Gifts from New Mexico

Mike was gone all last week on a business trip. We stayed home and held the fort without a computer. That was not easy for this mom!! Our week was spent doing lots of reading, school, and working on some house cleaning projects. Nothing exciting!

When Daddy came home he brought gifts. (that almost made up for the no computer thing) Kid #4 now has a beautiful shirt from New Mexico, a porcelain frog and a new key chain from Texas. I got two things to hang in our kitchen/great room. I knew about them, because he called to ask my opinion on them and even sent a picture of one of them. I love them both and they look great. Want to see?? Well, I'm showing you anyway. :)

This is my frog! I happen to love frogs and this is the second one in this room. I love it, though and it looks a lot different then the other one. #4's frog is much smaller and isn't for the wall.

Here are some ceramic peppers. I love the splash of red on the yellow wall. I've seen quite a few pictures of paprika hanging (the real stuff) in Hungary. I know this is more Mexican, but it does make me thing of Hubby's roots in Hungary.

Now, this is not new. It did, however, finally make it up on the wall this weekend. Mike always wanted it up, but I kept dragging my feet as to where it should go. I guess I got caught up in all the hanging going on this weekend!

redecorating....

I have such a great child. She pays attention to details and loves to help around the house. The other day, she decided that it was time to change the picture. I had just shared a photo of the new frame we got for art work and silently I wondered if I would ever be able to change the art. Why? Well, I really liked the art work she had done and taking it out of the frame was like retiring it. Saying it wasn't good enough anymore. Ok, maybe that is not what taking it out of the frame really means, but it felt like that to me. So, enter Kid #4. Her chore was dusting and as she worked in that room she decided it was time to redecorate. I guess if she is fine with it, then I better be! ;o) Besides, I like this picture....it makes me smile.

longaberger deals...

Even those that don't just love Longaberger Baskets have to appreciate this deal. We had a yard sale this past summer and I noticed friends that were participating were selling some Longaberger baskets. Well, basically, they were giving them away. She was cleaning out and didn't really care for pricing, so everything was priced to sell. Let's just say....the baskets never made it to the sale! hehe I snagged them and my heart went pitter patter. I only have one other Longaberger and I paid full price for that one. I do love it and appreciate it, but I really can't afford to have a habit like that. So, that one basket has been my only Longaberger splurge. However, at $2.00 I can certainly afford it. :) Here they are...

This one I have seen many time before. I think it's cute and it does the job. I had been looking for something to hang from this hook. :)

Now, this one I don't really know anything about. It also came with plastic liner, but I removed it for the picture. Our friend said that there was more plastic things for it, but she couldn't find them in her house and they may be gone. It's about 20 inches long and 14 inches wide(roughly). Anyone know the name of this basket?

family room update...

I was sitting here looking through some old pictures, when I realized that I never did post the pictures of some of the finishing touches to our room off the kitchen. Mike and I were just talking last night about how we wouldn't do anything differently if we had the remodel to do over again. That says a lot. There are tons of details involved in such a big remodel and we are happy with every single one of them!! :) I must say....I still wake up each morning, walk out to the kitchen and smile. Well, except for when Mike forgets to do the dishes!

Anyway...We are not 100% finished with the details in the family/great room. (not quite sure what to call it....but the kitchen and this room are all one big room) However, we are pretty close. Here are a few pictures of what has taken place, so far.

This is our little love seat. Kid #4 calls this her spot.

I love this cabinet. It is where I keep overflow from the kitchen. I went shopping yesterday and it is stuffed to the gills. It's a perfect addition to the room.

This is one of my favorite ideas. We brought a frame to highlight Kid #4's artwork. This is a one line project that she did last year in art class. Her pencil never left the paper. When she added some watercolor to it, I fell in love with the picture. She has a stack of other creative pieces, but I have had a hard time taking this one down.

the big reveal....

Ok....if I wait until this and this come in, I may not get to show you the kitchen/great room until July! I couldn't wait that long. So, bearing in mind that we are not "finished" with the decor I will present my new kitchen to you. Yep, it's making it's debut right here on Mother's Day....never before seen photos just for you. (as always, you can click on any photo for a full size version)

Enjoy....

Here we are just rounding the corner into my kitchen. We do have a bit of a rooster theme going on here. We could play a game called "spot the roosters". ;o)

Here's another angle. The granite countertop is Blue Pearl. The backsplash is slate.

Now, let's look at a few of my favorite things....

I love this corner of my kitchen. It's nice how the under the cabinet light seems to spotlight my brand new kitchenaid. I haven't had a chance to use it, yet....but since kid #4 turns 9 this coming week, I am sure we will break it in. The rose is a Mother's Day rose from a friend.

I have shown my spice cabinet before, but it was empty. Here it is filled up. I need to organize it a bit, but for now it is working fine. I love opening the door just to peek!

Here are our new plates. They look so nice in this plate rack cabinet. Just like I envisioned.

This shelf was blue and then it was painted black and then it was sanded to show some of the blue again. It works perfectly opposite our special corner.

Here is a shot from the other side of the counter looking into the kitchen.

Now, I am standing by the laundry room door giving you the view of the new entrance way into our kitchen. The old entrance used to be behind the fridge.

Here is one last shot. This is my view standing by the sink looking towards our back door. Yeah, I know....it still needs to be painted. We're working on it.

Hope you enjoyed a glimpse of what we have been working on the past few months. It has been an adventure and I have enjoyed sharing it. Happy Mother's Day to all my friends!!

special little corner....

Mike has been busy. He took our old wooden bench, took it apart and stripped the varnish off and painted it black. Then he put the bench all back together again. He also painted frames to match the bench. Everything looks so nice, so I took a picture to share. Well, two pictures to share. Just to give a little different angle on the special little corner. What do you think?






Now, I just need to find exactly what I want to hang on those hooks. I have some ideas. I'll share whenever I find "it".

almost there....

Whew, it's been a whirlwind, an adventure, an experience to never forget. We are almost there and the kitchen looks gorgeous. I will have a bunch of photos in the coming week. Right now we are working hard on unpacking boxes, looking for a couch, hanging things and finishing the little touches.


Here are a few pictures to keep you on the edge of your seat.... (remember you can click on any of them for a close up view)



Here are two knobs that we got for the sink base cabinet. Just a little finishing touch that we liked.




Here is a picture of the pulls we got for the drawer cabinets. For some reason we counted one less then we needed and that caused me a special trip. Oh well....




This is a picture above our back door. The roosters fit perfectly.




This little guy was bought on our Disney World trip in 2004. He has been hanging around since. He looks happy. :)




Hmmm, seems my camera washed out the true color of the wall. You will have to trust me on just how good this looks. I'll try to take another shot later this week.




This is hanging in our dining room, now. We bought the shadow box in North Carolina last October on our way home from Florida. The little boy figure is looking at a little turtle. We picked that up in Colorado in 1984. Kid #1 was just 6 months old, then. The green bottle on the top right is from Hungary. We got it from a family friend that came to the US from Hungary.



This is also hanging in our dining room. The colors came out different from the flash. I must work on my picture taking skills....seems I am terribly off tonight.



Just to further illustrate my photography failures tonight, here is a sign right above our kitchen door. (going into the kitchen) I have no clue why it is all blurry....but it is.

Anyway...that was just a tease. The counters are a mess, the table is covered in stuff, there is all sorts of disarray in my house. So, just trust me....it's almost there and looking gorgeous. I will share more, soon.....PROMISE!!

looks like a kitchen....

Well, the day I had been waiting for came and it was everything I had been dreaming. :) What day is that? The day for the counters to be installed, of course! What a difference hundreds of pounds of granite makes. Who knew? Wow, is about all I can say. I wish I could capture the blue that shines on the counter when the light hits it. It was more then I had hoped for and just made me smile all the more. It is so close to being done I can smell the food cooking!

We had the guy from the kitchen cabinet place come by and he was very impressed with what has been done and he said we have a great "entertaining kitchen". That is what I was going for....so I think I have accomplished my goal and I am itching to do the entertaining part. :)



Here is the shot from the side of the fridge. You can click on any of these pictures to get supersized ones and you can see a bit of the blue that was shining. :) I still have to clean the counters from some leftover smudges from the installers...but I am waiting for the supports on the bar side to be installed. (yeah, that's my story and I am sticking to it!!)




Here is a picture from the bar side of the counter. The wood supports are just temporary. We bought brackets that Mike painted black and they will go on soon.




Now, from inside the kitchen looking out. Still a lot of mess going on in the room....but it is looking so much better.






I think you can see some blue in this shot if you enlarge it. :)





And as of this afternoon we now have WATER!!!! WOOHOO!!!

Yes, faucet, garbage disposal, and dishwasher are in working order. Our fridge also has water running to it.

Here is a shot inside one of my favorite cabinets. All those little shelves are adjustable for spices. :)

IGNORE the streaky, dirty windows. We have been renovating, not cleaning! Hehe. I just couldn't wait to show you what I decided on for the spot above my window.

home stretch....

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and I am beginning to see it. It is appearing brighter each day and that is causing all kinds of smiling. :) Smiling at the dog, smiling at the rain, smiling at the dirty laundry.....ok, maybe not the laundry. However, I am smiling at the laundry room!! Pictures of that will come another day.

The counter was measured this past Wednesday by two different people from two different companies using two different methods. There was a mixup, but it seems to be good now and the counter will be installed this Wednesday. It will really look like a kitchen then.

Erich came by today and installed the new microwave. The electrician will take care of getting that baby some power later this week. I wonder if I will just spend a few days looking at my new kitchen when it is complete, but not cooking....you know, I won't want to mess it up any. Nah...I am so sick of fast food. Eating at my parent's has helped a great deal, but even that gets tiring. Having to make sure everything you need is in that kitchen and going over to actually prepare it. It's not the same as having it in your own home, especially if you want to maybe make some of it in advance. That just means more car trips now. Yes, I can see that light twinkling and can finally relax and say we are in the home stretch here.

There are TONS and TONS of little things to still do....but in two weeks the bulk of that will be done and we will have to work on furniture shopping, accessories, etc...and some of that may just have to wait. Wonder what at home job I can do while homeschooling....just thinking of earning some extra shopping money. Hmmmmm........I will have to think on that.

Anyway...want to see pictures? Well I have a few to share. What a co-inky-dink.






Here we are standing beside the fridge looking towards the old family room. The corner cabinet you see in the far corner is a lazy susan cabinet.








Now, we are on the other side of the kitchen looking into the room. Notice the new microwave hanging there. The stove you see will slide in under that once the counter is installed. The fridge is also not pushed into it's resting spot. That will be happen after the electrician finishes the outlet for it. We need to drop off three cabinet doors at the kitchen place. They will get glass put in them and deliver them back here. Exciting stuff! If you enlarge the picture and wonder about the blue pieces of tape...that is just marking the spot for the cabinet hardware. I can hardly wait to show you that!!









This is basically a similar shot, just standing further back so you can see the back of the cabinets. I think they look so pretty.

Now let's look outside for a minute.....







Here is our new patio furniture. It's a lovely wet day today...but it still makes me smile. I love this set, because it is big. Well, relatively big. If all my kids and their significant others are here, we cannot all sit here...unless we slide up a small stool and let kid#4 have a corner. It's a plan...we'll see how it works.







Here is a close-up of the back of the chair. Did I already mention that I love this set? :) Well, in case you missed it...I do love this set....in a weird sort of non-personal way.