relaxing...

time for some photos. here's the new dining room window:



for reference, this is how that wall looked when i first bought the house:



the window is above where the radiator used to be. last year i removed that whole shelving/closet system, and thats when i realized they had removed the window and boarded over it. i think it looks much better with the window :) now we just need to finish that wall and build a much nicer shelving unit and finish the area above the island.


here's another photo of the bar cut out in the tiled wall:




and... finally..., the new roof is in progress:



the roof was started saturday morning, and hopefully will be finished by monday. the workers are here now, luckily the weather has been great all weekend. decided to go with the architectural shingles, which cost a little more, but is definitely worth the investment. its looking great. next step will be finalizing the house color and getting started on paintingrel. we've been debating doing it an 'oatmeal' type color, a little lighter than the existing siding, or maybe a soft blue.

other than the roof, no real house work this weekend. ian is busy working on a new job, remodeling his parents kitchen, and it is nice to have a break and enjoy the house. we picked up an open box tivo w/dvd recorder last week, so thats set up with the flat screen and digital cable. its a good way to enjoy the almost finished living room :) and surprisingly... tan cat has been joining us down in the living room regularly. for those who don't know... black and tan [our 2 adorable cats] dislike sydney, our dog, and used to avoid her at any costs. but since we got the new couch and have fixed up the living room, tan cat is down there all the time! its great... [notice him sitting on the edge of the couch in the photo above]. its funny, when hes sitting with us on the couch, he just turns his head when sydney gets close and just pretends she's not there. hopefully one of these days black cat will be joining us.

last night we decided to venture out to tarentum to check out the new pittsburgh mills mall. i have to say, its a big disappointment. the new h+m is great, but thats it. i love the store, but i'm really surprised they put it at that mall. its really the only reason to go... if you're going to shop. i'm sure the bowling alley and theatre will attract people, but i don't see it being a big shopping place. hopefully h+m will come to the mall at robinson or somewhere close. ended out the night at rock bottom for drinks and dessert. they pretty much know us by name there and have perfected my french martini. :)

lets see... in other news, i've been working on the web design for wear, and i'm hoping to have that up by the end of the month. let's see if that actually happens. i'm also getting the items of clothing ready, and we'll see how that goes. i'm loving the cooler evening weather. i've been knitting on and off during the summer... [sometimes its just too hot], but now its the perfect time. i've got a few projects i'm ready to start, and finishing up a few. and some will be on the new wear site, so stay tuned!

now go enjoy this nice weather :)