Kitchen Refresh Part 6: Hardware
Before I typed this post, I was working on the backsplash. No, really. I was genuinely working on the backsplash, which is the last part of this little project. I’m ready to wrap this thing up in the next few days. Not that I’ll get final pictures taken that quick! In the next two weeks we have birthdays for both of my kids, end of year parties, kindergarten round-up, sports and I’m sure I’m forgetting something else. In the meantime, I have some lovely, not-so-lovely iPhone photos to share. After I painted the cabinets, I reused the cabinet knobs to save some dough. Someone still makes these knobs, by the way.…
Mothering Without a Mother
When I was pregnant with my daughter, my first child, I sat alone on the exam table at my first ob-gyn appointment. My doctor’s office didn’t book initial pregnancy visits until somewhere near the end of the first trimester, so I had waited what felt like forever to get some clarity on this situation. Things like, were the first 15 home pregnancy tests I had taken accurate? Ha! Part of me really hoped I just had the world’s longest case of food poisoning because the enormity of what a pregnancy meant for our lives was just a little too new, a little too big to fully comprehend. Don’t get me wrong. I…
A Quiet, Neutral Vignette
I visited a friend’s house the other day and she had the most amazing multi-colored rug and fun, colorful art prints on her walls. It was bright, fun and happy. I loved it! It was a cheery place to hang out and hang out I did! It got me to thinking about my own home and home-decor choices. While I do have some color in my home, by and large, I tend to go with a lot of neutrals. Case in point, this vignette, which is located in our dining area and is visible from the front door. Wood tones, black and white, natural elements, texture – these are some of…
Kitchen Refresh Part 5: Backsplash Dilemma
Free time is a precious commodity. Am I right? That’s why it pains me to think about the amount of time I’ve spent online searching for backsplash inspiration. It really is ridiculous. I’m really surprised I haven’t dreamed about backsplashes since they are top-of-mind lately. I want a backsplash option that isn’t permanent and isn’t expensive. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? My first choice was to use Smart Tiles since I’d heard about them from somewhere. I can’t hold the “where” part in my feeble mind. My heart was set on trying out their peel and stick backsplash tiles. It sounded like just my kind of project! Looks like real tile, right? It’s not!…
The Big 4-1 and the Hilarity of Baseball
Someone turned the big 4-1 this week. Forty-one. Wow. NO! It was NOT me. I’ve still got years to go on that one. 🙂 Not that I rub that in or anything. I went all out for the husband’s birthday and slaved away…at the bakery deciding which cupcakes to purchase. In case you are wondering, I selected lemon meringue, cookies & cream, salted caramel, birthday cake, carrot and Boston creme. If you are in Georgia, Jilly’s Cupcakery has to-die-for cupcakes. My husband and I voted and the salted caramel was our favorite. The hubby got off work early on his birthday so he could watch this girl get her karate…
Easy DIY Necklace for Mother’s Day – Kid Craft
My son’s preschool does a super sweet event each spring called Muffins for Mom. Or was is Muffins with Mom? Prepositions aside, the important thing is there were muffins and moms in one classroom with their kids. And all was right with the world. It’s a good thing this event is so sweet and heartfelt because I admit to having a hard time taking anything seriously when I am sitting on an itty bitty chair 12 inches off the ground. I’m just saying. Even the Leader of the Free World would feel a little ridiculous. I set my discomfort aside because after the kids sang a special song, it was…
Kitchen Refresh Part 4: Unexpected Kindness
I am still making headway on the kitchen. As of last night, I had FINALLY finished sanding the remaining 5 cabinet doors. That means I only have the cabinet frames on one section to sand down and then we’ll be in the home stretch! Considering that it took 35 minutes to sand this ONE SINGLE door front and back, I will be happy to be done with the down and dirty sanding phase of this project. Oh, and I wasn’t messing around. I used 40 grit sandpaper to get through a billion and one layers of paint on this door and it still took that long. Then I had to go back…
Strawberry Time
As a girl who was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I am still flabbergasted that I can pick beautiful, sweet, ripe strawberries in mid-April in Georgia. God bless the sunshine! I’d been on “strawberry watch” for a couple of weeks waiting for my favorite Georgia farm, Washington Farms, to have ripe berries. Last Thursday I was just home from preschool drop-off and happened to check Facebook in a last ditch attempt at procrastinating on sanding the kitchen cabinets. The farm was having a pick 2, pick 1 gallon free deal that day. So, I jumped in the car and hustled over there (it’s an hour drive) to pick some…
Shine Wood Floors Without Refinishing
Carpet freaks me out. There. I said it. When I see how much dirt I sweep or vacuum up from hardwood floors on a daily basis and think about that dirt settling into a carpeted area…ugh. It grosses me out. I’ve lived with carpet – old and brand new – and I survived, but it’s not my favorite. Hardwood floors, on the other hand, are my jam. I don’t think I’ve met a wood floor that I didn’t love. Sometimes though, they can look a little sad. A little dull. Like they’ve lost their sheen and sparkle. A friend recommended a product to me to give our wood floors new…
Kitchen Refresh Part 3: Be Prepared For Anything
I didn’t make as much progress on the kitchen last week as I wanted to. Apparently real life can’t stop for labor-intensive DIY projects. Say what? Plus, the labor-intensive part of this project multiplied a little this week. Haha! Joke’s on me! If I haven’t said it before, I will say it now. (And I will use some all-caps typing to drive home my point.) When you are doing ANYTHING to an older home be prepared for ANYTHING to happen. Seriously. There are all sorts of crazy things hiding behind the walls of your home just waiting for you to open them up. Then they jump out and yell “GOTCHA.” So,…
