Remodel Tour

We bought our little townhouse in the spring of 2005 & have talked about remodeling it ever since.  We decided that this was finally the year with a baby on the way & the reality that we won't be swapping for a house any time very soon. After gathering lots of ideas (many from Pinterest), we started ripping apart the entire downstairs in April. A tour of both the process & the results...

The kitchen as it used to look.

Levi did most of the demolition & building of the new (IKEA) cabinets himself. Calvin helped.

First punch into the closet wall (we torn down or into 4 walls).

 

  

Kitchen taking shape.

Holey closet walls.

Almost 5-month baby bump in the middle of the mess.

We finished up in late June (minus a leak in July that required replacing the brand new wood floors in the kitchen). 
Now for the full tour -- with 500 square feet downstairs it doesn't take long...

I actually like being in the kitchen now!

Looking towards the front entry from the kitchen...

Admire the lovely new bamboo floors & recessed lighting while ignoring the ugly plastic chandelier yet to be replaced...

New slate fireplace.

An under-the-stairs office nook that really opens the room.

 It's amazing how much more we enjoy our home now!

Family Outing

An outing of Totem House Fish n Chips at the Ballard Locks has been a family tradition for as long as I remember. Saturday afternoon was a beautiful day for it. It was exciting & strange to think that next time Ruthless will be with us!

Penick/Slagle Baby Shower

This past weekend I helped Elyse's best friend Whitney host a baby shower for the mom-to-be (a baby boy due just 4 weeks after Ruthless!). We had lots of fun with the teacher-theme (including a school photo booth, recess activity & prego-pong for sex ed!) & everybody had a great time showering Elyse with love & support. 

Weekend Away

I was very happy to get away for one last little weekend before Ruthless arrives -- we spent two wonderfully relaxing days at Andy's family cabin on Whidbey, soaking up the sun & water.

 

And happy birthday to my budgie Boo!

Preparing for baby...

Calvin has decided he likes this whole baby thing so far. 

There are lots of new cozy places to nap.

We still need to find some recorded baby sounds to play in the house & see how well that goes over...

The Supreme Court

Great night at the ball park.  A celebration of Felix.  This is what baseball in Seattle used to be, should be, and hopefully will be again.

Returning to this space...

For months I've been thinking about this neglected blog & anticipating returning to it. While Facebook is great for sharing little bits of info with lots of people, it's become an increasingly negative space for me & I miss having a place to share & connect with family & friends in a more personal & complete way. With our baby arriving in late September, I'm eager to document our adventures here (not to mention the added bonus of pinning from these posts onto Pinterest, a virtual sharing space that provides a great deal of joy for me). Hopefully we haven't completely lost everyone -- check back soon as I'm looking forward to posting a tour of our remodel, of Ruthless' nursery & current baby craft fun. I'm excited to be back in this space!