95% Done

Today was the first time Duke was ever allowed out of the stroller to run around. (I was meticulous last night about making sure every nail and screw were completely picked up.) He was in heaven. There is still some lingering dust on the floors it started to turn into a slip and slide, but he loved running in and out of each room and opening and closing all the doors. He even got in on our cleaning action this morning. 

Kitchen is all done, with the exception of 6 drawers. But done enough for me! I am going to take a fine grit sand paper and go over the top of the counter before treating it with mineral oil. 

More kitchen. I am so grateful for all of that counter space. I think our first order of business will be to bake some cookies as a family. 

We haven't decided if we want to repaint the interior of the window well Ivory or keep them blue. To be debated. 

Still my favorite bedroom. This is the room that makes me tear up when I think about the whole process. I can't wait to start bringing in our own things and putting in curtains and blinds. 

I completely forgot to take a picture of the bathroom today. But that can wait. It's not as cute as this:

My little helper. 

The Stairs

I have been asked numerous times lately "How will you manage a baby and all those stairs?" (in a somewhat horrified tone). 

It is 17 steps. And I can totally do this. We are not the first people to ever live in a walk up with kids. 

Whole Foods, Amazon and J Crew all deliver. 

My stroller fits and is manageable, providing I don't weigh it down unnecessarily. Duke will soon be climbing these himself like a pro! 

Plus this completely eliminates my need for a gym! (bonus)

Weekend? What Weekend?

Title inspired by Kristen Jasper. 

This weekend was a long one. Brandon was running all over between Manhattan and Brooklyn. We ran into an issue with our Ikea Kitchen order. They couldn't give us a price quote on installation because they didn't have our "digital rendition" on file, when we had been expressly told by 2 different people that our drawings and plans would be fine. Nothing is as easy at it seems at first. But we got it straightened out and should get our quote this week. We could do the installation of the cabinets to save some money, but at this point we want it done right the first time. 

Our weekend was also complicated by Duke having super high fevers all weekend. Which was such a bummer. Poor little guy had no other symptoms except for a high fever. We were at the doctors Saturday afternoon, and had to stay home from church on Sunday. Being home bound while there was so much going on at the apartment was a bit tough, but I loved how extra snugly Duke was. So we made the most of it by watching Charlie Browns Christmas (multiple times) and taking naps together.

It isn't mudded yet in this picture but we dropped the ceiling (just a couple inches) in the kitchen to match the living room. So now it's one straight flush line. Brandon has been doing so much for this project.

Side note: we both have really broken in (ruined) a pair of jeans, my favorite Paige's are now my "work pants" (but don't judge me if you see me out in public with them) Brandon has (had) a really great pair of dark jeans that have been over there one too many times and have suffered the consequences. 

Bathroom is coming along, its been completely covered in green board and cement board. It's ready to be tiled and then painted. 

We raised the shower head well over a foot from its old location. Why do people insist on having such short shower heads? I'm short and it even drives me nuts. 

Another Living Room shot. Yes, we are still waiting on the doors. Home Depot says a delivery date of 12/25..... Is Santa Clause bringing them?

Our plumbers were here this weekend going over the pipes to make sure everything was OK. Once the tile is in and grouted they will come back to put on our new shower fixtures (which are pretty and shiny). 

After getting home I realized I didn't take a single picture of the kitchen besides this:

All I can say is "LAYERS" I guess that is the best way to describe this place. Brick behind the insulation, then it's lathe, plaster and drywall. I never want to open up any of these walls ever again. If (when) we ever do this again, I want to take a week and remove all the plaster. Its awful stuff, especially this horse hair plaster. It's very very heavy. 

But our electrician is finished, it too way to long but he is done. He'll be back to finish installing all the light fixtures and everything, but the general wiring is done. We are so excited about it. One less contractor and one more thing off our to do list

More work ahead this week but its starting to really look like a home! Our construction guy Carlos keeps saying "Getting closer!" and "Looks Good"

Rebuilding- The Master

Sorry for the delay. We had a very busy Thanksgiving week. When we are not renovating we are living our lives with our little one, like this:

And this

but our home is starting to look like this:

this is where the opening to the nursery was.

Fireplace is all framed out and cleaned up. 

No more purple/blue walls! Although I was getting somewhat attached to color. We'll chalk that up to Stockholm syndrome. Its starting to look and feel real.  

We still need to strip all the window frames. I have been struggling with this because the Methlyomine Chloride is not cutting through some of the layers. Not even color change. MC is pretty strong stuff too. So I may need to invest in some Peel Away 1 or 7 just to make my life easier. 

Soon we can start talking about paint colors!