Mantle, part 1

We've been busy little bees this winter break - painting the kitchen/living room twice (the first color was too blue, so the second time we just went for good ol' trusty white) and wall-mounting the tv.
It's not quite done yet, but it's close.

Kitchen Update 4: Functioning Again!!

It’s official – we have a functioning kitchen!

Kitchen Update 3.5: It's getting pretty cold

We're experimenting with keeping the heat set SUPER low -- I won't even say how low, just assume 5 degrees colder than what you would think is unbearably cold -- and spending most of our time in the kitchen/living with the fireplace cheerily burning away. So far, so good.

Kitchen Update 3

We are currently just sitting on the kitchen, waiting for the counters, installation of which is scheduled for the 20th. But since Kitchen Update 1...

Kitchen Update 2: Turn up the Heat

Part of kitchen renovation involved getting a new source of heat for the space. Our reasons for splurging on a gas fireplace are threefold:

Kitchen Update 1

I can't believe it, but it's been 1 month since we demo-ed out the kitchen/living room wall.

Kitchen Appliances

We bought 'em last night from Lowe's.

Wall a'coming DOWN

As planned, the wall between the living room and kitchen came down this weekend.

My washer/dryer kitchen counters

you should try them out sometime.

Chimney Room

Also no longer has a chimney!

Blue Room update

The blue room is no longer blue.

Second floor floors floors floors

We've really been chugging along on the second floor (hallway, small bedroom) and this weekend we tackled the floors. We'd been planning on painting all the pine flooring on the second floor white (as in the master bedroom), but since the walls are all white, we decided white floors would be overkill, verging on clinical. So, staining and varnishing it was.

The Front Entrance

is an eyesore. The pathetic garden aside, the front columns are peeling, the sidelights are cracked and painted over, the lights don't work, and there is a rusty mark of where there used to be a second mailbox (for the second unit this house used to have).

We moved

Upstairs, officially!

Second Floor Update 2

Here is the current state of our second floor..

Okazaki, Japan

Another post! Keep 'em coming!
So I did a very spontaneous trip to my mom's hometown, Okazaki, Japan in mid May.

Floor painted white

Ayumi went to Japan recently for a 12-day visit with her mom (Hi, Seiko!). While she was away – and after I was bored of working, drinking alone, and watching sports – I decided to paint our bedroom floors white. Some sample pictures of white floors look pretty sharp at this website. Plus the article was entitled, "Are You Gutsy Enough to Paint Your Floors White?" so then I basically had no choice but to do it. (Umm.. this might have actually all been Ayumi's idea.)  

Franconia Ridge day hike

Our goal this summer (besides finishing our house, HAH) is to explore New Hampshire more than we've been doing, which is not very much at all.

Sorry for flashing you for nearly a year, neighbors

We finally got/made some window coverings for our living room.

Grouting

I feel like I've been grouting for 4 months..

We built a ...

firepit!

Second floor laundry hookups

There's going to be a tiny laundry closet across the hall from the shared bath. Previous owners/tenants kept their laundry there too.

shared bath door to left, laundry closet to right

Am I a Tiling Expert yet?

Got the tile saw back again! This time for the master bath shower!

Winter fun

I came across these awesome leather ice skates at the Salvation Army a few weeks ago...and today Dan was finally able to go try them on.

Struggles with Painter's Tape

I've had this idea to continue the accent stripe that's in the shower along the rest of the wall with paint.

More Tiling

We've been doing a back-and-forth with our neighbors Jeff and Courtney's tile saw because they just happen to be tiling their bathroom too. It's a bit inconvenient though, lugging it to and fro, so when Jeff tells me on Thursday afternoon that I can have the tile saw until Saturday morning, I snatched up that opportunity and never looked back.

Shared Bath update 1

I'd forgotten that I hadn't done any updates for our second bathroom. For most of you, the last you've seen of it is this:

Master Bath vanity

Two custom cabinets, a shelf, a quartz slab, vessel sink, faucet, some cabinet hardware, and a 5$ Auction mirror.