white house, black shutters

Jan 25, 2012

Why I Can’t Leave Dirty Dishes in my Sink

posted on: January 25, 2012 | by Ann Marie | 14 Comments

I heard a slurping noise coming the kitchen and while I knew it was coming from Ben, I could not figure out what he was slurping in there. Well, uhhh…

14 Comments

Filed Under: kitchen, the kiddos, videos

Jul 14, 2011

An Updated Kitchen

posted on: July 14, 2011 | by Ann Marie | 10 Comments

Since the kitchen is the heart of our home, we renovated the room before we moved in by:

removing a cabinet and added a dishwasher
removing the double oven and replaced it with that cabinet
painting the existing cabinets white
painting the existing knobs and hinges with oil-rubbed bronze spray paint
spray painting and installing a new light fixture
painting the room

After we moved in, we:

added new countertops to the kitchen
sold our green fridge and replaced it with a white one
painted the trim around the window white

Here’s the opposite side of the room where we removed the double oven, replaced it with the cabinet, and added new countertops. We also started painting the stairway for a future project.

Here’s the view of the whole room!

Total Cost? $229!

· Rustoleum spray paint in oil rubbed bronze, $5
· paint for walls and cabinets, $15
· Kilz Primer, $10
· Granite-look laminate Countertop: $130 at Menards
· Delta Faucet, new in an unopened box labeled ‘as-is’, $50
Hookups for the dishwasher, $10
· Light fixture, found on freecycle, painted ORB, free.
· Fridge, given to use by family, free
· Dishwasher, given to us by family, free.
· Hinges and knobs, existing, painted ORB, free.
· Rugs, new from Target but found at Goodwill, $9

· Labor, free! We did everything!

In the future, we’d like to:

replace the laminate tile with wood floors
paint the remainder of the trim in this room
paint the door in this room
paint the walls and above the cabinets a shade that is similar to the color of the tiles on the backsplash
replace hinges with new and add glass knobs

I haven’t posted on our kitchen in a while, but doing so makes me so excited. I love the transformation and can’t believe the difference between the two!

linking up to Sarah’s Before & After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick

10 Comments

Filed Under: greatest hits, house tour, kitchen

Oct 15, 2010

Lettered Dollar Tree Garland

posted on: October 15, 2010 | by Ann Marie | 13 Comments

I wanted a letter-y fall garland for over my sink, but did not want to cut it freehand or waste time (and paper) making and printing it out!

Lazy? No.

I have Dollar Tree!

I found this very halloween-y garland that would perfect for a party,

but was a little too much for my house or style.

I hung and spray-painted the garland black

After it dried, I carefully cut the letters out of the garland, giving the letters a more simple look. I poked two holes in each letter with a bamboo skewer and strung it onto some dollar store jute I had in my stash.

But wait!

You might notice that the sign no longer says “Happy Halloween,”

to do this, I took the one of the E’s, trimmed it a bit to make an F, and used the “ALL” in Halloween to make “FALL.”

You could easily use this for both fall and halloween if you save the remaining letters and piece of the E, reattach it with a bit of tape, and restring it.

I love the little touch it adds to my kitchen!

All real leaves, apples, pumpkins, and squash.

Everything is edible and carve-able, except the leaves of course. ;)

Have I gone pumpkin crazy?

Maybe just a little bit.

Maybe. ;)

———————–

Linking up with Amanda’s Weekend Bloggy Reading, Someday Crafts,

13 Comments

Filed Under: dollar store, fall into me, holiday decor, kitchen, vignettes

Aug 6, 2010

Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp

posted on: August 6, 2010 | by Ann Marie | 6 Comments

Strawberry Rhubarb crisp/pie is a tried and true favorite, but have you tried rhubarb with blueberries?

Oooooooh, yum! It’s my new favorite…

Filling:

two pints fresh or one bag frozen blueberries, enough to fill pan

six or more stalks rhubarb, cut into bite-sized pieces, enough to fill pan

The fruit is sweet enough for us, but if you’d like it a bit sweeter, you can mix in with it the following:

1/4 cup flour (Use whatever kind you like, whole wheat, rice, etc!)

1/4 cup sugar

Topping:

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 stick of softened butter (trust me, it’s worth it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour fruit into a 13 x 9 pan. Wash your hands and use them to mix together oatmeal, brown sugar, flour, and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle into pan over fruit. Bake for about 40 minutes, let cool for a few minutes, serve, and dig in!

Goes REALLY well with vanilla ice cream, my favorite is from Trader Joe’s.

The amount of blueberries and rhubarb is variable, just use enough to fill your pan. For a smaller recipe, use a 9×9 pan and cut all of the measurements in the recipe in half. Enjoy!

just try not to eat the whole pan yourself… ;)

Get your posts ready, Help Me Wednesday is coming next week! Read all about it here!

linking to some of these parties!

6 Comments

Filed Under: gardening, good food, kitchen

Aug 3, 2010

Kitchen Chalkboard Trio

posted on: August 3, 2010 | by Ann Marie | 17 Comments

I have three matching frames from two separate trips to two different Goodwill’s and I thought it was time to dust them off and put them to work in my kitchen.