Slow Going

Still no resolution between our GC and Chris (they are having a disagreement over money owed... they both agree that we have nothing to do with it but because it involves our house, we are in the middle of it... blah) Chris won't be working here anymore... We can't seem to catch a break! 

Vince says he is going to come and look at the house and look over the list we have given him of what still needs to be done today or tomorrow (we'll see), possibly do the work himself and deliver the handrails for the banisters. 

Here's hoping it happens soon. . . 

I keep working on things around the house. Here are a few projects I have been working on. 

This is an old picture, but shows the wood corbels on the island. 

They needed some primer and paint

And some wood filler- it wasn't like this when we bought it or when they were installed... settling? I filled it, sanded it and you can't tell now. 

Taped them up. 

First coat of primer. 

They each got three coats of primer and three coats of paint. This was over a two week period. 

All done! I can't wait to add a bunch of trim to the island... someday ;)

We finally got some counter stools. We found them at cost plus world market and waited until they were on sale and we had a coupon. We found that four fit really well... and if we all are eating together, Dave pulls up a chair from the dining room. 

oh and our house smells amazing- 

love the smell of fresh baked bread!

Another project that I have been working on is a gallery wall in the dining room. This one isn't done yet, but here is the progress so far. 

Layed out options on a spare curtain on the floor... 

Decided on this layout. 

Painted all of the non-black frames to match the rest...

And spent 4 hours hanging them on the wall. 

(they aren't all level yet- the nails are in the right place but they get bumped etc, I will fix that once the frames are filled and the walls are painted by using sticky putty on edges that move.)

I still need to go through each frame and decide what picture/art/other to fill it with. I hung them high because eventually I would like molding like this on the bottom all of the dining room walls. --

You are updated :)

What have we been up to?

No work has happened in the past 2.5 weeks... very annoyed but there isn't anything we can do about it, so we move on. I have been working on some projects around the house. Here are a few of them.

Dave's Great Grandma had these cute owl salt and pepper shakers and was giving them away- no one wanted them, so I got them! A quick coat of primer, paint and clear sealer and they are cute little owls that I need to find a spot for. We won't be using them as salt and pepper shakers, but I think they will be cute on a bookcase or on a shelf next to a plant, or a vase...

 After :)

I also tackled putting the peel and stick tiles at the bottom of a lot of our cabinets. I chose to protect the bottom on cabinets that are going to see heavy wear and that might have water dripped on them when things are put away from the dishwasher. 

Yes, the TV remote was important- I had to listen to something while doing this, it was a little mind-numbing. 

Done! Only a few more to go!

I have started to plan out in my head (and on a curtain on the floor in the living room) where pictures and things are going to be hung on the walls. 

This is the very beginning of a big picture wall that will go on one of the dining room walls. 

I need to buy a few frames, paint some I already have, buy some burlap or linen (not sure yet), get some more pictures and other things to fill frames etc... I am excited how it will look. It might be hard to see now, but in my head it looks great!

That's the update. Hopefully I will have bigger updates, 

*cough* banisters *cough* 

soon!

Forty-nine to Fifty-eight

Things got crazy for a week or two and so I am putting everything into one post to save me the headache of trying to figure out what happened on what day :)

Chris framed the column out. I drew him a picture and he made it happen. 

The painters came and did a second coat on the baseboards. Not happy with their work. It isn't perfect and from what I heard they charge (we just pay Vince a flat fee for each thing) I expected perfect work. I will be fixing areas that need fixing...

Caulked the column. Again, no one sanded it so there are major edges you can see etc.. I will eventually fix this too. Not worth the effort in the long run to have a bunch of people come back to re-do it. 

Pictures are a little out of order but Wednesday night Dave's friend Ryan came over and help us move furniture back in!

The oven was "in" but not in all the way. The electrician had to come back the next day to move the plug behind it so it could be pushed back in all of the way. 

Chris added trim pieces all over the kitchen on the edges. 

Column painted. 

Plumber came and added the hook up for the fridge.

Electrician came and put the final plugs in etc..

Table- so glad it has a leaf, we are keeping it open all of the time now... (It needed to be pushed closed)

New entry cabinet. Found at the Great Indoors going out of business sale- for 70% off

The corbels came and just in time. 

Friday morning (August 31) the counter tops FINALLY arrived!!!

(This is after being told they were coming Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday)...

One piece in! 

It was exciting to watch them put the big marble piece in. 

They had this machine that they hooked up to both sides of the granite on opposite sides of the one seam. I think it was pushing them together? 

Dave came home and asked for help putting the fridge in. 

Whew! A lot of progress made that day. 

The hole they cut for the cook top wasn't quite right and there were eight notches that needed to be cut out so it would sit flat. This didn't happen for another week. 

My ovens work!

The tape shows where it needed to be cut. 

Big sink :)

No more hand washing dishes!

The microwave was a pain too- it had to be custom fit into this spot. 

The fridge still needs some adjusting. It is counter depth but still sticks out an extra 2 inches. There is room to push it back but it is super tight. We think the cabinet may need to be trimmed some...

Need to paint them, but they are pretty :)

Finally last Thursday the granite was cut and we didn't want to wait for Chris so Dave hooked up the cook top that night. 

It works!!!

Finally! After 8 1/2 weeks we have a functional kitchen!

So much to do still but now that I have a kitchen that works, it is ok if it takes some time. 

I went to Ikea and bought two of these cutting boards ($9.99 each!) and oiled them with a food safe oil. We love having them as our work space on the counter and they have already gotten a lot of use. 

Hows that for a lot happening in one post?

PS- I put all of the drawer and shelf liners in today. Later this week I am going to do the peel and stick tiles in the areas that get heavy use/ more water on them.