Contractor's Visit-Cottage Progress

Well things are looking up! We have submitted the plans to our contractor and now he and Andy will take them to the lumber yard for the final drafts of the plans to be made, and then the dirt work can begin!

Among other things, we discussed siding, the roofline, money-saving strategies and location. We have our plumber, electrician and dirt guy all lined up. 

We really like the guys we will be working with. They are local, knowledgeable and they laugh at Andy's jokes. They don't seem to mind our nosey dogs, either. 

There is still so much to do, but it feels like it's happening now. 

For such a long time, I was not sure I'd get here. Now that I am here, it feels weird. but I know the biggest mistake I can make, is to doubt myself or my process. Doubt lurks out there, every day, around every corner, but I can't waste my resources giving her the time of day anymore. 

I don't know much, but I do know you won't make dreams come true by inviting Doubt to sit at your table. 

I'll be working on perfecting a couple of cookie recipes this weekend. I've been doing more drawing and painting, so I hope to make more progress there. Planting will begin any time now, much to the relief of the farmers around here. We're keeping busy. 

I hope you all have something fun planned for the weekend. See you soon. 

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Swedish Death Cleaning, Moving and Working in the Grove-Cottage Progress

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks getting ready to start the garage build and remodel of the addition. Andy and I trimmed 21 trees and are almost done clearing the branches from the part of the grove that will be for guest use. 
It's starting to look like a park out there.

In contrast, the roll-off dumpster in the yard is nearly full. Swedish Death Cleaning is well under way. It refers to a tradition that empties our house of the things, furnishings, collections, clothing, dishes, etc., our children will likely toss when we die because they have no idea why they were important to us. It's not important to them. There is a very good chance it will be donated or tossed when we go, and in the end, it will only be a burden to our survivors. 

We've completely moved out of the addition now and are adjusting to the "downsizing." Truth be told, it's not much of an adjustment. We have plenty of house for the two of us and it feels pretty good to "unload."

Besides, we are all about new, fresh beginnings around here lately. It's been a tough twelve months filled with anguish, loss, growth and the search for anything that resembles resilience. It's been a long year. 

Maybe the longest year.

It's good to feel alive, now. Spring still hasn't come in full here yet, but we're inching our way along, with open arms. 

The contractor comes again tomorrow to discuss more details. We have plans to build a dream. We have plans with friends and family. We have plans to travel and see a little of this amazing world. It feels hopeful. 

Here we go. 

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Detours

My life's path has been made up of them, detours. I can only assume I have a lot to learn on this winding, circling path that I continually find myself on. Sometimes it takes me a while. 

I've always been a "late bloomer." Andy too. We're OK with it, as long as there are still some blooms, I guess. 

Almost nothing went as planned this past year. 

This post is to remind a future me that although it really did not go as planned, you are exactly where you're supposed to be, doing just what you're supposed to be doing. It's all working out. 

Special thanks to Lou for reminding me to "trust my process."

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Furnishing the Cottage on a Shoestring

I always tell Andy, "I want the good stuff. I just don't want to pay the good stuff prices." 

And I don't. Not for vacations, not for shoes, not for this project. If I have to pay more than $20 for a pair of shoes, I get crabby. 

My grandmother, Mae brought me up as a thrifter. I remember going to garage sales with her on the weekends, quite often as a child. She taught me to shop clearance racks and she was a coupon queen. 

Mae wouldn't have it any other way, so almost everything that goes into the cottage will have to fit into one of these categories. 

1) Free, donated or repurposed from something we already have

2) Purchased used, in very good condition, but at a notable discount over new

3) Custom built by Andy, materials only

I also like that this fits into an eco-friendlier plan by reusing and repurposing items and building with lumber that we already have, scraps and all. 

Now I admit, this is going to be a little easier for me than most, as 1) I'm closing a 4BR short term rental and have a pretty good supply of items needed. 2) My husband can build (almost) anything. 

However, I don't want the cottage to look and feel just like The Lady Next Door. This needs to feel new and fresh. Modern farmhouse.

Yes, I know, everything points to farmhouse style being on its way out. I can't be concerned with that. I live in a 100+ year old farmhouse. On a farm. Furnishing it with ultra-modern decor would be as uncomfortable for me as looking at NY apartments with oversized round wall clocks, all-white furniture with black accents and rustic decor. It may be pretty, but it just doesn't "feel" right to me. Context, people. 

This Gorgeous Farmhouse-Inspired Apartment is Hidden in New York City (countryliving.com)

I want it to feel comfortable yet a little luxurious. I'm not sure how it will all unfold, but I came across the perfect plates that I had left from a catering gig a few years ago. Ten of them. In my palette. They went directly into a tub labeled, "Cottage."

I will try to be open to the opportunities and possibilities that present themselves. 

However, I really can't see myself including any antlers. Even if I can get them for free.

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Color is Back IN

This is the color palette for the cottage. It's taken from a quilt I bought at H&M.

I've been reading that grays and whites are on their way out. People are ready to bring color back into their living spaces. 

Color has never left my living space. I can work with color. 

This palette is inspired by a quilted blanket I found at H&M several months ago. I didn't exactly know what I was saving it for, but now it will definitely be appearing as part of the cottage decor. 

I can't wait for the fun stuff to start, but I know there are so many things to get done first. 

For now, I'll just have to daydream in color. 

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Getting Back in the Kitchen

Now that I've decided where I'm putting One Li'l Kitchen, I need to decide what I'm going to stock the kitchen with, in terms of retail food items. I have lots of ideas. We'll see which of them work.

It's going to be a bit more than making food and then packaging it for sale.

I'll have to develop a menu with regularly appearing favorites and a rotation of seasonal items. There will definitely be baked goods and comfort foods, but people really look for other options too.  

I will have to consider ways to include some gluten-friendly, dairy-free, low sugar, etc., items and make sure my customers know I can take special requests. 

I'll have to start with something delicious that I think others will buy and enjoy eating too, and then create a recipe. Historically, I've been really bad at creating an actual recipe.

I wonder if I can find anyone to taste test any of these creations? Maybe I'll have to survey "the neighborhood."  What do you think I should stock in One Li'l Kitchen?

Then some testing, experimenting and more testing and then writing it all down once I think it's just about perfect. Then onto cost analysis to find out what I need to be charging for ingredients and labor. 

It sounds like I'll be doing as much math as cooking. I wasn't really great at math. I've got my work cut out for me, for sure. 

I'll report my progress and share some recipes. Wish me luck. 

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The Next Three Months

Until the contractor can start in June, we have three months to move a small mountain. We have to move out of the addition, tear up carpeting, demo a closet and a lot of junk to clear out of our house. 

We've been accumulating for some time now. 

All of this, while attempting to sell the house we used for The Lady Next Door, in Cherokee. 

We also have gardens to maintain, trees to trim, eyesores to remove and things to build and plant. Did I mention the new garage to replace the one we lost in a tornado several years ago and the apartment for Andy's mother? 

If I think about it all, at one time, my head gets a little explodey. So I try not to do that. I try to remember that I'm not doing this alone, and it will take as long as it takes.

Just like everything else in life I've figured out.

Now, if it would get a little warmer so we can get outside more. I'm not usually one to complain about winter. I choose to live here, where we have winter, but this year, I'm over it.

Time to go, Winter. I've had enough of your drama and attention-seeking and snow. Move over, already and let Spring have her shot.

We have a lot to do over the next three months. Here we go.

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Having Some Fun with Design Software

Just a few 3D renderings of the floorplan we have for the kitchen/living area of the cottage. The colors and furniture styles may not be exactly like this in the end, but playing around gives me an idea of what I can get into the space comfortably. 

Could you stay here?

Here are a few of what the cottage bedroom layout will look like with possible furnishings? What do you think?

And a couple of One Li'l Kitchen...

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Daydreaming-Design Inspiration for Fun Stuff to Come

Just a few ideas for the very narrow closet/bedroom conversion. We will widen the doorway significantly to open up that space and add a small window, but it's going to be quite compact. Think tiny house living, but I do love the way they hung the TV screen here!

More inspiration with the banquette seating/dining. It will also have to serve as a storage area with shelves like this one, and probably under-seat storage as well. I can't wait to see what Andy comes up with.

Faux Beamed Ceiling Could really add something to the vaulted space. Andy definitely approves.

I'll be adding more inspiration boards so check back and let me know what you think! 

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Am I Opening a Ghost Kitchen?

Sort of. 

You may have heard of "ghost kitchens" recently when Uber Eats announced it was removing 5,000 of them from its platform. Ghost kitchens are essentially restaurants that have no seating or even a brick and mortar location you can order food from. They are take out or delivery only. 

Ghost kitchens, also known as virtual restaurants, have been around for a while, but they really took off during the pandemic, and they continue to be popular and on the rise.

They have recently received bad press when it was revealed that the gourmet grilled cheese you ordered from the trendy sandwich shop with the cool branding, was actually being made at your local Denny's. Other restaurants were setting up multiple listings with branding and logos, but essentially the food was all coming from the same place. 

Another issue with ghost kitchens has been the quality of food and the question of health inspection and regulation, but not all ghost kitchens are shady. Most of them run in accordance with food safety regulations and simply operate as a take-out or delivery restaurant to keep overhead low. 

Pete's Pizza in New Richmond, Wisconsin was a ghost kitchen back in the day. It was my dad's favorite pizza, and it ran out of a small kitchen in the back of the owner's house. No dining, just take out. We'd call in an order, drive to his house, my dad would run in and get our pizza and off we went!

Even as a kid, I thought it was pure genius! I think I've always wanted a restaurant in my house. 

One Li'l Kitchen will have a grab-and-go menu and frozen take-and-bake options and will also accept custom orders. I will keep regular, but limited business hours for pick-up and I will also offer delivery for a fee in my local area.

On the days I'm not keeping store hours, I'll cook and bake so I can keep the grab-and-go options freshly stocked. 

On the days I am open, you'll find deli salads, soups, sauces, baked goods, side dishes, prepared meals, and frozen items to bake at home like pot pies, calzone and lasagna. I guess whatever else I can come up with, too. There is a bit of a void in terms of fresh, homemade food options in our "neighborhood." 

I won't be making burgers, pizza or fried foods. We have plenty of that nearby. 

I might make fresh spring rolls, however. We'll just see. 

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The New(est) Floor Plan-Cottage Progress

We've come up with a new floor plan for the addition and it incorporates most of the elements I had in the original cottage plan. That was important to me because the illustrations I'm working on for the children's book were drawn from the ideas I had about the cottage and how it would look and feel.

Fortunately, Andy is a really good designer and builder and when I explained the ideas I have for the new plan, he was very enthusiastic. Some elements just really slid into place. 

Pictured above is what the addition is currently being used for. To be honest, there is a lot of unused space in the house, since we became empty-nesters. It makes sense to use the space to our best advantage. 

This addition comes in at about 100 square feet more than the proposed project in the machine shed and about 200 square feet bigger than the original shed idea, but there is no room to expand. I can work with that. 

The picture below is the proposed use of the addition once we mitigate the issues of the mold and the floors. We are going to have to go to "apartment-sized" appliances and I will not get a full kitchen into this cottage plan, but there will be a very robust "kitchenette." This plan will still sleep five, but with slightly less living area. However, this configuration allows for more of a "great room" v. the other plans, so the better use of space and vaulted ceilings should make it feel more spacious. 

Going this route will also allow us to include a nicer bathroom and direct access to catered meals from the commercial kitchen and also access to the grab-and-go retail that will be offered from the kitchen for quick meals that can be heated up in the cottage.

I'm losing a bit of space for classes in the kitchen but will still be able to accommodate small groups of up to six. 

You might be wondering where we are going to live without the addition? We will be living in the 100+ year old original farmhouse that Andy bought when he was in his early twenties. Currently it's a one bedroom, one bathroom with a large eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, living room, office and laundry with an additional 600+ square feet of finished space upstairs that is currently being used as storage. It won't take much to add a half bath in that space, which is our thought. Overall, we've got more than enough room. It won't hurt us to monetize the addition and turn it into a business. 

Now for months of moving out, tearing out carpet, gutting the current bathroom, demolishing the closet in the second bedroom, running electric, etc., etc., etc. And all that before the contractors show up to deal with the roof and ceiling. Not to mention working on the grounds, planting trees and getting the gardens into shape.

It's been way too long since we focused our time and energy on what is good for us. 

It feels pretty good. 

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Yucky, Unexpected Issues-Cottage Progress

One of the reasons we finally landed on converting the addition to our house into the cottage/kitchen is because we discovered a few problems recently. The most serious is mold in the roof and ceiling due to poor ventilation when the addition was built. Andy refers to the addition as the project where he learned everything "not to do." The mold issue must be addressed regardless of what we choose to do with that part of the house (originally, we were going to convert it to an apartment for Andy's mother.) 

Another issue that came up, is the floor. When the foundation for the addition was put in, the sand underneath was not compacted enough so the floor has sunk and will need to be leveled. These are not necessarily minor concerns. 

After more consideration, using the addition for the cottage/kitchen space made the most sense and seems to be the most cost-effective. We will have to mitigate these problems, but we won't really know the extent of the issues until we get in there. It could be very costly. However, because this part of the house will be used exclusively for business purposes, we may be able to reap some tax benefits from the repairs. Cost-savings will come from the existing building with insulated walls, windows, doors, drywall, HVAC and relatively new plumbing and electric to help offset the cost of the needed repairs. 

This has turned from "build" to a "remodel with issues" overnight. 

I am going to lose room to expand and a little square footage, but we get to start right away. We are already moving out of that part of the house and getting ready for when the contractors start in June. There will be a lot of things Andy and I can do on our own so that will keep us moving forward until then. 

Andy said last night, "I'm going to be really hands-on with this project. I can really see it now."

Music to my ears. No one gets my vision like he does. 

Overall, I'm still getting most of what I hoped for.

I can live joyfully with that. 

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The Contractor-Cottage Progress

Well, the contractor came to scope out the projects we have for him and after assessing things, we realized we are not going about this on the most cost-effective route. We were once again in a situation where we had to rethink everything. So we did.

I will admit I spent some time feeling a bit defeated and discouraged. I just want to start! But I get it. We need to be smart about this and we need to make it legal and sustainable as a business. 

Details. 

So once again, everything on this project has changed. I'd probably be more frustrated and discouraged by it, but then I was reminded of something my brother, Brady, has told me several times over the years, "When you have a goal, get on a path and start moving in that direction. It doesn't really matter where you are on the path when you begin, just get on one and start moving. In the end, you may not reach the goal you originally set for yourself because that path will twist and curve and take you places and present opportunities. Where you end up might be somewhat or even very different than where you planned to go, but so what?  You got somewhere. You just have to get on a path."

So here we go, revising the entire plan again, but hopefully in the end it will be even better for us. 

Things that aren't changing: 

1. There will still be a cottage and a commercial kitchen.

2, We will still be able to offer all of the extra amenities and services we originally planned

Things that are changing: 

1. We will be able to start immediately on the project and opening up for business should happen earlier than expected.

2. I will lose some square footage and room to expand, but I will get better appliances, and finishes to the overall project.

3. There will be big cost savings and better use of current resources. 

How are we going to accomplish this? It involves taking a part of our house that we had originally planned to use for the apartment for Andy's mother and utilizing that for the cottage/kitchen space. It took me a minute to get my head around it, but I'll be laying it out here this week so come back and check it out! 

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