Steadily moving forward! The soffits under the roof eaves are done.

Today we’re closing up the eaves with soffits, as you can see. We’re also removing the chimney and patching the brickwork.

Closing up the soffits was one of the things I did not want to do, because I wanted the rafters exposed, but the only way around that was to spend more money that we don’t have. Oh well, it certainly doesn’t look bad. It looks quite clean.

Fascia boards! Sheathing! Holy moly, we might be getting somewhere!

The old fascia boards are gone, and new ones are taking shape.

The fascia boards were actually the catalyst for a lesson I learned this week; a lesson which I’m not too happy to accept, but I know I have to try:

Sometimes, the thing you want can only be achieved by throwing more money at it. If there is very little money to throw at it—like maybe you only have a handful of pennies left, which is pretty much the case—then you have to accept that what you want is not possible.

Aspects of this project are not going exactly the way that I wanted. I wanted a more horizontal window, but that meant adding more supports. I wanted a metal roof that is neither brown nor gray, but that meant sourcing materials from out of town. I didn’t want to have to trim the entire house with a horizontal “stripe” along the top of the brick while getting rid of the boxed eaves, but that is the only way we can level the roof and keep the underside of the eaves consistent (long story). I wasn’t expecting any of these changes to my plan, but I felt like I could live with them. However, the one I’m having trouble with is the fascia boards. I wanted them to be slimmer, like you see in this Austin, Texas ranch house:

The only way to achieve slimmer fascia boards throughout is to replace all of the rafters, and we just can’t afford to do that. I’m pretty bummed. I may have cried a tiny bit. I may have even kicked someone. You will never know.

Work continues on the gables and eaves, this time on the other side of the house.

Well, here we go, getting rid of the worst exterior offenders:

Goodbye, gables that lean forward unnecessarily!

Goodbye, eaves that were flush with the gables!

Goodbye, old gutters!

Man, it’s like I was born to write a children’s book about remodeling a 1950s ranch house.

We haven’t been making progress on the house for one reason, and one reason only.

Cost.

Back in January, after some seriously heavy rainfall, our roof was still leaking—even after a roofer patched it TWICE. It became clear that we had to replace the entire roof.

Well, unlucky for us, we weren’t exactly planning for a roof replacement anytime soon, and we needed some time to figure out how we were going to pay for it. We finally decided to take out a loan, which is now in process.

Work on the roof begins this week.

Sooo, allow me to take you for a little walk around our house, since this is THE LAST TIME it’s going to look like this.

Has Mandy Moore always been this much of a fashion plate? Somehow I never noticed until now.

Mayflower Creations was on the verge of finishing their film, Mercy’s Blessing, when they contacted me for a logo design. Since their name was inspired by the may flower (not the ship, but the actual petal-and-stem kind of flower), they wanted me to use that for inspiration.

The may flower is delicate and pretty, but I wanted to find a way to integrate it into a film concept. A film strip? A camera? And then I got it. A lens shutter. Could I find a way to make a may flower look like it could be turning, like a camera shutter with an eye in the middle?

We were happy with the end result, slapped it on the film title, slapped it on some business cards, and voilá.

Since then, Mercy’s Blessing has won ten international awards, and counting. It was an honor to have been a small part of their project.

This may be the first time in history that my three favorite award-show looks were all somewhat neutral. No eye-popping colors here, just drippingly exquisite metallics.

Emma Stone. I admit that this woman rarely does wrong in my eyes. She commits to every look 100%, and she does it confidently and elegantly. Her red carpet looks are always interesting and edgy, yet beautiful and timeless. She is a fashion girl, that’s for sure. When the camera panned across her last night, for a moment I thought, “Oh no, Emma looks a little boring!” A second later I got a closer look and that oh no turned into dayum. How could I ever doubt her? She kills it every single time. The fact that the look is simple and not overdone is a bonus, and I’m embarrassed that I so quickly misjudged it.

Olivia Culpo. I really don’t know anything about this woman’s talents or acting credentials, but her look was killer. There was so much balance—sharp fringe on the dress, sharp fringe on her bangs; dark hair and dark clutch; delicate dress, delicate bow. I want to seriously congratulate her stylist on a job well done. I would also like to congratulate Olivia Culpo on something, but I don’t really know what to congratulate her on, other than being a total stunner at the Oscars.

Jessica Biel. This woman is so statuesque that I imagine her to be at least six feet tall. Take that body, that posture, and pour her into a gold gown? She might as well be the mascot of the night. (Or always.) I can’t get over that gorgeous Kaufman Franco gown and what an insane idea it was to pair it with that feathered necklace! That had to be the best fashion risk of the night. The whole look was so, so good that it hurts me a little bit. I need a minute…

Alright, I always like to make some honorable mentions, and crazy enough, all of my second favorites were like modern Victorian gowns. They are so modest for Hollywood, aren’t they? My feeling is that we’ve overdone bare skin, so the pendulum is swinging in the other direction. Fascinating idea, isn’t it? How far and how long will its reach go?

Ginnifer Goodwin. She is usually quite interesting on the red carpet and not afraid of taking risks. I thought the dress was awesome but would have liked to see something else in the styling; the—green?—earrings weren’t my favorite, and neither was the dark red clutch. Even the hair felt a bit too horizontal next to such a horizontally-inclined gown. I still thought she looked fantastic.

Dakota Johnson. I know some people hated this gown, but I thought it was so marvelous. (Who decided that a dress needs to be tight or bare to be acceptable? Anyone? Anyone? That’s what I thought…) From some angles, the dress looked too roomy, I know, but when it was right, it was really right. I just wanted to do something to her hair. Her long bangs and waves would have been great here.

Ruth Negga. Loved the dress, loved the color, love the woman. I also love that she stays true to her artist self when she dresses for the red carpet. Though I wasn’t a big fan of the headband or the earrings, overall it cast joy into my eyes. That’s what red carpet fashion is really about.

Cast joy into my eyes, people!