where do i start....

time for another update. it seems like the weeks have just been flying by, i can't believe june is almost over. at least we've been getting alot accomplished.

kitchen:
base cabinets + countertops are installed. all plumbing is working, including the hot water dispenser that i am loving. its great being able to make 1 quick cup of coffee in the french press whenever i want :) 2 of the wall cabinets have been installed over the sink area; i need to run out to ikea this week to pick up 2 shelves to go under those cabinets to hold plates, mugs, etc.; here are 2 shots of the kitchen so far--





we're hoping to get the remaining 3 wall cabinets installed this week, the walls finished, and hopefully painted [at least the sink wall, so i can put the shelves up and start putting stuff away!]

with the ungodly hot and humid weather this weekend, landscaping plans were put on a hold a bit. i have 3 levels to the front retaining wall up but ran out of stones. we need to pick up one more load to finish the last level... then comes the fun part, adding the plants i've been growing and making it look nice and pretty :)

managed to remove another radiator, this one from the master bedroom, to make a little more room in there. photos of that coming soon once its cleaned up, haha.

to even out all the heavy labor of the weekend, ian and i also managed to get lots of shopping in. we finally took the plunge and bought a 37" flat screen LCD that we've been eyeing up for the past month or so. hopefully by friday at this time, it will be hanging here:



thats the view from our new couch. we also bought a slipcover for that off of ebay this weekend; the folks at ikea were kind enough to find some samples of discontinued fabrics that were being sold. photos of the living room will be posted in the next week or so, when the couch is covered, tv installed and if we're lucky, the walls painted! also need to call and get order some kind of cable service. trying to decide between adelphia digital cable or direct tv. since i have no experience with either... not really sure which way to go. we have 4 tv's throughout the house, so the direct tv deal may make more sense. hmm...

i think thats it for now. time to start unpacking all the kitchen and cooking tools that have been in storage for much too long.

post of many photos

finally, some kitchen updates and some great weather to work on the yard. lets see, i spent last thursday and friday building the base cabinets for the kitchen and ripping out the old base cabinets, sink and counter. that was reallllly gross.



i ran to lowes to pick up the laminate we had ordered for the counters, and oddly enough the sink ordered from ikea mysteriously showed up on my front porch later that nite. i'm just glad i didn't have to drive out there again to pick it up. saturday morning we got a very early start with breakfast at steak and shake [no kitchen water yet...] and picking up a few supplies at lowes. ian spent most of the day getting 2 base cabinets installed and reworking all the plumbing underneath. we had a few issues with the faucet i ordered last year... its much heavier than we realized, and we had to do some extra work to get the sink to support it. so long story short... ian built the countertops, installed the sink, how water dispenser and garbage disposal, and the dishwasher is in place, ready to be hooked up.




i've started putting in the drawers and doors. hopefully we'll finish the plumbing tonight and will have running water in the kitchen again. ian is going to put the edging strip on the front of the counter and finish up a few more small things. we still need to install the 2 cabinets on the other side of the stove, which shouldn't take as long since there is no plumbing. phew! just running the water line over to the fridge. once thats done, we can start on the upper cabinets, finishing the drywall, install the backsplash and paint! i think we've decided on natural slate for the floor... it works well with the oak cabinets and countertop we decided on. more photos will come as progress is made.

we've also managed to install the dining room chandelier and the light that will be above the kitchen island.




while ian was busy with the kitchen stuff this weekend, i took advantage of the beautiful weather and started on the front landscaping. i managed to get a nice start on my tan and got a great workout lifting all the landscaping blocks. before that i had to dig out a small tree in front of the house and level out the ground for the blocks. i also had to touch up quite a few spots where the mortar had worn off the foundation.... wasn't as hard as i thought. just murder on the hands. so much for my manicure :) this is how its looking so far:



hopefully today i can get a coat of tar on the foundation and put some plastic down. we need to pick up a shit load of gravel and soil later this week, after i get the next 2-3 rows of blocks on. once all thats done, somewhere down the road we'll be painting the house. so if i have any volunteers to help..... :)

birthday festivities

ok, i know this post is a *little* overdue, but i have been very busy! really, i have! :) turning 32 isn't all its cracked up to be. sure... i still look like i'm 23, but i certainly don't feel like it. my birthday itself was pretty nice, ian made dinner for me and surprised me with lots of nice gifts. we've made our way thru disk 2 [of 7] of the first season of the O.C. i think we're officially hooked on it. nothing to be embarassed about there. i think thats one of my favorite gifts along with a beautiful pendant necklace ian got me. check out my fancy skills of photographing that in the mirror so you can see both sides.


other great gifts were some clothes, dvds, a beautiful black leather jewelry box and an ugly dog to go with our ugly dolls. thanks sweetie :)

we ended up going to eleven on friday night for dinner. wow. it was really amazing. i was a little disappointed with our table... we had a view of just the kitchen which was a little odd, but oh well. since i had my big burrito bday coupon, i ended up getting the filet. it was heavenly. after a few cocktails and a glass of wine on the house [thank you daryl :)] we ended up getting stuck in the arts festival traffic where i mentioned to snap some cute pics of us.

why is aimee smiling? why does ian look so serious? hmm... too many cocktails? giddy birthday-ness? frustrating traffic? you be the judge. oh wait, maybe i should have posted this one instead [but i didn't cuz i look horribly tipsy :) ].

hmm... in other news, kitchen installation is happening this weekend. photos will be posted shortly. pixies show last night was pretty good, considering the ungodly hot weather we've been having. frank black has gained a tremendous amount of weight, but still put on a good shot while sweating profusely. wow, how catty do i sound :) ran into quite a few old friends at the show, and surprisingly did not feel like the oldest couple there.

i guess thats it for now. i'll post kitchen + front landscaping photos shortly. still awaiting all those birthday cards + gifts. :)

mmmm :)

boston creme pie from whole foods. now thats what i'm talking about! :) its the little things that make birthdays worthwhile.

my day :)

happy birthday to me,
happy birthday to me,
happy 23rd birthday to me,
happy birthday to me :)

23? yea, i wish :) i'd even settle for 28. anyways, photos of my glorious birthday celebration will be posted later in the week. feel free to send gifts or take me out for drinks in the meantime :)

update coming later.