Getting ready for...

Getting ready for: countertops! They're coming to make a template for the counters this coming Thursday, and will hopefully do the install the week of Thanksgiving. In the meantime, at least I have some makeshift plywood counters.

Getting ready for: a floor! Hoping maybe it can happen this weekend.

Getting ready for: Thanksgiving! This year there'll be about a dozen of us for Thanksgiving. I was starting to get a little antsy about it, but I just read over my notes from last year, and have remembered that I'm starting to feel like I've (finally) got it down pat. This will be our eighth consecutive year hosting, and I love it. Love it, love it, love it.

Halloween 2009

So, our idea, back in early September, was that we'd break in the new kitchen by having a Halloween party. We had one last year, and it was a blast.

Unfortunately, the kitchen's not done yet, but we had the party anyways, and we had a ball. Mr. Throwing Spoons managed to get some plywood down for temporary countertops, so I have the most functional kitchen I've had in quite some time. Speaking of Mr. Throwing Spoons, he dressed as Norm Abram from PBS' This Old House; yours truly dressed as the scariest thing I could think of: our old kitchen counter. :)

From Throwing Spoons

Actually, if I'd been able to pull it off, dressing as the original floor might have been scarier. We'd seen a bit of it, but when we pulled up the layer of vinyl floor covering it... well, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here you go:

From Throwing Spoons

Perhaps the best moment of the night was later in the evening, when I walked into my kitchen, and everyone - EVERYONE - was gathered around my new kitchen island, talking and laughing. It really affirmed some of the design decisions that we made when planning the kitchen. It nearly brought tears to my eyes.

We kept the menu pretty simple, apps and desserts; I'm recording it here for posterity, so I can check back next year.

Crackers and cheese
Chicken wings
Buffalo chicken dip
Curry dip and raw veggies
Taco dip and chips (courtesy of my friend Laura)

Peanut butter and Oreo truffles (also courtesy of Laura)
Pumpkin cupcakes (courtesy of my friend Andrea)
Jell-O brain (courtesy of my friend Anne)
Trash candy
Caramel apples - which looked great, but I'm the only one who ate one...
Assorted candy

Chuggin' along

-Most of the perimeter base cabinets are in - one to go

-Appliances (microwave, range, fridge) arrived today!

A long-awaited update

Long-awaited by me, at least.

After those first cabinets went in, not a whole lot happened for a couple of weeks. Well, that's not true, but for some reason it felt like there wasn't much progress. In truth, when I step back and look at it, a whole lot's happened. A new closet was created for the kitchen by building into the dining room, using the old doorway; and a new, wider doorway into the dining room was carved out of the wall; we chose the granite and some appliances; lots of new lights are happening; new window went in; the last of the upper cabinets went up; and today, a bunch of the base cabinets went in.

That makes me feel much better.

Here's a close up of our actual granite slab:


New window:


And here's where we're at right now:


Huzzah!

Obviously, there hasn't been a whole lotta cooking going on. Hope to be back in the swing of things soon - it is apple and pumpkin season, after all.

Progress!

Upper cabinets, originally uploaded by MarthaC.

Mr. Throwing Spoons and a friend of ours started putting in the cabinets yesterday. Almost all of the upper cabinets are now in!

Sorry it's been so quiet 'round here.

I've not been able to do much in the way of cooking in the past week or so, due to the fact that I have little to no counter space at the moment. It's rather frustrating. However...

The cabinets are going up!

It's just occurred to me.

I'm going to have to change that picture over there --------------->

as well as the greeting on this blog. I no longer have those blindingly orange countertops!

Moved all the cabinets from the garage into the family room today, so they have a week to acclimate in the house. We also removed all of the cabinet doors, so they'll be ready to go on Saturday.