Phase 7: Too many updates to encapsulate in a concise blog post title

First, my apologies for not posting recently. It has been a busy couple of weeks. But here I am, back to blogging: updating you on all the changes to our future home.

Gerry, our electrician, has done a fantastic job! Between ceiling lights throughout to sconce locations in bathrooms and the stairwell to low voltage wiring to radiant heating in the master bath... he had a daunting task. At the end of the day, he ensured all our electrical needs have been met.

Our kitchen is taking shape. You can see where the median is for the cabinetry. My dream kitchen in transition... I can't wait!

Our round porthole windows have been installed. The neighbors are likely thrilled to not have those dust holes anymore. 

We had a bit of a snafu with the dining room ceiling. While the plans read one way, the carpenters saw it another. They inverted our design. They lowered the perimeter rather than lowering the center. Between this issue and a few others, we had an entire day of carpentry for naught.

Thankfully, they set it right and lowered the center portion of the ceiling. From here, a chandelier will hang.

Our party wall was sandblasted. We are so happy with the way it turned out. Isn't it gorgeous?

More sandblasted walls...

And yet another brick wall. 

Lastly, they started to remove the back stairwell. This moment has been long in the making; Brett & I have been awaiting this day since the project began a year ago.

What a disaster. 

Look Ma - no more stairs! 

And the patio completely cleared. It is much larger than we had anticipated, but with the new stairwell, I am sure some of this space will evaporate. There is still much to do to make it habitable. Another project on the horizon.

Phase 6: Heating, Air Conditioning and Disaster

It is official. We will have heat and air conditioning. Yahoo! Check out all the duct work that has gone in. 

The cylinders above are going to be hidden in the ceiling. Vents will pop out to heat each room.

Truth be told, this will be the first time I have central A/C since living in my parents' house. And they only got it once I was in college, so I really didn't get to enjoy it to its full potential.

Now, the bad news... this is my garden. Or once was my garden. Do you remember my garden? Check Facebook - I posted a lot of pictures when I first moved into the building. It was a barren wasteland, kinda like it is now. But then I resurrected it to a floral mecca. Hydrangeas, Narcissus, Hyacinth. It was lovely. Sadly, my garden met its demise today. Pablo took a chainsaw to it and my garden is no more. I will endure.

*Update: Long story short, Pablo works for our contractor and he was instructed to water the plants. Instead, he decided they were not worth keeping and took it upon himself to remove them. The plants were thriving on Sunday.