We got our second guest bedroom ready for its close up just in the nick of time (we’re hosting some family tonight). A few days ago we showed you the new daybed and reading corner, but now we get to share some pics with more personality thanks to a bunch of punchy accessories. Much to my surprise, John okayed two fuzzy leopard pillows (he’s not really crazy about animal prints in general… now that’s love). The addition of a woven basket of books, some furry leopard slippers, and a splash of turquoise (in the form of a throw on the chair and a book on the ottoman) made the room practically scream “be our guest”

We gathered favorite photos that we took and turned them black and white. Then we hung them in a grid on the wall to create a collection of art that looks elegant and chic.

After 15 painfully slow days of waiting impatiently, our kitchen remodel picked back up again this Monday with the arrival of our replacement corner cabinet. Which means that the installer could come over yesterday (right at 8am, no less) to put in the final cabinet (which had to be reordered from KraftMaid due to the fact that the first one was backwards). Mike The Install Guy also took care of a few other finishing touches while he was here: adding toe kicks & shoe molding, venting the hood up through the attic and attaching the last part of our hood- all little things but they made a world of difference (proving that the devil really

The third bedroom (also known as our second guest bedroom) has finally come together. And not a minute too soon since we’re hosting a gaggle of guests on Friday night. As a reminder, this is the former dining room that we converted into a bedroom by closing off the doorway that connected it to the kitchen (we didn’t miss the dining space since we moved it into our jumbo living room). Lucky for us, the old dining room already had a closet, so other than ripping down the chair rail and switching out the light fixture it wasn’t much work at all (after the doorway was closed by a professional). Here’s a picture of the

The PB Basic is a nice couch, but it’s more expensive and less attractive than the much more affordable versions from Rowe. Hopefully you’ll learn from our mistake.

Our house has never looked more festive. We decked the halls (well, more like the living room, the den, and the front door) with all things sparkly and even though it was 82 degrees yesterday (!) it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Our silver themed tree came out really well, and a few strategically placed silver balls made other objects around the house feel totally Santa-ready. My favorite new ornament holder is a giant clam shell from Z Gallerie that John surprised me with for my last birthday. The different toned silver ornaments inside twinkle like oversized pearls- but glass balls also look great in vases, on platters, and even hung from fishing

And they’re like Brangelina… so gorgeous it’s unfair. The cabinets came a long way today. In fact our installer is done with everything except for that reversed corner cabinet which is in the process of being reordered (and the baseboard, which he’ll put in once that cabinet arrives). He hung the microwave, put up all the doors and the brushed nickel hardware, and added all the crown molding- which really was the icing on the cake. Bellisimo. But enough chatter. Here are the pics. This is the view of the kitchen from the doorway that we widened in the living/dining room: And here’s the right side. We especially love that glass door in the corner-

Richmond got its first taste of winter yesterday in the form of some light snow. Sadly, nothing stuck and life went on unaffected (no snow day for John). Well, mostly unaffected. The precipitation kept the installer inside all day, instead of outside sawing the crown molding and cabinet baseboards. That meant progress was limited to getting the last couple cabinets in, sliding the dishwasher into place and getting 99% of our range hood hung (he still has to add the stainless steel “chimney” which will cover the big pipe that goes up through the ceiling). Admittedly, they’re not the most exciting update pics, but here they go anyway. Note: the dishwasher and hood are still

They’re notoriously difficult to work with. Yesterday was cabinet installation day 2 and, not unlike Monday, it came with its fair share of ups and downs. We’ll start with the ups this time. Almost all the cabinets went in, including my new favorite thing: the built in refrigerator! Totally makes our existing fridge look like some fancy schmancy custom appliance. And that opening to the right of it will make our microwave look built in as well. Yippee skippy. Here are photos of yesterday’s progress: Ok, now to play Debbie Downer. The minor hiccup of the day was discovering one of our existing wall outlets is too high and needs to be lowered so it