A REAL pain in the.......

BACK!  :) 

Today was spent in the mudroom..working on the slate floor.  OMG....it looks unreal!  I am sooo happy with it!  BUT, it didn't start out that way, and without John (and Craig) it wouldn't have turned out so beautiful! 

This morning started with John "gently reminding me" that slate is a natural stone and each piece has imperfections.  Which means none of them are the same, most aren't the same size in depth (?? i think it's depth....it's the thickness of the slate) and some aren't the same size in length and width either.   Which can cause some issues with installation and the final product.  Picture an uneven sidewalk...if not done right (and even when done right)..some of the pieces could sit higher (or lower) than the piece right next to it.   This could cause tripping and stubbing of toes.  Also slate flakes off....and becomes sharp if not maintained right. 
With all that being said, John strapped on his knee pads and with Dave Matthews blasting, he and Craig went straight to work..and worked...and worked...and worked until it was done!  John laid the slate and Craig was cutting the pieces to make it just right.   John made sure it was nothing but perfect.  With almost every piece...he literally put his eyeball to the tile to make sure it was straight in every direction ....which could be part of the reason why his back was hurting at the end of the day.  At least he has a few days to rest...until the bathroom floor gets tiled next week!  :)    I think it looks GORGEOUS!!!!!!   Don't you??



Installation begins!

Slate all laid out...weeding the good from the bad...

The hardest part.....

Here is John....working so hard!

Laundry Closet -- DONE!

Other side...DONE!

I just love the color variation!!!   All ready to be sealed this weekend and grouted next week!  Then I can bring my dryer back in....and my washer up!  YAY!

~Gianna~

Ouro Brazil

Today we anxiously awaited the arrival of the granite!   We had no idea when it was coming, we just knew today was the day!

While we waited, Craig was here finishing up some trim around some doorways and windows.  He also finished the last coats of spackle on the existing bathroom, 2 new bathrooms and the hallway going to the basement. 

WAIT.....WAIT.....WAIT.....

And finally around 4:45pm they showed up!   No surprise there...they have been amazing so far!  
4 guys  (2 of which are owners) and about 3 hours later and my granite was in and OMG.....BEAUTIFUL!!!!!  I know I am biased, but I think we picked the perfect granite for our kitchen and butler's pantry. 

 Before I post pictures, I have to give a HUGE shout out and rave to Rockaway Marble and Granite.....we had such an amazing experience with them.  From the minute we stepped into their store from the moment they walked out our doors to go home....everything went perfectly.    I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM!

OK...now tot he pictures!  :)

Close-up of the Ouro Brazil....

Ouro in Kitchen...

Ouro in Butler's Pantry...

I LOVE IT!!!!!! 


~Gianna~

Sunday Funday!

Today Joe and I did a little shopping!  First we headed to Bed Bath and Beyond to look for closet organizing stuff...and of course didn't find anything we liked.  Then we looked for curtains, but didn't really see anything we liked either!   So as we were leaving we stumbled upon the bathroom ensembles.   And I found one that was perfect for the girls bathroom.  I knew I wanted to do a "beachy theme" and had seen some on Pottery Barn Kid's website as well as other places.....but then I found one today that I liked even better!  So we got everything for it!
The accessories:  Beach Bum Bath Ensemble by Saturday Knight Limited



























The Shower Curtain: 

And the rug:






















**ALL PHOTOS FROM bedbathandbeyond.com***

I am thinking of doing a tan color on the walls and a red trim to match the red in the beach umbrella!  We are hoping to get that room painted over Thanksgiving weekend (this weekend)!

Next we headed to Capital Lighting to get some interior lights.  They have so many to choose from, it's very difficult.  But we found a few that we really liked.  We picked a chandelier for the kitchen (above the table) and 2 pendents for above the island.    We aren't 100% sure about the pendents yet, because they are stained glass and we aren't sure how they will look once we get them into the kitchen.  BUT we saw a few others we liked, and after looking around on their website I have a few back-ups. 

Here is the chandelier:  the quality isn't very good.

And the pendents....
again...bad picture quality, but it has green and burgundy in it. 

And my 2nd runner up

***all photos from 1800lighting.com

And that concluded our shopping!   It doesn't sound like we did a lot...but we did! 

Joe also ripped out all the staples in the playroom floor so we can get moving on that room and give ourselves some much needed space.  With the holidays coming we'd like to be able to get a Christmas tree eventually, and the only way to do that is to get rid of the "toy corner" in our living room.   This week over next we will be in touch with the painter to see if he can put the 2nd coat on the room and paint the trim and windows.  Once that's done....the room will be ready for playing! 

I have no idea what's in store for us tomorrow....maybe more trim?  Maybe tile?  Maybe cabinet molding?   I do know that our granite gets installed on Tuesday!!!!   Exciting!

~Gianna~

Countertops and more!

This morning Craig did more prep for the tile work in the 2 bathrooms and John took the garbage to the street...then they left by 9am for another job.

Next....we had the granite place come and do the template for the counters.   I've never seen it done before...so if you have..then you can just skip this entry b/c I am going to explain it!  :oP

He came in with all kinds of measuring sticks and rulers, tape and then very thin foam board.  He cut the foam to the sizes he needed on each individual counter.  Once that was finished, he got to work with a knife......cutting it smaller and smaller to fit each counter.  He wrote down a lot of measurements and just kept cutting until he had the sizes he needed in every direction.  Next he drew the sizes of the sinks....and marked those.  Then at the end he cut the holes for each faucet and a soap dispenser.   It was pretty interesting...well I guess only if you've never seen it done before! 

It was an uneventful day...until about 4pm when one of the new smoke detectors started chirping!  Every 30 seconds a loud beep would occur.  It was beyond annoying, and even louder as you got upstairs where it would echo throughout the new master bedroom that is empty and full of echo!   Joe tried to stop it, but a woman's voice (programmed into the detector) just kept repeating "FIRE!  FIRE!"   Ha Ha!!!  It was funny!  Finally we texted John to see if he knew how to fix it....he did not.  Then it stopped.........

Then it started again.....and again Joe tried to figure it out.  Keep in mind..we just got these new detectors 2 days ago and they are all connected to each other, so Joe didn't want to unplug one and have all of them go off.....he also didn't know how to detach it (b/c they aren't like the ones we replaced).  So he texted John again to ask for the electrician's number (because we only had his office number).  If it wasn't so loud upstairs and the girls weren't going to bed.....we could've dealt with it...but it was right near our bedrooms.  

The text back:  "Pete will be over soon!" 
It's a Bird.....It's a Plane....It's Super Pete....((((cue the trumpets))))




He was the one who came and helped us when our house was getting flooded....on a Sunday evening. 

He was also the one who filled the girl's pool with air, when no one else could figure out how to use the air compressor....in the heat of the summer!  

And tonight........he was back...and with a quick removal of the faulty smoke detector, he saved the day!   THANKS, PETE......we will all sleep a little more soundly (AND SAFELY)  because of you!
~Gianna~

It's Showtime!

We got our cabinets delivered on Monday around 3:45!  It was very exciting watching the boxes come in.  I felt like it was Christmas morning!  

Tuesday they started on the cabinets....and that's what they've been doing since.   They started out with the cabinet bases or boxes, and then added the doors once they were all in.   We ran into a few issues with the measuring and a few doors that weren't perfect.....but in all it was a GREAT and EXCITING experience!  I love them, and I think they look fantastic!  They are exactly what I wanted!  Just to remind everyone...They are KraftMaid cabinets.  Kitchen is Canvas with Cocoa Glaze and butler's pantry is Cognac.  I can't remember the door style....but the glass doors are Yorkshire.  The wood is maple! 

Butler's Pantry.....empty space is for a dishwasher.

Same side from a different angle!

Other side of Butler's Pantry...these cabinets have inside lighting and glass shelves.

Looking from butler's pantry into kitchen.

Same spot, but toward mudroom.  Cabinets on left are a "work station" (it's what I call it) for mail, to charge cell phones, to put my laptop when I"m cooking and need a a recipe. 

Looking from mudroom. 

John and Craig did an amazing job so far!  They are the best!  :)

 Tomorrow should be more installing of cabinets, the crown molding, the island and just getting everything ready for the granite guy to come and do the template on Friday.

 ~Gianna~