Kitchen Remodel - Better Late than Never

*This little post has been sitting in draft mode for two years! Can you believe that I never pushed the publish button? Good grief!

But nonetheless, I still love my kitchen. It is by far my favorite room in the house. And I have a little secret....lean in... I don't cook! The hubs does.

Enjoy, friends!

The Little Kitchen that Couldn't {A Before Story}

A little kitchen in the Adirondacks was employed about a house for such work as it was built for, making chicken nuggets and gourmet peanut butter and jelly. 

One morning it was waiting to make its next meal when the woman of the house asked it to hold more than one person while putting away the groceries.

"I can't; that is too many people for me", said the great little kitchen built for hard work. 

Gallery Wall Featuring Kid's Art

When my oldest son was in Kindergarten I didn't see one piece of art work all year. Then in June he brought home a folder bigger than him full of all the art he had created that year. I was overjoyed looking through it.

I wasn't sure what to do with it, so we hung it in his closet at first. Then he finished 1st grade and brought home an even bigger folder of art. So we took down the art in his closet and hung the new pieces.

T-Shirt Gallery Wall

Once upon a time there was this t-shirt...oh wait...I started another post with that, but it was on the same wave length as this one, so let's keep going.

You see, there are two boys in this house who save me a ton of money on clothes. I don't have to buy super cute Mary-Janes or party dresses or 15 different colors of tights.  They require t-shirts, one pair of sneakers and sweatpants. They even share socks.

So when they do need clothes I try to buy the cutest of the cute and clever t-shirts out there.

All ‘Bout the Tile, ‘Bout the Tile Not the Mantel

Ever get a song stuck in your head and you just can’t shake it?

Maybe it is playing when your clock radio alarm goes off in the morning and you start humming it in the shower through sleepy eyes.

Then you get in the car and flip through the channels only to hear it again right at the chorus.

The kids scream, “Leave it here!”

So you leave it hoping against all hope that this will cure you from singing it for the rest of the day.

It never does though, does it?

When to Plank and When Not to Plank

In January, my husband and I got this great idea to jump on the bandwagon and do the 30 day plank challenge. 

To be totally honest, I didn't even know what a plank was, so I Googled it and thought, “I can totally do that.”

Day one - plank for 20 seconds.

So I got down on the floor and up on my elbows and the balls of my feet. Then held the position.

How to Make a Duvet Cover

After posting some pictures of my master bedroom, I got a ton of emails asking about my duvet cover.

Where did you get your duvet cover?

Did you make that duvet on your bed?

Who made your bedspread?

If you can believe it....I am the maker of this duvet cover.

Yep. This little semi-city gal turned mountain dweller can sew a mean straight line.

My mom {she rocks} also helped me with this project about 4 summers ago.

For the Love of Mason Jars and Boobs

Lemonade Invitation and an Apology

The Front Porch Reveal

I'd like to apologize. 

You are all my friends and I have let you down. For this, I'm truly sorry.

How have I let you down, you might be asking?

Well, back in April my husband ripped the front steps off the house. 

I was shocked and thrilled and I got all of you excited about the possibilities too.

Then I teased you with snippets of our progress. 

I even gave you all our deadline for finishing our few Miner major adjustments…2 weeks.

Those 2 weeks came and went and now it's 4 months later, but still no porch pictures for you.

A Six-Word Love Story…Hers

Remember the movie, "Phenomenon"?

John Travolta (George) and Kyra Sedgwick (Lace).

What a movie. I still cry every time I watch it. 

Lace got really mad at George when she saw all the chairs she made, that he had bought, piled up in his house. She didn't yet understand that he was madly in love with her. That it was a metaphor for his love.

Towards the end when George was dying, Doc got fed up with Bains and the other guys gossiping about him. 

Doc said to Bains, "Lace is sticking with him. You know why? Because he bought her chairs. It’s pretty smart to me. Did you ever buy Lisa’s chairs? You see, every woman has her chairs, something she needs to put herself into, Bains. Did you ever figure out what Lisa’s chairs were and buy 'em?"  

A Six Word Love Story…His

The night I met him was a sweet summer night.

I didn't know it at the time, but 16 years later I have come to realize that his heart’s six-word love story was written that night.

After meeting him at my favorite fraternity house, we went downtown to play darts and talk.

The whole of the conversation eludes me...maybe I was super nervous because he was so cute or maybe it has just been too long to remember all the details, but I do remember this part...

Six-Word Love Stories

Last year, Layla from The Lettered Cottage wrote a post about six-word love stories that were in the book, 2 , that her friends wrote.

We were so inspired, Matt and I wrote our own six-word love stories for our anniversary gift to each other last year.

It only took me an extra 379 days to make the canvas of our best stories.

There are stories behind our stories.

Please came back on Monday to read "his story".

PS...I made a few Miner adjustments to my story on the canvas. The first one didn't tell a particular story that we could remember.  This one does.

Sweet Summer Days…

The Story of When My Life Began

Many love stories start during the sweet summer.

Sweet summer days at the beach.

Sweet summer nights sitting by the camp fire.

Sweet summer evenings on the roof of your favorite fraternity house.

And after a long shift at the shoe store, a thousand years ago at a college far far away, I found myself walking to that fraternity house.

All of my sorority sisters were already there and I could hear them, but couldn't find them in the giant house.

So, I took my cute-green-tank-top-short-shorts-flip-flop-wearing-self upstairs.

Out the second floor window I saw a ladder leading to the roof. 

Pearly Whites

This is a first for me.

And not a good first.  

Seriously…I am not thrilled. Not a bit.

I am 36 years young and have made it this far without one. 

The Front Porch Project

A Sneak Peak

Good ideas do not always come out of thin air.  

Many hours are spent brainstorming, talking, and then heading to Pinterest to find the exact picture of what you want something to look like.

This is our front porch inspiration...

source unknown

 and this...

houseplansandmore.com

Knock Knock

Update Your Front Door in Minutes

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Doris.

Doris who?

Doris locked, that's why I’m knocking.

A Dresser in the Dining Room

Dressers are the bees knees to me.

I am always on the hunt for a good old dresser that I can makeover. The hubs is actually starting to ban me from looking for them.

And I really enjoy them anywhere but in bedrooms.

All of our dressers are in our closets or in other rooms. We have one under our TV and one in the dining room.

This one pictured is my childhood dresser.

I thought my dad would have a heart attack when I first painted it.

He didn't. {Thankfully}

And now....now it needs a change.

I contemplated painting it last summer, but ran out of time.

This room is a little heavy with all the black.

Black chairs, black on the table, black picture frames.

I want this house to feel light and airy…beachy, if you will.

Even though we live in the mountains next to a lake.

So here's the question my friends, what color should I paint it?

Enjoy the day!

{Trina}

It Happened Suddenly

A Porch Remodel Started {Plus Some Dirt and Rocks}

When we had our Realtor come over to appraise our house last month she oohed and aahed over the kitchen tile. 

She told us the living room, albeit long and rectangular, was arranged perfectly. 

She loved the paint colors that we had chosen for the walls.

But she also said something that struck me to my core.

We would have to sell the house from the inside out.

Yikes...Where was that guy from Curb Appeal?

We had spent so much time working on the inside that the outside had suffered.

Super Heroes Wanted

Ceramic Tile

Sometimes ceramic tile is more than just tile.

What I Did on my February Vacation 

Pantry Makeover (Part 2)

Imagine white sandy beaches and clear blue water as far as the eye can see. 

Imagine a chaise lounge close enough to the water to dip your toes in while you sip a fruity "mommy needs a drink" drink with a pretty little umbrella.

Imagine feeling the balmy breeze blow through your hair as you read a fabulous book.

Imagine...because I didn't do any of that. 

And it was all good, because we got stuff done. 

A ton of stuff as a matter of fact.That TA-DO list is almost TA-DONE.

Maybe you remember, or not...that's OK...I started a pantry makeover in August. That is where it ended though. And then we thought about doing a kitchen renovation which would eliminate that pantry all together. But like I said before....best laid plans.