February 2012 a very busy month indeed

   

We definitely have a busy month ahead , we kicked it off with my birthday on the 8th and more importantly the 8th is also the 20th anniversary of the day my husband and I met , we have been together since. If your wondering I was 11, alright I was 19 years old. Just a baby...but of course I didn't know it .

I was very kindly given a beautiful birthday cake , sorry for the terrible photo iPhone . It is quite a task getting me a cake , as my husband and daughter have serious nut allergies we can't just go and buy a cake and I'm sick of baking my own cakes (  bday cakes are important to me , they just are ) Todd ordered this cake from The Cupcake Shoppe in Toronto , they are one of the truly peanut/nut free cake shops around that I trust and Todd works in Toronto so it worked out well for me, didn't it. It was a 4 layer marble cake with butter creme , and it was so scrumptious and moist and not sickly sweet. 

 I'm still on the hunt for the perfect counters for the kitchen. I saw a sample of Lyra Silestone and it is too dark , not at all what I am looking for. I do like this Misty Carrara by Dupont above, and Torquay by Cambria below. Misty is $90  foot installed and Torquay is around $100 foot installed , not cheap at all.

 I am really back to considering and seriously considering the real thing. I know the pros and cons and I have finally found many who love them , they are work but what good things aren't work???? seriously, kids tons of work , pets , homes all great things that require work. I will go with honed and we will seal it often. Since we will have an island with butcher block top we will make sure to keep high damage items to the island.

I know there is no rush to put up the island pendants but I will admit I have spent an alarming amount of time trying to find just the right pendants. These are Allen Roth from Lowes and are only $118.00, but I am really wanting nickel of chrome or raw brass...

I do however need to put some more time into our fridge but I didn't know the exact dimensions until just recently. Happily we have found the perfect fridge that matches our stove , it has all we are looking for and its pretty too , we love those handles.

I drove by the house as I do everyday and notice they had installed the railings on the porch, we are almost there , 2 1/2 weeks ...which explains this crazy mess below . There is still a lot to do especially outside but that will wait till spring at least a couple more months.

Please forgive the quality of this post , I am trying out my new laptop and its not looking so good right now , and I don't know why. I will work on it .

Surprise update

 I went a peeking in the kitchen thinking I saw a darkness , aka cabinets. And there they were , the cabinets were installed. I asked to get a look see and they were happy enough to oblige me. I am in love with the master bath, the shower looks like perfection to me. The vanilla painted cabinets look beautiful , lots of storage and a drawer for each of us. I even will be happy with the soapstone look laminate counters that we will some day down the road will change to marble.

 I wanted to get in to see just how much work I have ahead of me , I have a lot. I will have to move the uppers to the left of the stove over to be flush with the bulkhead and we will have to remove the cabinets and take out that 2 inch spacer above the cabinets , its a bit strange to me. I didn't know to ask to have that eliminated, but I think we can handle that little issue. I'm very happy I bought a paint sprayer. Remember these kitchen counters are temporary , there was no credit to eliminate them and we want to gift them to our lovely friends.We will paint this section of bulk head out like the cabinets and have a crown moulding installed , well I will be learning how to do that actually.

 Sophie was able to come for a peek , this is her bathroom . She is happy with the tile I selected on my own , it looks some what like cararra marble. She wants the cabinets to stay dark .

Its a big brown kitchen right now , but not for long I tell you . I am so happy to have enough room to get the fridge I want . I will be removing the cabinet to the right of the window and will be having open shelving there, they will become laundry room cabinets.I will rejig some of this fridge wall , raising the cabinet above the fridge and adding a gable there , this area will be a different color. I will make this area look like a built in not kitchen cabinets or that's my plan . And don't get me started on the island , it will be growing and housing the microwave .

All that being said , I know it will be the dream kitchen in my head , it will just take some elbow grease money time and patience.

Stay tuned for the journey starting in March.

Retail , oh no I don't want to pay retail

 I have been working on the flooring for our new house.I thought I would document a couple of detail photos of the process. I tried walnut water based stain I had used before around the house but it didn't give me the depth of color we were looking for . I went out and picked up some rich deep brown stains , one exspresso, yes it was spelled that way , and kona . Kona was an immediate home run. It was rich and deep , the top photo is how one generous coat looked and below two coats. I usually use latex as I just simply hate working with oil ever, but in stain I am a convert. There are no lap lines , it goes on flawlessly and soaks in superbly. I used Varathane that I purchased at Home Depot.

 Onto the issue of retail, well I hate to pay retail I really get a charge out of getting a deal. I am not the type to go out looking for anything and to make a purchase on the first trip out.I am a comparison shopper with everything but groceries. I often will go back and revisit a particular item several times before going ahead with a purchase. Waste of time? I think not . Having patience with my range saved me $1500...good things come to those who wait!!! I will wait for a sale .
Well lighting is very important to me , one of the most important decor items in a house. I have been visiting a local lighting store over the past few months deciding what kind of lighting I want for the new house.
We really only have a couple of local lighting stores here beside the big box stores. One store that I will not mention I visited twice , but after being ignored and brushed off by the sales girls ( both visits) who were too busy talking to each other I decided I would not buy anything there on principal alone, even though they had a good selection and good pricing.

 I went back to the highest rated lighting store just down the road. Todd and I had seen this light and we both really liked it . The scale , its big 14"x19" and the quality , its nice . We really liked the antique brass finish . It was originally $129.00 I believe then it was on sale for a little while for $99.00, I nearly bought it as a Christmas gift for my hubby but it wasn't in stock. So when I went in yesterday to see if there was anything new and to see what was on sale it was marked down to $49.00. Well that made my decision very very easy , I'll take two .....one for my husbands office and one for the laundry room. That pricing is boob light pricing.

It is beautiful . Pardon the awful harsh glow of my kitchen pendants please. This new light is twice the size of my current pendants which are great . I got these kitchen pendants in the back ground at Home depot years ago for $59.00 in the dark bronze, they come with varying lengths of extensions so they can work in many places, just in case you are looking for school house pendants.

Here is a close up of the new brass fixture , pretty right? I'm so thrilled with them and I can't wait to see them installed in 27 days. http://www.dvcanada.com/products.php?show_all=all here is a link.