Progress & Adjustments

We had an excellent, though delayed, meeting with our architect last night....delayed due to having our first Texas flat tire on the way to the meeting - UGH!

On the house plans, we're making some adjustments in size to downsize some of the rooms a bit, as the initial plan nets out at around 5,000 sf - not including the garage - yikes!!  We definitely were not planning on something so large.  So we provided some guidance on where to trim & we'll see some new drawings next.

We also love the roof style shown here in the first drawings, but urged him to play around a bit more with alternate styles as well.  The challenge is the dominance of the roof of the Tiki Bar & successfully having the roof of the main house work with it, rather than fight it.  We'll see what he comes up with.

Stay tuned.....!

Oh, and here is one of our very favorite stops in Austin....Hey Cupcake!
They make a mean Red Velvet cupcake.

First Drawings!!

We've got our first look at what our house might look like from our Architect!  They did a great job at taking the design ideas we gave them & turning them into a great design.  We are liking very much what we see :)

50's Eichler-esque gabled roof design with floor-to-ceiling glass in the main living area with exposed roof beams & deep overhangs that create nice covered patio areas for shade from the hot Texas sun. 

And, of course, the A-Frame Tiki Bar!

(if you click on the pictures, they should come up bigger on your screen, too)

& here's the Bird's Eye View look........




& the room layout - this is where we start to get into the details & need to think about room sizes and adjacencies.

You'll see a Conversation Pit in the Living Room, an in-wall bar in Rob's room, an outdoor shower and, of course, the Tiki Bar.  Since this will the first time we've lived without a basement, we've included a dedicated storage room in the floor plan.

Note, too, that the cats have their own closet =^..^=

It's looking like we're on our way!!!

Hook 'Em Horns!

One important step closer, as of 4:45 this morning Rob is on his way to Texas to start his new job on Monday! YEAH!!!!

AND - we expect that we'll be seeing FIRST drawings from our architect later this week or early next week, too!  So more SOON :)

Bulldozers & Donkeys

Last week, with the help of a bulldozer, we had 1800' of fence put in on the one side of our property that was not already fenced.















We had nice, rustic cedar posts put in toward the front of the property:

& t-posts later as it goes back into the more tree-covered area. (Word is that the brush will grow back lickity-split after the drought ends).

Made some friends with the neighbor's farm animals along the way, too ;)

Next up.....we'll be seeing first draft home designs from our architect - can't wait!!!!!

Land Ho!

Yep! We're one step closer to making our Texas move - we've got 21 acres in Lockhart, TX & our home site on the land picked out.  YEAH!!!

& We've also picked out the name of our Ranch - Welcome to the Jumpin' Jackalope!