Been Awhile...

Sorry I haven't written in awhile.  Life is super crazy.  Construction technically is done at the house.  There is some finishing work to be done but the regular daily construction crew has left.  The laundry list of things we are waiting for seems to grow daily and includes:
-Front door
-Cabinets - kitchen and laundry room
-Granite
-Backordered backsplash
-Resolution on flooring issues
-Cracked cooktop that had to be returned
-Installation of sink and toilet in first floor bathroom
-Pendants - yes you read that correctly, we finally ordered some - lets hope we like them

That is all I can think of off the top of my head but the waiting game is definitely not fun.  I am past the point of agreeing with Madelyn and our dog Max, I just want to go home!  I am so ready for EVERYTHING to be finished and settled back in, ready to enjoy some of my favorite times of the year - the holidays!!  Cannot wait to bake cookies and make meals and entertain in my new house!!  However, it just seems like it will never come.  Some days now I just feel defeated going into the empty house that is in such disarray.  It is so dirty and sort of smelly, not to mention empty and the entire 1400+ square foot first floor needs primed and painted.  The ceilings have finally all been repainted and slowly the walls, after a ton of new spackling and sanding to fix the damage of 35 years of wear and tear, are starting to get primed.  It is such a huge and overwhelming task.  I think I just need to take one room at a time because when I sit and look at the entire first floor that needs so much work, my heart races, I start sweating and have trouble breathing.  Matt, other than a bout with a fever, has been very good about working a lot at the house.  It is hard for us to both get there with Maddy demanding a lot of attention as always when I am not at work.  Hopefully this weekend we will complete the painting and I will feel much better about the entire situation.  Even just like a finished laundry and bathroom I think will make me feel better actually seeing progress.

Since I last wrote there has been some drama.  Some how we came up about 150 square feet short on flooring. We had to order 5 extra boxes and ordered from the same company the other 1000ish feet came from.  We installed brazilian walnut flooring which we have dreamed about since purchasing the house.  It was love at first sight when we looked at flooring.  It is an exotic hardwood so it is very strong and durable with two large dogs and a 2 year old running loose around the house.  Most of the pictures and samples we saw were a very dark brown, almost black and dark green tones to the floor.  When they installed the floor, it seemed redder than we expected.  We were assured it was brazilian walnut, all of the boxes were labeled the same and were showed brazilian cherry which is much more red.  Though it is beautiful, it was not as we expected.  Since we were assured it was the right wood, we did not push the issue.  When the next 5 boxes came and were installed, it looks like a completely different flooring.  The dark browns Matt wanted appeared in the new flooring.  This not only upset Matt because it is truly what he wanted, also 2/3 of the living room looks COMPLETELY different.  With the amount of money spent on the flooring and installation, this is not something we are going to let go.  We will fight until it is resolved because this is not our fault.  I cannot imagine with all of the money we have invested, time we have spent completely moving out of our house, to make it perfect, living with a floor that bothers me every time I go in noticing it is clearly two different colors.  We have filed a complaint and claim and are waiting on a resolution.

Second large drama comes with the cooktop.  We built in the ovens in the wall so there is no microwave or hood over the cooktop so we have to find a cooktop with built in ventilation system.  There are only 2 companies that actually sell a 5 burner 36 inch cooktop with built in ventilation.  The prices between ordering online and buying in the store is over $300 difference.  So where I was wary about buying online, after reading several great reviews, I figured the $300 savings was worth the shot.  The cooktop was delivered and when we opened it, the glass was shattered.  We filed a claim and actually were refunded our money, however the company we purchased it from no longer delivers to our zip code.  We checked two other online sites, and they are stating the same thing now.  This leaves us with no choice but to purchase from a store and pay over $300 more for the exact same product.  Makes no sense to me and I find it very frustrating.  $300 is like my sink for the laundry room, just another issue throwing the budget over.

The laundry room has now become another show piece.  After spending time with Lowes and getting ideas, their prices were more than our cabinet builders to install with hardware so now Miller Cabinets is doing our laundry room as well.  I think it will turn out very nice and functional.  JD at Miller Cabinets in Plain City has been so fantastic.  If you ever want custom cabinets, he is amazing, has great ideas, is easy to work with, and is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  I highly recommend him.  The only disappointment however is the cabinets that were supposed to be done Friday are not going to be done and installed until "the week of November 14".  I say that because they call on Monday to schedule installation later in the week.  So it will probably take the entire week to complete it.  Sadly, this throws off our granite templating and installation so we will wait longer now for that to get installed.

We have also been in search for the perfect granite.  We picked out our steel grey but have still not found the perfect Alpine White - also called like 10 different things however it cannot be found.  I fell in love with it at a different granite store where the prices were much higher.  After scouring 4 different warehouses, we have yet to find what I originally fell in love with.  One of the manufacturers has a delivery that is late, was supposed to be there October 15th, so we are hoping it has our perfect piece.  This granite is for the 5 x 9.5 island which is the centerpiece of the kitchen.  I want to love it and it to be perfect so this is a bit of a stresser.  Hopefully it is resolved quickly as well.  The granite person we are working with has been helpful, always answers his phone or calls right back, and was significantly less than 4 other local granite companies.  I will wait until after installation for a final review and referral but so far have been pleased.  We are getting the granite for both the kitchen and laundry room - yes you read that right we are putting granite in the laundry room now - for the same price as granite alone at all other stores.

Paint colors are also an issue at this time.  This must be resolved quickly as we are hoping to finish painting this weekend.  I am very indecisive and colors I think I like in the store I buy samples of and hate on the wall.  I am pretty sure I have gone through 9 different samplers so far without really LOVING anything.  Perhaps I should just paint the entire first floor tan again.... seems an easier answer.  This is a boring copout however so I will push through and remain on my search for the perfect shades.

Well, I am sure I am missing things as it has been a crazy month and I lost track of everything. Luckily however I am yet to lose Madelyn - though I might have lost my mind.  Hopefully from here on out things go smoothly and we finish quickly.  My birthday is fastly approaching, one month from today, it would be nice to have everything done, installed, and settled back in at my own house as I start my 31st year of life!