Around the Kitchen

Some things have happened around here that I have been remiss in mentioning. Some very wonderful additions have become a part of our family, and I am so excited to introduce them to you today. First off, our blender. We affectionately call him Blendy. This rockstar whirs into action every day, making baby food, smoothies, soup purees, and the occasional batch of pesto. He even decimated a wooden spoon in an unplanned battle of strength. What a champ! 

The chalkboard jar has found a new place next to our faithful toaster. I also discovered that if you dip your chalk into water before writing, it writes a heck of a lot better, and it also makes me feel a bit less like throwing up. Does anyone else feel like they might puke when writing on a chalkboard? No? I'm the only one? Why does that not surprise me.... 

I'm trying super hard to keep our counters less cluttered, since we are still in the bottle-stage of feeding our baby girl and those things have taken over! 

I re-finished the frame on this picture I found years ago in a thrift store. It's an embroidered picture, with tons of colorful chickens. I love it more than I care to admit, and if I had to rescue anything from a fire (after my humans of course), this would be it. I wish now that I had done the dishes before taking this photo...

Lastly, I found a fun new rug for in front of the sink (from Target)! Also, this photo gives you a better idea of how tiny our kitchen truly is. If Josh tries to come in while I'm cooking, I get a claustrophobic attack and start panicking. Truly. Also, when the dishwasher is open, there is only 2 feet of space in front of the stove. Eep!

So there's a few kitchen updates that have happened lately. It is definitely feeling more pulled-together than before!

Backsplash is DONE!

The backsplash is done. And oh, what a difference it makes! It really brings out the white cabinets and pulls everything together. I love it! My husband did an amazing job. =) I helped lay a few of the tiles, but this project was definitely his baby.  Without further ado, here are more photos:

Say it with me: Ooooh, Aaaaaah!

Overall, this project cost us around $70. The tile was SO inexpensive. I worried for a bit that we would regret doing subway tile, because so many DIYers are going that route these days, but I don't feel that way now. It's just such a classic look, I think it will be "in" for years to come.

We still have to seal the grout, and add a couple more light switch covers, but it's pretty much finito. And so pretty to gaze upon.


Just for reference again, here's what the old kitchen used to look like:

 

Apparently, back then I didn't know that you're supposed to put away a few dishes and make your kitchen look a little less cluttered before getting all snap-happy with the camera. Oh well, it adds to the "before" effect. You know, like when they do makeovers on women and for the before picture they say "Ok, take off all your makeup, wear your most frumpy amish-housewife-type clothes, wash your hair in vegetable oil, and give me an expression that's somewhere between constipated and 'My husband just bought me a blender for our anniversary.'"

You know?

Projects Underway!

This weekend, we finally started on our subway tile backsplash! (note- this is not the exciting news I referred to yesterday, but it's exciting nonetheless...)

Even the small amount that we've accomplished is really starting to pull the kitchen together. Have you ever done home improvement projects that lag on forever, like fitting a 1,000 piece puzzle together? That's kind of what our kitchen project feels like right now, but this sleek subway tile backsplash is starting to bring everything together at last.

We got a bit waylaid when we realized that something needed to be done about the electrical outlets. Once the tile was in place, they would be set way too far back. Enter these nifty contraptions- outlet extender boxes.

All we need to do is screw them onto the existing outlet boxes in order to bring them forward a wee bit. The small plastic lips will rest on the new tile for a perfectly flush finish.

We spent all of Monday working on this (well, after I woke up at 10 am...), and got about 1/3 of the way around the kitchen. Hopefully tonight we can crack down on it again and get some more finished! I can't wait to be done! 

 

Any fun projects that you are working on lately? Have you ever installed subway tile? I would love to hear about it!

Bye bye, crunchy floor!

I love being able to say that something is finished, what a good feeling that is! We checked another project off our "to-do" list, and it's taken me a while to actually pull the final-project post together, but here it is!

The flooring in our kitchen was definitely leaving something to be desired- yellowed and faded linoleum from the 1980's, that made a weird crunchy sound whenever you walked on it (I always used to think there were dead bugs under there, turns out the adhesive they used had just been pulverized over the years).

Here's a couple "Before" pics to jog your memory:

And here it is, all tiled and prettied up!

This corner used to be slightly rounded, but we figured with the new tile and the wood it would be easier to square it off. Turns out, I like it this way even more! It actually makes our kitchen feel a little bigger too. Score!

Just for funsies, here's a picture of what our kitchen looked like a few months ago (taken in January):

It's fun to go back now and look at those pictures. I definitely don't miss the 80's wood cupboards or the impossible-to-keep-clean white countertops. I'm loving the way this space has opened up and brightened up!

Here's what we've done so far:

• Painted the cabinets and added hardware
• Painted light fixture above sink and replaced shade
• Re-laminated the countertops
• Tiled the floor (yay!)

And here's what we have left:

• Add subway tile backsplash (can't wait to do this!)
• Replace overhead lighting (you can't see it in any of the pictures, but it's one of those ugly brass lights)
• Tweak the decor to my heart's content (but let's face it, when is it ever completely finished?)

We plan to start on the subway tile backsplash at some point in the near future. I'm excited to finish up the big projects (and be able to move on to some other areas of the house).

Kitchen Updates

I'm trying my best to keep you guys updated with all the happenings in our kitchen remodel. The past few weeks have been a little slow, so no huge projects to share, but here are a few little changes.

I found this cute artwork at Joanne Fabrics for 70% off recently, and had planned on hanging them up in our 2nd bedroom. However, I liked them so much that the thought of only seeing them once in a while kind of made me sad. So, I decided to try them over our kitchen sink!


I have been trying in vain to come up with some kind of color scheme for the kitchen (that ties in with the rest of our open living space, kind of difficult!). I really like the eggplant and of course the golden yellow on these canvases, plus I even have some accessories that go along with it! Also, they are just the right height above where our subway tile backsplash will soon be... ah, I can't wait.


Also- you may have noticed another switcheroo... this time on the glass lampshade for our above-the-sink light. The old one was a white, matte finish, and super boring. I love this new one and it's soft, champagne color and silver details. I think it really pulls out the metallic tones in the fixture and mimics the pattern of the countertop.



So let's take one more look at the before and after, shall we?

Ah. SO much better.

Well, I am off for the weekend friends! Hope you all have a fabulous break, and I will see you bright and early on Monday!

New Tile

I bet some of you thought we were done with the kitchen remodel.... *insert conniving laugh here.* But we aren't.

In fact, painting the cabinets was only the first phase of our diabolical plan!


Next, we've set our sights on this linoleum flooring. It has paint splotches, yellowed areas, makes a crackly noise when you walk on it, and is just plain Oooog-lay.


Here's the tile we've chosen, being carefully inspected by a professional.

And here's a little view of how it will look when matched up with our new cupboards:


Ah. We may all breathe a collective sigh of relief at this blessed sight.


So there's one linoleum floor (almost) out of the way! We'll probably get started on this within the next 2 weeks, we are also waiting for the laminate for our countertops. Because, drumroll please, we are re-laminating our countertops ourselves! Yes yes! Instead of buying an entire new countertop (pricey, and rather wasteful in our situation), we decided to go the DIY route and just buy new laminate sheeting and place it over our existing countertops.

Let's just say, it will be quite an adventure!

My Love Affair with the Kitchen

Cooking and baking. These are two things that give me endless amounts of joy. But, it hasn't always been that way. In fact, when was I younger I firmly decided to never be found in a kitchen, wearing an apron. My mom worked tirelessly in the kitchen, for hours it seemed every day. Everything we ate was made from scratch. She even ground her own flour for making bread. As much as I enjoyed the fruits of her labor, I solemnly swore to myself that I would never become a slave to the kitchen. It seemed to me that no amount of appreciative "Mmmms" could make up for the time it took to prepare meals each and every day. Besides, I planned to be a Super-Woman who had no time for things like that anyway.


I continued to nurse these feelings of extreme aversion towards cooking through college, surviving on a diet that mostly consisted of Ramen Noodles and Pop Tarts. Once I was living on my own with a couple of roommates, I would occasionally make soup or throw together a pasta salad, but nothing that was too time consuming. It was just food, right?

Then, my whole world turned upside down.


This adorable man walked into my life. He must have awakened some primal voice deep inside me, because suddenly all I wanted to do was fill his stomach with lots and lots of delicious, homemade food. And his face with lots and lots of kisses. Ahem.

Something was different. Instead of mentally planning out my outfits or my weekend plans, I found myself thinking things like, "I wonder if he likes banana bread?" I had never even made banana bread before.


The first time I had him over to my apartment for dinner, everything had to be absolutely perfect. I don't even remember what I cooked for dinner itself, but I do know that there was not a speck of dirt in the whole entire place because I had cleaned every nook and cranny like a deranged woman the night before.

I actually took off from work early that day so I could go home and prepare for our dinner. I spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen, baking and cooking up a storm. The windows were open, the birds were singing, and I was chopping onions and feeling like the happiest girl in the world. It just felt so right.


Even once I had won his heart (he claims it wasn't my cooking, but my smile), my love for cooking and baking only continued to increase. I hadn't cared one whit about food before, but suddenly I had a reason to care. I had someone to take care of, and that alone was enough to propel me into a deep desire and appreciation for the art of food preparation.


So that's part of my story! Of course, it hasn't always been an easy road. Sometimes my adventures in the kitchen turn out to be more, uh, mishaps. But, it's a learning process! And the best part is, now I can tell my Mom that I know exactly how she feels. It's not about being appreciated or even applauded (although that is nice!), it's about providing for the people we love and knowing that even though life isn't always a piece of cake, a slice of homemade pie can brighten up any day.