Demo Days #5 and #6

Tomorrow at noon-ish, we'll have had the keys for one week. Time flies when you're working non-stop. Rudy has worked tirelessly on a major kitchen sink/dishwasher/garbage disposal problem. I'm proud of him for sticking it through many, many hurdles to finally see the job completed! (There's never a doubt with Rudy...but just have to say how proud I am of him. He doesn't give up.) So, here's a picture of what Rudy has been up to for the past 3 days...

Today, we took out the pantry on the right side of the fireplace (below).  While I would normally love a walk-in pantry, the kitchen itself is bigger than my current kitchen, so while we wait for our kitchen remodel, I'm happy to make things fit and work with what we've got. Big picture goals, here.

 Rudy used his lunch break to take most of it out... his lunch break, people! I came home to find him in his work clothes and shoes pounding away, dust flying everywhere!

Later in the evening, it looked like this...

Once we make our final decisions about the materials and style of this fireplace, we'll get our masonry man and a framer out to make this all go away and look good! I can see it...and it makes me excited! It's already looking so much more open and lighter.

 

Thanks to my friend Vicki, and my mom who have given some nights to come and sit in our living room while the boys sleep, I've been able to join Rudy or run errands without the kids in tow. (They've generally been great helpers, but sometimes it's rough. And the opportunities we get to work hard without interruption are priceless. So, thank you Vicki and Mom!!!)

Tonight, while Rudy continued demo and my dad did an amazing job cleaning our oven and figuring out our sprinkler system, I ran to Lowe's to get some cheap oil-rubbed bronze drawer pulls to replace the gold ones currently in the kitchen. Here's a shot of both knobs. I love the instant face-lift the darker ones provide. 

My dad offered to clean and paint these cabinets, or at least touch up all the spots that are chipped. We appreciate his help with the details, including planting and hauling away bricks! Thanks mom and dad for all your help! ;)