The Miracle of White Paint

A little while ago, I talked about what a difference a little paint can make. I showed some before and after pictures of my heaven-sent sister-in-law's painting she did this summer while she was visiting. I still can't quite get over how much she accomplished while she was here and how good of a job she did. This past weekend, I was reminded.

I finally got around to painting the railing and molding up the stairs. All the molding in the dining room was white, so the wood railing really stood out as odd. It stuck out like a sore thumb. Just this little bit of painting, reminded me how grateful I am to Amanda for all the painting she did this summer. It also reminded me how much I dislike painting.

Check out the before and afters!

Stairwell Before:

 (Please ignore the puppy at the top of the stairs. Harper photo bombed me.)

Stairwell After:

I actually ended up doing three coats of paint because two just didn't do the coverage job I was hoping for. I removed the railing to do the first two coats and replaced it before applying the third so I wouldn't damage or mess up the paint job when I re-attached it.

Again, what a difference a little paint can make!

My next painting project? Painting brick. Wish me luck!

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Meadowvale

I spent my summers at my grandfather's house in Lutherville, Maryland. He lived on the last farm remaining in that area - forty acres saved from development, surrounded by houses on all sides. It was literally an oasis on top of the hill. He had horses, chickens, fields and barns to play in, a big old house perfect for treasure hunts or hide and seek, and perhaps most importantly, a swimming pool.

It's difficult to put into words my memories attached to that place - Meadowvale Farm. My brother Wayne, cousin Genny and I held meetings in our "secret hiding place" (the linen closet) on top of an old trunk piled high with blankets and pillows. There was not a corner, drawer, closet, tree, nook, or cranny of that entire property we left unexplored. It will always hold a special place in my heart and my memories.

It has since been sold and has finally become a housing development as well - a victim of too high property tax and "progress". The move out process was long and brutal. The house was built in the 1800's and had never been moved out of. What started out as a summer house, because a permanent residence. Someone would move in with all their possessions, live their life, and pass on. The next occupant did the same thing, resulting in packed basements and attics littered with old furniture, china, and silver. The barns were even full of antique furniture, saddles, trunks full of clothes, and boxes full of discarded books, glasses, and framed artwork.

Some of the treasures we discovered were quite interesting. Perhaps the best part is the old furniture we salvaged - furniture needing new upholstering or repair of a broken arm or leg. Some furniture was in amazingly good shape for spending decades in a barn. Many of the pieces don't even need repair just a good cleaning from their years of spider web and dust collection.

I thought I'd begin to share some of those items that lived the beginning of their lives at Meadowvale and will now spend their next chapter with us, at our new "old" house. Many of these pieces are similar to our house in fact - old, full of character, and a little rough around the edges but hopefully salvageable and with a little time, TLC, and elbow grease, can have new life! It may seem odd to incorporate these things into a food blog, but my life now includes fixing up old things as well as cooking. And that is what life is about, right? Taking each new challenge as it comes and holding on to old passions as new ones present themselves. It might not be that far off after all. I am a self-taught cook in the kitchen and this house is ensuring that Ian and I are becoming self-taught DIY-ers as well.

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Project Pinterest - Antlers Jewlery Holder

remember when i started the pinterest project? you know the one where i documented my progress of carrying out some of my "pinned" ideas? yeah, i barely remember too - it's been that long.

well i'm back on the project pinterest wagon! i attribute it to the cooler weather and the start of fall. it seems to have lit a fire under my rear and i want to get stuff done.

i have been on a bit of an accessories binge lately. there are so many great deals, steals, and super sales around that i have been scooping up bracelets, necklaces, and rings left and right. i find accessories are a great way to update your closet without spending a ton.

of course, the compulsive organizer in me needs to display and organize these things. i showed you my jewelry display methods a while back but i needed some more necklace storage space. i decided to combine form and function and incorporate antlers (a big fall decorating trend) into my storage methods.

i originally found the idea on neha made and pinned it to my master bedroom ideas board. i found the antlers on z gallerie and i think it gives my dressing room a little touch of whimsey along with some additional much needed necklace storage space.

original inspiration pin:

Source: nehamade.blogspot.com via Page @ Good Clean Fun on Pinterest

my execution:

the upside is now i have room for even more necklaces!

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House Progress

we have been in our new (old) house for 11 months now and have done some serious work on it so far. however, the frustrating thing is that most of the changes we have made are those you don't really see (i.e. new roof, hot water heater, well pump, etc.).

that has all changed as of last month. thanks to my wonderful brother and sister-in-law, we have some changes we can actually see. we now have a beautifully painted upstairs and a newly re-stoned front walk. (it is important to note that my dad helped on the walk and my wonderful mother watched our nieces so amanda could actually get some painting done.)

i am so excited about the changes i wanted to share them with you. my hands down favorite are the stripes in the hall and our master bedroom. check it out! (please note the before pictures are the day we moved in)

hallway before:

hallway after:

office before:

office after:

guest bath before:

guest bath after:

master hallway before:

master hallway after:

master bedroom before:
my new favorite room in the house. obviously replacing the nasty carpet with wood floors helped but i love the color of the room. it makes me smile every time i walk in there. i love how the walls are almost a perfect match to our rug.

master bedroom after:

front walkway before:

front walkway after:

thank you, thank you to Wayne, Amanda, Dad, Mom, and Ian for all your hard work and for making our house a little more like home!

Sunroom Progress

we have been busy little bees.

our focus has turned to the sunroom (with the occasional look at AC installation, expansion tank replacement and well pump fixing - it's never dull around here for sure). we finally ripped the old, dirty, stinky cream shag carpet out only to discover (surprise, surprise) the sliding glass doors were in worse shape than we thought and needed to be replace.

we were lucky enough to be blessed with help from a good friend who knew what he was doing and now have two brand new sliding glass doors that are appropriate for withstanding weather.

we are far from finished but we are on our way.

one thing down, many to go.

yes, we do have our work cut out for us!

Our New Kitchen

i have had a couple requests to show what the new kitchen looks like in our new (to us but actually old) home. our new kitchen is much more spacious than our old one. we have more counter space and more cabinet space. we think even people who are earning an interior decorating degree from an online college would love our new kitchen. you can find these online classes here.

to refresh your memory, here are photos of our old kitchen:

 

i loved that kitchen. we remodeled it ourselves. it was the first kitchen i chose for us. dad and i did all the demolition, and E and i picked out the new cabinets, appliances, counters, drawer pulls, and fun features (like a pull-out trash/recycling drawer and large drawers instead of cabinets under the counters). being a personal chef, i spend a lot of time in the kitchen. so a good kitchen is important to me.

there are several things i love about our new kitchen - the size, lots of counter space, the layout, lots of cabinet space, the big window over the sink, and the wet bar area.

we even have some bonus cabinets to the right of the fridge.

however, there are several things i would like to change (new fridge, induction cook top, new counters, double sink, new overhead lighting, the list goes on). we are doing things a little at a time here and other things are more pressing on our to-do list (hello, heat and new roof) but i did make two small changes that i think made a huge difference.

we had the walls painted. the original color was a kind of bright periwinkle. it wasn't bad but it wasn't our cup if tea.

before (day before move in):

i saw this color and fell in love with it. it reminds E and i of the ocean - the turquoise blue waters of the caribbean. it's bright, it's cheery, and it's a "me" color. it makes me happy.

after:

the second thing i changed were the knobs and pulls. i love that the cabinets are white(ish) but wasn't in love with the brass/gold pulls. i switched them for a brushed silver pull that i think gives the kitchen a bit of a more modern sleek look. it wasn't a quick job (there were 54 knobs and pulls to replace!) but it's finally finished and i love it.

before:

after:

that's a little hard to see. here's a close-up before:

and after:

one thing at a time i tell myself . . . one thing at a time . . .

Change is Coming

first heat and now a new roof is going on - progress is finally happening at our house and i couldn't be happier.