Kitchen Reveal

8 Months Ago our kitchen looked a little something like this…wood floors, wood cabinets and wood paneled walls + 2 small windows + pantry hallway + bathroom in the kitchen (yuck!)…

And TODAY it looks a little something like THIS…

By far the best and most dramatic renovation in our house thus far! 

So how did we do it? Well, we started with a total and complete gut of the kitchen and attached bathroom. We rented our 5th dumpster in 3 years and pitched it all…I mean everything! Andrew and I were doing a happy dance as every nasty piece of that old kitchen went in the dumpster.  We decided we wanted an open concept with the new kitchen flowing into the back living room, so we tore down the wall separating the two rooms. We were left with a massive space to create this beautiful, open, bright new kitchen. 

Andrew spent most of the summer laying new yellow leaf pine hardwood floors, rewiring the entire space, installing 3 new windows overlooking the water, installing new insulation and sheetrock, and with the help of some strong guys, we got a large supporting beam into the space to provide support for the wall we took out. Once all the walls were in place, Andrew spent the fall building all the cabinets, molding, and baseboards. For the first time, we bought a MASSIVE compressor and set up a paint spray booth in our garage to make the painting process much faster (why we didn’t do this early on in our house renovation is beyond me - hindsight in 20/20!!). We also got the grey soapstone countertops installed by a great local company in New Bedford. 

I spent the fall focused on buying the perfect bar stools; redesigning the back living room with a new rug, new pillows and curtains; helping out in the spray booth; and scouring the internet for cabinet door pulls that weren’t $15 a piece…

After the craziness of the holidays, we were able to focus on all the details - kitchen cabinet doors, hardware, kitchen island, custom framed calendar and chalkboard etc. Andrew built ALL the cabinet doors and the custom butcher block kitchen island. 120 hard maple pieces were glued together to make this butcher block countertop. We also repurposed a few things in the new kitchen. The glass in the glass cabinets are from the original windows that we have saved throughout the 3 year renovation. The wood for the chalk board and calendar are repurposed from the old kitchen sub floor boards. Our amazing slate kitchen sink is from Andrew's sister who donated it to our cause! 

As of this past week the kitchen is 99% finished and we are both pretty proud of the outcome! 

SOURCES: 

Paint Color | Sherwin Williams "Olympus White"

Countertops | Soapstone

Living Room Rug | Birch Lane 

Bar Stools | World Market

Desk Stool | World Market 

Jute Bamboo Shades | Blinds Chalet

Floors | Long Leaf Yellow Pine

Curtains | Lacefield Imperial Club Seaside Blue 

Pillows | Pisces Flamingo 

Tile | Tumbled Marble 

2017: Living with Intent

Today is a so-called holiday (for those of us who work for ourselves, no day is really a holiday, but that's for another post!), a day of rest and reflection on the year that was and the year that is to be. I always do a lot of thinking around this time, as many of us do. Thinking about what significant events changed our lives in the 365 days that we spun around this world; the way we felt; the way we acted; and all the things that just plain didn't happen, but we'd wished they had. If I've learned anything in my life its that the best laid plans often go awry, but that is all part of this mysterious, glorious adventure. 

And in this time we think about the year that is to be. That blank slate that is ours for the taking. A New Year for dreams, heartache, inspiration, growth, struggles, and love. A year where we can change the course of our lives, simply by deciding to do so. I do truly believe "you are one decision away from a totally different life." 

Last year I made a vow to the worry wart - to worry less and live more. I have our puppy Moosie Moose to thank for helping me crush this goal. It was like worry had a chokehold on me for the longest time, and all of a sudden this little furry creature was placed in my life and the grip became looser and looser until I didn't notice it was even there. I would have never imagined in a million years that something so small, so simple, so hairy & slobbery could take up so much of my heart and ease my worries. But it did. 

I started writing out my goals for 2017 this morning - some far fetched and some easily attainable with a little hard work - trips we'd like to take to far and wide places, goals for health and wellness, how I can become a better photographer and serve my clients better, ways to help my husband's business grow and thrive, and how I can continue to grow and develop in my relationship with my husband, our families, and our community. 

At the end of this somewhat daunting list was the realization that all I really want for this year is to live with intent. It sounds so simple and basic, but I know in my heart of hearts that I live most days out of habit. In fact, a lot of days just seem like I go through the motions - feed Moose, go to the gym, eat, take a shower, work from 8am-8pm, look at social media, rinse & repeat. It's like a giant checklist that I go through each day without even thinking. Sometimes I am driving in the car and a million things are going through my head, and all the sudden I realize I don't know where I am or how I got there. 

I hate that feeling and I'm determined to change it. So the question becomes, how do we even become more intentional with our lives? I think this year is going to be a learning process for me and a journey in discovering what is intentional and how can I make each day intentional vs. habit with all the demands, pressures and tasks of every day life. 

I broke it up into 6 categories so that I could define the areas in which I can win back value in my life for 2017. 

Marriage | Health & Wellness | Digital Life | Family & Community | Photography | Grace, not Perfection 

For me, the ways in which I strive to live intentionally start with saying "no" to things that don't bring value to my life; serving others through small acts of kindness and sending more letters of appreciation; removing my phone from my bedroom & purchasing an old fashioned alarm clock; viewing the "to-dos" as less of tasks and more of opportunities; selling or donating belongings that don't make me happy or bring me joy; editing my own personal photos once a week and participating in a 365 project to improve and grow my skills through daily documentation; unsubscribing, deleting "friends" and "followers", and simplifying how I do life. 

This I vow for 2017, the great year of intent. 

Vote for America

I'm not one to discuss politics. In fact, I've never really been that interested in the topic, regardless of my father's strong views.  Sure, I have my feelings on the economy and social issues, but I don't feel the need to broadcast them. It's kind of like religion to me...keep it to yourself. We all have our opinions, strong or weak, and why does the whole world need to know?!

As with many people across the country, I've been struggling with this election. Frankly, I am so disgusted with our candidates and this election process that I do not think either candidate is worthy of the White House. I will never understand why we only get 2 options and both are pitiful. But that is not for me to decide...apparently this is the best America can come up with, so we must cast our vote regardless.

But here's the thing, I haven't been sure I wanted to cast a vote at all. I know, I know, "so unAmerican of me", "how about your civil responsibilities?", "every vote counts" and the list goes on. I keep going back and forth. Over the last few months I've joined the "vote for the lesser evil" idea which is literally the worst reason in my opinion to vote for someone. Then I jump on the bandwagon of supporting the candidate who I agree with on the economic front, because I personally don't see how social issues are included in politics in the first place. And then I go back to not voting at all because I just cannot consciously vote for either person as the next leader of our country.

This morning I woke at 5:30am and rolled over to grab my phone. I briefly scrolled through social media and came to this article by YellowHammer.  I read the article twice (and I recommend you do the same). There was no backstabbing, no name calling and no leaning to one side or the other.  Just the plain hard truth that whether I vote today or not, Hillary or Trump will be become our next President.  It brought to light for me the reason to cast my vote today. Not for Hillary and not for Trump, but for the people that stand behind them and the ones they'll vote in to make our big decisions as a country.

"The only way you can possibly vote this time and have it matter is to vote for the America in which you wish to live."