Here's to you ney-sayers!

Here's to all my IKEA haters or neysayers out there...

Here's our cabinets- Adel Medium Brown

We did it! We bought the entire kitchen and utility room from IKEA. And we're proud of it too. Ranked above Kraftmaid and many of the custom cabinet makers. They have amazing features and are more sturdy than every cabinet we've looked at and have sweet metal drawers.



We got a screaming deal, had a scary as heck drive to Utah, and now we're ready to go. And the plus side? Say we get sick of them in 2 years, all we have to do is buy new doors! And one more thing to prove IKEA is good- we got all whirlpool appliances and they are sweet... can't wait to see them go in!

*oh, one little detail, we have about two weeks worth of assembly to do... oh well! :o)

Easter Cake Pops

Okay, so it's not about the house, but I for SURE don't want to forget how cute these desserts I made were! I saw them on a website and couldn't choose what design to make, so I had to make all of them. They are cake on a stick, dipped in chocolate & decorated.

Hope you enjoy the pics like I enjoyed making them... ha ha, not! They took FOREVER to make and were so yummy to eat, they were gone in a flash = best kind of dessert I guess.

Pink and White Bunnies, Carrot Cake Carrots, Cute Little Chicks, & Decorated Eggs

All together there was about 26 of them, plus a practice round. Only two casualties (death by falling into chocolate- not a bad way to go...)

Whew! Whirlwind time!

Well it seemed like we were always looking at products, but not knowing what to pick and man did we spend A LOT of time doing that! But we just this week met with two companies who I would recommend to anyone and they saved us so much time, hassell and I wish we would have just done them first!


At Probuild we picked out windows, doors, trusses, lumber, decking, closets, stair railings, trim, interior doors, siding, exterior features, door hardware, and more!

At Images Flooring we picked out carpet, wood floors, tile, countertops, fireplace, backsplashes and more!

They both have our bids right now getting ready, so we'll see what those come in at at then finalize things. We're getting there!

NEXT- foundation quotes, HVAC and plumbing quotes and picking lighting fixtures.

Moving Along!

No pictures, but so much is happening!

-architect finished and stamped sets of blue prints
-structural engineer signed off and stamped her sets of blue prints
-getting ready to submit to City of Westminster as soon as HVAC is bid out
-starting bidding process soon (like this or next week!)
-starting final construction loan application from bank this week

A lot has happened, we have a lot to do:

-buy cabinets and pick them up
-get HVAC bids
-get thermo-loss calculations done
-find window company
-get bids on foundation, lumber, plumbing, roof

There's so much more, but that's this week's list.

By the way- we've paid many more bills these last two weeks!

architect (remaining due?) $$$
structural engineer $$$
soil sample $$

Kitchen Cabinets

In January we went to IKEA in Utah on a very quick road trip (AND we got to stay with our very good friends, and really enjoyed catching up and eating a yummy dinner!). Our intention was to inspect IKEA cabinetry to see if it was worth putting in our new home. It is very affordable and we had heard good things, so we had to go see.

Yes... it was very nice (the higher level line). The drawer slides were some of the top quality Ryan had ever seen, the organization was amazing and the customization was incomparable.

We decided on Adel cabinet finish and their own line of appliances made by Whirlpool.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/kitchen/tools/kitchen_style_selector

When we came home we found a consumer reports on cabinets and IKEA placed third, among very expensive custom cabinets!

Next step: return to Utah (the closest IKEA) and buy entire kitchen, load on U-HAUL and come home. We will wait for the kitchen sale and place one big order.

Downfall: you have to install and assemble cabinets yourself... that's why they're cheap!