This one is for you

I did all this for you...

For my dad and my uncle. To finish what they started. To be successful and happy as much as possible. For my sister because she silently pushes me in the right direction from across the country. For my mom because strength is within us and around us and we are fighting everyday to live the life we deserve. For my step dad who powers my dreams in ways that I will never be able to repay. For my friends and family because they make me who I am. But mostly, this one is for you! My sweet Husband. You have more patience that anyone in this world. You make my dreams come true every day and I will never forget what you've done for me. We did it! We really did it!

Thankful

I wrote another post before this one but I deleted it. It was full of my tears over sprinkler heads, fire marshals, and water meters. But those aren't words I'd like to share with you today. Today I am thankful. THANKFUL! What a word. I am full of thanks. I am full of joy. This last week has taken me to hell and back. I made it though. I am still standing. I am... thankful. Monday will come and go. The finishing pieces will fall into place and on Tuesday night I will write to you all about my first day in my new salon. Right now I'm sitting in my new salon all by myself and I can honestly tell you that everything is just the way I imagined it or better. Enough about me. Let's see this thing!!!

Shampoo Area

Stations!

Reception Area

The view from the receptionist desk

The end is near

We are nearing the end of our build out adventure. Tomorrow is a day of painting. Thursday the floors go. Friday the plumbing and electric are finalized. So hopefully Monday or Tuesday we can have our final inspection. This weekend we will put together chairs and set up stations and run to Target five million times. This is really the exciting part. Finally seeing all of your hard work turn into something really cool. We have put our hearts into this business. It has not been easy. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful business and life partner that will stick with me through this madness. Like I said before, this has been a dream of mine since I was younger. It takes a really strong person to set aside their own life to make someone else's dreams come true. My other half has done that for me. I wouldn't be here without my partner in crime. I have more pictures, of course. I was looking back at the purple walls today. It seems like it has been forever since those stupid walls were purple. But it was really just 2 weeks ago that we got those crazy things covered. Here are the picture updates...

This is another sign that my Etsy guy made for me. It amazes me how he can choose the most perfect objects for each letter. I love the arrow too.

The new door was installed today. I've never seen a door close so perfectly before. I'm not even being silly about that. It closes and latches like butter. 

OK so this is really cool too. I love Etsy. Everyone is sooooo nice. I found this guy and I liked different parts of all of his shelves but not one entirely so I cut and pasted them all together and he did a wonderful job. There will be one of these shelves and each station. It's the Clients domain. The mason jar will hold a flower or maybe a plant at times. The hooks are for the purses and the shelf is for a beverage. He used old distressed wood and put a really cool finish on it. 

I'll keep you guys posted as the week goes on if I can. 

Pictures

So I've been a little behind with my blogs. Sorry. Things have gotten overwhelming as we near the end. I'm going to catch you all up with pictures. I'll caption below each one. and.... GO!

The Painting is almost done. After 4 million coats of paint my better half finally covered the dam purple. 

It's pretty crazy to look through that door and not see into the back room anymore.

Speaking of that door... It used to be a door. Now it's an archway. It leads into our new hallway that takes you to the client bathroom. It also takes you to a new door (which is where I'm standing) that goes into the back room for laundry and color mixing. 

These are the new walls from the view of the back room. So basically you're looking at the new hallway from the outside. These guys build walls quickly.

This is our fake wall. it's a wall that sits about 6 inches in front of the firewall. It hides the plumbing and electrical for the fridge and washer/dryer that will live in this space. And the new water heater. Cross your fingers it can run three sinks and not run out of hot water. I've been assured that it will but I have my doubts. These guys don't know how much water we go through in a 5 minute period of time.

A very dear friend has donated this door to us for a little while. Gotta have my doors. She beat it up a little and painted it. It will live behind our reception desk for awhile.

And this is my Favorite ever!!!!!!! It's my quote! It will hang on our art wall. And eventually live in my house with me forever. This quote is fueling this madness. It will be a nice reminder in the new salon and a good story to share. Don't worry all artists will be revealed eventually.

So... We are hoping to have the build out done by the end of next week. Then we spend a week tying up loose ends and hopefully move in around the 8th or 9th of March. YAY! We are almost home free.

So much is happening

Since my last blog a lot has happened. They came and poured the concrete. and we put our own little signature in it. I couldn't resist.

On Saturday I went and got some really cool knobs at hobby lobby. The dresser that we are using for the stations has 5 knobs on it. So each knob will be different.

The framer came and put up the new hall way in the back room and also a fake wall in the back room to hide all of the pipes and electrical. 

We found the mirrors for the salon. Each one will be different. We found them at a really cool antique store near my house. The averaged $50 each. Which is much less than buying them all new and they will really add color and character to the salon. Here are two of them.

 

This week has been challenging and it's only Tuesday. I thought I would have issues with the contractors. I was expecting them to go over budget or not show up or something other crazy stuff. They have been a dream compared to getting utilities and internet turned on. In the past few days we have switched internet and security providers after having set up full accounts because they are dishonest or just plain stupid. It's amazing that some of these businesses stay open with the way they treat their clients. The weather is going to hold us up yet again but I can't say that I'm complaining. We probably need a day where we can't physically get to the new salon so we can rest. Everything can wait a few days while we recharge. I know that the weather isn't all about me but sometimes I wonder how a snow day keeps popping up when I'm at the end of my rope and need a day off from the world. This week should be interesting. I'm assuming the contractors will be done by the end of next week. Then it's our turn. Clean! Put furniture together! Make the big move! 

Progress

The chairs and shampoo bowls have arrived!!! These big guys are the shampoo bowls. They came already assembled which is great for us because I wouldn't even know where to begin. So then the plumber was able to come in and do this...

That's the new home for the shampoo bowls. The pipes have been placed and hopefully it passes inspection tomorrow so the concrete can be poured on top of it. 

The electrician has been busy. He moved all of the lights today. So now they look like this...

The lights run the length of the wall now and hang just above the stations. That purple wall will go away tomorrow. The painting is almost done. Thanks to my other half for that. 

Things are really falling into place. I'm guess that this last little bit is going to fly by. I didn't realize we would be out of the gate and running. We signed our lease not that long ago and there is already light at the end of the tunnel with this build out. It's all perfect timing because my current working situation is starting to deteriorate faster and faster. It's like running out of a burning building. 

    I had a moment today. I was alone in the salon after all the contractors had gone home. I think it finally hit me that this is real and it's not just living inside of my head anymore. This is really happening. I imagined that the shampoo bowls would go in a certain place and that's where they are going. I imagined the walls being a certain color and that's what they are being painted. I am very grateful that everyone is trusting my decisions with most things. I can't tell you how long I've been building this salon in my mind. And now I'm actually building it with my hands. It's crazy. Absolutely crazy. Months ago I was dragging my other half to look at salon chairs and dressers and paint colors and appliances and couches for napping. I felt the look of resistance but my other half always goes with the flow. I asked today if it was all worth it. Would you rather be looking at chairs and picking out the details while organizing contractors and permits and keeping the darn back door closed because the heat is on? My other half replied... "Now I see why we did it all so early."

I win!!! Some day my orange binder full of magical ideas will sell on ebay for millions. 

Cement and Signs

Saturday was a good day for us. The plumber came and cut the concrete. That took about 9 hours. It looks pretty crazy to have two big channels running in the middle of the floor now.

This is where the shampoo bowls will be. 

Close up

This is the back room

And then the magic happened. I got an email from the dude on Etsy. My sign is ready! I'm so excited. He did such a great job. AMAZING!!!

Those are my shears in the v, a, and e. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!