Summer + Fall adventures: A summary.

(Us at Wortley Hall.)

We got married in July 2018 in Sheffield (U.K.), it was wonderful, definitely one of the most special days of my entire life so far.

The rest of the summer was spent exploring around the Cotswolds with our National Trust membership cards, and working on the house (of course, that is why you're all here.) 

(me at Broadway tower.)

Right before the wedding we managed to get carpet in on the stairs and two bedrooms, we went with a modern light gray and now that its winter I'm so glad we did it.  The rooms feel so much cozier than they would have with just bare floorboards. 

(No we haven't done the radiators yet..)

We hung loads of pictures/paintings and some pendant lights, plus curtains!  Curtains really helped to make the rooms feel more finished and comfortable, they hide the fact that the windows don't have trim yet and stop people from being able to see in. 

We also did a lot of work in the garden, we built a retaining wall to keep the trench next to the house clear, fresh grass was laid down and I pulled up several of the big flagstones to make a little flower boarder.  I put in about 65 assorted spring bulbs and a purple smoke bush and two rose plants.

More on the garden to come later in its own post (we have flamingos!)

We also chose a paint color for the back-bedroom! This room with have warm amber brown floorboards and dark forest green plaster walls. I'm hoping it will feel like a cozy retreat. 

As fall began we took on a garden allotment to grow our own vegetables (because we don't have enough going on), I went through the visa process again, (much simpler this time), and we planned our honeymoon.  Most of November was spent traveling around the United States.  We did a mega road trip (2000+ miles) through Arizona and Utah, and we had a second wedding reception in Maryland for the USA side of the family.  It was so much fun that I think we should get married every year.

(Waterholes slot canyon in AZ.)

In Tewkesbury I also started volunteering at a local charity bookshop and at the local town museums, its been a fun way for me to get out of the house and meet more people in my new community.

Those of you who are house detail junkies like me, don't panic, I'll go into more detail in later posts. I really needed to get the big picture out first before I started in on the room by room stuff.

-Nikki

Watching Paint Dry

I've been in the UK about three weeks now and I've settled in somewhat.  The studio is now completely painted with Cat's Cradle (Earthborn Claypaints) on the walls and Off-Black Estate Eggshell (Farrow and Ball) on all the trim.  I even painted the inside of the little closet over the stairs and picked up some classic clear storage containers to organize it.  

I also finally had a chance to clean the paint off of both sides of this little transom window!  Now even if all the doors are closed the hallway gets some natural light, a welcome change!

 
I love this little room and I can't wait to see it carpeted, which, SURPRISE we are going with wall-to-wall carpet in the studio, the front bedroom, the hall, and the stairs.  We attempted to revive the floorboards but they are just in horrible condition and at this point we really just want the space to feel finished and cozy. 

Next I used Farrow and Ball's Off-Black downstairs on all the new baseboards.  All through the lounge, hall, kitchen and dinning space, we have brand new baseboards (because of the new floor.)  All the screw holes (huge masonry screws) had to be filled and sanded, then a wood primer coat and two coats of Off-Black.  All this took the better part of 3 days.  Long days spent home alone; on the floor, listening to true crime podcasts, I went a little stir crazy.  

I'm so in love with the way it came out, the soft black feels sophisticated and elevates the color of the limestone floors in a way I did not expect.  I'm not 100% happy with my fill job though, when the screw holes were on the curved section of the trim, it was a real struggle to get a seamless fill (whos idea was that!?)

I used Farrow and Ball's Railings for the baseboards in the front bedroom (no pictures of that room yet!), this one is a deep blue-black, though it just feels black in there, maybe that will change once the carpet goes in.

I also painted the woodwork going down into the cellar.  Previously the spookiest space in the house, it is now tidied up and a little more welcoming.  I only had enough paint to do the one wall, but after I added new light bulbs, it made a world of difference.  My next job down there will be to get some new shelving.  I need a place to store all these cans of paint!

Finally, I threw paint at the outer garden gate, it is a POS but the paint helps a little and is a step towards the garden not looking abandoned!

In wedding news: We picked up the succulent favors!  They are cute and now I don't want to give them away...

-Nikki

Moving to the UK and planning a wedding in eight weeks or less.

So lots to cover here.  Matt and I got formally engaged back in September and told all my family when he visited in November, it was a very exciting and happy time.  We then began the visa process so I could move to the UK and we could get married.  Getting a fiancee Visa was an extremely stressful, expensive, and time consuming project, which sucked the fun out of the last several months, so you'll forgive me for not posting about it or wanting to dwell on it now that I am HERE! 

Thats right, LongdistanceDIY will be needing a new name, as I officially moved into the house about two weeks ago!  It was great seeing how much had been done without me, Matt was able to get the baseboards installed downstairs and in our bedroom, finishing the bathroom fixture installation, paint the study, and more, but then I arrived and all hell broke loose.  

What have we been doing for the past two weeks?  We choose a wedding venue and date, less than eight weeks away (I like to be busy, what can I say.)   

(Sneak peak from the venue.)

So I've been sort burning the candle at both ends, doing lots of wedding things and working on the cottage so it will be guest ready before the wedding so that people can stay with us. 

The thing is, because the date we picked is so close, (six weeks now!) all of the last minute details and meetings are supposed to be happening right now, but I'm not really caught up yet.  I collected addresses and sent out invitations, I've made all the appointments we need to make it legal, put together a registry, etc.  But there is of course a long list of things still to do like find a photographer, hotel bags, get my dress hemmed, find shoes, set the menu with the caterer, put together favors, etc, etc, etc   Everything is happening all at once, but its a lot of fun and luckily the venue is all in one, food, music, hotel, etc.

The next post will be all about the cottage I promise. 

-Nikki