Coffee grinds are good for your complexion.

So far, the kitchen project is going well. The demolition is done, and our popcorn ceilings have been scraped.

(photo taken before the ceilings were done)

I'm pretty impressed by what a neat and tidy demo it was. We only ran into one little glitch. When the sheetrock guy was here yesterday, he casually asked if we were putting a recessed light or a pendant light over our sink. Well, the plan was recessed, and I told him that. It seems, however, that the beams (I guess that's the right word) running across the ceiling are not centered to the window, so a recessed light there would have to go to the left or the right. Clearly, that's not going to happen. We had a recessed light there before, but it was in the soffit, so it was able to be centered. 

(please note that I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to fancy words used in home construction. It might be that the beam is actually dead center over the window, which would be why we can't do recessed. Sometimes I pretend to know more about what I'm talking about than I actually do).

I certainly don't mind doing a pendant. I'm planning to put one over our table anyway, so now I just need a smaller coordinating one for the sink. I'm just a little overwhelmed by the choices, but I think this is what I'm going with:

Or this?

or maybe this:

or this?

I even kind of like this bronze:

Oh, geez. I can't decide.Anyone want to weigh in?  I need to order them like, yesterday. 

Cabinets go in tomorrow. I can't wait. 

Oh, and if you haven't ever lived without a kitchen sink? Just know that cleaning dishes in the bathroom is really not all it's cracked up to be. Also, as much as I don't love my old Keurig, it's about to come out of hiding for a  few weeks. Having to clean out coffee grounds in the bathtub just feels really wrong. 

On the upside, anyone bathing in that tub can expect some great exfoliating.

Before

Happy 2012 everyone! I hope everyone had a fun New Year's. Mine was VERY low-key due to the stomach bug making a swift attack on me. Then last night, it hit Morgan. And today? Ava. So, now we've got 100% coverage. And folks, I won't lie. It's a nasty, nasty little bug. I stayed in bed for 15  hours. And I'm still not completely better. Ugh. Oh, but I've lost 6 or 7 pounds, so that's good.

So, in the midst of all of this, we had to pack up the kitchen. That ended up being a one day job since I was laid up in bed all day Saturday. You know, if you're going to pack up your kitchen, you probably might as well just move. I don't think any other room in a house can fill as many boxes as the kitchen. It all got finished just as the workers were pulling up this morning.

So, here's the before: (and now you know why I need a new kitchen).

Yesterday I sold our old stove, and on Saturday night, I ordered our new fridge and range. They will be these:

To save a little money, I opted not to have the ice and water dispenser on the door. This particular Samsung model was on MAJOR sale, so I just decided to go with it. I also had visions of Davis thinking the water dispenser was a pretty cool thing to play with. It does have in inside water dispenser, so that's fun. Besides, I'm replacing an almond-colored freezer-on-top model, so let's be honest. This is a giant step up.

I'm most excited to be switching up to a gas range. That was one of my I'm-not-budging items. I went with this model:

Now, those won't be installed for another 3 weeks, but I wanted to go ahead and purchase while they were on sale. 

Now, if I can just get everyone healthy and back to school, I might start feeling like I have some control over my life. 

Full Speed Ahead

I must have gotten some great sleep last night, because it has been one heck of a productive day. I started with a 6am class at Heat. Came home and started undecorating the house. I got most of the ornaments off before heading to a 75 minute yoga class. I must have really wanted to take my kids to the child care at the gym, because I am so not a fan of yoga. After today's class, though, I think I could start liking it more. And, I kind of think I need it. I may or may not have dozed off a bit during the savasana thing at the end of class. There was also some Om-ing, which made me really glad none of my friends were in class with me, or I would have laughed. I can't help it. I lack maturity.

Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to top off all this working out with a healthy lunch at Chickfila. Plus, we needed to go to the mall, so it just worked out. At the mall, I had to go  to Pottery Barn to exhange a rug. I tried to be frugal and get a 5x8 for my den,but it just wasn't working. So I got an 8x10 in the Franklin rug:

I have no strength left to haul the rug into my house, so in my car it currently sits. I may drag it in a few minutes. 

I have now finished undecorating the inside of the house, so I feel good about that. It had to be done, because at 8:30 Monday morning, the workmen are coming to demo my kitchen. Yay! But - panic! I still have a whole kitchen to pack up. I am beyond excited about the new kitchen, though. Am I nervous about the process? Oh, yes. Quite. A month without a kitchen will be a challenge for certain. I just need to make sure I keep access to the essentials:

• Coffee Maker
• Favorite coffee cup
• Wine opener
• Wine glass(es)

I suppose I should also keep out some kid-sized utencils and sippy cups. We'll be using paper plates and cups, so those can all go away.

I thought I'd share the plans for the new kitchen with you. We aren't changing a lot about the footprint - just moving the range to the other side of the room. My kitchen is from 1981, so the cabinets and drawers are totally dated, in both appearance and configuration. Here's the new look:

Left view:

Right view:

Ariel view:

The cabinets will be white, with white subway tile backsplash. Stainless appliances, obviously. And we're using Bianco Romano granite for the countertops:

I'll be sure to take some nice before pics this weekend, and keep you updated along the way. 

Happy New Year, everyone!