And we have windows!

On December 31st we went to see a movie and then dropped by the house afterwards to check out the recent progress. There were windows!



I was most excited to see the south side of the house, where the kitchen is. It was great to see the doors that will lead to the outdoor deck area from the dining room and the windows that will bring lots of light into my new kitchen.



The windows will allow people to work inside the house without worrying about wind and weather. Already the electrician has been in to do some wiring. Oh, and all of the windows have big stickers on them that say "Marvin". Lots of windows named Marvin.



Our vague move-in date of May 2012 seemed really far away when this all started, but now it's actually seeming kind of close.

J.

There's an Appliance For That

In our old, falling down, moldy, no-heat house, we tried to put off purchasing anything new or fixing anything unnecessary because we knew we were going to be starting this project and a whole new home would be in our future. One of the things we avoided fixing was the stove. It was a brown and avocado-green model that came with the house. It had one working burner and an oven that heated about 25 degrees off what the readout said. Still, I cooked dinner every night for years on that stove. I wrote a cooking blog based on my recipes. I used that stove to illustrate my belief that anyone, fancy kitchen or not, could make nice meals every night of the week.



But I'm not crazy. I never LIKED the stove. I felt no pangs of emotion when I bid it, and our other sub-standard appliances, goodbye. Before we even moved out I was starting to research what kind of stove I would have in the new house. And all roads led to Wolf. Everything I read said that Wolf stoves were the best. People loved cooking on them. Whenever I read an article featuring a house tour where there was a Wolf stove, it was always listed as "best splurge." Consumer reporty-type sites and home design blogs and people's personal accounts all lined up. These stoves are awesome. They never break. They are a pleasure to cook on. And they are nice to look at, as well. The same kind of accolades applied to their fridge line, Subzero, which also looked great. And buying both got us a rebate. Sold.



Well, "sold" didn't actually come that easy. My husband ended up on a self-directed crash course in Wolf/Subzero Appliance Acquisition. Who had the best prices? Everyone's prices were basically the same. Who could offer financing? Almost no one, except The Bay. Why were the appliances significantly cheaper in the United States? A combination of the bad economy and NAFTA. Would it be cheaper to just drive to the USA and buy the appliances there? Not when you factor in truck rental, movers (because these things are HEAVY!) storage etc.

So, off we went to The Bay last weekend. After a few hours of phone calls to their credit department and dealings with a somewhat keyed up salesman, we'd purchased our fridge and stove and hood fan. Sold! Finally. I can't wait to get cooking.

J.