Grout

Our subway has been grouted.

The end.

subway tile-back splashes, another picture story.

It's time for the subway...

subway tile that is!

A note about subway tile:

*Subway tile known for its rectangular shape, got its name from its ubiquitous use

 in the New York City subway stations. It is installed with its longer edges horizontal 

and the tiles in each row are offset from those in the adjacent rows. 

The effect is that of a brick wall made of ceramic tiles. Subway tile is traditionally white, 

but in recent years manufacturers have produced it in a wide range of colors and sizes.
 

The fancy "artwork" that's been on the

walls since December is finally going away.

Subway tile sheets: $2.98 a square foot at Lowes.

They are a "mini subway tile".

We really like the size, and once again,

the price.  

I bought a 10% off coupon on Ebay (for Lowes)

for $1 and so our back splash total cames in

at around $80 (after returning some extra pieces).

 Good bye children's artwork

 A last look...

 One wall done.

 Coming under the window

 Last wall done.

Morning view

Last items of business?  Grout that subway!

Paint the trims and mouldings, and tile the 

island.  Kyle said by March--he has a few

days left to finish! (hee hee).  We'll give him

into April if need be.


p.s. i told kyle last night i LOVE my "recycled", and
"on a dime kitchen" (the ONLY thing i would change
if i had all the money in the world--grantite countertops, but
alas that wasn't an option for us.)

No one else has to love it, just me (and hopefully Kyle
and the kids) but for me my kitchen is the heart and soul
of my home.  It's where the kids gather to eat, do homework.
It's where I go to do the things I love to do; cook and bake and be
with my family, to make memories and moments.  We gather
here to chat, we hang out and come together in this one place--
almost more than any other.  For me, THIS kitchen (as
opposed to the old one) reflects the joy and peace and love
I feel about cooking, creating, being together and my
family.  It is bright and inviting (I hope) and warm
and feels like a happy place to be. It has texture and depth
and character and dimension...just like my family and
just like cooking.  And it brings me joy...Just like both
cooking and spending time with my family do.

That is the thing, the thing
I think I love the very most about this new room and
how it's all come together.  It finally reflects how I
feel about the place it was meant to be.

Does that make any sense at all?
 (Cuz I could just be crazy!)



And p.p.s. darn it- the windows are dirty again.
sorry grandma regular!

Counter Tops...A Picture Story

The counters got tiled this weekend.

Here is the event in pictures!

Kyle "dry fitting" all the pcs first

He built a "ledge" under the edge pieces to hold everything up and even

Starting to mud aka stick aka "glue" those bad boys down

And a little St Patty's Day fun for the kids thrown in...

 Back to counters!

Yes, we were without a sink and stove again.

Can you give me a HOORAY?

Giving everything a wipe down

Ready to grout

And our old chair cushions.  $5 a yard duck cloth from Hobby Lobby

(best store with the dumbest name ever!)  For under $20 we redid

all our old chair cushions to match the new kitchen!)

Last big things: Back Splash & Kitchen Island Counter Tops.

After driving all over and checking prices on the one thing I love (darn black honed
or leathered granite--WHY OH WHY do you have to be so expensive???)
We (I) decided that although I would probably sell my firstborn child
(and would have to, to pay for it!) for the beautiful, lovely, yummy delicious
seamless finish of solid surfaces--at $1100 JUST for the island we are going
to have to say no.

sad face.

So the island will most likely be done in tile matching the counters (which I DO like--I
just have a small love affair with black matte finish granite right now which I'm going
to have to get over really fast!!).

Hopefully the tile store has enough bullnose pieces left in stock for us to buy.

Cost to tile the island?  Around $150--can you see what made the decision for
us?  Especially on our "recycled" kitchen.

one year and one day

~Grandpa and all the grand kids on his 80th birthday (2010)~

Last year on March 17, at about 5 a.m., my mother called Kyle and I

to let us know that my dad has passed away in the middle of the night

sometime.  March 17, St Patrick's Day, pretty hard NOT to 

remember for the rest of my life, right?

This year, today, on the 18th, all of us went up to Brigham City

to eat dinner with my mom and head out to the cemetery 

to remember and say "hey" to dad.  It was nice to have

the whole family together to support my mom and

be together to remember my dad. 

 It was interesting

the array of emotions that have washed over me the

past couple of days.  Some of them very sad, some of them

funny--memories of my dad, and just a lot of thoughts

about his last days here.  A smattering of both good and bad.

As I traveled to Brigham City with MY own little family, joking

and laughing and just being with them--I thought to myself

THIS is what life is all about.  THIS is what I treasure.

Time, with them.  Even in a Honda mini-van driving somewhere.

Inside jokes, inside jabs, sister squabbling, big brothers teasing,

fighting over mini candy bars, passing Ritz crackers and Dt Cokes

back and forth, changing tunes on the IPOD.  Itty Bitty tiny 

moments in time, that pile together into days and week and 

months and years--bonding us together--for better

AND for worse into this thing we call a family.

I love them DEARLY!

Treasure those you love....you never know when they will be gone.

TELL them how much you care.  Forgive and love and try

really (really really) hard not to judge what they do or why

they do it.  I think we are all just trying our best to be OUR best-

and that's all we can do, right?

Love and miss you Dad!

knock knock

Who's there?

New Doors!

(you didn't think we were keeping the old ugly ones did you?)

We are down to island counter, kitchen counters, base trim and backsplash tile!!

Kyle makes me tired just watching him....seriously.  He never quits.

Between work (his "real"  job, ya know?!), coaching high school volleyball, kitchen
remodeling and sleep--wait--what sleep? he never stops.  It's a weird (and strangely
good) Nielson gene--they never sit still.  I am wondering which one of my kids
has inherited this gene--time will tell!!

In other (fabulous, fantastic and super great) news....

OUR TILE IS HERE!
OUR TILE IS HERE!

let me repeat....

OUR TILE IS HERE!

Clap clap clap--no stomping of my feet or throwing up of my hands.

The lady from Tile For Less called Kyle yesterday (personally) with the good news.

He ran right down and picked it up and it now sits on a box on our table...waiting!

I think we will finally have counter tops this weekend!

Now I hope I still love it....