Kitchen Remodel - It is finished

It is finished (or nearly - I still want to replace the light fixture, but other than that I may be at the point that the kitchen is finished).

Last week while I was up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) my brother and fiance (still fun to say), finished my kitchen. They worked and worked and worked I imagine while I sat and swam and paddled and relaxed (I sort of feel guilty now but am MASSIVELY appreciative of them) - Cubby and Marc put up the tile in my kitchen! I came home and my kitchen looks like a million bucks! Literally I was floored! It looks awesome and I now have the desire to have lots and lots of people over.

Changes made to the kitchen since buying the house June 21, 2011:

• take down ugly lace-ish curtains
• replace window screens so I can open windows without bugs attacking
• paint all of the walls
• paint the ceiling
• change the light cover thingys (technical term for sure) on the light fixture
• remove gross old tile and put up new tile
• paint baseboards
• paint cupboards
• paint hardware for cupboards
• replace dishwasher
• replace counter tops
• put up new window trim

This is not the most amazing picture becuase it came off my phone while making
breakfast this morning but does give you a glimpse at a lot of what has been done
since moving into the house! YAY for a 99% completed project!

Kitchen Chaos

I am currently remodeling my kitchen by myself (or really with the help of any family and friends who get suckered into helping me out - basically meaning I am only hiring people to do things like the electrical - which I am legally required to do since I know nothing about electrical work) but the rest is getting done without professional help. This has been a long process and my kitchen is literally driving me NUTS! I haven't had a kitchen sink or any running water for that matter in my kitchen since Sunday. I was half tempted to post a picture of the nasty but thank God not many people come over at the moment because it is far too messy to post a picture. My kitchen table has turned into a mountain of crazy.

I will draw you a mental picture: my fridge is about five feet away from the wall and pulled out, my stove sits about three feet from my fridge also pulled out from it's home, my kitchen table as previously mentioned is a mountain of mess, my kitchen chairs are currently home to a 5 gallon pale of mud, primer, a toolbox, and being used as a stool to reach high places, not to mention the countertops are pulled off and covered by black plastic bags in order to avoid getting mud and paint on the contents of the drawers, and it is dusty as all get out due to sanding down the mud and what not. It is nasty. Yes, I know it will get better and there is hope that when I get this all finished it will be beautiful.

My goal is to get the countertops back on this Sunday night when my brother is in town so I have some help. I also hope we can figure out how to install the food disposal and and hook up the faucet. Thank God for youtube and people who have time to make instructional videos on youtube for people like me who have no clue how to do some of this stuff. Thank God for family and friends who help me when I am way over my head. Thank God for pb&j sandwiches that don't require much cooking or clean up.

In a completely random kitchen related success: I made a 4 layer cake for a church potluck last night and I hear it was tasty, it was gone before I got through the line.

Nights without meetings...

I should not be allowed to have lazy evenings when I haven't completely exhausted myself. Last night I came home from the YMCA (working out and teaching a couple swimming lessons) and I walked the sweet little girl and she was happily playing with her orange ball, when I began the project. I was sitting in my kitchen throwing the ball for Dakota when I realized I was fully annoyed with my kitchen tiles, they are ugly, they are dated, they are crooked, I don't like them. So instead of complaining about it or anything else I looked up online to see how to take down tiles. This project is going to be a little more work than I maybe anticipated and I know absolutely NOTHING about laying tiles, so I will learn. I give thanks for an independent spirit that leads me to do things that could potentially go horribly wrong. I give thanks for parents who taught me that it is okay to try things even when you have no clue what you are doing. 

So the project I think will go as follows (or at least this is the plan as of now):

-rip out the tiles (they are everywhere)

-potentially take out the fake brick stuff (debating this still)

-paint the cupboards

-replace the draw pulls and handles on the cupboards

-put up new tile (this is the part that makes me the most nervous)

-Enjoy a new-ish kitchen