I've got drywall dust in my engagement ring....

Can every weekend be a long weekend, please?

I absolutely love long weekends--especially when they are spent taking out authentic 1970's-era fake wood paneling! Whoohoo! For those of you who had the luxury of visiting Justin's humble abode before our weekend project, you most likely will be the only ones who can fully appreciate all of our hard work.

When I arrived in Clayton on Friday night the paneling had already been taken down and the walls were ready to be adorned with drywall...Well, almost... :)

Before we could jump right in and hang drywall, as I make it sound easy, Justin had to do a little rewiring. He had to move a light switch here, add an outlet there. This allowed me to test my ability to interact with him during his fits of frustration. After moving several three-way switches, Justin realized he did not remember which how each had been wired before he unhooked them. He also found a mysterious cord that apparently did not lead to either a switch or an outlet. After trying to reconnect all of the wires and then flipping the switch and still being in the dark, I knew I was about to be tested. I also knew Justin well enough to not try and calm him down with words. I just told him to take a break, clear his mind, and I'd buy him Chinese food! :) Worked like a charm---on our drive to the resturant he figured out the solution! (This means I can give myself credit for him figuring out the problem, right?!)

All day Saturday was spent hanging drywall and mudding the seams. That is some tough work to say the least!  Justin bought both 8' and 12' sheets of drywall in order to minimize the number of seams we would have to mud. I had the easy job; I mudded the screw holes while Justin mudded the seams. Although it took me a little while to catch on to the proper way to mud the screw holes, pretty soon I was on a roll.

After the mud dried I was hand-sanded all of the screw holes while he used an electric sander to sand the seams. As a result of sanding, we spent a couple hours vaccuming, dusting, and washing several loads of clothes. But oh, how it was all worth it!

I am a little hesitant to put a picture up of the living room simply because the picture hardly does it justice. Justin and I agree that the wall color turned out better than we could have ever imagined! Although the living room still needs some work, like finishing up the window, making and putting up the crown molding and baseboards, taking down the wall between the living room and the kitchen (which will be done this coming weekend!), and getting new furniture (I will need to have patience on that last item of business). When Justin gets motivated there is no stopping him! (And I like it! :)

I find it really exciting to be able to help Justin fix up his house---mainly because in 4 months it will be OUR house!

After we finished Justin asked me what I thought his next project should be. I asked if making the hardwood floors would be to big of a project and he said 'No!' :):)  Not to get my hopes up or anything but maybe I'll be able to show you a kitchen with new floors in it before too long....

I will most definitely keep you posted!