A little over a year has gone by since we finished The Cottage (That's what we are calling the little house now). So much has changed. We always knew we wanted to live at the farm, but never really knew when that would happen. I'm a big believer of "everything happens for a reason". I'm also a big believer in working toward a goal; when I put my mind to something, it gets done. I got myself through six months of Police Academy that way; but that's a whole other story! So, in working, little by little, on the goal of getting to the farm, I was busy getting turned down for construction loans. Even Farm Credit! The big banks…
The dust has settled. The contractors have moved out. The permit is finalized. Our little home is so sweet. I am in love. We still need to finish up some outside pavers and landscaping, but I am pretty happy with the way it all turned out. Bob from Reberry Construction was so great to work with. He has been so reasonable and honest. I plan on hiring him for everything else in the future. Here are some pictures of the finished product. Maybe you can stop in a take a look for yourself! Click on the pictures to make them bigger... Some Panoramas of the Inside: The Bathroom. The door was reclaimed from a 1903 Oxnard House. The medicine cabinet…
almost there! Power: check. Water: check. Paint, floors, trim: check, check, and check. Even the furniture is just waiting to get in. With our first wedding of the season in two days, our cottage/dressing room is so close to being done. The last detail is countertops. Apparently this takes time to template, and fabricate. About 6 weeks too long. So, our Bride is going to have to make due with sub-tops. Hey... It's rustic! So I will continue stitching my curtains, mopping up drywall dust, and tending to screaming kids. It's crunch time...
Everytime we get to the farm, our little house is getting more complete! We have ordered furniture and appliances, and have everything just waiting to go in! Dan's brother, Clark, came out from Utah to stain the concrete floors, and we could. not. be. happier!! They came out AMAZING. I don't think he will be moving to California any time soon, but if you need floors stained in Utah, you can find The Concrete Guise at www.ConcreteGuise.com.
And the story continues for our little cottage on the farm... We have framing complete and now, it actually LOOKS like a house. The first time we rounded the corner with the farm in view and saw a house there, we were in awe. Finally! After 10 years of saving and planning, our little vision is taking shape. Reberry Construction has been fantastic through every aspect of building. Bob has experience and integrity. He has helped us through each step offering recommendations on other contractors, and being my eyes on the job. I can trust his judgment and he has given us some really great advice and ideas. He really has gone above and beyond what I had expected. Reberry…
Last year, we finally obtained our long-awaited building permit. Exciting, I know. It's a feat not for the faint at heart. BUT, I went to college, I'm Academy trained, business owner, mother of two... I can handle anything... right?! First, the fun part: we hired an Architect: Vantage Design (vantaged@earthlink.net). Phillip Vogt took my design and made it into a workable, permit-able structure. He was wonderful to work with, and we highly recommend him. We had to get a fire sprinkler plan done (Bixler Fire, Brock Bixler, bixlerfire@att.net), a Structural Engineer (who was extremely affordable, and great at his job, but very busy and not in a hurry), a Landscape Architect (Mary-Kate Boyd, marykate8@yahoo.com; I'm partial, because she is my…
Fall, leaves, fall By Emily Brontë Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away; Lengthen night and shorten day; Every leaf speaks bliss to me Fluttering from the autumn tree. I shall smile when wreaths of snow Blossom where the rose should grow; I shall sing when night’s decay Ushers in a drearier day.[gallery ids="325,324,326,327,329,328"] Thanks to Destini Cavalletto for sharing your photography!
After almost a year of going back and forth with the county, we can finally begin our adventure of building a house! This small addition to the farm will be a 600 square foot cottage with a bathroom and kitchenette. It will be used as a Bride's Changing Room for events, a vacation rental, and maybe our home when we have our main house in the works, and plan a final move to the farm. **sigh**, someday... Our next step is to pull together the right people for the job. Since it looks like a general contractor will be out of our tight budget, I'm going to put my hardhat on here, and find my tool belt. Oh, and my…
CURRENT ENTRY TO PROPERTY. A WROUGHT-IRON GATE IS PLANNED WITH STONE-FACED COLUMNS ON EACH SIDE. THE STONE IS NATURALLY OCCURRING ON THE PROPERTY. FOLLOW THE SIGNS FOR 'EVENT PARKING', TURN RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD INTO THE MAIN PARKING LOT. YOU CAN PARK ANYWHERE, BUT THE ENTRANCE TO THE GARDEN IS HERE... ABOVE: ENTRY TO WEDDING GARDEN. THE PAVEMENT BULGES OUT ON THE RIGHT SIDE TO ACCOMMODATE A GUEST BOOK/GIFT TABLE AS YOU ENTER, ON YOUR RIGHT: WATERFALL BEHIND CEREMONY AREA. GUESTS HAVE THIS VIEW AS THEY LEAVE THE CEREMONY AND WALK TO THE RECEPTION AREA. THE WATERFALLS DO RUN, AND CLEAN UP OF THE GROUNDS PRIOR TO THE WEDDING IS INCLUDED. ON YOUR RIGHT: CEREMONY AREA. THE CEREMONY CAN ACCOMMODATE…
A little while back, I got a bee in my bonnet to create a Groom's Room at our Somis location. How hard could it be? I thought. Won't cost too much. I thought. Since the county has a rule about how big small sheds can be (10'x12' without a permit), I decided to do a storage container. I chose a 20' container and told they guy "DON'T refurbish it". I wanted all the rugged manliness that is a storage container. I found a great deal on a floor model french door, and our mechanic said he could install it! Done! Easy! Well once the container was in, and door was in, it really needed power (thank you Reliable Electric in…
