Here are Some Renovation Photos:

We are by no means finished. We are going to add pendant lights above the sink and eyeball focusing recessed lights above the cooktop. We want to replace the kitchen chandelier, but can't find one we like, so far.

These photos show the tray ceiling my dad built in our bedroom and the bottom is the kitchen. The weird stuff on the sheet rock in the kitchen is some kind of adhesive used to stick laminate to the wall as a backsplash.











Tomorrow the gutter guy is supposed to come and replace our gutters.

Guest C.T. for December

I am honored to be one of the guest creative team members for Julie Howard for the month of December. Here is one of her kits, "Simply Play" that can be found hereSimply Play Kit

miscellanous bits: Inked Edge from Studio Chic by Shabby Princess, Font: Pea Lis, Pottery Barn, Sketchy. Handstamped Alpha by Michelle Coleman.


:::::::::::::Template made:::::::::

Two men came over yesterday to create a template for our granite counter top. We have opted for Absolute Black granite. So, today we run around to the credit union to get the money to pay for that and then off to Ikea for the last of the cabinets.

Life is What's Happening When Your Busy Making Plans:

While watching the Blues Brothers(well, mostly listening)I put together this:
with a little help from Michael. He said that if I could put together Legos from the photo directions I could do this too! This table was a compromise to something I had in mind for michael to build. He noticed it in the Ikea showroom and I think he made a great find. I like the look and function of this piece. It's price tag also saved us on the order of $500.00.

For Chef Michael we picked up this:
This should be quite useful for Michael's creative cooking needs and will move out of the way and not take up too much room.

:::::::HOUSE Renovation update:::::::::
Michael and I are sleep deprived and my dad is close to overdosing on Ibuprophen for his aches and pains. Ahhh! The joy of renovating. Michael has finished laying the kitchen floor and put together about 1/2 of 3 cabinets. We have a contract for a new garage door and opener, the gutter guy is coming to give an estimate tomorrow. I discovered that the previous owners didn't use a primer before putting the wallpaper up, so my one day job of stripping wallpaper will probably be 2 more for stripping the paper, then putting a new skim coat. Followed by primer and paint. When Michael pulled off the old cabinets we discovered a large gap in the ceiling that we will have to repair and we will have to replace the sheet rock where they did some nasty mastic and laminate.
My dad yanked out the ceiling in the master bedroom, which I was able to dispose of before the rain came today. He rebraced it for a double tray ceiling. He has to re-run the ductwork and electricity, then put up the sheet rock. Maybe on Monday or Tuesday I will be up there putting in the wood flooring. Michael showed me how to stagger the seams, glue the edge and use the table saw. Eve actually likes piecing the floor, so I bet she would be a great helper.

Progress!

Aaron and Eve ran in the homeschool running Fun Run yesterday. Aaron ran 3/4 of a mile and Eve ran a 1/4 of a mile. We aren't an athletic family, so I was really happy with Aaron's time of 11.14. I ran with Eve to keep her going otherwise she wanders off to the playground. We ran 4:23. The kids all received ribbons with their times on the back.


::::::Siding:::::::

The siding is done except for some trim pieces. I need to finish caulking and then we can get the house painted.

We are going to start working on the kitchen this week, while my dad goes hunting for the rest of the week and off to help build something at his church. We are going to get the kitchen cabinets through IKEA. We opted for the Adel birch collection, so I will be pulling stuff out of cabinets, so we can get to the base cabinets and start the flooring.

I hope all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving!