Is this weird?

All of these are currently in our fridge:

I think that we really love ourselves some yogurt around here.

Eating Demolition-style

One of the most common questions I've been asked regarding this whole remodeling project is about how and what we've been eating. Truthfully, it hasn't been as bad or as hard as I had expected. I'm kind of proud of us that we've ordered out only three times so far. We have set up a temporary kitchen on our dining table moved into the front room.
I've been cooking by using a borrowed electric skillet, a rice cooker, a crockpot, the microwave and the waffle iron. We eat a lot of skillet stuff, like stir fry, something in a Trader Joe's simmer sauce, or a simple ratatouille. I can do all the vegetables, meat or tofu in the skillet and then serve it over rice or couscous. When I put the veggies over couscous, I will "boil" water in the microwave and then pour it over my couscous grains and seal it all in a tupperware for 10 mins to "cook." Once I went to a friend's house and made a huge pot of hearty soup that we reheated to eat for two days worth of dinners.

Here's Adam making waffles--our after Church tradition.

The part that I'm getting the most sick of, however, is washing dishes in the laundry room. It will be really nice to have kitchen sink and dishwasher again.

Kitchen, part 3

Here come the cabinets. It's starting to look like a kitchen again!
This first photo is from the opposite side of the room than I am usually standing in to take progress pictures. I'm standing in the DR doorway right now. Here's the wall that will be the sink and fridge side. The fridge will go in this close leftside corner, then the DW, then the sink base. There will be two upper cabs for either side of the window and a cabinet over the fridge.

This next photo is the wall that used to be our "eat-in" area on the opposite side of the room from the DR. I'm usually standing here when snapping photos. This will be our "mud room" since that back door you can partially see is our main entrance to the house from the garage. In fact, it's more commonly used by visitors, neighbor kids, etc. than is our front door. And since everyone comes in here and just drops their shoes, bags, groceries, mail, etc., but it was always an unorganized and cluttered space. I needed something more suited to the way we live. So this will give me some cabinet space for pans, small appliances, etc, but then we'll have this little bench area for kids to sit and put on/off shoes as they go in and out, there will be drawers below for shoes, scarves, mittens, etc. in the winter and swim goggles, flip flops, etc. in the summer. And there will be some hooks on the wall for hanging backpacks, the diaper bag, and stuff. Then there will be open shelves for my cook books and all my chachka, and then I will have a little "office" area on the right as a place to organize mail, calendar, and all the week's school stuff. Well, this is the idea anyway. Here's Adam testing out a piece of cardboard as a countertop to simulate our island. The island is in cherry (and the perimeter cabs are in painted maple) and we'll have a slide-in downdraft range in the middle. There will be a 12" overhang for some saddle stools and a place for kids to eat breakfast and snacks. It won't be a transition to be eating all of our family meals in the DR as we were doing that already as our "eat-in" area was too small for a table that would seat all of us.
We'll have soapstone countertops that we....uh, I mean Adam..... is fabricating and installing himself. We found a place in New Jersey where we can buy the slab for a quarter the price of going through a normal fabricator/installer. Soapstone is a softer stone than granite and it can be dry cut. We found a few people online who have done it DIY and so Adam has been in email contact with one guy back and forth and with the stone supplier about the details. It's looking somewhat promising, and we don't an especially difficult space either. It looks like we'll only have to do one seam. It's the cut-outs for the undermount sink and the stove that will be tricky.

This picture is a mock-up with some paper plates to give me a feel for choosing some pendants for the island. I've been in agony for a couple of days about choosing a pendant. Well, I finally ordered one since the electrician will be back on Monday to wire in the stove and the rest of the plugs. I sure hope I like them. I'll leave the details until then just in case I say what they are and then I get negative feed back. I'm not sure I could take it right now. So, whatever you see after Monday, just tell me they look great!

Everything is pretty exciting right now. However, we've hit a few snags: most of the drawer fronts were slightly different color than the rest of the cabs and doors; no seat top for the bench built-in; two warped doors on the pantry wall; ends are slightly different color than face frames; sent wrong size for over refrigerator; and wrong size ordered for side of window. Yikes.
Can you see that the drawer on the left is lighter than the one on the right?
So yesterday the Company Rep and the salesperson who sold us the cabs came out to evaluate. It was a good meeting and the Rep saw that we were not just making this stuff up or being overly picky. So they took a good door and will send it back to do some color matching for the replacement parts and for some skins to fit over the ends. They'll also re-order replacements for the warped doors and for the wrong sized cabinets, and they're going to custom make a top for the bench area for us. For the most part it means that we can still move ahead with the installation, floors, and counters to getting a functional kitchen. The down side is that it puts us a good 3 weeks out from getting completely finished as we can't do anything about the uppers and trim installed along sink and fridge wall.
Oh well.

Ok. This is where we are so far.

Demolition 2008: Kitchen pt. 2

Somehow, weirdly, I don't think that I took many pictures of the project all last week. But don't think that stuff's not been happening; here's where it is today:

So, now we have everything completely drywalled, mudded, sanded, primed, and painted. I had a bit of a freakout about the paint color, and Jesse actually painted it for me two different times. I've finally settled on Benjamin Moore's Chestertown Buff for both the DR and the Kitchen. It's actually the same color that we painted the DR a couple of years ago (that Adam so nicely referred to as the same color as a newborn's diaper contents), and I was trying to find something to go with it in the kitchen, but yellows can be so tricky. And so now I'm just doing the same for both--I like the color, it meets the needs of the look that I'm going for in the space, and it helps me make the two areas flow together nicely. Besides, you can always change paint.

In addition, we're planning a wainscot wall paneling for the DR. We found this website that sells these kits where you buy a bunch of the pieces (stiles, rails, shoe moulding, etc) and then just mount them on the wall and paint it all white so that the wall itself becomes part of the paneling. It's a relatively cheap way of getting that raised paneled "look." Of course, once we read through the site where they say that their paneling is composed of mdf boards routed with a reversible bit, we thought that we might as well buy the mdf board and the same router bit and do it ourselves (and by we I mean I thought that Adam could do it himself for me, of course.....I think that Adam is starting to feel like I don't count what his time is worth at all).




Adam set up a kind of router table on the floor of the garage, since the garage is currently quite packed with all our unboxed cabinets and other tools. He must have done about 6 hours solid work on his knees getting everything set up, adjusted, and then running the planks through the router. I think that the finished product is going to look really fabulous, however. Thank you, my dear.

Ok. So, today I will go to pick up the new windows (note to self: next time, order windows much, much earlier) so that Jesse (our friend doing the work) can put them in this afternoon. Jesse is also hoping that we can start installing the cabinets today as well--yipee!!

Easter in Charlotte

We know two fabulous familes living in Charlotte, NC, so we thought that if we invited ourselves down for Easter this last weekend, that at least one of them would certainly not only put us up, but feed us a ham dinner as well. Lucky for us, they know each other so we got to spend time with both families, see a few sites in Charlotte, have a fantastic Easter dinner, and an overall really memorable weekend.

(Duh! I just figured out after-how-many-months how to upload more than one picture at a time. So be prepared for the mini-photo essay! It's my substitute scrapbooking.)

Anywayzzzz, we left Thursday night after Adam got home from work. Note to self for next time: Charlotte is not 6 1/2 hours away as previously thought, but at least 8 hours of solid driving. (Oops...sorry about that Adam...and thanks for doing the lion's share of the driving.) While the kids were awake we listened to Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning read by Tim Curry. It was a wonderful recording and Tim Curry is a seriously scary Count Olaf. All of us are really excited about checking out the subsequent books' recordings. And now we've taken to calling Isabel "Sunny" since she most often says no more than "Gak!" but we're certain that she really means stuff like, "I always enjoy a good puttanesca sauce, especially when the capers are fresh."

Due to the initial miscalculation on our ETA, we arrived at Mike and Karen's, at 3am. They let us sleep in and then made us German pancakes for breakfast. Talk about vacation already! They live near downtown Charlotte, so we got to take a peek at urban Charlotte while we went to the Discovery Place museum--and from what I saw, it looks like a pretty nice place to live.
The museum was very fun and the kids were so occupied that they didn't even notice that we hadn't brought them any lunch, nor did we go out to find any snacks until well after 2p.m.

After the museum we went back to their house for Siena's very fun (it had a unicorn theme afterall!) 5th birthday party.

At the party each of the kids got to make these crowns, which Siena, Olivia and Max wore for the rest of the day...even when we went out for dinner later that evening.

We went out that night for Southern BBQ at a place called Mac's BBQ in downtown Charlotte. It was a real biker bar complete with plenty of bikes and bikers in full-on leather. I couldn't help but notice that more than a few of the women (if not in their biker leather) were all gussied up for eating out at a place with picnic tables and paper cups. Is this a Southern "Belle" thing? Oh, but that reminds me of a real Southern thing that I learned (besides the fact that children respond to even simple questions with a "Yes, Ma'am"): BBQ is actually only called BBQ when it is pork; all else is a "cook out." You could never invite your friends over for a backyard BBQ and serve them chickenbreasts marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and basil. No, Ma'am!

Here's Talia giving us quite a show after sucking on a lemon. (The bike in the background is not a decoration.)
The BBQ was finger lickin' good and we sampled lots of fried foods. We really liked Hush Puppies, but mostly I liked that Max called them "Sleepy Puppies" when trying to remember what they were.

On Saturday morning we went out to Matt and Carrie Burton's house. They have 3 kids, each the same age as our kids, but in opposite genders as ours, so the matchmaking is already complete. Actually, wouldn't it be so great to pick out your kid's spouse mostly so that they get some really awesome in-laws. Think of the combined family vacations we could all have!

Carrie packed everyone a picnic lunch and so we all went to eat our lunch at the Historic Latta Plantation that is just outside of Charlotte and near the Burton's house.

(Little side thought: they have Civil War reenactments at the Plantation--which side do you think wins in the reenactment?)

After the plantation we went back to the Burton's to enjoy a little slice of surburban paradise. They live in a charming little community and have a (stocked) pond out just beyond the backyard. We spent the afternoon in gorgeous spring weather in the back yard having some smooth sippin's, playing catch with the kids, lounging on the lawn (which is actually already green in NC), and letting the kids "fish" in the pond. It was great.




Sunday morning the kids woke up to some pretty cool Easter baskets (thanks, Carrie!) and a little mini-chocolate egg hunt around the house. We wore our finery to church and attempted at some family photos (well, actually, I never got around to buying any new Easter dresses for the girls--it kind of sneaked up on me this year). Look whose family is a wee bit better at the photogenic/posing aspect of picture taking.

Oh well.

We had to leave that evening to be back for work this week, and now armed with a more accurate driving time, Adam insisted that we leave at 4pm. So after church we tried to squeeze in some Easter egg coloring, a pretty enormous egg hunt, and a delish dinner (with cream puffs for dessert!). We got on the road at 5pm., but I didn't feel bad about the one extra hour at all because it was hard enough to leave then. Oh, and, a big thanks for doing all the driving again, Adam.

A future engagement photo?










Thanks guys. I hope you don't mind when we invite ourselves again next year!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

It comes as no surprise that we take St. Patrick's day pretty seriously around our house (at least a sober celebration of St. Patrick's Day, that is). We color our milk green, we listen to Paddy Reilly, we eat corned beef and cabbage, I wear my shamrock socks and pull out my "World's Tallest Leprachaun" rosette, and I certainly take it a little personally if people don't wear green for the day.

But I'm not just posting this as a place for everyone to wish me a very Lucky Birthday (although, feel free to of course!), but because I just found out about this little Irish (or should I say, "Irish"?) treat that Max's primary teacher gave me today and I totally couldn't wait to share....

Irish Potato Candy

It's a little candy made from cream cheese and coconut, and rolled in cinnamon, making it look just like a little potato. They are seriously sweet, but for a once-a-year thing when you need something to combat the taste left by the caraway seeds in your soda bread, it hits the spot. Now, I haven't made them myself yet, but it looks pretty easy as there's no baking required. If you try them, be sure and let me know how it goes.

Irish Potato Candy
1/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 Tb ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. Roll into tiny balls that are potato shaped, and then roll in the cinnamon. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. If desired, roll potatoes in cinnamon again for darker color. Makes approx 5 doz candies.

(Eds. note: the ones I tried were pretty small, about the size of a gnochi. Any larger and I imagine that the sweetness would be way too much at one time.)

P.S. I thought I'd add this picture of the Irish Potatoes that Adam and the kids made for me in lieu of a birthday cake.

It was a very fun birthday with much well-wishing from lots of friends and family. I felt a little spoiled with all the attention...so, many thanks!

AWOL no more

Ok. I've had a few complaints about my blogging whereabouts for the last several weeks. And I admit, it seriously soothes my ego to know that I've been missed. Thanks. Truthfully, I've missed keeping up on everyone else's blogs too.

Really, though, I've been crazy busy. I can't quite figure out where the time is going because I'm feeling lucky to just get the basics done. And then every evening is spent pouring over websites to determine which is the best/but most affordable window...or faucet...or sink...or knobs..or stove...or.... What is happening is that I'm facing the cold, hard reality that I'm just not one of those people who can do it all. Maybe this is because I'm just not a super organized person by nature. Or maybe I can blame it on this early daylight savings change; or maybe I need a secretary; or mabye I should take up a diet coke habit? Whatever it is, I feel more than a twinge of guilt at sitting down to any sort of blogging when poor Olivia has spent the better part of the week before wearing Max's underwear as hers is all used up and stuck in some laundry limbo.

However, the kitchen project is now humming along nicely and nearly all major purchasing decisions have now been made/ordered. And the laundry is now caught up (as are all the unwatched episodes of Lost), and I don't have any upcoming book group books to read, preschool lessons to teach, volunteer assignments at school, or Sharing Time lessons to prepare.

Perhaps I see more blogging in my future.