1/2 way thru July already?

I finally had a chance to download all my pictures and organize my picture files.
I haven't been taking many the past couple of months but enough to disprove my theory that we skipped 6 weeks this year. I swear time just jumped from mid-May to July. I don't know how we arrived here already.

Anyway, here are some somewhat stale pictures to show that others were present even if I was stuck in a houseworkandmoving-induced time warp.

I guess it's testament to the size of my kitchen that it can contain THIS much stuff
and still have room for two boys to make brunch for themselves.
When Shea was young he hated 'brunch' because by combining breakfast & lunch it meant he missed out on one meal of the day.
These days their first meal of the day can't correctly be called breakfast since it usually occurs sometime after noon, so brunch it is boys.

The first meal cooked on our gas cook top: french omelets.

Cole's become quite a master at whipping them up.

One of the unforeseen advantages to having a gas stove is that my two pyromaniacs are now more interested in cooking.

ooooh, cooking on a open flame. F I R E!

Here we have the front of the living room shortly after moving day.

And here's the view from the front door...

Fortunately the floors still needed some work so we were forced to clear out that mess a lot quicker than I suspect we would have otherwise.
Same viewpoint as the picture above it. The floor is still wet from the densifier, it doesn't look quite so mottled now that it's dry.
Doesn't the room look spacious without 2 pairs of ridiculously over-sized speakers and the window screens for the entire house in the middle? Still haven't put up the screens in spite of my whining to Kim about them. He's in no hurry to install them He doesn't need them; He never gets bitten, living with the best mosquito-bait in the country: ME.
As I sit here scratching at a fresh bite on my arm. Ouch, and now my temple too.


This picture was taken, let me guess: about 15 SECONDS after moving in.
someone's priorities are a little skewed.
And if you can recognize the game he's playing from this pic, I'd say that goes for you too.

This desk area is my one big regret about the kitchen.
It was supposed to be at least 2 feet longer. That's how I had designed it but by the time the kitchen cab guy got through with the design, making everything symmetrical along the wall, the kitchen had grown and my poor little desk had shrunk. I didn't notice by how much until the cabs were being installed. So now we're stuck with a great long expanse of kitchen counter & a wee little desk.

I've worried since it was put in that my kitchen is extravagantly large. But enough people have assured me that there's no such thing as a 'too-large' kitchen that I'm starting to get over it.

IT WORKS!

Kim has been teasing me mercilessly that he's planning an expedition to circumnavigate the kitchen island. "but we'll have to plan carefully, pack lots of food for such a long trip"

Until Shea's birthday party.....

when he counted 18 people comfortably sitting, standing, leaning and hanging out around the island.....
(ya, I know, they're not all in this picture)
that he gave me a thumbs-up and said "Congratulations, your design works"

I do love everything about the island. Because we'd been scrambling to get the place 'tidied 'for the party I still had some food prep to do when people started arriving. Having everything where it is is fabulous: I could work in the kitchen & still be in the middle of all the action.

When I was working on the kitchen design I read an article about islands that had 2 good points about how people use the space.
1. People can't comfortably socialize sitting in one long line so have seating on two sides, either facing or perpendicular. Check.
2. People don't always want to sit so include a raised area that is 'leaning' height. Check. That has been proven so true from the first minute the island was put in. I think the installer made his last adjustment, stood up and leaned his elbow on it.

And it looks pretty good too, the way it anchors the island.

Here are some more kitchen details.

I went with floating black glass fridge, oven & microwave. (Check out the wild patterning in the wood. It isn't anywhere near that prominent in real life)
Soooo glad I didn't go for all stainless steel appliances. I love the way the black looks against the cherry and...
I still haven't got all the installer's fingerprints off the stainless steel range hood.
Granted the glass does get smudgy from mucky hands but it's much easier to clean than SS.

Now look at the above picture and imagine it with a lovely tile backsplash, not patched and marked up drywall. Don't know specifically which lovely tiles yet but I know they'll be a white of some sort. Nothing busy that will compete with the granite. I was thinking of a white & off-white harlequin pattern but some have said even that might be too busy.
Was originally planning to tile up to the top of the cabs but I think the bottom of the hood is a more natural break.

I'm really happy that I managed to scoop up these bar stools from a Scandesign sale. They're much more comfortable than they look. AND the shiny black looks great with our black glass appliances. AND they're light enough to easily push back under the bar. AND they swivel. AND they hydraulically adjust from bar height to table height so we can use them at the dining room table or computer desk. AND they were the same price as the Ikea stools that did none of those things.

Love this picture of my Mom's 4 grandsons playing Rock Band in our kitchen 'nook' Look closer, there are four of them, Zac's peeking out from behind his brother Torin.



Last but not least, we decided on "Passion Plum" for the front door.
Under the deep overhang it looks quite sedate from the street. It's only when you get right up within knocking range that the true degree of purpleishness jumps out and hits you.