50 Shades of White, 10 Miles, Rabbit Poop, and Drinking in Church: A Recap

Hey there! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. These past few days have been crazy busy for George and I. Here is a quick recap of our house progress and weekend.

50 Shades of White:

We've made a ton of progress on the house. George and I have a lot selected! It is the only lot left that accommodates a walkout basement, so we jumped on it.

Our very own dirt and trees.  There is a little creek back there.

So happy to be standing where our future house will be

Unfortunately, George has had to work and hasn't been able to drive to Illinois with me the couple times that I've been this past week. It is about a two and a half hour drive to meet with the builder and designer, so I've been dragging my parents with me. So far, I've picked out all of the flooring, exterior, tile, marble, hardwood, cabinetry, and all the other 500 choices without him. He really trusts me. Or as he says, "you're going to pick what you want no matter what I say."

...maybe he's right.

Whenever I choose something, I'll take a picture of it for George.  This is what we're thinking for the master bath.  Tile that looks like hardwood.  White/cream colored marble shower with light blue and grayish glass tile band.

The 5 shades of white I had narrowed down from many others.   Picking a shade of white leads to insanity.  I still carry the swatch around with me in my purse.

Who wants to help me choose some colors? Looking for the perfect "greige."

On Friday, I went to Amish country to meet with the cabinetry makers. We drove way out to the middle of the country in Illinois. There were horses and buggies everywhere. The cabinet designer was super nice and patient. I had NO idea that there were so many choices for just cabinet fronts.

My favorite thing that I discovered that day was:

Regular sink with false panel on the front?

NOPE!  There are outlets in the back and heat resistant shelves for your hairdryer and curling iron.  YES!

I'm having a wonderful time so far, and I can't wait to pick out more. We're so close to breaking ground!

10 Miles:

On Saturday morning, my dad, aunt and I did a 10 mile run on the Monon. I was a little nervous because my last few runs had been so-so, and I didn't feel like I truly had my mojo back. My nine mile run two weeks prior was rough, so how was I supposed to do ten?

The three of us ran the first five at a pretty slow, comfortable pace. At the half way point I had some Extreme Sport Beans. You can read my updated review here.  I also ran with a handheld water bottle, so I didn't have to worry about finding water fountains.

The last five miles I ran with my aunt, and she kicked my butt. She had me do intervals for my last mile, and we finished strong at a 9:18 pace. Overall, I'd say my mojo is back and hopefully going to stick around for a while!

10 miles DONE!

Rabbit Poop

Oh Gracie... this dog tested my patience this week. She LOVES to roll around in rabbit/possum/misc. wild animal poop. She mostly concentrates it around her neck. So after I returned home from the bird vet (you can read about that here), she immediately rolled around in a hot, steaming pile of poo. After making me chase her around the yard, getting poop on ME, and shaking off in the house after her bath, she was feeling pretty smug.

SUCH a stinker!

Drinking in Church

Saturday afternoon, George and I went to Louisville with some friends. We stayed at the Brown Hotel. It makes you feel like you've been transported to the 1920's and is so beautiful. They have Living Social deals sometimes, so if you're close, I highly suggest it.

The Brown Hotel

We had dinner at Jack Fry's. George and I love this restaurant. The walls are covered with photographs of people from the 1950's and 60's eating at the same tables that you're sitting at. I had the best scallops of my life and some flourless chocolate cake.

Jack Fry's

After Jack Fry's, we walked across the street to a bar called Holy Grale. It is a small, old church that has been converted into a bar. It is GORGEOUS inside. Lots of arched windows and doorways with tall ceilings. They have additional space up in the "choir loft" and an outdoor area as well. They have an amazing craft beer selection, so the boys were in heaven.

Holy Grale

We had a wonderful time in Louisville with our closest friends, and it's going to be so hard to leave them when we go to Peoria. I know that we will have little weekend trips like these, and even more opportunities to vacation together, but we won't get to see them as often. We will miss them so much!

So, this is what we've been up to.

How was your weekend?  If you were building a house, what things would you be SURE to include that may be forgotten?