Mobile Home Makeover.....Pantry Remodel

Hello again! I am so excited to have a few minutes free to post again today. Two days in a row!!

I am taking you on a quick tour of my small pantry. We never finished it last year when we remodeled the kitchen so I was excited to get the inside looking as pretty as the rest of the kitchen. 

Welcome to my .....

I bought this little sign last summer. You may remember it from this post. It looked like this when I bought it.

Very cute! I had planned to put it on the guest bathroom door but I really didn't think the white sign would pop on the white door, so I repurposed it. I painted it black and used one of my chalk pens to write Pantry on it and go over the raised scroll design. Not perfect but good enough for me! And free to boot! What do you think?

OK...on the inside of the door, I placed a Command hook that I already had to hang out lunch bags from during the weekend. During the week. they usually sit out on the counter because we use them every day. There are also a couple water bottle holders hanging there that I use when I go for a walk.

Here's the inside. It's hard to get a good shot but you get the idea. 

On the right wall, I repurposed this little cubby shelf that I have had for quite some time. It used to hold pretty things. I had no good place to hang it after we remodeled the dining room and kitchen so it was not being used. It works perfectly to hold baking supplies. I love it here!

The left wall holds a custom built spice rack the hubby whipped up for me! Isn't it awesome? I am blessed with not only a talented hubby, but a loving one as well. He loves making me happy. :)

The top of the shelf holds a few vintage bottles that I wasn't using anywhere else in the house. A little something decorative in this otherwise utilitarian space.

We left the original shelves in place but covered the top of each one with a thin piece of wood and trimmed the front of each shelf as well. I decided to stain them instead of paint because I knew paint would get scuffed badly in a pantry. Now I don't have to worry about repainting in the future. The hubby also built me some smaller, half shelves that you will see in between each big shelf. These are awesome and really help me maximize my space.

Last summer I bought two of these wooden crates on sale at JoAnne's just for this project. I finally get to put them to use. Do you see the small white casters on the bottom in the photo above? I ordered those from Amazon and we attached them to the crates so I can easily roll them in and out . They hold a ton of stuff. The one on the right holds large boxes like cereal and crackers, as well as bread. I love those two clear containers I found at the Dollar General. One holds open sleeves of saltine crackers and the other one holds Ritz or any other round cracker. Those containers were one of the two new purchases for the pantry. They were $3. The crate on the left holds all my sprinkles and cookie cutters. I want to tweak this one a little but it is fine for now.

The bottom shelf holds a wooden box that we have had laying around for years. It holds bags of chips and snacks. The lazy Susan holds jars of things like honey and corn syrup, Crisco for an occasional baked treat, and seasoning packets for Ranch dressing and guacamole in the green container in the center. The two containers on the small shelf hold brown sugar and powdered sugar. I have used these for a few years now. They came from the Dollar General. Other baking items reside on this shelf as well.

Next up from the bottom shelf is the canned goods and the few boxed items I have. I don't buy a lot of pre-packaged things but I do use a few now and then. The white basket in front is one of a set of three in the pantry. They were my other new purchase. They technically didn't cost me anything because we had a $10 off $50 coupon for Lowe's and since we had spent almost $40, I told the hubby we should just find a couple things to get our total to $50 so we could save the $10 and get something for free. I found these for $8.97! This one holds snacks for our lunches...mainly granola bars. The little blue container on the right holds seasoning packets for things like tacos and chili.

The nest to the top shelf holds jars of dry goods. There is also a wire basket holding hot chocolate packets and the second white basket holds the hubby's peanut butter. 

The top shelf holds cooking oil. The lazy Susan holds oils and vinegars. And the last white basket holds extras like salad dressing, mayonnaise and so on for when we run out. I still want to make labels for these baskets. Maybe this weekend. 

And, that's it for the pantry tour. I am loving it! It feels so clean and organized. I threw out so much old stuff when I unloaded it for the remodel. I hope you enjoyed my little pantry tour. Nothing super fancy, but I think it turned out great. Have a wonderful Friday and weekend. I'll be finishing up the last few things I need to do around the house before we pick Miranda and Shahid up Monday. I might even have a few minutes to post again. We'll see! 

Until next time.....

Prague.....Part 6 (Vysehrad)

Hello lovelies! 

I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since my last post! This month has been a whirlwind for sure! We (the hubby and I) have been busily preparing for Miranda's upcoming visit. I think I mentioned in a previous post that she is flying home for her cousin Shelby's wedding. She is one of the bridesmaids. And not only is Miranda flying home, but she is bringing her boyfriend Shahid with her! We are all so excited to have nearly two weeks with them. The hubby and I will be picking them up in Orlando Monday evening! So, since we are having Shahid come visit for the first time, that spurred us on to finish some little projects we have been putting off. We finished the pantry and I will share that soon. We have finished putting up some trim, done some painting, installed light switches, and completely finished the guest bathroom. We had some issues in the shower but it is all completed now. I'll share a couple of updates in there with the pantry post. I have been cleaning out closets and cabinets and purging and organizing. The hubby pressure washed the house and porch and we are getting some yard work done this weekend as well as finally getting our brand new central heat and air unit hooked up. Anywho, there's nothing like having company to light a fire under you! And I have been working full time and have been sick with a miserable cold for almost 3 weeks now!  I am so happy though because we have accomplished so much and we have only 5 more sleeps until we see our girl and her fella!

So....today I am sharing another Prague vacation post with you. I have one more to share where I will show you the things I purchased on my trip as well as a fun place we ate on our last day there. 

But, today, I am taking you to.....

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Vysehrad...

Vyšehrad (Czech for "upper castle") is a historical fort located in the city of Prague, Czech Republic. It was built, probably in the 10th century, on a hill over the Vltava River. Situated within the castle is the Basilica of St Peter and St Paul, as well as the Vyšehrad Cemetery, containing the remains of many famous people from Czechhistory, among them Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Karel Čapek, and Alphonse Mucha. It also contains Prague's oldest surviving building, the Rotunda of St Martin from the 11th century.

Local legend holds that Vyšehrad was the location of the first settlement which later became Prague, though thus far this claim remains unsubstantiated.

This is where the original castle stood. The grounds are beautiful and it was not crowded with tourists like the main part of the city. It offers another great overlook of the city from a different viewpoint. Other than the fact that it was cold and windy, this was such a pleasant day. I really enjoyed walking around the grounds and taking photos. 

I have never seen so much graffiti in a city. It seems to fit though.

The moss on the brick was so pretty. You can see we were pretty high up. Notice the roof lines below.

The garbage cans are even pretty in Prague. They are made of cement.

There is another gorgeous cathedral in Vysehrad. I couldn't wait to get a closer look.

I thought this home's yard was really interesting and I loved the vine growing across the house. I bet it is so pretty in the spring and summer.

Another gorgeous view...this time of the Vltava River.

This was one of the most interesting things I saw. This fence surrounded a nursery school. The panels you see covering the fence are all crocheted or knitted. It was so cool!

Here are the other two. So fun and colorful and what a great way to create some privacy.

Here's that gorgeous cathedral! The Gothic style is so enchanting!

Look at these massive doors and that beautiful mosaic.

The inside did not disappoint. Services are still held here every Sunday. I sat on a pew and it was terribly uncomfortable. No chance of anyone falling asleep during the service...lol!

I thought the muted colors were so beautiful.

Gorgeous stained glass windows.

Very festive with simply decorated trees.

This angel was suspended over a nativity.

Isn't it beautiful?

Prayer candles.

The sun streaming through the stained glass was so lovely.

There was a case full of opulent pieces that have been used for various purposes over the years.

This one was especially beautiful. 

Of course we had to have lunch while we were there. We ate at a quaint little place with colorful decor. I chose spaghetti and Miranda had a burger. I love that the Coke was served in a wine glass. We split a chocolate pancake for dessert but it was really more like a crepe. Very tasty!

When we left, we went back to Old Town Square and took a tour of what has been named the most beautiful library in the world....the Klementinum. You can read about it here or here if you care to. We were not allowed to take photos inside but here are a couple I found online. 

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 This was the most unusual tour we took. Of course this building is centuries old and the library is located a few floors up. We had to climb up spiral staircases for a few floors to see the library and then we climbed to the top where the astronomical tower is located. The steps leading to this part were narrow, wooden, and treacherous to say the least. I was actually a little nervous going up. But, I was so glad I made it to the top because when we stepped out onto the balcony, this was the view! It was absolutely breathtaking!

 I was unable to get any really good shots, but you get the idea. It was such an amazing feeling...being across the world from home on a cold New Year's Eve night, at the top of a historical old building in a beautiful city watching fireworks go off with my daughter who also happens to be my best friend. :) As long as I live,  I'll never forget this night. Here's a selfie Miranda took of us. 

After we descended down the scary steps...all 180 of them, we went to Old Town Square and listened to a bit of a concert that was going on. Such a festive city! The band played one of my favorite songs...Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams. 

We walked on for a bit, trying to decide where to eat supper. The place we wanted to eat was closed so we ate at a fun place called the Crazy Cow. The food was absolutely delicious. I had a chicken dish with veggies and a baked potato. 

And, this was too funny not to share...LOL!

OK...I made it to the end! After we ate, Miranda put Jeana and I on a tram back to the hotel. She and Ashley wanted to stay out a bit longer than us. We made it back without Miranda's guidance. LOL! We got comfy in our pj's and rang in the new year from the warmth and safety of our hotel room. Not long before midnight, the girls returned and asked us if we knew it was snowing. We decided to put some warm clothes on and went outside to see for ourselves. It was so magical....snow falling while fireworks were going off everywhere. The fireworks started long before midnight and continued until long after. Again, this was a special night and full of so many memories. I will always cherish them. 

If you made it to this point, thank you. I know I can be long-winded. I hate to leave out too much detail though. I am a detail person so that;s just how I write. I hope you are all doing well and are having a wonderful week. As always, thank you for visiting. I apologize for my lack of replies to your sweet and cherished comments on my last couple posts. I feel so bad when I can't reply right away. I do so appreciate each and every one of you though. Have a blessed rest of the week!

Until next time.....