Granite and drywall

Yay for 3 day weekends! We went to pick out granite for the kitchen today at Cosmos Granite & Marble. They have a pretty huge warehouse and a lot of slabs to choose from. We knew we wanted something dark and in the level 1 range for our budget. Basically, there are different levels of granite with the lower numbers being more common and the higher numbers being more...ummm..."exotic." I think this is what people in the industry like to call them. As with everything else related to renovation, 90% of the stuff that's out there is HORRIBLE and the last 10% is ok. So, if you're trying to set up your sleazy Italian love den, then you're going to pay a premium price. For the every day Joes like us, there are some good plain Jane rocks to choose from.

So what do you think Miles? Classy right?

Kidding. Here's our slab. It's kind of amazingly satisfying picking out a slab of granite. Here's something that the earth has been working on for millions of years (with heat and pressure and whatnot) and I come along, chubby-as-you-please, and point my fat finger and say "yeah...I'd like to cut up some chicken on that. Load it in the truck." In all seriousness, all the colors and patterns that the earth comes up with are pretty cool. Nice job nature.

Up close shot. It's called "Steel Gray," and again, I think we may be copying the Clapp-Ferguson boys, but it really was the best of the darker slabs. Nellie is having mini freak-out moments where she's wondering if we chose the right one. This may prompt a return trip to verify that we did indeed make the right decision. Sigh.

This looks awesome as a thing that exists in the world. For instance, I could see this slab in an outdated science exhibit about the wonders of geology. I'd push a little red button (covered in the patina of a thousand childrens' fingerprints) and listen in rapt awe as a scratchy recording tells me about the miracle of rock formation. Instead, some bloke comes waltzing in to the granite shop and without hesitation points and says, "This will complete my dream kitchen!" Weird.

Did I mention that we love the paint colors? Maybe once or twice. Also, Emon has banged out the front railings which look awesome.

Blue ceiling! Apparently, this is a Southern thing. Our friend, Anna Lena, says that it deters birds from nesting in the eaves by mimicking the sky. Not sure if this is true, but it sounds good and looks fan-freakin'-tastic. Miles happened to be there when we stopped by. Nellie and I are starting to think that he hates running into us since we fire off a thousand questions and comments - quements, as it were. No really - it's always great to see Miles, and we got to brainstorm about some finishing stuff in the master bathroom shower.

The porch is so loooooong. And awesome. I don't mean to brag but man we're stoked about this. I hope we don't come across as braggy. We're just pumped about the house and it's literally all we think about these days. It's hard to talk about anything else. Hopefully you understand.

Inside, the drywall is going up. Nellie was fascinated by the man on the stilts with the nail gun. See video below.

Loving the blue!

Circus performers in our house!