The Saga Continues! - Kitchen Update

If you have been following our kitchen-remodeling saga, here are the old posts. Looking back on the deconstruction really made me stop and appreciate how far it's come!
1. We made a big hole
2. We got new cabinets
3. We got a countertop, appliances, and installed backsplash which sounds like a lot but we did it over a period of like 3 months
4. I built an island

Matt and I moved into our house in June 2015.

Last weekend, we finally cleared out the "kitchen nook" that has been filled with odds and ends from moving and kitchen construction.

Before

It only took us two years...I have no idea why. The bins of old teaching stuff are now in the attic and we made a huge donation to Good Will.

That same week, I was struck by an unusual bout of motivation and convinced Matt to go thrift shopping with me. I was looking for a table and chairs for under the window.

We went to at least half a dozen shops. I nearly settled for something okay a couple times, but never pulled the trigger. The last place we went to was closed, but they let us in anyway. And there it was, the perfect table and chair set! A little beat up, but made of solid dark wood, which was exactly what I wanted. Not too big for the space, either!

It was marked for $225, but they brought it down to $125 without blinking an eye. My budget was $150.

I put off taking photos until I'd gotten some perfect cushions, but now the space is done!

Comfy cushions are a must.

After

It's so nice to be able to come out of the bedroom (the door on the right) and into a clean, open room. I'm not stepping over boxes and random junk. I've really enjoyed eating breakfast at the new table instead of having to use the dining room, and it's lovely to be working in the kitchen and not have an eyesore in my peripheral vision.

My view from the sink.

We are on track to have the kitchen totally done by Passover, which is my goal! I've ordered hardware for the cabinets and once we install it (probably over spring break) I'll post one...LAST...update!

What color-scheme is your kitchen?

Do you have a breakfast space in addition to a dining room?

What's the longest time you've put off unpacking after a move or a trip?

ABK

TOL - Just Some Things

Today I'm linking up with Amanda at Running with Spoons to share some random thoughts.

1. More kitchen stuff! Our kitchen island came! I spent over four hours putting it together all by myself. It was a pain because the instructions weren't clear about which way certain boards had to face, so I ended up taking it apart and starting over twice.

I insisted on building this all alone and it SUCKED but now I feel like I can do anything!

But it's gorgeous! I built the doors and drawer and lifted the granite top (which is real granite and so freaking heavy) and everything! I was pretty proud.

It was really hard to get a good angle in these photos but you get the idea!

I've already used it to prep breakfast and dinner and I'm so glad I finally decided to just jump in and buy one - Matt and I had debated getting an island for months but it was definitely the right choice. 

2. Self-love. This week I realized how far I've come in the "body acceptance" area of my life. Like, I've finally gone from "acceptance" to full on embracing my body.

Instagram always brings up a lot of fitness accounts when I'm scrolling through searching for new people to follow, and often that means "fitspo"-type posts come up. Looking at some of those photos this week, I found that I wasn't comparing myself to IG accounts of perfectly fit or impossibly thin women.

I've spoken only briefly of it in the past, but I've dealt with disordered eating and I was surprised and proud to see that my mindset has finally naturally shifted away from wanting a waif-like body. (Some people are naturally waif-like, and that's fine, but that's not me.) I've never been happier with where my body is and what it's capable of, and it felt really good to avoid that comparison trap completely without having to consciously readjust my mindset.

3. RUNNING! Getting four runs in last week, even if our "long run" was shorter than planned, felt so good. I told Elizabeth after one of my two runs in late December that my body and mind felt good after running even if my legs didn't - I forget how important running is to my over-all wellbeing. I am so, so happy to be running again.

It feels great to be back!

Elizabeth raised a good point when so many people teased us for wearing long sleeves on our run Sunday...It literally goes from 80+ degrees to 50s overnight in Florida. We never acclimate to winter properly because the temperature drops 30 degrees without warning! That makes me feel better about how cold I felt!

4. Conversations on the run. While running one afternoon, Elizabeth and I received a few more honks than usual. (One of them was very encouraging and called out, "Keep it up, girls!" but the rest were just obnoxious as usual.)

We'd been having a normal running conversation, but eventually I couldn't ignore how strange it was that we'd received more honks during this one run than on the last dozen combined.

Me: "I wonder if we look really good right now, or if we look like we're dying and need to be woken up. Or if they think this is our New Year's resolution and they're trying to encourage us?"

E: "I wonder if they'd honk at us if they knew we were talking about poop."

I died laughing. Seriously! I imagine the people who honk and catcall would be pretty surprised if we turned around and told them we'd been talking about how running wreaks havoc on your intestinal tract.

We joked a little bit about maybe getting shirts that say WE'RE TALKING ABOUT POOP on the back so drivers have fair warning. It might make a good deterrent!

5. Candids. And, just because, here's an outtake from our workout picture from Monday. An old student had stopped by as we finished up, so he took the photo, and we were joking around about how we should pose.

Me: Let's look really sad that our arms hurt now. E: You are a dork.

What are some random things going on in your life this week?
Have you ever built furniture? (IKEA counts!)

ABK

Kitchen News

As Megan and Kristina can attest, my kitchen was little more than a hole in the wall in December. This month, we've made huge progress, and within the next few weeks, the kitchen will be fully functional!

Here's the before picture of our lovely 70s kitchen:

Obviously this is the "we just moved in" photo. Notice the closed wall, ugly color, and wasted space near the ceiling.

We cut out the wall separating it from the living room and tore out the cabinets:

Let there be light!

Finally, the cabinets have been installed!

I came home from work to this lovely surprise!

The bottom cabinets went in the next week. We moved the sink, dishwasher, and stove to maximize counter-space and make the kitchen more intuitive.

I love that we have drawers with special slide-outs for silverware. The big bottom cabinets also have pull-out shelves for easy access!

Then, we got "new" (gently-used) stainless steel appliances from Kristin and Stephen. Our friends James and Rhonda helped Matt move them in and helped remove the old stuff...which Matt put on our lawn as freebies and which were gone within hours!

We still need to install the microwave/Advantium oven. It's all coming together!

I'm in love with the appliances. They make the entire kitchen seem like...an actual kitchen. Matt even commented that the fridge - sans pictures and postcards - looks pretty sophisticated. I think we're both just glad to have things shaping up and looking good!

Our granite countertop was measured this week, so it will be installed in the next 10 days or so; I've been looking at backsplashes because we'll be installing that as soon as the countertop is done. And once the counters are in, we can get the water all hooked up and I'll be able to really cook again! We need to choose hardware for the cabinets and finish some detail work along the ceiling and floor. We'll probably change out the lights and the fan...but all that is cosmetic!

This is the kind of granite we're getting...

...and this is one of the backsplashes I'm thinking of. I like the look of frosted glass. We may go with something with a blue undertone.

The bottom line is that our kitchen will be fully functional in the next couple weeks! It's been out of commission since September!

It's been a long, long overhaul, but it's going to be so worth it. Most importantly, it will be done in time for Passover, so I'll be able to host as usual. Even though Passover is in late April, I've already sent out invitations because I'm so excited!

Have you ever done a big home-improvement project?
What does your dream kitchen look like?

ABK

Sunday Shenanigans

Sunday was supposed to go like this: Matt would get up early and go to his SUP race, and I'd sleep in and go watch once the race was underway.

What actually happened was that Matt backed his car out of the garage and came back inside to wake me up. "There's a strange car in our driveway." A completely trashed strange car, it turned out, with garbage all over the inside, an industrial sized bottle of Grey Goose in the front seat, a high school senior tag on the windshield, and no driver in sight.

Boggled, I told Matt to call a towing company and go to his race.

I really enjoyed live-updating everyone on this debacle!

About half an hour later, the towing guy showed up. I explained that the car wasn't ours, we had no clue whose it was, and we wanted it towed. The guy was like, "This is a first for me." I asked him for a card to leave for the owner if they returned for the car, but in my mind all I could imagine was a hungover high-schooler checking random driveways like in Dude, Where's My Car, because how likely would it be that they'd remember where they parked it?

Who knew this movie was so close to real life?

About forty minutes after that, I was ready to go to the SUP race. I just had to tape the business card to our door...and then I heard it. Voices. A very distraught, shrill girl, and a completely confused and panicked boy.

I listened out of sight for a minute, trying to overhear them and figure out if they were safe to approach. I gathered that he had told her to park the car in our driveway because our house has a security system and a big hedge that blocks the driveway from the street, so it was safe. (Maybe they were at a party and didn't want to park in the street? I don't even know.)

I glanced out. He was shoeless and his mannerisms reminded me of Phoebe Buffay's brother Frank on FRIENDS. She was bleached-blonde, extensioned, over-tanned, tattooed, and generally pitiable. 

I went out. The boy asked me, completely guileless, "We parked our car here last night. Have you seen it?" As if this were the most natural thing in the world!

I told him my husband had had it towed and gave him the business card. I finished getting ready for the race while they stayed in the driveway trying to figure out what to do. I overheard the girl saying, "You're paying the fee! You're the one who told me to park here!" Good for you, girl.

I went out once more to give them bottles of water and to kind of check them out and see if they were safe to leave while I went to the race. They actually asked me for a ride to the tow yard! Of course, I declined. When I left the house, they were still in my driveway.

As for the SUP race, I got there after the start but with plenty of time to see Matt finish. We had lunch out afterward and by the time I got home, the hungover teens had gone.

I felt kind of bad about it, but really, we could've called the cops on them and made things much worse; had they left a note, we wouldn't have had the car towed at all. But hopefully this teaches them a valuable lesson and, in ten years or so, they'll look back on it and laugh.

And I just keep thinking, oh man, I'm old.

Did you get up to any shenanigans when you were in high school?

Do you ever have to deal with wayward teens?

ABK

Note to Self: This is a Running Blog

I haven't written about running in awhile because...I haven't been running. What started as some necessary time off and LASIK recovery has snowballed into a real slump. I'm playing with the idea of starting a run streak to help reignite my engines.

Last time I participated in the Runner's World Run Streak I felt I got a lot out of it. I don't think I want to go 39 days again, but a week or two of running daily might be just what I need. 

The trick to a good run streak is to remember the minimum - one mile - is a perfectly fair run. It fulfills the requirement while allowing for rest and recovery. Last time I streaked, I found my passion for running again, got stronger, got faster, and built confidence. I think that's really what I need right now.

Just because I didn't run once over spring break doesn't mean I was sedentary. We finally undertook the task of painting our house.

Here are some before/after shots!

Matt and his dad powerwashed the house Saturday while I recovered from Passover and did some lesson planning.

Before, the house was a washed-out pink with brown gutters and soffits.

The last time our house was painted was probably in the '70s. We had a hard time choosing a color because, while I like pink houses, Matt was dead set against it. In the end, I thought a reddish-brown would be bold but not overwhelming, and then (after much debate and stress), Matt found the perfect color.

You can see the new color beside the original here!

Almost done!

I've never so much as painted a room before, so I was beyond grateful for Dave's expertise and the additional help from Tammy and her son Justin. We got pretty much the entire house done in one day! (There are a few areas that will need touch-ups and detail-work of course.)

The color is a deep pink/almost red (it's Valspar's Savannah Red if anyone cares), but looks definitively red in certain lights. I love it!

I'm really happy to say goodbye to those dated brown gutters, too!

I feel very accomplished, and the house is one step closer to feeling like our house. (I guess by the time we have everything set up to our liking, it will be time to sell!)

Have you ever painted a house?

What color is your house?

Have you ever participated in a run streak?

ABK

Making Our House A Home

Well, it only took us six months, but we've finally hung decorations, organized the office/guest rooms, and added some warmth to our house. 

There are still a lot of big projects to face, like tearing down a wall and redoing the kitchen/master suite, but for now the majority of the house is coming along. Here's what Matt and I spent winter break working on. (It doesn't seem like much, but shopping and decorating take a deceptively huge amount of time and effort.)

To see the before shots, go here. I'm not putting the photos in this post because, let's face it, scrolling through a million house pictures isn't really why most people read this blog!

Living Room

First, we spent approximately half my lifetime at Lowe's picking out curtain rods and curtains (which we returned, then went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to find new ones).

This is my "OMG CAN WE GO HOME?" face.

Then we got to work!

Matt removed our oatmeal-colored verticals. Yuck.

I patched and painted the holes, with Archie's help of course.

Matt hung the curtain rod...

...with Archie's help, of course.

We debated on colors. Originally I really wanted red curtains and finding a set that matched our rug nicely was awesome. But in the end we went with white.

Our living room gets pretty dark so white curtains make it feel more open. Plus, the sliders go out onto the pool so light, airy curtains made sense.

The finished product. We also hung an autographed SUP paddle Matt won at a race.

Dining Room

Our dining room is connected to the living room, so we wanted curtains that matched. We went with the same white. When we moved, my parents gave us three pieces of real art. We've now hung two of them; the third's frame shattered and we need to reframe it.

We hung the Möbius Strip in the dining room.

The view to our front patio. We clearly haven't done anything out there yet! You can also glimpse the new cushions I got for our chairs...no more red and green plaid!

Guest Rooms

Even though we're planning to get a queen bed for at least one of these rooms, they're still complete enough to accommodate guests.

One of our hand-built shelves came crashing down this week (too many books!), so Matt had to take them down and add supports. Now the office/second guest room is all set up. Our framed diplomas are hanging over the desk, too.

We have two beds in the first guest room, and now there are even pictures on the walls!

I had some fun framing my All Star Game tickets, etc.

Foyer

We hung our second nice piece of art, the King of Hearts, on one side of the foyer. Across from it we put up a nice mirror surrounded by photographs I took during our various trips around the world. I can't wait to add more photos to the collection...We don't have one of Panama printed yet. 

From top left around: Edinbrugh, Aix en Provence, Florence, Jerusalem, St. Mark's Square (Venice), Cliffs of Moher (Ireland), Venice, Arc de Triomf (Barcelona), Aix en Provence.

We plan to get a nice table to put under the mirror, too.

Master Suite

We finally took down our gross, broken verticals in the master bedroom and can now actually let daylight into our room! We have a wonderful view.

We haven't hung anything on the walls in the master yet. The problem is that everything we love we want out on display where people can see it! So our room is still very bland; but our new duvet set, rug, and curtains do help!

Addition

The space off the kitchen that we had been using to store junk has been cleaned out and organized! We're not sure what we want to use this space for, but at least now it's not an eyesore.

 

Obviously there's still tons to get done, but the entire house feels warmer with so many little details added. I'm starting to feel proud of it and like I can really call it "home!"

Do you like decorating and organizing house stuff?

What is your favorite room in your house? Why?

ABK