Adventures in Unpacking

Ok, so we're getting somwhere. I'm even more overwhelmed than I thought I would be, honestly. I probably wasn't being realistic about how much work time and effort this would all take. Or maybe I forgot that we both actually have to attend our jobs and do something for 8-10 hours a day besides beautify our house... My b ya'll.

BUT we do have lovely new appliances! And 3 of them are even functional!

Love the fridge! That cooler / college fridge sitch was not the best of times

Incredibly complicated but awesome dryer

Spaceship / Washing Machine

It makes them taller and stores stuff! Genius

I'm easily impressed by all the buttons and dinging noises

Aaand some appliances that have yet to be installed (there's a microwave in all that mess!)

So there, my hoarder shame is on full display in the picture above, but honestly those boxes and almost all the kitchen stuff is put away now.  There have been some hilarious unpacking moments, mostly when Mike and I try to describe things to each other - as in,

Mike: "Where's the thing? You know the thing for the stuff?"

Katie: "The dog food container?"

Mike: "Yeah, thanks, where is that?" 

Good lord the years with Cath have trained me well...

This was the absolute best though. I was trying to convey, with all my powers of description and charades and everything I had, that I was looking for the water goblets.

Katie: "Where are the water goblets?"

Mike: "All the china is in the basement"

Katie: "No, no the goblets, those things that are like wine glasses sort of but the top is bigger and the stem is pudgy and short? I grab them for water when people come over and I don't want them to drink out of plastic cups we have from Bourbon Cowboy "

Mike: "Oh the regular wine glasses?"

Me: "Aaaauugh!"

Then I had the genius idea of just showing him everything, like, actual pictures. Almost everything we own was purchased in the past few years, it's still on most websites.  Still, this cracked me up to no end.

Here is proof of some stuff being put away - those glass cabinets are making me nervous. So much pressure! Everybody is going to see all my business! So I decided the smaller one would be filled with white kitchen things and the larger right double cabinet would be filled with nice glasses glass canisters with food in them.

Old fashioned strainer, some dessert places (and Lilly Pulitzer animal crackers) and my milkglass "collection "

In the larger right side I have mostly glass - bottom left - goblets! - and some cereal for good measure - which Mike asked if I planned since the cereal matched. Nope. Just love frosted mini wheats.

Here's a wider view. Ignore the partly taken apart cabinet and old stove

Oh! And the new couch was delivered! It's excellent for folding laundry on... 

But it's not all stress and mess. Mike's birthday is coming up and I found him this AWESOME present on Craigslist! He asked that I not spend more than like $25 so I was up for the challenge!

It is a vintage cooler on wheels! And it's a schnazzy orangey red color that will look even better when we do a little sprucing up to our porch. 

He randomly brought home sunflowers. See? We still like each other. 

Built-in bottle opener and cap catcher!

A side view, and the little water spout

By Sunday I needed a little retail therapy, so Eileen and I headed to Home Goods. DANGER. But awesome. I had a gift card, so the damage wasn't too severe.  I stuck with the white and glass stuff knowing it can move around the house and work in pretty much any room. Plus I'm a sucker for white lacquer - I might have said it 38.5 million times while shopping.

My treasures

I also found this cool Manzanita branch. Mike was not impressed. But I love  it! Where it will live in the house? TBD

And last but not least, another fun find was kitchen decor on ebay.  I want to have fun with the big blank wall along the back. And I've always always wanted big cast iron utensils like my mom's mom has in her breakfast room. I've been scouring the internets and found these bad boys.  See Vanna Mike showing them off / losing his mind below:

"Hey! I can eat soup with these!" What???