Kitchen Remodel....Yup day 302 ;)

So you probably wondered why I never finished up the kitchen remodel posts with grades for Ameritiles. The reason is that they weren't finished and still aren't. However, today they added the granite behind the stove. Originally when we planned the kitchen, we were keeping our appliances. When everything was in, we realized how ugly our eye sore white appliances looked with the bright kitchen. We decided to get a stove without the knobs on the back to show off the blacksplash more. What we didn't know at the time was that those stoves need to have 2.5 inches of counter space behind them. The stove did come with a plate which we used in the mean time while Ameritiles got around to adding our granite. Here is the before with the plate. You can see that there is a gap on each side of the plate...not so pretty.
3 men came to install the tiny piece of granite which took all of 15 minutes....wonder why it took so long for them to come out and install it.........Here is the almost finished project. I say almost because we need to add the gray grout from the backsplash to it to continue the grout line from the original work. Mr. E now has a weekend project :) I tried to take a picture with less bling from the backsplash...not sure it worked well, but you get the gist.
One tiny mistake Ameritiles needs to fix (that they are procrastinating on fixing)and we'll be DONE!!!!!!!!!! Woot!! Oh wait...still have the loaner fridge;(

Who needs a teddy bear????

Well Fall is here!! Which means it time for our annual Halloween decorating EXTRAVAGANZA!!! Mr. E and Little Lion have started decorating the outside of the house. LL was a little timid at the beginning of the process. The skeletons and big scary pumpkins made him a little jumpy. However, after playing with them and showing them that they aren't real, he got used to them and actually liked them....A LOT! So much in fact that he wanted to SLEEP with one of our many sets of skeletons.

We tucked in Bones and LL snuggled right on up ;) How cute is that....or demented :) Hey if he falls asleep, I'll all for it :) Did you notice the hand in the pants??? Who'd he learn that from???? Halloween decorations to come later......

Money Maker!

Yesterday the family went to visit my parents. Little Lion loves going over there because of their pool. My mom was telling me the previous day that she had turned in her old gold jewelry that was broken or never to be worn again. She got $93 dollars for it. I thought hmmm I have some old gold jewelry too. I brought it over with me to my parents. While LL and Mr.E were in the pool, my Mom and I went to turn in my gold. Here is what I had.And here is what I got back.... $147!!! Not bad for an afternoon jaunt to my parents ;) I did end up keeping the ring and earring that had diamonds in them since the jeweler wouldn't take them out. What to buy with it now???

Mr.E and I also did a date afternoon to the movies. We say The Informant which was just ok. We went during LL's nap time. Pop Pop put him to sleep and well did the same :)
Sooo sweet! I guess they were both knocked out from the pool!

Making Pancakes!

One of my few cooking specialties is Skinny Pancakes. I use the recipe from my Great Grandma that has been passed down. They are yummy!! I usually make them for dinner since there isn't a lot of time in the morning. Last night Little Lion decided he wanted to help make the pancakes. Here he is stirring up the batter.Yes I am standing next to him so he wouldn't fall off the counter. Next you have to add flour. LL was totally into it and being so careful to not spill. Mommy had to fry them up since it means using hot oil, but Little Lion got to enjoy his hard work!YUMMY!! My son the next Top Chef :)

Awww Kitty Love

It was time for Little Lion's nap today and I brought him into his bedroom as usual. However, we found Batman napping on his bed. I put LL down and grabbed the cat. LL started crying for Kitty. Ok fine. I put him back on the bed. I figured the cat would get irritated with LL and would get down himself and leave. Well I went back to check on LL and here's what I found.

AWWWWW they love each other :) It makes my heart melt! Such a sweet kitty I have!!

Bridesmaid Reunion

Mr.E and I have been married for 5 years. Yesterday was the first time since the wedding that all of my bridesmaids have been together. My friend L and her hubby and daughter were in town. I figured what a nice way to get everyone together and of course show off the new kitchen :) Here is the kitchen party ready!
Here are my girls 5 years ago and now ;)
There have been many changes....marriage, babies...but they are still great women and friends!

The weather wasn't looking pretty, but by the time the party started it cleared right up and it wasn't too hot! So the kids got to play outside. The men and L, however, stayed in to watch college football.
A few of the outdoor favorites for the kids were the water table which was more fun with bubbles and sand in it, the trampoline, and the new porch swing.

Once it got dark out, everyone headed inside to ROCK OUT! to the Beatles Rock Band. Everyone got a chance to play or sing.

My favorite picture of the rockers were of S's son and Little Lion, who are both 2, jamming out. I can see that we will be able to retire soon since they are going to form their own band :)The girl's were showing off how scary they could be in Little Lion's new fort. They also dragged in L which lead to a fabulous picture!!All in all it was a wonderful party! Our next party will have to happen soon! But first I'll brush up on my singing skills :)

Labor Day Weekend...Really!

Whoa Boy! We worked HARD over Labor Day weekend!! Mr. E and I had to paint the kitchen, but also decided to paint our hallway walls which have not been painted since we moved in 6 years ago. We decided to paint the kitchen a light, but bright yellow. Here is the progress.

Our hallway is long from our front door to our back sliding glass door. We decided to keep it pretty close to the color it is...beige since the other walls are dramatic....red in the family room, yellow in the kitchen and purple in the living/dining room. Can you see the difference? The wall on the left is freshly painted :)Mr. E also decided to add a border to the edge of the backsplash that hung over. We also changed the ugly white outlet covers to silver metal, and it matches the backsplash.I also am scrambling to find decor for the top of the cabinets before a little get together. So we got a couple of things and I'm not 100% yet. The wall art still isn't hung, but you get the jist.
So 98% done and I'm going to show off the kitchen with my college friends this weekend! Hopefully all our hard work pays off with lots of joy in the kitchen :)