New Kitchen

So I don't really blog anymore, it just became like a chore and not so much fun so I quit.  However, I figured this would be the best forum to view our kitchen renovation. We began this journey on 6/1/13 and officially finished today 7/28/13.

So let's start with a few before's so everyone can understand the drastic change.

So there you have it folks. That was my kitchen once we cleaned everything out. It was very green, and pretty dark. I would be lieing though if I said I didn't love my old kitchen. It was cute, and a little kitschy and part of me will always love it. Cute as it was, it wasn't functional. The drawers had no gliders they were just wood on wood. The cabinets were too low to put anything under them, the list goes on and on.

A few more pictures when the stuff was in it. Please ignore the dirty dishes. I actually took these before photos quite a while ago.

So if you are walking in my kitchen. The stove is immediately to your left, you would be facing the window and sink head on. The fridge faces the stove. This is a small kitchen folks. We work with what we got.

So before the big reveal. Let's do some in progress photos, shall we. I mean what is the point if I don't make you suffer a little bit with me.

 Demo had begun, Andrew did most of the work as is usually the case around our house.

That is what was left once we pulled out the cabinets. Now let's just do a friendly reminder here, my kitchen had the original 1945 cabinets. So as you can see from the outlines on the wall this stuff was old. What you may also be noticing is there is no drywall behind my cabinets. They were attached to the concrete itself. Queue the real fun beginning.

 Andrew in the process of removing the 5 layers of floor we had. It was a little nuts. Below is the original floor on top of the original wood flooring. Pretty I know!

 Some very confused pets and a glimpse of the living situation during reno.

An exhausted Roo, he worked so hard that first night. The sad part is that wasn't the worst of it. The ceiling became the deal breaker.

So I don't have a photo of the original ceiling. It had these panels on it, that the previous owner had put up. These tin panels and they were cute, but oh man oh man. They were glued onto our plaster ceilings. Let's just say sanding and patching became Andrew life for the next month, and dust became the every day thing you lived in.

So for the next few days we had to build a wall and dry wall. On top of that we were supposed to have our electrical done that saturday. Didn't happen so that put everything back, so began the waiting game.

Now another friendly reminder folks. I work from home which means I lived this 100% of the time. 14 days with no working sink.... no fun.

Then it started to get better! Queue the cabinets going in.

 I was very excited as you can clearly tell. Moby however, wanted to know what was in the drawers that had no counter top. He wasn't impressed.

From there it was floor install, followed shortly by granite that went in and then had to be torn out 5 days later as it was cut wrong. That was really fun.

With the floors and the granite in (the correct granite is shown above) we were then able to finish the electrical and put in the appliances. That right there my friends is the first dishwasher this house has ever had, and I am pretty sure it is really happy.

After that we went on vacation, because we freaking needed one. Then came the final push. We had to get a backsplah put in. We went with honeycomb shaped penny round style tile and we love it. It's the only thing I picked out in the kitchen. Andrew did the rest. (I know that is a crappy photo, but it shows the tile well).

Drum Roll please... The finished product...

This would be the first time a microwave has ever actually been in this kitchen before as well. Previously it was in our dining room, because the cabinets were only 10 inches high and microwave couldn't fit under that.

Tell me that double oven isn't dreamy!!! I adore it!

So there you have it folks. Our kitchen reno in a nutshell. We did not hire a contractor, Andrew did most of the crazy stuff. If you are in Richmond and want to know names of companies we found to do things like the electrical/flooring/cabinets etc. just give me a shout.

Now take a few minutes and compare the old to the new. It's a little bit nuts. Oh hell, here is a compare photo just for kicks.

Kind of crazy right?!?!!

So I hope you enjoyed the kitchen reno journey! 

~XOXOX~

Life Lately

Well folks, it's true there was a toilet in my backyard for quite awhile. What started out as a simple clogged toilet turned into a plumbing nightmare. This is the part when you think to yourself... where the F is my landlord. Oh wait, I bought this damn thing I have to deal with this on my own. Total B.S. if you ask me. Regardless of how I feel about it. We had to tear up our front yard and replace the the pipe under our house. What was a simple toilet clog turned into roots in our line, that led to discovering that the whole pipe was rotted out. I won't lie I cried.... multiple times.

After my breakdowns, and the money was shelled out. It took 3 days to get it all done. The yard is back together but I think a few of our bushes bit it when they got torn up. Oh well, a few bushes in turn for not dumping sewage under my house is a small price to pay. Next step address the bathroom.... who's stupid idea was it to buy a house. I think that person needs their ass kicked.

XO

Go Team!

So I know that the Olympics started over a week ago, but I figure better late than never. The fridge is sharing its support just like the rest of us. Have you been watching? We have been watching recaps on the news, but not the events. Seems whenever I have time and want to watch it is always tennis that is on. No offense to those that play and watch, but that's not interesting to me. I want to watch monkey arms Phelps, or those crazy muscly gymnastics.

Either way....go  U.S.A!

Pretty Girl

When we went home to TN for our July 4th holiday. I found this pretty little picture down in the old city. She reminded me of myself when I was a little girl, and the little kitty cat reminds me of my Moby.  I think this is my all time favorite thrifting find to date.

*Side note, my poor Moby is a mess. He started acting erratic last night and then letting you touch him then hiding. We finally decided to take him to the vet (the ER vet at 10 at night). They said his pipes were back up, gave him a laxative and sent us home. Well he is still acting strange today, so back to the vet I go. I feel like such a bad mama. Hoping they will fix him up once and for all today.

Shades of grey

Now now, I know your brain automatically went to the extremely popular smut novel. Alas... this post is actually about the color grey.

When we first moved into our home we painted our living room a fairly dark shade of grey. It was fine at first, but 2 years later I am starting to feel closed in. Our living room doesn't have a whole lot of light and the color just makes the room so dark.

So this weekend we will be re-painting (the mister doesn't know that yet) with a lighter shade. I like the choices above. I think the 1 in the middle is really nice. Doesn't have those green under tones. We will see what I actually find when I hit the paint store. Never know what it will look like in real lighting.

Happy Hump Day!! 

Here today, gone in 5 seconds

Well folks there you have it. A storm blew threw about 2 weeks ago. Some say it was a tornado but who knows. All I can say is I stood upstairs in my home, and watched our beautiful tree snap in half. It was a split second and it was gone. I think the storm lasted all of 15 minutes. It blew 42 power circuits in 45 minutes and took half my pretty tree. As of right now we have managed to keep the front half, but let's just say the thing looks sparse and my pretty backyard lights are no more.

Now I have complained my fair share about losing this tree, cried even. However, I am not going to do that now. Because there are people in CO who lost everything not just so tree. So it's a loss but one I can survive. I will say this though, the weather and I are not friends. Mother nature... it's me Emily... I hear what you are saying, but could we cool it for the rest of the summer. I don't want to go 7 days without power again this summer!

How are you my measly few readers? Have you had any crazy weather? or crazy anything happen lately?
XO

Summer Garden

When my husband and I bought our home we knew that we wanted to grow our own vegetables. So the first year we tried, but failed. Maybe the soil was wrong, maybe we planted them at the wrong time, or maybe we didn't whisper enough sweet somethings to them. No matter the reason we didn't get much except cucumbers. This year however, our garden is over flowing and we are super excited.

 

I adore having fresh herbs to pick from when I cook, and the sage is so pretty. 

 

Tons of banana peppers I love these things. I put them on pizza, sandwiches, in salads. Whatever I can, and this year we are starting a venture in canning. Right now we have 2 jars of pickled banana peppers. Can't wait to eat them. 

 

We did 3 kinds of peppers. These are the red ones, but they aren't changing colors just yet. They need a little more time to cook on the vine. 

 Lots and lots of pretty squash that is overflowing into the yard.

 

My husband was determined to have home grown corn so there you have it folks. I am officially a farmer growing my own corn. 

We have 2 tomato plants. A cherry tomato and something called the home wrecker. Those haven't come in yet, but we have already started to enjoy the cherry ones. There is little jar on the window sill full of plump red tomatoes just waiting to be eaten.

I think growing my own vegetables has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Now they would not be growing at all if it weren't for the misters green thumb but either way there is pure satisfaction when you pick something from your own garden to eat.

Flower tower

In my backyard we have this crazy big tower thing that stacks on top of itself. Each year we pack it full of as many flower pots as it will hold. This is a shot of it's current state this year. I just love all the colors against the brick wall. Just another little shot of my backyard to go along with this post.

I would also just like to add the only reason these things will survive this summer is due to the husband. I pretty much kill all plants I pot myself. I can't figure it out I swear I water and give them all the love I can come up with. I even talk to those bastards and they just die off....JERKS!

XO

Let summer begin

I know I am a crappy blogger. I want to give you some good reason as to why I have been so flaky as a blogger but truth is I don't have one. So no excuses, but here is a my most recent doodle on our chalkboard fridge. Since memorial day was Monday and that is the unofficial start of summer. Our fridge got pretty excited! Hope you had a lovely holiday last weekend and have some rad plans for this weekend.

*cheers*

Home tour: my backyard

Okay so I know my home tour has been all over the place, but whatevs. My blog, my home tour this is how you get it. So I just wanted to share my new favorite place in the entire world. This is my backyard. My little corner of heaven in the city. That blue thing is my husbands studio and those twinkly lights.... AWESOME!

You know when you are a kid and you see those house in movies where they always have these pretty lights and set ups in their backyard... yeah that's what I got folks. It's one of those dreamy things that comes with home ownership. After you realize that you pay your mortgage payment of $$$$ and only about 36$ goes to the actually cost of your home.... yeah, so when I sit in my backyard and enjoy these lights I realize I do love my home and am lucky to be able to own it...or at least pay the bank that owns it.

Peonies

Well while I sit awake at the ungodly hour of 3:31 A.M. I am reminded that I have not blogged in oh I don't know... over a week. This weekend I had full intentions to take a bunch of house tour photos, but then I got a bug in my ass and painted my office instead. So although my house tour is still clearly not happening I do have a pretty new lavender office.

Also I would like to note that my peonies are finally in bloom and I could not be more excited. I adore my little bushes and the prettiness the produce. Happy Tuesday

*Cheers*

home tour: stair well

Okay I know I know, I have totally let my home tour fall off the radar. I fully intend to share an actual room with you all soon. This does however count as part of the home tour. This is my stair way or the top half anyway. I have little bits of art all over the wall going up the stairs, but these 3 are my favorites.

The little deer is one of those velvet paintings from the 70s, the etching on the left I won in a giveaway on Freckled Nest, and the cat is a card that is the spitting image of my old kitty cat Stinky. All in all it's a nice little collection. Wouldn't you agree!

Now onto some more personal news....okay so showing my home is personal but this pertains to my life as a whole. As some of you may know if you follow me on twitter I have been waiting to hear about a promotion at work. Well folks.... I heard this week, I got it!!! Now, I don't talk about work on here in specifics and I am still not going to go there. However,  I did get something that I feel I deserved and I am super proud of myself. So raise a glass tonight to me and my awesome sauce accomplishment won't you. Thanks!!!! XOXO

*cheers*

Owl love

Forever and day ago I wandered into Second Debut which is an break out of good will here in Richmond. Low and behold there sat this adorable little set of owls. Now I know owls are all the rage and have been for awhile now, but.... I collect owl items for a very special reason. My fabulous grandmother used to collect them and every time I find one I swear it's a moment with my grandmother so I snatch them up. Especially if they are old or vintagey. Am I crazy, maybe but what fun would life be without a little crazy!

XOXO

Spring has Sprung

Well although it has felt like spring for oh I don't know like a month now here in Richmond. It has only just begun as of Tuesday. So I thought in honor of the arrival of such a great season I would share one of my favorite things in my backyard. Our amazing weeping cherry tree. This beauty blooms first and only lasts for a few weeks, then the blooms fall and it turns into a giant green bush. So let's all admire it's loveliness for the short time it's here!!

Other things we are enjoying in this beautiful spring weather....car rides with the windows down and radio turned up. Cold drinks on the patio with a warm breeze. Working with the windows open,  and well just about anything with the windows open. Have you done anything to enjoy this amazing weather?

*Cheers*

Home Tour: Front entry

Welcome to my home.... I am starting a home tour and we will begin at the first thing you see when you come over, our front/mud room

This is the sight you see when first entering my home. Gotta love that fugly window unit that we don't use. Need to remove that sucker. 

 

This classy piece of furniture is in fact a kitchen island, but since our kitchen doesn't have room for an island and it cluttered up the dining room we moved it out here for storage. I think it works.There on the right is our little mail corner, where we put outgoing mail.

 

I put a bench here so you can take off wet shoes or put on boots to head out the door. We also keep the dogs leashes and hats out here.

 

We also stash our collection of watering cans, mason jars, and old lanterns out here. 

This room always confuses people. So to explain a little. This room was once an outside/side porch, but the previous owners closed it in and made a front/mud room type place. That's how we use it.  Everything you need to run out the door on an adventure.

Now to actually enter my home you have to go through that door on the right. That leads to my living room... the next room to be shared. Hope you enjoyed seeing in my home, and want to see more! XOXO