Meetings, meetings, and meetings about meetings!

It’s been a couple of weeks since our last blog post, and a lot has happened! We had a BIG demo day a couple weekends ago with family and friends to help, and we are SO close to finishing the second floor! We still have to go through and take out all the nails on the studs and do some clean up, BUT any progress is exciting, especially now that we can finally see all the way through from the front of the building to the back! 

Aside from the demo, we have had meetings, after meetings, after meetings! We are getting bids from different contractors and companies for installing the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, sprinkler system, brick repair, elevators, and insulation – like I said, a LOT of meetings! However, we are relieved to have checked off some items from the list! It looks like sprinklers will start going in later this week, with plumbing a couple weeks down the line! Once those are done, it’s onto the electrical and HVAC! Even though we’ve felt overwhelmed with meetings, a huge positive from them has been the excitement of the people walking through! So far, everyone who has walked through the building to give us a quote has been so encouraging, insightful, and excited about the renovations (even though it is a huge and crazy undertaking!). Any and all encouragement and kindness goes a long way for us, so we really appreciate it! 

Another HUGE part of our to-do list has been the layout of the hotel, including the lobby, second, and third floors. studioK has been AMAZING to work with and has brought many great ideas to the table that Dane and I had not ever considered! When we saw the full-fledged proposed layouts for the first time, I literally almost shed a tear because I was so excited to finally have a visual of what we have been dreaming about since October. It was–and still is–very surreal! The plans are still preliminary and have to be approved by the city, but I think it’s safe to say we’re about 90% there! The layouts are just further motivation and affirmation that this hotel is going to be AMAZING and be such a wonderful addition to Princeton!

Now that we’re cruising right along, I’ve also started the difficult task of imagining the content of the rooms and looking for furniture! With pretty much everything being on back order or just taking long time to prepare and ship, we are trying to work ahead of the game! That means ordering furniture and searching for awesome antiques! We may or may not even buy the first piece of furniture for the rooms THIS weekend! To say I’m excited would be an understatement!

On a personal note, with July starting tomorrow, I was thinking back to what Dane and I were doing at this point last year, and I laughed thinking about the complete change of directions we have done since then. Last year at this time, I was studying for the MCAT and was a nervous wreck about the test. I had no idea how we would even make the transition as a family to medical school, and Dane was still working at Perry with a lot of uncertainty about the future of his job. So, when we were on our anniversary trip last July, I told Dane that I wanted to talk about what type of legacy we want to leave for our kids (careers aside): what do we want our kids to know is true of us and what can we do to leave them with a lasting encouragement. We both agreed that we wanted our kids to see our love for God and know that His plans are better than our own through our obedience. Little did we know that God was going to call us to take a huge step of faith and purchase a historic hotel to bring back to life! So, not only do I feel that Dane and I are leaving a little legacy in Princeton with the Knox Hotel, but through this project and our obedience, I know that we will be leaving a strong legacy for our kids, so that they will always be reminded of God’s goodness and perfect plan for our lives! And now I’m crying, so I will end this post here, but to those reading this, if you want to know more about our story or have any questions about who this God is that I keep referring to, please reach out, I would love to share more!