Day 3: Bring in the Heat

Monday was all about the heat. And not just the 100 degree tropical heat wave we were experiencing up here in the land of ice and snow (aka: Minnesota).

 I was at work from 9-5, so wasn't witness to all the action, but Evan grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos throughout the day.

Who needs heat when it's hot and humid outside? Yea, it's pretty much the last thing on our mind - right behind hot chocolate and Norwegian sweaters. But we all know that in six months, old man winter will come creeping in and make himself at home for a good long while. By the feel of our floor in past winters, I'd say he makes a den right underneath our dining room addition. Since we're hoping to be spending lots of time in our new kitchen space and lounging on our banquette, we decided to take an extra step and add in some heated flooring.

Here's a little run-down of that process:

Put down a layer of aluminum foil to reflect the heat into the room.

Cover it with tar paper.

 Next up: staple down some wire mesh.

 Then comes the wiring... BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET THESE TOO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER!

No one likes a fire hazard.

 Top her off with a layer of cement to cover everything up and even things out.

 Yea, you'll get kinda dirty

 Sidetrack: I came home around 6 after a quick stop by the Tile Shop to buy some more cement. Changing immediately into workout clothes was essential to survive the heat ... and it just felt right considering the attire of everyone else in the house. You can't really be in our house without getting dusty these days. P.S.-thanks Sarah for leaving the tank top behind!

Since the kitchen is out of commission, we've been frequenting our local dining establishments, like Chipotle, Panera, Noodles, pizza.

... I've dubbed this Evan's-favorite-week-ever week.

Let's pause, shall we, and enjoy this lovely meal on the front stoop. People don't spend time on their front steps enough these days. I've started eating all of my meals out there recently (backyard is kind of a mess too, with old cabinets) and love looking out on the street, surveying the neighborhood. Makes me think I'd made a good watch dog. Or cat.
Anyway, Panera's Sierra Turkey is an E & C favorite, and their lemon orzo chicken soup is quite tasty. Although who gets soup when it's this hot outside?!

 

If you've never enjoyed a glass of Santa Cruz Lemonade, you need to run to the nearest Whole Foods and buy yourself a case. (They've been on sale for the past few months, which is why we've refilled our stock and now have 100+ stacked in our basement - cherry lemonade is my all-time favorite.)

Tangent complete.

Now back to the project via some final photos:

 E soaking in some works of wisdom from Mark the handyman.

And here's what it looked like when we called it a night. 

Today, (Tuesday) we learned that Ikea is not our friend. But I'll save that for another post. Right now I need to help Evan with some number crunching to see how low Ikea has landed on our thanks-for-the-betrayal list.

Did I mention my mom and sister will be here this weekend? Thankfully they are fans of a little DIY action so won't be offended by the mess. But it would be nice to start cleaning up a bit before they arrive. Here's to a productive 4th of July!

Over and out.

Read up on our kitchen remodel project with this post on our overall plan of attack, this one on demo-day #1, and here we tear into the floor.