Life

 As the home improvements slow down , due to a little bit of burn out I am enjoying my new kitchen from time to time. I finally hit the restaurant supply store finally that I have been meaning to do for a while. I found the ice cream scoop section , there were many different sizes to choose from. I chose a 2oz scoop , which happened to be the yellow handled scoop. For me this is going to be used for cookies and cupcake scooping only. It works beautifully unlike my cheap semi-broken one.

 What a perfectly scooped cookie.

 I have been hunting for a ceiling fan for our bedroom just to get the air moving a little. I like how quiet ceiling fans can be, I like the little bit of air movement in the summer especially. I have seen so many hideously ugly fans , they are so horrible. Who designs these things? I can not find one single fan with a light attached that I would want to see hanging over my bed. Something needs to be done, really. So my goal was to find a SIMPLE plain fan with no light. I am happy to say I finally found it , made by Monte Carlo. Its small simple and plain , just what I was looking for .

 Just in case you have been living under a rock 1D is is One Direction , a little boy band from Britain. My oldest Mason just loves them. The t-shirts they are wearing , well my husband made them for the kids, I guess it was a family affair. Of course getting tickets for any big concert is impossible, as soon as tickets for these kinds of concerts go on sale they are gone. Some of us tried online over and over and resale sites of course and some of us even tried our special connections , but we were not successful at making their dreams come true of seeing this concert . So sad , I truly tried and felt badly we couldn't get tickets, especially because Mason didn't whine and complain but just accepted she wouldn't be going , I mean she was sad but she was not awful.
But on Tuesday I remembered that the concert was going to take place and I figured I would try ticketmaster again , and to my complete shock , it WORKED!!! I was able to get three lawn seats , that's twice now that I have been able to get tickets on the day of an event. Her dad and I were so happy to make this dream come true. She cried of happiness....I was so happy I didn't give up. There's nothing like your first real concert.

 So with just a moments notice we all got together , two mom's and three girls and headed into the city along with I don't know 20,000 other girls. It was craziness , but it was fun. We handed them off their tickets , um scary, and they were off.
Where they had the concert there is really nothing to do unless you have your yacht handy, mine was in the shop....so when the ticket scalper asked us if we wanted to go in , it seemed like a good idea. They have food , washrooms and a PARENTS LOUNGE , ha we were there, $15 a ticket to chill in comfort , it was perfect.  I texted Mason to tell her we got into the concert too , she said " your joking , please say your joking" LOL!!!! nope ...I'm such an embarrassment to her , but I'm in her good books for now.

Just in case you aren't sure who One Direction is , well this is them . They had the time of their lives , and cried their eyes out, ha ha . I guess it was emotional , Mason said it was the best day of her life , what more could a mom hope for. So cute, oh to be a teenager again .

I'm trying to deal with my grass allergies and trying to muster up the energy to do projects around the house. I am currently trying to install the last set of drapes in the master bedroom , that's 4 in total, installing filler strips and gables in the kitchen , finishing up the stair wainscoting then I will move on to the upstairs hall and finish the floors and railings. But I have slowed right down as you can tell.
Hope you are enjoying the weather where you are. I am a sucker for summer weather.
Bye for now,
Chris

Before and afters

Kitchen island extension details and beginning backyard plans

I have had a few requests to go into further detail on how I extended our kitchen island. 

Well we started out with a very small island it was standard depth cabinets and three doors wide. I wanted it to house our microwave so I eventually came up with a plan to add an open cabinet to the end of the island. We need a microwave but I didn't want to see it. I made it the same width of the existing island and simply screwed the box to the end of the island. 

 I then wrapped this long "back" side with a sheet of plywood as well as the side facing the eating area. This allowed me enough material to attach the beadboard as well it added a little more size and stability to the island. I then added the shelve for the microwave.

 Then I trimmed and painted after adding two decorative stair posts to add more width for the counter over hang.

 We bought an island sized beech butcher block counter from Ikea for $269.00, what a great deal. We had to cut it down to size and sand the edges smooth and slightly curved. I stained it walnut and top coated it with flooring sealer. If its good enough for floors it should be good on a counter. We will never cut on this counter , cutting boards are always used.

 I hope that's enough information for you , if you are thinking of building or bettering an island. Building an island is pretty simple its just a box with doors and or drawers , its worth trying. This is the third one I have built.

I have been working on some backyard plans. I think this plan includes all the things we need. We have an unusual lot set up , but I think it provides and opportunity to be creative.
We should be getting our grass in the next two weeks or so I've been told. It will be so nice to have grass. The builder paved our driveway a couple of days ago , so things are moving forward. They will also give us one tree , the city will give us at least one tree hopefully two and there will be landscaping that the builder will also do. I don't know what kind of plants we will end up with , it will be a surprise. Some builders here don't pave or do landscaping , I am so glad our does. It is kind of like waiting for a surprise gift to arrive. Fencing will be on the top of the list for this year, and hopefully planting a couple of larger trees in the backyard. , we need a space for those two dogs to run and play.

Our bedford grey kitchen

 I could barely wait to show how the kitchen turned out since I finally got around to painting the base cabinets, I still have a few touches like the kick plate so ignore those,ok.

This is the morning after a house full of family. 

 We were having an after party to the big party celebrating my Grandfather's 100th birthday . This is my OPA, my Mom's dad. He recently moved to our city to be closer to family, I thought it was a great decision. He now has his very own apartment , I hope I live as long as he is. He looked amazing , he was happy and he even got a special ride to the party in an old police car. The finance minister of Canada Jim Flaherty came by to present my Opa with some celebratory scrolls and thanked him a couple of times for all the taxes he has paid, ha ha ha, it was very special to all be there to celebrate such a momentous occasion.
My Mom kept a huge secret from me , my sister her husband and my niece all made the long trip from New Brunswick to be here, sneaky family. I was more than shocked. I hadn't seen them in 4 years.
I was working so hard on Friday painting cabinets and finishing up the back splash tiling , the house was an utter disaster. My hubby knew about the big secret and tried to put the house together and even told me to take a break . It was futile I was almost done I wasn't about to pack it all up, I don't know how I didn't suspect something. They pulled it off. Of course I looked a hot mess.

 Don't mind all the dishes in the sink...seriously its full of dishes . I swear. I love the sink . Glad we went with a really deep sink. This allows us to hide the mess and the spray back stays more within the sink because it so deep. Our pull-out faucet allows to easy cleaning too.

 I still need to install the handles on the pots drawers.

 Everything turned out fine with the counters.

This is how it looks today , I'm so happy to have it to this point of completion , the little final touches will get done in time. For now I am going to relax and enjoy the hot hot summer weather, our air conditioner is being installed tomorrow , and looks like just in the nick of time too.

Have a happy weekend , hope your is long like ours is. Bring on the fireworks and marshmallows.

So what was done to this kitchen?
-5" pine floors were installed
- floors were stained dark
- bulkhead set back gap was filled in and trimmed and crown moulding was added
- wine storage was added to balance out the over extended bulkhead
- upper cabinet to the right of the window was removed
- open shelving was added to the right of the range
- all cabinets were sanded , de-glossed , primed and painted
- new hardware was added to drawers
- double garbage pull out was added
- island was added onto to accommodate microwave
- island was clad with plywood and then covered with bead board , two decorative legs were added to add width
- trim was added to the island and it was painted a second shade of grey
- power was added to the island ( by installer)
- butcher block counter was added to the island , stained and protected
-  fridge built in was created and trimmed with crown moulding
- water line was run for the fridge ( by installer)
- open shelving was added to the right of the window
- bead board was added to the hutch area of the kitchen as well as brackets
- new wood shelves were added to replace laminate shelves in the hutch and they were painted
- bamboo blinds were installed
- range and gas line were installed ( by installer)
- large hood was installed ( by installer)
- brackets were installed to upper as well as a small valance to conceal bracket installation
- subway tile was added
- two industrial style pendants and chandelier were hung
- standard counters were removed and marble counters were installed ( by installer)
- large stainless steel sink was installed ( by installer)
- new faucet with pull out was added ( by installer )
- dishwasher ( by installer)
- second hand kitchen table was re-finished
- chalkboard was added

I think that is is as of today , it took me most of the past 11 weeks , I thought 6 weeks , wow was I wrong . I have a hard time estimating lengths of jobs!!!
That list tires me out.

The baking hutch is complete

That's it , the baking hutch is complete. Oh wait I have to complete the base trim , never ending.

I have just completed the job of sanding all the remaining base cabinet doors and drawers. It was a dreadful task , but I am so glad its over. On to priming and three coats of grey on everything. It's gonna be a late night.

Special thanks

 I have to do a little happy dance because everything in my kitchen is functional, as of today I have a kitchen sink and beautiful faucet. Thanks to Delta for generously donating this beautiful faucet to us for our kitchen.
I love it so much . We chose theVictorian style with single handle and pull down sprayer in chrome.

 And I should say a thanks to Durham Marble and Granite for making me the most beautiful counters , I am so very thrilled with them , they are gorgeous.

 It is so nice to have a big beautiful sink. I have to say a huge thanks to The Appliance Connection , they were here to help install the hood , gas range , fridge water line microwave electricity and island outlet and at the same time some much needed basement outlets and today they installed a single drain and the faucet which was in dozens of pieces , they are great to work with and they did a great job for a great price , I would recommend them highly and I would use them again and again . I asked them where they work , they said anywhere...for if you are in the GTA you may want to give these guys a call.

 Everything seems to look better on the new marble counter.

My husband and I spoke last night and we decided in order to create this area into what will look like a hutch and buffet more than kitchen cabinets we thought it best to continue with the bead board, so I tackled that today. This kitchen is in the final stretch. Tomorrow I will finish the last rows of tile and now I will sand a bunch of cabinet doors , boo.

The Marble is finally here

I was so looking forward to the installation of the marble and it was as interesting as I had thought it would be. Of course I wanted to see everything but I didn't want to get in anyone's way, I think I behaved. 

 What a before and after !!!! It was not easy for them to get this large run of counter out , it got a little damaged but I think there will be more than enough for our friends to use in their kitchen at least I hope so.

 The sink will set in place over the next couple of days , there is an epoxy holding it in place as well as the wood for now until it all sets.

 It is true it is so much brighter and lighter in here now . The feel of the marble is devine , it is heavenly.

 I will be going to pick up lots of felt pads tomorrow. We will use the laundry room sink until we get the kitchen sink hooked up .

 I love all the variation in the stone , there is so much to look at , veins, both grey and white and even a tiny sparkle. It has been sealed 4 times already but I will need to seal it monthly for the first year. Scratches can be easily sanded out with 220 sandpaper. It is honed.

 You can see in the right bottom corner the seam, the only seam in this very long run of counter , its clean and tiny and it doesn't bother me at all.

 This is my baking zone , I can see myself rolling out dough on occasion here, much easier on marble so I hear.

 Loving this deep large one bowl sink, we will need to have some plumbing done .

 I'm hoping to finish off the rest of the tiling , I am so glad I did so much of it ahead.

 I am going to get to the sanding of the lower cabinets ASAP, I can't wait for it all to be grey, light and airy.

I just need to pick out a fabulous tile for this area!!!!

The kitchen is in the final stretch now , a little plumbing , painting and grouting , we are so close , I love it so much already.