Keeping up with The Joneses!: Updates from Big Brown

Ok, so I don't use my laptop much since I got an iPad, but when I do I end up spending hours on it writing much overdo blog posts. It just so happens that I haven't written a post in a few months because we've had such a busy summer with the boys and with renovating our kitchen. I actually wrote this entry some time ago, but am only now actually posting it! Eek. I wish I had more time dedicated to updating all of you, my fans (har har har!), on my very important and exciting life! For now, I will just write 10 posts in one sitting (while the boys are asleep, the laundry is done and the house is quiet!) and then I'll check in 3 months from now! Actually, I will try to do better at blogging...at least I will try to try to do better. It's a good ambition to have ;)

So....back to this blog post. It's about our kitchen which is now 95% complete and looking quite fantastic, but let me back up...

During the summer we made a special trip to visit Jackson while he was at his mom's for a few weeks. We went to breakfast, played at the park, then spent the day at an awesome public pool! He was so happy to see Sammy and give him big hugs and kisses! It was a super fun family day and really helped us make it through the last week while Jackson was at his mom's.

So while Jackson was at his mom's, we took the opportunity to do some work on the kitchen. Since the kitchen was original and in pretty bad shape, it really needed an overhaul and not just for aesthetic reason....the doors were falling off, drawers collapsing, floor tiles cracking...just not safe anymore. Renovating is a ton of work, even before any physical work begins. We started planning a few months ago and have taken our good ol time (ha! we just didn't have any time!), but now we're starting to feel the pressure of really getting things moving. Summer's coming to a close in a new weeks and we want everything done before then.

Prior to vacation we took a trip to a lumber liquidator to price hardwood floors and then we visited a cabinet maker to get a quote. The lumber showroom was easy to navigate and the associate working gave us nice samples so we could match our cabinets. After getting our quotes we started to compare shop online. To our surprise, IKEA offered lower prices and nicer features in cabinets. So... Off to IKEA we went!

Taking two young boys to IKEA was not the best idea ever, however we were able to get the numbers we needed for our budget planning purposes and looked at all the cabinets and countertops that we liked. Further planning was interrupted by our Hilton Head vacation. But as soon as we returned we hit the ground running again. Next we finished our digital kitchen model using IKEA's kitchen planning tool, which is totally awesome! We chose each cabinet design, handles, door style and fit them all together in our virtual kitchen like pieces in a Tetris game. And to top it off, we did it exactly within our budget! Go Us!

Terrible picture of my computer screen!

Now that the kitchen is designed, we made a hardwood floor selection too. The color is Brazilian Koa and it was on sale! Whoot! So, what's next?! We are buying the cabinets within a week or two and will immediately begin assembly. Brian's Dad, Kim, is going to spend the first days of his retirement helping us with this major project and we couldn't be more grateful for his skills as an engineer and crafty, handy work. Happy Retirement Kim!! And thank you for your upcoming help!

OK, so fast forward a few weeks and the kitchen is nearly done! We purchased our cabinets and Brian assembled all 19 of them within 8 hours. Then he demolished the kitchen in one weekend, then he and his dad installed all the hardwood floors and cabinets over the next week. Jackson was with his mom during this time, and Sam was usually in bed while they did the work in the evenings, so little of our family time was actually interrupted....Amazing, huh?! Anyway, the kitchen pulled together quickly after the counter tops were installed. Here are some pictures of the process!