When Michelle sells me on these things, she says, it's going to be like four weeks.
And I say, you're crazy.
She's like, oh, no, we're going to be done by, you know, for maybe six weeks.
I'm like, let's just plan 12 weeks right now.
Let's just plan it because that's the reality.
And she argues to me, and now I think we're going on about eight or nine weeks and with
no clear end in sight.
We've made some progress on the renovations, probably not quite as much as I would like
by now.
There's always changes to the renovations and they always cost money.
Unfortunately for me, a lot of them originate from me.
I just get my mind set on how something should be different.
Like, for example, down at the bottom stairwell of the dungeon, I wanted to open up the landing.
I literally had to bring it up 18 to 20 times and being told no every time by Michelle and
the contractor.
So I think my opening this wall, he has his little landing that he always wanted.
Bring it up again.
It's feasible.
Look at the wall.
And you know what?
They said, wow.
It's a really great idea, Justin.
I'll have a little wine at the bottom.
Justin's changing it.
That is absolutely how you need to mill it.
So is it costing me a little more money?
I hope not.
But at the end of the day, it's a battle that I won that was probably worth the most.
It was a good idea, Justin.
Trying to get work done while all the renovations are going on is a little difficult.
The workspace is definitely interesting.
It's something that I'm not quite used to.
We're now like five people jammed into the dining room and, you know, that's not great.
When you have a little bunny hopping around and then you have kids running around, it's
just something that's so different and so interesting on the same level.
I'm really excited for when the basement and the office is complete and we can go in and
have our own separate spaces and be a little bit more laid out.
Even though it's going as slow as it could possibly go by my standards, because I am
an inpatient person, it somehow doesn't bother me the way it would have been in Los Angeles.
Why?
I don't know.
My first Chattanooga client has their installation.
So that's been nerve-racking, but overall, I think it's gone actually swimmingly and
I think it's going to be a really beautiful space.
Very elegant and kind of modern, but very traditional, glamorous.
I think it's going to be really pretty.
A while ago, I got an email from Anne Flanagan.
She was moving here and Anne had been working for some top designers in Chicago and wanted
to interview with me.
I'm Anne Flanagan and I'm Michelle Workman's project manager.
My job tasks range from everything.
I make calls.
I do emailing.
I do ordering.
I also do some drawings to get custom pieces done.
Working with Michelle is great.
We were able to communicate with each other on the same level and I'm never afraid to
share my opinions with her.
I'm really, I'm super happy and pleased that she's here and she's been a great help.
Others in the South are definitely a lot different than they are in Los Angeles or New York and
in that they exist.
I have noticed a difference in the manners here.
I think people just seem to really consider the other person's feelings in a lot of ways,
which I find really nice.
I think Brody and Hartley have the manners of California boys.
They say thank you.
That's about it at this point.
I want dipstick.
My name is Dawn Jumper and I am an etiquette consultant.
I do think that manners are more valued in the South, but I think they're appreciated
everywhere.
Today, while I'm here with the Workman's, I'm going to concentrate on everyday table
manners with Brody and Hartley and these are just social graces that make mealtime more
enjoyable for everybody in the family.
You never want to cut up all your food at once and the reason for that is that it just
looks yucky.
That's a no-no.
Unless you're a baby and you two are babies.
Like this.
And you see I put my pointer finger here and my other finger here.
Hold up your hands like this.
Try this.
You're making an okay sign.
What would this be?
A D.
A D.
So this stands for drink, so your drink is a D.
I love it.
I want it all the way.
I want yes sir, yes ma'am, no ma'am, everyone, mister and missus, whoever it is.
Like I want holding doors open for people.
Like I want the full southern gentleman.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
You
