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~

Outfit > accessories

So I recently bought these head band thingies that have a metal piece in them so you can keep the shape. Yep, safe to say I am kind of in love with them. I know I know I look amazing. I can't seem to fend off all these compliments you keep throwing my way. Okay so maybe you just like me for my awesome sauce Bonlook glasses. Either way, your a gem for reading this rinky dink little blog of mine.

Happy hump day!

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

Mister makes dinner

I love when the mister gets excited about something and makes dinner. We grew some eggplants in our summer garden this year, and Andrew got could not wait to make something with the eggplant, so we attempted this eggplant parm. Let's just say if you want to know what a car tire tastes like, give this recipe a try. It looks tasty, but it tasted....rough. I felt bad because he worked so hard. However, we both agree car tire eggplant no bueno.

Today I am

Image via Google images

Yep, that's right folks today I turn 28.... good lord that's 2 years short of 30. Where did the time go? When I look around the home I own and think about the last 5, 8, or 10 years I am amazed at how much my life has changed and where I am today. If someone had told me I would be living in Virginia married to a tall tall man and working in IT.... I would have laughed in their face. However, here I am doing all of those things. Well folks, I am off to pack for a trip with my ladies and to enjoy my day. Have a great weekend. 

XO

~ E