Better pictures of the progress...

Demo! Not so fun when there are no sledgehammers.

Our dining room turned kitchen storage/staging area

I'm a lucky lady.  Check out those jorts.

Ruh Roh.  Let's just say we had a little mishap with the plumbing.  Specifically, the hot water.  Good thing we have a sense of humor... and Matt knows where the water shut off valve is for the house.  It was pretty hilarious.

Hardwoods went in (now we can do whatever we want on this wall... built-ins, furniture, whatevs.  Got plans for new built-ins though... ones that fit a modern day TV).

Shot of the old lighting.

Paint (BM Seapearl)



This is a little "drop zone" area - there will be two shelves above this, but I need to find different corbels.  The ones I ordered were way too big.





Not completely finished, but recessed lights!

These pictures are a MUCH better representation of the color of everything.  Hardware is mostly up now (need some longer screws for a few cabinets), and it looks great.  We just did very simple Metrik pulls from Ikea.  The cabinets are a grayish green color, but they really change depending on the light.  I had cabinet buyer's remorse (this is typical for me... buyer's remorse, that is) after purchasing, wondering if the color is really what I wanted, but I love them!  Even with a lot of finishing left to do, the kitchen feels SO different... so much warmer and cozier.  I can't wait to get it done (for more reasons than one... have I mentioned that living in a construction zone kind of sucks?)!

Progress!!!

These are from my phone, but I have not had time to upload the better pics from my camera (maybe tonight?).  We are making progress!!  We started demo two weekends ago and got everything cleared out except the tile floors.  Our contractors came Monday and removed the floors, built out the wall for the laundry closet (our washer and dryer BARELY fit in there, so we pushed the wall out a couple inches so we could fit thicker, heavier doors on there without having to cut part of them out so they would close) and started on some of the electrical and plumbing work.  The flooring guys came in on Thursday and got the floors laid in the kitchen and where the built-ins were, sanded everything (including the living room), and put on the stain and a coat of poly on Friday (final coat of poly will go down once all the construction is done).  I forgot how bad that stuff smells, so a HUGE thank you to our amazing neighbors/friends, the Hargathers, for letting us crash at their place.  Seriously, THANK YOU!

We got some painting done this weekend, so we didn't have to edge around all of the cabinets.  We're not done (as you can see... waiting on drywall work to be completed and still need to paint the closets).  Yesterday, the cabinets went in (finished today with hardware, which I have not yet seen), as did the recessed lights.  Woohoo for real light!!!!  We had two terrible fixtures that cast shadows everywhere and did not provide enough light, so I am super excited for six 6" cans in the ceiling, even though that means we have to paint the entire ceiling.  I PRAY the white ceiling paint we have leftover from the previous homeowner matches when we put it up.  It will not be good if it doesn't since the ceiling is continuous into the LR, DR, entry way, hallways... not good.  The countertop template was done today, so I am anxiously awaiting a call to let us know how long the fabrication will take.  I want to get that installation scheduled!  Our range was supposed to be installed today, but there's been A LOT of back and forth about having it installed before or after the countertops and before or after the floors are finished... so many decisions.

Still to do (for us):
-finish painting (this weekend) and paint ceiling
-order faucet
-pick out fabric for Roman shades
-decide on tile backsplash (white subway in herringbone pattern or pretty irridescent ($$$) subway in traditional layout)
-figure out if I can get Martha Stewart paint in the same color as the cabinets (or have it color matched) for window moldings
-get different corbels for two small shelves going above a little drop zone station we created for mail, purses, keys, etc.
-paint doors before they are installed (we have time on this one because they won't be installed until after the floors are finished)
-install custom shelving in pantry and laundry (hopefully this weekend)
-install backsplash

If things keep moving forward on schedule, I am hoping we can put in the tile backsplash the weekend of 9/17-9/18, and then we should have a finished kitchen!!!  Living in a construction zone is not fun, but that's another post for another day.  Now, to the (crappy) pictures... much better ones to come.

See here for more before pics (way before... before we even moved in).


A little reminder of what it looked like before...

 

built-ins coming out... guess the house was once a lovely shade of sage

 

oh my, that carpet was terrible



almost demolished




bye bye tile!





hello dark walnut hardwoods... you are so pretty/handsome





paint... lots of colors... it makes more sense with the cabinets in...





this is the wall we still need to paint once the dry wall work is ready




cabinets going in!





almost done!!!

 

A Chance

Dumb and Dumber is one of my all time favorite movies.  I can watch it over and over and pretty much quote any part of it on demand.  This quote is my new mantra though... so, you're telling me there's a chance!  Gotta hold on to hope.  :)


Lloyd: What do you think the chances are of a guy like you and a girl like me... ending up together?

Mary: Well, Lloyd, that's difficult to say. I mean, we don't really...

Lloyd: Hit me with it! Just give it to me straight! I came a long way just to see you, Mary. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?

Mary: Not good.

Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?

Mary: I'd say more like one out of a million.

Lloyd: So you're telling me there's a chance... *YEAH!*

Brain Dump

• Kitchen reno starts Monday.  I guess if you want to get technical, it starts this weekend since we are clearing everything out and removing the appliances, cabinets and countertops.
• My sister is coming in town tomorrow evening.  Welcome to Atlanta, now help me pack up my kitchen!  :)
• I have a lot to do and have been doing a lot since I got home from a quick jaunt to south Florida this weekend.  Literally, non stop.  Well, I did sit down to watch True Blood on Monday night, but other than that, I've been going going going.  (Side note: that was the weirdest True Blood yet.  So silly.)
• I built the bed from my last post by myself.  I'm the bomb, and yes, I gave myself a pat on the back.  ;)
• I am going to somehow make time to have fun with my sister while she is here.  I'm not sure how, but it will happen.  The timing of her visit isn't great, but since she's in school and we're always up to something too, it was really the only weekend that worked.  Plus, it's the first time she's been to Atlanta since she's been of drinking age, so a trip out for some cocktails is a must.
• Not really much else to report.  Life has been busy and is about to be busier!!  We have hired out most of the work in the kitchen, but are still doing a good bit ourselves - demo (except tile floors), painting (walls, trim, doors), installing new shelving in the pantry and laundry closet, tile backsplash, and I will be sewing Roman shades for the windows.  I will certainly be documenting the process and will share the ups, downs and pictures for posterity's sake.

Spending that money, honey.

Phew, things are expensive.  And, apparently, money does not grow on trees.  I've been trying to win the lottery, but no luck.  How hard can it really be to successfully pick five numbers plus a power/mega ball?  Ponder that for a moment.

Unlike the United States government, Matt and I are {pretty much} fiscally responsible adults who have saved for everything we're now spending (plus more, of course), but it still hurts.  Our credit card bill is growing faster than the US debt to GDP ratio and our savings is shrinking like investor confidence!  {Perhaps I've been watching too much CNBC and Bloomberg.}  I like to think that we are trying to stimulate the economy to prevent another recession.  Everyone has to do their part.  We are sure doing ours.  Here's a little glimpse at some of our stimulus bill.


cabinets and countertops (different but similar countertops than pictured)

 

Virginia Bed - Ballard Designs (guest bedroom)



Weber gas grill - Matt's b-day present/our cooking apparatus while the kitchen is not functioning

 

Jenn-Air 30" downdraft gas range - I can't wait until I'm cooking with gas!



Whirlpool dishwasher (we're replacing a perfectly good Whirlpool that we really like, but it's white, so might as well make everything match when we're already spending this much... hoping to donate the old one to Habitat)



Vacation home in St. George Island - nicer than our house, one block to beach, private pool, dogs welcome.  Cannot wait.

 Anyone else out there, besides Jenn, also stimulating the economy by way of some home renovation, decorating or something else?  Do your part, people... do your part.

P.S.  I heard Timothy Geithner say that S&P's downgrade of the US bond rating was "irresponsible."  I laughed.  An evil, p-o'd laugh.  Really?  Because, what I find is irresponsible is the fact that we're in this mess in the first place.  I'm so over politicians... all of them.  Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Independent, whatever.  I want to know who, if anyone, is actually trying to put the American people before their own interests????  End of rant.  Thank you for reading.

17 years

It's almost like he was never here.  But, he was.  And, I have many a fond memory of our time together.  But not enough, not nearly enough, and they are fading.  His life was cut way too short, and in a way, so was part of mine.  So many things that he's missed out on, and as a result, I've missed out on.  He doesn't know that after that first, fairly miserable year for me in Jacksonville (sixth grade), I went on to make a lot of friends, make the varsity cheerleading squad, have my heart broken, break some hearts, win my high school pageant, continue to be at the top of my class, win a team national championship in dance, go to the University of Florida, join a sorority, have the time of my life, meet the love of my life, get married, buy a house, and on and on... Or maybe he does.  Maybe he's not the one that's missed out.  He's with me everywhere I go.  I know it's better Up There.  Maybe it's just us left here that miss out, until we meet again.

November 10, 1951 - August 4, 1994

Mountain Momma

We took a little trip to the mountains for Fourth of July weekend.  I'm super lucky that my grandma owns a cabin just a few miles down the mountain from Highlands, right on the Cullasaja River.  It's a small, quaint, very 1970s little place, but it's just perfect for a getaway.  Unfortunately, we really don't use it enough.  We took advantage of the long weekend and made a quick trip with the dogs.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and spent a bit cleaning things up (it hadn't been used since last summer).  It was pretty warm, so after we got settled, we decided to go swimming in the river.  The house next to Gram's cabin has a "beach" and a good swimming hole, so we took the dogs there and swam and threw the tennis ball for them.  I'm happy to report I did not see any water moccasins (we did run across one in the same swimming hole some 18 years earlier and I have not forgotten).  We cooked a steak dinner that night and enjoyed sitting out on the deck, listening to the river (and some Jack Johnson), watching fireflies and a few amateur fireworks and looking at all the stars.



Happy to be in the mountains!

 

Matt going for a little fishing excursion in front of the cabin.




Yeah, I found these in a kitchen drawer - the date on the package was 1965.  Awesome.

 

This is the life.



This next series of pictures is a progression of what happens when Maddie hears fireworks.  Or thunder.  We do not typically let her climb on us like this.

 



And she's gone... off to find another unsuspecting victim (aka: Daddy).

The next morning we were up early to try a little trout fishing.  FAIL.  I did, however, look super hot in my waders, fishing shirt and fishing sunglasses (they're polarized and I only wear them to fish because they are UGLY on me).  After our unsuccessful fishing trip in which I broke my pole (oops), we headed back to the cabin to pack up for our 9.6 mile Yellow Mountain hike.  Yep, you read that right.  4.8 miles in and 4.8 miles out.  I wore the Camelbak, Matt had a backpack with food and water, and Maddie carried her pack with water.  It was definitely strenuous, as labeled, and took us 5 hours round trip with only a quick stop at the top for lunch and a rest... lots of ups and downs and tight switchbacks.  The dogs led most of the way, but by the end, we were kicking them in the butt to speed up in front of us.  They were pooped, but we all made it and enjoyed it!  And drank all the water.


Against my better judgment, I am posting this for all the interwebs to see.  Yikes.

 

I think Matt is doing pretty feet.



View from the top of Yellow Mountain.



The Fire Tower

Those tongues!  They were tired but they LOVED it.



Of course they find the water hole on the way out... a little cooldown.  Maddie promptly laid down and began drinking.  Silly girl.

 

Time for a little swim after that hike!  They swam after the tennis ball for another 30 minutes after the 9.6 miles.  They couldn't have been that tired.

 That evening we took advantage of what had to have been a caloric deficit that day and had a cold beer and a delicious burger and onion rings at Flipside in Highlands then went for icecream at SweeTreats.  We once again spent the evening on the deck, watching fireflies and looking at the stars.  So peaceful.

The next morning we packed up and headed back to Atlanta, but not before a stop at Tallulah Gorge to see what it's all about.  After our Sunday hike, we weren't too keen on the idea of thousand whatever stairs to get to the suspension bridge, so we just did the upper three overlooks.  We'll definitely go back and try to get a pass to hike to the gorge floor at some point.  I can only imagine how cool it must be down there!

No Bust Your Butt Falls on this trip (a Highlands favorite), but we're hoping to get back again soon!

Food

This is what my shopping cart looked like when I checked out at YDFM on Saturday morning.  I'll let you guess what all that cost, but suffice it to say, I will not need to shop for groceries (or wine) for awhile thanks to all of this and my weekly CSA goodies.  I should mention that I pray my freezer doesn't go out, because it's storing an awful lot of meat.

I made six jars of cucumbers this weekend, and I STILL have cucumbers left!  Anyone want some?  I should be getting more today.  Here's my pickle recipe... I actually measured ingredients, so this should be pretty accurate.  Of course, you can just cut everything down if you don't have several pounds of cucumbers.

Kristin's Paleo Garlic Dill Pickles
(makes 6 Ball jars)

• 3-4 lbs cucumbers (organic)
• 3-1/2 c distilled white vinegar
• 3-1/2 c water
• 6 tbsp coarse kosher salt
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1-1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 tbsp Chinese Szechuan peppercorns
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (or 1 tsp dried mustard)
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• lots of fresh dill (organic)
• 8(ish) small cloves of garlic, sliced
• ~1/3 vidalia onion, sliced thinly

In a non-reactive pot, bring vinegar, water and remaining ingredients through dill to a boil until the salt dissolves (the mixture will be a little cloudy from the salt and mustard... that is okay).  Remove from heat and let cool.  Divide the garlic and onion evenly in each jar.  Put 1-2 (or more) sprigs of dill in each jar.  Slice cucumbers to desired thickness (I did 1/4"-1/3", you can also use small pickling cucumbers left whole, but they will require more time to pickle) and pack each jar full.  Once pickling liquid is cool (or at least luke warm), pour into jars.  Seal jars and refrigerate.  You should be able to enjoy yummy pickles within 24 hours!

Notes: I like a vinegar-y pickle with lots of dill flavor and a little spice.  Experiment and adjust accordingly.  I've read something about letting your cucumbers "rest" with salt for a few hours to remove some of the liquid... sounds like a good idea but I didn't do that and my pickles were still crunchy.

We had some nice bell peppers from the CSA, so I decided to make stuffed peppers last night.  I've never made them before, so I checked out a few recipes online just to see how you cook them and then made up my own recipe.  It was tasty, if I do say so myself (and, I do)!

Kristin's Paleo Stuffed Peppers
(serves 4+)

• 4 bell peppers (organic)
• 1 lb ground beef (grass fed)
• ~2/3 vidalia onion, finely diced (I just used what I had left from my pickles... you can use a whole one)
• garlic (to taste, 4+ large cloves), minced
• 15 oz can tomato sauce (organic)
• herbs of choice (I used dried basil, bouquet garni and red pepper flakes)
• 1 large zucchini, coarsley grated
• fresh parsley, coarsley chopped (organic)
• freshly grated parmesan (optional)

In a pot big enough to fit the bell peppers standing up (but not so big they fall over), heat EVOO over medium and add half of the garlic and onion.  Saute until tender.  Add tomato sauce, salt, pepper and herbs to taste (you're just making a quick marinara).  Reduce hit to low and let simmer.

Preheat oven to 400.  Meanwhile, cut tops off bell peppers and remove ribs and seeds from inside pepper.  Remove stems from the tops and dice what's left.  Heat a saute pan with EVOO over medium heat and saute onions, diced bell pepper and garlic until tender.  Remove from pan and add ground beef.  Cook until done and drain fat.  Add the sauteed veggies, zucchini, parsley, about 1/4-1/2 cup marinara, and parmesan (optional), salt and pepper to taste to meat and mix well.  Fill bell peppers with meat mixture and place upright in the pot with the remaining marinara.  Cover and cook until peppers are tender, about 20-30 minutes.  Serve with the marinara.  (I also served this with a Greek style cucumber and tomato salad.)

Notes: This isn't a super quick meal, but it was maybe 30 minutes of hands on time and then 20-30 minutes in the oven.  You can obviously cook the peppers in a different pan if you don't have an oven proof pot, but I just like to use as few dishes as humanly possible to keep clean up at a minimum.
Enjoy!

It's actually happening...

We are renovating our kitchen!!!  So, nothing is happening yet but cabinets and countertops have been ordered!!!!!!! (I hope the exclamation points convey my excitment.)

Here's a little sneak peak.  The cabinet style and color is the same as above (Martha Stewart - Ox Hill in Ocean Floor), though I feel like the cabinets are a little darker with a slightly green undertone in real life.  Floors will be dark walnut, just like the rest of the house, and the countertops will be Silestone in White North.  We're also adding recessed lighting, changing up the layout of the kitchen a bit, putting in a tile backsplash (TBD), new window coverings (TBD), new closet doors on the laudry, pantry and other random storage closet, new range and dishwasher, new faucet... you name it, it's all pretty much being done! Well, except opening up the wall between the living room and kitchen.  Oh well.  Barring any disasters, we should have a new kitchen by early September!!!!  Woohoo!

Crockpot Curry Concoction

Or, perhaps more accurately, experiment.  It's not a total experiment, because I did base it on another recipe, but I will have to wait until tonight to judge.  I like to try to do at least one crockpot meal every week or two, because it just makes dinner a cinch (and provides leftovers).  So, last night, after I had my dinner of split chicken breasts roasting in the oven, and my CSA cucumber and tomato salad prepared and chilling, I chopped the veggies (all from CSA except sweet potatoes and organic carrots), mixed the spices and pulled out the other ingredients so that I could throw this together this morning.  It's sort of premature to post a recipe I haven't even tried, but honestly, even if it doesn't taste that good, the curry aroma is worth it.  I can still smell it on my hands and I don't even think I touched any of the spices.  So, if you happen to work in my office and walk by me sniffing my hands with a happy, closed eye grin on my face, you know why.  :)

(On an unrelated note, my pickles were delicious and I have a boatload of cucumbers, so once I get more jars, I will be making more pickles and will take notes on the recipe.  I just threw it together last time, so I don't know how much of what I put in them.  But, man, they're good if I do say so myself!)

Crockpot Beef Curry Concoction
-1.5 lb grass fed beef chuck roast
-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into ~3/4" chunks
-1 c baby carrots
-1 green bell pepper, cored and diced
-1 small and 4 very small onions, diced
-1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
-~1/2" piece of fresh ginger, sliced
-2 cloves garlic, sliced
-1 tbsp coconut oil
-2 tbsp curry powder (I was almost out of curry, so I used the rest which was about 3/4 tbsp and probably closer to 1.5 tbsp garam masala... you could also use curry paste and maybe omit the other spices below)
-1 tsp chili powder
-1 tsp cumin
-1 can coconut milk
-2 tbsp coconut aminos (soy sauce alternative)
-1 tbsp fish sauce
-1-2 tbsp apple cider or apple juice or something fruity w/ a little acid

I chopped all veggies the night before and squeezed the juice of half a lemon over them since I had it sitting around.  I don't know why, I just did.  Covered the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight.  I mixed the spices in a small bowl, covered and set on the counter with the other ingredients that didn't need chilling.  This morning, I put the meat and veggies in the crockpot and seasoned with salt and pepper.  I melted the coconut oil in a small saucepan on the stove, added the spices to create a paste and release some flavor, then added the rest of the wet ingredients and mixed well.  I didn't let this cook for any amount of time, because I needed to get to work, but I just wanted everything to meld together.  Poured it over the  meat and veggies in the crockpot, set it for low and let it do its thing.  I hope it tastes good!  I will taste it when I get home and add more spices, as needed.  And update the blog accordingly.

Update: the "stew" was good.  It was really more like a curry stew than a traditional curry, but for 10 minutes of prep work, I'll take it.  Matt made rice for his, and in a moment of weakness, I added about 1/8 to 1/4 cup to mine.  Have I mentioned that I've been "falling off the wagon" too much lately?  Yeah, about to institute a 30-day hardcore paleo lockdown on myself.  But, that's another post for another day.