I’m sure you’ve noticed that my posts have gotten a little more infrequent than I’d like lately. I’ve been slacking, but not without a really good reason. We’ve been working on our biggest project to date these last few months:
Yep, you read that right, I’ve been spending all of my time and energy BUILDING A HUMAN FROM SCRATCH. And let me tell you, it’s pretty hard work. Like, completely exhausting.
BUT, I’m back! I’ve survived the first trimester (also known as 3 months of nausea-induced hell), and I’m feeling much more like myself again. Just wanted to give a little explanation as to where I’ve been, and share our exciting news! Stay tuned for more blog posts about what we’ve been up to, as well as pregnancy updates/favorites. Thanks for joining us on our journey to parenthood!
When we moved into this old house, the kitchen was cosmetically in the worst shape of any room. Even our home inspector said it was ugly! And he was right. But when you have a room with character and good bones, you have a room with a lot of potential – our kitchen was no exception. I have big plans for this space, which include knocking out a wall – but that requires putting in a very expensive header that doesn’t fit in our budget just yet. So in the meantime, we’ve been focusing on small cosmetic fixes to save ourselves from cringing every time we walk in the room. I started rehabbing this space well before I started this blog, but we’ve made such great progress (and it still is a work in progress), that I felt it was worth showing some before/afters!
BEFORE:
These photos were taken straight from the real estate listing when we bought the house. There is a tan/pink/orange/green tumbled marble backsplash, gray laminate countertops, 1940’s cabinets with cheap country hardware, loose magnetic clasps, bent hinges, and a chipping paint job. The dijon yellow walls and vinyl flooring are just the icing on the (ugly) cake. Why, previous homeowners, WHY?! Just…yuck.
AFTER:
Still in progress, but such an improvement!
So let’s talk about how we got to this point.
Part I: Cabinet Refacing
Our cabinets are original, solid oak cabinets. I’m a big fan of Nicole Curtis‘ theory that if you have quality woodwork, don’t replace it! They seemed to be in great shape, and offered plenty of storage, they just needed a little lot of TLC. We removed all of the cabinet doors, took off all of the hardware, and numbered them so we’d know which cabinet/side they came from. We then stripped them down to the wood using Citrustrip chemical paint remover and a 5-in-1 tool. That last sentence sounds so easy-peasy, I know…but sweet jesus it was not a quick task. Stripping paint is seriously my least favorite job on the planet. I would rather deep clean a bathroom with a toothbrush than strip paint, and every time I take on a project that requires it, I get about 40% of the way in and say “I’m never doing this again!”. And then time passes, I forget about how much I hate doing it, and then take on another paint stripping project (example: notice the stripped door in the kitchen). I’m dumb sometimes.Anyways…the cabinet boxes themselves were in good shape, so we left those alone until it was time to prime and paint. When you have older cabinets like these, you should avoid sanding if you can, due to the risk of lead paint. After removing 6-7 layers of paint from the doors (in all colors of the rainbow), we gave the wood a good sanding with an orbital sander, giving it a once over with 120 grit, followed by 220 grit to give it a smooth surface ready for painting. We ripped 1/4″ birch plywood down into 2 1/2 inch wide strips with a table saw, and attached them to the doors with our brad gun to add some shaker trim. I put wood filler on all of the brad holes, but didn’t fill in the lines on the cabinet face because that would have gotten rid of the classic shaker look.
We then primed the doors and boxes with Kilz, and then did 3 coats of Benjamin Moore’s White Dove (my favorite white of all time) in Eggshell finish.
After letting that dry for a few days, we did 3 coats of Polycrylic Satin. When I think farmhouse, I think white and oil-rubbed bronze, so that’s the finish we went with for the new hardware. I also got matching half-moon pulls for our pull-out drawers, and faux drawer faces. We have semi-inset cabinets, so I got matching oil-rubbed bronze hinges with a 3/8″ inset to fit.
They look like completely different cabinets, and I LOVE them. So much more fitting for the space. If you plan on refacing, and work full-time, give yourself a good two months to get this done.
We also attached this bottle opener that we’d had laying around for a few years on the side, because it’s adorable AND functional. Jeremy made the small cap catcher box below it out of some of the leftover birch from the trim.
Tools Required:
5-in-1 Tool
Orbital Sander
Table Saw (we used one at Maker Works in Ann Arbor)
Air Compressor + Brad Gun
1/4″ Brads
Screwdriver (a drill is even faster!)
TOTAL: $178
Hiring a professional to reface/redo cabinets in a kitchen our size usually starts at about $1,000, which after doing the job ourselves, I totally understand those labor costs. Coming in at $178, I’m pretty thrilled at saving more than 80%!
April 20th marked the start of our cat Murphy’s 12th year on this planet, demanding all of the soft blankets, lap time, and treats. We don’t have kids of our own yet, so this little one is our fur child and we celebrate his birthday accordingly!
Let me tell you a little bit about this guy. We adopted him 5 months after we started dating in 2004, when we were broke college students. WHO DOES THAT?! We did, because in your early 20’s you always make really good decisions and this seemed like one at the time. (Reason: brains take a long time to mature.). We adopted him from the Kalamazoo Animal Rescue when he was just a scared, quiet little kitten.
Little did we know that he was part Ragdoll, which meant he would grow up to be the most talkative, friendly, floppy cat we’d ever meet.
Although we were dumb kids when we adopted him, I don’t regret it because he’s been with us for the entirety of our relationship, and we’ve all sort of grown up together. He’s our little buddy, and a really great cat most of the time (except for 5am when he’s tapping my nose, demanding food because he’s “STARVING”). If you’re interested in adopting, check out your local shelter. There are tons of cats out there just like Murphy, waiting for you!
In honor of Murph, and all of the shelter animals out there, we volunteer every year for the Humane Society of Huron Valley’s Walk & Wag 5k fun run. It’s a really unique fundraising event where you can run or walk a 5k with your pup, and all proceeds go to helping the shelter animals. If you’re interested in donating or signing up for the walk/run, go here. We hope to see you there in May!
For Murphy’s Birthday, we celebrated by giving him a “cake” crafted from all of his favorite foods:
Wet Food + Tuna + Cheese + Grass. Yum?
He didn’t even know where to start, but once he realized what it was made of, it was GAME ON. It lasted for about 2 seconds before he demolished it, and now he expects that same treat everyday.
For years, Murphy has begged and cried to be let outside. Unfortunately with his genetic makeup, he isn’t suited to be an outdoor cat. Ragdolls are too friendly and trusting of other people, which can lead to bad things happening to them when they’re left outside on their own. So as a compromise, we got him a harness so that we could take him outside under supervision. The instructions say that you should be careful to acclimate the cat to the harness indoors with “lots of praise, petting, and play”. But I’m telling you, once we got the harness on and set him outside, he was like:
Not. even. phased. He LOVES it, so I think we did pretty good with the gift this year.
Happy Birthday to the master of making beds, “helping” with projects, being our shadow, and getting comfortable wherever he is. We love you, Murph!
April is one of my favorite months. Not only does Michigan weather start getting its act together, but it’s also my birthday month! Wednesday was my actual birthday, and although I had to work, I came home to quite a surprise from Jeremy. A homemade chorizo taco bar, margaritas, balloons, and he tried shooting confetti at me when I walked through the door, while blaring this song. The spring in the confetti popper didn’t work though, so he sort of just ended up throwing it at me, and then the spring came flying out like a terrifying jack-in-the-box. It was hilarious. Also, TACOS. Tacos, chips & salsa are my weakness – I could eat them for breakfast/lunch/dinner, and need to be supervised when I do, so I don’t eat myself to death.This question is right up there with the meaning of life for me.
Spring + Birthdays are some of my favorite things, so for this post I decided to share some of my other current favorites with you.
1. Fixer Upper Season 2
GUYS. They just released this on Netflix last Tuesday, and I may or may not have binged over the course of two days. I love Chip & Joanna, Chip’s goofy personality reminds me a LOT of my husband (who is nicknamed “the golden retriever of humans” because everyone just loves him). Their house transformations are always amazing, but I get so sad when I watch, because I want them to come redo our house for free. Her designs actually inspired me to put up white subway tile in our kitchen (before-and-after in an upcoming post!), and I have plans for some serious ship-lap in the near future.
2. LifeFactory Water Bottle –Turquoise, 22oz.
I’ve made a pretty vocal effort to start drinking more water, so Jeremy picked this up as one of my birthday gifts. It’s super cute, and the silicone grip is really nice. Plastic water bottles have always weirded me out and leave a plastic/metallic aftertaste in the water, so I really appreciate that the bottle is made of glass. I also love that the top enclosure doesn’t make an obnoxiously loud *POP* every time you open/close it to take a drink.
3. Essie Chillato
Some women collect an obscene amount of shoes…for me, it’s nail polish. With the weather warming up, I’ve been in the mood for spring-colored nails and picked up this beauty at CVS. It’s like pastel yellow + lime green had a baby, and has a solid finish with two coats. So pretty.
4. La Quercia N’duja Americana
This is a spicy prosciutto spread that Jeremy introduced me to, and it is soooo good. It almost tastes like a spreadable pepperoni, with a little bit of heat. We’ve tried it spread on crostini and crackers, and thrown it in pasta sauce, but I’m sure there are a million other things you can do with it. They sell this at Zingerman’s, and Jeremy was actually just recently in a video promoting it. There are scarves, space cheese kittens, and a flawless delivery on Jeremy’s part, watch it here. You won’t be disappointed. He’s ridiculous.
5. Saucony Women’s Scoot LX Capri
I’ve had these for a while now, and they are easily the most comfortable pair of workout bottoms I own. They’re light, flexible, airy, and super forgiving so they don’t squeeze you like some running tights can. I can wear these in both warm and cold weather when running outdoors, and they keep me at a comfortable temperature. I want them in more colors!
6. Chalk Markers
As I’ve mentioned before, I love making chalkboards. I started out several years ago just using regular crayola chalk dipped in water, but for really fun/bold boards I love these chalk markers. I did boards for a friend’s wedding last September, and these markers made the boards look so crisp and bright. PS – that friend is Adrienne over at Appetites Anonymous, she’s a foodie with amazing cooking/styling skills – check her blog out!
7. Swagbucks I make an extra $50/month through this website. It’s an online rewards and cash back program, where you receive “swagbucks” for each survey you fill out, website you visit, etc. Each swagbuck = 1 penny. I’ve been a member for the last 5 years – so I can tell you it’s legit. I save the gift cards I earn towards light fixtures and other home improvement wants (not needs), that wouldn’t normally fit in my budget. You can sign up here.
8. Smith + Hawken Boxwood Wreath – Target
If you follow my instagram, you know that I love a festive front door wreath! The last few months we’ve had some pretty colorful wreaths up, so for spring I’ve been keeping an eye out for something a little more subtle. I love the look of a Magnolia wreath, but haven’t been able to find a faux wreath that was affordable, and the cheaper ones look pretty obviously fake. This boxwood wreath is a good alternative. Its full, green, and a fresh look for our spring front door.
Little did we know that he was part 
He didn’t even know where to start, but once he realized what it was made of, it was GAME ON. It lasted for about 2 seconds before he demolished it, and now he expects that same treat everyday.
This question is right up there with the meaning of life for me.
