lake path house update - granite, plumbing, faucets and window screens

June 18, 2011

The whole backsplash thing has really been a toughy -- we made more trips to Lowes and Home Depot to buy tiles than for any other reason. I think this is the backsplash we're going to go with though -- Bry and I really love it and it matches the tile floor nicely!

June 22, 2011

Our granite has been revealed!

Love my counter tops and my stove/ovenEeek! So exciting!! The granite color looks perfect with the cabinet color and hardware we chose! (so glad we didn't go with silver/chrome/brushed nickel hardware... woulda looked like crapola!)
Love my shiney new counters (Do you like how I drink hot coffee in the middle of a 95 degree summer afternoon? What can I say, I like my chai anytime!)
I'm standing in front of the fire place looking into the family room and kitchen
We have screens in our windows now!
This is OUR home... can't wait to christen it. Wait. Did I just say that :)

My dishwasher has a spot for wine glasses, which is clearly a necessity in my vino loving world!
Flooring went into the upstairs guest bathroom (which will 1 day be the kiddo's bathroom, hence the laminate floors and white counters)
June 24, 2011
Bathroom faucets went in! This is the downstairs full bath.

With all of the photos I take of my kitchen, can you tell I love it? It's such a reflection of me and my style!

Plumbing was installed... and faucets in our master bath!
Love our upgraded faucets -- they weren't expensive, so it was worth every extra penny spent!
Master bath COMPLETE!
We have a HUGE front porch and this is not by coincidence. We got to design the whole thing ourselves, and obviously we made it as big as possible because I've only dreamt about a large rocking chair porch since I was a wee little tike. And that's a bizarre thing for a girl growing up in southern California to dream about!

orange county & palm springs

My last stop on the Martha Stewart Living program led me back home to southern California.

I was fortunate to have several days off just relxaing at home, running errands and spending time with my parents and Bry's parents.

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Dinner on the lake with my parents

I took my ring back to our jewelers to get a good, professional cleaning. So sparkley! Newport HarborBry's old dog, MacDinner with my in-lawsMy mom and I went on a little vacation out to Palm Springs
And ate at my FAVORITE Mexican restaurant - Las CazuelasI was able to sneak in a quick morning of sun by the pool My mom loved the hotel lobby lights on the floor...
Then I grabbed myself some Coffee Bean and we headed to Cabazon on our way home. My event was in Glendale last Saturday and looky what food cart made an appearance? Buttermilk! Only the best pancakes you've ever had!! So long Orange County... until we meet again!

minneapolis twins

While in Minneapolis, Bryan made his way to Target Field to watch the Minnesota Twins take on the Cleveland Indians.

He's now been to 16 of the 30 MLB stadiums!

trying to beat the heat in dallas

After my Dallas event was over I had a couple days off before I flew to California.

With temperatures hitting 105, my ass was parked in the pool!

lake path house update - lighting, pillars, mirrors and trees

WOW!

At this point, everything with our house seems to be happening at rapid speed.

Daily differences and installations.

Below are 3 consecutive days worth of updates... amazing how much happens day to day!!

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June 13, 2011

Almost every house has sold!Our outdoor light fixtures and pillars were installed
Love the pillars... and the brick matches the door color perfectly -- We chose a real red brick. We didn't plan on the door and brick matching so perfectly, but it does!
Garage door key pad *which had an added price attached to it*
We upgraded our kitchen sink faucet *for an added price of course* and love it!
This oven was a major splurge. I mean major! It was atually the most expensive upgrade in our entire house!! The standard oven was lovely, but only had 1 oven and the range just wasn't up to par, in my opinion. We met with our builder, Thomas, in our house to go over some stuff and he randomly stopped conversation and said that many neighbors have commented about our stove/oven to him. LOL, the neighbors are jealous! Yay! Our shower and bathtub faucets were installed. Those were an upgrade too *of course with a price attached* and we love them. Thank God! But we are planning on getting a nicer shower head once we move in...
Love love love our extended sink and added counterspace and cabinets!!
Attic in Childrens Retreat
View from back corner of formal living room into dining room and kitchen. Our lighting is in!Love our garage doors and side door out the garage. Of course they were upgrades. Bleck! I hate seeing all of these dollar signs spinning around Bryan's head, but whatev's - we love it all!June 14, 2011
As of today, we have a tree in the backyard! Love my tree!!
Checking out the side of the house... outdoor faucet placement, etc.
We have 2 trees in the front yard, yay!
Measuring for a refrigerator and the dude is touching up the paint. Guess where we went right after we left the house. Yep, to Lowes to look at fridges!
1st picture in our gorgeous kitchen!!!! Don't you love our island? No one else in our community has this two-tiered island and we think all the neighbors will be jealous, haha! And guess what? No added cost, yay!
Tip trays. Yep, upgrade and minor added cost.
Drawers? Included and a complete suprise to us. Score!
Cabinets under kitchen sink... love me all this organization!
What a difference a day makes! Our shower glass was installed.
Practicing reading...So excited to have mirrors!!! Notice the picture above from yesterday... they weren't there and now they are! Wonder when the sink faucets are going in???
We really like our garage. Weird, but true. The Infiniti parked in the driveway for the very 1st time. We pulled in and Bryan said "Honey I'm home. " Love it!We decided to install the kitchen backsplash ourselves. On our Lowes refrigerator trip earlier in the day we decided to look at tile too. We really liked this one. It's a bit daring for us, which is part of why we like it. We generally pick the traditional, rustic stuff. This is kind of a fun "pop!" We love it and we love it with our tile flooring, cabinets, knobs and wall color, but are unsure how it looks with the granite. Hmmmm.... what to do. What to do?! Oh, and it would go verticle, not horizontal...1st family picture inside the house Cali and her Daddy out by our tree. Cal's running around her backyard - so cute!
June 15, 2011
Just yesterday Bryan took a photo with the tree in our front yard and today? Today we have plants and flowers! They also put a plant in to hide the a.c. unit on the side of the house.Loving the way our entry way is turning out!Extra outlet in master bath. Was an upgrade with an added cost, so we declined... but to our suprise they did it anyway at no cost. Thank you builder!Getting ready for grass!You know how those crazy lil kiddos always have visions of sugar-plums dancing in their heads?
Well Bry and I have dollar signs.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ And we still have to furnish this thing?
It makes me want to puke just thinking about it all... $$$$$!
And yes, we're taking donations :)