1 year, 1 month, 8 days. It's been awhile. It's been crazy busy. We've added a new member to the family, Anson aka Mr. Chunkers (well 2 actually, Bloop Bloop T. Fish I to later be replaced with Bloop Bloop T. Fish II). We turned another year older. And I have been MIA in the land of blog. But we are still in the same house.
5.5 years. That is how long we have lived in our little split level. We bought in the height of the housing boom. After having offers being outbid on 3 houses, we jumped on this one practically the day it went on the market. We dove in to suburbia with little to no knowledge about "home ownership." Do we have regrets? Absolutely. We had no idea what to look for in a house. We had no idea what kids would do to our lives. And we had a home inspector that missed some things. But it has been a great learning experience for both of us and we are more informed and much handier than we were all those years ago.
5000 projects. That was our to-do list when we moved in. To date we have completed about 20 of them.
1 kitchen renovation. Before we closed on the house we had every intention of redoing the ridiculously small kitchen immediately upon move in. After meeting with several contractors and getting quotes from $10,000 to $25,000 we were just about to sign on the line to get underway when I discovered I was pregnant with Ainsley. The project was immediately placed on hold, of course. Fast forward to last month. I had a handy man come over to talk about fixing simple electrical issues and patch some ceiling problems and 20 minutes later we were mapping out plans to gut the kitchen and create anew.
I am slightly ashamed of the tiny kitchen I put up with for so long. I am embarrassed to show before pictures. But to truly appreciate how dramatic the transformation will be here are a few "before" shots:
The Project, as it is not so affectionately referred to, has expanded beyond the kitchen to our entire living area. The first thing to go was the ridiculous, pointless wall that made the kitchen needlessly small. Within this area was a tacky looking popcorn ceiling, which has been dry walled and is in the final stages of taping and mudding.
The wall that runs down our hall will be extended 13 inches, gas and water lines moved, all electrical outlets moved, new cabinets and countertops (eeek!), light fixtures and ceiling fan installed, ceramic tile laid, new trim work, new paint (I am so over yellow) and new carpet in the living room. It all has to be done no later than Nov. 9. No exceptions. After all, I have a 1st birthday party to plan. Nothing will get in the way of my little man's big day.
Now that the work is underway and we are forced to live in our basement I am slightly regretting the decision. Plaster and drywall dust everywhere. Nothing is where it should be. My Type A OCD self is not handling this well. My manta each night (after a glass or 5 of wine) "it will all be worth it in the end." At least I have a great excuse to drink wine.
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