Mom Time on a Dime

Since the oh-so fun announcement that Chris and I are expecting our first little one coming this September, I have already been bombarded with all the A-typical pregnant questions from friends and family...

Have you had any morning sickness?  (no)
Cravings? (eh, not really)
Do you have super senses now? (like what? spidey senses? no, I have not turned into Spiderman)
Are you tired? (yes, all the time)
Why don't you look pregnant? (because its still early, I'm tall, and the little bugger has a lot of room to swim around in there)

Pregnancy so far has been just fine and every day has come and gone without a hitch.

That was, until last week.

Chris and I were innocently just sitting around watching TV, when all of a sudden I had the feeling as though my life would end if I did not have some Rocky Road ice cream.

I asked Chris if we had any, to which he replied no, but we could get some next time we went to the store.

That wouldn't do.

What happened next, can only be described by video.  Enjoy

Here's the exactly link to it on youtube in case the video isn't working - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdKraLq9zoQ 

I had heard of the cravings and random mood swings that come with pregnancy, but I never thought I would get both at once.  Thank goodness my super-sweet, supportive husband was there to capture this little moment for all the world to see.

Honestly though, this was too good NOT to share.  I hope my embarrassment has brightened your Wednesday :-)

-Samm

No, we are not adding a second story to our house (even though we HAVE thought about it) or knocking down some walls to have a true master bath (all in good time)... this update is about other additions coming to the Little House in the Big D.

Well, this is actually mostly a brag...

Yes, yours truly is preggo.

For the past 15 weeks, I have been working (and will continue to work) on my greatest DIY yet... making a human being.

I know the lack of posts and updates have been downright pathetic recently, but after dealing with queasiness, fatigue, and endless backaches, I hope you all can forgive me and understand why I have been a little less than diligent in my blogging duties. (... lol, I just wrote "duties"...ha)

My due date isn't until September but I realize this opens the door for a whole new variety of housing updates!! Nursery, crib, bedding, decor, the fact that I'm going to try to find mostly everything we need via garage sale/craigslist.

Also, lest us not forget, we still have to squeeze in a master bathroom remodel before the little kiddo shows up.
Cause really, do I want to bring a child into the world knowing it has a pink tiled bathroom? No, Chris and I arent that cruel...

So yes, we are super excited and can't wait to continue fixing up our little house now with a little one on the way! Hopefully I will have a lot more housing/project updates now that my energy levels are picking back up.

Via Pinterest, I also thought it would be fun to catalog my growth.  Here's weeks 12 and 14 for your viewing pleasure.
I plan to post a growing update every two weeks since I dont think much can be seen from week to week.    Also keep in mind that I am 6ft tall, have a freakishly large torso, and will probably look like one of those women that you can never really tell if she is pregnant or constantly bloated.

Anyone else out there expecting? Or has any "first timer" advice?  Chris and I are the first to have kids on either side of our family so any and all help or KIND suggestions are much appreciated!

Thanks!
-Samm

Ok how long has it been since we started re-doing our kitchen? Early February? no... January?... no.... forever ago?... yes, I believe we started forever ago... a good timeline is key.

Even though it took us a bit longer than expected, I am oh-so-FREAKIN-happy to present you guys with the finished product....

Just to review, let's remember where we started...

And without further adu, our BRAND NEW KITCHEN!!! (feel free to scream like the Beatles are being introduced on the Ed Sullivan Show)

 Ohhhh.....

Ahhh....
 Work it... Be sexy... pose for the camera....
 Fabulous... nailed it...

Oh and remember this boring wall??
Yea, what now?!
 Awesome fridge? check... large wine rack to make me not feel back about all the wine I drink? check... Oh and to the left? are you ready for this??..

Closed...
 OPEN!!
 Yes, the sliding pantry I pinned on Pinterest came to life... and I couldn't love it more... seriously... come over to the house and the words "Have you seen our awesome pantry?" will probably escape my lips before the word "Hello"...

Opposite the fridge is the range, stove, microwave, and another fun hidden compartment to the left of the oven...
 Oh, what's this??
 BAMM... pull out trash can and recycle....
Isn't my trash pretty? You're welcome, internet...

Another feature that I am SOOO glad we put in the kitchen is installing the microwave in "cabinet space".
Both Chris and I are over 6'0ft tall (I know, we're freaks) but we really don't mind the microwave being below the counter at all!  We use the extra counter space 216x more than the microwave so it was a great decision that is really working for us.
 Do you want a view walking in from the dining room? Ok...
 And another...
 That view actually wouldn't have been possible before the remodel.  The side of the fridge was the first thing you saw on the left and it made the room feel even smaller and cramped... Now? Airy, open, and light!
We also need to take a minute and stare at the floors....
 No, seriously, STARE. AT. THEM.

again...
Why am I asking you to stare at the floor (which I KNOW is dirty and needs to be swept, sorry)? Because we had to redo them... not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES.  I've never seen Chris cry until that moment when we had to bring up all the floors again and relay tile for the third time. (side note: Chris would like me to amend this by saying that he was NOT crying, but just had something in his eye... like dirt, or thinset, or something manly).

Needless to say, we love the floor... and we love how it flows with the transition into the laundry room.
Oh, and remember our sink/faucet selection?  It's perfect...
 The sink is 9" deep, not to mention the added depth with the granite, so it holds a TON!! We also love that we did an under-mount sink. Its so nice to sweep any crumbs, food reminisce, or drink spills directly into the sink without having to worry about a clearing a sink "lip".
 "Samm, what about the backsplash?"
Thanks random reader, I'm so glad you asked...
 It's better than I could have dreamed.  The travertine hexagons matches the floor without being too matchy-matchy and I love the depth you get from the different color stones.

Another small detail that actually makes a HUGE difference are the false fronts we put on the exposed cabinet sides. Here's the ones you see when walking in from the dining room...
And the ones you see when standing at the sink...
Its one of those really subtle things that you wouldn't really notice unless I say something (which, overcourse, I always do) but I think it really finishes off the cabinets.  Having just a flat side not only feels a boring, but a little cheap.  I think the false fronts really class it up and makes the cabinets look like as much as we paid for 'em.

Other little difference that just CHANGES the kitchen? Having windowed upper cabinets that are lit.
 It really draws your eye up in the room and makes it feel even bigger than before.  Props to Chris for installing the mini can lights that are wired to our two main lights in the kitchen.   Negative points to me for not having a full shot of the ceiling to show you what it looks like with NO EFFING CEILING FAN... take my word for it.  Its amazing.  Our tall friends, as well as Chris and I, really appreciate not feeling like we are about to be decapitated every time the fan was on. I'll get an up to date picture soon, I promise. Sorry, kids.

I'm also really glad we decided to continue the beadboard in from the laundry room to the kitchen.
 THAT took a couple days... I mean really... look at those corners.  New threshold and all. (There's a small step down for all those who can't tell from the picture)

Here's the beadboard over on the other side.
 Its just another small touch that I think really works for the kitchen and I'm super glad we did it.

And I would be amiss if I didn't point out our new range hood.
 $650 at Home Depot? No... $150 on ebay #winning

So what do you guys think?

Quick post, but I HAD to show you guys this...

In addition to finishing up the kitchen, we are also working on the guest room (since we had to blow out part of a wall for our new, awesomely-amazing built-in for the fridge and pantry).  That being said, the room was in desperate need of new paint, baseboards, and crown molding... easy enough, right?

Chris went to Seconds and Surplus (in Richardson for those of you DFW people) for some baseboards and molding and then proceeded to send me THIS picture right before he headed home.

"They only come in 16ft strips" - Chris

My car, the unicorn.

My husband, the DIY car-driving dare devil.... for all those curious, yes, he did drive 10+ miles down a major freeway to get this home...

Illegal? Not sure. Amusing? Absolutely... never a dull day around here....

Seriously! No lie... we are so close to finishing the kitchen we can TASTE the future food we are going to make in it.

There is nothing more I rather do then post a TON of before and after pictures for you all, but it's the 1% that's still unfinished which is killing me.

Knobs/drawer pulls... kitchen hardware just generally as a whole.

Originally, Chris and I fell in love and decided on these Fintorp pulls (and matching knobs) from Ikea.

As modeled here by our pantry in our laundry room.

Measuring about 7" long (we loved it especially since a lot of our new drawers are really large and need a large pull to distribute weight) and only $7.99 for a two pack, we thought we were good to go when we originally started our kitchen demo.

Well, the evil kitchen gods must have heard our perfect little plan and decided to take a shit dump on it by having Ikea discontinue them.  Oh, why not just call around and see if they have them at other locations besides Dallas? Oh we did.  I even had my mom in Scottsdale drive out to the Ikea in Tempe and wrangle up their last 4 packages.
True motherly love right there.

With four packages down and only 3 more needed (we needed a total of 15 and we had one extra left over from our laundry room), I was super shocked to find that there were still four packages left... in Brooklyn, NY...

Lucky for me, I was going to be in NYC for work.... it only took a cab, subway ride, and water ferry to get me over to Brooklyn during my day off.
Only once I got there, an INCREDIBLY rude worker told me that I was wrong, they were completely sold out, and whoever told me they still had four in their system "must have had their head up their a**".  (Did I mention I flew to NYC, took a cab, subway, AND water ferry to get there?)

And so now we are stuck... 8 awesome pulls and 15 lonely drawers.

Chris and I have looked online for replacements and cant seem to find anything we like or that is under $20 a pull. (I'm sorry but I'm not spending $500 on kitchen hardware)

I'm sure we will find something soon... not to mention that my mom is coming in town this weekend and she has the BEST shopping karma EVER, so we'll see.

The 8 pulls that we have we plan to use in the bathroom for our new vanity (as soon as THAT project starts... now looking more at an early summer start date) and sell whatever we don't use on e-bay.  True story side note:  Our exact two pack of the stainless steel Ikea Fintorp handles just sold for $66.00 on ebay for one (yes, 1) set!!  Again, they were $7.99 normally at Ikea.

Do you guys have any ideas on handles or pulls?  We are trying to go for cottage shabby chic.  I would love for you to leave a comment with a link if you have any ideas!!

Thanks!
-Samm

Where do I even begin?
...I'm sorry?
...I failed you?
...I'm sorry I teased you with our kitchen and then left you hanging?
...I beg your forgiveness?

Yea, all of the above.

No, Chris and I didn't die mid-remodel, and no, there was no terrible accident which left me without the ability to type, post pictures, etc... I just simply got caught up with the 10,000 other things going on with life that I left you all without a word or whisper.

In my (pathetic) defense, I was also involved with two week-long trade shows (yes, weekends included), caught that AWESOME flu which has been going around (no joke, I only visited two spots in our house for 10 days: the bed and the floor of our bathroom), and then was in NYC for a week for yet another work trade show (just got back last night).

Excuses aside, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I AM SORRY!

Yes, the kitchen remodel is still going on (33 days and counting) so let me catch you up to speed...(I promise to go back and give a full detailed explaination of everything, but I just wanted to give you a quick progress report without going into every single project).

1. The floors are down and look beautiful... 

I'm loving our 3x6 travertine pavers in the kitchen... even if we did have to do them over more than once.

2. Our new fridge arrived from Sears!
 With tags still on and everything.
 It keeps our food cold and we love having water/ice in the door (a convenience we didn't have with our old fridge).

3. Ding-Dong the evil fan in the kitchen is down and dead...
 Chris installed and wired new recessed lighting which looks awesome! Makes the kitchen feel 10x taller!! (and yes, Chris patched the hole and you can't even tell a fan monstrosity used to be there)

4. Chris and his dad flipped the guest room door (it used to open right to left but now it swings left to right so you don't see our built in right when you walk in).
Somehow, someway, we found paneling that matched the existing room which kept it looking seamless without being awkward (**we still plan to repaint the room a different color but havent gotten there yet**).
 5. After a couple days of "down time", our custom cabinets came in and were installed.
 My favorite feature? Our custom wine rack and pantry for the built in...
 Ready for this???
 Yea, I know... beyond awesome... I seriously started crying when I saw it.  Real tears people, real tears.

6. We hired a fabricator to come cut and install our granite.

Why, yes, that IS a St Patrick's day beer pong table/work bench behind him... thanks for noticing our awesomeness.

Our sink was definitely the hardest part to cut out, especially since its so close to the edge, but I am happy to report all went smoothly and it looks beautiful finally installed.


7. After getting 8 (yes, EIGHT) different quotes to paint the kitchen, we finally found a company to make our cabinets all white and pretty without having to take a second mortgage out on the house...

Chris also installd and grouted all our back-splash that we bought at the marble and tile auction (remembered here) and his dad made a brand new, custom casing for the window above the sink.
 It seriously looks amazing.

8. After spending WAY too long picking out a microwave, we finally decided on one we liked and Chris built a trim kit for the cut-out space...by himself... saved us more than $300.

Don't worry, our countertops are red... we just covered them after install to make sure they stayed pretty throughout construction

 Did I marry a talented man or what?!

9. We spent a couple of weekends looking for a decent range hood (and even tracked down a couple unsuccessful Craigslist leads) before deciding to turn to eBay.
We are SOOO glad we did since we saved a bundle and couldn't be happier with the look and function of it! (again, full story to follow soon!)

10. I will leave you with our most recent update... Chris installing lights in the upper-upper cabinets.
They are wired to the main can lights and really give the room an extra burst of bright light!  I love them.

As I finish typing this out, I can hear Chris in the kitchen with a hammer and nail gun... I'm not 100% sure what he's doing (door casings?) but I promise, promise, promise to keep you guys more in the loop (especially since we are close to finishing... pray for us).

What are you guys most eager to hear about? My tears of joy over the new pantry? How painters wanted us to sign over our future first born to paint the kitchen? How eBay saved the day with our range hood? Let me know!!

-Samm