The evolution of our kitchen in pictures...

#1: Kitchen after the water dried up and notice the tile that they left in; sick! They only left the tile and the bathtubs, and everything else was removed and supposedly replaced (brand new).
#2. Stripped down

#3. After replacing drywall and painting. Kept saying they were getting rid of that microwave....notice it in all the pictures still hanging around.
#4. This was their finished product. Notice that cabinet sticking out on the right? Seriously? And the oven looks oddly familiar to the one in picture #1.
#5. See what I was talking about?
#6. This looks pretty dirty for a "new" oven, right?If I learned anything during this process, it is to take TONS of pictures of everything, from many different angles. The bank's contractor was little dishonest, and a flake, and had no one, (but me!) checking his work. In the end it was his word against ours. He said the cabinet was suppose to be like that. He said the oven was new. And he said the microwave was new as well. BUT...in the end, the proof was these very pictures. Guess who had to fix and replace everything. Mr. Jose. Take that.

#7. They put in the cheapest sink know to man, one day we will replace it.
#8. Once we got the fridge in, and replaced the title, it actually looked like a kitchen I could prepare a meal in.
#9. All done.
(one day we might paint the cabinets white, but it sounds exhausting to me right now!)

Moving Day

I thought this day would never arrive. It started at 7am, and ended at 10pm. Moving is hard work. Good thing I had my muscle man to do all the heavy lifting!

Grandma Pam, and Michele, saved the weekend! The drove all the way from Sacramento, just to babysit Kate! It was sooo great to not worry about that little monkey. While we worked all day, Kate was entertained at the beach! Must be nice to be a baby.
Aunt Dawn and super overdue prego, Steph, working away in the kitchen.
The mess.
Matt and Jon moving in the washing machine.
Sister to the rescue again. She always shows up just at the right time!
Matt FINALLY getting to build his baby a crib.
Long, tiring, good, fun, dirty, rewarding day.

A girls weekend

OK, ladies, here are all the pictures you have been bugging me for.

Hi,
This is me:
and these are my college friends:
Megan

Jenna
Kelsey
Carly
Kristin

Andrea
Liz
Megan
and Erin.
Somehow, Brit, Bree escaped Carly when she took those beauties.

We have been trying to get together for awhile now, and finally got it together this past month.
We staid in Meg's cabin in Heber! It was beautiful!

We had a little surprise shower for Jenna's little bun in the oven!
Me and Bree!
Carly and Kristen acting like they are working on dinner...
Meg looking cute, and our famous friend Kelsey teaching us a thing of two in the kitchen!
The beautiful cabin
The silly girls
The shopping
The food.
The friends.
The fun dance-y car rides.
The views.
It was all perfect.

The first week

Thursday evening our loan funded, and Friday morning we ripped out all the tile that was "mold free".
Looks like mold to me!

While Matt and his helper ripped out tile, I started the painting. We painted everything but the bathrooms and our bedroom, in ONE day! Sister came to the rescue Friday night to help me paint Kate's room...
And Aaron sat around acting like he was working...(kidding, Aaron!)

......
And Friday night our realtor called to tell us escrow closed. HA!


Poor Kate. When we could not find a sitter, we had to bring her with us. She escaped through her gate, and slipped and got a fat lip...
Cutting tile is the wrost! Enough said. ALL DAY SATURDAY.
NASTY NASTY NASTY shower. In an effort to save us thousands of dollars to re-do our bathrooms right now, I spend 4 grueling hours scrapping, scrubbing, and polishing.
Matt must have said something funny (or all the chemicals were getting to me), cuz I was not this happy...at all!
Then all week I would drive over to do projects and clean more when Kate napped, then after dinner until 12 or 1am, Matt and I cut, laid, and grouted the tile. 3 nights in a row!
Special thanks to my Dad who was our right hand man...babysitter, plumber, mason, and carpenter.
And my cousin Bryant who helped us tons with the tiling!
Longest. Week. Ever.

Remember me?

And do you remember when I didn't blog for almost a whole month?
Well, peeps... life is feeling a little less crazy, my laptop is up and running again, and I have some stories to tell from October.
I am actually not hating fall this year. It is not too bad, (besides my cold feet right now.)
I have been crafting, and photographing, cooking, traveling, napping, decorating, playing, painting, and trying to make this little place of ours feel like home.
I am back. Are we still friends? Come back tomorrow!

it's me, the homeowner.

hello again.

one day the cable will work. one day i won't have to steal my neighbor's internet. one day my sinks and toilets won't leak. one day my washer and drier will be hooked up. one day pictures will be hung. one day i will be able to take a hot shower. one day my face won't be broken out like a teenager (from stress). one day i will forget how my dad already flooded my hallway. one day my nails will be clean, and my hands smooth. one day it will all be perfect.

but for now, i am grateful to have this home already full of love. really grateful. we are happy, and healthy. what more could i really want?
(besides a hot shower?)