at long last my love arrived

Two weeks ago was the week!! It was Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one!!  My hood arrived (again, for the second time) and it was everything I had imagined and more. Until it wasn't.

I'm not even going to joke about it being cursed because it most certainly is. The first time it arrived (after 4 months) it was gouged to hell down the middle and had to be sent back. I cannot go back into more detail because that was a dark, dark place in my life. Hood #2 arrived a few weeks ago. Yes, I am about 3 weeks behind in updating you. I hope you can forgive me. My contractor goes to hang it and says it doesn't have power. NOnoNonOnononono. No. no. NO. This cannot be happening.

As it turns out, when they had drilled a support ledge in the wall to hold the base of the hood, there were wires that were hanging between sheet rock and an old layer of plaster. One of the 4 inch screws that went through the wall then nicked one of the wires. What are the freaking odds. My contractor didn't realize that is what happened until he reached to grab part of the hood and got a nice, high voltage jolt letting him know the hood was charged and ready to go.

No big deal. He only then had to knock a gigantic hole in a wall in the guest bedroom to deal with that situation. Not a big deal at all. It was only the same day we had decided to have a party at our house. Perfect. Who doesn't love sheet rock dust all over their clothes as a nice little added party favor.

Anyway, it is all water under the bridge now. And I can cook as much curry as I want and it goes right out to flavor my neighborhood.

Quick reminder of what we've been working with since August...I was going for a very industrial chic, aluminum shaft hanging from the ceiling kind of look. 

I honestly had no idea something could take this long to create without it having organs, fingernails and a social security number, but without further ado, here hangs the hood!

pretty fly DIY

I am not dead! I didn't break my typing fingers! And I did actually complete a project or two during my hiatus. This has only been on my To Do List for about 4 years now, so I would like to pat myself on the back for actually ever getting around to it. I know my neighbors never thought it would happen. I had doubts myself. So, I would like to officially apologize for my house looking like this in September.

Then in October...

And now finally, this...

Please excuse the peeling paint on the stairs. Also on my 17 mile long to do list.

In my defense, I did start this the day before I left for vacation. I also had a bit of a cob-webby brain that day, so standing on a 10 foot ladder didn't feel like the best place for me. My sweet and very productive little friend, Whitney, tricked me into thinking this was something I could knock out in an hour and it would look great. The problem is, my favorite thing in the world to do is start one project, work on it for a few minutes, and then start several others--all without finishing any of them. I am really, really good at it! Like I could co-captain an Olympic team if there were ever a need. So, in keeping true to old habits, that is what I did here. I am also not really sure why I felt the need to hand paint the numbers when I am sure there are very nice, precisely printed number stickers at Ace, but it's a little late for that now. Finding the right gold paint is honestly what took me so long, so I am happy to provide tips for any of you starving artists that want to do this after my glowing reviews. 

In a rare, outdoor update, there is also news to tell. We have been fighting a losing battle with grass in the front yard. There is this hateful tree that has been straight murdering our grass on that side of the yard for years. Case in point: this is not a split screen photo. This was actually taken at one time, in one frame. The mean, hateful tree obviously lives on the right side of the yard. 

We just recently decided to throw in the towel and live a grass free life in the front yard, which as it turns out is quite ironic. We thought, if you can't beat the dead patches, join them. I was pretty pleased with the initial progress and results. 

Que the irony. We have contacted the city about this lawsuit of a tree waiting to happen numerous times and had gotten nowhere. It looks so bad I was afraid it was going to squash me on my walk to work any day now.  Two weeks after we decided to rip up all of the grass (and paid a pretty penny for new plants), we heard from the city. They were finalllly convinced the decaying dying DEAD tree needed to go. They basically swooped in and cremated it in a matter of minutes and left us with a stump, all of its leaves, and 38 pounds of saw dust to remember it by. 

You have got to be kidding me. Well, now we are living the grass free life also sans dead tree. Our front yard almost looks like we moved into a cul de sac in Agrestic. I barely recognize it. Now we only have ourselves to blame if we can't keep these plants alive. 

Stay tuned. I might actually find the motivation to do a final before and after post on the kitchen. AH. 

magic carpet ride

Now that the floors have been all shiny and dry for a few weeks, I finally feel like we are in the clear and can put rugs back down. I don't know why I am so paranoid about screwing up the floors. I mean all of the furniture has been back in the house for weeks, I think we have the green light for putting down rugs. Also, the sounds of our not so dainty K9s pouncing around on the floors is enough to give me an anxiety attack. I need some rugs just to serve as buffers before I have the dogs de-clawed. Oscar got pretty heavy pawed this weekend, which drove me to put rugs in places they've never been before and now I have a house full of rug gaps. This runner from the hallway is not too shabby though in the kitchen.

Part of me is super hesitant to cover up the floors at all after their recent makeover, but we are about to take a magic carpet ride over to Turkey so clearly I MUST buy a new rug (or two, or seven) while we are there. And with all my new rug gaps, I think I'm definitely in the market. If the rugs are this killer, how could I not? 

via Holy Smithereens

I didn't want you little whippersnappers to think that I had totally abandoned the blog, but I will be taking a much needed sabbatical starting next week. I think I can officially say that we are approaching the short rows for vacation. Can I get a hell yes. Can I also get any Turkey (and Greece) tips from all of you world travelers? Istanbul? Athens? Santorini? London? Have any favorites? Please send them my way! (april.flythe@gmail.com) 

In the meantime, I'd like to take a second to enjoy a few pretty sweet kitchen rug situations to keep me satiated until I leave. I think Jack is going to have to leave just a wee bit of extra room in his suitcase for this trip.

via Lulu & Georgia

Colleen Locke's kitchen via Domino

via Lonny

via Paige Jones

via Style Me Pretty

dreams do come true

I am breathing into a paper bag. In a good way. Ahhhhhhhhhh! I have a kitchen!!!!

And it does not suck at all. Not even close. 

I was really upset about the hood tragedy last week, but after the rest of the appliances were installed, those feelings evaporated pretty quickly. I finally feel like my kitchen karma may actually be looking up. I know all of you have probably been wondering what I possibly did for my kitchen karma to be this jacked up. Trust me, I have been racking my brain myself. Did I run over a puppy in another life?  

It may not be finished but I don't even care. I have a range and a refrigerator--who even needs a hood? I usually have my trusty two little helpers connected to my legs when I'm cooking, so they'll be huffing in as much of the exhaust as my hood would be anyway. 

It has been a pretty productive weekend so far. I checked some things off my honey do list while my honey was away. Electronics have never been my strong suit so I am quite impressed shocked I got the tv connected and it actually works. Watch out. 

I can't believe I am about to be able to boil water!! It's the little things. 

Happy, happy weekend indeed! 

coulda woulda shoulda

I know all of you (slash my mom & dad) have been patiently waiting with bated breath to see pictures of appliances being installed. I have been too, except subtract the word patiently. I can't even begin to articulate what happened this week without owing a month's salary to the swear jar, and I am not trying to derail your Thursday morning like that. Thursdays are usually pretty good. Suffice it to say, the kitchen reno will not be finished this week. The pretty little hood that took longer to make than a mammal arrived earlier than projected last week. Cue the helium for the balloons! My contractor opened its tightly packaged coffin to begin the install on Tuesday and found it was damaged beyond belief. Suck the helium right of my head why don't you. To say I am disappointed would be the understatement of the year, but I am thinking I must be due for some reallllly good luck. I will probably win the lottery this weekend. Completely logical. 

So, I could show you a picture of a dishwasher that was installed, but unless it also roasts turkeys and prints money, I realize that no one is probably interested in that. On the bright side, and after much pouting/begging/threatening to cry, it sounds like they will install the other appliances this week. Fingers crossed!! So in an effort to completely divert my attention from the drama at hand, I thought I would completely switch gears and address a few other design dilemmas I was debating.

Gears switched. 

I must try to remember always wanting what you don't have is an innate quality in every human being. It's not just my day to day struggle. But in an ideal world, with no budget, there are a few things I might have done differently in the kitchen. Jack says I am the absolute worst when it comes to order envy. He is accurate. Without fail, every time I order food in a restaurant, I immediately begin to second guess myself when someone else orders and then wish with every ounce of my being that I had ordered whatever that person got. Every. Single. Time. So I really I shouldn't be surprised when it came to decision making in the kitchen I would have the same coulda woulda shoulda problems just on a different scale. Indecisive much?

WINDOWS...
In an ideal world, this kitchen would have a wall full of windows, a door to an outside patio, and a Subzero refrigerator stocked full of Ina Garten left overs, but you can't always get what you want. Unless you are Chrissy Teigen. We have one small-ish window in the kitchen. If I could do it all over again (sans budget), I would definitely add more windows, but that was an obvious way to save. For our project and budget, the choice came down to knocking down a wall or adding a window--they were roughly the same cost.

Don't get me wrong, I love natural light as much as anyone, but I also love elbow room and we had to have it. The kitchen was closed in like a box. Like a tiny Tiffany's box but without the sparkling rock inside of it. If we had added a window but kept the wall, the kitchen would feel just as confined as it did before. Also, since our house is historic, in order to get a window we would have to get COA approval. And given the uproar in our neighborhood over other design issues, I didn't want to deal with the headache. I think we made the right choice choosing to take out the wall instead of opting for more windows. I just want to mention this to those of you out there struggling with similar choices. When you look at something as lovely as these windows though, it is hard to think anything is right in the world unless you can have them too.

THE ISLAND...
I worried I'd have regrets about the island the second I pulled the trigger. Our kitchen is small. Very small. Tres petite. In most worlds probably too small for an island, but when you are dealing with someone as hellbent as me, there is only ever one way that situation resolves itself. I must learn through trial and error. Actual trial and error. I don't know if I will end up resenting its sheer presence, but lawd I hope not. I needed the extra counter top space too for crying out loud.

Also, as soon as I gave the cabinet maker the go ahead, I had an instant pain in my side. I said nothing to him to let him know this, but deep down I really wanted an island that felt more like a piece of furniture than another set of cabinets. I wanted to do something in more of a natural wood instead of just like the other white painted cabinets. Did I make a mistake???

via Hunted Interior

Ok, maybe I am just obsessed with that kitchen.

via House Beautiful

In the grand scheme of things, no major freak outs about these two issues yet, but I just thought it was worth mentioning. And I also thought if I went ahead and said it out loud, maybe it would relieve some of my constant heartburn since I have been living with this all alone. I already feel so much better.

i love packing and moving said no one ever

There is nothing like a good move to make you want to throw away every single earthly possession you own just so you never have to move it again. WOW. I am officially 115 years old and my back is broken. Here I am carrying a sack of body aches and muscle strains that will likely stay with me all week. 

Jack and I had quite a rager on Friday night that ended with a 20 minute debate of should we just sleep on the hardwood floor or was it worth the energy to peel ourselves off the floor and make the 1.5 mile trek over to our temporary apartment. 

Tonight, I plan on sleeping as soundly as these guys do 23.5 hours per day.

On a positive note, the floors are finished and they look great! For once, I am not second guessing myself and having a giant case of self doubt. I am 100% happy with the clear finish. Everyone can rest easy. I know you have all been worried about the anxiety I was having. 

Sorry for only posting pictures of floors lately, I promise this has not turned into a blog only about hardwood floors. This is just the only progress I know to report of currently, and I am too tired to think of anything clever. Excuses excuses. 

On other positive notes, the pack rat is all packed up and schedule to be picked up on Monday. ALL of the appliances are in and should be installed this week. Does this mean what I think it means??  Am I seeing a light?? What will I do with my free time?? 

And to all of you kind, dear souls who offered to help this weekend, let's be honest. 

You're welcome. 

clear winner

The first coat of clear polyurethane went down on Monday, and I must say I am quite the Pleasant Pollyanna so far. And here I was thinking I would be pining away (pun intended) the loss of my dark floors. It is COMPLETELY different from what they looked like before, but I think the floors are probably happier to be back a little closer to their roots. They probably feel like Rachel McAdams in that they have been dyed so many times they didn't even know what their natural color was. I think the clear really was the clear winner. Here they are after one coat:

My fig trees have taken up residence on an outside porch during the floor project. If those suckers die, this Pollyanna is going to be quite the opposite of pleasant. I am pretty sure I have managed to keep one of them alive longer than my youngest little son, Alfred. Needless to say when I saw a SQUIRREL wreaking havoc to one of my dearest fiddle leafs, it is making me think it may be time to reconsider my stance on squirrel hunting. What a jackass. 

Of course there are plenty of spots full of what we like to refer to as "character" (i.e., the giant square cutout in the hallway above where the furnace used to be), but it wouldn't fit with this house if they were perfect. So far I am pretty pleased, and it is not everyday that I get to say that. At this point, (I hope you are sitting down), it looks like all is ON SCHEDULE, and we should be moving back in this weekend. Ohhhh, don't everyone volunteer to help all at once.