All Shapes and Sizes

Humm... what to do while I'm home sick today...

I know. BLOG! It's ok, in about five minutes I'll go back to sleep and pick back up again.

Well, our cabinets arrived on TUESDAY which means they installed them on WEDNESDAY!!! Yay for cabinets!! This is the first thing that has really made the house feel like, well, a house. They are just gorgeous and even better than I pictured them in my head.... or in the design studio when we picked them out.

The cabinets are cherry wood with a "cider" stain on them. It is dark enough to not look "country" but light enough that you can still see the beautiful cherry wood grain in them. The counter tops have not arrived yet. Not sure when they will be in.

Other side of the kitchen, behind the island. Fridge goes in the hole on the left and oven/stove/microwave will go on the hole on the right.

Currently, there is no hardware, but we're going to do that ourselves once we move in. I was picky and didn't like what the builder was offering in terms of drawer knobs and pulls. E-Bay, on the other hand, has a very nice selection.

The cabinets, sinks and counter tops for the bathrooms were also delivered and installed. The cabinets are the same color, but the counter is white marble.

(Master Bath)

(Guest Bath)

See that big, blank space in the middle of the cabinets there? No, it wasn't a mistake. Bobby and I have grand plans for that little (it's actually kinda big) space. Perhaps our larger-than-normal clock (if you've visited us, you will remember it), or maybe some cool artwork, or even an artwork series of pictures? I don't know, what are your ideas? Depending on what we put there, we may hang track lighting from the ceiling to showcase whatever goes there.

Our beloved wall pantry! We had this unit custom built for the kitchen. It will add lots and lots of storage for things like mixers, food processers, blenders, small children... you know, stuff we wouldn't use on a daily basis. That's for the REAL pantry on the opposite wall. The top of the cabinet opens too.

All the cabinets will have beveled moulding on the top. Don't worry, they aren't scratches on the top, it's just some dust from Mr. Cabinet Man who installed them.

**DILEMMA** See this picture? See where the arrows are pointing? If we put drawer pulls on the...drawers...these two drawers will NOT be able to open. There's not enough space for the drawer to open with any kind of pull or knob. EEK! Not to worry, we've written the builder and hopefully he'll be able to fix it.

Other than that, it's smooth sailing! They should be repairing and repainting the drywall shortly and then our hardwood floors should arrive soon after that!

Schedule Update:
Day #60 - Friday, August 14, 2009: Drywall installed, not complete.
Day #61 - Saturday, August 15, 2009: Drywall taped and mudded (but not sanded), columns arrive.
Day #65 - Wednesday, August 19, 2009: Drywall sanded.
Day #66 - Thursday, August 20, 2009: Columns begin to be completed. Primer is applied to walls.
Day #67 - Friday, August 21, 2009: Columns finished!!! Walls painted. Trim and Doors delivered.
Day #70 - Monday, August 24, 2009: Baseboards, Trim and Doors installed!
Day #71 - Tuesday, August 25, 2009: Cabinets delivered.
Day #72 - Wednesday, August 26, 2009: Cabinets installed in kitchen and bathrooms!

It's All in the Details

I never thought that I'd get so excited about trim, baseboards and unfinished doors, but guess what:

I'm excited and I'm likin' it.

Door to the basement.

Baseboards! Don't worry, the gaps will be filled in with culk. Bobby assured me. I never realized how imperfect the drywall is. No straight lines here!

Our railings were installed along with the trim and doors. It will be stained to match the hardwood we got on the first floor.

You know why I'm so excited about doors, trim and baseboards? Because it means we're only one step away from getting my KITCHEN!!! Yes, that's right. Our cabinets are due to arrive on Wednesday and it should only take them about a day to install. The week after that, they should be installing our floors :) Can I get a WAHOO?!

Window Sills!!! Killian will park himself here permanently.

I'm so excited I could scream!

But not yet... pull it together, Melissa. We still have until mid-October until the house will be turned over to us. Mid-October, what?! I still don't understand why they think it'll take that long.

Lots of before-and-afters for you this fine evening. I was having a little fun with it, if you couldn't tell.

Here's looking into the kitchen from the family/great room:

Here's looking into the family/great room from the kitchen:

Here's standing in between kitchen and great room looking up the stairs and down the hall to the front door:

Ok, so Bobby and I are taking bets on when we'll actually close on the house. Any takers?? My guess is October 12th. Anyone built a house before and think I'm a silly fool for being so pessimistic (I hope)? Winner gets a free weekend to visit Bobby and I in the new house to help me unpack china. Just kidding. But not really... I'll bake cookies!

So, here's our schedule update thus far (starting with day #60 - scroll down for earlier updates):

Day #60 - Friday, August 14, 2009: Drywall installed, not complete.
Day #61 - Saturday, August 15, 2009: Drywall taped and mudded (but not sanded), columns arrive.
Day #65 - Wednesday, August 19, 2009: Drywall sanded.
Day #66 - Thursday, August 20, 2009: Columns begin to be completed. Primer is applied to walls.
Day #67 - Friday, August 21, 2009: Columns finished!!! Walls painted. Trim and Doors delivered.
Day #70 - Monday, August 24, 2009: Baseboards, Trim and Doors installed!

And our faithful progress point:

In other news, Bobby and I had our pictures taken this weekend by one of my favorite photographers, Natalie Franke! Here's just one of my favorites, but you can see more here: Natalie Franke Photography. It was so fun being on the other side of the camera, for once! If you're in the Philly area, contact her! She's going to UPENN for college!

Columns Schmollumns

Wow, "schmollumns" is surprisingly harder to spell than I thought. You should try it sometime.

Actually, don't. Because people will probably make fun of you for trying. Just like you're making fun of me right now.

Don't hide it. I can see you. You don't think I can, but I can.

Moving on. Today, our columns were installed!

I keep forgetting to add the "n" on the tail end of "column." Who came up with that spelling anyway?

SO, our columN's look great!!! They totally make the house. What do you think of our columN's?

ColumNs, ColumNs, ColumNs.

And now, it's time for bed because I clearly have not gotten enough sleep.

Good night and I hope you dream of columNs. Or not. But seriously, what do you think?

Drum Roll Please!

Within the course of one week...

Our house went from this:

To This:

To THIS!!!!!

Ok, so not exactly the same angles here, but you get the picture.

We had our Pre-Drywall inspection last Friday, August 7th. At that point, all of the trades (electrical, plumbing and HVAC) had been completed and passed inspection, per the county...and per us!

From there, they had to deliver insulation and the drywall and then install everything. Also, our front porch is still not complete. They were waiting for our columns to be delivered before the carpenter would come back out to finish the porch. THANKFULLY, the columns were delivered on Saturday!!! Hopefully, it will take them only about a day or two to finish up the porch.

The outside of the house hasn't changed much (the Progress Point has shifted temporarily as there was a ginormous moving truck where I normally stand - our new neighbors moved in this weekend).

Once the drywall is complete, I anticipate they will paint and begin installing all the fun stuff - cabinets, flooring, lighting, appliances, etc. They should be hanging the siding pretty soon, too.

It has been quite amazing to walk around the house with actual walls now! The house is starting to look complete and I can visualize how things will be once it's finished. It's starting to sink in now that we bought a house and it's going to be o-u-r-s! Instead of dates at the local restaurant, we've changed venues and now walk around Lowes, picking up paint samples, browsing tools, blinds, carpet, tiles, and more, oh my! I'm just kidding...we've only had a Lowes date once. But still.

We don't have much of a better idea about when the house will be finished and we can move in. They say about 6 weeks after they hang drywall, the house should be complete. However, they spend another 2-4 additional weeks making sure everything works, doing Quality Assurance-type things before we move in. BEST Case scenario will be 8 weeks (October 2nd) and WORST Case scenario will be 10 weeks (October 16th).

We're getting very excited!!! More pictures to follow when more stuff happens! For now, here's a tour of what the house looks like on the inside thus far.

Staircase going up, kitchen on the right and hallway straight ahead to the front door.

Family/"Great" Room

Master Bedroom: Bathroom is the door on the left, closet is the door on the right and hallway entrance is on the right closest to where I'm standing.

Our front door! Humm...now what to put under that window - any ideas??

That's all for now! BUT...here's the updated schedule:

Day #32 - Friday, July 17, 2009: Roof and framing finished.
Day #33 - Saturday, July 18, 2009: Tar tape on roof, ready for shingles!
Day #35 - Monday, July 20, 2009: Sheet Metal Work started.
Day #36 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009: Front Door delivered!
Day #38 - Thursday, July 23, 2009: HVAC Work mostly complete. Gas line installed.
Day #39 - Friday, July 24, 2009: Outside edging complete. Plumber dropped off pipes.
Day #42 - Monday, July 27, 2009: Plumbing mostly complete. Exterior edging complete.
Day #43 - Tuesday, July 28, 2009: Shingles delivered, front porch concrete poured!
Day #45 - Thursday, July 30, 2009: Shingle-work complete on the roof (still needs to be completed on front porch)
Day #46 - Friday, July 31, 2009: Front Porch started! Wood-working around windows started.
Day #47 - Saturday, August 1, 2009: Electrician arrives and starts the wiring!
Day #53 - Friday, August 7, 2009: Pre-Drywall Inspection
Day #56 - Monday, August 10, 2009: Fire safety system installed and inspected
Day #58 - Wednesday, August 12, 2009: Insulation and Drywall arrive!
Day #59 - Thursday, August 13, 2009: Insulation installed.
Day #60 - Friday, August 14, 2009: Drywall installed, not complete.
Day #61 - Saturday, August 15, 2009: Drywall taped and mudded (but not sanded), columns arrive!

Hurry UP October!!!!

Caving In

Here's the thing about cats: they pretend not to like you, so they put on this whole sneaky, creepy image. But really, they're just big softies on the inside.

Case and Point: Killian. This picture was about .0495 seconds before he swatted my camera lens out of his face. You can tell when he's irritated when his eyes start to slant. I'd like to point out, that if Bobby had taken this picture, Killian would NOT have swatted.

He only swats at me. Why is that?

Look at these paws... these babies have torn at our rugs, sliced fingers, caught stray birds flying around in our apartment...and shuffled excrement around in a box-shaped toilet filled with clay....

Killian's paws change colors with his nose. How do I know this? Better question is WHY do I know this? It has something to do with being snowed in one day last winter with nothing better to do. But that's another story.

To discourage Killian's self-righteous image and sneakyness, we gave him a pretty red collar.

I thought gray, white and red were a really nice color combination. Not so sure about that one? Just wait until you see our new house.

Killian's red collar also has a humiliating bell on it. Whenever he walks from one room to the other, it jingles. This is especially helpful to hear when Killian decides to charge my leg at full-force...with his teeth ready to sink into my calf muscle.

*Shudder*

Nevermind. You read about that story here.

See, the thing is, Cat's are sometimes deceiving. They are made so soft and cuddley, but when you try to cuddle, it doesn't work out so well.

Killian has a beauty mark. Or a mole. What is the cat equivalent to a human mole? Some people say it looks like a "cliff hanger." Get it? Ha. Ha.

Hold on a second while my mind goes back to second grade.

Ok, I'm back. That was almost bad - visions of Minnie Mouse T-Shirts and stirrup pants.

*Shudder*

I don't mind his beauty mark. In fact, I think it makes him look quite distinguished. I don't think he's amused though. Note: eyes have become slivers.

But here, my friends, is the true test of Killian's weakness. This is for all the marbles right here. While Killian may act tough, he's nothing but a big, fat, furry teddy bear on the inside.

Complete mush, I tell you.

I won't show affection. I won't show affection. Ok, maybe just a little. It. Feels. So. Good!

Killian is partial to the under-chin rub.

...and, he cracked. Pshhh.... it gets him every time.

Or at least for two minutes where he's not swatting at me or my camera lens.

Good Boy, Killian. I see right through you and your thick...fur.

Happy Wednesday!

A Lame Vehicle

Pie was the absolute best vehicle I could think of to get my fresh blackberries and peaches into my tummy.

It was lunch, dinner, and dessert for me and Bobby today.

It just may be breakfast tomorrow morning, too.

Hope your week is just sweet!

The Berry Monster

The first summer Bobby and I spent together as a dating couple, we had made plans to go down to Ocean City, MD with his family.

We were so excited at all the opportunities we would have to be romantic and lovey-dovey with each other. I had been hyping myself up for weeks thinking about this trip! I always knew that Bobby thought I was beautiful, and I tried - with every ounce of myself - to keep it that way.

We drove down at night in his brand new Jeep wrangler (top down) and had been making plans the whole way down to walk down to the beach, drink some...sparkling cider..., and whisper sweet nothings into each others ears. Perfect.

Sorry guys, I know I've lost you. Just hang in there.

We arrived to the beach house after dark and, in an effort to lose those last five pounds before I let Bobby see me in a bathing suit, I had barely eaten anything all day. I was famished.

THANKFULLY, I managed to be ready before Bobby, so I waited patiently downstairs for him to head to the beach. My sweet and thoughtful (now) mother-in-law had bought fresh blueberries and left them out on the counter for people to nibble as they passed through. Everyone was asleep already, so I let my thoughts wander.

Blueberries are healthy, right? They won't totally ruin my diet this weekend. I slowly (and regrettably) justified what I was about to do in my mind.

I started eating - no, shoveling - blueberries into my mouth to satisfy my raving appetite. As I leaned in closer to get more berries into my mouth in a shorter period of time, I looked up to make sure no one was watching me...it was then that I saw Bobby. Frozen. In shock.

It was at that exact moment in time that changed the dynamic of my relationship with Bobby forever. At that exact time, I also realized that I looked like a complete fatty to my beloved (then) boyfriend. It was also the exact moment that I earned the nickname, Berry Monster.

To this day, I've never lived it down.

So this afternoon, a friend and I traveled up the road to a local berry farm to pick some blackberries. PYO was the acronym of the day (Pick Your Own). We picked, and picked, and picked and ate some, then picked and picked, and ate some more, then picked...

(Note to self: Dresses with any white on them are not appropriate attire for berry picking). At least I have smart friends...Allison wore all dark clothes so stains wouldn't be as noticeable. I took one for the team though, and attracted all the mosquitoes so she wouldn't get bit.

After traipsing through the fields of Southern Maryland, we stopped at a local produce stand.

When we got in the car, I felt so good about myself for bringing out the tree-hugger in me. We supported the local agricultural community, treated our bodies to hormone-free produce, and dug our feet in to the soil of this good earth.

And then I realized how beautiful this earth is. God has put us here to enjoy it, take care of it, and praise Him for His goodness. So, next time you're enjoying the great outdoors, take a second to revel in God's goodness and the beauty He's put here for us to enjoy.

Oh, and try not to let your boyfriend/husband/significant other see you shovel berries into your mouth when you think no one's looking!

Big Additions

A LOT has happened with the house in the past few days...

On Thursday (Day #45), our shingle work was complete! The builders worked until about 9:00pm and they were done in ONE day! Pretty amazing...

On Friday (Day #46), the carpenter returned and was working on building our front porch! The front of the house looks very different now...a little more complete. The carpenter was also working on framing out the wood work on some of the windows in the front of the house.

I've mentioned this before, but the style of our neighborhood is very "craftsman" style, so there are lots of wood details on the front of the houses. Once the columns are installed, that will really give the house a craftsman look (our columns are tapered, not the traditional straight columns). I've also heard this style called "Bungalow" style house.

Yesterday, we went back to the house to check things out and something was STILL happening at the house! Day #47, Saturday, the electrician started his work! This is the last of the trades to do their work before insulation and drywall! I think electrical work is also the trade that takes the longest. BUT, it seems like he's been working around the clock because when we went to check out the house again today (Sunday, Day #48), he was still working away, playing Bob Seger Classics from his work van.

SO, there's much excitement brewing from our humble apartment today. We're still trying to get over the Mid-October kick in the stomach that we received last week. But, I realize it's not in our control and we're trying to see it as a blessing.

Since every time we went to visit the house and people were there, I couldn't get my regular Progress Point Picture, but I was able to get a few :)

Substitute for Progress Point Picture, taken on Day #46.

Day #45 - Shingles Complete!

Day #46 - Front Porch is being built! Where there are wood posts, there will be pretty, white, tapered columns!

And your trusty schedule update to keep you informed:

Day #32 - Friday, July 17, 2009: Roof and framing finished.
Day #33 - Saturday, July 18, 2009: Tar tape on roof, ready for shingles!
Day #35 - Monday, July 20, 2009: Sheet Metal Work started.
Day #36 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009: Front Door delivered!
Day #38 - Thursday, July 23, 2009: HVAC Work mostly complete. Gas line installed.
Day #39 - Friday, July 24, 2009: Outside edging complete. Plumber dropped off pipes.
Day #42 - Monday, July 27, 2009: Plumbing mostly complete. Exterior edging complete.
Day #43 - Tuesday, July 28, 2009: Shingles delivered, front porch concrete poured!
Day #45 - Thursday, July 30, 2009: Shingle-work complete on the roof (still needs to be completed on front porch)
Day #46 - Friday, July 31, 2009: Front Porch started! Wood-working around windows started.
Day #47 - Saturday, August 1, 2009: Electrician arrives and starts the wiring!