Kitchen Update – Phase III

Our Kitchen Update makes the kitchen look larger and brighter and adds more functionality.

(This is a three part post. Read Phase I and Phase II here!)

I’m In Love!

We have finished the kitchen update! And it has turned out great. I just keep walking in our kitchen and asking myself, “Is this really the same kitchen?”.

We’ve redone/remodeled almost every aspect of our house over the past 15 years. I’m very aware of how much PAINT can do. You can transform a room with a gallon of paint.

I knew when we started this project, with our main focus on having the cabinets painted, that it would be a huge change in appearance to the room. But I was unprepared for just how much of a change – Not only to the kitchen but the entire downstairs of our house. Our floor plan is very open and you can see the kitchen from every room but the bathroom.

Continue reading “Kitchen Update – Phase III”

Kitchen Update – Phase II

Painting oak cabinets white and updating more features of the kitchen for additional storage and a fresh new look.

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See Kitchen Update – Phase I here!

We’re in the process of having our kitchen cabinets painted. Everything is going along well and the expected timeline for completion of the painting is around 1 week. So Exciting!!

We considered painting the cabinets ourselves but felt like it might be a little over-whelming. The thought even crossed my mind that we would start the project and realize that we could not or did not want to finish it. Then what?

So, we hired White Pineapple Cabinet Painting, a local painting company to do the work for us. (As mentioned in my last post- we are using our vacation funds since vacation got cancelled this year. Thanks Covid.) White Pineapple has been great to work with and the owner, Denise, and her all female team has been very responsive and helpful. You can also check out their Facebook Page and see before and after photos, including our kitchen cabinets!

Continue reading “Kitchen Update – Phase II”

Kitchen Update – Phase I

Updating a 34 year old kitchen with new paint, an enlarged island with Quartz countertop and installing new lighting.

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For awhile now I’ve wanted an update in the kitchen – new cabinets or existing cabinets painted. We’ve lived here for 15 years (where did the time go?) and the time has come!

The cabinets are getting painted!!

We have classic oak cabinets. I’m sure when they were installed they were great (and some would say they still are). The cabinets are very sturdy and solid. But…the oak stain was no longer working in our house.

We’ve updated every room in some way or another. The kitchen was partially updated in 2010. We had granite countertops installed and Paul installed a backsplash. But we never did go forward with changing the cabinets.

Continue reading “Kitchen Update – Phase I”

Crochet Potholder

A colorful and Easy level crochet potholder

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This is an easy crochet pattern for a cute potholder or hot pad. And it’s very functional for those of us who like to cook!

This crochet pattern was inspired by a crochet book, Crochet-opedia, that was a gift from Paul. The book just showed up one day in the mail. And it was a day that I needed a little ‘happy’ in my life. He’s always been thoughtful with gifts – small or large. Continue reading “Crochet Potholder”

Granny Flower Square Crochet Blanket

Multi-colored granny square flower blanket

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Drum roll….FINISHED!

Wow, this was a lengthy project and one of my biggest yet.

I started this granny flower project in April of 2019. And almost a year later I’m excited to say it’s finished.

Granted I didn’t work on it full time. There were a couple of months I didn’t work on it at all. But it’s basically been laying on the sofa throughout this time reminding me that it wasn’t completed. Continue reading “Granny Flower Square Crochet Blanket”

Rustic Barnwood Bourbon Bar

Rustic bourbon bar made from old barnwood.

One of the tasting rooms at Bulleit Distillery.

My wife and I have done the Kentucky Bourbon trail a few times. On our first trip I kept noticing a lot of re-purposing of the bourbon barrels, the barrel staves and even the bottles. I’ve always been interested in the ingenuity some people have in making old things look somehow modern.

Such was the case everywhere we went on the trail. (See our article in the travel section for more information about the Kentucky Bourbon Trail).

An item of inspiration at the Bulleit Distillery gift shop located in Louisville, KY.

On that same trip, I saw a rather unique piece of craftsmanship using what I later learned was made from old barn wood. It was a one of a kind bourbon bar. That piece caused me to think about how I’d like to re-create something similar. I’ve always been handy and am by no means an expert craftsman but do consider myself fairly good at woodworking.

So, I took a few photos and thought I’d probably build something similar one day, but I’d first have to find the right materials to keep the bourbon bar as authentic as possible. Continue reading “Rustic Barnwood Bourbon Bar”