mid-week snippets of home and updates

I'm glad I was stubborn about this whole fridge thing and that we could do it because, ta-da, we did it.

Three freaking inches were cut off the pantry in exchange for fitting our giant beautiful stainless fridge into the hole where it was designated. There was some mac-guyvering done to connect the water line hose into the fridge's hose because the idiot flippers didn't cover the hose very well and paint had gotten on it. A bobby pin, my dad's swiss army knife, and some elbow grease got it out and once we buy a connector for the hose under the sink, bam, I'll have ice and filtered water again. And unlike the pipes in our old house (sorry dan & jill), this water's actually drinkable.

It wasn't the straightest cut in the world but it got the job done. We'll just patch the holes and repaint them and refit the a new door but I think it's worth it.

Here you can see how much of it got shifted over. Who would have thought three inches would have been such a hassle.

In addition to the pantry trimming and shoving of the rest of the cabinet, we also had to trim off the baseboards around the bottom for a few more extra inches to clear the door. My dad didn't want to do it but he felt better when I told him that this wall was going to come down eventually.

And even with all our work the door just barely opens wide enough but hey, it's accessible enough and INSIDE of our house so I'm relieved and pleased.

Dad's bringing his skill saw on Thursday to trim the pantry shelves and I can't wait to finally start filling the pantry with food items instead of just shoving things in it to hide uglies.

The kitchen itself is coming together quite well and has a surprising amount of storage, including this beautiful cubby where hermajesty has found a permanent home.

These four large drawers are such a huge help. I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again but drawers in kitchens are my absolutely favorite thing.

The laundry room is also shaping up nicely and is very utilitarian. Since it is a room with doors it's often a holding area for the dogs and feed them here and hold them while trucks and cars are going in and out of the driveway. We bought a mini expedit to fit here in between the washer and dryer and perfectly holds the dog toys/cat supplies and the dog food bin in the bottom basket.

One of Matt's better ideas was taking this little cabinet we'd had in our previous master bath that was now homeless and moving it to the laundry room. It's perfect there and holds the laundry essentials as well as hardware and all the other stuff we had in the laundry room before. This room begs to be utilitarian chic and boy friendly since Matt does a lot of the laundry. A Godzilla poster here. A poster of 8 1/2 there. Maybe Johnny Depp as Ed Wood in here somewhere too.

All of this is going into the pantry. How I'm not sure but somehow...

Overall aside from needing just a smidge more work surface the kitchen is terrific. It's so terrific in fact that I think we're gonna wait another year before we gut it. In the meantime I might get a portable island to at least house the stand mixer, which seems to be the only guy left without a home. Poor mixer.

The built-in in the dining area is shaping up nicely as well. I want to very badly trim that nasty curvy baloney and paint the back teal. Mmm hmm.

This is obviously Matt's doing and he loves it like a pig loves crap and I just think it is such an eyesore. I hope the adding of doors will make it less umm... ugly.

The linen closet in the hallway is a lifesaver. You would not believe how much stuff fits in here! 

The guest bathroom is behaving nicely. It definitely needs an upgrade in the hardware department (curtain rods, towel ring, towel bar) but hey, it's liveable.

Bathrooms to me are such sources of comfort because they're so small they're easy to look finished.

And of course as soon as it became the dumping ground for yet more stuff my sister Liz texts and says they're coming over tomorrow morning and will spend the night 'til Friday. Guess we better put the sheets back on the bed and move the golf bags.

And as much as I want the guest room closet to be empty, it's just gonna live like this for now.

Luckily that dresser and cabinet are providing a lot of storage for sheets and blankets, freeing up more space in the linen closet wherein to dump yet more things. 

And of course, the room that I knew this was gonna happen in since it's so big. I want so badly to spend time organizing it but so many other rooms in the house are taking precedence as they're more visible so poor ole office gets neglected. I'll make it up to her I promise.

The yellow sofa cover is back in the meantime 'cause the cats and dogs have been making mincemeat of the white cover. Paw prints and hair up the ying yang.

I want to add another credenza next to the tall white cabinet (to store DVDs and other stuff) and here's the thing: I want something old and wooden. There's already way too much mass retail stuff in this house and I want to try that rule of adding something old to every room in our house to prevent it from becoming generic.

There's a desk under there somewhere.

I'm beyond excited for the eventual tea bar that's gonna happen here. Downton Abbey marathons are going to be next level.

Okay, now that I have a fridge and food in it I am gonna go make some breakfast. By the way it's amazing having a Sprouts so close by, it's actually the store I was most excited about having nearby. Yes, even more than Ikea.