two steps ahead.. one step back

Invisible Fence Installation.. check
Remember our debate about what to do with the yard? In the beginning Ben and I just could not agree. Ben wanted a traditional fenced in yard and I wanted the Invisible Fence. You can read about the details and why I won that one here, but in the end all of that back and forth didn't matter anyway. Once I called the Zoning Board I found out that being on a corner lot meant that our fence could only be 30" high- anything else would block visibility at the intersection. While that would be fine for normal dogs, somehow we ended up with a dog who thinks he's a cat and there is no way he wouldn't jump over a 30" fence. Note to any other couples who are having the same argument- do yourself a favor and make sure there's something to argue over before it turns into a bigger deal than it has to.
So in pouring rain Henry was introduced to new limits and he couldn't be responding any better. As soon as he gets too close to the fence his collar starts to beep and you can literally see him jump up and run in the opposite direction. I don't care who is on the other side of the fence- Ben, an elementary school class or a squirrel, he's scared enough of the beeping sound that instead of charging he's retreating. I'd like to say we have a changed dog, but it's only been a day. Who knows how long it will take him to begin "testing" the system.

Kitchen Cabinets Ordered.. check
Ben and I have been struggling with where to order our kitchen cabinets for weeks now. Originally when we first started doing the research we figured Home Depot would be the least expensive option (they advertised a 10x10 kitchen would cost approximately $3,000). Because that seemed incredibly reasonable we scheduled the measure and I started working with the kitchen designer the day after we closed on the house. I've written about the kitchen in many of my previous posts this has been quite the process, as it should be, but you can read about the most recent kitchen dilemma here. To put it simply when they finally priced out what I considered to be the only design that was functional for our 10x10 space it turned out to be triple the price. I had a little bit of sticker shock (as did Ben) and we decided to think about it.

So what made us change our mind? A few things..
1. Promotions. Home Depot offers a variety of promotions including no payments for 12 months with no interest- something that seemed like a great back up plan if necessary. On top of that the Kraftmaid cabinets I picked (which by the way were some of the least expensive they offered) were an extra 10% off. Plus Home Depot now has a "Buy More Save More" promotion going on for the next few months that ended up giving us an additional $1000 off. And because we waited a couple weeks to place the order they threw in a free sink base cabinet which was an additional savings of almost $500.

2. Convenience and Reliability. There's just something nice about knowing that if there are any problems- with the cabinets themselves or the installation of them that we can call the local store and have it taken care of. Also, while there are always delivery delays, I still feel like the installation will take place in a reasonable amount of time. Of course the number one rule is to practice patience, but we were told approximately 4 weeks for delivery so to say they'll be installed before Christmas makes me feel like we're allowing for plenty of delays!

3. Availability. A kitchen is something you don't want to have to redo often. It's incredibly costly and should last a number of years (depending on the quality of the cabinets of course!) But we wanted to be realistic. If we end up staying in the house long term and eventually having kids here, we'll probably have to make the kitchen bigger. While that could be 8 years away it could also be more like 4 years away- there's just no way of knowing. By picking classic Home Depot cabinets I felt like we'd have the option if or when we enlarged the kitchen to just add onto the cabinets instead of starting over entirely.

So when we finally placed the order I signed a waiver saying I had 72 hours to change my mind. The truth is I didn't think I needed it- I generally make my decision and stick to it. And remember it was the cost, not the design that was holding the order up. But either way when I saw this picture on the House Beautiful website I knew we had made the right decision..

House Beautiful, October 2007

I'm a sucker for House Beautiful emails that suggest I check out "classic and modern kitchen designs"- I'm sure I'll still waste hours perusing other designers' kitchens even once ours is installed. But this one really caught my attention because it's exactly what I had in mind when I first schemed our space. Here Kay Douglass used the same style and color cabinets I ordered with a light marble counter top. While I haven't looked at stones yet I know I'm going white on the counters, just not sure if I'll opt for marble or granite (granite is more durable so I'll probably stick with that). As I'm sure many of you know we also went with stainless steel- though I'll be using polished chrome accents to bring everything up a notch. And I've already picked a very special white tile backsplash that may have to wait until our funds are replenished- but I'll wait for anything as long as it's perfect once I get it! The only thing we haven't finalized yet is how we are going to treat the ceilings- at the moment what we have is hideous and has to be replaced before our brand new kitchen is installed..
But I have to admit I do love the reclaimed Cyprus Douglass used above. I might just have to ask Ben how hard installing it would be...

Flooding of the Basement.. yuck
Henry and I were welcomed to the Saratoga area with heavy rainfall and a down right messy day Wednesday. The perfect day to unpack and do the months of laundry we've been saving for our very own washer and dryer- don't you think? The answer would probably be yes if our washer and dryer weren't located in our very wet basement. I started the day with a load or two but by noon there was one very large puddle in the middle of the floor that was spreading to all four walls.. very quickly.
Should I be embarrassed that I have THAT much laundry to do? The back of the basement (where the bikes and air conditioners are) is higher ground, but I guess if there's enough water coming the "higher" ground doesn't seem to matter much.
We weren't really sure why the previous homeowners had left a pump in the basement and Wednesday's wet discovery cleared that question up. Ben set up the pump to empty into the sump pump..
By the end of the night most of the puddle was gone but the concrete was obviously still soaking wet and muddy. We're hoping that the next couple of dry days will help us out a bit.

And believe it or not that was all just day 1. Imagine what the next day will bring..