Shiny Dreams and a Dark Gray Funk of a Mood

Our house has been sitting for what seems like months (come to think of it, it may literally be months) while we wait for the weather to improve. The construction crew was unable to get the roof on before the first snowfall, so everything is a soggy mess. Outside, the mud is so thick and deep, construction equipment can't make it past the street.

It's depressing.

Our house is filled with water, but there's also some ice, so watch where you step!

Is this a normal part of the building process? I have family members who work in the construction industry in Arizona. They said building in the winter isn't a big deal as long as you wrap the house, otherwise water soaks into the wood and it swells, causing major problems. Our builder isn't concerned (at least, he isn't letting on if he is), but I can't shake the feeling that everything is going to be a mildewy nightmare and that our house is ruined forever.

Construction woes aren't the only thing messing up my mood right now. I think my boss may have gotten my identity stolen, which I'm not mad about because it wasn't intentional, but she doesn't think this is something she should tell me, which makes me furious.

Rather than allow myself to sink lower, I've been trying to occupy my thoughts with things I enjoy. It has been a weekend of cooking and Sailor Moon! I'm also focused on the fact that we've chosen the best builder in New Mexico and that one day we will finally, finally be living in our new home with all the charming special touches we've purchased and created, such as:

Bambi artwork

This is the only animal head you'll ever see mounted on the walls of our mountain home.

Wine Bottle Chiller

Oh, this is so much more gorgeous in person than on the website. If you're looking for the best housewarming present or perfect wedding present, this is it! I customized ours with the address of our new home (blurred out in the photo above because it's possible for my blog readers to know me a tad too well) and the year we'll be moving in. 

I'm not sure what I'll do with it if our house isn't completed until 2018. Surely it will be finished this year, right? Surely. I can already picture the email I'll send our builder in November. "You have to get things wrapped up or else our wine bottle chiller will be a lie."

My Woolly Fox Family

These are the cutest things, all woolly and soft and bundled up. Hate foxes? (You monster.) It's not much of a stretch to pretend they're badgers.

Come to think of it, this might actually be a woolly badger family.

Clawfoot Tub with Talons

I ordered a Randolph Morris clawfoot tub from vintagetub.com months ago and it has been sitting in our dining room ever since, along with an enormous, unassembled sauna that overstayed its welcome more than a year ago. The site has vague photos of what you'll be receiving and the reviews online are mixed, but I took a risk because the price couldn't be beat.

Well, it turns out the Randolph Morris tubs from vintagetub.com are AMAZING. I was worried the feet would be piddly and cheap, but they're heavy and detailed. I can't wait to get this tub installed and really show it off here on my site.

Now, if we can just reach a decision on what color to paint the clawfoot tub...or whether to paint it at all. I'm thinking dark bluish...grayish...purpleish....yellow. Green? Or Cherry Cobbler red from Behr.

Artwork

Oh, I have collected so much "artwork" for our new home. (True art collectors will scoff, hence the quotations, but I like it.) I have no idea where any of it is going to go, but we're going to have so many walls and each is going to be more beautiful than the last. Sexy Nerd says he's going to scream if I bring home any more artwork. 

Funny enough, we have more artwork than I'd intended. I recently received a piece in the mail I'd ordered on clearance. The oversized box it was packaged inside seemed wasteful for an 8"x10". Why such a large box? Because another piece of artwork had accidentally been sent along with it!

Sexy Nerd really can't blame me for that one.

Rustic Moravian Star Lights

My dream was to line our hallway with 8 of these lights, but they're expensive, especially the large ones I had my eye on. Well, my Sexy Nerd (AKA the best husband ever) is going to build the lights for me! The photo above is his first attempt, which I thought looked great but he thought was an abomination. He spent more than two hours staring at it, occasionally taking measurements and coloring a diagram he'd painstakingly created on cardboard. Supposedly, each of the new lights will be made out of a single piece of metal.

As for the prototype that didn't live up to Sexy Nerd's demanding standards? It will hang in Pica and Biscuit's bedroom. They're so fancy.

Fruit. And vegetables!

Just kidding. I haven't been stocking up on fresh produce for our new home, not yet at least. The blue and white bowl holding everything is destined to be the sink in my new vanity...which Sexy Nerd is also building from scratch.

Did I mention how great he is?

Focus on the positive. Focus on the positive. Focus on the positive.