Mobile Home Kitchen Remodel Update

Hello friends! I wanted to give you a quick update on the progress of the kitchen remodel. We have been busy over the past few days. The hubby took off Thursday and Friday to work on it so we were able to get a lot done. Friday was spent at the hardware store, Lowes, Home Depot, and back at Lowes. I am beginning to feel like those stores are my home away from home...lol! By the way, if you have an Ace Hardware nearby, they have Clark & Kensington and Valspar sample size cans of paint for $0.99 each which is a great deal. There is a limit of four, but I was able to get 12 with three transactions since the guys know my hubby so well. :) I got some pretty colors to add to my craft stash for future projects. I think the offer is all month long. 

I managed to make a pretty tasty supper tonight. we are tired of sandwiches, frozen pizza, and fast food! I made a sandwich we love...it has Applewood bacon, turkey, Muenster cheese, chipotle mayo, fresh guacamole, and tomato on a toasted Kaiser bun. Served with some sweet tea and kettle chips, it was a tasty supper!

Anywho, let me show you what we have been up to! 

You can see the wall color here. It is painted the same color as my dining and living rooms. It is a very nice neutral color and blends with everything. 

Here are some of the upper cabinets installed. Looking good!

All the uppers installed here except the one that goes over the fridge that we have to order since they don't stock the size we need.

We still have to put the new range hood up and finish some trim and of course the counter tops on this side.

Here is from across the room from my new wall that we built. It will have a raised bar top on it made from old lumber my grandpa cut years ago. 

Here's a better shot of that wall. My kitchen is larger now since we extended it out into the dining room about 2 feet. I can't believe how much bigger it feels! Please excuse the tools and mess everywhere and the dangling lights. I have all my new light fixtures but we won't install them until all the construction is done. Don't want to risk them getting broken. There will be open shelves on the sides of the window.

Here's another shot. The trim in the corner has been finished since this photo was taken. The plastic was still on the dishwasher in this photo as well. I am so excited about the counter space I am gaining in my new layout! Please ignore the floor...it will be the last thing we do.

Speaking of counters, let me give you a sneak peek at what I decided to use on them. If you're a regular here, you know I wanted butcher block counters. Well, I did a ton of research on them and just could not commit to them. They are beautiful but do require a lot of upkeep and I just don't want to have to worry about them. We also didn't want to drive all the way to Tampa or Orlando to get them. The hubby had suggested tile, but I was adamant that I did NOT want tile. Nothing against it, it just wasn't the look I was going for. But then, the night after he suggested it, I had an epiphany! I thought, why not use wood look tile! Tile is so easy and durable, not to mention cheaper than anything else, and the wood look tile is beautiful.

So, check it out.....

Now this isn't installed, but I had to lay it out and see what it was going to look like. I am in LOVE!!! It is exactly the look I was going for. I couldn't be happier! I love the way the corner looks. I saw this idea online. What do you think?

Sadie thinks she is tired of the remodeling...lol!

I was really hoping we would be finished before I go back to work tomorrow, but it's OK. We have the hardest part done and after the counters are finished, it will just be finish work....lights, sink, shelving, pantry, floor, etc. I'm so happy with it and can't wait to organize and decorate!

I hope you had a beautiful weekend and I hope your week is just as beautiful. I have a workshop in Tampa on Thursday, so several of the teachers and administrators from my school will be heading down there Wednesday after school. I am hoping we can run to Ikea so I can pick up a few goodies for the new kitchen, but it will depend on what the others want to do.

Until next time....

 

 

Looking Up and Looking Down

Hello and

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 to you my friends. 

I wish I had a pretty vignette or tablescape to share with you today, but I do not. Trust me, you would not want to look at my table right now! It is covered in my kitchen stuff that did not get packed up. Not exciting...at all!

Anywho, I felt the need to go outside for a bit and soak up some of this glorious Florida sunshine and warm breezes. It is a spectacularly gorgeous day today. I have been contemplating life a lot lately. I've had a lot on my mind...besides the kitchen remodel that is. This little walk around the yard was good for me. It helped me clear my head of the negativity that sometimes like to creep into my happy thoughts.

You know, real life stuff...heavy stuff. Seems I'm either very happy or very sad lately. Fortunately the happiness wins out the majority of the time, but those sad times are so hard on my heart.

Life has so many ups and downs.

I try hard to keep it real here on my little blog, thus the reason I'm even typing this post. Life is unfortunately, not all sunshine and roses.  But, life is good and God is great and He takes my worries from me when they get too heavy for me to carry around. He's good like that!

As I was reviewing these photos to share, I realized that almost all of them were shots either looking up or down. Kind of my life...kind of like your life too if I had to guess. 

I'm sitting here listening to the Blend on TV. I love music and so funny how songs speak to you when you're in a contemplative mood. They reach out and squeeze your heart so much it hurts or cause tears to roll slowly out of the corners of your eyes. And on the flip side, sometimes they are so catchy, I find myself dancing while I work...:)

Have you heard I Hope You Find It by Cher? It's a really pretty song. 

I love the chorus....

And I hope you find itWhat you're looking forI hope it's everything you dreamed your life could beAnd so much more

And I hope you're happy, wherever you areI wanted you to know thatAnd nothing's gonna change thatI hope you find it

It got me thinking....and I can honestly say I'm happy. Very happy. 

Can I ask for more?

And my answer to that question is yes....I can. 

I want for those I love the most to be happy too. Life isn't just about me and my happiness. And again, I find myself turning it over to God, praying for happiness for those I know are struggling to find it. And, I'll keep praying until they do.

Thank you for listening to me ramble. I am grateful for each of you dear readers friends. I appreciate the fact that I can use my blog to catalog not only my home improvements, thrifty finds, trips and so on, but also my thoughts and feelings from time to time. I'll never be the blog that has thousands of followers. I don't want that. It would leave me with no time to communicate with you faithful friends that visit me often and leave me the most wonderful comments.....even when I sometimes can't find time to reply. It makes my heart happy to have friends around the world, friends I've never met in person, but friends just the same. Again, I thank you.

Until next time.....

Kitchen Window Fabric & Thrifty Finds!

Hello friends and happy Monday to you! Oh how I love time off from work...time to putter around the house and just be. Time to do what I enjoy or nothing at all. Today was that kind of day. Yes, in the midst of this kitchen remodel, I took a few hours to do what I wanted...which was nothing much. I took Sadie to the Vet for her check-up and shots and she is a healthy girl. A little on the pudgy fluffy side at 85 pounds, but not too fat for her size according the the Vet. We have had her on a diet though...the girl loves to eat! Anywho, we came home and I surfed the Internet for fabric for my kitchen curtain, or actually Roman shade. That's the plan anyway. I found several beautiful options and have a sample ordered of the last one. It can be found here and the others are from fabric.com. Here are a few of my favorites...which one do you like best? 

option 1

option 2

option 3

option 4

option 5

option 6

Let me know which one you like and why! I'm truly interested in your opinions...:)

OK....on to my new treasures!  I found most of these last Friday when Mama, Aunt Loretta, and I went thrift shopping. 

I love this beautiful spring wreath. It will be used in many places over the years. It was $5.

Some of you might remember my violet collection. I don't add to it very often, but I did find  this beautiful piece and had to have it. It was a little higher that I normally pay, but it was worth it. It was $6.99. I priced them on Ebay and they cost more than that so it was a good deal.

It seem I always find a couple violet things if I find one. These were at a different shop, but of course they came home with me as well. I already have one like the round ones. These were $0.75 each.

I thought this piece would be really pretty to decorate with for Saint Patrick's Day. I have just a couple things for this holiday, but sadly I will not be using them this year. I paid just over a dollar for it if I remember correctly. 

I love small white planters...don't ask me why because I have no idea! It was $0.89.

These two cuties are quite small, but I thought they would look cute adorning my open shelving in the kitchen during Valentine's Day, 4th of July, or Christmas. These were $0.99 each.

Loved this large leaf platter. It will be used for Easter and spring decorating. Of course, I will not be able to decorate for Easter either due to the mess in my dining room. It will be so worth it though! I think I paid $3 for it.

I love cheese domes. This one is beautiful and  much larger than the others I have found over the years. The glass dome is thinner and has a nice shape. I was tickled pink to find this beauty! It was $3.

This little gadget it a garlic mincer. It was brand new with the tags and cost $3. I found it on Amazon for $19.99!

I thought this wood look ball with silver accents was pretty. It was $0.99.

I am going to repaint the lid, but I thought this retro canister would be a cute addition to my craft room. It was $2. 

And these tart molds are larger that the ones I already have. They will be used in crafts eventually. They were $1.99.

These last two finds were purchased at the flea market a couple weeks ago. This milk glass shade is so pretty. I will probably put it in my resell pile. 

The last item I have to share is this beautiful American Brilliant antique decanter. I did a little research and discovered that it was it was probably produced sometime between 1876 and 1914 if it is an original. It is very heavy lead crystal and still has the stopper. Most of the ones I found online do not have it. It does have a couple small chips around the rim, but you can't really tell unless you feel for them. I got an incredible deal on this piece! It will probably go to my resell pile as well. I had intended to work on opening my Etsy shop over spring break, but with the remodel mess everywhere I can't even really get to most of my stash. Maybe I can get a little done though. 

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

I hope you have a lovely week my friends. I'll be back soon!

Until next time.....

Mobile Home Kitchen Remodel Progress

Hello friends! Just popping in for a quick post tonight. I wanted to give you an update on our kitchen remodel progress. I am sharing one side of the kitchen tonight, and will share some photos of the other side soon. The collage below shows  before, during, and after so far. Not very pretty to look at just yet, but we have a lot of the time consuming parts done. As most of you know, we live in a mobile home and nothing, I repeat nothing is level or square! It is a chore to get everything to look right, but so far so good! We have totally ripped out all the old cabinets, lowered all the electrical outlets a few inches, and put up all the bead board. It doesn't sound like a lot, but we have done it in less than a week, working in the evenings and over the weekend. Lots still to be done, but I am happy with the progress we've made so far. Next step is to paint the ceiling and walls and install the crown molding. After that, we will hang the upper cabinets then install the lower cabinets. We have some really cool cabinet levelers ordered that should make the job easier. 

After cabinets are installed, it will be time to put on the hardware, install the counter tops and sink, open shelving, remodel the inside of the pantry and install a new pantry door, install the new lighting, install the new range hood and dishwasher, and finally the floor. Whew...I'm tired just typing it all...lol! Speaking of lighting, let me show you one of the light fixtures I ordered.

If you read my last post, you will notice this is not the same fixture I shared there. Let me explain why. I loved the look of the other fixture...it was beautiful! I read the reviews though and more than one person said the panels were not glass but a plastic type material. I also got to thinking how hard it would be to keep the glass/plastic looking clean and dust free. So, this one happened to pop up when I was searching for something and I went to Overstock to check it out. I am an O Club member which means I get free shipping and discounts via e-mail. I kinda think it was meant for me to have this fixture because I came across it at 11:30 PM Friday night. I went to my e-mail to see if I had a discount with them and as luck would have it, I did. They usually give me a 10 or 12% off coupon, but since it was Friday the 13th, they had sent me a 13% off code. So, since this fixture would be much easier to clean, it holds a cool Edison bulb (which I love), and I got a good discount on top of it already costing less that my first pick, I had to have this one. Why was it meant to be...my coupon code would have expired at midnight and luckily I found this one just before midnight! Score! What do you think? I love it!

It is not easy remodeling a kitchen...not at all! I will not have a sink for days so I am washing dishes in the guest bathroom. You don't realize how often you go to the sink until you don't have one anymore! My range is not hooked up yet because the hubby has to go under the house to reroute the electrical since we are moving it. You can see in the photos above that it used to be in the corner. There was a wall behind it that closed off the corner. It was totally wasted space behind that wall, so we knocked it out and opened the corner up. I will have an upper and lower corner cabinet there now and have gained storage space. The range will be staying in the spot it is in now. It will have a cabinet and range hood over it. We are considering building a wall to the left of it to make it look more finished, but we are waiting to see how it looks with everything in place before we decide.

I have several new treasures to share soon. I haven't had time or a clear spot to get them out to photograph yet though...maybe tomorrow. Sadie Lou goes for her annual shots in the morning and I may do it after we get home from the vet. I am sharing my first hibiscus of 2015. Love this beautiful pop of color!

And, I'm sharing some funny photos I took of two of my silly kitties earlier. They are so nosy!

Bashful is my Tabby cat...he's a pretty handsome fella! He was a shy kitten, thus the name Bashful.

Farrah is our youngest kitty. She's a Torby...Tabby mixed with Tortoiseshell. She's a big girl! She and Sadie are great friends, they grew up together. Farrah was just a big kitten when Sadie came to live with us. We have a couple other cats as well, but they weren't around for the photo shoot...lol!

I hope your weekend was blessed and your week is too! I am so happy this is my spring break this week, although I will most likely be working harder than I would at school! I'll try to update with another kitchen post soon and hopefully one with my treasures too.

Until next time.....