Swatches, Colours & Paint... Oh My!

There are times when I enjoy having choices.  Like when I'm eating lunch at Swiss Chalet. I like being able to choose between their famous french fries, sweet corn and sautéed mushrooms as a side.  Sometimes I'm feeling the fried potatoey stuff, other days I'm itching for veggies drenched in oil.

But when I walked into the paint department today and saw shelves of tiny paint swatches, it was more overwhelming than seeing the many aisles of granite slabs. There were soooo many colours! Pale Cucumber, Cilantro Cream, Organic Field.  Ummm... I'd refer to them all as "green".

So why paint colours?  We were shopping for our future master bedroom wall colour.  Because our bed set is ridiculously heavy, we'd rather paint the room now than have to move (and struggle with) the thing later.  That leaves us with 3 days to find a paint colour we like, paint the bedroom, or at least the one wall, before our mattress and bed set arrive.  Talk about pressure!

The colour we want is a very pale-grey green.  Nothing too bright, but enough to strike a subtle contrast with the 'warm grey' we chose with our house.  So the search begins for our perfect green wall colour.

Granite & Tile Shopping

Long.  That's what today was.  We were scheduled to visit a couple of granite/marble shops and what I thought would take a mere few hours ended up lasting an entire afternoon. We looked through aisles and aisles of slabs only finding a couple we liked (which is pretty good considering the wide selection).

What we are looking for is something that will match our kitchen cabinets.  Many people today were lugging their actual kitchen cabinet around, comparing it to the slabs (smart!)... sadly, we couldn't do that.

What we are looking for is something dark brown (but not black), not sparkley/speckley and not overly swirly.  The one we liked best is called Antique Brown.  The picture below looks a lot lighter, because of my flash, but is actually quite dark in person.

Also, we'll be switching up the tiles in the foyer.  My father-in-law found some he really liked, mostly because of their uniqueness in size and shape.  I like how one small change in tile size can make such a big difference in the overall look as a whole.

Wow.  There is so much we want to do, and we don't even have our house yet!  3 more days until we get our keys!!

A 'Getting Started' Gift!

This is a rather late post, nevertheless, one I've been wanting to post for a while now.  Two good friends of ours were married last August and to thank us for helping them plan the wedding (and the hubby for being in the wedding party!) they gave us a unique, yet very handy, gift(s).  Voila!

It's a box of... stuff!  From duct tape to detergent to a pizza pan, they thought of just about everything we'll need once we move out.  I was shocked (and grateful) because I didn't know where to begin with buying random household necessities.

It was one of the most thoughtful (and original) gifts I had ever received!  I love how it's super practical - the items themselves AND the rubber maid box.  I'll definitely have to follow her lead the next time a friend moves out. What an awesome gift idea!

On Growing Up...

I guess it hasn't hit me yet. 

In 9 days, we'll be moving out for good.  I left my parents house when we were first married, but living 10 minutes away (7 if you get all the green lights) with my in-laws hardly constitutes a permanent change of scenery.  But in nine days time, that's all going to change.  A mere 7 minute drive will now be 45 minutes. 

I still remember tearing up the first night we drove back to my in-laws.  I was so overcome with emotion (and shame - I mean, who cries over 7 minutes of driving?) that I started crying in the passenger seat of the car because I was "moving out".  But this time, I think (and hope!) I'll be able to take the change in stride. 

It's like beginning a new adventure...

Our Pre-Delivery Inspection

This morning we had our PDI appointment!  After 2 long years of waiting, we were able to see our house in its (almost) finished state.  It's amazing how much bigger the townhouse looks with dry-walls vs. just the plain framing.

Before the PDI, we were prepping ourselves to spot any and every problem in the house.  But I'm happy to say there weren't any major defects (thankgoodness!) and Susan, the lady we worked with, was on the ball, finding and pointing things out even before we saw them!

She walked us through everything we needed to do as new home owners and didn't think any question was a silly one.  She was great.  I didn't realize how much up-keep there was to maintaining a house!  Gas valves, furnace stuff, cold/hot water pipes...

We went through the entire house in less than 2 hours, but it felt like we did a super thorough job flagging things down with the super green painting tape.  I was afraid the entire house would be green... but it wasn't. Not excessive at least.

1.5 more weeks until we officially move into our new home!

It's Raining Furniture! - Pt. 2

Two months ago, I knew nothing about ranges (I didn't even know that's what they were called - I call them "stoves") but now I know just a bit more, enough to get me through an appointment with a sales person and not sound completely silly.  

Stepping out into the world of major appliances, we had no clue what type of range we wanted.  Flat top, coil or gas?  Convection or not?  Warming tray... whaaaat?  I didn't know these things even existed!  Isn't that a microwaves job?  So after many nights of online reading, here we are, almost ready to purchase our first range. 

What we did decide was that we wanted a slide-in gas stove with a convection oven.  I've heard horror stories about flat top ranges (perhaps it's just my mom's and mother-in-law's experiences that created my bias) so that had me running.  Also, I'm a soon-to-be avid cook, or so I tell myself, and I love love love to bake.  So, many people recommended a gas range.

We're still undecided about the above Whirlpool, but we're considering it.  It's within less than our budget and seems pretty impressive.  My only question is the convection oven part.  I hear different things about it... that it doesn't bake cakes, and things that rise, properly. 

Just when I thought we had decided...

It's raining... Furniture! - Pt. 1

Boxing Day.  The day we'd been waiting for, and had circled and highlighted in our calendar for almost half a year, finally came.  Every time we saw something we liked for our new house, the Husband and I always convinced ourselves that waiting for boxing day would be worthwhile... and we were right!

The first piece of furniture we bought was a kitchen table (above, minus the chairs).  We'd seen the table a few months ago and instantly fell in love, with the table, not the price.  We wanted to purchase it then but because we waited, it saved us approximately $500.

The table is exactly what we are looking for and fits perfectly into the space we have available in our kitchen.  Kitchen table - check.  Next up... our washer and dryer.

A Non-Holiday Closing Date... *sob*

I am sad.  Sad that our closing date is late January 2010 and not... today, tomorrow, or even next week.  Our intial closing date was supposed to be September 2009, meaning we would have had ample time to move in and start decorating our new home just in time for Christmas.  Sadly, a very unwanted letter arrived announcing our delayed closing date.

And now that the Christmas Season is in full effect, I can't help but wish I had a house of my own to decorate.  A wreath on the door is a must and so is a real Chrismtas tree, at least for the first year!  I would have stocked our cupboards with hot chocolate and hot apple cider, with marshmallows and cinnamon sticks within easy reach! 

Unfortunately, that won't happen.  The only Christmas decoration we have is our Advent Chocolate Calendar, sitting a top piles of clothes.  But on the bright side, at least I can stock up on Christmas decorations for next year during Boxing Day!