Tuesday, January 22, 2013

around the kitchen


Things have been so crazy around here that I haven't really had a chance to tell you about our kitchen "issues." It all started right after Thanksgiving when our dishwasher died- Nick likes to say I wore it out over the holiday. Anyway fast forward to what I thought would be a pretty quick trip to Lowes to get a new one when we learned that our current broken d/w is not a standard size, it's smaller. When we went to measure for a standard size we realized it wouldn't fit.

My first thought was to somehow just cut into the counter top underneath because we were only about a 1/4'' short height wise. We had our contractor friend come by to take a look when he very casually mentioned the fact that our giant cast iron sink wasn't properly reinforced when it was installed and as a result it's basically pulling down our whole counter top and causing it to sag- which explains why we're not able to fit the standard d/w. It also explained why water would constantly roll down the counter and all over my legs and feet while I did the dishes- it was't anywhere near level.

BEFORE
If you look closely you can see where everything starts to dip the closer to the sink you get.


From there it was basically a domino effect as far as having to replace things, the counter top has to be raised, it's attached to the back splash, the sink has to go because it's tiled right to the counter top etc.. you get the idea. So here we are almost 2 months later and last Thursday we finally got rolling on fixing everything up. We had always planned on remodeling the kitchen just not quite yet. Our hand was pretty much forced though so to help offset the unexpected cost a little we have broken it down into phases starting with the "sink side" of the kitchen. When we feel financially ready we'll tackle the cook top/ wall oven side and lastly the flooring {did I mention we also found out that our tile floor was laid incorrectly too and it's basically "floating" with only the grout holding it together. For love of DIY, these people were out of control!

AFTER DEMO


So here we are today we've been without running water in the kitchen since last Thursday but the guys are here today finally installing the counter this morning and now the sink and new d/w this afternoon. The back splash tile will start tomorrow. It's been a stressful and unexpected road but the results are really coming along! I'll be back later in the week to hopefully show you the completed new look.

GETTING CLOSER... hey is that running water and a working dishwasher?! woo hoo!



Have a wonderful day!


Sarah

Sunday, January 20, 2013

3/52





"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Lucy: She loves her rice box. On this day she asked that I braid her hair and her doll Chloe's hair too.
Gray: Is really getting into table food. Spaghetti is a favorite.


Sarah

Friday, January 18, 2013

Duvet DIY


I have been searching for a duvet cover for Lucy for quite a while. I couldn't find one that I really loved for less than the price of about 2 weeks worth of groceries. Crazy town! So I got to thinking how hard could it be to make one? After all isn't it really just a giant pillowcase?

I looked up some tutorials on Pinterest and I learned that all I really needed were 2 flat sheets (twin). I hopped on Ebay and found a perfect flat sheet for the front. For the back I used a light blue sheet the we already owned- it paired perfectly with the print on the Ebay sheet. I simply ironed the heck out of the sheets (easily the longest part of the whole process), then pinned them together on 3 sides and sewed around. For the bottom closures I decided to go with 4 squares of fabric Velcro. It was easier at the time than trying to figure out the buttonhole attachment on my sewing machine.

I love the result, it was exactly what I couldn't find but wanted from the stores and best yet the whole project only cost me $9 for the sheet including shipping. Lucy just loves it too- she looks so cozy burrowed underneath all of the new mooshy, soft goodness. I will definitely be making more of these babies in the future!

















I hope you have a beautiful weekend!


Sarah

Sunday, January 13, 2013

2/52





"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Lucy: Coloring is a daily activity for her. She's learning how fun stencils can be!
Gray: Started out his week so bright eyed before falling prey to a nasty cold. Hopefully he'll be on the mend soon...

52 in 2013

Sarah

Monday, January 7, 2013

1/52






"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Lucy: Beats the winter cabin fever by regular morning jumps.
Gray: Had his crib lowered once again right after this photo was taken. 

52 in 2013




Sarah