Kitchen Remodel; Part 1

I don't really feel like writing much, so here are some pictures and captions of our kitchen remodel in progress...

This is what the kitchen looked like before we even bought the place. We had LOVELY composite countertops, mismatched backsplash, and one butcherblock counter, which they lovingly used as a cutting board. No fridge. Range without working display. Microwave that rocks gently when you push the button to open. High quality ceramic sink that broke every glass that so much as fell over. Ohyeah, and we hope you have a fridge... 

Then my husband and his dad came in and ripped everything out. 

And then they did manly things like cutting a new hole for the sink...

Then they had to see how it looked/fit, so they tested it out. PERFECT!

It's a mess, but by the end of the day we had new countertops, sink, faucet, dishwasher, microwave and ceiling fan, which you can't see. 

Last night we picked out the backsplash tiles and tomorrow we're going to Lowe's to pick them up - yes, one store actually had 26 sq feet of the same backsplash tile IN STOCK. It was like Christmas.

This weekend we're finishing it all - repainting the cabinets, walls/ceiling, sealing the countertops, installing cabinet hardware, lining all the shelves and drawers.

We need to do something about the window covering...bleeeeeeh. Still not sure what the plan is there, but we'll get to it. No big.

Mini Rant; Why Emoticons Are Good

I recently read a blog by someone who said they don't believe in emoticons. Something about the English language having enough illustrative capacity. Blah blah blah. At first I thought she was kind of right, but can I just say really quickly that after thinking about this a little bit, I've decided that this is bunk. As a student of communication I know how important non-verbals are. If you can't here the tone in my voice or see my expression or posture, how will you know my full meaning? I have therefore decided to continue the use of emoticons because that little winky face will help you to better understand me. If I wouldn't say to your face, "This is meant in a joking manner", then I sure as sh*t am not going to type it out for you. Figure it out with my emoticons, dammit.

Have a nice day.

:D

Surprise!

After a fun and hectic weekend, this morning I hugged my husband goodbye and said "I wish we had just one more day of weekend."
He replied with something like,"Just get through today and tomorrow and then you'll have your weekend."

I didn't say anything, but I had no idea what he was talking about.

Only took me until 10am to figure it out, but now it feels like the 4th is a surprise holiday! I'm pretty sure I was subconsciously planning to come into work on Wednesday.

I feel so much better now.

Garden Inspiration

My MIL has a lot of free time. She was a stay-at-home mom and now that her boys are all grown up and out of the house, she dedicates her time to keeping her home immaculately clean, keeping up to date on pretty much everything, and gardening.

My husband and I went down to San Diego this weekend to keep her company while her husband was out of town. I was so impressed by her garden. She has everything.
2 different kinds of zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, strawberries, limes...

Tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini flower, actual zucchini, and basil

So I got a little jealous. I have a lime tree, blueberry bush, blackberry vines, beets, carrots...and none of them are look as awesome as the plants at my mother-in-law's. I have ONE beet, which I am afraid to pull because I don't think its ready. I have tons of carrots, but they are not big enough get. You can pull them, but you just get tiny 1" long skinny baby carrots. No blueberries. No blackberries, but the vines are growing all over the place. No limes, but at least the tree doesn't look like its dying anymore. I am managing to keep the basil alive, which I hear is pretty difficult, and rosemary is easy peasy, so hooray for me! I can make herbs thrive!

So, since my plants are starting to do pretty well, finally, I decided to take a little inspiration from my MIL and get some new additions for our patio garden.

I forget the name of the plant on the far left, but it sometimes has cool pink flowers on it. In the back is our lime tree, which is finally starting to do well, and up front are the new guys...   

Black beauty zucchini. I was also a little tempted to get a kind of yellow squash, but decided against it. 

And yellow pear heirloom tomatoes. :)

I LOVE zucchini. It's easily one of my favorite veggies, but tomatoes I am not usually a fan of. I do, however, like yellow tomatoes. I think I've just had good experiences with them. My perception has not been tainted by old, soft, or overly juicy yellow tomatoes. They've always been really fleshy, firm and light in flavor. So I've got my fingers crossed that when these start to bear fruit, I will enjoy eating them. :)

So hopefully my garden continues to do well and flourish under my care. The method for my madness is generally just madness, so I should be able to keep it going ;)

A Leetle Eataly

Been home for over a week. It's about time I get on this. 

Between my iPhone & Nikon, my sisters' iPhone's & digital cameras, and my parents' cameras, we have over a thousand vacation pictures.

Although it would be nice, I am not going to promise you a special post for every place we went. I am too lazy. Sorry 'bout that.

Instead, I offer you a mini photo recap of our vacay. Sorry if you already saw a lot of these on Facebook. Fingers crossed that I can keep this shortish...

Flying over the Swiss Alps

Yummy breakfast morning #1 - Cappuccino, orange juice, chocolate croissant

View of the lower city from La Citta Alta in Bergamo

Walk up to Castello di Grumello

In Lecco. Lake Como behind us. 

Lake Como

In Bergamo. The most AMAZING ice cream sandwiches!

Closed Museum in Genova. 

Pesto in its birthplace, Genova. Freaking amazing.

San Lorezo Cathedral. Famous. 

Wine tasting in Valpolicella

Juliet's Balcony. It took FOREVER to get this picture because old ladies kept
coming out to have their husbands take pictures of them "as Juliet". 

Day trip to Switzerland. So pretty. 

The Duomo at night. You can actually see the colors in the stained glass from the outside. 

Rebirth procession into the Duomo our second to last night in Milan

What's left of the canals in Milan

Walking back to the hotel on our last night in Milan

That's all for now, kiddos. Happy Monday. More about our return to reality to come...later.