This is what we did over Memorial Day weekend. Warning: all of the pictures are fuzzy, because, once again, the only pictures I ever DO take are with my phone. Not the best quality ever. But that's okay--you'll still get the gist. Here you can see the final product of our Memorial Day project--our wood stove. See that GORGEOUS stonework behind it? Yeah. We totally did that. Don't worry, though--we had a professional come and actually do the stove installation. That one I wasn't comfortable trying to do with only DIY.com for help. 
I tried uploading these in chronological order, but Blogger was being weird. So be glad that Jack is sleeping long enough to let me actually post!! Here is the stonework in the process--oddly enough, the hardest part of finishing this was just getting the cement board screwed onto the dang wall!! Cement is not easy to drill. In case you were wondering.
Here is my hero, Steve. He did most of the actual labor. I was his assistant--mostly just handing him what he needed and trying to keep our child and puppy happy and out of the way.
Here is Jack in his makeshift fortress: he was screaming right before I took the picture, but he's getting old enough now that he recognizes when I'm taking a picture of him, so he'll pose and smile for me. He's trying so hard to be cheerful! 
Note: I do not usually let my front room get this messy. But when you're up to your elbows in mortar (literally), sometimes something has to go. In this case, we were just happy that Jack was content with his fruit snacks, graham crackers, and sippy cup of milk. Who cares how many DVDs he may have destroyed? (Okay, my husband actually does. Strike that last comment...) 
But look at that stove. Wasn't it worth it? AND we'll actually be warm this winter--despite having a tile floor!! Whoo-hoo!!
I tried uploading these in chronological order, but Blogger was being weird. So be glad that Jack is sleeping long enough to let me actually post!! Here is the stonework in the process--oddly enough, the hardest part of finishing this was just getting the cement board screwed onto the dang wall!! Cement is not easy to drill. In case you were wondering.
Here is my hero, Steve. He did most of the actual labor. I was his assistant--mostly just handing him what he needed and trying to keep our child and puppy happy and out of the way.
Here is Jack in his makeshift fortress: he was screaming right before I took the picture, but he's getting old enough now that he recognizes when I'm taking a picture of him, so he'll pose and smile for me. He's trying so hard to be cheerful! 
Note: I do not usually let my front room get this messy. But when you're up to your elbows in mortar (literally), sometimes something has to go. In this case, we were just happy that Jack was content with his fruit snacks, graham crackers, and sippy cup of milk. Who cares how many DVDs he may have destroyed? (Okay, my husband actually does. Strike that last comment...) 
But look at that stove. Wasn't it worth it? AND we'll actually be warm this winter--despite having a tile floor!! Whoo-hoo!!
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