Back Splash

The last kitchen related project to be completed was the back splash. We'd been putting off the extra expense of having it installed. I suppose we could have attempted it ourselves, but of course I wanted it to have an unexpected pattern so that made things challenging. With my mile long to do (before baby's arrival) list growing every day I decided it was time to knock this one off the list. The other incentive was to have it done before Papa and Marilyn came to see our house for the very first time (which happened this past weekend.)

We'd already received several quotes for the project so it was a matter of selecting the person we wanted to go with and getting it scheduled.

Here's a remind of how things have been looking until now...





Then one day we came home to this!


I have to admit, my immediate reaction was not to jump for joy. It was more like "what have I done!" But those of you you know me well know that I can visualize most things pretty well. After all, we (I) selected everything for the kitchen fairly confidently from tiny little examples of each material used. That said, I knew that once the grout was in place all would be right in the world again. (just an fyi--the colors look pretty off here. In reality the tile is a nice bone color that really complements the grey/green/taupe cabinets. They don't look right in these pictures.) Here are a few more progress pictures:


The only thing we were not thrilled about was the edge of the room. It looked like the beveled edge tile was much too large. We were both expected it to be a tiny 3/4" tile or so and this is what it ended up being. So after sleeping on it, we let the tile guy know that we wanted to have the edge changed. He wasn't happy about it. But that's life!



And the long awaited finished product!





The edge is much better now isn't it?



What do you think?
There's no substitute for seeing it come together in person...

Well...it's one check mark off our Pre-Baby To Do List. More to come!

Paint for the Baby's Room

We've officially decided (well months ago really) that we're not going to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Neither of us feel that strongly about knowing so why not get to have one last BIG surprise!

I've heard from several people just how exciting it is to NOT know the sex of your baby. Comments range from enjoying the surprise to the idea that labor is much easier since you just can't wait to meet your little boy or girl. So that's the plan!

Of course, this does make it more difficult to prepare the baby's room and buy things. But those of you who know me, know that I'm the farthest thing from a girly girl so I wouldn't be doing an all pink room even if I was having girl. Same for a boy. Just because it's a boy doesn't mean everything has to be blue. That said, it was time to make a decision on a more general neutral room design. I wanted something that was a tad more sophisticated and wasn't filled with the typical pastel colors and nursery animals. So the big plan: darker grey walls, white trim, white furniture, and pops of color---all colors. Might sound a little crazy--but you'll see as it comes along.

First step: Paint.

The first grey I picked was too dark.



So we had the sample lightened a tad:



I went a little crazy with my sampling, but hey we can always paint over it! Anyhow, the lighter (but still dark) grey wins! I can't wait to get the room painted. It's been in this state for quite some time---but we'll get there eventually.

To tide you over--here's a 23 week photo. I have to admit, I am a little shocked every time I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror. Wow!

Dining Room Progress

After a lovely vacation to Santa Fe...I'm back!!

Michael and I were supposed to go to Hawaii as our 2nd anniversary trip...but with the little addition on the way we decided it was just too far to fly. So at the very last minute (as in Thursday at 10pm for a Saturday at 7am flight) we decided to go to Santa Fe instead. It was a great choice. The flights were more manageable for me, and the area was spectacular. The scenery was even more fantastic than the art and food in Santa Fe. We did lots of day trips to local must-see spots, a few hikes, and lots of eating (mostly Michael believe it or not. Food still isn't my best friend so it was challenging to figure out what to eat but worth the thought process.)

Anyhow, before we skipped out of town, we completed one project that had been on my To Do List since we completed the kitchen project. (Which, for the record has one more small project to be completed--more on that next week.)

Here's a little glimpse!
First-I painted several squares on different walls to make sure I was happy with my color selection. Perhaps it was a little overkill but my brain isn't working quite how it used to these days so at the time it seemed VERY necessary to do this step...







Of course I also had to see how it looked with the only permanent fixture in the room...our Amy Maas painting!



Then it was time for tape and paint! Believe it or not we were equal contributors to this project! (I have to pat myself on my back for this one!) I'll admit was was pretty sore and exhausted after deciding to work on this project two evenings in a row after work, but hey that's the price you pay sometimes.








And a few of the finished product:





And for all those who have been asking me for a very specific picture. Here you go!



This was taken at about 19/20 weeks or so I think...it's pretty out of date! Oh well it's all you get for now! :P You can use your imagination but I'm just a tad bit bigger at this point! ;)

First Project for Baby Benedetti

I think that anyone who's been reading this knows our big news by now...if not...you should get with it as Baby Benedetti is already halfway cooked! :P

Check out our first clothing gift! Is that not the cutest, tiniest little onesie ever? Thanks Aunt Rebecca? or will it be Aunt Becs? or????


And our second clothing gift... Aunt Rebecca's response to this gift: "That's nice and all but too bad you'll have to toss it after the baby receives some awesome Cubs apparel."



HA!

Anyhow...back to the project I mentioned...I had an unexpected day off last Friday. First day off all summer. I desperately needed a mental health day and thankfully it was given to me without my asking!

Rather than sit on my bum and do nothing I decided to make it a super productive day! I got up early, went to two classes at the gym, got myself some paint for a little project, a Starbucks treat, and went home to get things done!

We've had this extra dresser sitting around thanks to Mom and Dad B! It has been waiting for some attention for about a year now. We always knew it would be the baby's dresser, but we weren't quite sure what we would do with it (paint wise that is.)



I've known for several months now that I wanted to do the baby's room in grey, white, and yellow. We've decided that we aren't going to find out if we're having a boy or girl, and I've seen lots of pictures of grey and white nurseries recently that I loved. Side Note: I don't really understand the whole "nursery" thing. It's a baby's room! or kids's room! But, I'll conform for now and call it the nursery! So my big plan was to paint the wall grey with white trim, and yellow accents in the room. Since we were gifted a white crib (which we may not use--more on that later) I decided to go BOLD or go home-with the dresser that is. Why not paint it a nice bright sunny yellow! As many of you may already know, I have a slight fear of color! Call it a Kogan trait--what can I say, I love earth tones!

Anyhow I decided to just go for it!

I removed the hardware, cleaned the dresser, and filled all the holes.


I had to fill and sand everything a couple times. Not sure why, but it needed it. Then I primed the sucker. Too bad I forgot to take pictures of that step!

Then...it was time for the sunny yellow.
Here it is!




And here it is with a grey sample I picked up for the walls:


And here's what I did next:

:(

Pout. Yes, that's what I did. I hated it! Couldn't stand it. It's too bright! I took a huge leap out of my comfort zone and I fell hard. Alright, perhaps I'm exaggerating a tad... Perhaps! First I thought I'd just pick a more pale yellow and redo it. Then I read a couple articles saying how bright colors can negatively effect a baby's sleep and general comfort level. GREAT-THAT'S JUST WHAT WE NEED! Scrap that plan! The first of many mom-failures. hahaha

Before I could get too upset about it, I just went ahead and re-primed the whole thing! Sigh.



Let's just say...we're back to square one! But I have a new plan...
More on that to come!

A New Venture...

I know I said this blog was intended for reporting on all things house and home. So whether or not you think this falls into that category...I'm going to go ahead and report it!

I like to share what we've been doing around the house. Well, there isn't really anything new at the moment. We have "things in the to-do in the near future list" but we haven't exactly completed anything yet.

The biggest thing that's happened around here lately is that I've gotten back into cooking. Nothing too fancy, but it's a start! I've been on a strictly vegetarian, Italian diet lately. That means carbs, carbs, and more carbs! I'm trying really hard to branch out. I miss my vegetables, but just can't stomach most of them right now. This meal was a giant leap towards broadening our meal horizons.

This week I attempted a baked/healthy version of Eggplant Parmesan. In our casa we always make our own sauce so that wasn't anything new. We'd run out of cans of sauce so I improvised with diced tomatoes instead. (Side Note-I can't stand Cherry or Grape tomatoes at the moment, but Vine-Ripe fresh, and canned diced seems to be ok.)



While the sauce was simmering away...I got to work on my eggplant. I peeled and sliced, then lightly salted and let it sit for a few. After I soaked up the excess water, it was time to get to work.

As I mentioned, this was the "healthy" version. I still "breaded" my eggplant, but it was baked instead of fried.

First the eggplant was coating in an egg and milk mixture.


Then it was coated in the "breading." Now if you're a purist--don't read this part. My version of breading was a mixture of Wheat Germ, Parmesan Cheese, and Basil. Much healthier than breadcrumbs--well sort of!


Then the eggplant baked away for a bit.


While that was happening I cooked some whole wheat spaghetti. When it was all done I plated it all up with some mozzarella on top.

Looks tasty doesn't it?

A few recommendations:
1. Never advertise to your Italian husband that you've made a "healthy" version of an Italian favorite.
2. Never divulge to your Italian husband that you are feeding him whole wheat pasta and wheat germ. He'll never understand.
3. Never share the above information with your Italian husband, even after he eats the meal and exclaims how tasty it was. Trust me on this, he'll then claim he didn't like it.
4. Allow said husband to enjoy the meal without complaining about how you had to make it all by yourself. After all, he's been "cooking" for us both for the last four months. It's about time you do it all by yourself again! :)

Baby steps...

Lights, Outlets, and Closet Clean out!

This weekend we enjoyed a visit from Mom and Dad B. Thanks for coming!! It was great having you!

Of course, no trip would be complete without a bit of shopping and attacking a few projects. Sadly...hanging my curtain rod in the guest room could not be done. More on that another time.

Here's what was accomplished!
Lights were added to the basement. It's like daylight down there now! I'm not sure that we needed that many, but someone is VERY happy with the new additions and that's enough to make me happy about it!


Some outlets were added:


The lights even have outlets! Smart thinking!!


Our electrical panel is now labeled. What a relief to have that out of the way. We've only been talking about doing that for about a year. I'm not sure why it wasn't done when it was installed, but it is now!


As many of you have heard Verizon went on strike this weekend. Unfortunately for us...this affects Michael. So for the foreseeable future we will be cutting back on some things. (Perhaps I'll have to return some of the new items we bought on our little shopping spree the day before....perhaps.) The first thing to get cut was going with Mom and Dad B to Sturbridge to visit some friends. It would have been fun, but this way we got to spend the maximum amount of time with Mom and Dad B before they headed home.

It also meant that I had the afternoon free to get to a project I've been meaning to cross off my list for a few weeks. It was a really stormy afternoon so it was the perfect day to listen to some music and attack this "little" project!

Closet Clean Out!

I've been getting really frustrated every morning trying to figure what clothes I can wear and how to make an outfit out of the options I have available.

Let's just say I have more flexibility with my tops than I do my bottoms. I think I can only wear about 1/8 of my usual bottom options.

The solution is to remove things that don't fit and only leave behind solid options! Makes perfect sense...it's the getting it done part that's really annoying and time consuming! I mustered up my motivation, turned on some music, and got to work trying on everything I owned (except dresses-I didn't get to that yet!) My level of motivation definitely dropped with each item I decided had to be relegated to the "pack away for next year" or "donate" pile. I suppose that's to expected and hopefully only temporary.

Here are those piles...

Pack Away for Next Year:


Give Away:


And then I reorganized all the things that I can wear...or think I'll be able to wear for a little while longer.

Only the viable options remain...Gym clothes, sweat pants, sweat shirts, purses, and winter gloves and scarves. (As my pile-o-sweat pants becomes more and more alluring...I've made a little pact with myself. I have no problem wearing gym clothes out and about to do errands but I draw the line at the sweat pants. These are for home wear only! Make me stick to that! Ahem-I'll be the first to admit that the sweat pant pile is my first stop when I get home after work these days. Sad, but true.)


I can find my shoes now...


I have space for new (necessary) clothes...for the future. And on the right are the remaining sweaters I should be able to wear in the coming months. I held onto the longer sweaters, and those that had zippers or are meant to be left open in the front.


And here's what remains! Not a whole lot...


I commandeered the guest room closet a while back for my boot storage. It's now become my boot storage along with clothing that I hope to wear next year. Truth be told...I never wore much of this to begin with so I really paired it down during my clean out. Since I began working at the gallery years ago I've gotten away with less formal work attire in exchange for me fun/fashionable outfits. You'll also notice that I've kindly allowed Michael to store his motorcycle gear in this closet as well! How thoughtful of me! It's the least I could do after I stole half of his big closet to store my dresses! Hey-it was necessary since we keep the laundry baskets in my closet, there's no way my dresses will fit over them! Not to mention that anyone who knows Michael knows that he owns about 5 articles of clothing that require a hanger! ;)


After I completed most of this project I took a little gym break, with a stop at Home Depot to buy a couple storage bins to put my "put away for next year" clothes in. Too bad the piles are still sitting on the floor of our bedroom. Well at least phase one of this project is complete!