Operation: Kitchen!!!

Wow, what a busy {crazy!} couple of months it has been!! The traveling and friends' visits have died down, but we're again right back in the throws of chaos!! For two years now, I've been bugging Kevin to take down the wall between our kitchen and workout room to open up the space and have a huge kitchen/eat-in dining area. It just makes a lot of sense... We'll be able to enjoy it, the resale of our house increases, etc... But for two years he's been telling me to politely, "take a hike!" :)

Well... (and I pat myself on the back as I type this) he caved - and has now admitted what a fabulous idea this was!! The past month or so has been a whirlwind of contractors, granite, cabinets and tile and today was "D Day!" Demoliton Day... We officially began our kitchen renovation!!!

Over the next 4-5 weeks, our kitchen will be transformed into the space that it was always meant to be. Somewhere where we can entertain friends and family and just be in a beautiful space where everyone gathers and feels at home. We can't wait for the everything to be installed and see it all come together. It's been a loooong time comin'!

As I said before, demolition started today. The "before" pictures were taken this weekend. Our contractor gave me a hammer this morning and said to take a few swings, which I obviously loved doing (see the smile on my face!) See ya ugly kitchen!!!) The plan was to take down a wall between the workout room and kitchen, making a 20 foot by 12 foot kitchen. As it stands, the view from our living room is two doors, one to each room. The new space will block off the WR door and widen the kitchen door. We're installing new cabinets, countertops, appliances, tile backsplash, hardwoods and a kick ass 5 1/2 foot island.

Here are the pictures - excuse the mess, we were packing :)


The Before - Kitchen

Another shot of the kitchen

Looking into the kitchen from the living room...wall on the left near the flowers is the one being removed

Workout room from the living room

Another shot of the workout room, wall with the painting is being removed

Oh yeah - watch out, mama's got a hammer!

See ya wall!

Workout room door framed and sheetrocked... kitchen door that has the plastic covering will be widened 18" to mirror our front entryway

View out to the back of the house/deck - these windows and slider will remain where they are

That area that juts out is the existing chimney - a 4-foot pantry will be built in next to it...
Here is the floor plan.....



Lots still to do - I'm currently in tile HELL! I can't decide what I want for the backsplash - the whole theme and color of the kitchen is dependent on it. This is a BIG decision and I'm definitely taking my time on it! Any suggestions on tile backsplash are welcome!

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures...

Margie!!

I know I'm really behind on my pictures, posts, etc... I'm TRYING though!!! We have lots of fun house stuff on the horizon that we're trying to get accomplished by Christmas so it's sucking up a ton of time!!

Anyway, this past weekend, Margie came out to Boston for her annual visit. She is the one friend that really pushes me to explore more of New England as she always wants to see something new when she comes out. This year, I introduced her to the great states of New Hampshire and Maine! On Thursday, we took a quick trip up to Kennebunkport, ME and enjoyed a beautiful Fall day up there. We walked around the port, looked at shops, took pictures and just enjoyed how quaint the little town is. We drove near Walker Point AKA The Bush compound along the beautiful coast on our way out of town.

Friday she explored Boston, eating at her fave restaurant on Newbury Street - Stephanie's, did some shopping and mastered Boston's train system while I sat at work, blah! That night, we met up for dinner with some friends followed by a "Spooktacular" trip to Salem, NH for haunted houses and rides. Super fun night!

Saturday we lounged around before heading to the Harpoon Brewery in Boston. I love a good brewery tour but they're even better when they keep your attention by pouring you unfiltered beer from their barrels! :) That, followed by a ton of tastings on tap had us beyond "happy!". That night, we got a little crazy at our house with friends, pizza and a ton of 80's music!!!

Sunday was filled with football, a quick photoshoot at Bentley College to test out my new macro lens, our nieces and nephews Halloween parade and lounging at home. Its funny, when she comes out to visit I feel like she lives with us so it's always hard to see her go. I love that she's made her yearly trip a tradition, we always look forward to it!!

We hope you had as much fun as we did Margie - love you and miss you already! XO

Pics from our weekend:

Marge does Kennebunk!


Harpoon Brewery (something was funny!?!)

Marge @ Bentley: Deep in Thought

She's clearly VERY photogenic!!

Scoping out some Co-Eds!

A Fall Tradition!

A few Saturdays ago, we ventured out for our yearly apple picking excursion! This marked our third (or fourth) year going. The kids get so excited to go and talk about it for days leading up to it! On our way there, I asked B+H what they were most excited to do/see and of course they said "Honey Pot Bear!" I mean, HPB is cool and all but he just sort of waves and takes pictures with kids all day long. Whatevs, they love him and it makes their day. We had a great time watching the kids ooh and ahh over the farm animals, enjoy their messy caramel apples and cider donuts, bounce around on the hay rides and of course the apple picking!! Here are pix from our day!

The gang, minus me

Waiting for the hay ride

The Mullin boys!

Holly and me on the hay ride

Eliza

Yum!

BIG fan!

Gorgeous fall foliage!

Me, Jules and Ryan

Headed toward the apples!

Ryan, getting the hang of it

I just love them :)

Eliza's first picked apple!

Us

New pix!!

Here are a few new pictures I took of Eliza on Sunday. She's now 16 months old, talking up a storm and such a fun little girl to watch grow up.

Happy Anniversary!!

To Rich and Shelby Clark! One year ago today you were tying the knot in beautiful Rancho Santa Fe!! Your wedding was perfect from start to finish. From the location to the South African influences, to all the love that was felt that day; it was truly spectacular. Thank you for letting me stand beside you both on your day. Here's to many, many, many more wonderful anniversaries. Miss you guys and love you even more! XO

Mr. and Mrs.

Bridey and her MOH's

Happy Anniversary!

...to our dear friends, Paul and Erica Ferrini! Last year, we traveled to Wisconsin to see these two tie the knot. It was a beautiful wedding full of friends, lots of love and even more dancing!! I hope you two have enjoyed your first year with many more to come! Enjoy Maine and see you soon! XO

2 Years....

Today we are celebrating our second anniversary. Hard to believe two years have passed since our fabulous wedding. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful and perfect day to marry my best friend!

The week of our wedding was one I'll never forget. We had THE BEST group of friends as our bridal party and thank goodness "West Coast" loved "East Coast" and vice versa. The rivalry remains strong and I wouldn't have it any other way! :) Our families made it all possible and we are still so appreciative for everything they did to make our day perfect! Thank you!

Kev - thank you for being my husband. Each day I wake up and am reminded of how lucky and grateful I am to have you by my side. You are my everything, I love you today and always! XOXO

PS. Happy Co-Anniversary to Ashley and Troy!












*All photos courtesy of Christopher Dumas Photography