Kind of a Big Deal

One of big reasons why we were so ready to move from a condo to a house was the fact that we had never owned a BBQ! Our condo building didn’t allow BBQs on the balconies, nor did they have a communal BBQ area.

Exactly one year ago this weekend, we found and purchased our first home…a house with a backyard that would be perfect for BBQing! Marty (Jen’s Dad) said that, when we were ready, he would buy us one as our housewarming gift.

Once spring arrived and most of the interior renovation was complete, we were ready. With or without a deck, it was time for the BBQ.

We hooked it up to our natural gas line, seasoned the grills and prepared our first meal. What a great way to celebrate Earth Hour!

We’re looking forward to getting a lot of use out of our new BBQ this summer. Thanks Marty!

Shower Glass

We were finally able to check another thing off our to-do list today, with the installation of the shower glass in our basement bathroom. 

As you may remember, we tiled the basement shower with travertine tiles and installed a matching beige marble threshold.  We decided to go with full glass walls and door, to keep the bathroom looking open and bright.  We selected a simple chrome handle and hinges to match the chrome faucets.

 

Next, we’ll finish up the baseboards and trim.  Then we’ll be ready for the final reveal.  The best part will be having a fully functioning second bathroom in the house!

Clean Start

After dealing with the fiasco that was our first dishwasher, we’ve finally had a chance to test out our replacement dishwasher.

The new dishwasher we chose is the Bosch Integra.  Some of the key features include:

• stainless steel exterior and interior
• tall tub
• delay start
• concealed control panel.

The most important thing about this dishwasher is that the steam vents properly during the dry cycle, so we no longer have to deal with the condensation issues that we had with the Frigidaire. 

A big treat with the Bosch is how quiet it is.  We’ve always used the “delay start” feature on dishwashers because we couldn’t hear the TV over the sound of the dishwasher.  No need anymore!  The Bosch is extremely quiet.  We can hardly tell that it’s running.

The Bosch is also very sleek looking, with no controls showing on the front.  And, there’s a cool little LED light that shines onto the floor to let you know that the dishwasher is running.

Finally, the dishes come out clean and dry, so no issues there.

All in all, we’re really happy with the Bosch.  If we had known about the Frigidaire problem months ago, we would have saved ourselves some trouble and spent the extra money to get this better dishwasher right from the start.  We would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good, stainless steel dishwasher.