Light It Up!
This weekend has found us taking care of a project in our home that has really been bugging me. In our main bath, I’ve had a real dislike for the two lighting fixtures that we inherited with the house. Though there was nothing wrong with them, they are just very outdated and well, boringly ugly. The ceiling light is still there for now and it’s just a simple clear and frosted round glass fixture. The other one was a gold and wood bar light with 5 bulbs. What I liked about the old fixture was all the light from it and that the light was directed out and not up or down like so many fixtures are.
Over the past month or so, I’ve really been trying to figure out what I wanted in there. I considered uplighting, downlighting, track lighting…pretty much everything. In the end, I chose a fluorescent light that has a decorative trim on either end in a pewter type finish found today at our local Lowe’s Home Improvement store:
I am so happy with it! It is a beautiful brightly lit room now and I am incredibly happy with the look of it. Most fluorescent fixtures are true eyesores but I was incredibly happy to have found one I could live with. Now, the ceiling fixture will need to go next but for now I’m incredibly content with how it looks. 
Helpful Hint: Don’t Skimp on Good Caulk
This might sound like a silly post, but it made such a huge difference to me. One thing that’s bothered me for a while is the caulk around our tub in our main bathroom.
When we bought this house about 5 years ago, we did a whole lot of renovations. For the bathroom/tub area, all old caulk was removed and new caulk was put down. In our bathroom, one of our buddies caulked the tub with some sort of caulk we had. Let me first stress this…never skimp on caulk. Spend the extra few cents or dollar for the good stuff. It is so very worth it because now the tub caulk which was the cheap stuff looked horrible! I wish I’d thought to take a before photo for you but imagine it wrinkled up and in general looking ugly. Plus I think he may have laid it on super thick and wide, too. But alas, after several years, Charles and I scraped all the old caulk off yesterday and then I re-caulked it. It looks soooooo good!
That was actually one of my goals for this month, so I’m thrilled to mark it off my list.
Check this out:
There’s another caulking project that we completed, too, where we skimped on a good quality caulk. It was around our front door. Two projects down and like a zillion more to go…
Tile Grouted – Check!
Here’s the latest post of the to-do list for our kitchen remodel, with lines through the completed items:
- Paint the Exterior door on the interior side.
- Install a Security door.
- Caulk all trim.
- Install Wood Blinds on the exterior door to match the window.
- Locate and/or make window treatments for two windows.
- Finish trimming out microwave cubby.
- Install vapor barrier above the dishwasher.
- Install new flooring for the kitchen/laundry room areas.
- Install baseboards.
- Install quarter round.
- Install backsplash.
- Build out last pantry shelf to be even with the door.
- Add a magnetic closure to the pantry door.
- Trim out open cabinetry.
- The fun part….accessorize!!
Not too bad! I just crossed out a big one which was install backsplash…the subway tile is up (it’s been up for a while) and is now grouted and completely dry!! Another big one to check off the list. Here’s a close-up of it but for some reason I always end up taking pictures at night, which makes it look like strange colors, but imagine this bright white:
Another thing off the list, wow! Most of these things will be waiting until warmer weather, so I’m content with doing a little at a time. However, it is certainly nice when something is marked off that list…
Organizing Skillets/Frying Pans
This is one of our cabinets.
I wanted it conveniently located near the stove for easy access to skillets and lids. Perfect placement!
The cabinet ended up being a tad smaller than the width of our largest skillet, though, and had to be turned sideways just about an inch in order to remove it from the cabinet. PLUS the skillets were stacked and if I wanted that larger bottom one, I had to lift the others high enough to pick the bottom one up and turn it about an inch to get it through the door…well you get the picture. Not too terrible, but not ideal, especially for a new cabinet. This is what that looked like:
You can probably tell that’s it’s pretty organized already, but could be lots better.
Then, my dear husband Charles found little beautiful silver organizing rack at Lowes. Now look at this transformation:
Now, this particular rack had been advertised as a pan rack for cookie sheets and pizza pans, etc. My brilliant hubby checked it before buying and the dinensions were perfect to fit our skillets and fit the cabinet. It works out just perfectly to hold four skillets/frying pans. There was space beside of it to put our heavy cast iron griddle. I had bought some 3M hooks last year for another project and one of those was perfect to hold our smallest skillet/pan on the door. Now everything is super easy access. The next thing is the lids above them. That’s what we want to figure out next…
Wall Storage for Shoes
Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!
We need storage so badly for shoes near our entry. Unfortunately, our entry door goes straight into the kitchen. They can’t go there so currently, they are in the living room, behind our couch which is just outside the kitchen.
I’ve faced the truth and realize our shoes will forever be taken off near the door and left for easy access. Try as I might, it’s not convenient to take them to my closet each day. However, I am ok with only two pair being out at a time.
In light of this discovery and yes, admitting to myself that we need a place for our gotta-run-out-and-get-the-mail-quick-slip-on-shoes, I started looking for a storage solution.
My favorite find is this from j-me and also available in the US at 1 of a Kind Stuff:
What I like about this unit is that it would get our shoes off the floor, which would help with any spiders. Not that we have a problem with them, but I know one too many people who have had a spider bite on their foot from putting on their shoes. I also like that it attaches to the wall and would take up very little space. This unit would fit nicely in our laundry room which is off the kitchen and very convenient to our exterior door. We don’t have alot of space in there, but a wall storage of this size could be ideal for solving our shoe problem.
Unfortunately, these range from $70 to $150, depending on size, and that’s not including shipping.
I’ve showed this piece to Charles, who thinks that perhaps we can create our own little wall shoe storage for much less. I’ll keep you posted on it and show pictures when we do it.
Of course, we’ll have to wait until warmer weather for this project – oh please hurry Spring!! I can barely wait!!
New Project
During last year’s tag sales, antiquing and estate sales, I found a wood cabinet that has what I’ve seen referred to as “good bones”. It’s a solid and sturdy wood and has a metal mesh on either opening of the cabinet doors. It was in need of some TLC and some fresh paint. I was happy to oblige!
Here’s the project piece:
This will most likely go in our main bathroom. I’ve been collecting things for it’s transformation for a while and I’m still working on that process. Honestly, I had thought we’d remodel it before we remodeled the kitchen. The kitchen was such a huge project and still, we like so many things in there but until the weather is warmer, it’s on hold. That’s why I’m looking ahead to the bathroom and doing indoor projects while I am captive in this super cold weather.
When we do get around to that bathroom renovation, it really won’t be too bad. I think it will be a mini-renovation, actually. Later on, I’d like to change out the cabinetry in there, but for now, I think a good sanding and painting of the them will make a world of difference. The floor covering needs replacing for sure and so does the mirror over the sink. It’s a huge mirror that’s the length of the room! Totally a non-updated 70s house, for sure. Or, at least it was before it came to be our home. I can’t wait to document all the progress right here for you to see.
Kitchen Accent Piece
There is no secret that I am “into” painting owls these days, for some reason. I love them. I love their booksmart, studious appearances. I love that they say so little, yet make such an impact. And, I love the many different qualities and characteristics I can give them.
Today, I finished a little side project for our constantly-in-progress kitchen remodel. (See this post for an idea of the area shown below in reference to our entire kitchen.) Since I finally decided that I want this kitchen to be all white with touches of red, I have been able to start thinking of small decorative touches for the room. This is one of those that has finally come to be: a white owl on a red toned background with tiny red hearts on the wings, a heart dangling from the tree and a sweet pink butterfly flying by to say hello…
and a close-up:
It fits perfectly in the open shelf nook that we have in our kitchen.
I will be selling a very limited edition of prints of this artwork in my etsy shop. Grab one while you can!!
A Place for Sketch Pads
I received so many wonderful gifts this past Christmas. There was a basket I had marked for my wish list that I opened up this holiday season. Originally, I had planned on using it in our newly remodeled kitchen, but when I opened it, I was blown away by the size of it! While the dimensions were listed on the site, I guess they didn’t register with me which is odd because I’m normally the kind of girl who grabs a tape measure to check things out proper-like!
Turns out, this sweet little basket is perfect for hanging on a door knob and it will hold my large sketch pads and watercolor papers just dandy! Just click here to visit the item via the Mothology webpage.
I actually found this little gem on a really sweet lady’s blog that I regularly read called “The Cottage Nest“. Thanks Jen! I fell in love with the weave on it and just had to have it! And…I love it!
Cozy on the Range
I hope all of you are getting a lovely start to your 2009. So far, I’ve been really getting things done and I’m pleased with my progress. One of my to-do list items is to finish my studio. That will have to partially wait until warmer weather as Charles has plans to build me a sewing table and desk for my studio. How sweet is that? Have I mentioned how lucky I am??
Right now, I’ve been staying busy painting and sewing. Hot off the paintbrushes and up for sale are some new burner covers (click on “burner covers” to go straight to the listing, updated) I painted in the shabby/cottage/chic style with lots of pink roses. These are such perfect little covers for old burners and drip pans. They hide a multitude of sins, just like a good fitting dress! Here’s the final product:
and a little closer up:
Ahhh….these winter months. I do so love all the things I can create when I just absolutely do not want to get out of the house!!
Hope your Monday is a good one, my friends!
Holiday Cheer
We are getting our home ready for the holidays. What a wonderful time of year full of love, family, peace and joy!
We’ve been working on our tree and we don’t do the trendy ones, we have a traditional tree with colored lights and special-to-our-hearts ornaments and each year we purchase a special ornament for ourselves and label it so we have one for each year we have been together.
One of my favorite Christmas ornaments (from the year Charles and I were married - 2004):
Ok, she didn’t have black hair when we bought this adorable little bride and groom, but with a little paint, she looked more like me!! 
And this is our very first ornament (from 2000), given to me by Charles and I truly treasure it:
Happy Holidays!
Progress On Our To-Do List
Remember when I posted our to-do list for our kitchen remodel here?
Here’s a copy and paste of it, with lines through the completed items!! YAY!! Here goes:
- Paint the Exterior door on the interior side.
- Install a Security door.
- Caulk all trim.
- Install Wood Blinds on the exterior door to match the window.
- Locate and/or make window treatments for two windows.
- Finish trimming out microwave cubby.
- Install vapor barrier above the dishwasher.
- Install new flooring for the kitchen/laundry room areas.
- Install baseboards.
- Install quarter round.
- Install backsplash.
- Build out last pantry shelf to be even with the door.
- Add a magnetic closure to the pantry door.
- Trim out open cabinetry.
- The fun part….accessorize!!
I can **almost** mark off a big one – install backsplash – I just have to grout it and it’s finished. WOW!! I can’t believe some of the final things are done
I wanted to show you a couple new pictures of our kitchen, still in progress. This is the area over the stove facing into our living room with the open shelving we created (some of my little Thanksgiving decorations can be seen in this one):
and here’s another of the area between the sink and the microwave cubby:
It’s slow progress, but definite progress, which is WONDERFUL!! I am so thrilled with how functional it is when it was so frustrating to **attempt** to cook in that kitchen before. Ahhhhhh….what a difference!
Subway Tile in Progress
Oh yeah!!! The subway tile is going in Well, at least I got some of it up today – yay!!! Here’s what it looks like right now:
And, please imagine those bright white, as I have taken this picture in the evening and it tends to cast yellowish tones that I can’t seem to remove from the photos. Maybe you can imagine the beauty!!
I’m so excited!! Maybe tomorrow we can get the wet saw out and start making all the cuts and get all of those drying so I can grout them as soon as possible. This turned out to be the perfect choice. It looks beautiful with the new cabinets and the new butcher block countertop. I’ll show you more pictures when more is done, too. How wonderful! Isn’t it wonderful when a plan comes together?
And, Happy Friday, My Friends!! It’s FINALLY the weekend!!
Cottage Kitchen Idea
Plans are still being made for finishing our kitchen remodel. We’re taking our time, in the typical fashion of any cottage owners who want to find the “just right” finishing touches. When I have some free time to play search online, I love to look up various cottage homes and cottage decor. I found this one on the cottage living website:
I love the open shelving in this kitchen, as well as the subway tile and the texture on the window treatment. While our new kitchen has all white cabinets and appliances, the backsplash is still not installed. For the past few weeks, I have really been considering the subway tiles like the ones above and when I found that photo, I have almost made my decision! Here’s a close-up of the tiles:
The textured window treatment is definitely an idea too.
If you come across some lovely cottage kitchens, I would love to see them while we are still finishing up ours. There’s still lots of things to do in there…
The To-Do List for our Kitchen Remodel
I realize it’s been a while since I’ve shown you a recent photo of our kitchen remodel. I took this picture earlier today. There are a couple of tiles in the pic – those are some we are considering for the backsplash.
Another big accomplishment in our kitchen remodel – we have attached the huge cabinet door we ordered from IKEA to the pantry and it’s absolutely a perfect match to the cabinets we purchased locally. I feel so excited to have found the match! Plus, we have attached the butcher block countertops now and they are really nice. Yesterday, we purchased a few tiles at Lowes to see which we liked the best for the backsplash. I’m just really thinking about things and taking my time with them now that the kitchen is back to being functional and no longer an eyesore!! Honestly, remodeling our kitchen has been such a tremendous undertaking, but such a rewarding experience.
Here’s a rundown of what’s left to do:
- Paint the Exterior door on the interior side.
- Install a Security door.
- Caulk all trim.
- Install Wood Blinds on the exterior door to match the window.
- Locate and/or make window treatments for two windows.
- Finish trimming out microwave cubby.
- Install vapor barrier above the dishwasher.
- Install new flooring for the kitchen/laundry room areas.
- Install baseboards.
- Install quarter round.
- Install backsplash.
- Build out last pantry shelf to be even with the door.
- Add a magnetic closure to the pantry door.
- Trim out open cabinetry.
- The fun part….accessorize!!
Whew – I think that’s all that’s left to do in there. The floor will most likely wait until next year, but I think everything else can be done before then. As long as everything is presentable by the holidays, I’m perfectly fine with it. I’m just happy it’s coming together so nicely and that it’s truly somewhere I enjoy cooking now.
Kitchen & Laundry Room Hardware
We are making more progress on our kitchen and laundry room. Yesterday evening we finished installing all the cabinet hardware. It looks soooooooo good!! I love the contrast of the black and white – both very striking in their own way. Here’s a pic for you to see what I’m seeing (only I took this in the evening and the new cabinetry looks a bit cream colored, but imagine it bright white):
I’m so excited about it! As each little project gets completed, I get so very excited. It’s all coming together…slowly but surely.
Kitchen Remodel Update
The tung oil arrived for our new butcher block countertops and, after reading some serious horror stories online about doing the countertops incorrectly, we realized we need mineral oil also. I picked that up yesterday in anticipation of us being able to cut the countertops to size.
Now, I have put two coats of the tung oil and mineral oil mixture (50/50, for any of you who may be attempting this yourself someday) on the countertops and my arms couldn’t be more sore! There’s alot of pressure to buff the oil into the wood, but it’s working out so far.
I just put the 2nd coat on right before taking these photos, but just had to show you what it’s looking like so far:
Oh and please bear in mind there’s no backsplash yet, so it has not been painted with as many coats of paint in that area. It will be done after the countertops are fully conditioned and complete. By the way, I’ve read that it takes 10 coats to bead water, so this is going to be a long process. But, that’s ok because how does the saying go? Nothing worth having ever comes easily.
Lovely Estate Sale
Charles and I love to go to estate sales and had the opportunity to visit such a nice one today. The beautiful home had a gorgeous lawn – you should have seen the landscaping!! There were HUNDREDS of people there and it was a lovely, but hot day as we stood outside waiting and the sunshine poured down!! I found a few things, though:
A beautiful clear glass milk bottle with some red writing on it. I soaked it in some water and mild detergent and it came out looking so wonderful! However, I have researched this bottle and have been unable to determine if it’s actually a vintage piece. It is dated 1944, but I’m still not sure. If any of you have knowledge on this sort of thing, I’d love to hear from you! Now I just have to find something lovely to store in it. Here’s a photo of it and bear in mind that you can see through it because it is still clear and empty (and sooooo clean!!):
(Click on it to see it larger)
A super sweet old sewing basket full of lots of vintage sewing notions. Everything was terribly tangled inside and through lots of patience and care, we were able to salvage everything inside. Here’s a photo of the basket as it was purchased and the ziploc bag full of cleaned up goodies that were inside of it:
(Click on it to see it larger)
I was thrilled to find the basket and plan on totally changing it up and keeping it for myself. As for the sewing notions, I’m not sure. There are several things – sequins, lace, spools of thread, etc - that I’d like to keep. Then I’ll probably offer some things in my etsy shop at some point so that I can share all of these fabulous goodies with my friends!
And….I did find a few more things that I’ll show you soon. It was a great day!
Oh Shoot!!
Our countertops arrived today!! I was so excited!! Then, I opened up one of the boxes and saw the instructions and learned that guess what? We have to condition this countertop – top and bottom – with some 100% tung oil (evidently not found locally unless we have a woodworker’s shop around town…we, of course, do not). This is very important as it is food safe, though for anyone with nut allergies, they should stay away from tung oil. Ok, so now, I guess we will have to order the tung oil and wait another week or so before we can get started on it. Evidently, in order to do this right, we put on the tung oil, wait 12-24 hours, sand it and do it again. The bottom alone is supposed to have 3 coats, so that’s at least 3 days before we can turn it over and get it into place. That’s not counting the edges and the 10 coats for the top of the countertops.
I do know that IKEA has something superior with faster curing times called Behandla Oil, but there is not one even in my state and they do not ship that particular product here. I had already asked my sweet friend, Maria, to pick it up for me on her next visit and she graciously said she would, bless her heart!! At the time I asked, I had no idea I needed some of it now, so Maria, if you are reading this, please do not make a special trip there to get it. I just need it during your next visit there. Evidently, this will have to be done periodically and I need that for the future. Hugs and thanks to you for doing it!!
Note to anyone who lives near an IKEA….Must be nice and you are soooo lucky!!
Really, I never knew the butcher block needed this much attention. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever have a finished kitchen!! I know I will, though. Everything that you have to wait for is generally well worth the wait. Plus, I don’t want to rush this process…I want to do it right and have it last for years and years to come. Wish us luck…ok…luck and patience!
On a much prettier note, here’s a couple of my new listings in my shop:
Coming soon to my shop:
and a few other goodies on their way this week! Enjoy!
Let’s Celebrate with Cupcakes!
We are so excited as we have heard for sure that our countertops will be here tomorrow. This is wonderful!! By the weekend, that particular portion of the room will be done, then we can do the backsplash. A little later, we’ll do the floor and baseboards. The only reason we are waiting on the floor is that we are going to get new flooring in our two bathrooms too. It’s much lest costly to do it all at one time, we have learned.
So, to celebrate, I baked some lovely lemon cupcakes for us this afternoon. Instead of using lemon icing, I used a nice homemade buttercream icing which was a nice contrast with the lemon in the cupcakes. They are so delicious and we even took a few to our neighbors. Here’s a peek at them:
Ready (I think) for the Big Yard Sale….
I think it’s ready. Our yard is filled to the rim with lots of tables and goods for yard sale shoppers to find. It looks like we chose a great weekend, as the high is supposed to be around 88 tomorrow. Much better than the 100 degree weather we’ve been experiencing.
Today, we worked so hard to get everything out and sorted. We even had a super early shopper come today while we were putting things out. So, we got rid of several things before sale day!! YAY!!
Hopefully it will all go well tomorrow and we’ll get rid of everything. Here’s to hoping and lots of luck!!!
Happy Weekend Everyone!!
This Saturday
This coming Saturday, we are going to be sooooo brave and tackle a nice little yard sale. Well, I say little, but we have so many things. And, I don’t think anything is really a “big ticket item” and I even marked things down as low as 5 cents. Now, that’s truly someone who’s ready to get rid of some things!!
Hopefully, we can start setting up tomorrow night and then have everything ready to go by early Saturday morning. My parents are coming and bringing some things, so it should be a great time with them being here to chat with also.
I’ve found quite a few yard sale tips online that we are going to try. We usually have a sale every year to one every two years, but I’m putting some of the tips into play to see if it makes a difference. Our sales are usually very successful and I am really hoping for another one Saturday.
Please wish us luck – this has already been tons of work in addition to the remodeling. Whew – we will be ready for a vacation when we are finished with all this!!
Sunshine and Clothes
When Charles and I got married, we didn’t do a typical wedding registry. There were lots of people on our lists who were from various incomes so we chose things from all over the place, pricepoint-wise. One of the things we had on our list that was the most talked about and most appreciated was the clothespins, clothespin bag and clothesline wire! Lots of the older ladies were talking about how refreshing it was to see something like this on a registry list.
Honestly, when we put those things on there, I really wanted them. There’s nothing like sun bleaching something. There’s nothing like the smell of something that’s dried on a clothesline!
This is fresh on my mind right now because our old line had broken and we replaced it this weekend. I hung our quilt comforter on it to dry on Saturday. When I went to bed Saturday night, I couldn’t stop sniffing the comforter!!
I hope that each of you have a clothesline or at least one of those portable lines you can take outside to put out when you need or want it. Not only is it the very best in scent, but it also saves you money and energy from using a dryer. Just be sure you shake everything out, really good before bringing it in and you are set!!
Streusel Coffee Cake & An Update
I baked in my new oven for the first time today!! Charles loves Coffee Cake – the really simple and delicious Betty Crocker Streusel Coffee Cake:
| Cinnamon Streusel | |
| 1/3 | cup Original Bisquick® mix (I use 2/3 cup) |
| 1/3 | cup packed brown sugar (I use 2/3 cup) |
| 1/2 | teaspoon ground cinnamon (I use 1 tsp of cinnamon) |
| 2 | tablespoons firm butter or margarine |
| Coffee Cake | |
| 2 | cups Original Bisquick® mix |
| 2/3 | cup milk or water |
| 2 | tablespoons sugar (I use 3 tablespoons) |
| 1 | egg |
| 1. | Heat oven to 375°F. Grease 9-inch round pan. In small bowl, stir streusel ingredients until crumbly; set aside. |
| 2. | In medium bowl, mix coffee cake ingredients until blended. Spread in pan. Sprinkle with streusel. |
| 3. | Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. |
| High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Heat oven to 425°F. Use 9-inch square pan. Stir 2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour into the 2 cups Bisquick® mix. Increase milk to 3/4 cup. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. | |
Since I had an older recipe that I copied from the Bisquick box a long time ago, I had a few changes in mine which I won’t alter. It’s just too good the way I’ve always done it and Charles is way too fond of it as it is! Here is a piece of the cake in all it’s glory:
As for the kitchen remodel, here’s a photo I took yesterday and you can probably see some changes:
I’m not quite sure why the lighting appears different every time, but everything in the room is white not the cream color it appears. It’s super bright and clean – I LOVE it!!
