We Have Central Air & A Heat Pump Now

A year ago today we purchased this home.  We've been working at the house nonstop to move in.  Finally!  Today we had S&K install the central AC and heat pump. 

We're very happy to have both.  The heat pump will reduce our oil use and will save on our heating bill, so it was a great investment.  And the AC is a must for me.  I use it wisely, but I don't do well at all in sweltering heat. 

One thing on our To-Do-List is to remove this tree that is growing from the basement window well. 

I can't believe the former owners would just let this grow there and cause potential problems.  We're discovering that they didn't take really great care of the place, unfortunately.  I feel like the house was sad when we bought it.  I hope it is relieved to have now inhabitants who really love it and who will always care for it properly. 

The crown molding really pops the color.  So many people advised me not to paint the ceiling, but I think it was a nice choice.  I consider the ceiling to be the 5th wall.  It likes to have color, too!

 Tonight Jeff & I divided and conquered; he worked upstairs in the master bath and I worked downstairs.  And he's multitasking as usual--on the phone taking care of business while working.

He had to remove about 20 pounds of a really poor caulking job. Whoever did this botch job must have just dumped the caulk on haphazardly and let it fall wherever it wanted.  AND they caulked right over mildew.  Can you say lazy?  It was awful.  It's like they didn't even take pride in their home.  I'm angry that these things were done to this beautiful home.  We also discovered that they painted over wallpaper, and slopped paint all over the gorgeous woodwork of the staircase.  Thanks former owners.  Thanks a lot!

Sometimes I feel sad that we left a squeaky clean, freshly painted brand-new looking paradise for the buyers of our old house--when we bought a filthy dirty house that isn't anywhere near move-in ready.  Ah well, at least we could spot a diamond in the rough.  Slowly we will restore her to her original vigor.  She's a little rough looking right now, but all she needs is a lil' makeup :-)

What is going to be stunning is to renovate this gorgeous mahogany floor. 

I can't believe anyone would have covered this beauty up with carpet.  We tore the dirty old carpet up, and now we are excited to get started on this project. 

The China cabinet has been delivered and is being stored in the very messy living room for now while we finish the dining room.

The paint and trim is finished!

There's still a mess in this area. 

When we arrived today to work, there was a giant flock of blackbirds flying overhead.  It took about 15 minutes for all of them to pass.  There must have been thousands!

Anyway, check a few more items off our list.  I finished up most of the painting and touch-ups today.  Lots done, but still a ton to do.  I'm trying to divide my time between both houses, and it's getting tough but I am doing it.

More Progress, Maybe Too Fast...

I'm exhausted.  After no sleep I had to wake up early for a construction meeting.  Jeff told me the wrong time for the appointment, and when he didn't pick me up in time to make it there I was really frustrated.  I love the guy more than anything though.  We've both been through a lot lately.  Mistakes happen. 

I didn't sleep much last night because just before bedtime Jeff told me, "Oh Dave wants the range niche measurements."  It has to be decided immediately because things are moving quickly now.  I panicked!  What?  How am I supposed to know the measurements?  It hasn't even been conceptualized yet, and I am no professional.  I only know what I want it to look like in myt head.  I have no idea how to make ideas to scale or what measurements of the range we have to be aware of.  So I racked my brain to draw my ideas.  This is the very amateur rendition of what is inside my brain:  

We had a meeting with our contractor tonight, and wow--they have completed so much in a week!  Things are ahead of schedule.  An inspector will be coming out Friday to check everything, the electrical work should be complete soon, the drywall will start on Monday, and the 6 kitchen canned lights are installed.  

You can also see the huge sill that will be on my future triple window.  That's going to be even nicer than I thought!  I will have plenty of space to put my potted herbs or African Violets there.  I was fascinated by the original components from the 1920s that were uncovered in the demolition.  You can actually see the bark on the log they used as a support beam:

I wish my dad was still with us.  He would have loved to see these type of things.  We also found a perfectly mummified 1920s mouse in the wall. 

The gable fan is also installed:

We would have prefered the fan to be centered, but it wasn't possible because of the old chimney and another reason I have forgot.  The brain really does need sleep. 

I was disappointed that the overhead center light in the kitchen was taken out because of a miscommunication.  I already purchased a crystal, nonreturnable light fixture for that space on Ebay:

Photo from the Estate Lighting store in ebay.com

On top of that disappointment, we discovered that our designer left us in a bad position when she suddenly was eliminated or left the company; she did not include any information for the carpenters in the drawings concerning the decorative elements (window valance, corbels, appliques, etc.).  She told us to buy 3 pendant lights for over the island/peninsula.  We did.  Today we discovered that 3 will not work and it's too late to return the third light.  She also left before completing the complete design project, so we had no direction with the backsplash which brings me to a great disappointment.  The carpenter told me that the backsplash that I designed myself isn't possible to actualize because where the range will be is along a support beam, so there won't be room for the large 30" niche that I wanted.  That was a big blow:-( 

The original vision I had has been whittled down and changed so much.  I know that it will still be beautiful, but I really wanted the entire wall to be removed between the kitchn & dining room, a gas range, a wall oven, the fridge in a more convenient space, medallions for the island pendant lights.  And especially this wonderful/useful range niche.  I'm more sad about this than I should be.  Renovations can make you crazy believe me.  I just have to keep reminding myself that it will all be beautiful, and so very worth it in the end.

That was my mantra when we were told that we had to purchase a new kitchen door tonight.   The 1920s one is in bad shape and it scrapes the floor.  We hadn't even eaten dinner yet, but I threw some pasta in the pan and we wolfed down a bite before heading to Home Depot & Lowes to comparison shop.  Just look at the confused look on Jeff's face (or is that sleep deprivation?)

Buying anything under duress is no fun.  Jeff & I ran around trying to find something we both like.  I'm picky.  The doors that I liked all had to be special ordered, and because of the time crunch we were limited to what was in stock--and we had to buy 2 since there are 2 back doors and we want them to match.  Ugh... not a fun shopping trip with my back hurting so bad tonight from standing up for over an hour in the new house.  We really need to get some furniture in there!

We're getting a 9 light classic door like this one because it's what they have in stock for immediate purchase:  

I would have preferred something else like this one: 

I love that it looks like a cross in stained glass.  We almost bought this door, but we decided to get inexpensive doors for the back (and I told Jeff that we're getting a really great door for the front entry later on since we didn't get to pick out something special for the back).   The 9 light door will be nice though since I want visibility of the beautiful view, lots of light will filter in, and I will be able to see onto the back porch and if anyone is at the door.

After the initial shock of the range niche being nixed, I thought of a decent work-around.  I'm thinking of creating a 5" shelf from a remnant of our granite (or maybe wood) that will run the length of the range and supported by decorative corbels or brackets.  Then I will still have a useful space for my most used cooking items (olive oil, salt & pepper mills) and maybe a small photo frame so I have something nice to look at while I cook. 

All in all, I am super impressed with our contractor.  He and his team have been extremely efficient and helpful every step of the way, and he even saved us over 2K on the electrical work.  Jeff made a wonderful decision in hiring him. 

It was good to shop tonight because I found a really great renewable bamboo adjustable utensil drawer organizer and knife block in Lowes. 

You can expand it to look like this:

I may go back and purchase a second one.  I have a lot of cooking utensils to organize!  I have to return the knife block because my gigantic German knives won't fit the dimensions.  It's time to think of the little details that will make life in my new kitchen even easier, even if sleep doesn't come quite as simply.

Kitchen Begins!

Yay!  Kitchen construction FINALLY begins this week.  We called our carpenter, who will be running the show, to double check.  We bought a lock box to install on the house so his team will have access. 

Jeff was having second thoughts about our stone choice for the countertops.  I really liked what we picked out, but I figured that it’s such an investment and something we will likely have for a very long time that he should really love it too.  Other people didn’t like the sample of Valley White that we brought home.  His mom, my mom, my sisters.  No one seemed to care for the intermittent splotches of burgundy.  Eh, I liked ‘em.  I think they added a little interest.  Jeff thought they looked like dried blood.  So we went to the slab yard to see what else we liked.  We narrowed our choice down to a bold brown/gold granite from Brazil that was absolutely stunning, and a soft and sedate white called “Ivory Fantasy” from India.  I think we’ll be happy with our choice.  It’s something that will be a nice neutral that will mix well with whatever changes we want to make in later years to our brand new kitchen. 

Right now I cannot fathom ever wanting to change anything though.  We’ve waited so long for this!  The kitchen we are building from scratch truly is my dream kitchen.  I like that it will not be a cookie cutter builder grade kitchen.  I LOVE that it will not have honey oak anywhere.  I am so sick of looking at that color.  When we were looking at homes that is all we would see.  Honey oak and brick.  Not that there is anything wrong with honey oak or brick, I just really love the crisp clean look of white inside and out.

We also purchased a wall niche for over the peninsula.   That area will be a focal point between the kitchen and dining room.  We selected The Marietta from Invitinghome.com and saved $20 for using our Google account to checkout, and we Googled a coupon code for an additional 15% off.  This purchase will have a big impact on the way our space looks compared to the price.  I love saving money!  Almost everything we buy is a discount (except the cabinets, we splurged on those).  More to spend on something else… Hopefully we can put the savings toward the edge profile upgrade to a double ogee.  Jeff doesn’t want to spend the money to do all the counters with it, but I really dislike the standard edge.  The upgrades have more pizzazz and play beautifully with light.   

photo from invitinghome.com



A Silver Lining

I thought this day would never come--we have a start date for the kitchen!  Yay!  I'm so relieved.  It's taken us so long to get to this point, but we met with our carpenter and September 5th is the day.  Soon the dream kitchen will be a reality and not some distant figment of our imagination.  That also means that we will be moving in soon.  FINALLY.  I am almost afraid to believe it because so many things have gone wrong.  It's looking like we will be moving in by the end of October.

We're making good use of our weekend by getting some things accomplished.  A new slab of Valley White granite has been shipped from India and we went to the store to approve the selection.  We got a sample of the slab so we can match up paint colors and decide on a backsplash.  We chose a stainless D-shaped sink and are considering two different edge profile upgrades.  Although the rarer granite itself that we chose wasn't as expensive as I originally thought, the upgrades are much more spendy than I thought so we will have to weigh our decision carefully.  I want to be budget conscious, but I also do not want to regret any shortcuts we take. 

We have selected paint tones for the kitchen, dining, and living rooms.  We still have to purchase small sample cans of paint to make the final decision.  I've been scouring Ebay for good deals on lighting.  I'm bidding on a vintage chandelier from the 1920s that would be perfect in our house of the same age.  I really hope I win the auction because the piece is so unique; I've never seen anything like this.

Choosing Kitchen Stuff

We had another kitchen meeting this afternoon to look at lighting, glass selections, and to discuss backsplash options.  We were disappointed to learn that our designer is no longer with the company right in the middle of the project.  We really loved her!  I am sure we are in capable hands though and we've been reassigned to another designer.  We are working with really wonderful people. 

We are deciding between xenon and fluorescent lighting for under the cabinets and halogen for inside the cabinets and the wall niche.  We'll probably go for the fluorescents since it is less expensive. 

We selected a bubbled glass that has a vintage feel for the lit corner display cabinet.  It's goes well with the time period of our house.  I think it looks classic and enhances the display rather than obscuring it.  I like it much better than plain glass.  It adds a little interest.  This picture isn't the greatest (taken with a phone so it is blurry) but you can see the detail of the bubbles that we like so much.  It looks like really old glass.

For the backsplash we are going to have another wall niche to hold oils and seasonings that I use regularly, and provide a place to display favorite cookware pieces.  I have some really beautiful platters that beg to be displayed.  We liked a tile we saw today that is high gloss and has an elongated diamond shape.  The framing pieces for the border echo the rope design that we have in our crown moulding and filler spacers, so we think this will tie the kitchen together.  We won't choose the black as pictured--we're going to choose bright white or a nice pale neutral, but it gives you an idea of the look.  This is a picture of a card with a picture on it, and not the actual tile.

We are still considering continuing the granite for the backsplash too, but that may be out of our budget.  We put a deposit on the slabs we chose today.  Here is a picture of our slab:

And just for fun here is picture I took of Jeff today with the Astromeria bouquet he brought home for me.  The only thing I love more than my handsome husband is my husband with flowers:-)  He makes me smile every day.

In Every Life a Little Tree Must Fall...

So the gigantic historic Oak tree on our lawn isn't in great shape.  A gigantic limb has fallen off into the yard and it would take about 20 men to move it.  We're going to need a chainsaw to chop it up and haul it away.  I think the tree is really unhealthy, so we're going to call a tree expert to have a look and see if it can be saved.  With our luck I do not want it to fall on the house. 

It's sad because I fell in love with the tree and it gives character to the yard.  One of the neighbors told us that it's the only surviving Civil War era tree in the area, which is why it's on a registry (hence the plaque we found on it).  We really want to save it.  Last Fall the orange leaves were absolutely gorgeous.

Last night we went to check the humane trap to see if we caught the pet mouse.  Not yet, but I noticed that since the wall is down now I can see that the floor in the dining room is a full 4" higher than the kitchen floor.  That's where the peninsula is going on top of, so I am not sure what we are going to do to fix that problem.  Oh, I would love a day without a problem!

We've had a string of bad luck lately, but we're working really hard to get things to come together.  Bel Air Construction has been wonderful in helping to guide us.  They have set up a meeting with an electrician and plumber next week so we can get this show on the road.  Jeff and I are learning a lot in this process and we're trying to make smart decisions.  We adore this house and want it to be a happy home, so we know these efforts now are going to pay off bigtime later.

One nice thing:  the knobs and pulls arrived today and they are stunning!  They will be like jewelry to enhance the cabinetry.  I'm trying to stay excited by holding onto the vision of a finished kitchen.  I picture myself making a big Italian family dinner in there and I see everyone, including me, smiling!

Windows are Installed

Finally something is complete at the house!  Well, almost.  Jeff decided to only get half of the windows done for now so we can use the money for other projects, but we were able to lock the rate we got.  American Design & Build did a fantastic job for us.  I hope that within the year we can finish the rest.

While the windows were being installed, Jeff finished gutting the kitchen.  He finally took out the sink and dishwasher and all the base cabinetry around them.  In the process he found a domestic fancy brown and white pet mouse.  He tried to catch him, but he got away.  We're setting a humane trap there tonight and if we're able to catch him we will take care of him and keep him happy.  I feel bad for the poor little thing.  I think Jeff tore out his home.  We can give him a much nicer setup if we catch him though.  Jeff said he was a cute little mouse. 

More on Knobs

So I thought the knob fiasco was over.  Not!  We got an email today that our pull choice was on backorder until almost September.  September?  Really?

We deciced to call them and pray that they had the same pulls in stock with a different metal choice, so we asked for the brushed nickel instead of the polished.  We were in luck.  We really didn;t want to wait for them--we need a way to open drawers in the kitchen now--not in September!  We want them on site when the carpenter comes to install the cabinets.  They need to drill the holes and install the hardware because if we do it we will likely mess up the cabinets because we would do it wrong.  What do we know about installing cabinet hardware?  Uh, nothing.  We're not taking any chances on these cabinets.  We also didn't want to go through the hassle of choosing something different. 

Knobgate 2011

Ugh.  Mama said there'd be days like this...  The past week has been a blur of making plans, phone calls, waiting on quotes, and general panic about when will SOMETHING get done in the house.  We knew this would be difficult.  We just didn't know the extent. 

With the chaos surrounding us right now it is surprising that something so seemingly innocuous and small is at the heart of a great debate in this marriage (dun Dun DUN *cue the foreboding music).  What tiny little thing could this be?  Kitchen cabinet knobs of course!

In an incident that shall from now on be referred to as Knobgate, Jeff and I locked horns while attempting to choose exactly the right knobs for the exact and perfect cabinetry we spent hours choosing--and the biggest hunk of our budget spent upon.  Er...Gigantic, actually.  See, I narrowed down our choices based on my sense of what would look really nice.  It's a choice that will effect the aesthetics of our kitchen, so it requires thoughtful consideration.  However, if I had known the trouble to befall me and my better half I might have simply ordered the knobs that I liked best rather than to open the can of worms that was unleashed into our lives.

Knobgate began when I brought up the choices on the computer and rather than looking at the style and material of the knobs Jeff was only interested in which was the cheapest.  AUUUuuuuuuuuuggggh!  He's such a guy.  This started a nearly 2 hour and exhausting debate in which Jeff's voice went all hypernasal as it tends to become when he gets excited about something; excited in a negative way, mind you.  Apparently the choices were the knobs that broke the camel's back because he was adamant that the knobs I liked best weren't worth the money.  Jeff isn't a very strong camel.  Ok.  So then he went into all sorts of nerdy histrionics about budget this and budget that and there was a tornado of Looney Tune's Tazmanian Devil inaudible utterings as he unleashed all of his renovation frustrations at once.  All of this over knobs!

So I comforted him and we discussed the projects at hand and finally narrowed our choices down (throwing out the very nice crystal knobs I chose) and decided to allow the deciding vote to go to our designer, and we are still waiting for an opinion.  In the end I was swayed to his way of thinking.  In the end, are the knobs really that important?  Nah.  I wish I wasn't so particular about things, but Jeff is the most important thing in the world to me and his feelings are paramount to me.  His happiness is my priority.  It's just kind of funny that we agreed on all the big stuff and then disagreed over little knobs;-) 

We'll see what decision is made.  Stay tuned!

They Say It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better...

...And that it's darkest just before the dawn.  I hope whoever "they" are that they are right.  Lots of kitchen demolition over the weekend.  We were lucky to be able to get some things done considering last week we had a major setback.  Jeff was the passenger in a rear-end collision and was taken to the hospital with dizziness, and neck/soft tissue injuries.  He is feeling much better now, and he was lucky--it could have been much worse.  The cars took the brunt of it.  One was totaled:-(

So I've been taking lots of "Before" shots on complete faith that there will--eventually--be lots of "After" shots to show our completed projects.  I think I will be taking some "During" shots too to show the progress...er, regression.  Below is the wall we're removing to open the house up.

This is the Before Demolition picture of the wall to be removed.  This view is from the dining room. 

This is the Before picture of the other side of the wall to be removed.  View from the inside of the kitchen.




The wall is coming down!






Notice the green Excedrine Migraine bottle laying amidst the chaos.  We all need it after dealing with this mess all day!  Upper cabinets gone.  We need a plumber's help to remove the base cabinets around the sink because of a water valve issue.

Look at all of that dust.  What a mess!  I hope this will all be worth it.  I can already see how much more open and airy the house will be. 

Jeff's a madman with TWO hammers LOL.  Screaming will probably be a daily occurance until this work is done.

Anyone need a fridge?  This one works.  Any takers?  You haul!

Anyone need a flat top stove?  The new stove is going along the wall to the left.

38 trash bags were hauled away, and we're not done yet. 


Dishwasher is up for grabs too!  I am NOT liking the look of the kitchen in the middle of demo!  This window will be doubled and turned into a picture window.





The new stove will be where the window is.  Right now it is in a warehouse somewhere just waiting to be delivered and finally used to create meals.



Cleanup was h-e-double hockey sticks.  Thankful for my sister Sheila for her assistance.

Demo is kinda dangerous (said with my best Crocodile Hunter accent)

Wherever you look there is a mess.

Here's the "planter" in the back yard.  We never realized that it was there to conceal a giant tree stump.  Not really liking the look of this tractor wheel.  I'd like it to be gone.  Along with the conspicuously located stump.  Sigh...

 We've also taken meetings and finalizing window purchase and been taking care of the 1 1/2 acres of new Spring growth simultaneously.  Very busy!  One very nice thing is that one of our new neighbors stopped over with a dinner basket for us with a complete meal of pasta, salad, fresh fruit, and a beautiful chocolate cake.  That really touched our hearts!  It's a rare thing these days when total strangers will go out of their way to make you feel welcome that way.  We lived at our townhome for over 6 years and barely got to know any of our hundreds of neighbors.  That makes me a bit sad.  I wish I wasn't as shy and reclusive as I am.  I'm trying to work on that.

Anyway, next week it's meetings with the plumber, drywall expert, and electrician.  Things are moving along.  I also got a glimpse of our cabinetry which has been delivered (and taking up our entire living room).  That is the impetus which drives the hard work now--it is absolutely gorgeous!

Cabinets Were Delivered Today

By 2pm today our gorgeous cabinet materials and crown moulding for the kitchen and dining room arrived at the new house.  It takes up the entire living room (and that's a big room).  Having the materials early puts us under pressure, but I am so excited!  We celebrated by dining out (Chinese).  This weekend is jam packed with events, so hopefully we will be able to get more demo done over there. 

We also met with a drywall expert today.  We are putting drywall over some of the plaster in the house where there was some water damage from a faulty window.  We're still waiting to meet with a plumber and electrician.  I think we'll be ordering finishing touches on the kitchen this weekend and choosing our paint colors.  Lots to do.  Wondering what is the best way to tackle each task.  This is hard, but so exciting!

Demolition Has Begun!

Goodbye old 1960s kitchen!  Well... almost.  We started to clean the slate for the new kitchen over the weekend.  With the help of Jeff's dad some of the dreary brown particleboard & plastic cabinetry is now gone.  It wasn't going down easy though--it put up a pretty valiant fight when we ran into some problems.

For the cabinet surrounding the sink Jeff had to turn the water off, but the valve didn't work.  They had to make 2 trips to the hardware store to buy a cap.  They also made 3 trips to his dad's toolbox back at home to get this started.

Another cabinet almost came down, but something was catching and not detaching.  There was a hard-wired under cabinet light that we weren't aware of.  Thank goodness the bulb didn't break!  The rest of the cabinets should come out this week and then onto the harvest gold printed vinyl floor. 

We have an appointment to look at flooring and discuss the backsplash options this Friday.  I want to get something that won't compete with the granite.  I'm starting to see how this kitchen is gonna look, and I'm really liking it.

I've also been shopping for the little details.  I bought 3 of these mini pendant lights to install over the island:



Photo from Estate Lighting store Ebay.com

 They look like little mini chandeliers.  They were hard to find!  I have ecclectic taste, and don't care for the ultra-modern choices that are popular in the stores right now.  I enjoy vintage-inspired pieces, so these were perfect.  And I got them on Ebay for a very good price.  No one else likes them though:-(  But we do:-) 

They remind me of childhood happy memories.  Ever since I was a kid I was completely obsessed with chandeliers.  Most of my family had them hanging in their dining rooms.  On special occassions I was always captivated by their beauty and the way they throw spectrum light all around the room.  I remember my mom preparing for holidays and taking hers down from above the dining room table and washing it piece by piece in the kitchen sink.  Then she hung the strings of crystals on a wire hanger in the window over the sink to dry.  When the sun shone through them, it was absolutely gorgeous.  It always made me happy to watch her.  I always said, "Someday I will have one of those crystal lights too."  Now I do:-)  I think they will look stunning reflecting on the white granite we selected.

Photo from beltrame.uk.com



Photo from Ikea.com

 Thinking ahead to food storage we stopped at Ikea to check out glass storage for dry goods.  We bought the Burken Canisters.  



Photo from Ikea.com



I'm already using them and they are great--I can open them with one finger with the little handle on top, and it is air-tight to keep the food fresh.  We also bought the Rajtan Spice Jars. 

These will come in handy since I grow and dry my own spices and make my own various spice rubs.  They didn't have anything that I could use for 5lbs of flour or sugar though, so we went to Bed Bath & Beyond for The Anchor Hocking Heritage Hill Gallon Glass Storage Jar.   



Photo from bedbathbeyond.com



A Decision Has Been Made!

We met with our designer today and made some final decisions about the kitchen design.  We had fun choosing the little details that will lend a French country flavor to our kitchen (corbels, appliques, furniture footing, etc.)

The final design will be a U-shaped kitchen with an expanded double over-the-sink window with room for my herbs and violets.  There will also be a decorated valance to highlight this beautiful feature.  The 3-d images look amazing, so I can just imagine how it will look when it comes to life.  Thanks to our designer, this kitchen will have lots of counter space, pull-out spice drawers, a large pantry with pull-out trays, a corner lazy susan cabinet, corner lighted display cabinets, and hardwood cabinetry with full extension soft-close drawers, pull-out trays.  We've designed everything down to the last detail to make this kitchen functional and easy on my back injury while still being beautiful--it's a custom kitchen for the way we cook and entertain. 

Our design involves removing a wall and replacing it with a storage rich island separating the kitchen and dining room, and we are removing another window to make room for the stove to be the focal point of the room.  We're also making sure that the look of the kitchen will be congruent to the classic look of our historic home. 

We're very excited about this!  We're starting to see our dreams come to fruition, and we're starting to see the light at the end of this tunnel we've been going through since 2006 when we decided to move.  It's been a long road and seeing progress means so much to me.  We have started to see that it was all worth it. 

If we had bought a house in a higher price point, we would have had to live with whatever kitchen was in it as-is.  This will truly be a personalized/customized kitchen that we will enjoy for the rest of our lives.  I absoloutely love, love, love this house.  I want to move in now!

We've been very humbled by our experience in moving so far.  We sold our house before we bought another one.  We waited way too long on a short sale to come through and needed to end up renting for what we thought we be about 8 weeks.  8 weeks turned into a year and a half.  We moved because we needed more space, and the rental available to us that would allow our pets was smaller than our old place.  We're so grateful to have found a roof over our head, and we have enjoyed our time here.  We never unpacked anything but necessities, and it's been quite a challenge to live in tight quarters this long.  I've learned so much though, and this experience will make the new place even sweeter because I know we will appreciate it more. 
The next step is to choose the countertop stone and figure out what type of backsplash and flooring would look nice while respecting our budget.  The official order of cabinet materials will be processed probably later this week.  From that point it will be 6-8 weeks before work starts.  There is a lot to do in the meantime, but with this added impetus of good things awaiting will surely fuel the work.

Kitchen: Still Deciding...

We're still choosing between 2 designs, but now we are simply waiting on price estimates before we make a final decision.  The sticking point is whether we want an eat-in kitchen or not.  Without it we can eat in the dining room or at the island/bar and have a design that's more visually appealing and yielding more storage space for all the kitchen gadgetry I love so much and use every day.  We're also trying to decide on stone color for the counters and what to do about the backsplash.  We've spent so much time choosing appliances and cabinet design that we've ignored the other elements.  I guess we should start thinking about this holistically. 

In the meantime I've been planning other details to make living in that kitchen more pleasant.  I just purchased several sets of cloth napkins to be more green, and I prefer using them anyway because it's nicer to enjoy a meal with a cloth napkin.  And, I can never resist a bargain.  I bought 36 high quality white napkins for a little over 40 cents each online.  The dealer has wonderful reviews so I am hoping these napkins are as good as other customers think.  If not, they can't be any worse than paper napkins!

Green is good.  More green is better.  Jeff & I have always been careful to do things as green as we can, but there was one area that we need to change--we use too many paper towels!  I've been a victim of convenience and I don't want to continue being wasteful.  My goal is to just stop using paper towels which is why I was so happy to find the items below on sale.  I didn't have to pay full price:-) 

Don Aslett 50 Piece Microfiber Cloth & Towel Set

Love these.  I have a few already and they work wonders, but I need more.  They really make cleaning easier.  I like that they scrub, absorb, and polish in one step, and you just need water and no chemicals.  I have severe chemical sensitivities I usually so I can only use natural cleaning products, and I use them with these.  I think they are better for your health/home environment and clean just as well.  I'll be using these everywhere in the house, but most often for the countertops. 

Fuller Brush 22 piece Microfiber Hand Scrub Pads With Holders

Washable!  These will make my life easier, and I already know that microfiber is wonderful for cleaning (quality microfiber that is).  It’s good to invest a few extra dollars for the good stuff because I’ve tried the cheaper ones and they just don’t work well.  I like the hand-held novelty of this to help get into the corners of sinks and tubs or to use when I scrub my pans.

Kitchen Design

Things are in motion now.  We've been working with Mike and Rebekah from Bel Air Construction, and they have been so wonderful to us.  I couldn't ask for better. 

We have narrowed our choices down to 2 designs; Jeff prefers one and I the other.  We've chosen gorgeous maple hardwood cabinetry from the Kabinart line and want the kitchen to have a French Country feel so we decided on bright white:  Kabinart Fairfield Design.  All wood, no particle board, and overall a very high quality cabinet.

We will be removing a wall to open up the kitchen into the dining room and creating an island where the wall is now.  The design Jeff prefers doesn't involve moving the stove and has room for a small prep table that will also be used to dine in the kitchen rather than in the dining room.  The choice I like looks better from a design perspective and involves creating a double window for added light. 

We went to Advanced Granite Solutions Saturday to look at stone colors.  We really wanted to be green and get Vetrazzo recycled glass counters (they are stunning!), but they are cost prohibitive with our budget and many, many projects in the house to complete.  I really hope one day that green options will become more affordable so they will consequently become more popular.   

Granite is a gorgeous choice though, natural, and very durable for our purposes.  It seems like the best choice for the money for us.  I wish it were more green, but our counter should last a lifetime which is green by itself.  There is also no chemical pollution from plastic materials in production, etc. so I do feel a little better.  If only we could decide on a color!  We don't know whether to stay pale to blend with the cabinetry, or to go with a deeper color to provide a visual contrast. 

Counters may be the toughest decision with our "hypothetical" kitchen.  It's getting less hypothetical as we make choices.  The big choice of design will be made tonight or tomorrow when we receive the 3-D images of each.  That will help us decide.  This is exciting!

Bought Our Appliances

I feel like a grown up now.  Jeff & I took a day out to look at appliances the same way that our parents did when we were kids and really bored to be looking at that type of stuff.  We need a stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, and washer/dryer, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

This weekend was tax free for Energy Star appliances as well as Presidents' Day discounts, so we saved all around on the appliances Jeff has been scoping out via Consumer Reports.  I swear that guy LOVES that magazine.  I haven't seen him for about a week while he sequestered himself in the office googling model numbers and reviews.  He's such a nerd.  But I love him for it.  He always does the sensible thing.  When he showed up at Sears with an inch thick booklet of printouts of appliance ratings and a determined look on his face in preparation for the wheeling and dealing I couldn't help but laugh at him.  I teased him that other shoppers would be trying to cheat off of his work--and they did!  He was happy to help others.  Another thing I love about him.

It's really important to us to do things as green as possible, so the Energy Star compliant appliances were very attractive to us.  We tried Best Buy first, but they were closed for a power outage from the fierce winds that have broken trees in the area.  We have lots of limbs laying in the yard here and at the new house.  As luck would have it Sears had the best prices on what we wanted.  Because we bought everything from them we got additional discounts and only paid one delivery charge, plus Jeff signed up for a program that earns points on purchases for discounts on future purchases.  We're probably going to put it to good use.

He also bought a wireless programmable thermostat that has what Jeff calls "all the bells and whistles."  I guess that means that it does all sorts of the nerdy things that Jeff likes.  I don't know about these things, so I will just stick to making the house pretty;-)  I'm just so happy to cross appliances purchase off of our gigantic To-Do List.  We saved almost $1500!  And because of the sale we could afford some great upgrades that weren't previously in our budget. 

So here's what we chose:

Kenmore Elite Range & Convection Oven
I'm so excited that we bought this.  I wanted a dual oven, but this is one great value.  I love convection ovens because it cooks food evenly on all sides.  I won't have to worry about burning cookies on the bottom rack anymore.  It's a flat glass top even over the controls, so clean up will be easy without any knobs.  It has 5 burners including a Turbo Boil element to boil water insanely fast.  It even has a Warm And Ready Drawer to keep food warm (handy for those nights when Jeff is running late).  The racks are ceramic so they can stay inside the oven during a self-cleaning cycle.  I won't have to remove them and clean them.  Best of all:  no more drip pans!

LG French Door Bottom Freezer Refrigerator
Its design sold this; having a bottom freezer is a back saver for me since I don't go in there nearly as much as the refrigerator portion.  The crispers have dual humidity controls which will definitely help keep our produce fresh (vegans eat LOTS of produce) because different fruits & veggies need different settings.  Produce trays are in the center for easier access.  There is an icemaker and water dispenser in the door, but it doesn't take up space on the inside.  Plenty of space inside for all of my ingredients.

Bosch Built-In Dishwasher
The main thing I wanted in a dishwasher was something quiet.  This is one of the quietest on the market.  I can't stand the noise made by the dinosaur I am using now.  I love my peace and quiet.  This one allows you to move tines and adjust the racks to fit everything--it even allows you to wash extra tall/large things.  It holds 14 place settings!  That's impressive to me.  It has a leak preventer built in, and you can delay your cycle if necessary.  Best of all it only uses 3 gallons of water and you can set it to do only a half a load, so no more waiting until the washer is full to run a load the way I've been doing for years.  Well, I'll still probably wait most of the time.

LG Front-Loading Washing Machine With SensaClean
They had me at "smooth, quiet operation."  I like front-loaders to save space.  This one has a large capacity and 9 different cycles.

LG Front-Loading Dryer
It senses when clothes are dry and shuts off, so it uses energy wisely.


We bought everything in white instead of stainless to save additional money--those savings really added up!  I love the look of stainless, but I think the constant fingerprint smudges would drive me nuts.  I like the white because you can tell easier if it gets dirty.

We're happy with our savings and the great machines that we'll have (delivery scheduled for early March).