Mom's Kitchen

Now that Bob and I are separated, my mom and I are going to finish her kitchen ourselves.  Yes, you read that right.  So far, my mom has patched the holes that Bob left in her ceiling when he moved her lights, and she did an awesome job.  In fact, I think she did just as good as any San Diego General Contractor could do. 


Of course, there are going to be things that even we can not do, like building the cabinet she wants to put her washer and dryer in. She doesn't want anything really fancy, but she does want this cabinet to match the kitchen cabinets.  I don't think she'll need San Diego Custom Cabinet Makers, just someone who can make a decent cabinet.  Ryan really wants to try building it, but I am not sure my mom will let him.  I mean, he's only 15.  It's a good thing that Bob got as far as he did with her kitchen, because it would have been pretty expensive if she had to hire a San Diego Kitchen Remodel place to finish the hard stuff.

For now, she is going to do a little at a time herself until it's done.  I know she can do it.

My Dream Bathroom

Have you ever seen those showers that have jets positioned at different heights so that you are getting sprayed from all over?   I can't even begin to imagine how awesome they must feel.  If we ever decide to remodel our bathroom, that's the kind of shower I want.  I was looking on www.betterbathrooms.com and found that one in the picture, and I am seriously drooling over it.  It has six jets that shoot water from the sides as well as a hand held shower head that has several different spray modes.  I can just imagine how relaxed I would be after a shower in that.

I would also want a jacuzzi tub in my bathroom, that is not necessarily wide, just deep.  I want to be able to sit in it and have the water cover my shoulders. The way our bathroom is set up now, we could easily remove our garden tub and shower stall and put both of the new shower stall and jacuzzi tub in.  I wonder if our landlord would mind?

Of course, we would have a regular tub/shower combo in the other bathroom for the kids to use.  I mean, I wouldn't want to spoil them or anything.

A New Floor

When it comes to remodeling a room in your house, the choices are endless.  You can do little upgrades like painting the walls and hanging new curtains, or you can do major upgrades like knocking down walls and redoing the floors.  If we were ever to buy the home we are living in now (which may be an option in a couple of years) there are a lot of things that I would want to remodel, starting with the floor.

This is a mobile home, so the floor has small dips in it in places, from where it has settled.  I have lived in a few different mobile homes since I've been married, and they have all had this issues.  I would want Junior to go underneath and put some type of supports in where it's dipping, and then I want him to take up the linoleum and put down Wickes laminate flooring.  

The linoleum that is in it now is wood grain looking, so it looks like it's a hardwood floor.  I really do like the way it looks, so I would want a laminate floor that is similar in color.  I found the one in that picture, and that is really close to what we have now.  It matches all my furniture, and is durable, so I think I could convince Junior to put that down.  I am sure I would have to help him, which is fine by me.  I kind of like working on the house.  I even have my own hammer.

Yeah, I'm that cool.

House Hunting

The packing has begun, and I am actually excited about it. We still haven't found the perfect place to live, but we have been looking like crazy. We did find a really cute house that is for rent, and also for sale. The owner may do a "rent to own" deal, but we're undecided. Our last house was "rent to own", and you all know how well that worked out.

This house is green. I mean, really green. It is painted light green, and has dark green trim. Even the floor of the car port is green. I am thinking this might be part of the reason they haven't had any offers. We only peaked in the windows, but the parts I saw were really nice. The living room is a good size, and the dining room is big enough for my table and hutch. The washer and dryer are in the kitchen, which I found out I hate living in this apartment, but if I had to, I would deal with it. The best part, I think, was the kitchen.

It is huge! It has lots of cabinet space, but not too much where it overwhelms the room. I think I saw a dishwasher, which is okay, but to be honest, not really a deal breaker for me. The last place we live in that had one, I never used. I prefer to hand wash my dishes. I know, weird. But that's me.

If we were to buy this house, I would redo a few things in the kitchen. The first thing would be to install an undermount kitchen sink. I fell in love with this type of sink at a friends house. The best part of this particular one pictures is the low separator. It allows you to get big pots and pans into the sink to wash without having to bend all the way over. Know what I mean? nothing annoys me more than having to bend over the sink to scrub a cookie sheet.

I would also replace the appliances with mine. The ones in the house are white, and pretty outdated. I want my flat top stove and my big refrigerator. Eventually, I would want to replace the counter tops with something a little darker than what they are now, but that is not a priority.

The priority is deciding whether or not we even want this house. It would put Brandi in a different elementary school, and she is pretty upset about that. It is also a little more than we are paying now for rent, but the van will be paid off in a few months, so we could swing it financially. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it is still available in February when we are ready to move.

The Perfect Sink

House hunting with my mom has really got me wanting my own house. This apartment we live in is nice enough, but I want a place I can decorate and remodel in my own taste. When I finally do get a place of my own, the first room to get an overhaul will be the kitchen. We own our own appliances, and they are fairly new. The refrigerator and stove are both black, and the stove is a flat top, which I love. I want to have white cabinets put in, and a black or dark gray counter top. I'm not sure if I want an ordinary stainless steel sink or if I want something different. If I do get a stainless sink, it will be an undermount. I love the look of those. It's also a whole lot easier to wipe spills and crumbs directly into the sink if there is no lip. They also have these "smart divide" sinks that have a lower middle part, so that it's easier to wash long pans and cookie sheets. I love that idea.

I am also considering a granite sink, and this is probably the way I would go. This would look really cool if I got granite counters as well. The granite sink I found online is made of "green" materials, and is coated with ions that kill bacteria on contact. How cool is that? Oh, and I can get the granite sink in black, just like in this picture. I love, love, love this sink. Crazy, right, that I would be going nuts over a sink? The sad truth is I can see myself designing my whole kitchen around this sink.

I wonder what kind of faucet I can find to go with it?

New Windows

At this time last year, we lived in a different house. This is our first June here, and I wasn't sure how well the air conditioner would cool the apartment. It's an old duplex, and the windows aren't exactly energy efficient. In fact, most of the windows don't even close all the way. They can lock, but not securely. I am convinced that anyone with a butter knife can pry the window open pretty easily. I would recommend the management company install double glazing, but I know they wouldn't. So far, they have been reluctant to do any major fixes. I'm still living with leaks in the roof, and I've asked for that to be fixed numerous times. I wish we could afford to buy our own place right now, then I could make all the upgrades I wanted to. If I lived over seas, I would hire Central Scotland Joinery to do the work. I have heard they do amazing work, and that they are courteous and professional, taking pride in the work they do. Maybe when they finished, my air conditioner wouldn't have to work so hard.