Pigs & Planning my Kitchen!

Progress!  Finally we've seen the upstairs go up, and now the ROOF! : )

Second floor on..but I haven't been able to go up there since the STAiRS aren't built!  (That's our neighbor, Mary, in the entrance..she was checking it out for us!)

Windows delivered!  Woohoo, no dividers!

Doors delivered!  Love to see the outdoors.

Roof going over Carter's room!

Roof over the garage..since the floor was dropped based on the amount of slope on the land, but the roofline continues..the garage is super tall!

And..this is how it is looking so far : )  Roof over garage, kitchen, pantry, and porch.  Hooray!

Today, Mom and I went out for a bit.  We had a nice lunch, and we tried to scope out some stores for good home stuff.  First we tried Red Hill, a new (to me) store that was just what I needed!  Wonderful, casual, furniture, gifts, milk paint-y, filled with beautiful cow and pig art (and many, many more amazing acrylic originals!) by owner, Cari.  She was SO sweet..it took so long for her to actually tell me all those bits of awesomeness were...hers!  As in, she painted them!  I was too in love to think of taking a picture..sorry.  But I did pick up this beauty:

No..not the cutie, the CHaiR! : )  I loved it right away, and thank goodness he does too!

So much..that he felt at home in it right away.  Oops.

Much Better.  (we use a belt as a seat belt now.  Just like when the big kids were learning to use a real chair.)

Ok, he looked so much like Wilbur (non-teachers: Charlotte's Web!) to me, and I had to take him home!  The painting's real name is Morning Pig though.  (I told her it was Wilbur to me though, and she was ok with it.)

I'm still excited about choosing for the house, but still really nervous.  I planned for kitchen cabinets last night since we meet the cabinet man on Monday.  I have to know what to say!  I'm planning to take him a bunch of pictures of what I want.  Pictures are worth a thousand words you know. ; )  Here's what I'll say:

Cabinet doors like this, with a *light* gray-taupe glaze.

Arch over the stove top like this.  Only a mantle-like shelf for art or dishes.

Kinda like this mantle over the stove.

But with panels and corbels glazed like these.

And double glass like this?  Tall cabinets, but not just one door.  Maybe a tall, and a short up top.

And a wood finish on the locker seat, like this one.

And a full-size drawer with two trash cans, like this one.  (no drawer above)  But with rails so you are not just pulling on the drawer front.

And may I please have a pan rack/sorter above my oven?  And maybe two drawers under my stove top instead of cabinets for pots and pans?  Ok, maybe that is all. ; )

Maybe I've been avoiding..I'm supposed to decide on paint colors and tile and lights and flooring and cabinet knobs and door knobs..and I'm nervous.  We'll see how far I get!

Keep praying for Alyssa, she's doing better!  Trying to keep fluid off her lungs..so she needs to get up lots to try to walk (to maker her breath harder!).  Bless her heart..and she had to test her blood today.  Might be the first of many for a while, till they know if her transplant took!  Pray for her to be healed..she doesn't want diabetes! : )

Hugs!

Pancreases or Pancreass?

Swimming in awesome friends!  The kids had a swim party given by their orthodontist, and it was so much fun!  Here are some of the pictures..Ethan even went off the HiGH dive!!

Love, love, love that they all have diabetes.  And check their blood together!!

Ok, so no blood sugar checks..but they definitely have something in common!

My *baby* in midair off the high dive!  (I think I was like 12 before I went off it!)

Sweet, sweet girls hanging with the little dude.  He couldn't get enough of that slide!

So thankful they could join us..it was awesome.  Really.

On another friend note.  Mary Claire's close friend, Alyssa, had surgery on Friday.  It was a huge, long surgery removing her pancreas, spleen, appendix, gall bladder and duodenum.  See?  Huge.  You can visit her caringbridge page by clicking on her name, and leave her a message! : )  She loves reading the notes left.  Even by people she doesn't know! : )  Bless her heart, it was a big deal.  She's up and moving by little bits today (a few steps at a time), and has had a few of her wires removed.  Baby steps.

The other thing?  She had 228,152 islets transplanted from her pancreas (which was causing her trouble..chronic pancreatitis) to her LiVER!! Yes, you heard read that right.  Can you imagine?  Your own cells, transplanted.  No immune suppression drugs after.  I'm also personally praying that they take, and she doesn't end up with diabetes.  They are prepared..but it's no picnic.  I'd welcome her to our side of the park, but she doesn't really want to play over here.  Heck, I don't even want to play over here.  (I'd just miss the friends on this side ; )   But they'd have each other.

She won't be back in town for school to start, and we'll miss her.  Mary Claire is really counting on being in the same pod as her for the big jump to middle school...in a month!

We prayed before lunch.  Yes, she heard me.  Obviously.  But we did pray!!  She loves that girl.

Please pray for her complete healing, and for the transplant to be successful.  Prayers for your family as you head into a new week!  Hugs, y'all!

Design Decisions..

Ok, I feel 18% better.  I revisited the design center with no expectations to choose anything..just to look and learn.  I think I got a better idea of the direction I might go.  I'm trying to marry french (think linen/ivory/white) with clean white (white, marble, chrome).  Here is a super long post, picture-filled, with what I'm thinking. ; )  'Cause you have an hour to stress with me over the right lights!  Not. ; )

Let's start here..I like this for the entryway.  Shiny chrome : )

Something similar to this would go over the breakfast table..but with a round drum shade, and with a silver knob on the bottom, and maybe a white cord?  You can totally customize all these little things! : ) Love that.

 Ok..these are all ideas for the pendants over the island/bar:

This is actually smaller in person..it's only about 8" across maybe?  But I could do three or four?

I like the one on the right I think.  I'd do two, and paint them a very pale aqua (pale turquoise)..and I'd have to paint the chain and rewire with a white wire..or paint it too!

Love this too..incredibly industrial with the thick chain!

More delicate, but I like the white..so light would come out the sides too, not just the bottom.

Not my favorite, but I'd love to use it somewhere..it's rope covered chain!  and wood/glass.  cool.

 

This maybe in my bedroom since I need a fan?

I like the brownish outside lanterns..for beside the garage doors, back patio, etc.

Cool for the front porch!

Maybe the hallways?

LOVE!!!  Now..where to put it?  It has four 60watt bulbs, so it has enough light.  Maybe laundry or office..or suggestions please?

 

Beautiful glass tile.  Maybe the middle one?  But where to put it?

This crema marfel (marble) that I like.  Mostly whitish, but some linen color.  It would be a herringbone pattern behind the stovetop, but...

subway pattern in the rest of the kitchen.

Mary Claire chose this glass backsplash tile and floor tile for her bathroom!

I love this.  But price?  I don't know.  Where to put it?  I don't know.

I learned a lot.  That if you repeat some of the same tile in your house, you can buy larger quantities therefore wasting less.  Also, you can use the same grout, also eliminating waste.  But I like choice, and I'm finding it hard to narrow down. ; )

Traumatized

I know we are still just getting started on the new house..but we met today to make some big decisions!  ..and I was so nervous and Unprepared.

I still have butterflies in my tummy.  I don't want to mess this up!  I'll be in this new house for a long time.  Should I do carrera marble and take the risk of stains?  Do I use black honed granite and risk seeing d-u-s-t?  Is it acceptable to do oil-rubbed bronze door handles and hinges..but do chrome faucets?  This is what I dream about..and why I'm going to bed at 2am every night.  Yes, I get up with Carter in the 8 o'clock hour.  Yes, I'm gaining weight.  Yes, my face is breaking out.  Yes, I have bags under my eyes.  Yes, I'm dehydrated.  Avert your eyes..look at the house!

This is the entry...looking out!  There is a porch framed right around the front door. It'll be where you see those pieces of wood on the floor coming our from the sides about 3 feet from where you come onto the little porch.

This is looking toward the kitchen : ) (Can't WAiT to see it this fall!!)

And to think..one day my kids will chase each other up and down these invisible stairs.

I just love this one.  The repetition and symmetry in the boards..just an appreciation of my custom floor joists..just for our house!  #worththewait

So..I like a country kind of look..maybe I should say cottagey.  Painted cabinets, wood floors, silver fixtures, chandeliers, slipcovers, lots of pillows and books and lamps.
 So..here's my problem (today).

I have this french country kinda style.  Like..the stuff that I already own looks kinda like this.

And then I like this style too.  Not so coordinating with my shabby vibe.

Gorgeous Restoration Hardware table, but not so gray/white modern.

Beautiful, beautiful herringbone backsplash, pale turquoise cabinets. : )

This kinda goes with the french/burlap vibe, but not the gray/white train of thought.

Back to gray/white beauty.  Not jiving with the other.  What do I do?

Seriously, looking for advice.  I have to reconcile these two sides of me. ; )  Today, we chose the pool bath floor tile (not pebbles like I wanted since they can rust..I know!), but tumbled marble pebble-like flooring.  I picked white subway tile to go up to about four feet.  I chose a pretty basic floor tile (12x24 beige with a shiny fleck) for the laundry room, and then we moved on to the shower and master bathroom.  We lingered there till past the meeting, and it was hard.

I wanted to hyperventilate at the thought of committing.  I know it's not the end of the world..but I didn't know we'd be picking stuff like that!  I was planning for easy stuff like door knobs or something.  Ha!  They even wanted me to pick paint colors.  For the entire house!  Like today.  Hell-o.  Have you met me?  I require samples on the wall to test the light at different hours of the day.  I was freaking out.  I can't lie.

So, now I'm going back on Friday to walk through the showroom with another person (for the DAY), and I'll meet with the team again next week to make *shudder* final decisions, hence throwing a wrench in our vacation.  I'm prepared to sacrifice the 24 hour (each way) driving time for a good house that's planned.  'Cause I'm house-supportive like that. ; )

Now, if you have a good color on your wall..can I come see it (in the morning and afternoon)?  I'm totally open to suggestions.  So..how would you marry the khaki/tan/off-white to the gray/white?

Now you have some homework, and it's my bedtime.  2:00.  Hugs!

He says, "cheese!"  And this?  Is why I stay up late and get up early.  So I don't miss a minute.