Kitchen

John was supposed to go out fishing Saturday...but the weather did not cooperate...so he ended up home with nothing to do....so we decided to work on finishing up the kitchen. It still needs to be grouted...next week one day I'm told but he patched up the areas where the plaster got damaged and he painted. I was a little nervous at first...the paint seemed a little yellowish...but it looks nice now that it's dry. Adds a nice contrast to the cabinets...but doesn't clash with the surrounding areas. First thing I had John hang was my piece of art from David (I bought two years ago...never knew where I was going to put it...)
'MAMA'S IN THE KITCHEN'- I love it...it always makes me smile...the burner, the beater,the old ads in the background.....it's just funny....
like the one of the girl in a cute little apron that says "Wow, what a swell dish!" and the Coyote on a rocket that says "BOOM!"
and then on the wall opposite the letters...are my Bird Counting Cards.....people will probably wonder if they have wandered into a kid's room...haha...but I like them...so I went with them....


If I had a great big kitchen I would have used all ten...but decided not to overdo it...and went with 1 thru 4.
Next week John and Mark M. will grout and it will be complete. I like it...and will get to show it show it off to my friends when the ladies come for the monthly meeting of the Southern Living Dinner group. The ladies in the group were here once or twice before...but the last time was several years ago...the house has come a long way since they first came over.....it will be fun to see what they think.

The kitchen again

So I've been trying to figure out what artwork(?) I'm going to put in the newly designed kitchen...since the decorative tiles I had in there before don't really match the new look. I still don't know for sure...but last night I got an idea. Several years ago when we were in Hawaii...I found these cute alphabet flash cards...sort of vintage looking, fun prints. I thought I could maybe use them for work (matching game or something)...I didn't really know...but I knew I wanted them...hahaha
Anyway...I got to thinking maybe I could put some in a frame or group of frames and use them in the kitchen. (I have this thing for alphabet "stuff" for lack of a better word I just like it. I have a Mother Goose Alphabet poster, I cross-stitched letters onto a blanket...I just like finding different illustrated alphabet things I guess.) I loved these cards when I saw them...and I figured someday I'd figure out a way to use them. And I think they might work! I picked out my favorite illustrations in the set...put them in this frame...it holds 7... Now I just have to figure out if I'm stopping there...or using them all.(doubtful) I hung them on the existing nail/hook just to see how they'd look...but the wall hasn't been painted yet...so it's not exactly the finished look.
Also...our tile for the "insert" on the back splash came in. John picked an Onyx tile...which for some reason I thought was black...turns out onyx means "a stone like marble with different colors in layers" (according to my trusty Oxford American Dictionary)...and it is perfect!
First shot is the tile when it's dry and next one is what it looks like wet...it will have the "highlighted" colors when it's sealed. It is transparent or translucent (?) the light passes through it allowing the various colors to show through...it will be perfect with the counter top and the field tile.
John had gone in to Design Studios to order the other tile we had selected....and then he saw a sample of this...as soon as he saw it he knew this was exactly what he had been looking for and I think he's right! It's going to look great!

Kitchen project continues

I had the day off yesterday...because I had a dental appointment in the afternoon. John was working on a friend's kitchen back splash this week...and I guess he decided it was time to get something going on our own back splash.
John had a design in mind...he was just kind of waiting to see what paint color I wanted and tying up some other loose ends on jobs he's working on...but yesterday he was ready to go. When he heard I was off...he made a plan for us to "just go look" at Lowe's. "No rush, we're just looking..." Okay off to breakfast and then Lowe's.
He showed me the tumbled marble he had in mind and we came home with a bag full of samples to look at and compare. We decided pretty quickly...and then one thing lead to another and the next thing you know...Mark arrived and the two of them were installing the tile behind the stove area.
So far I love it. We selected a different tile for a pattern to go in the "picture frame"...but it's on order. In the meantime John saw another one he really liked...so he's going to bring home a sample of that and let me compare and decide.
here's a peek at the counter top, the field tile and the paint sample.

This phase of the project is winding down

In case you have forgotten short term memory loss...like me sometimes! this is what my porch looked like when everything from the kitchen was moved out temporarily
but here's what it looks like NOW!< not the best shot...but you get the idea...I hope ..
One table is back in the garage...and this is what's left....
one of the new drawers all filled up
and one of the cabinets
the old key holder doesn't really "match" anymore...so it's off to the Thrift Shop/Garage sale/wherever...for it
and here's the cute new one I bought myself
one slight problem...remember that wooden cabinet...well it's still full of napkins, linens, etc....
and this is the last drawer....I don't think it's all going to fit....I am going to have to get creative
and finally...a mystery item...
This was in one of my cabinets...... and I have absolutely no idea who Kim and Ted are....hahahaha hope the "party" is going as hoped!

The Kitchen Project Continues

The plumbers and electricians came...so things are working again...The new microwave is in
my oven is back,,,already baked a batch of cookies :)!
and my new valance arrived...but it's not up yet...you can kind of see the new granite in the background. Nothing dramatic...but I like it all together. Yesterday was my day off...and I spent a good part of the day putting things back into the cabinets and drawers...I can see the floor out on the porch....so I can see progress! Still have plenty to put away though ...maybe tomorrow.. The good thing about a project like this is the other basic upgrades you can make along with the new work...like extra electrical outlets....and under cabinet lighting..a nice addition. And really the best thing about this whole thing (project)..is that I wasn't expecting to do this remodel...so I never lost any sleep over planning it out...it's just all coming together with John taking charge! and that's fine with me. (I picked out the valance...haha and helped select the colors for the granite and the cabinets...)

What to do on a day off........

The kitchen is slowly getting put back together...yesterday the new counter tops were installed.
They look nice!..Now that the counter tops are in...I can begin to put things away. I have a few extra drawers...so I have/get to decide what's going to go where. So far I only filled up two drawers...and emptied one old one. This is going to take some time! Fortunately...the electricians still have work to do, so I have some time. I am tempted to just put things back in the same general areas where they were...but then again I am thinking...what's the best place for _____________? So this is going to be a challenge!
Well...part of my day off was spent wiping down the inside of the cabinets and drawers; then filling them up with all my odds and ends...but I did have some fun today too. I did a little yard work, I took a bike ride and I went to read to my friend Amy's 1st graders again.
I now have a nice little corner on the end. My goal is to put as much "stuff" as I can in the cabinets and keep it off the counter.
Today's theme...DOGS. I picked up these four fun books to read. Two by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel.... "The Great Fuzz Frenzy" and "My Big Dog". First "The Great Fuzz Frenzy" is about a group of prairie dogs who discover a green ball dropped down into the burrow by Violet the dog. No one knows what the green thing is...but they start pulling off the fuzz...puffing,stretching,tugging,twirling,spiking and swirling it until "the whole prairie was abuzz about fuzz!" After a bit things start to get out of hand and the fun turns into fiasco! I won't spoil it by telling you the end...but it's a fun story about taking care of your friends.Next up...."Charlie's Checklist" by Rory S. Lerman. This sweet story about a boy (Chester) and a dog (Charlie) who are good friends. Charlie was born on a farm in the English countryside...next door to where Chester lives. The last pup left in the litter....Charlie is lonely and dreams of moving to the big city. With Chester's help he puts a personal ad in the London paper and waits for the "perfect" person to adopt him. Charlie has a checklist of strict criteria...or "a list of Must Haves and Must Be's" and he and Chester sort through the stacks of responses to his ad. After two weeks Charlie receives the letter of his dreams...and then he has a big decision to make. You'll have to check it out to see what happens....

"My Big Dog" is a funny story as told by Merl the cat ("I am a cat, a very special cat.") Merl loves his house, owned by cat people and everything is purrrrfect...until one day when a big, panting, slurping, puppy arrives. The puppy turns into a huge dog and Merl decides there is nothing to do but take his mouse toy and leave! He tries to find a better place to live and eventually ends up back in his old purrrrrfect house where everything is his...including "my big dog!". I love this book!
Another favorite is "Murphy Meets the Treadmill" by Harriet Zeifert. It's about Murphy...a simple dog who enjoys simple pleasures...like lying on the front porch, watching people and EATING!
And like my dog Kiena...Murphy likes to eat between meals...and lucky for him (and Kiena!) there are plenty of people who like to feed him! Murphy's owner decides that he needs to go on a diet...even though Murphy thinks he has a good build and is a fine example of his breed. haha His owner "Cheryl" puts him on a diet, takes him for runs...instead of walks....and then one day... a delivery van arrives. In spite of the fact that Murphy barks and growls and tries his best to look ferocious...the men unload the machine anyway...and you guessed it...it's a treadmill. He barks at it "louder than I bark at the vacuum cleaner." but it doesn't do any good...the treadmill stays. Pretty soon Murphy gets back in shape and he's the hit of the neighborhood and when Nikka the neighbor's hound comes by to check him out...he decides that "Exercise is worth it!"The kids had fun laughing along with all the stories...if you have any little friends to share them with they are worth checking out.

The kitchen project continues

...my old kitchen is gonebut where did it all go, you might wonder??????? Here's part of it...
on the table, under the table, around the table....anywhere there's space.....
nobody better try sneaking into my house by way of the back door...or they're likely to lose a toe or something (shin maybe)hahha


the good news is the new cabinets arrived and got put in yesterday

assorted drawers and storage area
trash will be hidden in here...so much nicer than looking at the trash can! (no temptation for Haze when he comes to visit!haha)
oven area...no more rubber bands to hold my cabinet doors closed! haha
kitchen sink area
I now have drawers! yippee...so much more convenient!
end shelf where my old beat up wooden cabinet was. The shelves are adjustable....however I still have no clue what I'm going to put on them.
As always...as soon as the guys were done...John had the vacuum cleaner plugged in and giving everything a once over...finding all the spots John & Chuck missed.....

And here she is...our newest neighbor....Savannah. She did not come with the new kitchen...but I just wanted to show you her sweet little face.

The next phase will be the counter tops...can't put anything away just yet...because I don't know how much dust will be created when they cut the granite....trying not to think about it....then we will need a new paint color for the walls....cabinets are a creamy (yellow tone) white with red/brown trim...trying to decide what color would work best??? ideas???? Then the backsplash...John has something in mind....at least I know I can trust him! So far....so good.
Off to work........Happy St. Patrick's Day!