Still here....Still chugging along

Well, Hellooooo Peeps!!! I've been away for far too long but don't worry, you haven't missed much!

Yes, tomorrow, June 25 will indeed mark the beginning of Week 11 of this never-ending kitchen renovation.  However, the next few days should be the end but shhhhhh, we're trying not to get our hopes up.

Let's go back 10 days and get you guys all caught up shall we?

Thursday, June 13 and this is what it looked like, not much had changed in the last few weeks.

Painters tape up, so they must have been painting the crown molding.

Yep, it was time to paint the trim work. 

And a taller ladder was in order. 

The next day was the day Hubster and I left for Chicago.  Leaving with the hopes, dreams, and promises of a completed kitchen when we return the following Tuesday evening.  

Friday evening our flight was delayed so we had plenty of time for a bite to eat at Shake Shack.

I had a burger & fries and I cannot complain, it was tasty.

We arrived quite late in Chicago and Abogg so graciously picked us up at the airport.  We finally got in bed after midnight so we could hit the ground running Saturday morning. 

We headed out for an early lunch at Minghin and then shopped the afternoon away.  I picked myself up a little something, something at the LV store at Nordstrom.  We had some delightful afternoon cocktails and the Starbucks Reserve.   Abogg and AprilMayJune were surprised there wasn't a line waiting to get in.  It was still packed but we wandered through the entire 4 stories and grabbed drinks at the top floor.  More shopping before we headed back home.   It was a long, tiring day so we munched on leftovers and watched some comedians on TV before we turned in early.     

Sunday, Father's Day, got us up bright and early.  Hopped on the bus to Wrigleyville.  Grabbed a late breakfast at Chicago Bagel Authority.   We all had something different and they were all absolutely delicious!      We walked towards the stadium and made a pit stop for some pre-game drinks at a little bar called Sheffield's   We didn't eat but the food looked amazing.  Time to head over to Wrigley Field, game time 12:05 p.m.  

The Cubbies didn't win but they were playing St. Louis so I was secretly happy.

Seeing a game at those old stadiums is really what baseball is all about!  However, it was H_O_T, Hot!

After the game, we made our way home, grabbed showers, and a little power nap.  My sweet princess of a niece came over and we all walked to dinner at a lovely place called Gretel.  E, AprilMayJune, and I all had the Lobster roll served hot with butter and we were not disappointed.  We left stuffed and had leftovers aplenty for Hubster to nosh on the next day.   On our walk back we went to E's fave bar and then called it a night.  

On Monday, AprilMayJune had to work so Abogg walked us all over Chicago!  We had a great time even with it being warmer there than Texas!   

We made it down to the Riverwalk

Hubster taking all the pictures.

This time we got to see Buckingham Fountain. 

Grabbed some lunch at Luke's and then picked up some incredible doughnuts over at Do-Rite Donuts in Willis Tower.  We tried to go to a couple of different museums and other tourist things but lots of things are closed on Monday.  It was ridiculously hot so we headed home for another mid-day shower and to get ready for an early dinner.     We strolled over to Thattu hoping to snag a table.  It's been named on several best restaurant lists and we arrived just after they opened for dinner.  Opted to sit at the bar but a reservation that was booked didn't show so they kindly allowed us to take the table.   This food is from the Southwest region of India called Kerala.  This was very different than any Indian food we'd eaten before but it was DIVINE.   I highly recommend attempting a reservation if you are in the area.  It's a small restaurant but worth it.   We left with full bellies for a slow walk home.   Princess E. came over to see us one last time before we had to head home the next day.       On Tuesday morning, Abogg had to leave at 7 am for a required jump seat flight so we spent the morning with AprilMayJune in between her work meetings.  We ordered a favorite delivery from Ramen-San for lunch before Hubster and I rolled our little luggage down to the train station and hopped on for a quick trip to the airport.  Of course, I had to grab a bag of Garrett mix popcorn at  Garrett Popcorn just after getting through security.   After a bit of a delay waiting for the plane to be fueled, we were on our way home.  Our amazing neighbors had chicken kabobs waiting on us when we got home.......to our not-finished kitchen! 

This is getting long so we're gonna speed through the pics!

They did get the lights in the bar installed but the shelves still haven't gone in.

New carpet on the stairs and they rehung our really, heavy clock.

Wednesday, Big Leo came over and hung the ginormous television over the fireplace.

Little bit better pic of the stairs in the daylight.

Bar area lights and new wine refrigerator installed. 

Apparently I'm like super in love with the stairs. haha

And you can see, no cabinet doors still.

Hubster's ginormous refrigerator and freezer are installed and working!

Reggie's station is ready for him.

Microwave is in as well.

I'm so ready to add my new toaster to this section and actully use my kitchen!

The ice gods cometh and have blessed us with a working ice machine again.  The dishwasher is all hooked up and working too.

My stove!!!!💕

She's beautiful !!!  

All the trim has been painted too!

That brings us to Friday of last week and we're gonna put the brakes on for tonight.  It's after midnight and the workers will be back bright and early in the morning so I should hit the sack.

Let's finish up with food and gratitude.   

Wednesday evening our neighbors brought over some Mama's pizza and we all 4 sat out on the porch and ate pizza straight out of the box.   Good pizza, good friends!

Thursday evening Hubster and I worked around the house very late and we ended up eating Chicken strips for dinner.  Nothing else, just air-fried some chicken strips and we were both exhausted still from the trip, didn't sleep well Wednesday night so it was an early to-bed night.  

Let's get our gratitude on now!

1) Getting to see my baby boy and his sweet wife - it was an excellent trip

2) Friends who feed us time and time again, we owe these guys so many dinners.

3) Getting to see Princess E. - I don't get to see my niece often but now that she's also in Chicago I'll get to see her more.  Maybe one day, she'll finally come visit us!

4) New appliances installed, the kitchen isn't done but I can pretend it is and I'm grateful.

5) Airplanes, they allow us to visit our family, employ our son, and give us so much more time to visit instead of driving.    Air travel can be frustrating but not nearly as frustrating as 13+ hours in a car. 

Bonus:

My neglected garden, it always blesses me even when I neglect to give it proper care.

Time for bed peeps, back tomorrow to fully catch you up!

Peace, Love, & Tomatoes