****THE BIG REVEAL!***

I know that I have been promising "The Big Reveal" on our new kitchen.  Sorry it has taken me so long.  So without further ado, presenting.... Our New Kitchen!

It all began a couple of years ago when I couldn't take looking at my old floor anymore.  The design wasn't too bad.  But no matter the amount of elbow grease and cleaning product you used, it still looked dirty.

Blah!  I know you can't really tell, but there is dirt in those little crevices that would not come out. Ack!

Here is our new floor.  I think this is my favorite part of our renovation.

Well, you know what it is like when you start getting something new for the home.  If we got new flooring, then we have to update the cabinets.  Besides, they were looking like this:

This wooden spoon that kept the doors from swinging wide open because of defective hinges just wasn't  cutting it. I really wasn't into the "primitive" look it was giving the kitchen.  

Here is what I chose to replace that particular cabinet.  I wanted a glass-front cabinet to house my nicer glasses and crystal.  I had completely forgot about choosing the "pebbled" glass.  I think it gives the cabinet kind of a vintage feel and a little bit more character than plain glass.  Besides, it hides the dust better too. ;-)

Then of course you need new countertops.  I like the look of granite, but wanted low maintenance.  I did not want to worry about sealing my countertops every year or so.  So we chose this one.  We thought it blended in nicely with the flooring and cabinets.  So far, I am loving my new countertops.

Here is one of the features that I saw in a magazine and cut out the picture.

I wanted a place to store my cookbooks and knick-knacks.  So glad we did this.

I wanted more lighting around the work area and above my island.  So of course that meant getting a new light for above the table. (See what I mean about one thing leading to another?).

This is one of hubby's favorite features and was entirely his idea.

I thought that was a very nice idea.  We have a cozy place to sit and look at the birds feeding at our bird feeders and hubby wanted it lined in cedar to store extra cushions for our outside deck furniture.  I'm wanting to either make a cushion to go on top or buy chair cushions.  What do you think?

I added a couple of finishing touches.  Here are couple of them:

The canister set came from here.  The message board idea started out as a menu board.  But that idea went up in flames. :-P  So I decided to put a quote or leave reminders on it.

Here is a couple of before shots of my kitchen.  I remembered as we were halfway through packing everything up, that I did not take any pics.  Ugh!

And here are a couple of "after" shots of our kitchen:

Thank you so much for looking in.  Come back again! :-)

I am linking this to:

at Between Naps on the Porch

The Best of Intentions

This is what we woke up to yesterday morning:

I definitely was not "enchanted" to see this.  Ugh!  That meant another mess to shovel on top of the ice that we were trying to chisel off from earlier in the week.  We need only a half inch of snow to break the record for the most snow in February in our town.  Hopefully we won't break it.  Bring on spring!

Anyway, this is a project that I have seen elsewhere on the internet and thought that I would try it:

I found this frame at T.J. Maxx and thought, "That will look good as a menu board for my kitchen."  So I took it home, framed some scrapbook paper and got the dry erase board markers I had on hand and wrote out my menu plan for the week.  Look good, huh? ;-)  Well, this is how it really worked out:

Since my son wanted a friend to spend the night during his break, I thought we would take them out to eat as a treat.  I thought this said friend was spending the night Monday night.  That changed to Sunday night.  As we were in the thick of an ice storm, I wound up driving around the corner to our nearest fast food joint and getting it to go. (What moms won't do for their "little" boys, right?)  So that meant leftovers on Monday.  Which worked for me.  Tuesday we did have pork chops and stuffing, but no mashed potatoes.  I made carrots in place of them.  Wednesday turned out to be a very hectic day for me, so since I had bible study that night and was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off (not a good picture, but that is something my mom would say) I put frozen pizza in the oven.  Easy, peasy.

Since we did not have really anything in the way of leftovers, I made spaghetti on Thursday and yesterday I put a roast in the crock pot.  So that means we have a ton of leftovers, which will be on tonights menu.  Got it?

So, I had the best of intentions with my weekly menu plan.  But it fizzled.  So now I think that I will turn this frame into a message board.  What do you think?

A Kitchen Re-Do Update

I promised an update on my kitchen.  I was really hoping I could post my "Big Reveal" by now, but as with most remodeling projects, there will always be delays.  So this is what I can show you so far...

I was so excited when this truck pulled into my driveway.  It was hauling my new cabinets!  Yay!

And here are some pics with the new cabinets up on the walls.

Well, that's about all.  Aren't they pretty, though?  I LOVE them.  They were supposed to install our new countertops yesterday.  But because of the nasty weather we've been getting lately, those have been delayed until next week.  Then our contractor has to install our sink and dishwasher and a few finishing touches here and there.  Then, I can have my big reveal.

This is one project that has tried our patience in more ways than one.  Not just delays and things not working out the way you thought they would.  But in the midst of this, the cold/flu hit our household.  It really kicked me in the backside.  What's weird is I could feel like complete crud one day, then feel better the next, then go right back to feeling like crud.  And I have had a lingering cough that is driving me crazy.  But this virus has been going around for a few weeks.  I'm hoping I can put it behind me along with this project by sometime next week.  Then I can tackle the messes that is in every room of my home.

Thanks for looking in!  Until next time....

Progress

I told you I would post in a few days on an update on our kitchen renovation.  This is about all I have right now.

 

    
My new floor!  Yee-Haw!  You do not know how long I have been waiting for a new floor.  This is what started this whole mess project.  Here is the before:

I know it's hard to tell, but imagine dirt in all the little divots that will not come out no matter what amount of cleaning product or elbow grease you use.  Yuck!

Now here is my new floor ready for it's close-up!

Isn't it perty!  It's made by Congoleum.  And right now I cannot recall the color to save my life!  (That's what age will do to you).  As far as our cabinets are concerned, we were told by the contractor that they would be in last week.  But they are supposed to be in this week. (I thought it was too good to be true to have the cabinets come in so soon).  So hopefully in a couple of days I can give you another update.:-)

Until next time....

ETA:  The color of the floor is "Desert Chimney".  Just in case you are wondering.:-)

Flotsam! Mayhem! Chaos!

Do you know what happens when you decide to do a major kitchen remodel?  Well, something like this....

and this...

and this...

I know, it kind of makes you want to do this...

Even my poor dog doesn't know what to think of it all.  Right now we have food, dishes and pots and pans in every single room of our home.  Where ever we could find room.  And I have gained a good 10 pounds from all the fast food we have eaten in the past week.  Although we did have a very good home-cooked meal at my mom's tonight.  Oh, how I miss my stove and microwave.  

If you are curious on what our kitchen looks like now, here are some pictures.

We are hoping in about two weeks time, we will be moving into our new kitchen. (Keeping our fingers crossed). Right now it feels like forever. We cannot wait!  Stay tuned for more developments in the next few days.

Until next time....