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Monday, March 28, 2011

Kitchen face-lift {part fourteen} – Tick tock

All the contractors are gone and all that is left is the finish-out that we have to do. Things like:

  • Paint on the walls

  • Backsplash

  • Install appliances

  • Additional lighting

  • Trim


  • This may not look like a lot, but considering all the individual items under each of those five main points, the list is long. However, it saves us a ton of money to do it ourselves.

    Do you ever watch any makeover shows? Like What Not To Wear or Extreme Makeover? Well, let’s just consider this that seemingly ever-so-long commercial break before the big reveal.

    All the stuff Mike and I are doing ourselves will be at night and on the weekends so it might take a while and I won’t have a lot of time to post updates. But as soon as I feel like it’s pretty much finished, you’ll be the first to know.

    Or maybe my neighbors will be as I squeal for joy.

    In the meantime, I hope to start cooking again as soon as the appliances are installed. I have no idea what will be first. But I do know that all four of us are so ready to have our kitchen functioning again.
    Until then…

    **** Cue “Jeopardy” music ****

    You can view a list of all my kitchen updates here.

    Friday, March 25, 2011

    Kitchen face-lift {part thirteen} – A series of unfortunate events

    When we last spoke about the cabinets, we were waiting for them to be stained and finished.  Well, now they have been finished.  But there is quite the story.

    Plan A:  The first guy that was supposed to stain and finish the cabinets…. how do I say this?… well, he left the country.  That’s about all we know. 

    Plan B:  The sub-contractor we were going to use to do the drywall tape & bed and texture agreed to stain the cabinets and finish them.  Well, first he was delayed because of an unfortunate incident involving him being pulled over and having an outstanding warrant for a previous ticket that he thought was taken care of.  That set him back a couple of days and caused a scheduling crunch with some other jobs he had that were set to start. 

    He was going to do all the wall texture first then the cabinets and was going to work through the weekend to get it all done.  In the midst of that weekend, however, he had a family emergency that set us back another day.  He finally finished the wall texture and when we were able to look at it the next morning, there were so many things that needed to be fixed that we called the general contractor out to take a look before he started on the cabinets.  I wasn’t there, but apparently the general and the sub got into quite the heated discussion (so much so that Mike left the room) and the sub walked off the job. 

    On to…

    Plan C:  Our general contractor was on top of the situation and brought in another sub that afternoon to take a look at what we had, what needed to be fixed and try to get us on his schedule.  A couple of days later they started work and were done with the drywall work (thankfully) before my daughter’s birthday slumber party.

    The next Monday, they came in to do the cabinets.  We were pretty much gone most of the day to work and school but once Mike got home with the kids after school and smelled the fumes from the polyurethane he began to wonder if the house would be inhabitable that night.  I was with my son at t-ball practice (about 5:30 pm) when Mike called and said we definitely needed to find a hotel. 

    SO that day, we had work/school, daughter’s softball practice at 4, son’s t-ball practice at 5, Mike & daughter had Bible study that night in which Mike was leading the large group for the kids AND we had to pack up stuff and dogs and find a place to sleep.  And everything was going to plan.  Except that as I was at the hotel getting Nathan ready for bed before we went and picked up Sarah at Bible study, I pulled back the sheets on the bed and saw…. a bug. 

    Mike convinced me later that it was not a bed bug, but it was a bug in the bed nonetheless.  So we had to go back home, and get our own air mattress for the kids and sheets for the bed and the kids didn’t get to bed that night until probably after 10 pm. 

    On a school night.

    Sigh.

    We didn’t even try to get to school on time the next day. 

    The point is that finally, after 2 weeks with my kitchen encased in plastic and a house covered in dust, the cabinets were stained and finished. It was worth it, because this was the result.  They look great. 

    stained cabinets

    And there is another little surprise with the cabinets that you’ll have to wait until later to see.

    Oh the suspense… right? :)

    So, lessons learned from the staining of the cabinets and our series of unfortunate events experience:

    A)  Don’t plan on sleeping in your house after the cabinets have been stained.  Plan ahead and make other sleeping arrangements ahead of time.

    B) Either remove everything from your refrigerator or plan on tossing out most everything after all is said and done.  Any open food will have a faint to strong polyurethane flavor to it.

    C) Just go with the flow when you end up on Plan C (or D or E) for your remodeling project.  Because it’s bound to happen.  Remember:  It’s better to have it done right than done right now.

    You can view a list of all my kitchen updates here.

    Wednesday, March 23, 2011

    Kitchen face-lift {part twelve} – Stone and arches

    I’ve talked a lot so far in terms of the design elements being supporting actors and not the star of the show.

    Well, today I’d like to introduce you to the star of the show.  Or at least part of the star.

    IMG_0832

    IMG_0833

    IMG_0837

    We had a stone arch installed above where the new range will eventually go.  This arch mirrors the two arches that lead from our entryway into the living room.

    The range and arch  with stone tile backsplash will hopefully be a great focal point for the room  and, in my mind, are the stars of the show. 

    We’ll see how it works out when it’s all said and done.

    You can view a list of all my kitchen updates here.

    Sunday, March 20, 2011

    Disney on Ice – Toy Story 3

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    Out of all the Disney/Pixar films, Toy Story is, by far, my favorite. I can still get sucked into watching any of the three movies at any time. The characters are so wonderfully written and the story so engaging.

    And what mother couldn’t relate to the third of the movies on some level? I heard of so many mothers of college or near college age that were so touched by the ending and the whole premise of Andy going away to college. Personally, my favorite and most touching scene was when Andy was talking about each toy to the little girl that would be their new owner and telling what he loved about each of them. It reminds me so much of how personally God loves each of us.

    But now I’m straying from the topic at hand.

    The point of all this is that Disney on Ice is bringing Toy Story 3 to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, March 30th through April 3rd.

    Color Show Logo_D31

    It includes memorable moments from Toy Story and Toy Story 2 to create the ultimate Toy Story experience. It is a high-energy, jam-packed adventure that will take audiences to the edge of their seats and beyond.

    I have been given a family pack of 4 tickets to give away for the March 30th performance. So if you’d like a chance to win these tickets, here are the rules:

    • Leave a comment on this blog post telling me your favorite scene or character from any of the 3 Toy Story movies. (Please include an email address so that I may communicate with you if you are the winner.)
    • For an extra chance to win, leave another comment on this blog post and include a link to a Facebook or Twitter post about this giveaway.

    The giveaway will end on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at midnight. I will select the winner at random and will announce the winner on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 via an email to the winner.

    Never fear, if you don’t win the family four pack of tickets, tickets are available for purchase. I should be receiving information about any discounts on tickets soon and will share those details on my Facebook page and on Twitter.

    *Thanks to Feld Entertainment for my family’s tickets and the tickets to giveaway for this event. We are super excited about it!