Taking care of business

Quick update today to report some progress in the "office" - that is, the small nook around the corner from the kitchen that will house our files, printer, pens and pencils, and other businessy stuff. Probably also my TI-82 calculator.

I only got one picture today because I was visiting with a friend who was really there to talk about herps and wetlands - and let's be real, if there's one thing that can sway my attention from my house, it's some good salamander habitat. Anyway, this little mini-office is going to be rad. The cabinet on the upper right actually has an outlet inside it, so we can plug our printer in there. The lower two cabinets are lateral file cabinets. Three cheers for being able to get rid of the steel monstrosity currently hulking in the guest room!

Also, I forgot to mention yesterday that we made a morning trip to Tractor Supply Company to get our wood stove! We bought this model - $600 at TSC, versus over $1000 at Lowe's. Score!

Island getaway

Cue up Kokomo, kids, because we have an island! Granted it's not the sunbathing-and-snorkeling kind... more like the dinner-prep-and-dishwashing kind. Although I plan on piña coladas, either way.

The sink and dishwasher will be in the island, and it will have a raised countertop along the back with bar stools (duh, I need somewhere to sit with my piña colada while Brandon cooks dinner).

Lots of other excitement at the house today as well... check it out, we have DOORS. INSIDE the house.

HERE IS A DOOR YOU CAN SEE THROUGH ANOTHER DOOR. I know.

Things are getting downright fancy around here. We even have a window with trim around it.

Aaaand, stairs that are not made of 2x4s!

Here, you can pretend you are going upstairs...

...and now downstairs. Don't trip, we are still lacking in the banister department. Also, Brandon mixes a strong drink.

Ca(AAHHH!!!)binets

I am going to do something flat-out CRAAAAAZY on the blog right now. LOOK OUT! I am going to create a "kitchen" label for the bottom of this post. I KNOW. What will I do next?!

I feel like I can do this at this point, because we are moving from the realm of "the space where the kitchen will be" to the realm of... dare I say it??... ACTUAL KITCHEN.

The fridge will go in the space at the left of the pic above (the cabinet on the floor is just there temporarily on its way somewhere else). The range will be in the middle, with a microwave above, and the pretty glass-fronted cabinet in the pic below will be in the space at the top right. The cabinets will be trimmed out all the way to the ceiling, and we'll eventually put in a tile backsplash, so you actually won't really see any of the color on this wall. And in front of this whole expanse will be an island, with more cabinetry, the sink, a dishwasher, and a bar height counter with stools.

THERE ARE CABINETS. ON THE WALLS. Sorry for all the caps lock, you guys. I am a little bit excited. And I can't promise to be any better about it tomorrow, because the a(AAHHH!!!)ppliances are coming!!!

In other news, the flooring guys were wrapping up their day when I got to the house this evening - they had laid more flooring in the guest room...

...and dining room.

It looks amazing!! But the living room currently looks a bit disheveled, what with all the cabinets and wood-cutting going on.

I chatted with the flooring guys a while today about what they'd recommend to seal the floors. Being an eco-nerd, I'd hoped to use a non-toxic, low-VOC product like linseed oil. They warned me that using a natural oil would be super high maintenance (it would have to be redone frequently) and it wouldn't protect the floor well from spills, dog toenails, etc. They recommended a product called Glitsa that I'd never heard of. I came home and Googled it, and learned that it contains formaldehyde... but then found another site claiming that the formaldehyde breaks down very quickly and there's no off-gassing, whereas polyurethane finishes can off-gas for much longer. Sad face. What's a girl to do? Anyone out there have any experience with these purportedly green sealers?

There was also progress in the master bathroom upstairs - the floor tiles are laid! I heart white hexagons. It is like a beehive of cleanliness.

The shower is all prepped for tiles, including what I like to think of as the leg-shaving bench:

I can't wait to see how the glass tiles look up on the walls! And the rest of the cabinets! And the appliances! Things are getting exciting around here, people.

Zzzzzzz

I am super sleepy right now and don't feel like writing words - so this is going to be a nearly all-picture post, with caps lock and exclamation points to convey how excited I was about all of this earlier in the day. When I wasn't so sleepy.

DIGGING!!!!!! (OK, this is always less excited, more startled.)

CABINETS WRAPPED UP LIKE PRESENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!