Still in the Kitchen

Well, the stove isn't even in the kitchen yet. It's still sitting in our dining room while we finish the tiling on the backsplash.

Sunday we installed the microwave by ourselves. You can see in the picture the new oak countertops that we got at IKEA. I also finished painting the drawers and Josh put the handles on, and the upper cabinets on this side I finished painting this weekend.

We still need to tile which we'll probably do on Friday when Josh is home from work. Our new light fixtures will be delivered on Thursday, and I need to paint the cabinet doors yet. I can't wait to start cooking for real (not with a micro and toaster oven like we've been doing since we pretty much moved in)!

On a completely separate note, this is what Lucy has been doing all day while I work.

3 Years.

Since moving into our house, life has been pretty crazy. For our anniversary on Tuesday, I celebrated by heading over to the DMV to get my Minnesota Driver's license and plates. Then when Josh was home from work we worked in the kitchen. I'm not complaining or anything, because Josh and I rarely exchange any gifts. We just try to do something fun with each other. Working in the kitchen together was our present!

Since everything has been so crazy, we're having a hard time keeping up with posting, so everything will be a little delayed. You can see above, the floors have been refinished, and I painted the cabinets. Friday, our new appliances were delivered, and Josh took down the tile back splash. Saturday, my Mom, Dad and Shelby came up to help out. Dad and Josh installed the dishwasher and put on the new oak counter top with our new sink and faucet. I don't have the pictures off my camera yet for the latest changes, but we'll post again with more updates soon!

Happy Independence Day!

Even More Art Buddies

You may remember in May when I posted about Art Buddies. After the spring session was over that I participated in, the leaders of the program asked me if I would be interested in joining the Advisory Board. Of course I said YES! I love Art Buddies and I look forward to it every session, hoping I will be available to participate. We had our first meeting last night. I'll be helping with fund-raising and I've also agreed to take on the task of editing and labeling all the photos from the professional photographer after each session.

We've got wood!

That is, in our kitchen. We found it after spending 2 days ripping up linoleum and 1/4 inch plywood that was nailed down with 3 inch nails.

After seeing what we had to work with, we went to our local ACE to get some Krud Kutter. I had heard about it online and after using it, I seriously recommend it. It's an all-purpose, non-toxic cleaner for almost anything. First, Josh sprayed it on and let it sit for a few moments. Then he used a putty knife to scrape with the grain. After that, he scrubbed it with the rough side of a sponge.

When Josh was finished, I came through and washed up the residue with a big sponge and water.

The floor looks amazing right now, that is, for being covered up for so long. We had a guy come look at it to get a quote for refinishing it and he said we have maple in the kitchen, and oak in the rest of the main level. They should start refinishing the kitchen sometime next week!

Rock the Garden

In the whirlwind of moving in, Josh and I attended Rock the Garden on Saturday the 19th. The show was put on by The Walker Art Center and The Current, the radio station we listen to, in the sculpture garden next to The Walker.

We were able to ride our bikes up to the show, but we ended up not using our tickets. As you can see there were about 10,000 people attending. We found a great spot in the shade, on the grass, across the street where we could still see the stage. 

The bands playing were Retribution Gospel Choir, Ok Go!, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and MGMT and we had a great time seeing them.

The First Week at 5053

Well, we're FINALLY here. And we already have a makeover to show! This was the dining room before...

We had to prime the walls because of the dark color, but we may end up priming all the walls in the house for that matter.

And after! We changed out the light fixture for a George Nelson saucer. You may remember back to the Nelson cigar pendant that we bought a few weeks ago at the Room and Board outlet. This is part of the same line. And you're not seeing things, that is pink (well actually it's Coral Gables) and purple (Black Raspberry) on the walls. It looks fantastic with our robin's egg blue buffet.

The room isn't complete yet...I'd like to add some curtain panels and a FLOR rug, but I wanted to update everyone since we've been busy!