Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

I don't think my kitchen has ever been this clean before. The backsplash was reflecting on the countertop like glass. I was pretty impressed with myself. It also made me not want to do anything in my kitchen for several days.

My mom and I have tickets to the Pop Series at the Toledo Symphony. Last Saturday, they showed The Wizard of Oz and the orchestra played the music. They did an amazing job!

I was under the impression that it was spring, but we have had cold and snow several days this week. Luna is so ready for warmer weather...and so am I!

I have been on the hunt for a table or something to go in my entryway. I finally found something! I really like it, but it took me a few days to get used to something being there instead of it only being in my head. Now I am looking for a mirror to go above it and some cute decorations for the top. More to come...

Another little girl will be joining our family in June and I couldn't be more thrilled! I LOVE being an aunt and I am already getting a head start on spoiling this little one.

One Mess At A Time - The Pantry

I wish I had a before picture of my pantry. It was a disaster. To be honest, I thought my little pantry was not nearly enough space for the things that I had. It is about 18 inches wide, but it is really deep. The depth was making it quite easy for things to disappear into the back, never to be seen again.

So, like any good organization project, the first step is clearing everything out. In mind, I had already designated this top area to be my extra stock of whatever is in the below section.

This is the main section of the pantry. It is a decent size, but not huge by any means.

The top row became "can goods central". Everything is lined up and I can see what I have. Whatever extra that didn't fit, went up to the top cabinet.

Nice and high and out of the way. A good place for things that I might not need right away.

The farther I got into my project, the more space I had. It is amazing what happens when you throw things out and put things away in an orderly fashion.

One thing I was desperately needing was a place to put my onions and potatoes. They were hanging out on the counter and were really starting to annoy me. On a shopping to trip to Costco, I came across these nice baskets. I didn't think I was going to have space to stack them, but I had enough clearance. But they also fit nicely if I wasn't able to stack them. I was so happy about this find.

This project ended up being bigger than I had originally thought because I rearranged some other cabinets to better organize my kitchen. That included my baking center, which gained some more space. I will share that soon.

Kitchen Reno Week 12

This is the last kitchen reno update! Why? BECAUSE IT IS DONE!!!! I am a little excited about it.

I have reclaimed my home. No more lock box on the front door. No more people coming and going during the week. No more construction noises. No more!

Now I can look beyond all those things and start using a functional and beautiful kitchen. The whole renovation process was a learning experience for me. as a new homeowner. It would have been really naive to think that everything would have gone perfectly and smoothly. No unexpected surprises popped up, but the length of time did go way beyond my expectations. But on the flip side, I would rather have a kitchen that took a lot longer to finish than one that was slapped up and will be full of potential problems.

The kitchen looks so much better than I even imagined in my head. The crown molding provides such a nice finishing touch.

I have begun adding some of my red accents, which is helping to warm up the space. My beloved Kitchenaid has found it's home. I think it is pretty happy in its new spot.

I have already started using the kitchen by cutting and freezing 12 green peppers on Saturday. The dishwasher has already gotten a work out, cleaning all unpacked dishes.

The kitchen is already a mess as I try to get it organized. So while the renovation project is done, there is a lot more to come!

Kitchen Reno Week 11

Week 11...and it still isn't finished! Last week my frustration level was high. It is about ready to break through now. You can't expect to finish a kitchen if you only work about 8 hours during the week. I digress. The backsplash has been started, but not finished.

I didn't want anything too fancy because I didn't want anything trendy and run the risk of not liking it in a few years. Subway tile fits that bill, but this tile has a little something extra to it.

The tile has a bevel to it. Since the countertop has a little bit of sparkle, the bevel helps to dress up the tile a little bit more.

It does look really nice even without being grouted.

My microwave was installed, but since there isn't any electrical I can't use it yet. Once it is finished, I know I will be super happy. I am trying to grin and bear it until then.

Kitchen Reno Week 10

The countertops have been installed! They look so fantastic! I really couldn't be happier about how they turned out.

It is so nice to have a flat surface to use. I was really hoping that everything would be finished up because that is what I was told, but that didn't happen. And to be honest, I am really frustrated. There is no reason why I should still be giving updates on a kitchen remodel. Fingers crossed that this is the week it is finished.

But in the meantime, I am loving the view of my countertops and a sink! Because the sink is the in the corner, it is just a single bowl. This will be a little bit of a learning experience since I have always had a double bowl sink. Having a dishwasher will help. I won't have to hand wash everything.

I think the back section of countertop might be my favorite little spot. It will be a great place for the crock pot or cookies to cool. In the meantime, I am unpacking more stuff. I can't believe how much stuff I have, but it is like Christmas morning opening up all the boxes.

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

When I got home last Sunday night, a package was waiting for me. Inside was a cheeseboard from Cambria for my countertop purchase. It is really nice and heavy!

Countertops have been installed!!!! More on that on Monday.

This little lady had a rough Tuesday. In the morning I looked at her and her head was shaking. So off to the vet we went. They didn't see anything wrong with her during a physical exam. Tuesday night, the tremoring was really bad. I was able to get a video of it so I can show the vet this coming Tuesday for her regular exam. It was a scary time for her and me.

My cousin has really been into essential oils. My mom started taking these a few weeks ago, so I started on Friday. I am hoping to drop some weight, as well as gain some energy.

I was eagerly waiting for this package to come. Berres Brothers was featured on the Food Network and they are located about 45 minutes from my brother. Since I was hoping my kitchen would be done this week, I ordered some coffee to celebrate. I still have to find my coffee pot and my kitchen isn't done.

Kitchen Reno Week 8

This week has been absolutely crazy! First we had the water crisis which caused everyone in the Toledo, OH area to scramble to get access to water. Even my favorite, Good Morning America, was here.

And then....a scammer put my house up for rent! Can you believe it?!?! I had about 8 people come to my door asking about it. This scammer took pictures from the original sale listing and had it posted to Zillow and other such sites. I can't believe it.

And finally, I found a (what I think to be) stolen bike on the side of my house. It was hidden from view from the street and it was dropped on the side of the house that has no first floor windows. Needless to say, I was ready for the weekend.

The kitchen reno front has been pretty quiet, which I expected. I am in a little bit of a holding pattern until the countertop is installed, which is one week from today! I am so excited to see it finally in place.

I took matters into my own hands to keep the reno moving along and cleaned out the cabinets and started to unpack a few boxes. The cleaning part wasn't too bad. I used my vacuum to clear out any debris from the installation. Then I wiped them down with soapy water, clean water and then wiped them dry.

Since the top drawers are open to the room without countertops, I decided not to put anything in those.

But some of my glasses have found their home. These were the first thing unpacked. Everything will still need to be washed, but getting rid of the boxes is such a nice feeling.

My beloved plastic containers! I was so excited to see these and put them away. I can't even begin to describe how anxious I am to cook. And I can't wait to fill these guys up.

This week will be another slow week, but one more week down means I am one week closer to a finished, usable kitchen.

Kitchen Reno Week 7

It was the week of the floor! I have been looking forward to this so much. Putting the new floor in was going to transform the whole look of the middle of my house and it lived it up to my eager expectation.

The floor has to be glued down. But before the tile goes down the glue has to dry to a tacky stage. Because we had a little bit of rain and humidity, the glue wasn't drying like it should in the last area. It made for quite an interesting night because I had to use a board to get from my stairs to the living room so I could get downstairs.

And boy....does this glue smell!

In addition to the floor going down, it was also grouted this week! It looks so fantastic! I couldn't be happier with the final result.

Walking in the front door is a whole new experience. The floor brightens up the entire area. Although the picture above doesn't give it justice, the entry way feels cleaner.

The next week or so will be holding pattern until the countertop comes in. I will hopefully be getting that call very soon!

Kitchen Reno Week 6

One of my most anticipated projects on this kitchen reno started this week - the floor. The old flooring  is a really gross yellow/gold vinyl flooring that wasn't just in the kitchen, but extended all the way up to the front door. It was in a bad shape. When my mom and I first got in and started cleaning we were hoping that the floor just needed a good scrub and then would be good to go for a while even if it wasn't pretty. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It wasn't coming clean no matter how much scrubbing was involved. Let's just say, I haven't walked barefooted downstairs since I bought this house...because of the floor.

I had originally wanted ceramic tile in my entry way and kitchen. That is the tile that I knew and thought I wanted. My mom has it in her house and has lasted a really long time. But as I looked around I was presented with some different options. I chose Congoleum Duraceramic in Warm Pewter. It is a tile that is glued down, but can be grouted so it has the appearance of a ceramic tile. I had actually picked a similar tile at another store before I decided that I was going to redo the kitchen.

So far, just the kitchen has been done, but getting rid of that yucky floor is already giving the kitchen a clean look even if it is covered in construction dust.

It hasn't been grouted yet. That will hopefully be done next week along with the rest of the entry way and hallway.

The other exciting thing that happened this week is that my countertops were templated! I cannot wait until that comes. I went in with an open mind as far as countertops go, but was pretty certain I would end up with a solid surface countertop. I really didn't want granite because I know there is some maintenance to it, but would have considered it. But in deepest dreams included quartz. Well, there was nothing I liked in either solid surface or granite, but I found a quartz I loved! In a few weeks Cambria Quartz in Minera will be covering the cabinets. More exciting things to come!

Kitchen Reno Week 5

I haven't been keeping up with my kitchen reno updates very well. There was a little delay over the July 4th holiday  and now things are moving forward again.

I did the painting, and I am pretty proud of my work. I used the same color paint that is in the living room. Since my wall space was going to be so much more limited, I really didn't want to add another color to the downstairs. The color is an almost perfect match to the cabinets. It is incredible.

The biggest change is that the cabinets are finally in!! The empty space is finally starting to look like a kitchen. This idea that I have had in my head for months is finally coming to reality.

I am starting to envision using the kitchen and thinking about where things should go.

I have a blank spot. My walls shrunk by half an inch so the cabinets had to be rearranged slightly and one new cabinet had to be ordered.

Now the flooring is going in and the countertops will be templates this week. The end is starting to come into sight!

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.