Kitchen remodel (update.4) **new photo of sink

Wow, so much has happened since my last post. All our cabinets are in, all appliances are in and running (sans the disposal), contertops are on and SINK is in! See, I told you!

We've been kinda lazy getting it 100% functional. Now that we can use the dishwasher, we've got more motivated. Today I finished my 2 crafty projects - now Joe just needs to make them permanent. You'll see in the photos, but as I mentioned before, we had 1 cabinet that didn't fit. (The one above the microwave) After Joe cut it down and shortened the doors, we noticed the 'finish' work on the doors was completely ruined. We talked about sanding down the door and repainting, but it would always look different from the others. So we discussed covering it with something different. My 1st suggestion was the red paint from the brick wall, but then we tossed around an idea of fabric, then I came across some awesome black, white & red fabric at JoAnn's and I was in love!!  I'm not sure how the longevity will be...I'm nervous about splashing something on it and not being able to get it out. Or steam from the stovetop ruining the adhesive...I guess only time will tell. Joe still needs to hang them and put the handles on. And also my second project was the "splash guard." Our countertops didn't come with one and I didn't want to put the common grid tiles up and at JoAnn's (while searching for fabric) I came across 6 stencils that seemed to go with the fabric pattern as well. Then I found paint to match our color scheme: black, red, grey and now PURPLE believe it or not! :)  At home depot, I purchased just plain white 4X4 tiles and went crazy!! In the pictures I have a few of them displayed - I can't wait for Joe to mortar and grout them on!!!

We're slowing starting to 'move' back into our kitchen. The fridge has been stocked with food again - yay! - and we had a home cooked breakfast Saturday morning! (Nothing like the smell of bacon!) We still need to bring in ALL the pots & pans, the rest of the dishes AND cups. **OH! I also bought a few new dishes!!! I added pictures of them too. I was shopping at Kohl's for purple rugs and I stumbled across red and purple dishes as well as some matching colored bowls. I don't know why I decided to add some accents of purple, since the red was such an 'accent' color already...but with a white, black and grey kitchen - it just needed some extra color!!

Plus I love our sink!! Its a corner sink, but in an 'L' shape. Its very different and unique, so that makes it fun! I'll continue to post more pictures once its complete...if that will ever happen. It looks SO GREAT!!!

 My new dishes!! 

 Base cabinets went in - along with our range

 The picture of course doesn't to it justice - lighting is so bad in there for my camera, but this was the purple rug that started it all! Our rugs!!

 A full look of the room.

 I'm still so in love with my red wall!! We repainted the column that separates the kitchen from entryway. It was light grey, but I thought it would look better white. Plus we added base boards! (I got crap from many people about the base boards. They thought along the brick wall there shouldn't be any...but I vetoed. It NEEDED base boards.)

 See? They just look so good. My mom caulked them with clear caulk at first, but we have since gone back and caulked with white. Looks much better. 

 Big change! We've got counter tops, a sink and a dishwasher now!

My 'splash guard' - I think it will look great when finished.

MY SINK!!!
(the seam where the counters meet still needs to be caulked)

 Here's a closer look at the patterns.

 And my fabric doors - LOVE them!

 This picture is out of focus, but notice the under-the-cabinet lights. Way to go Joe!!

There will be a fold down table attached to this wall. I'm hoping it will go up tomorrow or Wednesday.

Kitchen remodel (update.3)

Holy crap-ola I almost have a kitchen!!! :)  My mom was awesome enough to stay almost 10 hours at my house last Thursday and got the entire kitchen painted. (I only had to touch up a few spots...I guess I'm better at painting a straight line.) Once the paint was all done, Joe did his final touches on the electrical and then we started putting cabinets together!! Joe and I (yes, I participated) put together the tall cabinet next to the fridge on Friday night. It took us ALL night!! I guess this cabinet is "supposed" to be a swinging door cabinet, but Joe wanted it to pull out like 1 big drawer. So since it isn't manufactured that way, we had to create it. We had all the parts..just needed the engineering. We finally got it put together and the rest has been easy, just time consuming. Here are a few pictures I took this evening. All the wall cabinets are up and Joe is currently working on the base cabinets. **We had a slight snag in the cabinet above the microwave...something about Joe's measurements or IKEA's website, but the cabinet came an inch too long. (According to my mom, the wall shrunk...haha...inside joke.) Anyway, Joe said he could 'fabricate' it and make it work. Its actually in place now, but he's still working on the doors. Have any of you been to IKEA and seen the "soft" close doors & drawers? If you haven't, you NEED too. I should take a video of it, but all our cabinet doors & drawers have this soft close feature. Basically, you CANNOT slam anything shut. It stops itself and the shuts softly. Its pretty cool!!  YAY! My kitchen it almost complete - check it out!!!

 MY RED WALL!!!

 There is the tall cabinet that took forever! It'll be nice when we have the hardware on it, so I can pull it out!

 Joe did all that hard work by himself!

 Here's the cabinet above the microwave in progress. Should have doors soon.

 I'm excited for this wall because I think we're going to put up a 2-top breakfast nook table!

Here are the different wall colors. The light grey is on the 2 walls with cabinets. I wish there was more of a contrast, but we can always paint the dark wall darker. It'll be a quick fix. We're going to wait until all the cabinets are in to take a look.

DOESN'T IT LOOK GREAT?????

Kitchen remodel (update.2)

Alright I apologize for some repeats (all are on facebook) but its has come to my attention there are few not on facebook that would like to see the kitchen progress. I will try and get those up to speed.

The last I posted was of the framing. Here are the pictures of before & during sheet rock.

INSULATION!!

And the beginning of sheet rock. (This was the LONGEST process of the all)

Now the mudding & sanding...ugh left the rest of my house SO DUSTY!!

Above is us ripping up the existing linoleum

Below is the cool texture on the ceiling

Sheet rock is done, paint in the laundry room finished. 

Now here are doors, shelves, base and FLOORS!

My -almost- finished laundry room!

New linen closet! YAY!

Here is the recessed/open closet behind the door

And the vinyl/tile we got for free!

Our kitchen as of 4/18/11

Flooring done and primed

Closet under the stairs

Joe did ALL the tiling. Now my mom is painting the kitchen this week and we pick up cabinets, counter-tops and appliances TOMORROW!!

Kitchen remodel (update.1)

Here are some current photos of our kitchen remodel. I thought the process would go much slower, but we've accomplished so much in just a week. You can see "before" photos here.

Our Kitchen as of 3/12/11

Sheet rock removed off all walls except one. We found a hidden window...weird.

Took a wall out for the new kitchen entrance under the stairs. Now it opens up in to our family room.

The air ducting will need to be replaced.

This picture is taken from the family room into the kitchen. I'm so excited! We're going to keep it as a walk way & use the space under the stairs as a pantry!

We found that all of the walls have this 'brick' texture. We plan to sheet rock all the wall again after framing...except this wall. (the wall that is still papered & this space in the new walkway.) The texture is very decorative!!

NOW

Here is our kitchen as of today, 3/19/11

Sheet rock is now off ALL walls and the ceiling was ripped out.

We had the air ducting fixed yesterday 3/18/11. Its hard to tell, but its now closer to the wall & ceiling. It was just pushed up and over. Now we'll have higher ceilings and the dropped part of the ceiling won't got out into the room as far as before.

This is my new laundry room!!!! The framing is up all throughout the space now. So you can definitely see the 2 rooms and how big they'll be. We're still going to knock a little bit of the "stair wall" down to make the opening to the laundry room more wide. Then plumbing is on Tuesday and wiring next weekend I believe.

This is me standing in the kitchen. The big fridge is still in there and was in my way to get a good picture.

See! So much progress!! Its exciting! However, it is still hard eating out of my 2nd bedroom...and now my washer & dryer are sitting in the middle of my family room. Oh well, its just temporary. I have to keep telling myself that. Stay tuned for more updates!!

Furniture upgrade

With our kitchen "under construction," we're starting to realize each part of our home that also needs work. Joe upgraded his TV in late January and we 'manipulated' our current entertainment center to accommodate the bigger TV. However, I noticed how much larger everything looked once we brought in the larger TV. It was just so overwhelming. The room looked smaller, we had less a room in the sitting area. Joe said it had a "Gong" factor every time you sat down to watch TV. Well, "gong" factor or no, I hated it. Here is a picture of what the larger TV looked like with our manipulated entertainment center:

This entertainment center is actually part of a "corner" set. Meaning, its actually supposed to bend and meet in the middle. There was a bridge piece that went over the center section and connected both bookcases. Obviously we had to lay the sectional flat against the wall to accommodate the TV. Its just BULKY, CLUNKY and DISORGANIZED!! 

We spent tonight finally switching everything over. Here is a picture of what the wall looked like after removing the LARGE entertainment center and everything else:

This is an excellent picture of the room layout. Look the left of the wall; thats where the stairs enter the downstairs to the hallway that leads to either the "kitchen/laundry" or this family room. NOW on the right of the wall, this shows our new entrance to the kitchen going under the stairs. That used to be just a storage closet. This wall is the main center of our family room - not my favorite wall, especially with the ducting pop-outs that are uneven & not centered with the wall. (But that's my OCD talking and it IS something that we can fix when we decide to remodel this room.)

After briefly looking online for a more organized unit, I went to IKEA, not only to find just a TV stand/unit, but to find DVD shelving. The one GOOD thing about the above entertainment center, is the storage space!! Storage underneath all 3 major pieces, plus ample DVD stacking in the glass area of both bookcases. I was definitely in need of a 'less intimidating' DVD rack. (I was extremely picky in this area.) IKEA has great, cheap & organized ideas - we all know that, right? The shelves we picked out weren't 100% like the picture I had in my head, but they were the closest. Here is a picture of our new unit put together:

Much better, right? Plus it doesn't come off the wall very far, so it makes our room seem SO MUCH BIGGER! Plus, its all organized, same color of wood on each piece and [I think] more sleek looking. I know it isn't centered with the wall or the ducting units, but where our couches sit, its centered. We're going to play around with it more, once the house isn't so chaotic. Now that I've lost a lot of storage space with the smaller unit, I have to find a place for all the crap I had hidden away in there. Plus my house is still cluttered from the kitchen project... Still so much to organize...

What do you think?

Kitchen remodel

Joe and I have FINALLY decided to remodel our kitchen. We've lived in this house for almost 2 1/2 years and we've had to deal with many challenges. The kitchen has met our needs, don't get me wrong. It is just extremely small and crowded, plus all the appliances are out-of-date and I hate that it shares room with the laundry. The wallpaper is completely ridiculous to the times and our orange counter top (and lack thereof) gives me a headache.

We've added a few appliances along the way. Our small fridge & stove that came with the house are still here. The fridge is used for over-flow and our stove/oven (3 burner stove!!) doesn't fit our cooking needs very well. We we're lucky enough to get a [new to us] fridge and dishwasher from my parents when they upgraded. See blog here. But we were still left without counter space above the dishwasher and the fridge is monstrous with no real room.

Anyway, the only real plans we have set already, is to put up a wall to separate laundry area from kitchen and we'll knock out a wall to create an opening to the kitchen from the living room. (We have a closet under the stairs that we are going to cut into and make it a walkway instead.)

My mom & stepdad Kelly are helping us with the major projects. Kelly is going to be helping us in his spare time from work, so it will take a little longer than usual. I'm okay with that because I know it will be done right and he has a few 'connections' that will help us with some obstacles; like drywall, ducting and possible wiring.

Its going to be A LOT of hard work and inconvenience for both us and our room-mates, but I'm hoping it will be worth it. Not only to be better for us, but to help increase the value of our home for when we decide to sell. And since we are still NOT pregnant, I need something else to focus on. I'll be posting updates (pictures) as the time goes on. I'm posting pictures on facebook as well, so please excuse the repeats.

Here are a few pictures of the progress. Sorry the pictures show my messy kitchen.

Our kitchen as of Friday 3/4/11

Our 'smaller' fridge is in the corner - that's where the new kitchen entrance will be

This is the view from standing in between both fridges

And the view from in front of the dishwasher.

And this is our kitchen as of Saturday 3/5/11 - All Joe's hard work!

The new "wall" separating the 2 rooms, will be where the stove is now.

It will shorten the kitchen, but I think it will be worth it.

And this is my temporary kitchen. Got my fridge, microwave & toaster all hooked up and the fridge is stocked. All the bins are holding pots, pans, food storage...anything that was inside the kitchen cabinets.

We're trying!!

Yes, we're trying to get pregnant. Most people are in the loop, but I know a few aren't, so I thought I'd get everyone up to speed and put an end to any rumors.

Joe and I have actually been trying to get pregnant since January 2010. Once we found out my younger sister/room mate, Andee, was pregnant with twins...our minds just got to thinking about it. We have been so "anti-kids" for so long, I think there a quite a few people who NEVER thought we'd have kids. (Me included.) But once we thought about it and tossed around thoughts & plans, we really felt like it was the right choice. It was very strange; almost like we accepted it the moment we thought it could be a possibility! We knew it was finally our time.

Once the thought & want were there, we jumped to it....literally! Haha!! I bought a few books and confided in my good friend Ciara, who was also trying for her #2. (I had so many questions!) Joe and I decided to keep it a secret mainly because everyone would be so SHOCKED we were trying...plus I didn't want people assuming we were only trying because Andee & Kelly were pregnant. (Which was a reason, but not the ONLY reason. Plus I just didn't want to be compared to her...especially because they were having twins.) We kept it a secret from pretty much everyone, minus my friends Ciara & Elizabeth. But then once the twins were here, it was harder to keep quiet.

Clearly since we aren't pregnant, you'll understand we've had problems. Last year was probably one of the worst of my life. It was so hard to constantly be disappointed month after month. (I know there are a few who completely understand.) Everyone I talked to about it, told me "not to stress or worry" because it effects the trying. Okay, well TRY IT! Its hard NOT to think about it. How could I not??? When you want something so badly, its always #1 on your mind. Plus EVERYONE around me was getting pregnant. My friend Ciara was able to conceive her #2, Elizabeth, who wasn't even thinking of trying when I first confided in her back in April, she got pregnant over the summer. My sister, friends, cousins, clients...EVERYONE! How could I not get discouraged when people around me tried once and succeeded? Ugh, it was tough. Of course with the my wonderfully supportive husband and my trusted therapist, I eventually got over my depression. Now the whole world could get pregnant and it wouldn't bother me.  ;)

I sought after a new OB/GYN back in August to talk about what was going on and unfortunately that doctor made it worse. I was hoping for support, empathy, answers, guidances, ideas..ANYTHING! All I got was, "You're over-weight and thats affecting your ovulation which is causing you to not get pregnant." The whole time I was in her office it was, "you're over-weight," "its the weight," "you need to lose at least 40lbs," "your weight is your biggest issue." Blah, blah, blah. If anything, that appointment only discouraged me more. I knew my weight was a possible factor. But the ONLY factor? I was devastated. I've been over-weight my WHOLE life and it never bothered me or depressed me. Now I was depressed about it.

I was so upset I stopped trying...well not the actual "trying," but I stopped caring. I didn't track my cycles, my temperatures, didn't take Ovulation Predictive Kits. I stopped caring about it all together. I decided to have the attitude that everyone told me I HAD to have = "It'll happen when its supposed to happen." BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!

Once the holidays came and my sister went through the horrible tragedy of losing a baby, I realized I needed to get back on board and figure out what was wrong. I couldn't accept that my weight was THE factor. There had to be something else - what if it was serious?  I talked to Andee about her OB/GYN and she highly recommended him and I knew I needed a second opinion. Of course he was booked 6 weeks out, so I couldn't get an appointment until January 21st. Ugh. It was hard to get through the holidays. Not only because of what my sister went through, but because of all the other healthy babies & pregnancies out there. Plus the "normal" holiday depression kicked in at some point. But once the new year started, Joe and I turned our frowns up side down and were determined to figure out what the problem was - at no cost.

My appointment on the 21st went amazingly well! My doctor told me exactly what I needed to hear, gave me examples, told me his thoughts and his plan of action. He wrote it all out for me on a calendar I carry with me everyday. He doesn't agree that my weight is the ONLY factor. He told me either, I'm not ovulating, my tubes are blocked, its a problem with Joe OR its something more serious that would require aggressive measures. Just the fact that he had a plan was enough for me to hear.

Since that appointment, so much has happened! The ball is rolling and I think a pregnancy in 2011 might just happen!!! I've started taking Clomid to help with ovulation. Joe had his "test" done and his swimmers are just fine. I unfortunately had to have an HSG test done last Monday. (A test showing whether or not my tubes are blocked.) It was probably the worst thing I've been through to date. (and I'm sure worse is yet to come.) Found out my tubes are CLEAR! Now I have to have a progesterone blood test next Friday and then the waiting begins. Waiting for ovulation and waiting for a confirmed pregnancy. My doctor wants to me to keep him updated with EVERY little thing, just in case we need tackle it more aggressively or we need to up the dose of Clomid. So we'll see...this is just the first month.

So.....there you have it. ALL the information and you're caught up to speed!! I have told quite a few people and I knew the info was spreading...I just thought I would lay it all out there so no rumors or untrue stories got scattered around. Joe and I ARE trying to start our family...finally. We're taking every measure to get there. No I'm not depressed or over stressed anymore. Please continue to tell me your baby news, I love to hear about it! No I'm not jealous about the twins and they aren't a constant reminder - they are the best thing that has ever happened to this household and I couldn't be happier for Andee & Kelly. And yes, Joe and I are FOR SURE ready for this next step in our marriage. Both mentally & financially.

Hopefully I put all wacky assumptions to rest.

Love to all - and send all your baby dust our direction. Let's have a baby in 2011!!!!