It’s been awhile between posts here at Good Life Jones, thanks to the week we spent waiting for Internet access and the break we took for the holidays. The Christmas tree below the exposed insulation gives a pretty good snapshot of what our life has been like lately:

Now that we’re living in the cabbage, we can never forget how much work still needs done on it. None of the ceilings are finished yet, so the entire space pretty much looks like this. Between the lower branches of the Christmas tree, you can just make out the OSB that’s serving as a sub-floor until we can afford to get flooring in. We don’t have anything resembling a kitchen counter yet. We’re borrowing the sink from Mom, and housing it in a frame that Steve built out of 2x4s. That yellow chimney cabinet in the picture is our pantry and our kitchen cabinet in one. We have running water in the sinks, but the clawfoot tub isn’t hooked up yet, so we have to go shower at my parents’ place (which is also where we’re doing our laundry). And that’s not even mentioning all of the finish work that still needs done — the windowsills, the trim, the rest of the tiling in the bathroom.

To be honest, it’s a little exhausting to think of all the work we still have ahead of us. Sometimes this feels like the project that will never end. Realistically, it probably is. We’re already talking about building an extension on this summer to expand the kitchen and dining are. But over Christmas, we took a break from construction and just focused on enjoying this place, exposed insulation, OSB floors, and all.

Nobody has enjoyed it more than our cat, Nicky. He was in the cabbage for about 15 minutes before he figured out how to get into the bigger loft. We stuck his floor pillow up there, so he can curl up by the heater and look down on us. It’s a nice change from being locked up all the time, and he seems a lot calmer and happier now.

He’s not the only one. It’s nice to be in our own space again, unfinished or not. Now we’re starting to settle into the rhythm of living here, and brainstorming how to make it work better for us. We’ve had some requests for photos, so we’ll post a bunch soon. It will be a good motivator to clean up some of the clutter that naturally accumulates when you have too much stuff and nowhere to put it. I’m sensing several rounds of Kon-Mari-ing in the future! We’re also looking over our furniture with a critical eye. We’re definitely going to have to replace the couch for something smaller. I’m advocating for built-in benches under the windows, but Drew is unmoved by my arguments. We’ve also talked about replacing the dresser. And that’s not even mentioning all of the other work that needs to happen here!

We hope you all had a great holiday season! We hope you’ll stick around to see what we’re doing in the new year!