The Evolution of a Pantry

So way back last fall when I was installing the kitchen floor, I didn't complete the part where the pantry was going to go. I had grand ideas that I was going to knock out the wall that made the little broom closet separate from where the refrigerator used to go, therefore making a big, luxurious pantry. Well, after crunching the numbers and figuring out how annoying/difficult/expensive it would be to knock out that little wall, I decided just to keep it (for the foreseeable future). My friends had already helped me demo the door to the broom closet, so now it's just an open icky thing that I keep the litter box in for now...gross, I know!

Annnnnyways, I ordered some shelving, and over this past week I finally finished that little part of the floor and set up my new pantry!

Unfinished pantry floor

Tiles with spacers

Grouted!

So now that the flooring was finished, I was able to set up the shelving and semi-organize my pantry goods. Below, you will see what I lived with for an embarrassing amount of time...

I'm not proud of this...

Perfect fit!

It won't stay this organized for long...I can promise that!

So there you have it! Also, not sure if you can tell in these washed out pictures, but the pantry area is painted a creamy off white/sandy color for a bit of contrast from the grey/blue of the rest of the kitchen. It looks much cooler in person, I promise :) Off to the right, you can see the "broom closet" which I will have to figure out what to do with. Short of hiring someone to come re-build a door onto it, I'm thinking a pretty curtain to introduce pattern to the space, which could look really cool if I do it right!

I know I'm in dire need of base trim...but I think I'll tackle the backsplash first (yes, that's right, I still haven't gotten to it...). Sometimes I feel panicked that I'm not completing these projects fast enough, but then I'll go back and look at my archives and see that wow, I really have done a lot! I can also thank my friends for helping me notice that :)

-Megan

Little Bit O' Yard Work

Thanks to some prodding and help from Stan, I got a little yard work done yesterday! There's a little patch of dirt right between the kitchen window and the driveway which was all torn up when the floor was being leveled. The guys who did the work filled it back in but with lower grade soil and there were tons of rocks scattered all around, then bunches of weeds started sprouting, and it was basically just a sad looking little space. In an effort to make it sort of pretty, we tilled the hell out of it, removed as many of the big rocks as possible, removed weeds, transplanted some of the actually decent looking plants that had started growing, and then finally scattered some wildflower seeds. Hopefully by summer I'll have something to show for all this work! :)

Before...ish...this was after quite a bit of work actually...

This was about half the amount of rocks we pulled out

After!

That was pretty much it for housework this past week. I have purchased my backsplash but I'm keeping it a surprise until I put it up! I'm aiming for this weekend but you know how that goes...

-Megan

Painted Kitchen?!

Here's a sneak peek at the painted kitchen!

Oooooh! Aaaaaah!

Slightly wet paint and only one coat. It's a blue-ish grey, and I painted the little alcove where the pantry will go a creamy yellow/white color (not pictured, obviously!) The great and powerful Wendy helped with this paint job as well, although I think I'm on my own for coat #2 :) I will have to steal Wendy again so she can take awesome pictures once it's all done! I'm not having the easiest time locating the backsplash I want to use (although I haven't been looking too incredibly hard yet) but hopefully that will be done soon too!

-Megan

A Productive President's Day

I had the day off yesterday, woo hoo! I conned Wendy and Adam into coming over so they could help me with the house :) Wendy and I tackled the priming of the kitchen walls and ceiling:

Oooo la la! Fancy pants indeed!

Before

After!

It might be hard to tell, but all of the walls and the ceiling were essentially the color of the blinds that you see in the after picture...that same nasty yellowish-white that the entire house was when I started with it! The backsplash will cover the part that wasn't primed. Now the question is...which color(s) will I go with for the walls?? I think I'll stick with some shade of white for the ceiling though.

While we were in the kitchen, Adam offered to rip out all of the blackberry bushes in the back yard! For some reason I don't have a before picture...what is wrong with me?? Well, imagine if you will, tall dense blackberry bushes covering the entire back fence area. Here's how it looked after Adam had his way with it:

Die blackberries! Die!

I mean seriously, it's a huge difference. The yard looks so much bigger now too! I'll still need to get rid of those other piles of yard waste, and then who knows? Maybe I'll have the initiative to actually plant stuff for this coming summer!

And now for the negative part...my furnace started blowing cold air last weekend. I tried what I could to fix it on my own (replaced the filter, re-set it based on the instructions on the inside panel) but resigned myself to  calling in a professional. It turns out it was the circuit board failing, and it won't be cheap :( But I need heat, right? Boo! Houses are expensive!

Well, I don't have too busy of a weekend coming up. If I can decide on a wall color for the kitchen and/or living room this week then I'll hopefully be able to check that off my list by the end of February!

-Megan

Garage = Semi-Organized!

What?? I actually did something productive recently!? I'm having people over tonight, so I took this morning off work to clean and tackle the mess that is my garage. Here's what it looked like when I got started:

Box labyrinth!

And after, with my super awesome shelving storage units that my grandma got me for Christmas:

Box tetris!

Now I'll admit, those aren't all my boxes...I still have some that are filled with things to sell/donate all the way on the other side of the garage. And I really should go through all those boxes you see above because I'm sure they're filled with all sorts of useless stuff that I can rid myself of. It was nice to get everything up off the floor though. Garage organization part 2 will happen sometime in February...I promise!!

-Megan

Sorta-Kinda Productive Weekend

So I did something. Which is more than nothing. But not nearly as much as I should have. And the things that I did were things I should have done a long time ago!

• I finally put the sealant on my butcherblock countertops. This will prevent water stains and it makes the wood look a bit richer. All in all, I put 4 coats on, with an average of 3 hours dry time between each coat.
  

I couldn't find a decent before picture...tsk tsk

• I finally attached the metal "toe-kick" thing on my dishwasher. The guy who installed it said I should get this plastic thing to separate the wires (??? I really don't know) and after many failed attempts of trying to find what he was talking about and also almost losing a blueberry under the exposed part, I figured I'd finally just attach the darn thing.
• I finally took my Christmas lights down from the house exterior. I couldn't quite reach all the gutter clips though so it still looks a bit ghetto.

I think the biggest reason I'm avoiding priming the kitchen walls is because it will be such an ordeal! I won't be able to just start painting. I'll have to wipe down the walls first, cover everything in drop cloths, tape off certain areas, and move the refrigerator and THEN I can start painting. Excuses, I know, but valid excuses! Maybe this Sunday? Hopefully this Sunday!

-Megan

Long Weekend Ahead!

Can you see it?

Eh?

Can you see the frost on my terribly un-mowed lawn? There was some on the roof too. I'm excited for the day when an inch or two blankets the house...it will look so cozy! Is there anything I need to know about snow and houses?

Anyways, I have Monday off for MLK JR day and I'm taking votes on what I should do:

• Organize the garage
• Prime the kitchen walls
• Sleep in and watch TV

Annnnd go!

-Megan