A wall is coming down!!!

ok, back to the cupboards now

*bye*

Gorgeous Darling!

She is finished...and

I have her listed on Craigslist!

Lovely curves in a creamy white...
lightly distressed..

Delicate rose basket detail on headboard and footboard...
perfect for a little girl or guest princess

This full size beauty shouldn't last too long!

$225

Field Trips & Fresh Paint

Thank you for the encouraging comments and emails

I received on my last post.

I appreciate that I can be open with you.

And thank you Kelly for your contagious enthusiasm!

About a month ago

we had our house painted.

Although you may not notice a difference,

you must know that it IS a different color..

a weeeeee bit different.
We were inspired by our trip last Fall
to Annapolis, MD.
The architecture of our home seems to fit in
better with that part of the country.
A variation of the Cape Cod style.

Here is a
 BEFORE PICTURE:

We live on a hill, so the wall slants with the street. This photo is prior to moving in.
We have made a lot of changes to the yard.  We are trying to use
landscaping to "balance" the yard with the house.
I missed the opportunity to paint the concrete wall a natural color
this summer, but its on the list for
next year.  

The house was already a bright "primer" white color.
We decided on a creamier off white color called "Dover White"

We had all the blue/green trim painted in 

the same white color.

It makes the house appear larger,

and doesn't draw attention to the window trim 

(or lack of window trim, really)

This is a creamy white that is soft and warm

but does not have a strong yellow tint.

The goal was to create a warmth, as though the evening sun was

glowing upon it.

AFTER:

There was a hedge of scraggly roses along the sidewalk.
It was if they had arms! They'd attack our legs
when we passed through!  We added sod and are hoping it will
blend in with the existing lawn soon:)

The previous owner had gone over the house 

with a spray primer without doing

the necessary prep work.

Boy did it need PREP work!

Its still the original 3/4" Cedar siding from when the house

was built in the 1930's.

The Cedar is still is GREAT shape

except for some areas of dry rot

and abuse from the weather,

which caused some peeling and flaking.

There were also places that bubbled up whenever

it got hot outside.

We found out later that you are never supposed

to caulk under the edge of Cedar siding.

This was done years before we moved in, 

so there is nothing we can do 

about it at this point.

When Cedar siding is caulked,

primed and painted,

the wood can't breathe.

It needs to release air pressure,
 causing the paint to bubble.

Honestly, we thought the painter was trying to pull our leg,

 but it made sense.

As the temperatures cooled off

the bubbles shrank back.

We were told that the paint should not peel away

at the bubbling for several years,

but we need to stay on top of the maintenance.

Apparently, this is the same reason our attic storage spaces under

the eaves retain dampness.

(Thank goodness for Damp Rid!!!)

Another option is to have siding vents installed all over
the exterior of the house, but that sure

doesn't sound very attractive.

For now...we will enjoy the clean creamy white as it is.

Later, we are planning to add color with shutters
and more landscaping.

That will be a Spring project! 

                    

Views from our front steps.
The quality pretty much stinks...again, its my cell phone
Sorry Folks!!

During the prep work,

I asked the painters to remove the tile numbers above the door.

They were very popular in the 1990's.

I wanted a clean look,

so they had to go.

After about 2 weeks, I realized we had not put up

new house numbers!

I mean, what if we needed a pizza delivered, right?

So,

I really wanted to do a beautiful metal plaque

with the house numbers

and attach it to the very tall concrete wall at the street.

But I still need to repaint the concrete.

So I went to Lowe's!

On the Summer clearance, I found this outdoor concrete plaque

in green. 

It has a Daisy pattern etched in and glazed in a mocha.

I liked how the green would "pop" against

the crisp white siding.

The size was perfect...and for only $11.00

(plus the 10% military discount)

it was a bargain.

I found aged copper 5" house numbers

at $5.00 a piece.

I have not decided on where to hang it yet.

I put it on our bench for the pictures.

I also planted the front pots for Fall.

I love the color combination!
Did you see the (dead) sunflowers on the bench?
They are from our garden.
They were full of seeds.
Its been fun watching the squirrels steal them one by one.
They drag the entire flower across the yard.
*Determination*

BTW... I  subbed a few days last week for Elementary School.
The kids were so stinkin' cute!  Such enthusiasm.

I love subbing. It's a perfect balance.

I can work according to my schedule,

and still do projects and work towards my big goal.

On Thursday

I took the Edmonds/Kingston Ferry over to spend
time with my friend Leslie.
We went to a wonderful place called
The Spare Room

My beautiful friend Leslie drooling over the stuff at
 The Spare Room

Yummy!

While there I found a gorgeous scarf that looks like burlap,
but is sooooo soft and feminine.  I also
found a beautiful glass bead bracelet for only $10!
(The store I worked at in Poulsbo had them
overpriced at $39 for the SAME exact bracelet.)






There are two Spare Room locations.
  Everett and Camano Island.
My friends from Shabby Stuff have a booth
inside the Camano Island location.
Both locations are filled with beautiful and reasonably
priced furniture & gifts!

Then, Leslie took me out for a lovely lunch
on the water as a belated Birthday gift.
It was very, very sweet.
*Thank you Les!*

Our family had a GREAT weekend too.
Here is a quick rundown...
Friday night high school Football...wooo hoooo!

Saturday:  Shelton Oyster Festival

My husband, Jeff, and Uncle Jack.
Jack loves to travel and do judging at food competitions.
He is also an amazing chef himself!

Then, we met up with friends to see
the movie Courageous.
It was a great movie!
*Bring a tissue*

Sunday:  Church, laundry, football...
Jeff canned plum/blackberry jelly & more tomatoes.
We snacked on home baked italian crusty bread
with brie & roasted garlic/olive oil

Just in case you thought we were refined or something...
Last night we had super nachos
while watching
Monday Night Football

*home*sweet*home*

Friends and food are good for the soul.

Life is good!

xoxoxo

Jodi