Kitchen Remodel

Now that I'm starting this post, "remodel" seems like a strong word choice.  However, we did have the entire existing kitchen backsplash ripped down and replaced, swapped out the blinds, and added hardware- all in an effort to make this guy seem less out of place.  Kidding.  But seriously, he did offer some inspiration.

Purchased at the Boardwalk Art Show from PalmsUpPottery

The real sense of urgency for this update came 100% from me and my Type A tendencies.  I've always been a freak about wherever I live feeling like home immediately and it really doesn't matter how long I'll be there.  The truth is, I just need to make myself (and others) feel right at home, right away.  Now, I realize this quirk can make me difficult to deal with sometimes, but with a little bit of patience and a few "sounds good" usually I can meet people in the middle.

In this particular instance, it took me quite awhile before getting the green light to move forward, but it was well worth it.  Below are the before and after shots.  I can't take ANY of the credit when it comes to the tile work, apart from picking it out and being really good about offering the guys working on it a constant flow of beer and water (depending on the day and time, of course!).  

Notice the odd starting/stopping points for the tile- it's obvious they were put up before the cabinets

The only thing I can really take ownership of is the upgrade of the blinds from the 1" vinyl to the 2" white, faux wood and adding the hardware to the cabinets.  Picking out both was easy since we'd already updated the blinds in our living room and I'd had the perfect handles in mind (and pinned) months before starting on the remodel.  However, installing them wasn't quite as simple.  

The blinds were pretty basic, but the smaller window required they be shortened- which is easy enough if you follow the directions.  The hardware on the other hand definitely took some time and a lot of patience.  It was one of those situations where nothing seemed to go right.  The cabinet guide I bought fit most standard size handles but the ones I bought were much longer.  That said, there was a lot of eyeballing measuring and marking required.  The cabinets didn't already have hardware so I was having to create holes first which required flipping back and forth between drill bits.  And lastly, the screws that came with them were not the best quality and as a result had to be screwed in by hand to avoid stripping them.  

So, what do you think?  If you know me and my current home decor I think you'd agree this is a much better fit.  

And the travel continues

So, the whole reason I was "absent" this past fall had everything to do with our travels.   This quite possibly makes me the worst.blogger.ever- mainly because I didn't share the details throughout my travels with you all and also because when I do post I don't give much incentive to keep coming back!  And now, to makes matters worse, it seems that the same is holding true for the start of 2014.  Please know that I'm not at all complaining about getting to travel, getting to visit both new and familiar destinations, but it certainly makes keeping you up to speed that much more of a challenge.

At work we kicked off the new year with three back to back meetings, with travel required for two and hotel stays in Norfolk for the other.  In a nutshell, I ate hotel food and a full three meals a day for three solid weeks.  Ugh.  I was home for a day before driving (well, riding) to Richmond and then for a full two weeks before heading to Washington D.C. and then a surprise, last minute work trip to Cabo (with Jake as my guest!).

In between and during those trips my Dad, Mom and Jake celebrated birthdays; my sweet cousin, Claire was showered with gifts and well wishes for her upcoming wedding; I hit up a Shake Shack; our super close friend, Matt moved to Florida; I read the Divergent series (and saw the movie); added some blonde highlights; and I started planning out a few home projects I hope to accomplish this year.  And by planning out, I really mean creating boards on Pinterest and obsessively pinning to them all the while planting seeds of my wish list in ordinary conversations with Jake.  #hesontome

I've officially set calendar reminders to try and get into the habit of posting more regularly, so keep checking back and I promise I'll give it my best shot.  For now, below are a few photos to show how 2014 has kicked off!  How has your year looked so far?  Any travel plans?

 

Fall Travels

Where did Fall go?  Since the end of October I've been lucky enough to travel to Louisville, KY; Las Vegas; Key West; & Hawaii.  Yes, Hawaii... more on that later.

Las Vegas was for work, but fun all the same and Louisville and Key West were for weddings.  One wedding felt country with touches of Fall and an intimate dinner as the reception.  The one in Key West was quite the opposite- with the rehearsal dinner on a sunset cruise and the wedding and reception on a dock with dancing, a guacamole station, and plenty of margaritas.  Each was perfect for the couple and so much fun.  But between these trips and other things over the past few months, the season flew by and before I knew it we were kicking back on a beach enjoying a big kid vacation in Hawaii.

I'm going to designate a separate post to that trip because there are just too many details (and photos) to share.  For now, here are some pics from my travels leading up to our vacation in paradise.