Curtin Call

So, we’ve remodeled an entire kitchen. I love, love, love every single thing about it. The counters, the appliances, the countertops, the floor. So why, oh why, am I having such a hard time with wallplates??? This should not be this difficult.

Originally, we just had the plain cheap-o plastic wallplates while we looked for something we really liked:

Then I ordered these:

Fortunately, I only ordered the three that we needed for the backsplash cause hubby says they’re too dark and he doesn’t like them. (I don’t completely disagree but I think they would’ve grown on me.)

So, then I found these:

This time, I only order one (this is getting expensive!) and we’ve decided we like them. Of course, now that we’ve selected something, I want them yesterday! What??? I’m having a cookout next weekend!

Oh, and did I mention that I can’t wait to be able to say “Yes! The kitchen is done!!!!!”

Hey there! Long time, no see! Where ya been??? Oh?!?!?! Its not you that hasn’t been around??? Its’ me?!?!?! Oops! Sorry ’bout that!

I wish I could tell you I haven’t been posting because I’ve been away on some long, exotic vacation around the world, but that would be a lie. Its just that there hasn’t been a whole lot going on. Well, the kitchen is now 99.9% complete, except those darn electrical covers! Yes, I ordered them. Yes, they arrived. No, they haven’t been installed.

Apparently, our contractor didn’t “nitch” the wall tiles so the screws can fit in. Not a big deal. Just need a dremel to fix that problem. Got one? Nope! Can we borrow one? Yup! Did we? Yup! Did it come with the right size bit? Nope! Can we buy one? Yup! Did we? Yup! Are the wall plates installed? Nope! Is hubby sick now? Yup? Will the wall plates ever get installed? Damn it all, they better! Soon!!!!!!!! Please!!!!!!!!

So, since the “Its done!!!!!!!” pictures aren’t quite ready, I thought I’d share a little itty bitty piece of the kitchen instead. I was scrolling through old photos the other day, when I came across this:

OMG!!!! Have you ever seen anything so funny looking?!?!?! That’s the old island and I never realized just how funny looking it was! The trash barrel used to be under that overhang and now I understand why my first comment to the cabinet guy was “The trash barrel must be hidden”.

Tada!!!!!!

Aaahhhh!!!! Much better!!!!! Its hard to tell from these pics but the new island is a bit bigger than the old one. Probably the best way to compare is to look at how it lines up with the windows in the back room. The new island is actually a few inches longer than the old one. The draw on the side there hides my trash which means the right hand door and draw on the front are actually fake! Yet, I still have as much, if not a little more, storage in the two remaining cabinets.

Love, love, love it!!!!

On a side note, it has to be a compliment when your contractor tells you he was so inspired that he went home and installed dark counter tops in his own kitchen!

Look what hubby brought home for me!!!!!

Isn’t it a beauty??? The weather has been just right to keep it that way, too! A little rain here and there, lots of sunshine in between! So, what the heck happened here???

I had to do a double take when I looked out on my deck last night:

I’m pretty sure some beast has taken up residence in my beauty-ful plant!!! Those stems didn’t just lean over in pain, they were squished!

No, I don’t mean the Bruins – though they did a pretty good job at it themselves!

So, last week, I see this lady walking with the cutest little Mary Jane style shoes and I thought to myself “I need those!”

Whilst shopping this past weekend, I could not walk past the clearance shoe section without at least looking!!! Yes, it is a problem. I promise to seek help. Soon.

Lookie what I found:

Heeheeheehee!!!!!! Aren’t they awesome???

Jealous?!?!?! Wait!!!!! It gets even better! Remember I said clearance section??? They were $54.99 (not that I would have paid that!) marked down…… 90%!!!!! Yes, that means they were marked down to $5.49!!!!!! Wait!!!!! It gets even better! I had a coupon for 30% off!!!!!

Heeheeheehee!!!!! I paid less than $4.00 for a the them there shoes!!!!!!

Heeheeheehee!!!!!

They installed the handles and knobs. I was a little nervous about mixing them!

The floor is actually in, too! The back splash has been selected and should go in next week.

So…. whatcha think about the mixing of handles and knobs?!?!?!

And what have you done with my Shadow?

See this guy here?

That’s my baby boy, Shadow! I call him my big little baby cause ya, he’s kind of large!

He’s also a scaredy cat. You’d think a cat that size would be all rough and tough and come and get me, right??? No. Not at all. This cat so much as hears a strange voice and he is gone, gone, gone. Spends more time in my closet than my favorite sweater!!!!!

So, can you imagine my surprise last night when I looked over my shoulder and he was sitting in the hallway watching my contractors installing our new kitchen floor?!?!?!

I turned and looked at him and asked “Who are you? And what have you done with my Shadow?” He looked back as if to say, “They have their own key, come and go as they please and haven’t they been here like forever???? I thought they were part of the family now!!!!!”

So, its taken approximately 5 years for an outsider to actually lay eyes on our second cat. So now for all that doubted his existence – go ask John or Jake – the big little baby does exist!!!

So now that the appliance nightmare has been resolved, there has been progress on the kitchen front again!

Look!!!!! Granite!!!!!

The appliance garage:

The island:

This shows the true color of the granite best:

Loving, loving, loving it!

Handles/knobs arrived. Floor tile picked up Saturday. Hopefully both will be being installed later this week!

I have been soooo fortunate with the cabinet, granite and tile folks (and I can’t say enough about my carpenter!) on this project. It makes me sad that the one place I had a hard time with is the one that I’ve dealt with for 20+ years. Oh well, hopefully I won’t be needing any appliances any time soon, anyway.

As I type this, I realize five weeks have passed since my last post. That’s not because I don’t have anything going on or anything to say or anything to show you. Jeepers! I’m remodeling my kitchen! I have lots going on, lots to say and lots to show you! Yet, I haven’t posted in five weeks!

The question was posed elsewhere if blogs are becoming a thing of the past. Replaced by simpler means of communication (read: Facebook, Flickr). Part of me believes it is true. A bigger part of me hopes that it is not. I’ve been keeping this blog for ~8 years now. I can come here and go back and read my posts, look at photos, and have many a “oh, ya!” moments. I don’t want that to go away.

What do you think? Do you still blog? If not, do you miss it?

Sorry I’ve been away for awhile. I’ve been busy. Really busy but I won’t bore you with the details.

I did want to take the time, though, to give you an update on the kitchen (which would be reason #1 for why I’m so busy).

Over the holiday break, we started the demolition of the kitchen. It was a lot of work for hubby and I, but we did it!

Yesterday, our new cabinets arrived:

The majority of them, though, are being “stored” downstairs until our carpenter comes back on Friday:

Normal people would probably just stack them there and leave them uncovered but normal people don’t have an abnormal cat like we do:

Took him all of… oh…. 30 seconds to find his new sleeping spot!

One of the biggest changes in the new kitchen is going to be the “wall cupboard”. Basically, the wall between the kitchen and dining room had been turned into a cupboard. Its great for storing your cereal, cat food (of course!) and canned goods. Currently, it has sliding doors on it:

I’m not sure if you can make this out here, but we’ll be removing those doors and we ordered just cabinet faces to go on that wall. Our carpenter (who is awesome!) will build a new cabinet and hang the faces over it:

Its still a tad stressful but I am really, really glad things are starting to come together!!!!!

I must admit that this past holiday season has been one of the most pleasant, enjoyable, peaceful holiday seasons that I have had in a long time!!!! I’m sure that having a total of 11 days in a row away from the office (and only having to use 3 vacation days to get them!) helped, but…

We spent Christmas at my sister’s house and had a lot of fun playing the Wii with our nieces and nephews. Every one was on their best behavior and I think I can speak for all when I say it turned into a really nice day!

I/we spent the majority of the rest of the time demolishing our kitchen! This project is sooo much more enjoyable than the nightmare that was our new septic system in the spring!!!! Cabinets are ordered, granite color decided (haven’t reserved “our” slabs yet though), appliances selected. All top cabinets removed as well as the dishwasher. Next weekend, the bottom cabinets and island go.

Its been a lot of work, but fun! fun! fun! And best of all?!?!?! Not ONE ache or pain after all this lifting (and I won’t even talk about swinging that hammer while removing tile from the wall). Maybe the time and effort at the gym has done some good after all!