The Garden Cottage (aka: shed, aka: the project that stretched my limits!)

Hallelujah! - That's what the real name of this project should be. Instead of the "Garden Cottage," I think I should rename this baby "The Hallelujah Cottage." - Why? Because after 5 months of construction (lets be honest this should've taken 1/4 of that!), halle-freakin-lujah, we are DONE!

It started with a pile of lumber on Mother's Day. Yes, my hubby and kids are that awesome! They knew that this project had been scratching to come to life for a loooong time. A standard shed would've been easier, I'm sure, but I wanted something more than a cedar paneled box in my yard. I have to look at this thing every single day... so it had to be cute. So, yes, it has a porch... and shutters, and even a stone elevation. And we won't mention the turquoise potting bench or antique farming equipment that adorn the inside. Because, yes, a shed can be cute and functional and AWESOME!  

And, after a full season of construction, countless trips to the hardware/lumber store, almost 1500 framing nails, hundreds of hours, and a few breakdowns, it finally reached completion just before Halloween. 

Now to be fair, I kind of just picked at this project in between all of our summer adventures. And to be more fair, this was definitely not an "I" project but a "we" one. To say that I learned my limits is an understatement. But the growth and development within myself was almost as needed as the shed itself. 

Ryan and the kids were troopers. I'm sure I'm the only one who bounced out of bed early each Saturday morning with the words, "Yay, we get to work on the shed today!" racing through my mind. But they did it and they did it well. And I am soooo happy with the end product.

So here it is, the stamp of completion on the biggest, most complex construction project I've ever tackled without the help of contractors. And its GOOD! I love it!!! Hallelujah!

...now what????