~~ They're leaving the nest, sew it's time for a trip - or two - or three...~~ D~'s bag ~9/22 ~~

[lovegrumpy]

The kitchen is coming along nicely.

 

[DMGeurts]

It must be hard to live without a kitchen sink. I hope Josh gets LOTS of work done today.

Well - it's not easy, and it's annoying, but it's not too terrible, since our bathroom is right there - it's a matter of retraining my brain, for the time being, about where I need to go for water. LOL

He was able to get lots of work done today - it was awesome! I even helped for a couple of hours.

I think the lack of a kitchen sink was the hardest part when I redid my kitchen 3 years ago. We were kitchen less from October to January.


Can't wait to see it finished and installed. It is looking great!

YIKES!!!! No sink for that entire time? I am not sure what I would do... During major holidays no less... How did you do it? And I sure hope the end result was worth all of the time.

Me too - I am getting pretty excited! I am really hoping to have a great visual by the end of the weekend.

You two are seriously amazing and work together as such a great team!! I have all these great visions, but no real home-improvement capability and my husband is NOT a self-starter, so he won't work on a thing unless I stand over him like a drill sergeant. Really makes for fun when we have to get something accomplished.

What a wonderful blessing to have a space of her own when Allison goes on her adventure!! That certainly is kind of them to make special adjustments to their home to do that for her.

And a purple magicband for V, too?! Woo hoo!!

Ha... Well - I am sure the pictures look great, but we sure aren't always happy and smiling while the projects are getting done. Although - we are doing pretty good on this project... Josh did tell me that he is sick of the word "Pinterest" and "my vision" though... LOL I need to come up with some better words.

I totally understand... I can usually get Josh started with an idea or a picture - that's the easy part... Getting things finished - like completely finished, down to the trim - that is a different story. The living room is the first time ever, that a project in our house has actually made it to full completion - and I have to admit that I am totally addicted now... The satisfaction I get when I sit in that room, and the pride in Josh's work - well... Yes, I do love it. I am just praying like crazy that we can get this kitchen done in time - we are cutting it so close right now.

I know - it really tugged at my heart... This is getting so real! I am trying to figure out which room I can rip apart to keep me busy this summer... Then - what I can rip apart next year when V leaves... We'll finish this house yet. LOL

I know - I am so excited that Chiara was able to get that for her - it was awesome! Now - to get her park ticket...

Everything looks great so far...and you are REALLY making me want to redo my cabinets. It's something I've considered for a while and I'm thinking it would really make a difference in our kitchen. DH hasn't been totally onboard with the idea, so maybe I'll wait until he's out of town to embark on that project. I once decided to paint a wall in our family room when he went out of town. When he returned, he liked it so much he suggested we paint the rest of the room that same color (I was just doing it as an accent wall), which then lead to me repainting all of our trim and then him repainting our entire kitchen.

Thanks! Well - I just hope they look great when they are done. To be honest - you all probably won't even notice a difference in pictures, as they will be almost exactly the same color as they were before... The difference will be in the details and all of the problem areas we fixed - which may not be very visible in pictures. But I sure will be happy when it's done. LOL

If you do that - just be prepared, it's a LOT of work... And NOT something I would want to do with out Josh. First of all - I have no idea what I am doing, so I do need his expertise to guide me LOL... but secondly - it's just hard work. It can be done - believe me - but even now that I sort of know what I am doing, it's not something I would ever try to do alone. Unless you are just thinking of "getting started" then having DH hop in to help you when he gets home? But be prepared for it to last for a few weeks - and moving everything out of your cabinets meanwhile. I thought I could get away with leaving some of my cabinets packed - after all - we were only painting the outside frames of them - but I soon realized that wasn't possible. Just something to consider first.

Let me know if you decide to do it - Pinterest is a wealth of info on this subject - and I would LOVE to see befores and afters.

Hahahaha! I can soooo relate! Remember - this started off as a simple "paint the living room and put up the window trim" project. New carpet... A total living room redo... Now painting cabinets and new appliances... gutting the kitchen and overhauling the main floor.... Yah... Not saying it didn't need to be done - but the list sure got long quickly.

Living without a kitchen is never easy; especially having no kitchen sink. The countertops are looking great!

So nice that Allison will have her own space when she goes to Europe. What a wonderful opportunity for her to go.

Love the purple magicband for V.

Hope your doctor appointments go well!!

Thank you Lynee! Yes - it's been an adjustment... We are moving along - so that helps. I am sure hoping by the end of the weekend that I will have my kitchen sink and dishwasher functioning.

I know - it's really tugging at my emotions - we are getting down to the wire on her trip, and I am doing my best to deal with it on the side... it's going to be a very difficult time for me. Obviously - she's never been that far from me for that long - and even though she is an adult - she is still my baby. :lovestric

Thanks - I was so excited that Chiara was able to get it for her!

Thanks - they were fine, just routine stuff. No biggie.

How very nice of Myrthe and Brian to make room so Allison can have her own space when she visits them this summer.

How nice of Chiara to pick up a purple MB for V. I guess V is so happy for it.

Looks like you and Josh are making good progress with the kitchen project.


Today we have celebrated Norway's National Day. Because of the very bad weather forecast I decided not to go out at 6.30AM to look at the first parade of the day. I got up at 8.45AM and turned on the TV where they are broad casting from all over Norway and even from some countries around the world where Norwegians are celebrating 17th May. At 11AM I went to town to look at a parade and meet my parents for some cake. Luckily the sun came out just in time for the parade, but it was still cold outside with only 41ºF and windy. After eating som cake we went to my parents house where they served hotdog and some more cake and ice cream. While we were there waiting for the time to pass so we could go out to watch the last parade of the day at 4.30PM it started to snow outside. We went out again and to a place where we could watch the last parade and it snowed a little and rained some as well. After sitting out side in my wheelchair for 40 minutes I was cold and it was nice to come home and get my Bunad off and get some warmth in my body.

Now they are showing the celebration on TV again. I will watch that for a few hours. I like seeing how others have celebrated this day today. Ulf and I have just had dinner. And now we will start to make ice cream and salt caramel. We tried to make the salt caramel yesterday, but it didn't go well. So we will do another try today and hopefully we will succeed this time
I really can't wait until next year. Then I will have my new car and I will be able to take my electrical wheelchair and go on my own to see the first parade of the day if Ulf doesn't want to come with me. My plan is to go what ever the weather is.

I will have to try and call the garage again tomorrow to see if they can give me an answer on when they will start working on my car.

Thanks Lillian! I am so excited for her, but so nervous to have her so far away. It will be hard, for sure. But such an exciting adventure awaits.

We are making good progress - and that sure helps... I cannot wait to get this done... I am still hoping to get the bathroom floor done and the stairs... Sadly - I don't think we will even get to those at all.

It sounds like you had a great time - despite the rain and snow... I would have been very cold just sitting out there like that. I know how much you look forward to this every year - so I am glad that you had a good time.

That is so exciting for next year - I am so excited for the independence you will gain from your new car and wheel! How exciting! Not long now, I hope.

Your kitchen is looking good D! You may feel like it's going slow but it looks and sounds like you are making great progress to me! So cool that Myrthe and her family are going that extra mile for Allison, what a great experience she is going to have! Love that purple magicband! I've been debating on wether or not to get magicbands for my family on our next trip, if I do I'll definitely need to get some purple ones!

Thanks! Yes - it feels like it's going so slow, but I know we are making progress... I just wish there was an end in sight somewhere. LOL Hopefully after the weekend - with the installation of the counter top, dishwasher and sink, I will finally have some sort of timeline and "feel" the progress more.

Yes - it's awesome! Myrthe is an amazing SIL - I just love her!

Hehehe... I will say - I wasn't sure about the MBs at first, but I cannot imagine doing a trip with out them. Even staying at SoG with Allison - it was super nice and easy to have the MB - despite the fact that we had to carry a room key anyways for our room. We knew if we had our MBs, we were good for everything else.

Have you tried Kilz primer? It will cover ANYTHING! I know you can get it at Home Depot, likely other home Reno stores too. They sell it in a regular can(brush on) or in a spray can. I've painted over oil based paint and heavy nicotine stains with it. Even though you've already primed, you could do the necessary areas with Kilz.

Yup - that is what we are using... Killz in the big 2.5 gallon bucket... I did some research last night, because when I primed our cabinet doors yesterday - ALL of them were bleeding through the Kilz - and we definitely cannot have that, after all this work. While researching, I found out that we either need to use an oil based primer - or we can spray with an oil based sealant/top coat... Which provides a barrier that the bleeding cant seep through. So, I will be stopping after work today to pick up some of that. I am hoping to get this moving along again. Thanks for the suggestion though - we do love Kilz - it is the best for sure!

The kitchen is coming along nicely.

Thank you - I am VERY excited to finish it up though. LOL Ahhh... Just to have a main floor that is totally finished will be something totally new to me!

******************************************************************************************

Yesterday was a good day for me...

I went for a walk right away in the morning - again, it was beautiful outside.

I came home and I went to work upstairs right away... I took the time to finish a project I've had on my table for 5 weeks now - that was nice to have it done and off my mind.

Then I ran to my first appointment - it went well.

I came home, changed into work clothes and started priming the cabinet doors. Much to our surprise and annoyance - all of them started to bleed through the primer. I did some online research - and found out this is very common for old houses and old wood - even though we did sand them all down to the bare wood. As it turns out - we either need to use an oil based primer, to seal in the oils from the wood - or we can spray an oil based clear coat over the top of it... So, I will stop after work today and buy some spray. I am hoping to get them sprayed down and then we can move forward on the doors. The doors are something I can do easily enough with out Josh - so my plan is to paint them this weekend, while he is installing the other stuff - if/when he doesn't need my help.

I also put the 2nd coat of Waterlox on the counter top... It is looking so beautiful! I bit more shiny than I would like - but I do love it - and I love how the grain is so defined. This photo was taken while it was still pretty wet - so the shininess is a little bit deceptive.

Our new cabinet knobs came yesterday... I think I like them - they seem a little large, but I am sure they will be fine once we put them up.

While I was gone - Josh was working on priming the walls and the farmhouse trim... Which is a pain - I did NOT realize this... Poor guy! He spent the entire day on this project - in most places he was able to get 2 coats, but many places still only have 1... The good thing is - we have really good paint - like in our living room, so once we get the primer done - we should only have to do 1 coat of paint in most places. (Gosh, I hate the popcorn ceilings... But that's another project for another time).

Also - we are trying to decide on a light fixture for the kitchen... We've decided that we don't want to replace the ceiling fan with another one - as this room has great ventilation and we very rarely have a need for the ceiling fan. Due to the placement of the electrical for the light in that room - it's off center (you can kind of see that in the picture I posted yesterday) - no matter how we put the table back, we never quite have light right above the table. When they put the electrical in the room - they put it in the dead center (HM reference right there... hehehe) - and not in the center of where a table would be located. So, IMO - it looks really dumb in there. I've been doing some research and this is what I've come up with... I've totally fallen in love with this fixture - but it's sooooooo expensive (to us, anyways)... We've put so many extras into this project as it is - with the new carpet in the living room... and the 2 new appliances in the kitchen... I just don't know if we can swing this light fixture - but it would make all the difference in the room and it's really the only thing that would work - without having to redo all of our electrical, which is not an option right now... We are definitely considering it - but if we do, we have to order it soon, as we need time for it to ship and then install it too - as it's only available online. This is called a "Monorail track light" (2nd Disney reference for the day - hehehe) - so I can slide the lights more towards the other end and they would be directly over my table.

Then I ran out the door for my 2nd appointment of the day.. Which also went just fine.

By the time I got home, I was wiped... I ate a quick dinner... Put a tiny coat on the clear coat we sprayed inside the cabinet earlier, just to make sure that worked - and it did (I will double check it this morning). I sat on Pinterest for a little while and i went to be early.

Today is a Target day... So, that will occupy my whole day.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!! Sending Pixie Dust out to all of you!

D~

 

[Tinkercc]

The countertops look amazing!!!!!!! You're soooo lucky Josh can do that!! We looked into wood countertops when we renovated our kitchen. Not an option!!! They were so expensive! That light fixture is so cool! It will look great in your kitchen!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I love the counter top. The grain really looks good.

That's too bad about having to put an extra coat on your kitchen cabinets. At least you found out what the cause was. Now I know why the old set of shelves tends to bleed through no matter how many coats of paint I put on it.

 

[ljcrochet]

YIKES!!!! No sink for that entire time? I am not sure what I would do... During major holidays no less... How did you do it? And I sure hope the end result was worth all of the time.

I blocked it out. It was beyond crazy. One of the craziest part of our renovation was when we just had a shell in the small additions we did. We had the roof done, and the siding but the soffit under the roof was not done. It was so nice seeing the light come in during Superstorm Sandy.
In the end it was worth the aggravation.

 

[Clio]

Your counter top looks amazing. Sorry about the wood bleeding through. Hopefully you've solved the problem. I think putting the ceiling light in the dead center of the room is something that's very common. It's that way in most of the houses I've been it. I've got popcorn ceilings, too and they're not going anyway anytime soon.
It's so nice of Myrthe and Brian to fix up a room just for Allie while she's visiting. I love V.'s purple magic band. I think my daughter ordered a purple one for me.
I don't think our vacations overlap. I wish they did. We're going in Sept and I think you'r going in Oct.
We doing our yearly reset at work. It's fun seeing all the new products that we're going to be carrying but it's so much work. I hope your day at Target goes well and well.
Have a great day
Liz

 

[Terkina]

The countertops looks great.
I'm glad you found out what to do about the bleeding cabinet doors.
The cabinet knobs looks nice. The lights for your kitchen looks great as well.

 

[Sweetly]

Josh did tell me that he is sick of the word "Pinterest" and "my vision" though... LOL I need to come up with some better words.

I could not help but laugh about this. It would be something my parents would say to each other during a project.

The countertop looks gorgeous!!! Just love it. Josh did a beautiful job putting it together. Love the "new" lighting fixture. Hope you can figure out the paint issue with the cabinets. A project is not complete unless you have some hiccups along the way.

This weekend our little munchkins arrive for a visit. I can SO excited!!!! I was just informed the other day that little Miss R wants me to buy her a camera; so when she goes to visit Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Minnie.......she can take pictures. AND she added on that it has to be in pink because it is her favorite color. Here I was thinking I was going to buy her a dole whip. Silly me, what was I thinking? (Keep in mind she is only 3!)

Hope you have a great day at Target!!

 

[kbarrett]

Just real quick, I love that light fixture and your counter top is looking gorgeous!

 

[DMGeurts]

The countertops look amazing!!!!!!! You're soooo lucky Josh can do that!! We looked into wood countertops when we renovated our kitchen. Not an option!!! They were so expensive! That light fixture is so cool! It will look great in your kitchen!

Thank you - with each coat of Waterlox, the detail in the grain comes out more and more... I am really loving them a lot.

I agree! Which is why we chose to make our own... We were looking at upwards of $1000 - and that was at the outlet, I just knew we couldn't afford that. The lumber for our entire counter was under $200, the stain was about $40 by the time we purchased all of the colors, and the Waterlox was $50... We had everything else on hand - which was very helpful... brushes, paint thinner, plywood, drill, screws.... So, it became a pretty economical way to update our kitchen - with lots of labor though. LOL But once I saw the butcher block counter tops at the outlet - my heart was totally set on having wood, I knew it was just the look I was going for. I would think - hiring someone handy to help assemble all of it, wouldn't be too expensive, and would still keep them at a reasonable budget... It's easy enough to stain and Waterlox it yourself, and installing it is a matter of unscrewing a few screws from your old counter top and adding a few more from the bottom for this one. Well, then I guess there's the matter of your sink and plumbing... Yah - maybe it would be best to hire a professional for that portion too? I am very lucky that Josh can do all of that... But cars and mechanical stuff - we pay through the nose when something goes wrong. LOL So, I guess everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

Yes - it will... IF I can figure out if it will work or not... I am starting to second guess myself and wonder if the wiring is a little too off to the side too - where maybe it won't work after all? I need to try to move the table over - which is difficult with all of the stuff we have over/under/around it right now, just to see if the light fixture would truly line up down the center of it or if we'd have to have our table in an awkward position for this to work.

I love the counter top. The grain really looks good.

That's too bad about having to put an extra coat on your kitchen cabinets. At least you found out what the cause was. Now I know why the old set of shelves tends to bleed through no matter how many coats of paint I put on it.

Thank you - I am very excited about it! I just love how it's turning out - I cannot wait to see the difference in the kitchen once it's installed. Hopefully this weekend....

Yes - thankfully it was an easy fix... I was able to get the entire thing done last night, so we are sort-of back in business today.

I blocked it out. It was beyond crazy. One of the craziest part of our renovation was when we just had a shell in the small additions we did. We had the roof done, and the siding but the soffit under the roof was not done. It was so nice seeing the light come in during Superstorm Sandy.
In the end it was worth the aggravation.

I bet! Wow!!! And how SCARY! I cannot even begin to imagine... I think I would throw myself into a coma or something from being so scared during that. Glad it was worth it in the end - but still - I think I'd be scarred for life.

Your counter top looks amazing. Sorry about the wood bleeding through. Hopefully you've solved the problem. I think putting the ceiling light in the dead center of the room is something that's very common. It's that way in most of the houses I've been it. I've got popcorn ceilings, too and they're not going anyway anytime soon.
It's so nice of Myrthe and Brian to fix up a room just for Allie while she's visiting. I love V.'s purple magic band. I think my daughter ordered a purple one for me.
I don't think our vacations overlap. I wish they did. We're going in Sept and I think you'r going in Oct.
We doing our yearly reset at work. It's fun seeing all the new products that we're going to be carrying but it's so much work. I hope your day at Target goes well and well.
Have a great day
Liz

Thank you! I am very excited about it. It's looking better and better with each coat of Waterlox... All of the "smoky" looking areas - where the wood took on a blue-ish tint from the stain have all disappeared, so that makes me super happy.

Yes - problem solved on the cabinet bases... I still need to purchase paint that we can roll on for the doors and drawers though. But at least the bases are ready for real paint now.

I agree - we have popcorn ceilings in most of the rooms in our house... I don't ever see them going, just because it's so much work and mess. But if I ever do - I'd love to do wood ceilings, that would be incredible - especially in our farmhouse.

I know - it was just so nice of them to give her her own space (that looks weird putting two hers together, LOL)... Her countdown is getting small - and she reminds me almost every day how long she has before she leaves... It's getting harder and harder for me to control my emotional-ness about it all.

Your trip is getting so close though!!! Soooo exciting! Are you flying or driving down? Sadly - I don't think our trips overlap either - I am not there in Sept at all.

Thanks! I hope things settle down for you at work soon.

The countertops looks great.
I'm glad you found out what to do about the bleeding cabinet doors.
The cabinet knobs looks nice. The lights for your kitchen looks great as well.

Thanks! I am pretty excited about it - it looks much better than I even hoped it would.

Yup - it's all figured out and fixed.

Thanks... Now if I can figure out if it will actually work or not... Otherwise I will have to do something else- even though I don't want to. LOL

Any news on your car?

I could not help but laugh about this. It would be something my parents would say to each other during a project.

The countertop looks gorgeous!!! Just love it. Josh did a beautiful job putting it together. Love the "new" lighting fixture. Hope you can figure out the paint issue with the cabinets. A project is not complete unless you have some hiccups along the way.

This weekend our little munchkins arrive for a visit. I can SO excited!!!! I was just informed the other day that little Miss R wants me to buy her a camera; so when she goes to visit Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Minnie.......she can take pictures. AND she added on that it has to be in pink because it is her favorite color. Here I was thinking I was going to buy her a dole whip. Silly me, what was I thinking? (Keep in mind she is only 3!)

Hope you have a great day at Target!!

Hahaha.... Yah - he's pretty tired of hearing about "my vision"... LOL

Thanks! I really love it too - I cannot believe how nice it looks! I cannot wait to see it in my kitchen and installed. Thanks - I just hope the new light fixture will work? I am afraid now, that we'd have to put the table too far over for the pendent lights to hang over it... I will have to do some investigating as soon as I can move my table - there's just too much stuff on it and around it right now.

Thanks - I did figure it out last night, which is a relief. I have the bases ready to go (which is the important part for our counter top installation to happen this weekend) - I do need to get a gallon of roll on oil-based paint for the doors and drawer fronts though. Even though - those are definitely important to do, those are easier to do a bit later - our kitchen can still function pretty easily with out them, for the time being. But I will pick some up this weekend and then we can move forward on that.

Yay!!!! Exciting! Hehehehe... You are going to have so much fun - even if you have to go camera shopping... Which is getting difficult these days - many stores no longer carry a huge selection, because most people use their phones as their primary camera now... Which makes it difficult for the older generation and the very young generation - who don't use their phones as often... I wish you the best of luck finding something that works easily for little fingers... I think Fisher Price used to make one? My neighbor had it for her kids - buttons were big and the case was a bit rubberized to help with dropping accidents. Maybe Google it?

Thanks - it was short shift - so that was really nice, it went fast!

Just real quick, I love that light fixture and your counter top is looking gorgeous!

Thank you - now I am second guessing if it will work... I need to move everything from around and on the table so I can move it over to see if it will have to sit in an awkward place for the light to line up over it properly. Sigh - sometimes my brain makes things complicated. LOL I sometimes wish I wasn't such a perfectionist.

Thanks - I am super happy with how they are turning out!

********************************************************************************************

Even though yesterday was a Target day for me... I still got a lot done last night, which makes me happy.

After work - first I grabbed Starbucks... Gotta love/hate that it's right there in our store. LOL

Then I ran to Walmart... I grabbed some Kilz oil based primer in a spray can - which was sort-of a good choice. I grabbed 2 cans just in case 1 wasn't enough.

I also grabbed a few groceries, then I picked up the girls from school.

Allison dropped V and I off at home and she went to work.

I started almost immediately on the cabinets... The spray was a GREAT idea... I wish we would have sprayed them to start with - it was super quick and easy... It covered the problem spots perfectly - and we are now back in business. I took this photo for Josh, because it shows what I used and one of the worst problem spots inside the cupboard - all covered up.

Once I was done with that - I went outside and tried to spray down one of the cabinet doors - but I just couldn't get it even and the over spray was terrible... I think we are much better off by rolling it on the doors and drawers.

Then I put the 3rd coat of Waterlox on the counter top... It's looking better and better with each coat. This afternoon, I will put on the last coat and let it cure until Saturday. We aren't totally done with this process yet - remember... We still have a 4 ft. section of counter top we still have to build and do this all over again. But that should be much easier... And our kitchen doesn't have to be non-functioning for that part.

Finally - I took a bit of time and cleaned up our back deck. All of our patio furniture was still packed away and under covers from the winter... V had a great idea - of getting that out and we could use that - at least on the nicer days - so we had a table to sit at. Great idea V - I am a little disappointed that I didn't think of that one myself. LOL So - I got the deck swept and organized... it needs to be done for Allison's open house anyways... And then I set up the patio furniture... It doesn't look great out there - as Josh has all of his cutting tools set up (and will until we are done in the kitchen) - and we need to stain the deck in a bad way... but at least we have somewhere clean to eat meals.

I probably didn't sit down until about 7 pm... But it felt good to be able to make progress by myself - because Josh was working late last night.

Today... I am going for another walk this morning - it looks like it's beautiful out there. We were definitely blessed with some gorgeous weather this week.

Then I will be working upstairs all day today - I am falling a little bit behind from helping Josh on Tuesday while he was home. I am hoping to make good progress up there today.

Tonight - I am *hoping* to get the first (and hopefully only) coat of paint on the cabinet bases... So it has enough time to dry before we install the counter top on Saturday.... I am sooooo excited for this part!!! To finally see it come together. I only wish we had built the 4 ft section too, at the time, it seemed like a good idea to do it in stages and keep a little bit of our kitchen functioning... but now I just want it all done. I am tempted to pack up all of our food in the remaining 2 cabinets and get that primed so it can be painted with the rest of them. LOL

Anyways - I hope you all have a great day today!!!

D~

 

[cajunfan]

Love the kitchen stuff! Go ahead and pack it up and do it all at once! I thought of you while I was at Cast Connections last Saturday. They had the VB hipster in the pattern you like (I prefer the blue patterns, but bought 2 of this one since I am so hard on purses!)

Oh Starbucks! I got hooked on coffee frappes while in WDW...then I discovered you could have it as an Espresso frappe! Oh my word! I LOVED those. I NEEDED them come Monday and Tuesday!! And the ones near my work are way too crowded for me to go to them.

Take care!

 

[Terkina]

How great that the Spray worked
How great that you cleaned the back deck so you can eat there when the weather is good.


I called the garage where my car is going to be customized and they said they would call me back today. Well they didn't call me back So I don't know how they are doing and when they will start on my car. I have to call them again tomorrow.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

It really is looking wonderful! Great work!

 

[DMGeurts]

Love the kitchen stuff! Go ahead and pack it up and do it all at once! I thought of you while I was at Cast Connections last Saturday. They had the VB hipster in the pattern you like (I prefer the blue patterns, but bought 2 of this one since I am so hard on purses!)

Oh Starbucks! I got hooked on coffee frappes while in WDW...then I discovered you could have it as an Espresso frappe! Oh my word! I LOVED those. I NEEDED them come Monday and Tuesday!! And the ones near my work are way too crowded for me to go to them.

Take care!

Thank you - I am having a lot of fun with it. I have not packed it up yet, I am still not sure if I am going to? We haven't even started building the other 4ft counter top yet - so, I am a bit hesitant to have my entire kitchen down for so long.

I totally understand - I have a few extras around... I have not started carrying that one yet - I am thinking I will wait to carry it until fall - since it's a bit more of a fall colored bag? I love it though - and I hope you enjoy carrying it.

Hahaha... Yah - they are so amazing! I had to cut my calories back when ordering - as I was just there too often... And financially, I had to cut back too... So, now I get either an iced or hot Americano with 3 packets of Sugar in the Raw and room for cream... It's $2.65 after my dicount (I get my Target Team Member discount at all of the ones inside a Target store) and it's just under 100 calories. Now I go there way more often than I should and I love it.

Thanks for stopping by - it was great to see you here.

How great that the Spray worked
How great that you cleaned the back deck so you can eat there when the weather is good.


I called the garage where my car is going to be customized and they said they would call me back today. Well they didn't call me back So I don't know how they are doing and when they will start on my car. I have to call them again tomorrow.

Yes - it feels good to be moving along again.

Yes - I agree - it's nice. I had dinner out there by myself last night.

Grrr.... I hope you have more info today.

It really is looking wonderful! Great work!

Thank you - it's so exciting to know that we will be starting to assemble again tomorrow. I've never been so excited for a weekend before. LOL

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Yesterday was pretty boring...

I worked upstairs all day. I made good progress - still a smidge behind, but catching up fast.

Last night, I put the final coat of primer on the corbels. I also put the final coat of Waterlox on the counter top. And then I put the first coat of paint on the cabinet bases... It was kind of funny - because right now we are only painting up to the stove - so there's a "line" there - of the previous paint and now the current paint... There really is no difference between the two. LOL Except - I think what they used before was a very high gloss - and I went with more of a satin this time - so it's not quite as shiny. I also think that this new paint has a bit more of a creamy look to it - as opposed to a very bright white.

Opinion... I am not sure what to do... Josh and I are debating on doing the farmhouse trim either bright white (his preference) or if we should do it the color of the cupboards - white with a bit more of a creamy look? I am not sure what is "right" in this situation? I am just concerned that since the farmhouse trim on the main entry door will be right next to the painted cabinets - that it will look strange having a creamy white and a bright white right next to eachother...

That's about all for yesterday - all of that stuff took me all night long. Painting the interior of that cabinet takes the longest time - but I am really loving it.

Today... I will be working upstairs again all day. I am going to look at the cabinet bases a bit better in the sun light to see if there is anywhere that I need to touch up... Otherwise - we are right on track for putting it all back together tomorrow.

Tonight - I think Josh and I are running to the home improvement store... I need to get the oil based primer for the cabinet doors yet. I think I will also buy another can of the oil based spray - just to make sure I have enough for the remainder of the cabinet bases and the shelf above the new microwave (which should be delivered today). And we also need a few more trim pieces for the wainscot back splash.

I am really hoping that the entire 12 foot section of my kitchen is together and entirely functional after the weekend. Our biggest concern, honestly - is the porcelain sink I purchased on Craigslist... In all of my infinite internet searching - I am not able to find installation instructions for that beast... It weighs a LOT - and it's just hard for us to believe that these tiny metal sink clips are the only thing holding it in? Both Josh and I feel like there should be some sort of additional support there... Josh is hoping to talk to a friend of his at work today - who is an "old timer" plumber... Hopefully he will have some insight for us.

I hope all of you have an amazing weekend! Sending out Pixie Dust to all of you!

D~

 

[Wood Nymph]

I am just concerned that since the farmhouse trim on the main entry door will be right next to the painted cabinets - that it will look strange having a creamy white and a bright white right next to eachother...

I have to agree with you on this one.

I am really hoping that the entire 12 foot section of my kitchen is together and entirely functional after the weekend. Our biggest concern, honestly - is the porcelain sink I purchased on Craigslist... In all of my infinite internet searching - I am not able to find installation instructions for that beast... It weighs a LOT - and it's just hard for us to believe that these tiny metal sink clips are the only thing holding it in? Both Josh and I feel like there should be some sort of additional support there... Josh is hoping to talk to a friend of his at work today - who is an "old timer" plumber... Hopefully he will have some insight for us.

If your sink is exactly like ours and is flush with the counter top rather than having a raised ridge, then the sink rests on a wooden frame. I looked under our sink and I can see that the sink is resting on wood. I took some pictures of what it looks like.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

It's so exciting to follow along with your progress!

 

[Terkina]

Sounds like it would be best to paint the painted cabinets the same color as the main door.


The garage where my car is customized called me today before I called them. They didn't have any good news for me. They are delayed at least 1 1\2 months. They couldn't give me a date for when they are going to start on my car. I guess I won't have my new car until autumn now

 

[dalmatian7]

Have you ever looked at the retro renovation website? They are mostly focused on mid century modern, but they have articles on porcelain sinks and kitchen rehabs with these items, you many find some hints there. Also they are HUGE on the safety of these items when it comes to lead, etc. Mostly, I just like looking at the pictures, so I can't give you any hints.

 

[anniebean]

The bright white against the creamy might give the cabinets the appearance of being aged? I dunno.

 

[DMGeurts]

I have to agree with you on this one.

If your sink is exactly like ours and is flush with the counter top rather than having a raised ridge, then the sink rests on a wooden frame. I looked under our sink and I can see that the sink is resting on wood. I took some pictures of what it looks like.

Thanks so much for all of the pictures of your sink Sue... It is going to be super helpful.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

It's so exciting to follow along with your progress!

Thanks... I wish I had something more exciting to report though. Like more trip stuff - but we are kind of at a lull.

Sounds like it would be best to paint the painted cabinets the same color as the main door.

The garage where my car is customized called me today before I called them. They didn't have any good news for me. They are delayed at least 1 1\2 months. They couldn't give me a date for when they are going to start on my car. I guess I won't have my new car until autumn now

That's what I think too.

Grrrr... That is such a bummer! Hopefully their schedule will ease up sooner rather than later and you'll get your car much before then.

Have you ever looked at the retro renovation website? They are mostly focused on mid century modern, but they have articles on porcelain sinks and kitchen rehabs with these items, you many find some hints there. Also they are HUGE on the safety of these items when it comes to lead, etc. Mostly, I just like looking at the pictures, so I can't give you any hints.

I have - I love that website!!! I can also sit on there forever and just look - it's so much fun!

I've dug around quite a bit on there for how to install one of these sinks - and I've yet to be able to find it... I've found lots of other great stuff and info though in the process. My guess - is that these sinks were so common at one time, that people just assume it's basic knowledge about how to install them? Josh is pretty sure he has a plan - I guess we are going to find out today...

The bright white against the creamy might give the cabinets the appearance of being aged? I dunno.

I was thinking it could give them the appearance of being dirty? I think I am going with the safe bet and just doing them the same color of the cabinets - I can always paint over them later with a brighter white if I don't like them.

*************************************************************************************************

Again - I went for a nice walk yesterday... I love going on these walks for my soul... but I just don't feel like they are doing any thing to lead me in the direction of a loss... If anything - I am gaining and losing muscle definition right now - and that's definitely NOT a place I want to be in. I am hoping to have a good portion of my office back this week.

And then I worked upstairs all day... I made good progress and that's always good.

Sporadically, during the day, I also worked on the kitchen... I put a final coat of primer on the wall thing above the cabinets - and at the end, it happened to be the first coat.

Our 2nd new microwave was delivered yesterday - but we have yet to dig it out of the box to make sure it isn't damaged.

Ummmm... Last night Josh and I took the Jeep out for a ride - it was a gorgeous night out, and it was good to get away from kitchen stuff with the top off of the Jeep. Although - we didn't really get away from kitchen stuff... As we found ourselves at the home improvement store buying more kitchen stuff. It wasn't even fun kitchen stuff... Oil based primer... L brackets for the counter top... new drain assembly for the sink... more disposable paint tray liners and foam brushes... Boring stuff. I don't think there was one item last night that even remotely excited me? Except for maybe - the fact that I looked at new faucets (not getting one now - we just replaced ours last year - even though, now it's the wrong color... So, I just need to live with it for a while) - and we looked at new light fixtures... Really leaning towards some sort of track lighting system - since it will do what we need it to - provide light in the right places.

We did decide to do the farmhouse trim in the same color of the cabinets... Here's a photo of where my cabinets and front door trim are really close together... In this photo, the cabinets are painted the final color and the walls are painted bright white (primer) - so I guess a person could kind of see where if I went bright white with the trim, it could make my cabinets look dingy and dirty?

Josh and I finally got home at about 8pm... Which is pretty late for this girl. Even though it was late - I took the time to paint the wall above the cabinets (I know there is a name for this - it's just too early in the morning for me to think properly)... It's my first glimpse at the final color of the kitchen... It's definitely light and it's definitely neutral... There isn't a huge contrast between the color of the cabinets and the color of the wall - at least there wasn't last night when the paint was still wet. I am a bit anxious to see it in the light of day and dry. At least it will definitely lighten up the room a lot - which is what I want.

Today is a SUPER huge day! It is counter top installation, sink installation, and dishwasher plumbing day. I do know - for sure - there will be one trip to the home improvement store, as we still need to buy the drain pipes for under the sink... We were looking at them last night, but Josh wants to get the sink in place, so he has a visual of how he wants to do the drain - understandably. I am hoping to have it all in working order tomorrow.

While he is doing that - I am in charge of taking V to and from school. In between - I will be priming the cabinet doors/drawers with the oil based primer... Yuck! That is my big job today. As needed, I will also help Josh.

We also have plans to build the little 4 foot counter top this weekend - so I can work on staining it and Waterloxing it this week. It is entirely possible that we can get that little section of kitchen done next weekend - I am also hoping to finish priming the remainder of the kitchen during the week this coming week. And getting set up to prime and paint the wainscot back splash. There is a LOT left to do in the painting department... Thankfully - if we plan it right, this is stuff that's easy enough to work on during the week - for me anyways, and with all of the drying times - it makes it easier for Josh to just work on installing on the weekends. I think we are finally getting a system down.

I hope to have some major updated pictures for all of you tomorrow & Monday!

Again - I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I hope you are having as nice of weather as we are having (although, that is about to change this coming week)...

D~