It's been almost three years since we've had a dog and at least seven since we've had an active one. After Holly passed away in 2018 we decided we would wait a "long time" before getting another dog. Her last two years were incredibly taxing and we wanted a break as the boys started to …
2018 Holiday Staycation
The holidays are over and we're back to work, so let's reflect on what we did over vacation. Usually we spend a couple days out of the house - we stay in a hotel somewhere and do things - but this year we decided to stay home. We are still exhausted from all of the …
Beginning Work on the Dining Room
Our Dining Room has barely been touched in the nine years since we've painted it aside from the occasional touch up. Now that the kitchen renovation work is done, it is in need of some love. We aren't changing the color, but the walls need cleaned, the trim and ceiling need completely repainted. We were a …
Review: Kohler K-596-VS Simplice Faucet
A kitchen sink isn't any good without a faucet so we decided to get one! We were initially looking at touchless faucets because they can maintain temperature with the water off. I've been looking for this feature because I often wash large and fragile dishes in the sink and want to turn off water while …
Ninety Percent There
We reached a major milestone on Friday with the installation of our microwave and stove – we have a functioning kitchen! We don't have door pulls for the bottom cabinets, still need a small heater, and need matched wood in the dining room, but we have everything else. We were able to cook on the …
Closing In on the Kitchen
We are wrapping up eight weeks into our kitchen renovation and it is finally starting to come to a close. This was our fifth week without access to a real kitchen and we are getting more anxious by the day to have it back. Luckily significant progress has been made and we're nearing the end. …
Our Kitchen Remodel is Underway
After nearly 10 years in our house, we are finally remodeling our kitchen. It was a big upgrade from our previous house, offering more counter space, more cabinetry, and better materials. We traded laminate counter for solid Corian with and integrated sink, eighties particle board veneer cabinets for solid wood with lighting, and linoleum flooring …
Fixing Everything In Our House: Day 1
Well our furnace, oil tank, water heater shenanigans are going to take two days. Today they installed the furnace and the hot water heater. We're a little over 50% done. I found some other surprises along the way that were pretty fun too. Plan for the Day A couple of guys arrived in the morning …
Fixing Everything in Our House
We started planning the kitchen remodel at the beginning of the year. We'd been saving up for several years, the boys were out of day care, and now was the time. We came up with a desired layout, found a contractor, and modified our layout several times until we were in agreement on features and …
Blueberry Picking
We went blueberry picking in the back yard tonight. Our journey didn't start that way though. During dinner we noticed some deer in the yard, a pretty normal occurrence around here. This time, however the deer were different: they were bucks. We've never had bucks before. Naturally I had to run outside with my 150 …
Relatively Ambitious 