Some Pics for Mom

So, most of this post is for my mother who wanted to see pictures of several different things. First, the couch that is nearly done:

Next, the free chair. It must be reupholstered to somehow coordinate with the yellow couch. And I think it might need a cushion... Not sure yet.

Or maybe I should just sell it on Craigslist and use the money towards













Next, the sort of kitchen table light that I'm looking for. You can get something similar from Lowe's for $90. But really, $90? Is it worth that?









And finally, my first knitting project that I actually completed. Yes, its just baby socks, but this time I made two of them, whereas in the past I usually make "one" of things and then get bored. Or, 6 inches of something and then quit.. etc etc...

That's all for now! Cabinet construction project just barely getting started!

Fall In the Mountains

Its really getting cooler - frost on the windows every morning but still very pleasant in the day time. I've been spending a good amount of time in front of the fireplace with its new mantel in our new chair that we got for free the other day. The fireplace has an on/off switch and I LOVE it. Anyways, with the holidays coming up so soon, I wanted to share the newest Dale family Christmas tradition that we started last year. Its very simple. All Christmas gifts must:

• Cost less than $10
• Come from a Thrift Store
• Be home-made (eg. crafts, artwork)
• Be something you already had. (re-gifting, etc)
  

They can fit into any category or be all of the above. Its that easy. The result is a fabulously creative, non-commercial Christmas. It fits us perfectly as we are basically all grown-ups, especially since Andrew is now married and can no longer be considered "the baby". This year is going to be even better because the Colorado thrift store selection is head-and-shoulders above Jackson. People throw away better stuff here.

Making a Mess

This weekend we decided to start the kitchen demolition. The old kitchen had those empty sheetrock boxes above the cabinets.. That's 12 full inches of wasted nothingness, which I intend to reclaim. Also above the peninsula I want to see straight through to the dining room. No wall of cabinets. So there's some ceiling patching that has to be done. Everything went fairly smoothly. A few wires had to be re-routed. We also decided not to actually finish the process because there will be a few more wiring changes, new recessed lighting, etc, that would actually be a lot easier with big holes in the walls. Here's some shots of the soffit removal process:

The Slow Transition to Stainless

Well, after much stalking of the Denver craigslist, my kitchen conversion to stainless steel is 50% complete. Money-wise, its much more than 50% b/c the fridge and the oven are the two big ticket items. Both of these I bought used, with much deliberation. I insisted on getting a counter-depth fridge which, for no apparent reason, doubles the cost of the new ones. Being "counter-depth" its about 6 inches thinner than a regular one, and my tiny kitchen needed those 6 inches back. And so this week I finally found the stove I want at *almost* the price I wanted. It has a double oven, the smaller one for baking. It did an excellent job on a frozen pizza last night without having to warm up the whole big oven. Now all that's left is the dishwasher and microwave

New Mantel

Mantel old vs. new. What do you think??












More pictures!! Here's one with some vases, the chair, and the dog, for scale. My little vases look sad don't you think? What should I put on top of this mantel?

Here's some close-ups of the moldings we used. Note that this is the same crown molding that would put up on the ceiling and the same baseboard that will go around the whole room.. of course the rest will be painted white...