This is what I came home to last night

As we've come to know, Dave loves a project. What you don't know is that we have a very long list of projects that need to be done before we host a party in a few weeks. Ripping the banisters off the stairs was not one of them. Dave wanted to sand off the yellowed paint on the face of the stairs and banisters.

I have to admit, it really does look a lot better in it's natural state. We also feel a smidge better about painting every single piece of wood trim on the first floor now that we've restored one aspect of the house to it's original condition. The banisters posed the problem of being too close together to sand down. So Dave ripped them right out. Even Bruno is like "for real"?


With this new project is the new idea of staining a runner a darker finish then the rest of the stairs. Something along the lines of this;


Hopefully, we'll have an "after" picture sooner than later. And to think I was running out of material for the blog.

Photo courtesy of ApartmentTherapy.com

The Kitchen is Finally Done!

I cannot believe this day has finally arrived. After five and a half months, the kitchen remodel is finally complete. We moved into our house this past April and had a wall torn down within the week. Here are some pics of the kitchen before we got our hands on it;

That is the wall that leads to the dining room before we tore it down. You'll notice that I use the term "we" quite liberally here. It's the Christian "we".


Old butcher block countertops, old cabinets, and old stainless sink.

Those cabinets were a disaster. They look nicer in pictures than in real life. Don't be fooled.

The infamous rolling dishwasher.


Some sweet smoked glass Ikea cabinets.

And so began the work. Dave has worked like a maniac for the past five months and has had lots and lots of help. We are blessed to have engineers, architects, electricians and builders in our life. His Uncle Richard spent every free day for months working at our house from 7 am to 10pm pulling old wires and bringing the electrical situation from 1933 to 2009. His dad designed a hundred blueprints for the layout of the first floor. Their parents friend, Jeff Laskey, spent a weekend doing the duct work in the kitchen. My Dad and Uncle John tore down walls, hung drywall, painted nearly every room in the house and consulted on projects along the way. Mike Cronin helped to demolish the kitchen, painted, hung drywall, installed the sink and dishwasher and lugged our new fridge in through the front door. This is in addition to my friends that cleaned the house with me when I moved in, our families painted and fed us and everyone that put up with our complaining.

So, yes, it's all DIY...but that's because all of these people volunteered their time and talent. We can't thank them enough. We would surely be living in squalor if they didn't. Here are some action pics;

That damn lathe had to be ripped off with a crowbar. Unless you were my dad and Uncle John; then you just bulldozed it with a sledgehammer.
Torn down to the walls. He still looks happy to have taken this on.

The frame goes up for the counter between the kitchen and dining room.

The arch is completed and you can see the faint beginnings of a real kitchen.

Without further ado, here are the "after" pics;

It looks purple, but it's a light robin egg blue.


We may or may not have had a disagreement about the pendant lights above the sink. They've grown on me.
Dave had the idea of using the old butcher block cabinets to make the cookbook shelves. And you can't see, but the framed picture says "Bacon is like a little hug from God". It's our favorite.
The chandelier came with the house and was a nasty brass color. I spray painted it white and gave it a good cleaning and it looks fabulous. Also, I have to give a special mention to my friends for the dining room chairs. Don't they look great.

We were fortunate enough to register for most of the items in the kitchen. Everything is shiny and new.
We used the subway tile from the backsplash on the front of the counter and it looks smashing. I even got to use a tile saw. We'll get a few metal bar stools and be done with it.

And so there you have it.

Wedding Video

Here is a little wedding video that our photographer put together.

Runcible is not a word.

This past weekend Caitlin, Dave, my dad and I took a road trip to Bloomington to visit the boys. I haven't been on a college campus with the intention of getting after it in years. My suspicions were confirmed...I cannot hang the way I used to. We got in late Friday night and met Michael out to have a drink and celebrate his 21st birthday at Kilroy's. (Apparently, Mark Cuban was there the next night.) We got exactly what we'd been hoping for; the bar was replete with sticky floors, multiple people falling on their faces and major makeout sessions in the middle of the bar. The next morning, after snoozing for two hours, we headed over to tailgates and were met with a bevy of red. Going to a small college with lousy colors didn't prepare me for the school spirit that was evident. I was also vastly unprepared for the plethora of jerseys....on both boys and girls. Basketball jerseys without shirts underneath. It's a look. I digress.

After tailgates, we hit a super fun house party, drank warm Keystone Lights, were sprayed with beer, serenaded by college boys singing Miley Cyrus, and made our way back to Mike's fraternity. Most of the boys were asleep after tailgates that morning, but slowly started to appear in the courtyard after we set up baseball/quarters. Here are a few actions shots;

Dave showing off his skills.

The sweet taste of victory.

The fam (sans Bridget and Mom).


After baseball, we decided it was time for (more) food and headed into town for Mother Bear's Pizza. The night starts to get hazy here, but I do know there was not a morsel of food left on the table. Perfect end to a perfect college Saturday.

And following the food theme of this trip, on Sunday morning we went to the Runcible Spoon for brunch. Apparently, they've been featured on Food Network and have won several awards. For good reason. It was this cute house with a big front yard/porch that had been transformed into the restaurant. The atmosphere was adorable and the food was great. If you're into koi ponds, check out the bathroom.



The fruit was an attempt to combat the McDonald's bender that we were on.


In addition to the food, the Runcible Spoon provided me with part of the name for this blog. Google the definition of runcible. It's not a word, which makes it the perfect adjective for a blog that doesn't know what it is. The heights part to follow...