Meet the Wilsons

The Cast Comes Off

As we were sitting outside last night, eating dinner, Brian and I were talking about how the past 6 months we have felt handicapped, not being able to cook and living in total chaos.  The house is far from finished, but I think the most painful part is over.  The kitchen is 99% complete and we both feel a huge weight has been lifted.  Here are some pics of the "almost final" product.

And, just for fun, here are reminders of what it looked like before we moved in, in November.  The sliding glass doors in the pic below are in the same place as the two-paned window above.  I know I've mentioned this before, but for a recap: our goal is to make this home much more like the original mid-century modern Cliff May Rancho home it was at some point in the past.  Previous owners did not like this style of architecture and design, so put lots of details and styling that made it more "cute country" and less "clean, California ranch."  The beauty of the original homes are what drew Brian and I to this wonderful neighborhood in Long Beach in the first place.  We want our home to fit back in!  Right now it sticks out like a sore thumb.  The next big project (after the fence) is the front of the house.  This will totally change the styling of our home, from both the inside and outside.  Next to the kitchen, this is the project I am most excited about!

 

Here are some pics of our inaugural meal: carnitas tacos with home made guacamole and charred vegetable Mexican rice.  I love how the girls got into the spirit of the meal, squeezing lime on their tacos. Cheers!

Real Men Do Math

According to my amazing hubby the work on the above paper means we don't actually need the very inconvenient post that has been sitting between our kitchen and dining areas.  Brian has been debating with himself for months about whether or not it's a good idea to remove the thing.  Today he finally decided to do it, with a few modifications to the post that actually holds up the house.

The post that is going bye-bye is on the left.  The modified one is on the right.

Brian put up this bracing to make the post removal easier.  Claire's asked, "Dad, are you making an A?"

I didn't get any pics of the actual post removal.  It made me way too nervous to be in the room.  (Note, fairy Rosetta on the dining room table is nearly nude.  Claire claims this is because, "Rosetta is having a panty party!"  ACK!)

And...voila!:

Shout Out to My Amazing Hubby

I have married the handiest man on the planet: Brian.  I don't know if he will ever really know how much I appreciate his hard work and amazing skills.  (I tell him ALL.THE.TIME. but I don't think he really gets it.)  We bought a house this past fall that needed a lot of work to become what we felt it could be.  Now, after four months of all pain, little gain, we are finally getting some satisfaction!  The below three pics are of the exact same view of our kitchen, from the end of October, 2009 to today, March 6, 2010. 

I love you honey! XXX OOO

Say Goodbye to My Little Kitchen

Phase 2, of phase 1 our remodel begins! Drywall and electrical are finished and our cabinets are being tomorrow. Brian is doing the install, so it will take a couple of weeks. Our current state of organized chaos will be replaced by COMPLETE chaos, for a little while. But, that is temporary and we can't wait to finally have this small portion of Phase 1 complete! Here is one last look at it's current state.