Remodel Days 9 & 10: Almost there

There was no update yesterday because after a little lovefest over the work that was completed, I wandered down to a neighbor's house to join some of the other neighbor ladies for cocktail hour. That ended up lasting through dinner and a movie. It was a pleasant way to spend an evening.

Yesterday, our lovely contractor was able to grout the tile behind the sink (the Day 8 picture) and hooked up the sink and the dishwasher. It was the first time I've seen large expanses of the countertop uncovered and it is exactly what I wanted and had hoped to see. (My across-the-street neighbor said she'd looked at the slabs before they took them in and confirmed that the color was "very nice." I take that as a high compliment from her.) When I was talking with my neighbors yesterday and describing the new countertops, one of the ladies said that she had been looking at probably the same countertop for her kitchen and she hoped I didn't mind. Not at all--if anything, I think it confirms that I've got good taste in countertops.

I spoke with the contractor this morning when he called to let me know that he would not be in today. He will be back on Monday with the rest of the tile and would possibly get through that task then. So, it's getting there. A few days longer than we'd planned but nothing too terribly long and delayed. I think the contractor would have been back on Monday or Tuesday anyway so as to be around for the stucco guys to finish. And then, apparently, it's cocktail hour at my house so the neighbors can nose around and see what we did.

Semi-related to the remodel: I've been looking for a new piece of furniture to put in our dining area. Currently, there are three 4' floating shelves on the dining area wall and while I like them, I've discovered that it's not exactly what I was wanting or needing in there. I'd envisioned using them as a bar area when people are over. Yeah. That never happened. It ends up that the shelves are just places to display pretties and not quite the storage I need. Because it's not a very big space, I was limited on how deep the furniture could be. I really didn't want anything over 12" deep. I found this piece in a Sundance Catalog that I LOVE but my husband started getting all stingy with the money. Something about spending a whole lot on kitchen countertops and we just got a new couch and that's not even really old just made to look old and why does it cost so much and mutter mutter mutter. . .

Last week, I got an email that there was 20% off orders at Ballard Designs. I had been flirting with the idea of ordering this bookcase which has a more husband-friendly price in honey. The discount covered the cost of shipping plus a little more so everyone was happy. While I was still a bit hesitant to press the "Order" button--after all, I have spent a pretty penny on furniture and remodel lately--Donna has no problem spending my money and started going on about nice furniture being an investment, have this piece forever, blah, blah, blah. And she's right. It will be one of those pieces that can easily roam around a house from room to room. (I wish she'd been around to try this line on Paul about the Sundance piece.) I got a call from the truck delivery service that the bookcase will be delivered on Monday afternoon during the convenient time of 1:00 until 5:00. I'm gone three days next week for my conference so I'm hoping Paul can hang out at the house. Because I'm fairly certain that it's not appropriate to ask the lovely contractor to sign for our new furniture.