 Today, we want to take you behind the scenes of our renovation. We loved the process of designing our new home, but there were many headaches and frustrations along the way. Those who are new to the blog only stumble upon our post renovation content, and miss out on the wild, and eclectic, process. Sometimes, we find that people think that we moved in after everything was pristine and perfect, paying for all of the labor along the way, and that my only job was to drop in now and then in decked in lululemon and a manicured pony tail like they do on HGTV. While that sounds like fun, that was nowhere near our reality.. Reality? Not pretty, not instagram-worthy, and not easy. (And definitely no cute athleisure outfits. My work garb consisted of high school soccer T's, old 90's jeans but not in a hipster way, and greasy up do's). If any of you have been through a "live-in reno," you might get a good laugh (and power to ya, us crazies need to stick together.)   Our condo was an investment, meaning we bought it to add sweat equity. We demo'd, painted, tiled, and shed blood and tears. We worked 9-5, and then renovated 5-10. Life was not glamorous, and we were constantly EXHAUSTED!  We thought it might be fun to share some documentation of the process! So, here are some pictures of our "life" for four months. There were wires hanging down from the ceiling. There were no kitchen or bathroom sinks, so we showered, washed our face, and brushed our teeth in the old bathtub. We had no appliances. We walked on dusty subfloor (RIP all of my good socks).  Ok, we actually did have a fridge! We kept it until the delivery date of our new appliances. Unfortunately, the shipment of the new fridge got delayed. Luckily, it was January, so we were able to store all of our condiments outside on the porch for a week. Michigan winter has its perks (correction : perk. one perk). Our neighbors may have been concerned that we accessorized our deck with a bottle of maple syrup, mustard, and baileys.   I loved living with exposed "toilet holes" (that's what I called that nasty hole in the floor where the toilet once was). Honestly guys, my mental toughness grew 100000x stronger after this process. Ty and I both took turns helping my Dad carry a toilet that was filled with toilet-y water, and spilling all over. TY AND I. Two people who don't have the mental fortitude to go camping.  Then there was the time that I couldn't find my paint pants, so I had to borrow my Dad's paint jeans and keep them up with a chip clip in the back.  See a full ‘tour’ of our live in reno on Instagram under the highlight, “Living in Reno!” We look back and laugh, certainly. But at the time, It was difficult. We were irritable, hungry, and dirty. Ty and I are both pretty neat, so the disorganization and mess drove us insane. However, God taught us to live in disarray, and that life would move on even if we could not control all the little details (news to me). We LEARNED every day. We are more than thankful for the final product because we had to go through the process. I'm grateful for a teammate who put up with all of this chaos, grateful for a clean home, and most of all, grateful for new toilets. Photo by Libby G Photography  Thanks for following along, especially those of you who were there when the only things we had to show were demo pictures in florescent light, and selfie videos in paint clothes.
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