Sunday Snapshots: Overheard

"Gran, you have a hole in your wall."

"Gran, is this paint wet?"

"Gran, why do you have a hole in your wall?"

"Mama, can you come outside?  I have something to show you. 
It's really cool!"

Riding a bike with NO training wheels!

"Can you read this book?"

"What are you doing, little sweet?"

"Read?"

"I'm going to Gran's house, and I'm going to take an Apple, a Baby, a Cat...an Umbrella, Venus..."

"What's for dessert?"

"Read?"

 

Did You Forget About Those Kitchen Cabinets?

Perhaps you thought I did. 

You may remember that I began to plan this project in November.  After several months and a lot more planning, the project began in earnest last week. 

It was a l-o-n-g process that ended late this morning with the attachment of the knobs.  Woo-hoo! 

So with no further ado (as we've had far too much "ado" already!), we present the completion of Phase One.

Here are some before-and-after shots.  (I love before-and-after shots!)

 

 Starting at the left...

 ...on to the front view (looking from the eating/sitting area)...

...and on to the right.

Here are a few different angles.  I am amazed at how the color looks different from almost every view.  The name of the color is "Duckety Mud" and is a gray-ish green.

I am completely happy with the results of this painting project!  I think it gives the kitchen more of the colonial farmhouse feel that I want.  Everytime I walk into my kitchen, or look up from the school table (which is the kitchen table), I say, "Ooooooh...I love it!"

Thanks to all of you who have been such an encouragement along the way!  It is funny how many times I have thought of you (in Maine, in Pennsylvania, in Oregon, all over the place) as I have cleaned and sanded and painted these cabinets.  I wish I could invite you all for dinner!  (We'd eat in the kitchen, of course.)

So Phase One is completed.  Sometime soon, I plan to do a sort of "How To" post about painting the kitchen cabinets...although it will really be more of a "This Is How We Did It" post as I don't think we qualify as experts after one go at this. 

Phase Two will include installing a farmhouse sink, wood counter tops, and replacement of the track lighting over the kitchen sink.  But that will be "This Is How RON Did It" because I don't think we girls will be much help.  (UPDATE, June 6, 2012:  Phase Two is complete!  Woohoo!  You can see the "after" pictures ~here~.)

Anticipation and Inspiration

I am not trying to build suspense with this delay in showing you my newly painted kitchen cabinets! 

The delay is the result of my indecision about knobs for said cabinets.  Knobs which I didn't choose until several days into the project.  Knobs that are wood and thus needed to be painted.  Thirty-one knobs which need to "cure" and then be attached to the doors. 

And then I will show you the completed Phase One!  I promise! 

Oh, but I do have a special treat for you: a link to an inspiring post by Ingrid Schlueter about Making a House a Home.  It is a worthy read...and be sure to read all the way to the last two paragraphs where she gets to the crux of the matter.  You'll be glad you did.

Birthday Scones

On Bekah's 11th birthday, there was no cake.  She was going to have a party on Sunday with her extended family, and special "hat" cupcakes were planned for that.  But we wanted to sing "Happy Birthday" at our just-the-four-of-us celebration, and we needed something to put candles in, so we made the birthday girl's non-cake request...Blueberry Lemon Scones. 

Who needs cake?!

Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons cold butter 2 eggs, lightly beaten ½ cup cold heavy cream 1 cup dried blueberries ½ cup confectioner’s sugar lemon zest 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice Directions: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the cold butter into ½ -inch pieces. Add the butter to the dry ingredients; cut in until mixture is the size of small peas. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs and cream with a fork. Stir into flour/butter mixture. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface. Divide into two mounds. Add some flour to the top of the mounds of dough, then pat them into a round disk about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Cut each disk into 6 wedge-shaped pieces. Separate the pieces and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 13-15 minutes. To make the glaze, stir together lemon juice, zest and confectioner’s sugar. Drizzle onto warm scones.

I have also used this recipe to make Cranberry Orange Scones.  (I substitute dried cranberries for the dried blueberries, and used orange juice and zest instead of lemon.)  Then I received my May issue of Everyday Food this week, and there were some more scone ideas.  We think that maybe we'll try Coconut Chocolate Chip Scones next. 

Or maybe we shouldn't...

Sunday Snapshots: A Different Kind of Sunday

Because it was a ladders-in-the-dining-room and wet-paint kind of a Sunday...

it was a TV-watching...

coffee-sipping...

laundry-folding...

computer and cat-napping...

and list-making kind of a Sunday.

It was what we needed after a week of work vacation work.

But next week, we'll be ready for a regular kind of Sunday...full of talking and shared meals and game playing and kids laughing and adults laughing too and story swapping and baby chatter and cartoons on instant Netflix and... 

Oh yes, we'll be ready.

What We've Been Up To

Thought you might enjoy some glimpses from our week...

Bekah was the only one who was small enough to crawl

inside the cabinet

and support a drawer track while her dad repaired it.

Friends requested a few reality shots. 

Here they are...as real as it gets!

Did I really just show you our mess?  The inside of the cabinets, and the little dress still hanging in the same place it's been since Sunday's birthday party, and the vacuum cleaner in the kitchen floor?  And kitchen stuff strewn everywhere?

I think I did.  Don't judge me. 

NOTE: I hope to share the completion of Phase One some time next week.  Tomorrow we will apply the third coat of paint to the cabinet doors, and then we will let the paint "cure" for a couple of days.  I can't wait to get it all put back together and show you!

Note Card Party: Birthdays

Although we are smack dab in the middle of a big house project, and the house is discombobulated, and my brain is scattered about like the house is...I decided that I would not be left out of Vee's second Note Card Party!  The first party was such fun and there were so many beautiful photographs to ooh and aah over.  I worked a bit ahead (atypical for me) and found four pictures from my blog that could be used as a set of notecards.  (If you have a blog, you can do it too!)

My theme this month?  Birthdays!  We do love a birthday party around here, and never miss an opportunity to say "We're glad you were born!" with a celebration of some kind. 

The "Zero" Party

a birthday banner and presents galore

A Triple Birthday Party

vintage kitchen style, ice cream cake

An Autumn Party For Gampy

a cornucopia of treats, vanilla layer cake with orange icing

Bekah's Barbie Birthday Bash

vintage Barbies, "hat" cupcakes, pink and lace

This is the day which the Lord hath made:

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Click ~HERE~ to see more of the Note Card Party! 

Diary of a Whim {Part 3}

For the background story, read...
Diary of a Whim {Part 1} ...in which I decide to paint my kitchen cabinets.
Diary of a Whim {continued} ...in which I fill you in on the planning process.

APRIL 16:
Ron is on vacation...and things are happening!

Cabinet doors are coming off!

The eleven-year-old is using power tools!

We are all cleaning and scrubbing and sanding

and cleaning and scrubbing and sanding

and cleaning and scrubbing and sanding some more!

 
Tomorrow...priming! 

Sunday Snapshots: Bekah's Barbie Birthday Bash

I am so glad that I settled on the name Sunday Snapshots (plural) instead of the original Sunday Snapshot (as in just one) for this regular feature here at Thinking About Home.  On days like this, I'm not sure how I would narrow all my favorites to one!  One?

Bekah went to bed on the night before her birthday party with rag curls in her hair.  (Does anyone remember rag curls?)  This morning we untied all the rags, she put on a pretty dress (to coordinate with her party decorations, of course), and we were ready for the day. 

When a dad, a mom, two sisters, one brother-in-law, three nephews, two nieces, and two grandmothers help you celebrate your birthday, it is a birthday BASH! 

Vintage Barbie was the theme, so there was lots of pink and fluff and lace and glam all around. 

After all the party guests had gone, Bekah requested a family badminton game in the back yard.  (Actually, she has asked to play badminton for several Sundays, but this evening we acquiesced as it was her special day.) 

Her dad wondered aloud if there might be anyone else who plays badminton wearing a foufy bracelet and animal print sunglasses. 

I will end this post with this picture taken by Kati.  This is the dress that Bekah wore on her first birthday, ten years ago.  I had shown it to everyone this afternoon, and had hung it on the door knob of our school cabinet there in the kitchen, right beside the little cross stitch hanging that says "Blessings."  I love the memories it evokes.