Kitchen update.

I've been trying to stay focused and only allow myself
to work on the kitchen project I've already started
before I get sidetracked by another.

Did I happen to mention that we've got 2 kitchens?  hehe

Don't worry, this kitchen was finished months ago.

The red shelves were made from a window cornice that I had Bill

cut out for me.  I didn't care for the way the cornice looked, but we were

able to repurpose the bottom scallops for open shelving in the play kitchen.

I found a set of vintage faucets and a bright red sink (Rubbermaid).

An ironstone pitcher to hold mini utensils is a must!

I wasn't able to find a Keurig, but this old tin coffee pot

makes a mean cup o' joe!

These stove knobs actually click on the different settings.

I had a serious love affair with Brach's Malted Milk Balls for years,

so when I spotted this fluorescent light at a local flea market,

 it had to come home with me.  I don't care for fluorescent lighting

anywhere else, but this one provides plenty of light for junior bakers.

Before.

(5 years ago.)

After.

 I don't think I need to tell you how long it took me to finish this up.
Disclaimer:  I did not choose the baseboard trim color, but give me a break!
  We've only been in the house 10 years.  hehe

Now for the progress in the big girl kitchen...

I chose to use the wider tongue-and-groove planking.  Since we aren't
finish carpenters by any means, I figured it's less expensive to make
mistakes with a single plank rather than a whole sheet of beadboard paneling.

It's moving along at a snail's pace because I've been cutting each piece
with a hand saw!  The cuts are straight, but the bullnose tile is uneven (it's made to look that way), so we'll cover up the edge with 1/4 inch quarter round molding when we finish.

Bill cut out the openings for the outlets where I marked them,
and believe it or not, we got it right!  Woo hoo!  Now we just have to remember to pull
the outlets through the openings and add the plastic spacers
 before we glue and nail the boards down.  Tutorial at Thrifty Decor Chick.

A brief look back at where it all started....

This photo does not do the kitchen justice.  :o)
In 30 years, somebody will be viewing my planking and painted cabinets
the same way I looked at the Z-Brick, faux butcherblock countertops, wallpaper,
dated cabinetry, fluorescent lighting...............

I'm not even going to try to explain this.
That's the upper cabinet I removed on the right.
I'm keeping it for a while......just in case.

I especially like this view showing the dark doorway trim butted up
against painted trim in the kitchen and dining room.

A look ahead....

(Found on Pinterest.  Original source unknown.)

Um, yes please.

Thanks for stopping by!
Vickie

Junior bakers use only the freshest ingredients.

*I'm joining the parties at:
Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Have a Daily Cup of Mrs.Olson  Share Your Cup Thursday 
Knick of TimeVintage Inspiration Party 

These boots are made for walking.

Recent find.

The boots below are not made for walking,

at least not during the coldest winter months in northern Minnesota.

I'd freeze my toes off if I wore them for a walk outdoors this time of year!

These are my fair weather boots.....yet to be worn,
because we haven't had any fair weather!

Our boot lineup at work looks more like this (below) because
one does not want to be stranded on the roadside
wearing stylish unlined boots:

Sorels.

Here on the Range, its the old tomato/tomahto controversy when it comes

to the pronunciation of Sorel.  Sore' ul or sore elle'.  I'm still not sure which is correct,

 but I prefer the latter French pronunciation.

Uggs.
Soft and comfy like slippers.

Mukluks.
The warmest boots I've ever owned!

Since we're on the subject of footwear,
look what I found at the thrift store the other day....

(That's a quarter behind the shoes for size reference.)

So cute for only 99cents,
or as we Rangers like to say, Oh, the cute!
(I have no idea why we say the rather than how,  but that's the way we roll.)
They're miniature versions of the shoes I place on our hearth during the holidays
 so all I need now is a miniature fireplace where I can prop these shoes.

Ha!  Here it is in the dollhouse I keep in the basement

for our grandchildren to play with when they visit.

Mack, why don't you do your little dance for us?

You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out.....

Sorry, I get a bit carried away when I start playing with toys.

As you can see I've gotten off track and the projects I listed in my last post

have been temporarily set aside after a visit to our local yarn shop.  The owner

had a pair of boot cuffs on display along with the pattern she wrote,

so of course I had to buy the pattern and knit a pair!

They only take a few hours to knit up, so unlike home renovation, I get

instant gratification!

Her pattern is copyrighted, so I can't share it, but I found you

a free pattern of basic boot cuffs on here on Ravelry.

Because it's a new year and I'm trying to focus........

hmmm, I've noticed many bloggers have chosen a word for the year

so, what the hey, I'm going to choose focus as mine!

Yes, I think staying focused on one thing at a time

will be quite a challenge for moi.

I had to improvise since I don't have the letter U for focus.

Anyhoo, onto another subject (already losing my focus) just to show you that I can

stay on task and work on my list of projects for the year.  Here's a look

 at my bare kitchen wall awaiting beadboard..............

Thirty minutes, a hammer, a chisel. and a screwdriver and the cabinet is history!

I can't very well leave it looking like this, can I?

Narrow or wide beadboard is the next decision.

Source unknown.

I'm pretty much in love with this kitchen, but

we're focusing on beadboard here.

Serena Crowley design.

I've been toying with the idea of painting our lower cabinets

a vintage green, but once again, we're looking at beadboard.

 

source Husmannsplassen i Hidelsundet

I'm moving to Norway!

Okie dokie, decision made......I think.

Now I've got to do some skim coating on the walls, replace the

window trim that was cut away to fit the cabinet. replace the outlets

with off-white outlets, choose a paint color for the cabinets

and shelves with less yellow........all in due time.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Now that I've covered my mess with an extra large tole tray,

I honestly don't think you-know-who is even going to notice the missing

cabinet when he gets home from ice fishing........until he reaches for a plate.

   Psssst!  They're in the dining room under the buffet.

*We'll be doing lots of deep knee bends until I finish this up.

Okay, back to boots.  How many of you were around in 1966?

Oh, I think you're going to enjoy this blast from the past.  My favorite part

is when the backup dancers are lying on the floor, sleenavutzing around.

Sleenavutzing?

I have no idea if the word is in the Slovenian dictionary (highly doubtful)

but my Baba used it when she watched Kathy Smith perform her workout

routine on Good Morning America in the 80's with her goozie cheeks

 hanging out of her leotard.  I wonder what she'd have to say about twerking?

Turn up the volume and enjoy!

Too sexy!

Thanks for visiting and stay tuned for updates as I

focus on my projects for 2015!

Vickie

Give me some Aerosmith, Walk This Way!

*I'm joining the parties at:
Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
 Have a Daily Cup of Mrs.Olson Share Your Cup Thursday
Mod Vintage Life Mod Mix Monday

Unfocused.

We've been lucky enough to avoid this year's influenza outbreak so far,

but now's the time of year when cabin fever strikes.

One of my many unfinished projects.

We're headed into a deep freeze.  The kind of cold that makes my drive to work

feel like I'm driving a car with square tires and no heat.  As for evenings and weekends?

I'm not even bothering to go out unless it's a chocolate emergency!

Frost pattern on one of our old windows this morning.

In an older house like ours with lots of drafty windows  fresh air, I spend most of

my winter evenings in the living room in front of the fireplace working on knitting or

sewing projects or perusing blogs and Pinterest on my laptop.  I get so many ideas
from the blogs I follow and Pinterest that I'm never at a loss for a new project.

Over the holidays, Kelly at The Essence of Home showed us her cute

Anthropologie snowball garland and it inspired me to make my own.

I found wool roving on sale for $5.24 a skein at JoAnn Fabrics
 and one skein was enough to make 10 pom poms and a 72 inch I-cord.

I knit the I-cord with 3 stitches on size 10 needles.

My garland doesn't have metallic gold thread in the yarn like the original garland,
 but not to worry, we've already got plenty of sparkle on our ceilings.
(A strand of metallic gold thread could be intertwined with the yarn.)

The garland will keep Miss M company over the cold spell.

I bought these candle holders at IKEA to use during the holidays,

but they were a bit much with all of the other color in the room, so I 

packaged them up to return on our next trip to Minneapolis.

After I undecorated our mantel I thought I'd give them one more try,

and Hey Mikey, I like them!

I think they warm up our stodgy old fireplace with a fun pop of color.

Speaking of  stodgy old fireplaces.........

 Oh Joy!

Whilst perusing Pinterest, I happened upon this tutorial by Carla
 of Hammers and High Heels.  She and her husband transformed the fireplace

in their 1924 Dutch Colonial and the tutorial and accompanying photos make it look
  so simple that I think even the Rangers 911 will be able to follow them.
  Woo hoo!

I have so many plans for the new year my head is spinning!

(Or it could be the last of the sugary treats I've gobbled up.)

Here's what's on the docket for 2015:

 I'm ordering curtains (I can return them if they don't work out) for the bedroom

 because I  cannot live with the unruly polyester curtains I made.
I'm now gun shy about purchasing that much fabric again and not liking the curtains.

Also, I vow to finish painting the four windows before summer rolls around.

Open shelving in the kitchen.
 

I didn't think I could install open shelving under our kitchen soffits.....

 .....but Kris at Junk Chic Cottage proved me wrong.

Perfection!

I'd like to remove the upper cabinet in the far right corner
 that houses our dishes and replace it with two shelves *deep breath*
and install beadboard above the tile backsplash.
  Crown molding where the soffit meets the ceiling?

I don't know when (aka what year) this will all get done, but it's on my wish list.

There are also a few projects that need to be attended to
 before the next holiday.


Number 1 & 2

Do you remember what happened to Goldilocks when she
sat on Baby Bear's chair?  If my mother had not been paying
attention, she may have been sitting on a pile of chair spindles
during Christmas dinner!  Yikes!  I will be gluing all the joints
in both of the chairs with my dependable Gorilla Glue.


This next project will be a true test of our carpentry skills or lack thereof.

 Build a new house!!!!
Yes, you read that right, this is not a typo.








he he he  Just havin' a little fun.
When I saw that Danielle (Blessed Serendipity) owned the exact same
dollhouse that we found for our oldest granddaughter (below),
 I started searching online for old dollhouse patterns.

Low and behold, lookie what I found on Etsy.....

Can you believe it?
I honestly thought the dollhouse was much older, but the pattern
is dated 1981.   I'm hoping that we have the skills to put together the dollhouse before
Maggie's 3rd birthday.  The house is solidly constructed to last a lifetime....
the one we already bought, that is.  We've ordered the pattern
 and we've got just under a year to get it done.

Whew!

*I'm beginning to see why Bill says I have
trouble staying focused.

Emma Kate at Paint and Style posted this on her blog and I pinned it because
 it sums up what's going on in my head most of the time....

   I think most of you reading this post can relate.  :o)


Many thanks to all of you for the inspiration you provide throughout the year,
and here's to a constructive  2015!
Vickie

*I'm joining the parties at:
Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
 Have a Daily Cup of Mrs.Olson Share Your Cup Thursday