First Thanksgiving

We hosted Thanksgiving this year, and got to put our new kitchen to the test. We learned that convection ovens cook turkeys very very fast. Everything turned out great and we enjoyed sharing the meal with my dad and my sister's family on our new dining room table.

Richard keeps working on the house- he painted and replaced the hallway closet doors and is working on Owen's door. Owen helped him replace the front light. My dad is helping paint and prepare the nursery- we'll be needing that in about 4 weeks. The fireplace insert has been installed and the last step there is for us to tile the surround... maybe a project for 2009. In the meantime, we've been enjoying warm fires at night.

Moving In

Richard finished up painting this weekend and removed all the blue tape. We moved into the kitchen and Owen's room. We still have several boxes to go through (where are those coffee mugs?) but we've made a lot of headway. It will take a while before I can easily find where the different kitchen items have been stashed- and gets even trickier since Richard and I tend to keep re-arranging things- but this is a good problem to have.

Owen seems happy back in his room. Getting him to sleep has been challenging, but he's stayed in his bed through the night. Richard hung up his pictures tonight, and it looks clean and fresh in there.

Goodbye Dean!

See the rainbows over our house?

Powell and all the subcontractors and the port-a-potty have left our house. I suppose that should mean the remodel is done, but we still have some work left to do: Richard's still painting, we have a few more lights to install, and we need to tile the fireplace surround. And there's the little matter of moving everything into place...

Dean finished up this week on the deck and all the little details that were left to do inside. Everything was left immaculate. We couldn't be happier with the way everything has turned out. We both have said we'll miss seeing Dean in our kitchen each morning on our way to work.

We cooked our first dinner on the stove this week, and reheated it there the next night. The new refrigerator is in place and works great- the fridge is full now, and I need to move over the freezer stuff. It was a good opportunity to sort out all the expired condiments- yuck.

We will be moving upstairs slowly this week. It will be good to have our bedrooms again.

New light, Old light

Think we made an improvement?

Hood, glass

The hood was installed, we put in the microwave, the oven is in place. They also put in the first part of the gas fireplace insert. The glass for the cabinet doors was installed yesterday, and it looks great- seeded glass doesn't photograph all that well though. Richard put in the hallway lights last night. Left for next week: stair railings- inside and out, some wall patching, a switch for the disposal, and the remainder of the fireplace parts will be delivered and installed. Left for Richard: painting, painting, painting, and installing some more lights.

Lights!

and some more appliances!

Pulls and washer

The cabinet pulls were put on today. The plumber was here, and the faucet and disposal are hooked up, and the dishwasher is put in place. Dean finished the railing on the top part of the deck- here our are neighborhood deer checking out his work.

Countertops!

They're here! The countertops were installed today, and they are perfect. This granite is called "Empress Green." Depending on the lighting they are dark green, or grey, or blue-ish. They put the island in place so we now have the final layout. Everything looks great. Dean also worked on the deck railing today, and made a lot of headway.

white cabinetry

They finished painting the cabinetry on Friday. It looks beautiful. Our porch is nearing completion as well. This should be our last major week having folks working on the house- the countertops come in tomorrow, then the final electrical and plumbing, and Dean has a few projects to finish up.

More Painting

They finished painting the outside of the house on Saturday, and began painting the kitchen cabinets yesterday. Our garage is now a paint station for the doors and drawers. Upstairs is off limits again as they spray the rest of the cabinetry. This should continue through Friday. Dean has been putting in molding and base boards, and it is looking really nice.

No more pink house!

They started painting our house today, and I'm pleased to announce it is no longer pink! I am having a hard time finding a before picture, so this one will have to do. Now the house is brown ("mocha"), with white trim. Still underway, but considerably better already.

Beautiful Floors!

The floors are almost completely installed. They are pre-finished Brazilian Cherry, and look beautiful. New gutters also went up yesterday. The outside of the house is masked for painting tomorrow, and Richard is painting the window molding and baseboards in the garage. Dean's finished up most of the outside of the house work.

Green

Richard spent another weekend painting, this time making the front room green. Todd helped him today, and even Owen pitched in for a while. It looks beautiful. More cabinetry and our sink showed up late last week.

Get ready for a big week- floors go in over the next 3 days, the outside of the house is painted starting on Tuesday, and the cabinetry is finished this week.

Cabinets

The cabinets have arrived and been put in place over the past couple of days. They are just as drawn, and beautiful. We are very happy with the layout. The island, corner cabinets, side hutch are all in. Dean finished the siding and demo'ed the remainder of the fireplace brick, and is getting ready to lay down the floor next week. You can see the boxes of our hardwood floor next to the fireplace, getting acclimated.