Look ma, garage doors!

Ahhh, after a 3 week delay and a few adjustments, my carriage style garage doors are finally in. Hmmm, unfortunately they are *not* the colour I ordered (they came a shade or two too dark), but Dallas likes them so we're not gonna make a fuss.

I love the look of these doors! I saw them on a house nearby to where we're building and I just knew I had to have them! It's always a surprise to me why so many people get the same old, same old garage doors - there are soooo many to choose from!

The rear garage door is the same design as the front 2, but without hardware. I was a bit surprised to see that both the front and rear doors on the 3rd garage bay are on one continuous track...where to find a garage door opener that can open both ways? On the hunt I go!

The possession date for the house has become a bit of a joke to us...although not a very funny one. Due to the shortage in the trades, and some errors on our contract's part, our possession date has been pushed back yet again, this time to June 15th.

Yeh, yeh, yeh...I'll get to it!

I readily admit that I can be a first class procrastinator. One of the things that has been on my “to do” list for over a month has been to pick out kitchen and laundry appliances. Dallas, poor guy, has been chomping at the bit for ages to go appliance shopping – he’s already got his heart set on a Jenn Air fridge so, being that the kitchen is becoming more and more, Dallas’s domain, I know I’m gonna have to give in and give him what he wants. It’s his house too, after all.

I am taking a practical approach to my washer and dryer needs. While it would be great to have a set of ultra chic, high tech machines, the reality is that I don’t need anything fancy. As long as they are front loading, and the front control panel doesn’t look like the cockpit of a 747, I’ll be happy.

So, whether I like it or not, here’s what we’ll likely get for kitchen appliances:

Ta daaaa!!!

Fi.nall.y!!! The front door and sidelights have arrived! The fugly steel door is gone, replaced by an awesome composite that looks just like wood. Seriously, this is one of the the *best* newer products on the market! All the benefits of a solid wood door, without the maintenance. It arrived unfinished, and my initial plan was to have it stained, but I kind of like the natural colour of it, so I may live with it for awhile before deciding what to do.

*This* was on the top of my wish list and I am soooo glad that I stuck to my guns to get it!

A place for everything, and everything in it's place

I thought it would be the end of me, but I managed to put together a plan for our closet organizers! It proved to be a much harder job than I had initially prepared for, but I'm glad it's done. I could have made the process easier on myself it I had only hired a professional. I just couldn't justify the extra cost, what some of those companies charge is highway robbery!

So, here's what we're installing in my dressing room, from Closetmaid Completions - all of the finishes will be cherry veneer:

We'll have 2 of these towers (each with 3 drawers)
Then 2 of these corner units stacked on top of one another to form a corner tower:
All told, I will have about 20' of hanging space! Wooo!

Dallas's walk-in will be a modular system by Freedom Rail. As his needs change, we can re-configure the units to accomodate!

Make it stop!

I am very nearly at my breaking point with this project. I managed to hold it together until this past weekend...when I had a major, full fledged panic attack. It was not pretty. Suffice it to say, I will be very glad when this is over!


After countless phone calls, discussions, and many hours of contemplation we have elected to have the kitchen cabinets sanded down, veneered, and re-stained in our original choice of colour...no discount. While this certainly isn't the ideal outcome (would have much preferred to have new cabinets made), this option means that I won't have to settle for cabinets in a colour that I didn't want, and there will be no delay in getting the cabinets in the house within 2 weeks.

The end is near...thank goodness!

Rock n' Roll!

Let's hear it for masons! Despite extremely un-cooperative weather this week, they managed to install the stone on the front of the house! I puffy heart it!



I just got back from the house after sweeping out the 2nd floor (sooooo much dust and junk laying around). Gosh, it ended up being way more work than I thought it would be. I 've got blistas on me fingas! This week will be mud and tape on the main floor and *hopefully* sanding.

My next task is to find and order closet organizers…this has been a thorn in my side for months already, but I am determined to get this done in the next 2 weeks. Wish me luck!

Houston, we have a problem

I received a call this morning from our cabinet maker telling me that there was a problem with the finish on the cabinets, and that I should probably come and take a look. When I got there, he explained that there had been some sort of mix up (likely on the part of the stain manufacturer) and the cabinets came back from their finisher the wrong colour! To be honest, I surprised myself by not uttering a single word of profanity.

This is absolutely not the stain I chose:



Initially, I wasn't sure what to do. To re-order the cabinets means another 6 week wait...and we're already 3 weeks behind schedule. I can't change the colour of the floors or countertops because they've already been ordered and are waiting to be installed.

In the end, I elected to accept the cabinets and will request that they give me a discount because of the error (that can be a fight my contractor can have with them). So, NO MORE DELAYS!