Our Kitchen FINALLY!!

After five months I can finally do the reveal for our kitchen remodel. We still have some paint touch-ups to do where they pulled out our old countertop and scratched the new paint. And we have to put beadboard under the chair rail behind the kitchen table and the microwave station to cover up the old wallpaper.

I am very pleased with the way it turned out. So without further adeiu, here is our new kitchen.

We painted the cabinets white and put on new custom made doors and new hardware. We painted under the cabinets an olive green and replaced the 1968 white countertop with a granite looking formica.

Not real sure what is on the windowsill. It is amazing that after you live with something sitting there for a while you don't even see it anymore. We used to have four small, shallow drawers between the refridge and the dishwasher and we combined the two bottom drawers and made one big deep one. That is now where we keep bread and snacks that used to sit on top of the counter. I am loving that drawer.

And no photo shoot can't be without a lovely model!

Here is a close up of the counter top and the color of the wall. The countertop has some browns in it too but it just didn't show up well here. Also the feel of the counter isn't smooth. It is bumpy like stone would be. I love it.

And finally the other side of the kitchen. We love the little table that Katy gave us. The beadboard will go under the chairrail where the plaid wallpaper is and the walls are freshly painted a nice dark golden color. Excuse the mess on that side of the kitchen.

So there you have it. Our new kitchen

Oh so quickly you forget! Here is the old way.

How to remove wallpaper border

The best way I have found to remove wallpaper border from my walls is to use a hot steam iron. I get it started with warm water from a rag or sponge and then get the iron (yes the same one I use to iron our clothes), plug it in and heat it up to steam then I use a wet rag and place it on the iron and then begin to steam the wallpaper. When it gets nice and hot and wet you start to pull and for the most part it comes off in one big piece.

Okay, not my idea. It was my husband's. Great job hubby! I let him finish the job for me.

Why, you ask am I removing wallpaper border? And, sister, which room am I redoing? It is my bathroom. I was cleaning it and thinking how gross it was and then impulsively began to pull at the border which I was sick of anyway. I did that yesterday and today I painted it with left over sage green from my mom's leftover paint. I have one more coat to do and then the husband will hang a new light fixture that we had from the last time we redid the bath (five years ago).

Pictures will come when it is done!!

Nothing new to post today.

Just more of the same today. Soccer practice in a little while. That will end soon. Fix dinner. Work on gifts for Christmas. Bath and Bed.

Speaking of Christmas it is coming up quickly this year. Part of me says ahh it is far away from now and the other part says oh my, here it is already...

We are decorating early this year and I hope it will get everyone in the family very excited. We have wonderful plans this holiday and the kids and adults alike are counting the days. We will be decorating next weekend if all goes as planned.

We have decided to remodel the living room, dining room and kitchen this year and had the contractor out for an estimate. The estimate came back so much lower than we expected that we can also enclose our porch and make it a sun room at the same time. I can't wait! We won't feel so segmented in our house anymore.

Don't forget to check out Whitney's Cooking! New recipes almost daily...

Update on Laundry and other random thoughts today

I have diminished my pile of laundry. I did 10 loads on Wednesday evening and a bunch of loads on Thursday. The problem with us is that if we don't take the clean clothes out of the dryer and fold them immediately then they stay wherever they are put. I can't put them back in a laundry basket; I can't put them on the couch to fold later. I can't put them on the bed to fold later. If I put them anywhere other than folded and in a drawer then they are forever in their spot. The kids are good about takin the clothes up to their rooms and putting them away when I ask, and my husband is great about shlepping towels and our clothes up the steps. When the family works together then things get done. Otherwise the pile will stay on top of the dryer or in a basket or on the couch FOREVER!

Oh, we had a momentous event today too. We finally installed a new vanity and sink in our downstairs bathroom. We have had the vanity and sink for over a year now and it has been sitting in the laundry room waiting to be installed. Kenneth finally did it and he did a GREAT job! It looks awesome and gives us so much storage in the bathroom now. Yippee!!!

Tomorrow we are off to Frederick, Maryland to pick up a piece of equipment that my husband bought for his business. It is a leaf vacuum.

Recently I have been thinking about trying my hand at thread crochet. I have found a few sites on the internet that have patterns for vintage doilies. These patterns are the original patterns from the 1940's through 1960's. They are pretty cool and I want to start out just making a doily that I can use on the wingback chairs in my living room. I want to put them on the arms which are gettin a little threadbare. Does anyone know of a good pattern that would be fun to start with?