Remodel is FINALLY finished!!!!

Okay so are you ready for it? Here are the pictures of our remodel :) Mostly of the kitchen but I threw in a few of the family room, front room and dining room. The only true before and after pictures I have are of the kitchen which of course was the biggest part of the remodel anyways. Those of you who have been to my house before can see the main difference in the other rooms as well. There are still a few things that need to be taken care of but it's looking good. Now all we need is our bookshelf put in and whew...it will all be done. Well the downstairs anyways. The upstairs will need stuff done at some point but after this disaster I think my mom is going to take a break from remodeling. I think she is most looking forward to parking in the garage again (still some furniture in there). Anyways, enjoy the pictures! I thought about doing like a video virtual tour but decided against it as I don't know who really looks at this blog and a real inside view of my house if I don't know you is a little creepy lol. Pictures is all you get :) enjoy!

Now I can finally say I posted the remodel. Seems like it's been a year since it happened haha but it's only been a few  months. I like the new change though :) I do have to also say that wood floors are a lot harder to maintain then tile.... every time I sweep it's like I have to start all over again once I've finished. Anyhow...here they are :)

Recipes Anyone??

As most of you know we did a remodel downstairs. While most of it is finally done, there are still a few touch ups left and then it will be complete...finally! Anyhow, the week after Christmas we had some windy, stormy weather and had a power outage. Didn't think anything of it until we tried to use the oven which, surprise surprise is broken. It's brand new! So I call the guy from the company, he sends out the parts and then we have this other company come to fix it (a company I did not like one bit, rather rude). Anyhow, apparently we were sent the wrong parts and so now we have to wait until new parts are shipped in order to have our oven completely fixed. Thank goodness we can use the stove top, otherwise I would go crazy!! Anyways, the reason I'm telling (well actually writing) this is because I'm running out of Crockpot recipe ideas and stove top recipes as well. Having soup, tacos, and pasta are getting a little old. I'm all for trying new stuff so if you have any good recipes will you PLEASE send them my way. Don't ever take your oven for granted! And I'll share a few of my recipes on here once I get them typed up :) And don't worry I haven't forgotten about posting pictures of the remodel. Maybe by this weekend they will be up :)

And on a happier note, Cafe Rio just opened in Redlands!! So excited! Although I think Chipotle is still my favorite but maybe they're tied... I'm excited to go eat there soon!! Have a fabulous weekend!! Love you all!

A Little Preview...

So as most of you know we have been remodeling the downstairs. I wanted to wait until it was completely finished to take pictures but here is a little preview:

This is our new living room set...well part of it anyways. It is by far my favorite new piece of furniture, I just love it! You can kind of see a difference in the paint color on walls... it's a light cream with the window treatments and baseboards still white. And you can see the new floor as well. We still have to get a few carpets for the living/dining room and then I will post pictures. 

I realized as I was going through all the pictures that the only ones I have of truly before and after are of the kitchen... I got the other rooms but after the furniture was taken out so you can't see as much of a dramatic effect but it's starting to look good.

We are STILL waiting for everything to be finished...hopefully today (Almost SIX weeks and counting).  Hopefully things can start being moved in by the end of the week (the baseboards are not sealed yet so there is still ALOT of furniture out in the garage. I will start putting together the before and after shots so stay tuned!

FYI the picture may be a little blurry...I've tried to get a good one it's just hard with the lighting...but at least you can tell what's different ;)

Life isn't so bad when it's raining...

Rain.Rain.Rain. That is all I have experienced the past 5 days and I’m starting to get tired of it. Don’t get me wrong, I love rain and our trees, grass and plants need it but constant rain for almost a week is a little tiring. I need sunshine. I don’t think I could ever live in Seattle (no offense to those who do) because I need sunshine. Last night I got maybe 4 hours of sleep because it was pouring outside. As I was laying there trying to sleep, I just replayed what has been going on in my life the past few weeks. 

My mom decided to redo the downstairs. ALL of it. New kitchen, new floors, new paint...etc. It all looks amazing but it’s been three weeks and they are still not done. It’s starting to take a toll on both of us. We can’t stand living in this mess and I feel like the workers are just taking their sweet time. They really are doing a great job it just feels like they are slow. I get that they have other houses or projects they are doing but come on... I want a house for Christmas. I can’t even set up my tree yet :( but I’m going to today.... whether they are finished or not. Christmas is only 3 days away! It was nice to get out of the house and go down to Anaheim for a few days and see the Thompson extended family. I loved playing with little Collin and talking with Brady (who by the way is the most polite little boy ever!! So cute!) I loved talking with Lydia and Alyssa too about what rides they love. I’m glad I got to hang out with Drew and Taylor practically the whole time (hope they weren’t tired of me lol) and seeing Paula, Alan, Bryce and Lynae. It was great seeing my cousins and their cute families and also seeing my aunt and uncle. It was a great break and even though it rained all day Friday it was still fun. It was a good break from the construction. Unfortunately, my mom hasn’t had that opportunity yet :( That’s why I decided Bret and I will be setting up the tree and hopefully finding our box with the stockings so we can at least have that. 

Let’s just say, the rain has kind of put a damper on my mood lately but I feel as though this will be a good day today. Well every day is a good day if you really make it one. Yesterday I was stressed out and sad when Emily told me she sent a package but it was delivered to the wrong house. I was mad that the mailman...the one we have ALL the time didn’t catch my name and put it in our box. Turns out he did after all. Guess if we checked our mailbox more often we would’ve known that. I got one of the greatest gifts ever. Thank you Emily!! See...life isn’t so bad when it’s raining after all....good things still happen. So even though it’s STILL raining...it will be a good day, because I’m making it a good one. Love you all and sorry if this is random...just had to write down my thoughts for the moment. Maybe later I will post pictures or something! :)