Announcing....

Esther Olivia Crittenden

Born: January 27, 2011

Weight: 8 lbs 6.7 ounces

Length: 20 inches

We love her juicy lips and wild hair

 

Upstairs Update...because blogging distracts from dwelling on you-know-what

The upstairs hallway then.

then (again)

and now. Compete with changing table and the door we salvaged from the cellar

Finally put up wedding pictures thanks to Costco and the "picture frames" inside our awesome door.  As much as I love remembering that wonderful day, it does make be a little sad.  Everyone always said you put on some weight in the first year of marriage...but I don't think they meant 40 pounds. Oh well.  It's all for a good cause.

Nursery - before

Esther's fully stocked closet...thanks to kind grandmas, aunts, cousins, and friends. Thank you!

More views of the nursery

Esther's story time chair

New "headboard" aka large Pottery Barn mantle Chris discovered on the beloved Craigslist

Is it wise to sleep under an enormous shelf laden with books? (Not to mention the bust of David.)  I suspect we are  violating some vital principle of feng shui.

Latest thought: doctors should give a window of time to expect their babies.  I'm not sure if having an actual due date is such a good idea with respect to the mental sanity of pregnant women.

Kitchen Projects

The kitchen needed lots of work...but to do a major overhaul was cost prohibitive.  Here is a bit of our low-budget remodeling job.

Our Kitchen as we found it.  Whoever thought of squeezing a range between the sink and fridge without any counter space has clearly never actually used a kitchen for cooking.

Step #1: move the fridge and scoot the range over

Step #2: Install dishwasher...with great rejoicing!! Going 9 months without one of these babies is enough to make you smile with every use.  

Step #3: Install counter...and in case you were wondering, having a counter next to your stove is a must. I'm a much happier cook these days.

So Chris had the entire week before Christmas off of school and he made the most of it.  Beginning with installing new counters (see above), building some shelves for me using his new router he got as a Christmas gift from his parents (a gift which he opened well before Christmas without telling me...very sneaky).  Last but not least, he took down the awkward cabinets and hung a pot rack in its place.  (Which he of course built from scratch).  Then he painted everything up beautifully and even picked out a clock to go on the wall to spice things up.  Maybe it's just me, but I think my husband is pretty awesome. 

Step #4: Build shelves...using a picture from my Martha Stewart magazine and figuring out how to make them. (with the help of one of our favorite Home Depot employees)

Step #5 Paint shelves and let Lizzy organize away

Step #6: hope the jars of beans and grains don't break the new shelf

Step #7 Build a pot rack. Step #8: let Lizzy hang pots and re-organize her newly liberated cupboard, Step #9 Touch up paint Step #10 Hang yet another large clock in our small home.

Thank you Chris!

Bathroom remodel...last minute, low budget, not bad.

Before

Before...yuck

Underneath the plastic...yummy

Cement backer board...amazing stuff

Tile (before we added white grout)

 

Mid-construction mess...as usual

new bead board wainscoting

Finished Product

Hooks from Anthropologie...on sale!

You know your furnace is broken when...

-the honey in the kitchen cabinet has solidified
-you come inside to escape from below freezing temperatures only to find that when inside the house you can still see your breath
-you take very long, very hot showers or baths to "thaw"
-you're in the habit of putting on a coat and either slippers or boots before leaving the bedroom because it's the only room in the house with a space heater (in the last few days we've acquired a new space heater for the kitchen...doubling our warm space)
-the clothes that have been hanging out to dry all week are still damp
-you find yourself painting your daughters bedroom wearing fur boots and sweats...and you're still shivering
-you hear yourself saying "I wish I had an electric fireplace" (you know, the tacky looking plug in fireplaces complete with a mantel at Costco).
-You spend an entire day running errands, some more important than other, and stalling in every store because you know the sooner you finish the sooner you have to go back home
 -yours is the only roof on the street that is still covered in snow from the storm that was 5 days ago

note: these events are not fictionalized but come from actual experience

Snowfall

 

 

 

 

First Saturday in December - 2009

One year ago, on the first Saturday in December,  Chris took me to see the Messiah performed at Washington's National Cathedral.  After the concert, he took me to the gardens outside the cathedral and asked me to marry him and gave me a diamond ring. It was a magical moment, made even more so by the brand new snow that had fallen that day.  It was the first snowfall of the year. 

Exactly one year later, on the first Saturday in December, we had our first snowfall of the year. Here are some pictures to document our progress over the last 12 months.

First Saturday in December - 2010

A quick update while I wait for some paint to dry

Our grass really is growing!! Thanks to the rain and a few days in the 80's.  Hooray!

In order to cover the broom closet in the hallway, without having a door custom made, we made a curtain.  Chris designed the look and I did the sewing.

This was our failed attempt to wallpaper the upstairs. Notice how the supposedly heavy duty backer paper gets all bubbly? This happens every time it rains. The bubbles were getting worse and worse.

We abandoned the idea of wallpaper altogether. After spending a couple hundred dollars and 3 days putting up the nasty stuff, we spent another $50 and many hours taking it all down. 

And painted it instead. This pine wood drinks up the paint...but 6 gallons of paint and 4 coats later, the walls were white. More pictures to follow.