on my to-do list this weekend:  finish the quilt. 

instead, i got through about 1/4 of the piping and noticed my corner just sort of... disappeared.  obviously, i didn't follow the directions too well.  (must find my seam ripper)

next on the list: run 4 miles.  i am training (term used loosely) for a 10K and my goal for this weekend was 4 miles. 

we made it 3.3. it was hot.  we were all tired.  enter more excuses here.

also on the list: figure out the kitchen cabinet situation.   we're having a hard time finding a finish we like.  there's been lots of back-and-forths with the contractors.  and a lot of "well, if that's what you want..."  YES THAT IS WHAT I WANT.  but i think we've found a solution!  maybe.

things we've managed to do that weren't on the list:
mistakenly attend not one, but two university graduations.  we drove over to american's campus to buy sean's books (he's getting his master's part-time) on a saturday morning.  which happened to be the same saturday of commencement.  then, GW's ceremony was on the mall during our run on sunday.  i wonder how many of those students have jobs lined up?

oh well.  there's always next weekend...

so, countertops.  after all of your suggestions, extensive online browsing, and some real-life browsing too, i keep coming back to carrara marble. 

i know.

marble scratches.  it stains. it chips.  whatever you do, do not go into a shop and say you want marble counters.

but it's the only material that i really love.  i've looked at the manufactured alternatives (caesarstone misty carrera, silestone bianco river) and they just don't do it for me. 

caesarstone vs marble

so i brought home some samples and set up a little experiment (on, um, friday night. saturday night i cat-proofed the laptop cord, so it was a pretty exciting weekend.).  i couldn't find any honed marble (my preference and also lower-maintenance) so the scientific method was already off to a rocky start.

but a true scientist perseveres.  or something.

that mustard looks gross, right?

i grabbed a bunch of stuff from the pantry and squirted a bit on the marble.  we've got orange juice, lemon juice, mustard, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, coffee, tomato sauce, preserves and butter.  i left the spots to sit for two days.  with simba-proofing, of course.

it's like a kitty buffet!

now, i'd like to think that i'm not that much of a slob, where i'd leave a spill for two whole days but...things happen. 

here we are after a wipe-down with my regular counter cleaner (mrs. meyers).  you can see that the acidic spills etched the polish off- but this would be a non-issue with un-polished marble (i think?).  the balsamic and the coffe were the worst offenders.  i'm guessing red wine would have left a similar mark (didn't have any open at the time).

you can see the etching on the right sample

and the stains. 

just for kicks, i left the same spills on a piece of caesarstone.  they all came out, no problem.

but come on! there's no comparison!

i guess it says something that, even after seeing first-hand the higher-maintenance, i still want marble?  i mean, that's what a good sealant is for, right?

but really, i think part of the cararra marble package is the understanding that your counters will not stay shiny and new, like granite would.  they are meant to age a bit (or if you're fancy patina) and you have to be ok with that.

i'll start practicing my cutting board! yell til it's as good as my coaster! warning.

or i'll start over from square one. again ha.

the kitchen plans are moving along!  and by moving along, i mean, we haven't actually made any decisions yet but we're close!  swear!

the most recent i want my kitchen to look exactly like this photo:

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via erin on Pinterest

i am in love with the color combination.  the hardware is pretty sweet too.  and the marble (looking?) counters? if i were the type to use the word swoon, i would.

so in honor of signing a contract for our glorious new kitchen, i bring you the top 4 things i will not miss about my old kitchen.

1.  the leaky faucet.  no matter how you jigger the handle, it leaks.  sometimes a full on stream of water, but mostly annoying, non-uniform drips.  dripdripdrip drip    dripdrip  drip drippppp.

2.  this cutting board thing mounted into the counter tops.  i'm embarrassed to post this photo.  it's so gross.  luckily, i found a huge butcher block to cover the whole thing up.  (old, old photo)

do not click to enlarge.  seriously.

3.  the window into our neighbor's eat-in kitchen.  losing a window isn't ideal, but we have plenty of natural light with the other windows and french doors.  i admit, i'm pumped about the prospect of cooking dinner and not feeling like i'm spying on my neighbor's candlelit dinner.  i'm also pumped about not really having to wear pants if i don't want to.

4.  the ugly laminate countertops.  they are actually peeling away in spots.  they are stained.  they are over-speckled and in no way pass for a natural stone that they're trying to imitate.

i could probably make a list a mile long.

but instead, happy friday everyone!

oof.  i am coming off a weekend of food, drinks and more food.  the first half of the weekend sean and i celebrated our 5 (!!) year wedding anniversary.  and sean's parents were visiting the second half. 

there was dinner at our neighborhood italian place, breakfast at open city (after a 3 mile run so i'm not counting this one!), and anniversary dinner at jaleo! oh and anniversary after-dinner at proof!

we brunched at founding farmers (a favorite!), had champagne at society fair (adorable!) and finished with dinner at zaytinya (delicious.). 

between all the eating, we talked kitchen design.  i was totally inspired by society fair's marble countertops and dark cabinets.  i think we may have the beginnings of a kitchen plan!

i even picked up some samples at home depot and just ordered some more online.  soon, i'll have to make some decisions.  but right now i'm focused on getting my pants to fit again.

i mentioned that 2012 would not be The Year of the Yard.  and that's because i've declared it The Year of the Kitchen!  we've decided to move forward with the kitchen remodel and i couldn't be more excited.

and nervous.  before, when my new kitchen was just a glimmer in my eye, i had every single decision made.  white cabinets! dark counter tops!  anything but granite!  but now that it's reality i'm having second (and third...and fourth) thoughts on all of my plans.

i still want white cabinets.  and we're doing wood floors- which was sort of a non-decision since the rest of the main level is wood.  but countertops are totally throwing me for a loop.  i like the look of honed stone but i'm worried about upkeep.  i hate polished granite with lots of speckle (technical term?).  i love marble but it's totally impractical.  and i haven't found any quartz material that i like.  suggestions?  (i also don't want concrete)

if our house cooperates, we'll be taking the wall down between the kitchen and dining room.  we'll add an island with the sink/dishwasher/wine fridge.  and the stove/microwave will flip over to the exterior wall.  we'll lose a window there, but it's the one that looks directly into our neighbors eat-in kitchen so we're both sort of excited about that.

flip the island around! the back will just be solid/beadboard/something. 
i sketched this out quickly, mostly for sean.

of course, this all depends on what the contractors find when they "knock a few holes in the wall".  but we're doing this!

any advise?  this will be our first kitchen re-do.  and probably our biggest project ever.  (although our old master bath might actually be the size of this kitchen)

*note: this is not a DIY project.  we will be paying professionals to do all the work but we'll design the space and choose materials on our own.

even though i was a little peeved that our neighbor complained about our out-of-control vines, he was totally right.   his comment lit a little fire under my yard work-hating butt.  maybe i should invite him inside to see our baseboards? 

i tore out all the vines on the fence.  i weeded.  i mowed.  then i noticed these trees were practically leaning on the neighbor's house.  (aren't you glad you don't live next to me?)  so i called the arborist.

yikes.

they're pretty small but at least one of them is tangled up in cable and with my luck, i'd take out the block's internet along with the tree.  so i left it to the professionals. who showed up way past acceptable pajama wearing time, to me, in my pajamas.  (two hours later, pest control guy showed up and...still in my pajamas)

i'm not a fan of cutting down trees but these were majorly damaged from storms and well, vines.  i promise to keep the vine-age under control from now on!

where the sidewalk ends. no really, it doesn't continue all the way to the parking pad.

i transplanted that weird looking bush from the front yard (i removed it to make room for the roses), the jury's still out on if it will survive.  it's partially covering up the rodent bait box.  yes, rodent bait box.  we have had this thing for almost two years and i just found out what it was.  i hope there's a little rodent jungle gym in there to entertain them until the pest control guy can release them in a faraway field.  that's how it works, right?  (i'm not 100% comfortable with this thing but i'm 100% not comfortable with rats in the yard/house.  and we live in the city sooo...rat jungle gym!)

maybe i'll try to transplant some more bushes (we have a ton of hydrangeas) to fill this space in.  but for now, i'm not spending any money on plants for a side yard no one sees but us.

two different kinds of roses!

i made a goal of getting our yard together this quarter but i just don't see 2012 being The Year of the Yard.  so i am going to focus on clearing things out, and keeping things trimmed and weeded and vine-free.  i'm learning to hate yard work much less, especially when i do a little at a time.  progress!

last week sean found out he'd have the opportunity to go to the white house correspondents' dinner.

to say we were both excited was a huge understatement.  neither of us gets to do excited things like this, oh ever, so this was a big deal!

while sean worked on fitting into his tux (he actually called and asked if rice was a carb), i worked on my list of must-have photos. i also shined his shoes, polished his studs/cuff links and went to saks--aka the store where they ignore people like us--to help him pick out a new bow tie.

by saturday we were both a bit nervous...
me: did you check that your tuxedo shirt is pressed?
him:  yeah. i have three, two look good.
me:  three? ok.  ....  do you have shoes to go with a tux??
him: yeah, i have tuxedo shoes.
me: oh.  and plain black socks?
him: i have tuxedo socks.

well, ok then.  apparently i am married to a much fancier man than i ever knew.

all ready for nerd prom!

i dropped sean off in the rain and raced home (actually, i death-gripped the steering wheel while going just the speed limit and never changing lanes. i hate driving.) to watch the coverage on c-span.  i never saw sean, probably because he was busy getting his photo taken with celebrities.

bob scheiffer, claire danes, rosario dawson, the crowd!

his boss (the congressman) took all these photos, which totally cracks me up.  he met a bunch of other people (john legend, mary j blige, kevin spacey, christine baranksi) and saw a whole ton more but i think his favorite was rosario dawson.  he said she was just really nice.  i'm thinking the uh, dress had something to do with it too.

also, i requested a photo of aziz ansari.  it turns out he is a total asshole (language, sorry!) so that didn't happen.  i now hate him on principle.

to sum up, sean was hanging with fancy famous people while i was watching c-span in my sweatpants.  how was your weekend?