Rotten Apple.... Kitchen Before/Afters!!!!!

Hello Bloggy friends, 

or if you are here with me in the Northwest I should say

 SOGGY friends!

So sorry I have been absent for a LONG time!

My Apple (Mac) is being ROTTEN.

There is a short in the screen and so it only opens about 8 inches

before the screen turns black.

So, imagine typing with the laptop on its back (fold) and

resting the keyboard part on your stomach

trying to type straight down ....

and peeking under the top to see what you are actually typing.

I just have to say...its not working well.

Why not just go have it fixed?

Since the kitchen re-do my husband has put us on a 

strict budget....booooo the b word.

But its all for good.

I mean, I have fun money, but I'd rather buy flowers for the yard

or a pretty spring outfit,

ya know what Im sayin girls?

So...in the meantime, I will curl into a pretzel as I write.

Just bare (or is it bear, cuz Im not naked!) with me!

Oh..PINTREST!

I know Im a little late on this boat, but better late than drowning.

I loooooove it.

Will love it even more when I can really SEE the pictures

(see note above...)

I've started a page, I tried to name it fresh vintage home,

but I believe its under my name Jodi Green.

Feel free to follow if you would like,

and at some point I will figure out how to do a pin button on here....

some day....

Now, the kitchen.

These are photo's that my mother in law took a few weeks ago while here. 

Her camera is much better than mine, so I am stealing borrowing

her photo's so you all can REALLY see the difference!

Jeff and I did it all ourselves except for hiring

a plumber to move the sink, and electricians to fix

the crazy wiring, and a handyman to take down the wall

adding a support beam. 

The rest was ALL us.

Anything that is not perfect we call character.

And we will just leave it at that.

ok? K.

Because I love it so much!

Before we moved in:

New sink now here, and wall above is gone

Looking from stove towards the Laundry Room

Note the "hole" under the microwave and doorway to the right that went to the Master & Bathroom

The wall to the left is the wall we partially removed. We kept both china cabinets intact.

Laundry Room when moved in.

Progress.....We changed some little stuff

and lived with it for a year like this...

I painted the walls a khaki color, painted over the dark grey colored trim, made the alcove into a chalkboard, and covered the hole with a fabric skirt.

The fan was so close to the stove it had melted in spots...yikes.

 The lighting was awful at night, the flooring made us dizzy, and it was so closed off from the rest of the living spaces. The new cabinetry we purchased from Craigslist was custom made for a different kitchen, so we used blue tape on the counters to mark the segments of cabinets.  We had to cut apart one cabinet and also get creative to fill the gaps.

 More piles in the laundry room.  The mess was because we had started to empty out
the armoire and cabinets below.  We had used the large Armoire for small appliances, and the small table for folding laundry.  Jeff had built small shelving for the cans.

Then, with much anticipation, we started to tear things up!

We removed all the stuff from the Laundry room.

As we started to remove the soffit we found a web of wiring that needed to

be professionally redone.

We had to pile kitchen stuff all over the house. This is the corner where we eventually closed off the doorway.

There were so many paint colors and types of wall surfaces. Some cement board,
some drywall, some plaster.

We framed in the doorway between the kitchen and Master bedroom & Bathroom.

It made the hallway darker, but we love the way it makes the area feel like

a master suite!

 The day the wall came down we did a happy dance!  The difference was amazing!

This is from the dining room side looking in. We still needed to change the lighting, flooring, moldings around the windows and opening, counters, etc.

Working on the finishing details....

We bought legs at Lowes, painted them to match, 

and inserted them into the cabinet on each side.

 It worked perfectly.

We installed the laminate tiles with real grouting.  They look real, and are much warmer on our feet.  The cabinets were 30" cabinets, so we had to raise them and install a tall
base board under them.

 Jeff built the moulding for the windows and I primed them before installing them.

 This is one of the butcher block counter tops from Ikea. Its the 1 1/2" Oak.
We had to cut it to fit around the farm sink. After trying to use the router,
Jeff found a chisel and hammer to be the most effective.
We used the sealer recommended at Ikea, but I would like to stain it darker
and put a heavy finish on it.

This is the new counter in the laundry room. We installed the uppers, and

then I refinished a huge dresser & distressed it. Then Jeff added the legs

and countertop.  We also added subway tile, but its not installed yet in this photo.

The breadbox is a gift from my son. He made it for me:)

 We re-hung the antique cabinet in the Laundry room above the washer & dryer.
Jeffs grandpa made it for his mom when she was a little girl. She
kept her doll collection in it.  I loooooove it!

Jeff installing the subway tile in the kitchen.

This is NOW....

 We used a leftover upper cabinet to fill in the hole under the microwave. It holds all my cookbooks and baking dishes as well as baking ingredients. The white wood wainscotting is actually a neighbors pine flooring they were tossing. We primed and painted it to add character. You cant even tell there was a door next to the microwave!

 Looking from the kitchen to the dining room.

 Ok, so I wish the red towel wasnt on the stove here...but thats real life. ha ha.

 Kitchen to laundry room

I'm such a happy girl!
Thank you for stopping by
xoxoxo

Subway tile!!!

I am sooo happy!

The $5 (for 3 boxes) of subway tile 

I picked up last year at my local

Habitat for Humanity Store

is going up!!

Im still learning about taking photo's, and these are proof I have a long way to go...

But I cant wait to get the grout in and see it done!!!

Thank you to the cutie pie missing the football game to finish the backsplash.

He's the best!

xoxox

Jodi

Counter! and Story of the Day #1

Hi Friends!

Hey, anyone else still shopping?  I'm running about 3 weeks behind this year.  I'm not worried though, it always works out just as it should.  We were determined to get most of the remodel tools, paints, trims, etc. out of the living and dining room BEFORE we put up the tree and bring out the Santa Collection.  We succeeded...except for one little corner...and I'm ok with that!

One of the delays we faced was the large butcher block counter top from Ikea.  We waited about 5 or 6 weeks for this sucker.   I thought for sure we would be serving Christmas dinner on a piece of plywood.  Last Monday I was visiting with a friend in the dining room and Jeff came flying in the front door  "It's here!!  I called and they will hold it for 2 hours... " he exclaimed on his way to change out of his uniform into real world clothes. My friend left rather abruptly (sorry Susan) and we dashed out the door to our "local" Ikea. Its about 1 1/2 hours away.  Does anyone else feel like a hamster in a habi-trail while trying to find something in that store???  Just give me a wheel.  Anyhow, we finally found the kitchen area and we got the LAST one...yes, the LAST one, and that was because we had it on hold.  I could've kissed the sales lady.  We went in circles dashed over to to checkout and paid for it.  With the receipt stapled to the pick up slip, we headed back in to look at a few other fun things.  About 25 minutes into "browsing", Jeff realized he was no longer holding that paper between his cute little fingers.  His face went white...and the backtracking started.  We can't find our way around while browsing...how in the world will we back track?  It was an adventure.  We stopped, prayed a prayer of desperation to a loving God, and I walked up to a sales lady.  While I explained what happend, a woman standing about 4 feet away says "I just set a piece of paper on top of those clips...over there".  I think she was an angel...because in that sea of a store, it WAS the receipt.  We wouldn't have been able to pick up the counter top without it!  Not wanting to take any more chances, we were outta there licketysplit.

Today Jeff is doing his baking marathon, so its not all pretty and staged for pictures.  But I think I have made you all wait long enough.  After Christmas, and we get the last details finished I will take beauty shots, okay? OK.

Countertop right out of the box. VERY heavy! See the sink on the floor? And the to do list....

Snickerdoodles, Swedish Rye Bread and some vintage tins.

New counter in Laundry room/Pantry.  I refinished a large dresser to hold platters, and table clothes.

We still need to do the the subway tile back splash above the counters.

Laundry side of the laundry/pantry.  Smokey is enjoying his eating station too.

Baking area. This is where the door was into the hallway.  I still need to change the knobs to the pulls. 

He is enjoying the (small) baking center that we created.  Its all organized and perfect for us.  Again, he is baking and I do not want to mess up his laboratory. The kitchen/dining area get sun all day long (as you can see in the glare and on the microwave) and at this time of day (late afternoon) the sun hits the Puget Sound and Olympic mountains in a lovely glow. It's so peaceful.

 ********

Ok, so I am going to start a series, kindof, I guess that's what it would be called.  When I was in High School it seemed I always had some silly story to share.  After awhile my friends started calling it my "Story of the day".  I do love to tell stories.  However, I would not want to bore you to death with a story EVERY day.  But as things happen...as they usually do.... and if its blog appropriate (some of you may have noticed a few posts "missing"...deleted.  Just a little too much information. Or as my husband says "It's YOUR blog, but do you REALLY want to tell everyone about THAT?" Hmmm, maybe, maybe not. My blog, my rules *wink*)

*********

So to start...THIS is  STORY of the DAY #1

I have spent the past several weeks cleaning out attic space, drawers, closets, etc.  I am on a cleaning frenzy.  I separated items to "donate", "take to booth", and "dump".  On Tuesday I filled the truck cab with several boxes, and a giant boob tube TV.  As I started the truck I heard a farting sound. HUH?

I looked around to make sure my husband wasn't nearby playing a joke on me.  Nope.
"rrrrriiiiip" I heard it again.  The long, squeaky kind.  Hmmm.

Then I remembered that while cleaning out the attic, I found the old "fart machine" that my husband boys loved. They had more fun playing pranks on innocent by standers and guests than should be allowed.  I was a prime target, and the butt (ha ha get it?) of many of their little jokes.  They loved to tell me that the machine farts sound JUST like mine.  Thanks boys.

I thought about keeping it for about 2 seconds, but the remote was MIA and enough was enough...its outta here.  It sat in a box in the house for a week with not so much as a sputter.  But here I am sitting in the truck all alone with a fart machine that will NOT stop farting!!  With no remote nearby...   surely it will stop any second.  I started laughing and I could not stop. Hmmm, they really DO sound like mine.

A few miles down the road, my mind begins to wander to other things and the farting simply becomes background noise....until I pull into the pharmacy drive thru to pick up my prescription.  As the young man in the pharmacy window turns on the speaker and asks me how he can help me....
"rrrriiiip, rrrooooar, squirt (I dont know how to write the sound of a wet one???)"
He gives me a really strange look.
"Umm, hi, yes, I'm here to pick up my (rrrriiiip) prescription. My name is..."
At this point do I explain the whole thing or just look like a lady with a serious case of indigestion.  Should I ask to throw in some Rolaids?  I decide to play dumb.  Fart? What fart?  I pay for my prescription and drive away.

By now, I am laughing hysterically...to myself...
I decide to call my daughter in Pennsylvania.  She is at work.
"Hello, Janelle?" "Do you hear this?" ( I hold the phone to the backseat)
"Yea mom, is THAT you?  I'm at work you know"
"I know, but I HAD to tell someone..."  I go on to tell her the whole story. We laughed until we had tears.  Real tears.
"Only you, mom! Only you!"
We hang up.

Next stop...Goodwill.
I rush to the side door and explain before opening it. The young guys couldn't get to it fast enough.  "This will be GREAT to do pranks at work!!!"  They were so excited.

I went home and told my husband the story.  He laughed, but only after he got over the initial disappointment of  "Aww, man, I've been looking for that!"

Boys.

Nuts, snorts, and kitchen update...

Hello!

I'm a little embarrassed.

We are still working LONG and HARD

on our kitchen.

BUT

We are not youngin's anymore.

(shhh, don't say it out loud, I might hear you..

I'm in denial)

and it seems to be taking FOREVER.

Enough about THAT!

I hope you had a wonderful

Thanksgiving Holiday!

My sides still hurt

from the HOURS and HOURS

of laughing hysterically

with my husbands family.

We are very LOUD

when we get together, scary almost.

tears. snorting. howls.

But its the sound of happiness and love.

Intensified.

We are very blessed.

Too bad laughing doesn't burn (enough) calories....

I HAVE to share this story.
On Wednesday,
I asked my husband to please
 stop by the store
 and pick up...

* 3 Artichokes
* a few different color apples
* Mixed nuts
I needed these to decorate the Thanksgiving Table.
I guess I didn't clarify the nuts part
because he helped decorate the table by sprinkling
the nuts....

Ummm, honey, I meant WHOLE nuts.
ha ha ha
I love that guy.

 Although my daughter was

having her very first Holiday away from family.

She is also very blessed.

She has many "other mothers" looking

out for her, and I am Thankful for that!

She had TWO dinners on Thanksgiving day!!

Her facebook post read

"I am never eating again..."

ha ha ha

We missed you Janelle!

I hope you were also LOUD with happiness.

OK...KITCHEN...

Here are our new floors....

It's a heavy laminate tile with some ground stone in it for texture.
We applied real grout in between as per instructions.
Unless you get down and inspect up close,  it looks just like the real thing.
We chose this because we needed a thin floor. A solid tile or wood
was just too thick due to years of other remodels (sub floor).
The idea of pulling up glued down particle board was just too much.
In a perfect world we would've liked to match the oak flooring into the kitchen.
It compliments the cabinets, paint and oak flooring nicely.
The photo looks mauve, but there is NO mauve in this floor. yuck.

We are gathering energy to finish

the laundry room as you read this.

New lighting!

The lighting is from Lowe's.

Jeff finished making the top trim

pieces for the windows...

they are drying and will go up tonight.

 I painted the ceiling a light, light blueish color.

Not for everyone, but on these dark grey winter days it makes 

me smile.

And...no birds will build a nest in here.

*wink*

The crown moulding will go up later, and that will look great!!

Oh, and we are returning this stove

for a different one.

That's a story for another day.

I must start working now...

have a sander in hand and headed for the mystery wall...

xoxoxo

Jodi