Kitchen Reno Week 2

This week was nothing but drywall. I have had people at my house for 6 days working on it. The original drywalled flaked on the job and didn't show up on Monday. But thankfully, my contractor was able to get another guy come in in the evening to work on it. They worked this weekend.

Some new insulation went in because the stuff that was in there wasn't that great and wouldn't do anything to keep my house warm.

It has been so humid here this past week that it is taking longer for the mud to dry. In addition to the air conditioning being on, I put a fan on to circulate the air.

Needless to say, the kitchen is coming together. With the 4th of July coming up next week, I don't know what will get done this week. But I am excited with the progress so far.

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

My mom lives on the corner of of a busy street and her neighborhood. Saturday night, there was an accident right  at the intersection. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, but there was quite a bit of excitement in a normally quiet neighborhood.

I have been craving hot tea when I am not in a place to have it. This week, I was at my mom's so I was able to make myself some really yummy tea. It is a beautiful red color.

The drywall process began this week. A post will be coming soon!

Luna loves chewing on water bottles. She takes the top and wrapper off and chews on the bottle. I caught her sleeping with a bottle in her bed.

Linen Closet Organization

My downstairs is a major work in progress. To offset the utter chaos, I am trying to organize my upstairs. My first project to conquer was the linen closet.

I had a little inspiration - found on Pinterest, of course. This post by First Home Love Life was a great starting point in thinking of how to best organize my closet.

Because of limited space in my last apartment, I wasn't able to organize the way I would have liked. My sheets were in a zippered bin under my bed. My towels were shoved on the shelves. Things were constantly toppling over. Now I have extra room to be able to organize.

I have room for my sheets and towels. My washcloths are in a basket, so they aren't just thrown where they fit at that particular moment.

I have a little bit of an obsession with Bath and Body Works soap. I always have a stock pile of it. I also have a lot of lotion and body spray that I like to rotate depending on the season. All of it is put away.

One of the best things about having an organized closet is being able to see everything. I know exactly what is in there and where to look for things. I know it will all be a work in progress, but at least some progress has been made.

Kitchen Reno Week 1

My kitchen remodel is officially underway! I usually only see this kind of stuff done on HGTV. This week consisted of demolition, but I can already see the new kitchen taking shape.

All the cabinets and countertop were gone on day one. It was already a big difference.

I have a new ornament for the front of my house. A huge dumpster is sitting in the driveway holding the remains of my former kitchen. I was definitely not sad to see it go.

The electrician was able to get all of his preliminary stuff done. There is going to be plenty of light in this room.

See those little gray boxes on the wall? Outlets, lots of outlets! This is only one corner. Even this little bit makes me so excited to see the rest of it to come together.

Next comes the drywall!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

These are so good!!! I highly recommend trying them out.

Are you watching the World Cup? I grew up in a soccer household, so I definitely had to watch the U.S. team. I believe that we will win!!

Kitchen started its transformation this week. It is an interesting process. More to come soon!

Luna turned 2 this week. My little girl is growing up. The top left picture is right after I got her. She was so tiny!! She is definitely my little buddy.

So to celebrate, she got a Bow Wow Sundae at Mr. Freeze! It comes with 2 Milkbones. Not a bad celebration for a dog.

Reflections On Father's Day

The last three Father's Days have been bittersweet for me. Bitter because my dad isn't here to celebrate, but sweet because I had a father I want to celebrate. So just because he is gone, doesn't mean I can't celebrate him.

I have so many good memories that include my dad and the man he was. He showed what it meant to love his country and his family. He always put us first, never wanting the spotlight to be on him. He was always doing things for other people because he hated sitting around doing nothing. Unfortunately, that isn't a trait I picked up because I love sitting around and wasting time. :)

My dad and I did share some common interests, though. He loved to bake and I enjoy being in the kitchen too. He took pictures all the time. He taught me a lot about using a camera, not that I am any where close to being as good of a photographer as he was. The number of his pictures we have is unreal. Pictures everywhere! But don't ask him to be in the picture. He wasn't a fan of being in front of the camera.

Even though my dad is gone, we have a new dad in our family. Today is my brother's first Father's Day. His daughter has him wrapped so tightly around her precious little finger and he probably doesn't want to be anywhere else. It is amazing watching him with her. He had a great example of what a dad should be. And I know he is going to continue to be a great dad.

Happy Father's Day!!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

The Old West End Festival was this past weekend. This is Spike, the mascot for the Toledo Walleye. He was showing off his stuff in the parade. This parade is probably the most interesting parade I have ever seen. But it is a lot of fun!

My mom is having a garage sale this weekend, so she was cleaning out a lot of stuff. She found some of her dog's old clothes that don't fit her anymore, so Luna benefited. Luna is modeling her new raincoat.

My yard is a work in progress and probably will be for years to come. But there are some beautiful flowers that have been popping up. I noticed these ones have started to bloom. They make me think of tropical places.

This kid!!!! She is almost 10 months old. I can't believe how fast time has flown by this year. I get to see her in just a few weeks and I can't wait!

Shipshewana Shopping

Be still my Midwestern heart...Shipshewana, Indiana. I LOVE this place. As soon as we drive into town, I feel more relaxed.

This was really a quick trip out to the flea market. We didn't look in any shops in town and we didn't go to our favorite restaurant. Even with the shorter trip, it was still a good first trip of the season. Quite a few vendors have not set up shop yet, so there will be so much more to look at later on. Definitely a reason to go back, which probably won't happen until the day after Labor Day.

Someday I am going to have to try and make a yummy chocolate peanut butter pie. It is something I get every time I go.

After my kitchen is done (I have finally decided to bite the bullet and redo the kitchen), I will have to make a trip out to E & S Sales. This place is full of dry goods. They have a huge assortment of flours, spices and all kinds of other things. That will have to be a blog post all of its own.

Until then, I will have to start making my list to stock my new cabinets!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

Luna is a little bit of a bed hog, but quite often I wake up to find her with her head on the other pillow partly covered up with the blanket. This was Sunday and she didn't look very happy that I was taking her picture.

My mom and I went to our first Mudhens game. It was rainy and chilly. But the crowd was really thin and, to be honest, wasn't much fun. I can't wait to go later in the season when it is sunny, warm and crowded.

Of course when I am trying to fold laundry, Luna decides to curl up on the chair and lay on my clothes. She did look pretty cute, though.

National Donut Day!!! At dinner on Friday night, we ordered a Maple Glazed Pork Donut. It is most the wonderful thing. So good!

Yard Lovin'

I have a confession to make. For a few weeks, I was one of THOSE neighbors. You know the ones. Overgrown yards. Leaves and sticks everywhere. That was me.

There was a kid from my church who mowed the front yard a couple times, but I didn't have him do the backyard because it needed a little attention before it could be mowed. I also wanted to get my own lawnmower, so I could be the one solely responsible for my yard.

So, Friday night my mom and I were on the hunt for a lawnmower. I couldn't have been shopping for something I know any less about. I wanted the mower to cut the grass not do any special tricks. Thankfully, I found one that would work. It is a Toro and red. That is the extent of my knowledge about it.

Saturday morning my mom and I started working on the yard. The amount of sticks and branches was unreal. Because the grass was so high, some of these huge branches could be easily missed. I now have a pile of sticks on my patio.

I mowed next. My lawnmower's maiden voyage. She was mess afterward, but the yard was already looking so much better. I could actually see Luna when she was walking around.

Next came the random leaf piles. It was seemed that the previous owners piled leaves in the fall to move to the front  yard, but they never were moved. So after a winter that was full of snow and cold, most of the piles were thankfully dry. However, there were a few spots that were wet.

Amazingly enough, it really didn't take that long. And dare I say that I might have enjoyed spending time doing work in the yard. I really had a sense of satisfaction after my yard was presentable again.