Finding Home: January 2013

I've wanted an electric fireplace since the moment I found out electric fireplaces existed. I mean, if you can't have the real thing, an electric one that heats up is almost as good. Nate and I (mostly me) jokingly put one on our wedding registry. After Thanksgiving Nate took off for the Philippines and the temperature happened to plummet down to the 30s right as our heater broke. My obsession with electric fireplaces grew.

As Christmas drew closer and I needed something to hang the stockings I BEGGED Nate for one. He strictly refused. He thinks they are stupid. So stupid that if we got one he would be "embarrassed to have people over". I don't understand and continue to think they are awesome.

As the weeks went by I dug deep to figure out why exactly I wanted a fireplace, what about it did I want? I came to the conclusion that although it would be nice to have an extra heater, I wanted a fireplace mainly for aesthetic reasons. I wanted one to decorate with each season, to hang stockings from for christmas and to make our apartment feel less like an apartment and more like a home.

I casually brought this up to Nate and wondered if we could build a fireplace ourselves. A real fireplace with everything but a chimney and a fire. He agreed! So we watched youtube videos, did research, and came up with the plan to build one together before Christmas. I was ecstatic.

So when Nate came home from the Philippines we went to the first of MANY Home Depot trips. As with most projects, we vastly underestimated the about of work and money involved. There were moments of frustration and doubt, but in the end it came together! And I love it!