Kitchen revealed

I know I’ve taken a wee bit of a hiatus from blogging, which makes me as sad as it might make you. I’ll go WAY out on a limb and say I’m sadder. I know I’ve discussed my perfectionist problems... for whatever reason I don’t want to share works in progress just the final. I mean, I will of course show the in betweens but I have this THING with wanting it to be final-final.

That being said, I need to start revealing. So without further ado…. the KITCHEN!

Here is where we started…. There was a LOT going on. With the sponge paint on the backsplash and three of the walls. Plus I always have been one to cram my fridge with lots of pictures; our counters were cluttered and we had another photo/crap wall.

For such a small room, we actually did a LOT of changing.

First on my list was getting rid of the sponge paint back splash. I liked it 7 years ago when we moved in, but it was looking dated. After investigating a few option, I settled on wallpaper.  WALLPAPER?! You say? Yes, wallpaper. And here’s why.  Of the options I was looking at, it was the most economical, it offered a wide variety of patterns, if I change my mind I can rip it down and change it AND if we ever do win the lottery and update our kitchen for REALZ I won’t want to cry when the contractors tear it down. Which WOULD have happened if I tiled.

When you look at it like this, it almost doesn’t look so bad!

Behind the sink was the easiest break of all. Popped right off without much work on my part.

That was EASY!

YUCK!

The other side of the counter… not so much

At this point I realized spackling was a must… What I didn’t realize was that I’d have to wait another full day if not more before I could actually HANG up the wallpaper!

halfway there

All spackled up and nowhere to go

Now comes the fun part. Getting the wallpaper on the walls. This wallpaper, thank GOODNESS was prepasted. So all I had to do was put it in water, double it back and then hang it up. Simple right?

It actually was pretty easy. The hardest part was figure out how to best trim the wallpaper so that the pattern remained intact. Once I got my system down I was good to go.

My tools

LOVE.THIS.PATTERN!

Yeah I used the sink as a trough, what of it?!

First sheet up, only 10 more to go!

I honestly cannot believe how much easier this was than the closet. I mean, SO much easier. I guess because the pieces were smaller, and it was all at chest level as opposed to standing on ladders and reaching awkwardly over my head. It was done pretty lickety-split.

I even got fancy around the outlets

Gorgeous right?

So now it was MONTHS before we actually got back into the house. So all that sat under the tarps.

The ghetto corner of the kitchen that couldn’t quite get the tarp to cover.

And finally (I will update this with a proper after, but in the interest of getting it out there) …

Other upgrades you may notice. We got rid of the Pergo Flooring and replaced it with 4″ Wood Planks. “Heart” it. I never had a huge problem with the Pergo like my husband did. BUT I did have a problem with the uneven floors going from the front of the house and then the slant between the family room and the kitchen. All fixed!

I know I’ve said it before but i LOVE this lamp.  Funny story: the light burnt out in it and we let it sit like that for about a month because we couldn’t figure out how to CHANGE the lightbulb. THANK GOODNESS for Google!  Once I remembered the model name/number for the lamp (Eurofase: Pop-2) we were golden.

You might also notice I pared down on what was on the counter, namely the big-ass coffee maker. I LOVED my coffee/espresso maker however I literally never used the espresso part, and heck I needed the counter space. DONE.

 

I’ve also greatly pared down what is on the fridge. This is a lot more organized and calming to look at.

Of course the spice rack made the journey:

 

I know this might seem counterintuitive as I was trying to open up my counter tops; but the one thing I lack even more than counter space is drawer space. I saw these on EBAY and fell in love. They are soooooo splendid.

 

In general after making the move back from the rental, I had gotten rid of so much unnecessary kitchen junk that I actually feel really good about our kitchen and the organization in it.  I still need a better tupperware solution but aside from that. We’re good!

Teaser

She’ll tease you
She’ll unease you
Just to please you
She’s got Bette Davis eyes

We are back in our house. YEAH!!! We have been super busy unpacking and implementing all of the plans that we made sooooo many months ago.

I have to say, it is all coming together even better than I planned. As each room gets finished(-ish) I will give a full room tour. We are waiting on hanging artwork until absolute last. I’m not sure if I will be able to wait that long to share.

I want to give you a quick tease of a tour!

Friday night yum

I think you know by now how much I love yummy food. I’m partial to savory and I do love my meat.

Every now and then I will spy a good deal on lamb chops at the grocery store. Not a jargundo rack but enough for the two adults in the house. Such a deal presented itself last week when I was grocery shopping. Not only were there only 4 chops, but it came seasoned. Check and check.

Last night was the night and they could not have come out better. And so quick/easy. Also key for this house. First I split them into the four chops, seared both sides (3 min a side) in an oven proof pan. Then stuck the whole pan into the oven (400 for 20-30min).

Around that time hubby called to see what was for dinner. He was very excited to hear lamb chops and said, you know what would go great with that is polenta. I agreed but didn’t think I had corn meal and to not give away how easy it is to make polenta said something to the effect of “oh yah sure I’ll just whip up some polenta noooooo problem, scoff”

After we hung up the phone I saw we did indeed have corn meal and after a quick google search to remember the steps polenta was made. I had some help from my helper extraordinaire, big D.

Hubby was not only surprised but thought everything was delicious! Which it was.

All in 45 minutes. Absolutely delicious.

Enjoy!

I’m Going Home

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Well, I’m going home, back to the place where I belong And where your love has always been enough for me I’m not running from, no, I think you got me all wrong I don’t regret this life I chose for me But these places and these faces are getting old So I’m going home, …

I haven’t addressed any of the events that occurred last week. To be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. As a parent and also as the daughter and friend to many teachers (a good portion of which are elementary school teachers). Teachers always refer to their charges, not as their students but as their kids. They do not keep them at arms length, they embrace them with their heart since they are no longer allowed to embrace them with their arms. They love, nurture and most importantly teach them,
In the instance of Sandy Hook, many of them also shielded them and some gave their life for their kids. I have always had respect for my teachers, I hope that I raise my children to also respect them and to get as much as they can from them.
Being a teacher, especially in today’s climate, to me is more noble than being in the military, and in some cases more heroic.
Think about the six teachers/administrators who sacrificed it all at the next PTA meeting, or the next school board meeting. When it comes time to raise money for books and computers for the classrooms. Think about it come April when you pay your taxes and complain about how they’ve gone up.
And if you have kids in school, thank you teachers.

lisamyers.org

Please see the follow-up to this letter at http://lisamyers.org/2012/12/31/a-follow-up-to-dear-america-from-a-teacher/.

Dear America,

It feels strange to hear your voice praising teachers for their selflessness, dedication, and love for their students. We’re listening to what you’re saying, but we must admit that we are listening with tilted head and quizzical eye. Why? Because we’ve become accustomed to hearing a very different voice from you.

For the past few years, you’ve been certain that most of society’s problems stem from our schools, more specifically the teachers in those schools. We are lazy and useless, we are only in it for the money, we only teach for the vacation time, we don’t possess the intelligence to teach anyone much of anything, our demands for a respectable wage are selfish, we don’t teach students respect, we are leeches sucking the blood from State coffers, we don’t even work a full day like everyone else, and…

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A room fit for a princess

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The Final Countdown

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Ohh It’s the final countdown We’re leaving together The final countdown We’ll all miss her so It’s the final countdown (The final countdown) Ohh, it’s the final countdown Yea You know you were singing along. We are T-10 days from occupation of our “new” old house. Could not be more excited. Things are moving and …

So much!

So much to do so much to see
So what’s wrong with taking the back streets
You’ll never know if you don’t go
You’ll never shine if you don’t glow

Hey now you’re an All Star, get your game on – go play
Hey now you’re a Rock Star, get the show on – get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mold

 

Holy cow we’re in the home stretch and there is just SO MUCH going on and SO MUCH that I want to share but no time to do it. I will do my best in the next couple of weeks to give you a room by room transformation. But it might be a bit longer than that… what with the holidays and stuff.

We have a move-in date! December 27. Merry Christmas to Hubs and Me. When we’re going to pack, not exactly sure. I have a feeling the movers will be laughing at us. And i’m SURE that the kids won’t mind leaving all their brand new things in the boxes to make it an easier move. HAHA!

The carpets are getting installed on Friday and the closets next week. Woot-Woot!

So.very.exciting.

Bah Humbug

Scrooge

I honestly don’t mean to be a Scrooge, and I actually think that ultimately I’m not… Truly. Remember that as you read this. I do love the holidays, I love it brings out the best in people, I love tasteful decorations, and I love that my kids believe in all of it. Not just Santa, but in the miracle of Channukah, the birth of Jesus and all of it. (I swear one of these days I’m going to start reading them Siddhartha as a bedtime story just to add a theological wrinkle.)

Here is something I don’t love…

Seriously?!?!

I will be the first to admit that I don’t understand a lot of things about Christmas. I am Jewish, and have always have a love/hate and love to hate relationship with a lot of things Christmas. I won’t get into it in detail but I spent one Christmas break at probably the worst.temp.job.ever where I was putting samples of gum into little packets and then heat sealing the packages. All while wearing a hair net, gloves, lab coat (yup I looked like Laverne and Shirley) and listening to Christmas music on CBS-FM for EIGHT HOURS A DAY!!!!!!  I’m sorry but that is just too many times to listen to anything holly jolly. I also don’t understand inflatables but I get that my kids like them. And I get that how as a kid I would have wanted one too… but really, parents you have the purse strings, you can say NO!

Back to my original soap box….  CARS DECORATED TO LOOK LIKE REINDEER!

SERIOUSLY?! I mean, SERIOUSLY?!?!??!?!

I’m going to apologize now for any of my friends who may have in fact decorated their cars as reindeer, you might want to stop reading, or by all means defend your choices. Was it a momentary state of holiday adrenaline rush? A drunk Amazon purchase? A gift you feel obligated to display? Are you really a 17-23 year old girl?

It is impossible to take anyone with this on their car seriously while driving. I’m not going to let you merge, because I will laugh at you every time you honk your horn. Seeing you does not put a smile on my face, it puts a scowl. Just keepin’ it real here. It is like the teddy bear on the front of the Mac truck. It just doesn’t work. It looks stupid. No one is going to tell you that to your face because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. But really, if someone at your office saw you get out of your car in the parking lot whatever clout you have, it will drop.

I’ll give a pass to the wreath on the front of the car, although honestly isn’t it enough to just have one on your house. Or 10, because heaven knows you need one on every window…. pushing it down… the every window thing doesn’t bother me all that much.

Let’s just all take a pact. STOP DECORATING YOUR MODE OF TRANSPORTATION UNLESS YOU’RE IN A PARADE OR BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE SOMETHING.

 

Thank you that is all… I’m going to go see what that Ghost of Christmas Past wants with me.

 

Oh and Happy Holidays.