Front Door Sets

Do we go with something like this for the front door? It's from a company called Sargent & Co. circa 1885 from the same place that we bought our interior knobs.


Or this Mallory Wheeler & Co. "Arabic" doorset that came out in December of 1889...

Or something more like this?

Interior Door Knobs

I forgot to post the door knobs sets that we finally settled on for the interior doors. The knobs are called Bennington knobs. Not sure why. And we got some original mortise locks which Josh was excited to take apart when they arrived.

Lucy Patiently Awaits Baby Sister

The Threesome Awaits Its Fourth

Baby Mama?

I swung by our local coffee shop and home-away-from-home today, Progressive Grounds. It was about 75 degrees and this pregnant lady wanted a milkshake. Luckily, they have the world's most delicious ice cream, Mitchell's.

The very nice guy who works weekends greeted me with a big smile. Everyone smiles and/or chuckles at me now as I walk/waddle by now as I am only one day away from my due date. As he was scooping out the thin mint chip, he said, "Is that your friend's baby?"

"What?" I replied, not understanding what he was asking.

"Is that your friend's baby?" He asked again.

There was no baby in a stroller nearby or babe in my arms for him to be asking about, so I presumed that he was asking about the baby in my belly.

"No...this is my baby."

"But didn't you just have one?"

"No. This is the same one."

"It's not your friend's baby? You don't already have a baby?"

"No, it's not my friend's baby. It's my baby."

"Oh" he said looking rather confused. "I have four."

So, I left with my milkshake completely unsure of what the man had been really asking me. I concluded that he had somehow determined that I was a surrogate who was busy getting pregnant all the time for her friends. Any other suggestions?

Broken Glass

We got our new shower door installed this morning in the master bath. Yeah! It looked (yes, notice the past tense) so nice. Just a clean piece of glass with two hinges and a handle. Well, about 1/2 hour ago, Lucy and I were awoken from our afternoon cuddle/nap by a sound that I can only describe as a big bucket of ice being dumped on the floor.

We went upstairs to investigate and discovered that the beautiful new shower door had completely shattered. The top third of the door was missing and the remainder of the door was fractured into a million pieces. My online research suggests that there was a manufacturing defect in the piece of glass or something happened when he installed it that later led to its implosion. I have left the shower door people a message and I hope that they will tend to this without any problems. I remain optimistic. It's actually kind of cool how it shattered. The safety glass prevents it from breaking off in large scary chunks. Kind of like a car window, I suppose. Anyways, good thing we're not actually using that bathroom yet.

Huis Clos

I found this crazy amazing deal on a solid mahogany door. It's even in stock. Shocking. I tried to find an old door from salvage yards that we could refurbish, but couldn't find anything nice enough that seemed worth the effort.

Cupcake is showing only minor signs of heading towards the exit. She is apparently very content in there. Who can blame her? I say she's already showing signs of great intelligence in her recognition of how good she's got it in there. It looks like we will easily pass my due date this Sunday. For us, it just means more time to get things done. This is excellent, however, my desire and ability to run around during the day are becoming a little more challenged. Alas, the Cupcake shall work on her own frosting and sprinkles while we work on our own finishing touches for the house.

Status Report:
- Floor tiling completely done
- Hardwood floors installed, 1/2 of sanding finished
- Staining of floors will happen early next week if we can decide on the color
- Kitchen cabinets will be ready to go in next week
- Marble slabs have been selected. I finally found the right kind of Carrera at the right price in the middle of no where in a Chinese warehouse in Hayward.
- After that, we just need to hang the doors and do all the trim work (which is no small task for this Victorian lady)

Obnoxious Commentary - Don't apply the literary implications of Huis Clos to Miss Cupcake. I'm going for a more literal angle. Because I think she would perceive her current situation as rather Heavenly given her reluctance to leave rather than Hell-like. At least, I hope so. ;)

The Pedestal Tub Moves Upstairs

The boys unpacked the tub from its' monster crate this afternoon. Very well crated, we all agreed. Luis was kind enough to enlist the help of three of his brawny friends to come over and help move the tub upstairs. They carried it around the house to its' first resting spot which is featured below. Then, we borrowed a dollie from our neighbors to turn it on its' side to get it thru the doorways.
I stayed downstairs while all of this was happening. It all made me too nervous and I didn't want to make the boys crazy. So, I gave them my ridiculous advice for 5 minutes before they moved it and begged them to be delicate with my soon-to-be best friend.
Here she is in the master bath! She won't live so close to the wall, but this is where she'll be for the time-timing. Not a scratch on her or the floors. Beautiful. Isn't she gorgeous?!

Flooring

The thick soundproofing pad goes in.
The plywood gets delivered. Two layers of 1/2" sheets will go down on top of the pad.
The plywood is down and the red oak has been delivered to acclimate properly to the moisure level in the house.
The floors have been istalled. It only took them two days! Crazy.
We're waiting another week before we sand and stain to let them further adjust to the moisture levels.

Second Bath Tiling

The original inspiration featured above from SJP and Matthew Broderick's bathroom in the Hamptons. Below, our pussycat dares to tread on the concrete late at night while the floor is setting...
The subway tiles start to go in

The walls tiles are complete.
The patterned floor starts to come to life.

The grouting is complete!