~ Aug 2013~ Sew what... We've gotta find a way back! Part I!!

[Tinkercc]

Hi D,


Your Marie and Dopey bags are adorable!! We just for back from Disney's Hilton Head Resort. It was beautiful and relaxing. Your talent is amazing as usual!!!

 

[disneychic2]

Hey I am 58 and get excited with interacting with the characters too...no dull pictures for me At Long Lost Friends weekend Horace Horsecollar was very happy to hear I had a horse and Clarabelle was posing like crazy for pictures when I told her her picture was going up in our barn really cute !

Yep, I'm definitely older.


D~ When exactly did you loose control of your ptr??

 

[Luvchefmic]

Yep, I'm definitely older.


D~ When exactly did you loose control of your ptr??

Something about her brings out the chatty in us

 

[DMGeurts]

D, I'm sorry Ive not been here...a bad week and just about to pull I to airport for our trip. I'll try to catch up during free time of trip

No worries Kathy - I can't keep up with yours either. I try to check in when I see that you've posted an update though, but my apologies, as well.

I can't wait to see your auction bag...I am torn between wanting you to make a ton of money for your trip and having something I can afford! LOL...

Nini

LOL Well - I NEED to make enough $$ to, at least, take my trip in the first place.

What a great saving on your shopping yesterday

I can't wait to see what your big auction bag is

Thanks Lillian - it will be a couple of months yet for the reveal... Hopefully I can get it all done in time!

So often you crack me up

D~ your latest bag is absolutely adorable!! I know the recipient will be overjoyed to get it! The fabrics are TDF! I stopped at Walmart yesterday to get a few zippers and they had a bin of fabric for $1 a yard. I don't usually buy their fabric, but I checked it out and ended up buying some. It was quilting weight cotton and several really cute patterns, so I figured they would be fine for my grandchildren's clothes that I make.

Awesome! What a bargain too!

I'm so glad you shared the pics of the girls. Great to see Allie in action and V's nails were such fun! I'm not coordinated to paint my nails anything but basic colors. She's got skills!

I used to do fun stuff to my nails all the time, but I just can't seem to find the time anymore. I am tempted to go have my toes done here soon... I loved the Mickey themed ones I was able to get last year.

Ruth, so very glad to hear you're out of the hospital. Praying they find what caused your fall and that any new meds will be tolerated well.

I hope so too.

RuthIE, so very glad you will be starting PT! That should help you so much. And knowing you, you will push through the pain and attack it with determination. And watch who you're calling an old broad!! I'm probably older than you and I don't acknowledge that I'm getting older in the least. I keep thinking I'll embroider a shirt that says "cleverly disguised as a mature adult". While I'm at it, I should make one for you too! Get better soon!

OK - this made me ROFL this morning...

D~ I do think every once in a while what a God moment that was when you and Marianne got the help RuthIE needed. Your determination was what made it happen and that was so wonderful of you. Just underscores how deeply we feel for people we haven't even met yet!

Thanks - there is just no other way to describe it... I am just thankful that I was able to help in some small way - it was mostly Marianne's doing.

I remember you talking about your remodel plans when I first started posting to your thread. I hope you can come to a compromise and be able to go forward. Something else to get excited about for sure! DH is remodeling a co-worker's bathroom and has three other co-workers who want him to do something for them. He is only 56, but is thinking about retiring from Goodyear and doing these sorts of jobs. He has 38 years in (yep, started there at the age of 18!), so it would be doable. Just in the early thinking stages. It's a bit scary to think about, but he loves doing these sorts of projects. He's turned down bigger projects that he would have liked to do, but working full time just doesn't make it possible. We'll see how things go.

Yah - we are DEEP into the remodeling plans now... I will update at the bottom, since my day was consumed with it yesterday.

DH loves working with this sort of thing too - he is a "putzer" - like his grandfather and his father, he always needs to have a project. Well, this one is just a bit too big - and I really want to get it totally DONE. I can't go with out a bathroom, and I can't go with out a kitchen.

I've spent the last couple of days with a friend whose mother passed away. Her mom was 95, but it's always hard to say goodbye, no matter when. The funeral was yesterday and then last night we went out to dinner with my Mom and Dad for their 66th anniversary. I'm grateful my parents are still alive, but it can be so stressful at times. I'm working through that.

Well, I'm off to do some sewing. I hope you get a lot done on your big auction items and have fun with your family this weekend. I hope Allie takes it easy and her shin splints get better!

I agree - it's never easy to lose a parent. You are such an amazing friend to sit with her during her time of grief - that takes amazing strength, as well - because I am sure if causes much reflection on your part.

This exactly.

I also wanted to say I love the Marie Bag.

Thanks!

That Marie bag is awesome!!!!! I love the colors and Marie is just soooo cute!!! Have my nephew's bday party today, so need to get a move on. Have a good day!

Thank you - I hope you had fun at your nephhew's bday party!

Hope this works, first time posting from my phone with a pic..

LG using her new wallet she got from Easter...she loves it!!! Thanks D!! She wanted to add all her Disney pins to it, but I compromised on just putting the pin where the idea came from on it.

Can't wait to surprise her with the bag when we go on our surprise trip hopefully in December!!

I just had to quote this again - Thanks so much for posting - this just made my day yesterday!

She is a beautiful girl and WOW D- how exciting for you to see a finished product with the recipient you must be so proud

Great job on the post of the picture by the way

I love seeing my bags making people so happy!!! It's one of the main reasons I continue to do this. I have a whole album of people enjoying my bags on my Facebook page - it's one of my favorite albums!

I just showed eldest DD - 22yrs the Marie bag. She went crazy for it. You have another fan!

Oh good!!! I love having new fans. It is my goal to have my FB fan page reach 1000 likes this year.

as if we HAVE a topic:

Anyway I remember you wrote that DD loves Marie & was excited when she ran into her a few yrs back WELL tell her Marie has a designated meet/greet in New Fantasyland she was "miffed" at me as I encouraged Pluto by yelling Cat and he chased her into the backstage area then I had a photo with her and she wouldn't engage with me at all Ha!! I am such a trouble maker, I will find the pictures I don't think D would mind if I shared them here when I do

OMG!!! THat story was tooo funny!!! Shame on you (but I would have loved to see...) LOL

You can share any photos you'd like here... Well, almost any photos - let's keep it PG ladies...

OH MY GOSH!!!! She is going to be soooo excited! I love that my 22 year old still gets excited about meeting characters! That is too funny about you sicking Pluto on Marie. I will have to remember that one. I love when the characters interact with the guest & each other! Thanks for sharing & I would love to see the pictures. If D~ minds (doubtful I know) you could always post it in my PTR.

I don't mind... I agree - I love great character interaction!

Hey I am 58 and get excited with interacting with the characters too...no dull pictures for me At Long Lost Friends weekend Horace Horsecollar was very happy to hear I had a horse and Clarabelle was posing like crazy for pictures when I told her her picture was going up in our barn really cute !

LOL That's a great one too - I'd love to see those photos.

That is awesome! Not to hyjack D~'s thread, but remember the cow that had the Mickey on it? They kept him/her down by Mickeys Toon Town. We have a picture of it. Well, our last name has the word cow in it, so I made shirts with that photo and the saying XXcowXX Family Vacation....We're "milking" it.
We got so much interaction from those shirts! I'm 50 & still love to tease the characters.

That's an adorable idea!

Yep Minnie Moo she used to live down at Ft Wilderness where the Disney Horses are She passed away awhile ago remember her well that was a FANTASTIC idea with the shirts....see very creative people find their way to D's PTR

Yes, they do - I am a magnet.

Trust me you are too kind referring to me as creative, but thank you. And I agree there are ALOT of creative people on D~ Ptr!

All of you are creative!!! I think it's a common trait in Disers!

Awesome savings!!! Always fun to go shopping with a 3 year old!! Or right now it's mainly a 2 1/2 year old for me since I try to go when the older two are in school!

Can't wait to see what your auction bag is going to look like!! Better start saving those pennies!!

Oh yah - it was interesting for sure. LOL

I am very excited about it - if I can just get some work done on it - I visualize LOTS of evenings and weekends in my near future!

My mom, who was 77 when we went, had the BEST time with the characters. She was hilarious about some of them, I don't think she's seen most of the newer films, so when she had her picture taken with Stitch at Epcot, immediately afterwords she turned to us and said, "Who was that again?" Any time we lost her, we just went looking for the nearest character meet and greet. (and go for the best in PT!!)

LOL SOunds like me... Or, I can often be found at Splash Mountain too. LOL

Our JoAnnes has always had the number system and the only time there seems to be an issue with it is on the weekends. When I go in during the week, everything runs smoothly.

The number system is new to us... And it's BAD! They use it to justify NEVER putting more than 2 employees at the cutting table. And yes, this is a weekend I am going to refer to - but 2 weeks ago, I stopped by for 1 yard of fabric... I've learned to pull the # as soon as I get there, THEN I shop. So, I walk up to the cutting table to get my #, and there is an ANGRY MOB of people waiting - they were about ready to jump the cutting table - I am not kidding. So, I pull my # (04) and I look at the screen: Now serving #82. It would be HOURS before I was able to get my yard of fabric cut - no wonder they were all so angry! I ended up leaving, and vowed never to go back to Joann's again - unless it was right at opening. It was awful! I thought about writing to their corporate about it, but I forgot.

I should so be working on cleaning my room for my new machine, but I'm just not into it right now. It's my first weekend off in about three weeks and I just really want to veg. I did FINALLY get a scrap catcher made, but that is it.

Yay for your new machine - do you love it? Everyone needs a break - I hope you enjoyed relaxing.

Hi D,


Your Marie and Dopey bags are adorable!! We just for back from Disney's Hilton Head Resort. It was beautiful and relaxing. Your talent is amazing as usual!!!

Hi and thank you!!! I hope you had a great trip!!!

Yep, I'm definitely older.


D~ When exactly did you loose control of your ptr??

Well - sometimes, I must let you all play and "get it out of your system".

**********************************************************

Well, I didn't accomplish one single thing yesterday that's related to sewing. OK - take that back... I mailed the Marie bag. That's all. Shame on me.

As I was taping on the label - Josh asked me if I wanted to go out an look at some cabinetry... It sounded fun - so, of course - I went.

It started off as not so fun. I've had a visual in my mind for months - not necessarily specific colors or styles, but - quite honestly - I am NEVER going to get to do another kitchen again... I want it to be nice and functional at the same time.

We started off at BMO (Building Materials Outlet) - they have lots of cabinets that are decently priced - but they are all very basic, some of them you have to finish yourself, and they didn't have any of the unique pieces that I'd really like to have... For instance - we are considering a double wall oven... they didn't have any cabinets for that. I would also like to have a shallow book shelf at the end of our bar area for cookbooks - nothing like that there either.

The nice guy that Josh is, he then took me to Home Depot... A very nice lady in the cabinet showroom showed us around a little bit. She also gave us a few books and I made an appointment with her for Tuesday afternoon.

At the point she happened upon us, I was quite lost - I had NO idea what I wanted, or what would go together... I know - me? Lost? Strange concept... but it's true. For those of you that follow me on Pinterest - I've been pinning kitchens like mad lately - but you'll notice that not many of them have any rhyme or reason - I just like them. LOL

After looking through the books after we got home last night - I think I've settled on a couple of color combos that I really like... Now - these are just COLORS... That's it. Not style (well, maybe style in the first one - but the 2nd one is just a bit too grand for me - LOL)... I'd like colors that are warm and inviting.

We have reworked and reworked our plans over the last several days. For those of you that are interested, this is what we have so far - I am sure these will change many times before we actually begin the work. But the entire garage/bathroom/mud room/laundry room will be new construction. The kitchen area is our existing downstairs bathroom, and will be gutted and remodeled. Some of the features we are adding to the new kitchen will be a "coffee bar" located where our current sink sits - since it is already plumbed, it will be super easy to put a small sink there - and since we want to keep our existing window - we'd have to put a counter space there anyways. We thought about adding a desk in that space - but since we already have a main floor office, I can just see that area becoming cluttered with *stuff*. Also, next to that coffee station, in the dining area of the kitchen, will be (hopefully) a built in China cabinet, so I can finally display the China I was gifted by Josh's Step-mom a few years ago.

Josh and I have really been struggling with the mud room area of the plans. Josh wants a closet there, and I want a laundry room - and it's just really awkward in that space. Josh does not want a closet in the laundry room - so rather than wall off that space, we decided just to keep it as an open mud room. If any of you have any ideas to make this space more usable - I would love to hear them.

OK - that's enough of my boring life for you all today.

Still waiting on the Sunday paper to be delivered, so I can do my morning couponing - then it's off to the sewing room, to try to do what I wanted to do yesterday.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

First of all...I have to say, some people use Pinterest to put the EXACT project they want to do...other s use it for inspiration.

I usually try to put what it is that makes that picture speak to me... (because I may forget). Usually it is just the 'feeling' it invokes..not anything specific. When it is the exact website I want to remember, I have to put that in my notes...

Your kitchen album is the way I pin things...some have a color I like, or a layout I like, or a style I like...but rarely the EXACT project I want to tackle!


As for your Joann's story...you probably saw mine on FB from a week or so ago... there were 20 or 30 numbers ahead of me...they had just opened up and they only had ONE person working the cutting table. She is a very sweet woman...but she is legally blind and had to hold the scanner thing right at her goodish eye to read it and type in what she needed to...

By the time we left it was lunch time...



Nini

 

[cogero]

D one thing to consider instead of a double wall oven is 2 seperate ovens. I have a Thermador range 6 burner with a large oven it is 48 inches. 6 burners were important to me.

I also have a standard wall oven. I actually use the wall oven when I do big holidays for my meat like turkey or the roast because I don't have to bend down to baste. Also this gives you a full size oven. a lot of times the double ovens are smaller than actual ovens so make sure to check the measurements.

 

[Restrasz]

Your kitchen ides sound wonderful! It's like planning a trip,lots of things will change before a final decision is made! Have fun and dream big!

I LOVE the characters at Disney! I even have my own autograph book ( which is a continuing embarrassment to my daughters!)
I'm quite sure I am one of the "senior" women on this thread.

Enjoy your day!

 

[Deesknee]

WOW!! What a project! Many years ago we tore out a bathroom to expand our kitchen. We had 3 6year olds at the time. The best way to describe what a horror show it was is..... By the last couple of weeks my kids were BEGGING not to eat out any more...no more pizza, or McDonalds, or tacos. hehehehe
Maybe I should redo the kitchen again for the youngest to appreciate home cooking.

Your floor plan for your kitchen looks almost exactly like my brothers. They remodeled tearing down a bedroom wall and laundry room wall to expand their kitchen. That was a couple of years ago, and they have NO regrets. Isn't that amazing? I know I have 1 or 2 regrets about our kitchen. I'm not sure what you are thinking about for lighting. But my brother put the 3 hanging lights over his coffee bar. Staggered at different level/lengths. It really brought everything together. We actually put the same type in my sons bedroom. They don't give a ton of light, but they just are that perfect accent, IMO. They weren't too expensive either. I think we paid about $30 each and got them at Lowes.
When we did our kitchen over the sales person tried to talk me into an island, but I insisted on a breakfast bar along my outer wall, that has windows. I figured my kiddos could sit there & do their homework daily, not taking up the middle of my kitchen while I was cooking dinner. It worked out very well while they were at that age, but I am ready for a change now. Now it is just that clutter spot you were talking about.
Mud rooms are tough, you don't want it to accumulate stuff & look messy, but it seems so senseless to have unused storage space. What about bifold doors with shelves. or hooks to hang pots and pans. Although it certainly looks like you will have plenty of storage space in that beautiful kitchen. Maybe a deacons bench where you can keep boots in the winter. I'm not sure how wide it is.
I'm sure you, with all your creativity will come up with something!
Hope you have a successful day sewing today!

 

[Terkina]

That's a big project you have going

The weather here was quite good yesterday and earlier today. But now it's snowing again.

 

[disneychic2]

I showed your plans to my DH and he suggested a closet on that empty wall across from your washer and dryer. We had that sort of set up in our last house and it worked out well for me too. I know Josh doesn't want a closet in the laundry room but don't really know what his thinking is or why he doesn't want it in the laundry room. It would be a handy place for coats and boots etc. as well as a place to hang anything you don't want to put in the dryer. Failing a bonafide closet, you could mount hooks across that empty wall to put coats and things on and have a shoe rack or as someone suggested a bench with storage under the hooks. Dan also suggested hiding the washer/dryer with bifold doors if that would be more to Josh's liking. He thought resale value would be maximized with a closet in that room. Hope it all works out! Your contractor probably already plans to do this, but Dan told me to make sure he insulates the wall between your kitchen and bathroom and installs a quiet fan. He loves the size of the rooms!

I love the location of the bathroom. Far enough away for privacy, but close enough to be handy. The photos of the cabinets look nice too. They do have that "warm" look you're going for. Good luck with all the decisions to be made. Any time DH and I have a different "vision" for something, he defers to me since I am the one who will be using the space the most. And since I'm the one who will make his life miserable if I don't get what I want! He doesn't call me Princess for nothing!

 

[DMGeurts]

I will reply to everyone else in the morning, but since I'd just hopped online to putz around while I am eating lunch, I though I would reply to Lois...

I showed your plans to my DH and he suggested a closet on that empty wall across from your washer and dryer. We had that sort of set up in our last house and it worked out well for me too. I know Josh doesn't want a closet in the laundry room but don't really know what his thinking is or why he doesn't want it in the laundry room. It would be a handy place for coats and boots etc. as well as a place to hang anything you don't want to put in the dryer. Failing a bonafide closet, you could mount hooks across that empty wall to put coats and things on and have a shoe rack or as someone suggested a bench with storage under the hooks. Dan also suggested hiding the washer/dryer with bifold doors if that would be more to Josh's liking. He thought resale value would be maximized with a closet in that room. Hope it all works out! Your contractor probably already plans to do this, but Dan told me to make sure he insulates the wall between your kitchen and bathroom and installs a quiet fan. He loves the size of the rooms!

I love the location of the bathroom. Far enough away for privacy, but close enough to be handy. The photos of the cabinets look nice too. They do have that "warm" look you're going for. Good luck with all the decisions to be made. Any time DH and I have a different "vision" for something, he defers to me since I am the one who will be using the space the most. And since I'm the one who will make his life miserable if I don't get what I want! He doesn't call me Princess for nothing!

We originally had a closet in that space - but Josh didn't like it. He doesn't want to have to "go into a room to hang up his coat"...

I am glad your DH likes the size of the rooms - I think they are decent... The hardest part is the kitchen - because that is existing space, so we can't modify that at all - which is really frustrating.

The wall in between the kitchen and the bathroom is our existing exterior wall - and I am quite sure it isn't insulated - LOL... We plan to insulate the entire kitchen area when we rip out the current bathroom/cupboards and sheetrock - since we know we have LAYERs of sheetrock/plaster - we plan to increase the square footage of our house by removing those. It's sad, but true... I should point to you our house remodel album from a few years ago - I will see if I can find it again... Yay - I found it... It's not exactly a remodel - it's new siding and windows, but it was a MESS!

Rebuilding our house

Anyways... Here's the new laundry room version I was working on while I was waiting for the paper to be delivered this morning...

I know that some of my stuff looks weird in there... But above the W/D is supposed to be a shelf or cupboards - haven't decided yet - LOL, then next to that is 2 cabinets for cleaning supply sorage and folding. Which I hope will look something like this:

Then next to that is our coat area... Which I am hoping will look something like this (maybe not these colors - and more storage under the seat, but...) :

And this is what we are hoping to do in the bathroom... That counter top will be 9 feet long - but we are hoping to create space for the girls - right now, we all fight over the same mirror and it's WW3 in our house.

So, if anyone wants to chime in some more - I would love to hear opinions on this... And Lois - if your DH is sick of me... Make sure you tell him that he is such a nice guy for giving me his opinons as well, and I do value them a lot.

D~

 

[Luvchefmic]

I really like that picture of the laundry area (you just posted) nice neat organized My laundry room you can enter 2 ways from the outside deck or through the house from the front...hope thats clear ? anyway I would love something likes this, right now all that is in there is the w & d no cabinets no shelves nothing its a sad little place....maybe some day

 

[tinkbell13]

I love your Marie bag! It is absolutely perfect! You couldn't have chosen better colours and materials, especially that inside one. You've done so many spectacular bags that it is hard to choose a favourite but I think this one is at the top of my list now..

We originally had a closet in that space - but Josh didn't like it. He doesn't want to have to "go into a room to hang up his coat"...

I was looking at your first plan and had some ideas in my head when I saw the second one. My first thought was to add a bench with coat hooks, shelves and storage above on the opposite wall, very similar to your second layout. I wasn't sure if Josh would still consider that as going into the laundry room though. My second thought was to push the washer/dryer towards the exterior wall, or put it on the exterior wall, so that you could add a closet facing the 'hallway' and still have room for a bench/storage/coats along the garage wall. I'd put the closet on the kitchen end of the hallway so it is not right in front of the door to the garage. I lived in a townhouse when I was in college that had the closet right at the door and one of my roommates was getting her coat when another roommate came in the front door and ended up hitting her with the door by accident.
I'm sure if I think on it more, I'll come up with other ideas too. I'll let you know if I do.

 

[lovingeire]

Aren't you in my August FB group too? Do our trips overlap? And then Jan too - how fun!!! Forgive me if I am slightly confused... I sometimes have issues deciphering real names vs. Dis names. g

Yes, I am in your August group - Gretchen I. The one and only! I think that we sadly miss you by a few days. We'll be there the 10th-16th. So even if I add on a day at the end we'd leave the 17th so we still might be too little, too late to see you guys. My oldest starts school on the 19th so we have to be back at least for a day for him to adjust from summer to school. Originally we weren't going to go until January because the oldest wanted to go for his birthday, however the youngest turns 3 in August so we thought we'd do his birthday there too so we could do one more trip only "paying" for one kid! Since we just moved to FL we're hoping we can swing both!

YAY!!!!!! I know, I am looking forward to tomorrow's paper - after last week with the holiday and barely any coupons, I am looking forward to a good coupon week tomorrow.

I know, I didn't even get a paper last week so I was super excited to pick up my papers for this week! Now i just have to go through the coupon inserts, cut and file!

Coupon bargain ahead:

Then we had to stop at the other Target to pick up my Gift Card refund from my shopping trip last week. I did not bring my binder with me, because I didn't want to get sucked into shopping... However - I did end up buying one thing... Possibly TMI ahead for any males that may read: Target had clearanced out some Kotex pantyliners for .68*¢ each... BFF had her binder with - and she had 4 coupons for -$1.00 off of 2. So, I purchased 8 packages for a grand total of (drum roll....) $.63¢ after my coupons, Team Member discount and Red Card disount. And YES - I did put .63¢ on my Red card - LOL - just to get the disount. So, my official savings was $4.81 or 88%!

Great savings!

I was going to take a nap once I got here - but instead, I was sucked into Pinterest.

Happens to the best of us! I spent over an hour looking at DIY Dinsey shirts the other night! Looking forward to seeing your latest creations!

P.S. I had to write this because the DIS didn't like that my whole message was in the quote. Whoops!

 

[MMCook5780]

Is there a FB page for January?

 

[sewmess]

The machine isn't due until Wednesday...Theoretically time for me to get my room ready.

I was going to suggest an open/benched/cupboard type set up for your mudroom as well. And I envy your laundry room. Our Washer & Dryer hookups are downstairs, in the garage. I also envy the mud room. I need to sweep the kitchen every other hour because we trudge in leaves and junk directly in. (notice I say I need to, not that I do..)

But if we ever get to refurb anything, we'll have to start at the front. Our front stairs seem to be at 75 degrees and I still don't trust our bay windows.

Well, I think I'm going to go see if I can get distracted and not clean my room, but rather make something!!

 

[Deesknee]

I am very envious of that bathroom. Wow! looks like it is going to be beautiful. I like the updated photo of the laundry area too. Have you thought about one of those in the wall ironing boards? My girlfriend has one & it is so convenient! I hate dragging that thing out. there was a time I enjoyed ironing. But not anymore. Maybe if I had a beautiful laundry room... I'll have to mention that to DH.

 

[DMGeurts]

First of all...I have to say, some people use Pinterest to put the EXACT project they want to do...other s use it for inspiration.

I usually try to put what it is that makes that picture speak to me... (because I may forget). Usually it is just the 'feeling' it invokes..not anything specific. When it is the exact website I want to remember, I have to put that in my notes...

Your kitchen album is the way I pin things...some have a color I like, or a layout I like, or a style I like...but rarely the EXACT project I want to tackle!

I didn't even notice that I could edit what was under the pictures until a few days ago - so who knows what I all have going on. Pretty much, I can look at the picture though, and tell what I liked about it. There have been very few pictures I've pinned that are exactly what I like - and because of the smallness of our project, it's hard to find anyone that posts pictures that relate to us.

As for your Joann's story...you probably saw mine on FB from a week or so ago... there were 20 or 30 numbers ahead of me...they had just opened up and they only had ONE person working the cutting table. She is a very sweet woman...but she is legally blind and had to hold the scanner thing right at her goodish eye to read it and type in what she needed to...

By the time we left it was lunch time...

Yikes - I don't remember seeing that... BUt knowing me, I probably liked it and can't remember. LOL

I think our Joanns uses the # system to never schedule more than 2 people at the cutting table. It's just really sucky and I hate going there more than ever now.

D one thing to consider instead of a double wall oven is 2 seperate ovens. I have a Thermador range 6 burner with a large oven it is 48 inches. 6 burners were important to me.

Do you happen to have pictures?? I'd love to see.

I am not sure we can fit a 6 burner... and to be honest 6 burners aren't really important to me. It's the double oven that is important - and I would be sure to get as close to full sized ovens as I can. Victoria LOVES to bake -she is always baking something, and it's not uncommon that I have to hold off on making dinner because she has something in the oven. In this situation - a double oven would be magnificant.

And, of course for holidays. Even though I am NOT the holiday cooker in the family (Josh is) - it would be very nice for him on such occasions.

I also have a standard wall oven. I actually use the wall oven when I do big holidays for my meat like turkey or the roast because I don't have to bend down to baste. Also this gives you a full size oven. a lot of times the double ovens are smaller than actual ovens so make sure to check the measurements.

This is one of the main reasons Josh wants a wall oven too - his back does not like bending over to baste the turkey.

Thanks for the tip on oven size though - I didn't think of that. Definately something I will watch for.

Your kitchen ides sound wonderful! It's like planning a trip,lots of things will change before a final decision is made! Have fun and dream big!

Yes, that's for sure. Now, if we can just come to some sort of compromise.

I LOVE the characters at Disney! I even have my own autograph book ( which is a continuing embarrassment to my daughters!)
I'm quite sure I am one of the "senior" women on this thread.

Enjoy your day!

I think that's great about your autograph book.

How are you feeling Ruth?

WOW!! What a project! Many years ago we tore out a bathroom to expand our kitchen. We had 3 6year olds at the time. The best way to describe what a horror show it was is..... By the last couple of weeks my kids were BEGGING not to eat out any more...no more pizza, or McDonalds, or tacos. hehehehe
Maybe I should redo the kitchen again for the youngest to appreciate home cooking.

LOL - that had to be rough - I can't even imagine!

We do have a small plan of attack... Josh plans to move us girls out of the house... Still not sure how that is going to work with my business? But we will relocate 4 hours north to the cabin for a few weeks while the house is a mess. I'll probably have to bring my entire sewing room with me. Now, THAT would be crazy!

Your floor plan for your kitchen looks almost exactly like my brothers. They remodeled tearing down a bedroom wall and laundry room wall to expand their kitchen. That was a couple of years ago, and they have NO regrets. Isn't that amazing? I know I have 1 or 2 regrets about our kitchen. I'm not sure what you are thinking about for lighting. But my brother put the 3 hanging lights over his coffee bar. Staggered at different level/lengths. It really brought everything together. We actually put the same type in my sons bedroom. They don't give a ton of light, but they just are that perfect accent, IMO. They weren't too expensive either. I think we paid about $30 each and got them at Lowes.

Yes, we are planning on doing the lights over the bar area like that. That is one of the things we did agree on. Lighting is very important to both of us - we realize that a lot of the mood of the space depends more on lighting that anything else. We also plan to do some track lights (I have them in my sewing room and love them) and under the cabinet lighting, as well.

When we did our kitchen over the sales person tried to talk me into an island, but I insisted on a breakfast bar along my outer wall, that has windows. I figured my kiddos could sit there & do their homework daily, not taking up the middle of my kitchen while I was cooking dinner. It worked out very well while they were at that age, but I am ready for a change now. Now it is just that clutter spot you were talking about.

I've thought about an island, I do like the look of them and the work space they create. The problem I have with it, is no matter how I figure it, the island would be right in the middle of my work triangle, so it would totally defeat the purpose of it. I would rather have a long bar around the edge. Then I would still have the work space we so desperately need.

Mud rooms are tough, you don't want it to accumulate stuff & look messy, but it seems so senseless to have unused storage space. What about bifold doors with shelves. or hooks to hang pots and pans. Although it certainly looks like you will have plenty of storage space in that beautiful kitchen. Maybe a deacons bench where you can keep boots in the winter. I'm not sure how wide it is.
I'm sure you, with all your creativity will come up with something!
Hope you have a successful day sewing today!

Yes - I originally had a closet with bi-fold doors, but Josh really doesn't want to have to go into another room to hang up his coat... So, I redesigned it again... I haven't showed it to him though - he is kind of sick of the subject.

That's a big project you have going

The weather here was quite good yesterday and earlier today. But now it's snowing again.

Yikes!!! Look at all that snow!!! That is just crazy! I hope it stops soon!

I showed your plans to my DH and he suggested a closet on that empty wall across from your washer and dryer. We had that sort of set up in our last house and it worked out well for me too. I know Josh doesn't want a closet in the laundry room but don't really know what his thinking is or why he doesn't want it in the laundry room. It would be a handy place for coats and boots etc. as well as a place to hang anything you don't want to put in the dryer. Failing a bonafide closet, you could mount hooks across that empty wall to put coats and things on and have a shoe rack or as someone suggested a bench with storage under the hooks. Dan also suggested hiding the washer/dryer with bifold doors if that would be more to Josh's liking. He thought resale value would be maximized with a closet in that room. Hope it all works out! Your contractor probably already plans to do this, but Dan told me to make sure he insulates the wall between your kitchen and bathroom and installs a quiet fan. He loves the size of the rooms!

I love the location of the bathroom. Far enough away for privacy, but close enough to be handy. The photos of the cabinets look nice too. They do have that "warm" look you're going for. Good luck with all the decisions to be made. Any time DH and I have a different "vision" for something, he defers to me since I am the one who will be using the space the most. And since I'm the one who will make his life miserable if I don't get what I want! He doesn't call me Princess for nothing!

I think I replied to everything here in my second post yesterday? Did you see that one?

I really like that picture of the laundry area (you just posted) nice neat organized My laundry room you can enter 2 ways from the outside deck or through the house from the front...hope thats clear ? anyway I would love something likes this, right now all that is in there is the w & d no cabinets no shelves nothing its a sad little place....maybe some day

I hope you are able to find something to make your laundry room more fun - someday - I know. Right now my laundry is in the basement... YIKES - it's cold, and damp and cold... LOL Sometimes there's spiders...

I love your Marie bag! It is absolutely perfect! You couldn't have chosen better colours and materials, especially that inside one. You've done so many spectacular bags that it is hard to choose a favourite but I think this one is at the top of my list now..

Thanks Loree!

I was looking at your first plan and had some ideas in my head when I saw the second one. My first thought was to add a bench with coat hooks, shelves and storage above on the opposite wall, very similar to your second layout. I wasn't sure if Josh would still consider that as going into the laundry room though. My second thought was to push the washer/dryer towards the exterior wall, or put it on the exterior wall, so that you could add a closet facing the 'hallway' and still have room for a bench/storage/coats along the garage wall. I'd put the closet on the kitchen end of the hallway so it is not right in front of the door to the garage. I lived in a townhouse when I was in college that had the closet right at the door and one of my roommates was getting her coat when another roommate came in the front door and ended up hitting her with the door by accident.
I'm sure if I think on it more, I'll come up with other ideas too. I'll let you know if I do.

I agree - that's my biggest issue with a closet RIGHT THERE when you walk in... First of all - it totally stops traffic (with the door open in the winter too) while everyone is trying to hang their coats in the same space. And, the way he had it sitting in there - if a closet door was open, the door would smash it to bits. So, then I offered the idea of just having a mud room - mostly it would just be us using it, so under normal circumstances, most people wouldn't see how messy it is. LOL So, we'll see...

P.S. I had to write this because the DIS didn't like that my whole message was in the quote. Whoops!

LOL

OK - good... Then I am glad that I knew who you were. LOL Somtimes I think that someone is one person and they are really someone else - it gets a bit confusing. I really should have a cheat sheet, but I don't - I just try to go off my horrible memory, and that doesn't always work so well for me. LOL

That totally sucks that we only miss eachother by a matter of days... Oh well - maybe another time.

I wasn't very thrilled with yesterday's coupon inserts... I was happy that Target reset a couple of their coupons though - there were a few things that reset that we use often, and I still had manufacturer coupons to stack with them too.

Is there a FB page for January?

I would assume so, but I have no idea what the address is for it. If I were you, I would run over to the planning portion of the forum > Theme Park Attractions & Strategies > Doing the Happy Dance... YOu should be able to find a thread for January, and ask in that thread - someone should be able to point you in the right direction.

The machine isn't due until Wednesday...Theoretically time for me to get my room ready.

Ahhh... Got it - I thought you had it already.

I was going to suggest an open/benched/cupboard type set up for your mudroom as well. And I envy your laundry room. Our Washer & Dryer hookups are downstairs, in the garage. I also envy the mud room. I need to sweep the kitchen every other hour because we trudge in leaves and junk directly in. (notice I say I need to, not that I do..

LOL - don't envy my laundry room just yet... It's not mine, and I am not sure when or if it ever will be. LOL Our laundry room is in the basement, and it's a pretty scary sight down there. I have the same issue with our kitchen. Our flooring has needed to be replaced since we moved in... We had to rip it up to redo the floor under our patio door, so it's really peeling up/cracked in spots. We didn't think it would take this long for us to come up with a plan for our kitchen. But it's to the point where I can't even stand to scrub it any more, because it doesn't do any good at all. I hate to say that the floor is the MAIN reason I want to redo our kitchen. LOL

But if we ever get to refurb anything, we'll have to start at the front. Our front stairs seem to be at 75 degrees and I still don't trust our bay windows.

We have been in a constant state of "refurbing" since we purchased this house. You really need to go look at the album link I posted yesterday - there's some crazy stuff in there!

Well, I think I'm going to go see if I can get distracted and not clean my room, but rather make something!!

LOL

I am very envious of that bathroom. Wow! looks like it is going to be beautiful. I like the updated photo of the laundry area too. Have you thought about one of those in the wall ironing boards? My girlfriend has one & it is so convenient! I hate dragging that thing out. there was a time I enjoyed ironing. But not anymore. Maybe if I had a beautiful laundry room... I'll have to mention that to DH.

Thanks! I have not thought about any ironing boards, mostly because I have a full sized ironing board always set up in my sewing room, so that's where all the ironing tends to get done. I dislike it enough that I would hate to have 2. LOL

I definately think you should mention that to your DH.

**********************************************************

Yup - this weekend was a TOTAL bust! I am ashamed to admit it. I've resolved that I must commit to spending a couple hours in my sewing room every night this week to make up for it.

Yesterday... Well, the paper didn't get here until well after 10am. Which threw a wrench into my entire day. I didn't even finish clipping coupons (and organizing them, and making my list) until well after noon.

While I was doing all that... I was hearing lots of banging down stairs... trying by best to figure out what Josh was up to... Then I smelled natural gas - and I knew exactly what he was up to... Before I tell you... I will tell you that I freaked out a little bit, and ran around the house opening every single window and door to air it out. Yes, I am paranoid like that. And it was only 40 deg yesterday when this happened, so it was a little bit chilly in here.

Anyways... It was my fault totally. I was supposed to call our furnace guy 3 weeks ago to have him come out and move our gas lines, so that we could brace up the portion of the kitchen floor that was sinking... I didn't do that - and Josh was sick of waiting, so he did it himself.

By the end of the day yesterday, we had 4 new supports in our basement, and a much less "spongy" kitchen floor.

And, of course, because I chronicle our remodeling with photos... Here are the ones from yesterday... FYI - these were taken in my current laundry area... Now aren't you all jealous of my space? And you probably understand why I want new space. LOL

First - these are our cut joist beams - honestly, we just discovered these a few weeks ago - they were so well hidden behind our duct work - that we never noticed them, and trust me when I say, every single time I was down stairs, I was trying to figure out what was causing our floor to dip. Sometimes things are just beyond my understanding... But WHY IN THE WORLD would you cut the joist beams and expect the house not to fall down??? C'mon people.

Then after Josh put in new support... We would have much rather had 2 or 3 boards together, but we could barely fit one in between all of our furnace ductwork - so we are happy with that.

So, anyways... Phase 1 of remodeling has commensed. Not sure if there will ever be a phase 2? But at least our floor won't fall in while I am making dinner.

By the time we were done with that... Well, I walked over to my neighbor's house - had a couple glasses of wine with them... Chit-chatted. Came home in time for dinner... Watched a bit of TV with the family and off to bed I went.

See what I mean - I didn't accomplish a single thing. Shame on me.

So, today I will be working REALLY HARD all day!!!! I have lots to do... Then in the evenings all this week - I will devote an extra 2 hours in my sewing room. HOpefully that will get me caught up on my big auction bags.

I hope you all have a wonderful day today.

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

MM was cuddling with the girls while we were watching a movie on Saturday night... He was just so cute, and he KNEW he wasn't supposed to be up there, so he was hiding from me.

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

I really love my oven set up. In my main kitchen I bought a 5 burner double oven. One oven is 4 shelves super duper sized and the other oven is small... (actually to look at it you wouldn't know it was a double oven. Most people have a broiler where my second oven is) And then in my other kitchen I have a single oven. Electric oven there and gas in the main kitchen. Holidays it is REALLY nice to have three! We are thinking of moving it up to the main kitchen if we ever get around to remodeling my kitchen. That will make it much more convenient!

But I doubt that remodel will ever happen...hubby is ok with jobs that cost less than a thousand dollars...but once it gets over a thousand...he freaks out! Not exactly sure how he thinks we can do a kitchen remodel for under a thousand! LOL...especially when it requires the removal of a wall between the dining room and kitchen and reworking all the plumbing and electrical!


Nini