another kitchen update

The kitchen is coming along. && it makes me very happy.

 

Here's my list of things to do (& as you can see most things are crossed off): 

1. Move refrigerator $0
2. Move cabinets around $0
3. Remove odd cabinet and replace with shelving $40
4. Remove wallpaper  $0 completed by removing soffit
5. Fix/replace side window $0
6. Concrete counter tops $100
7. Replace back-splash with pallet back-splash $0
8. Replace kitchen sink with black kitchen sink from parents $0
9. Buy new faucet $170
10. Build pantry for far corner $100
11. Paint laminate cabinet doors (grey)
12. Paint (ceiling $40, walls, pantry $30)
13. Paint refrigerator black chalkboard $10
14. Replace flooring in kitchen (not happening for awhile)
15. Spray paint baking sheets and hang inside cabinets
16. EAT wall art $6
17. Add outlet on other side of window $5
18. Drywall ceiling
19. Put in attic access $100
20. Touch up paint and trim
21. Replace kitchen light since the old one broke $30
22. Molding around top of cabinets

 

lace window decals

This weekend I was super busy working on little house things so I may have a few posts this week. One of the things I worked on was my front door windows. I've been wanting more privacy and a sunlight filter for the front door. The sun hits the front door just right in the late afternoon that it is blinding. This blog post will be a little bit of a nailed it and failed it.

 

The first thing I tried for the front door was a major fail. I had purchased the decals you can use on windows for $20 and attempted to apply those to the 9 small windows that are my front door window. This did not work as planned. If I wasn't such a perfectionist, I'm sure I would have been okay with the window decals. The problem with the window decals is, if you don't cut them perfectly, you can see your mistakes (very clearly). With it being such a small area, it was difficult to get them cut perfectly and the decals also didn't stick very well. For all these reasons, I decided to scratch the idea of the window decals and search out other options.

 

I debated between using an opaque spray paint, or a spray paint to make and etched glass look, but then I stumbled upon an excellent idea on Pinterest. Enter: Annabel Vita. Annabel used lace and cornstarch to create a beautiful and non-permanent window privacy solution.

 

Here's how you do it:

the least expensive backsplash you will ever install

This weekend the backsplash went in. I'm beyond excited to see everything come together. I decided to repurpose pallet wood for a number of reasons. The first reason being it was cheap; you can get pallets for free! The second being that pallet wood isn't perfect, and since my concrete counter tops are imperfect they go together perfectly.

DIY concrete counter tops for $150 or less

This weekend my dad and I worked on my kitchen counter tops.  I had decided on doing concrete counter tops awhile ago; probably even before I decided to start the kitchen remodel. I just love the look of the concrete counter tops and despite my perfectionist tendencies, love the imperfections and character that concrete counter tops have. I think it's perfect despite its imperfections.

I took tons of pictures, so this post will be loaded with them. I found that most of the blog posts I read about concrete counter tops did not give as much detail as I would have liked, so I will also try to be as detailed as possible for those of you out there that want details (in case you want to try this on your own!)

asparagus pesto pasta salad

I love pasta. It's a weakness. So when I ran across this recipe for pesto pasta I got really excited to try it out. As usual, we made a few changes and made it our own.

 

tasty vegan shepherds pie

I apologize for the less than attractive photos this post will bring you. Eric decided he wanted to use the BIGGEST dish we have but we did not have enough potatoes to cover the top of the shepherds pie due to this. Regardless of how it looks, it tasted spectacular.

 

We had a bunch of leftover potato insides from making potato skins over the weekend so we decided to try our hand at making shepherds pie. I found a plant based shepherds pie recipe on LettuceChance.com that we greatly adapted since we already had our "mashed potatoes." Here is our recipe.