the KITCHEN view

Despite the crack in our front door that lets spiders and rollypollies roam free in our living room, the slant of every interior surface that gives me a headache if I focus on it too hard, the spring pollen that lets itself into our home and noses, and the paper thin windows that allow us to hear every crackle of every leaf at every hour of the night... I truly love living here for sights such as this- the view out my kitchen window yesterday.

it's raining SALT

I love these Rainshakers by Sooda Mayer. I think I might get carried away with the fun of raining salt and pepper on my food and end up flooding it though.

a REMODEL peek

Here's a sneak peek into the latest remodel progress. The kitchen cabinets are white, the floors are in, and the granite is ready to go in. (And we have a dishwasher for the first time in 3 years!!!) Our bedroom is all painted- I'm so excited about the green wall! The carpet is scheduled to go in the rest of the house next week. Yes, carpet. I've lived in houses with wood flooring and i've in ones with carpeting and I like the comfort of carpeting on bare feet in the living area. And I think our little girl will appreciate the softness when she is crawling and walking and falling the first years of her life. Once the carpeting is in, we go in- as in move back in... oh my gosh. I am SO ready.

a painted, wait before speaking, CROOKED REMODEL UPDATE with a side of sugar

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You're going to be getting a lot of updates on the remodel in the next two weeks. The update for today is:

#1. The kitchen and our bedroom are painted and look great. Yay for my painter husband! That means all of the rooms are done being painted!

#2. I should really learn to keep my mouth shut until something actually happens or is finished. The concrete countertops I was so excited about? Not happening. The estimate was $600 and then my dad's friend came around saying he had a bunch of granite slabs left over from his own kitchen remodel. The cost for that? Free or so. My dad showed it to me and it's a nice white/gray/black speckled granite, and in the name of the budget- we are using it. And also, c'mon... whose budget-cutting countertops ever end up as nice granite slabs? We're pretty fortunate there!

#3. Our kitchen floors are being leveled by one of the brothers-in-law right now. The crooked little house is still going to be crooked (in some places it looks like the ceiling was intentionally slanted, but then you look across the room and it's not... ha ha) but at least we won't be walking on slopes.

I hope you are all having a wonderful, productive (or restful), and delicious weekend! I am munching on Babycakes NYC chocolate chip cookies hubby made last night and some fresh Babycakes NYC blueberry scones he made this morning (have I mentioned he's amazing?). And now I will be entering a gluten-free, alternative-sugar coma.

P.S. I have been saving glass jars left and right for months so none of my flours, sugars, or grains will be without a window from their place on a kitchen shelf. I just love homebug's example.

a CONCRETE dream come true

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Dear hubby has painted our kitchen cabinets white and the news is just in that his father is going to make concrete countertops for us! I am so very excited. Concrete countertops and white subway tile backsplash. That was my ideal kitchen in the beginning but I never thought someone would actually do the countertops for us! This is a wonderful surprise.

I know I keep saying it, but the end of this remodel is in sight!

P.S. Can you imagine how amazing the white cabinets and concrete countertops are going to look with our vintage stove? Ah!!

no CHICKENS in the coop

I absolutely adore this chicken coop pantry in The Jewels of New York home tour. It's just what my crooked little farmhouse needs. Luckily it can be purchased for a reasonable price here!

smitten with VINTAGE TINS

via Swan Darling

via Kitty B. Creative

via Grace Art & Antiques

via Emma Dear

via Magia Mia Mercantile

via Jewels on a Whim

via Gymbohannah

My Etsy favorites list is always filled with vintage tins. I have dreams of owning a vintage tin collection to store teas and such in. The collection has not yet been started, but someday there will be a variety of floral, turquoise, and pastel patterned tins sitting atop my china cabinet. And when that happens, you will be the first to know... if the world has not moved onto bigger and better forms of technology by then.

INDUSTRIAL SHELVING: i <3 you

-photo via Country Living-

I am in love with this industrial shelving. I love the blue shelves contrasted against the steel bins and white dishes and that vintage Grocery sign above it is perfection. Time to start hunting through dad's workshop for home decor and shelving... "Uhmm... yeah, dad... I don't know where all that stuff went..."

KITCHEN in rodanthe

My mom and I rented Nights in Rodanthe this week. We were in the mood for a good love story and from the looks of the preview, this was it. I won't spoil the movie for you, but let's just say we didn't get what we were hoping for. Although the movie was a disappointment, the set design most definitely was not. The entire Inn was gorgeous. And the most gorgeous room of all (to my eyes) was the kitchen. The movie ended and all I could think about is how much I want the kitchen for my own. I love the color, the wallpaper, the glass knobs, the cabinetry, the countertops... you get the idea.

nice to meet you, LIGHT LOCATIONS

I was making my way through a maze of design and decor blogs tonight, as I often do, and was introduced to a gem of a site via please sir. I don't know about you, but I love to see home interiors. Every time I come across a house tour on a decor blog, I can't wait to visit each room and see what unique spin the homeowner puts on decorating. If anyone knows of a blog that is solely house tours, please tell me because I will be ecstatic. I think this site comes close. Let me introduce you to Light Locations. Light Locations is a site dedicated to providing beautiful and unique locations to the film and photographic industries. I'm not in the film or photographic industry, but I am in the nosy neighbor club and I want to sneak a peek inside these homes and yours if you'll let me. Take a looky-loo with me...

See, now wasn't that fun? Now you are ready to join my nosy neighbor club. You know you want to.

hidy-ho NEIGHBORS!

Well, we've been kicked out of our crooked little house and have moved into my parents' house, which is conveniently next door. We decided we probably didn't want to die of mold and smoke inhalation. I think it was a smart choice.

Yes, we moved out of the house and our couch moved into the kitchen. It actually makes the kitchen so much cozier, don't you think? We're thinking of keeping it there permanently. Right there. Okay, maybe not... or definitely not. But don't you wish you were one of those people who has a ginormous kitchen that can fit a 12-person table as well as a cozy couch nook? Yeah, me too... me too.

peek-a-BOO

Here is the Peeping Tom's view of our kitchen from the backyard. This way you won't have to be a Peeping Tom.

smitten with ECLECTIC homes

Of all the homes I look at, I love the eclectic ones the most. They're not all matchy-matchy, don't look like they were put together by a designer, and are always unique and reflect the owners. Eclectic is definitely the combined decorating style of my hubby and I. We are slowly getting art, furniture, and funky little decorations from favorite antique stores, grandparents, and boxes of stored junk in our shed that has been rediscovered.
Here are a couple of my favorite eclectic homes:

Stephanie Sheldon's home via sfgirlbybay

Karen Salazar's home via BloesomKids

PEGBOARD pot rack

So I was thinking of getting a pot rack to go over our kitchen island, which doesn't exist (I'm looking for a free dresser from Craigslist to turn into an island), but it was one of the first things to go when we were over our budget. I just found this diy pegboard pot rack project on design*sponge which led me to the original idea on dominomag.com. I'm not sure where I'll put it quite yet, but I know I can find someplace.

the best CRAIGSLIST freebie ever

Hubby and I check the craigslist freebies all the time. We'll e-mail each other a list of items we wouldn't mind picking up, but never take any action. This last Saturday, I was checking the craigslist freebies in the area, as usual, and saw a fabulous vintage O'Keefe & Merritt stove in Oakland. I told David about it, as usual, but this time- we took some action. We researched similar stoves and discovered that they are worth a pretty penny restored. So besides the fact that the stove would look perfect in my kitchen (the restored version in my head), it would be a good investment. Somehow, no one else contacted the couple, and we were promised the stove. We made the hour+ drive to Oakland and it is now sitting in our kitchen, waiting to be hooked up. This stove is, by far, the most amazing craigslist freebie I've ever come across and I am very excited to have it in our kitchen.