Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Remodel. Appliances

There are dozens of appliance brands out there and when it comes to appliances, lets just say I'm not too informed. Before I could purchase cabinets I had to have an idea of what type of appliances we wanted for our new kitchen. We needed dimensions before we ordered cabinets. It sure would be inconvenient if our new kitchen cabinets wouldn't accommodate our new fridge...that's what got us here in the first place.

Larry and I went to visit stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, Sears, RC Willey, and Granite Furniture. They all had appliances that we would LOVE to have but our budget isn't the sky, unfortunately. So, we checked around and found things that we definitely wanted. A gas stove is high on Larry's list but not so high on mine. He informed me of the greatness that gas stoves offer so we agreed that we would buy a gas stove. Other things we would like are stainless steel, a dishwasher with multiple cleaning heads, a fridge with water and ice. Neither one of us really care if the freezer is on top or bottom but we both agree that the french door style is definitely not a design we like. Everyone that has one dislikes them...or so they say. We would both love a double oven but lets be honest, I hardly ever used the oven we did have, why in the world would we ever need TWO ovens. We had to be practical and rule out the things that we would want because of aesthetics or "what if we ever had Thanksgiving at our house" thoughts and stick with the things that are a necessity but more important, practical.

Sears seemed to have the best prices for what we wanted but for crazy reasons I was hung up on the Kenmore name. Working in an industry where I read about consumer spending or rather, lack of, I worried about the possibility of Sears crumbling in the bad economy like so many other chains have. And if they did crumble who would honor our warranties if something were to ever come up? Silly, I know, but that is what I was thinking. So, we went to Granite Furniture with the price in mind that we were willing to spend. When we pulled into the parking lot of Granite we weren't sure if the store was even open. There were weeds growing in the cracks of the pavement and our car was the only car in the parking lot. Talk about a ghost town. We were the only people in the store so we had all the help we needed. I told the gentleman up front the things we wanted and the price we were willing to pay. He immediately went to the computer to see about accommodating my requests. He made the numbers work and ordered the GE appliances we wanted. I think he was just desperate to get a commission check and I felt good about my purchase helping him out. I actually waited a couple days before I committed myself and signed on the line. I researched on-line consumer reports and revisited stores to price check again. After that I was happy to sign my name on the sales receipt.

So, appliances were ordered and will sit in the Granite Furniture warehouse until the plumbing and gas lines are done, electrical work is done, two new support beams are put in, tile is laid, cabinets are installed, countertops are installed, and then maybe it will be time for the delivery guy to make his way to our house with our new appliances. Um, yea...it's gonna be a while.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

The Remodel. an introduction

When we bought our home we always knew we would like to remodel the kitchen, at some point. If any of you have been in our kitchen you would know that it is horrible design. When you walk into the kitchen you are greeted with a bank of cupboards that run at least 6 feet along the peninsula. It blocks your view to the sink, fridge, and stove. Once you walk around the cupboards you have a U shaped area to work in. Because the cupboards hang so low you don't have much of a work area. The distance between the sides of the U is around 3.5' with the sink at the top of the U. There is not enough room for Larry and I to both be in the work area. In my opinion it is a dungeon! A dark hole that I HATE being in.

The day our fridge died was unfortunate. The logical thing for us to do is to buy a new fridge. We would have to buy a small fridge to fit in the 1980 cabinet design but that would mean spending money on a fridge that we DON'T want and would eventually have to be replaced with one we would want with our new kitchen design.

The decision was made to remodel the kitchen. We have some money set aside that was supposed to turn our rec room into a theatre room but Larry was kind enough to set his project and dreams aside to embark on MY project and dreams. The money certainly won't cover my project but it sure does give us a good starting point.

This isn't the first kitchen remodel we will have done. When we moved into our first home we remodeled the kitchen there. It was easier because we weren't moved in yet and could come and go as we pleased. We regret that we didn't get as many pictures of the remodel process as we would have liked so we are going to make sure we document this kitchen remodel well.

So, I've decide I will post the process of the remodel. All the sweat, tears, frustrations, decisions, setbacks, and joys.

To be continued....

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

TGIF

I recently posted that the company I work for has been hit hard financially by the economy, being that we work in the art industry. We were laid off on Fridays until business started to improve. (Honestly, I never thought we would ever come back on Friday's. After the owners got used to NOT paying us it sure would be hard to go back to paying us.) Well, business has picked up and during our Monday morning meeting the boss informed us that we will be coming back to work on Fridays. Right now he is giving us the option to come back full time now or in September. Well, since I am enjoying my Friday's off so well I have decided that I am in no hurry to get back to a full work week. We just bought season passes to Lagoon and I am really looking forward to spending Friday's there with my boys. I am also tackling a kitchen remodel so I can definitely still use my Friday's to finish that project. Anyway, it's nice to know that Friday's are now available but I think I'd rather stick with the smaller paycheck and enjoy the summer and my boys.

Our recent visit to Pioneer Village at Lagoon. We decided to do a serious "outlaw" picture. The boys certainly know how to do serious!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Home at last

I know you have all been holding your breath, I know I have been...I am happy to inform you that my money is back at home, safe and sound, in my bank account.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Double Grrr

So, the fraudulent charges have gone through my account and I still have not been reimbursed for the charges. I called Monday but the person helping me was not in the office. I called yesterday, still not in the office. Today I got a phone call back and apparently the paperwork I filled out has somehow been lost between the securities department, a hallway, and the visa department. Hmmm, do these people really know what they are doing? So, away I went to the South Salt Lake branch AGAIN to fill out the paperwork. I wonder if they will get it right this time! Don't they know I can really use that $600?!?