Dressing up the kitchen a little

But don't let this fool you! I am still plugging away at parts of the kitchen I thought would be finished weeks ago! I was planning on taking a break before starting on the island, but changed my mind on that. I could really use the extra working space in our kitchen!

It has been a really long time since we started this main phase of our kitchen overhaul, fifteen months ago! And I am feeling it. The need to be done with it is strong, at least until we do the wood flooring. (Hopefully next spring.)

But... aren't these little pot holders so sweet? I found them at a sweet little fabric store, and couldn't resist!




They aren't old, but they look like they could be!
Now, promise you won't laugh, but they were my Mother's Day gift to myself this year! (Does anyone else do this?) I have been waiting to hang them up because, well~ another slightly embarrassing admission~ here I am, repainting the color of the bead board in the backs of the upper cabinets.


The previous color




(although bright and cheerful)
didn't match the greenish gray I painted the floor, see below:





The color clash was driving me crazy! If you know me, you know color is a very, very serious matter indeed. It cannot be just any green, you see. It has to be the right shade of green. So despite the magnetic repulsion I am developing toward paint brushes, I did the only thing to be done, and began painting them the same mellow green used on our floor. I went back and forth on this color, because what looks perfect on our floor sometimes looked a little too blue inside the cabinets.




But then I remember that perhaps this is a choice that doesn't need to be taken quite so seriously! When we put down wood flooring, I can change the color simply enough if I want! It will only be on the back of three cabinets, and on our island. I also covered over that same first green the was on the half walls in the dining room and part of the kitchen. It is a really pretty white now, and I think it is going to fit just right.


Now regarding the island (are you getting tired of these updates?) it is getting closer to me showing it to you! I am putting bead board on the sides, and need to paint it, but am waiting for it to cool down! It has been hot this week, at least for our little corner of the world! Hardly any homes have air conditioning here, because it is so rarely hot! SO, when it is...you bring out all the fans you own to keep cool! :)

I hope you all are having a fantastic weekend!

Blessings to you,

A Beautiful Nest

I am very excited to tell you this: my sister Christine and I have launched a new blog, A Beautiful Nest. Although we each have our own blogs (and intend to keep them) we felt it would be so fun to do one together! We have countless ideas and plans for this blog, and hope you will join us on this new adventure!

If you would like to visit A Beautiful Nest, just click on the button at the top of this post! And if you have the time, please let us know what you think of it so far! :)

As always, blessings to you all!

Back from summer vacation...

...And getting back into the swing of things here at home. It was such a wonderful vacation!




We had fun, seeing the sights...




Kicking back, relaxing...




Eating good food...




And even enjoying a little crafting and coffee...




Now it's back to the daily grind, but that's okay~







We have wonderful memories and pictures to remind us, should we forget...







I hope you all had a truly blessed Fourth of July! I love this holiday, and always get a little lump in my throat when I hear the old, patriotic songs! I love this country, and am so proud and thankful to be an American!

I hope you are enjoying the summer as well, and staying cool! :)


Blessings,

Working on our island...

...And now we're one step closer.

You may remember my "island dreaming" a few posts back...Well, we finally bought the solid oak butcher block and I can't wait to cut it to the exact dimensions and install it on our island! (Well actually, although I am not shy of power tools, this is something I'm happy to leave to my husband. I'm too afraid of making a wrong cut!)


Now when I say island, you are probably picturing a cabinet of some sort, smack dab in the middle of the room. Well, as I mentioned in an earlier post, we had to get a little creative! We are in the midst of something that I think is going to be just right for our kitchen!

Here is an up close shot of the butcher block...I just love the wood! It was a darker shade than I had first thought, and I don't want to stain it any darker, SO...I am just going to oil it to seal the wood.

Well, I just wanted to give you a little update on this! I hope you all are having a wonderful week, and enjoying the summer! Thank you so much for stopping by! :)

Blessings,

A lamp makeover

Hi you all! I hope you are having a wonderful week! :)

I just wanted to show you a little something I finished...yes, I actually finished something! ;)

A few months ago, I bought two sweet gray lamp shades, but didn't have the right lamp bases to go with them. I knew I wanted a buffet lamp style, but all the ones I was seeing were so expensive! Then I saw this, and for only ten dollars, I could afford two of them! My plan was to spray paint the lamp bases white, to match our bedroom decor.




The only problem was, when I pulled it out of the package, I realized it was not one solid piece. I had never tried painting a lamp in screw-on sections before, but I was curious to see if it would work, so I started with just one of them...





Here it is put together~ it's not an ugly color or anything, it just wouldn't work in our room or with the gray shade I had for it...




I pulled most of the cord out of the end piece, and taped up the cord between the three sections (everything I didn't want painted!) and primed and painted it. I let it dry overnight... And it worked! Here it is now:







As for the shade that went with it, it was not in my color scheme either, and too dark of fabric to recover, so I am reconstructing it...




(I have something in mind...we'll see how it comes out!) And now that I know you can indeed spray paint a lamp like this, it's on to the next one...

Have a blessed night! :)

There she goes...

Our oldest daughter loves to run errands. And by this, I do mean run, as she is only eleven and can't yet drive! ;) But as one of my closest friends lives right next door, she often runs cookies over, or maybe a few things I picked up for my friend at the store. (We shop for each other often!)

This year, our daughter discovered a love for running, and that she had a gift for it as well. At her elementary school, they have running day twice weekly, for about 15 minutes after lunch~ the kids run as many laps as they want, and receive dots on their hand for each lap. The teachers then record their laps, and this year our daughter ran 43 miles, most of the laps run during just the last trimester! (She totaled well over 200 laps!)




And because our school received a Nike grant this year, she won a free pair of running shoes as the top 5th grade female runner. She was very excited! :) She wanted to put them on right afterward!




And now she isn't dreading the transition to middle school as much anymore. They have a track team, and she is considering joining. But I see that whether she does it in middle school or chooses to wait until high school, running (and finding she is good at it!) has been such a confidence booster for her!

Because when you are eleven and growing up~ or even an adult for that matter~ it is important to have something you are good at, that you love doing! Don't you think? :)

Island dreaming

I have been thinking a lot about islands since we started the main phase of our kitchen redo last spring. Now by this I don't mean tropical islands, although there have been times during this process that I have certainly dreamed of that kind, too! But how I love kitchen islands!

Above is my favorite island of all time~ the white wood with a shelf underneath, and it's charming old wood top. I love the contrast of the island and the metal pots and such on the shelf. (Sigh.)

The thing that is so amazing about this island in particular is that it was originally an old workbench. As in a garage. But no one would ever, in a million years, guess that by looking at it!




Or take this island, with it's unique shelves on the end for spices and cookbooks...and again, the butcher block paired with the white...so heavenly!




Of course, I could not leave out this vintage-table-turned-island~ and just look at those wonderful baskets for storing cooking odds and ends!





Another beautiful piece, with plenty of storage space!

Now I know this island is very different from the others, but it has been one of my "kitchen inspiration" pictures for a while now. I love the bead board on the side, with the thick molding on bottom. I think a truly cottage island must have bead board!

Now the real question remains: what is a girl to do if she longs for a cottage island, but the kitchen can't accommodate one?

I figured out how to solve this problem without rearranging the floor plan, which we could not afford...sometimes you just have to do the next best thing. Such as, create an island that technically isn't one, and put it somewhere other than the middle of the room. If it still affords the extra work space and ambiance that a traditional island would (and I think it will) than it will be a next best alternative...at least I hope so!

Stay tuned for more on this! I have this project in the works! :)

Have a blessed night,