I miss our front porch. I miss the screened back porch. I miss our cute fenced yard with its found brick patio, stone terrace, rhododendrons, and grand tree swing. I miss my private second floor bedroom. I miss the stylin' half bath and enormous living room. I miss having our computer desk in a central locale (HATE it in the bedroom). I miss being able to park on the street overnight. I miss warmer temps. I miss. I miss. I miss.

Stupid New Haven public lottery school system.

...
This week has been a challenging one -- it began without running water, then continued with 3 days sans DSL! Also, the only appliance left standing in the kitchen is our fridge, which means no cooked meals, washing dishes in the bathtub, and constant trips to the bathroom for any and all water needs. There are flat-packed boxes, displaced kitchen gear, pantry items, and appliances crammed all over the place, but at least the walls have finally been stripped, spackled, sanded, and primed (so much wall dust EVERYWHERE, cough-cough)!

Karl has been amazing, by the way. Mucho impressivo. He pretty much walks in the door after a full day at Stanley, changes into work clothes, and immediately starts on what he calls "job #2". I pitch-in here and there (sanding, painting, clean-up) but he is easily carrying 95% of the remodel on his own -- including plumbing, re-wiring, and all jobs requiring brute strength. I am a total wimp by comparison. Sadly, my stamina is not what it used to be; thirty to forty minutes of wall sanding makes me wanna lie down and whimper...

Okay, I'm off to buy paint. WHITE paint, can you believe it?


This is no way to live....

kinky knob

( larger )

A bouquet + balloon arrived for Anna from Gramma and Pa yesterday.
She loved the flowers, but looooooves "Baloony" even more.



Three layers of plywood. Three layers of linoleum.
Man knows how to demo.

Last night I dreamt I had an NBA boyfriend.
I hopped atop his shoulders and watched the world unfold.

Macro Rox
(a-z photo challenge reject -- "Jaw")


drawing monsters - flooring store


marker monsters - ikea

Pretty much living over at facebook (especially today). If you'd like to hook-up, just contact me here:
http://www.facebook.com/rhonda.vanderbeek

jack-o-lantern jacks

( larger )

iced ingredients

This little Kitty Princess woke up with a fever today.
Sick on Halloween? Oh no!!!

My Thermador Induction Cooktop arrived today.





Cracked Mirror Finish edition.

Go ahead, call me obsessed.... can't get enough of this man-boy's soulful eyes and beatific smile.

Kitchen is 80% ordered and paid for!

bottom cabinets - IKEA Solar Beech:



upper cabs - glossy Abstrakt White:



cooktop - Thermador 30" Induction:


(found for a steal on eBay)

On our way to Whole Foods yesterday, Anna piped-up from the back seat:

"My dream is to fly on a dragon, meet Luke Skywalker, Caesar (MIllan), and Rafa, and to have one hundred dollars."

Later, when I asked her to tell Daddy about her dream, it was amended to:

"Um, I want to fly on a dragon and meet Luke Skywalker... and I want him to give me his light saber.... and I want to meet Rafa and Caesar. And I want a million dollars!"

Whoa -- light saber and an increase from 100 to 1000000 -- talk about dream inflation!

Working with photos from the laptop, which doesn't have Photoshop installed, but above image proves what a nifty-powerful little application iPhoto is -- I achieved this look in about 20 seconds just by experimenting with a few simple effects/adjustments.

Shoe on the floor is driving me nuts, though, so I might send this to the big desk machine for a true photoshop makeover.

Heads up! IKEA is having an amazing sale right now -- up to 20% off entire kitchen orders through Nov. 11 -- which has inspired Karl to work overtime with Ikea's kitchen planning software, creating images like these:




So, after weeks of research, debate, and waffling -- plus several trips to The Big Blue and Yellow Box for re-inspiration -- we've finally selected our cabinets, counters, wall oven, microwave, sink, and dishwasher. Flooring has yet to be decided. Ditto the cooktop, backsplash, and faucet. But, I am 90% certain this little Fisher & Paykel gem will be our new fridge:



Modern, simple, and counter-depth shallow. I am loving the idea of down-sizing our fridge. No automatic ice-tumbling noise, no ugly, problem-prone dispenser on the door -- just crisp, elegant, linear glass shelving (I hate the clunky look of divided plastic shelves), angular handles, and nifty slide-out freezer drawers.

As for the rest, we originally planned to place an Induction cooktop over a floor cabinet-installed wall oven, but I am begging Karl to try and work-out a loftier wall-installation solution; I know Audrey Hepburn looks sublime -- and sublimely comfortable -- in this pose, but I dread the thought of bending my creaky knees to the floor in order to remove a heavy roasting pan. Ouch!

Halloween film experiment -- hope to re-shoot and expand upon later.