My Christmas gift to you....

Next week is Christmas so I plan to take a bit of a break for the next few weeks so I can focus on the holidays and my kids! HOPEFULLY they will all be here this year. I know many are forgoing family gatherings due to the virus but we have all agreed to tread lightly and carefully for the next few weeks so that we can all be together!

For Christmas this year, I want to give YOU the greatest gift I can give.

Advice. (Course this may be a prime example of “you get what you pay for…” LOL!)

Okay, so obviously we all (me included) fail to take GOOD advice or we would all have dang near perfect lives. Because let’s be honest, throughout our lives those who were older and wiser told us what we needed to do or not do to have a happy life…we just didn’t take it to heart.

But I saw this on Facebook (if its on Facebook it must be true and wise, right?!) and I thought, this…this is a few bits of good advice. MAYBE I should start taking to heart GOOD advice so my life will be better…and happier…and easier.

Of course, I have had to add my two cents…

1) Love your life…and if you don’t, CHANGE IT!!!! Change your circumstances, change who you allow in your life, CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE!!! If you are unhappy, lonely, hurting….you have all the power to CHANGE IT!!!!

2)Take pictures of everything….but don’t get so busy trying to “capture the memory” you forget to put down the camera/phone and take in what is before you…nature, your kids, a pet. Take pictures, but remember pictures go in albums or in the cloud…the “picture” you take with your mind will stay with you forever if you commit it to your memory! On average it takes about 30 seconds to commit a “short term” memory into a “long term memory.” Put down the phone or camera and soak it all in!!!!

3) Tell people you love them. Say “I love you” every opportunity you have…always. One day they may be gone and you don’t want to live with the regret of not telling them how much they mean to you.

When my mother was dying I leaned down and said “I love you Mom.” She was not really coherent at that point but I SWEAR she said “I love you too.” It is a precious moment I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Say “I love you.” Not necessarily for THEM but for YOU!

4) Talk to random strangers. Not hard for me…I’m kind of an extrovert. But this may be tough for some. Step outside of your comfort zone…even if it is just a quick comment on the weather. You would be shocked to know that there are A LOT of lonely people out there who would be touched by the acknowledgement that they exist.

5) Do things you are afraid to do. Fear is a HORRIBLE thing to control your life. As a matter of fact, I would argue that if fear is dictating ANY part of your life. you are not living your best life. A “healthy respect” for things that can harm you (leaving your doors unlocked, not washing your hands religiously) is good…but FEAR is not good. Really evaluate if your fear is RATIONAL! If it is not, work to eliminate that fear hanging over your head!

6) Take your life and make it the best story in the world. Again, make the most of your life…if you are not happy with your life, CHANGE IT! You and you alone are responsible for your happiness. You are responsible for whether your life is the best it can be. Don’t blame your unhappiness on circumstances or on others…regardless of how badly they have hurt you. YOU have the power to to make your life the best it can be…you have the power to “write” your own story. And see #5, because sometimes fear is controlling our ability to make positive changes…both in our circumstances AND our attitude.

Quick side note…I read somewhere that fear, frustration, and hurt are the catalyst for anger. Hum…if you feel “angry, “ something to think about.

7) Don’t waste it. You get one life. Even if you believe in an after life, these few short years is all you are going to get on this earth. This is it. You were born, you will die. Every day you waste being negative and unhappy is a wasted day. What if this were your last day on this earth…do you really want to spend it consumed by negative emotions…. fear, anger, bitterness, hate!

So as we FINALLY put this tough year behind us, let’s all vow to live a better life.

After all, we all have the power within ourselves to do exactly that.

Take lots of pictures, but commit to memory those special people and places.

Challenge yourself to conquer your fears…pet a spider, jump out of a plane, clean out that closet!

Say I love you more to the people we love.

Say hi to a strangers, give them a smile, pay them a compliment…

Say thank you…

Be kind…

Vow to make your life the best it can be….

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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The kitchen reveal...

When I photographed the kitchen and den for this post, I didn’t know where to start…this space is amazing from every angle.

So get ready for A LOT of pictures!!!!

A few “befores.”

As you can see, the kitchen wasn’t THAT bad…certainly livable and very workable with a little tweeking. But when I bought this house I did so knowing I was going to make it my own. And I did!

This is how I start at “base neutral.” Take it out…take it ALL out…cabinets, walls, fixtures, carpet…EVERYTHING!

I think this was about the time Brian walked in and about had a stroke! He trusts my “vision” but I had DESTROYED a perfectly fine kitchen!

Sometimes I have to take a space or a piece of furniture to “base neutral” before I can get a clear picture of what I want to do…the “what is” can really clutter your mind!

Eventually I started putting it all back together.

HERE I shared how and why I chose many of the design elements in the kitchen. After 20 years of “tweeking” and having just completed a “mini makeover” on my last kitchen a few months ago I knew what I wanted in this space.

I also had a computer file full of inspiration….HERE is my process for “finding my inspiration,”

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There are so many things I love about this kitchen…where to start.

Let me start with the element the entire kitchen was designed around.

The tile backsplash!

I found it HERE. Now…yes, it is super expensive.But I didn’t need a lot and I firmly believe every room should have at least ONE element that is the foundation for all else. It should be something you absolutely love. As long as you can afford to pay cash for it and not “charge” it, I say go for it!

The minute I saw this tile I know it was going to be the foundation for my entire kitchen design.

The grey Carrera marble accent in the tile coordinated with the grey veined quartz and the stainless steel appliances.

The gold fixtures above the island and brass hardware coordinated well with the gold accents in the tile.

Speaking of island…OH MY GOSH I love this piece. I found the largest piece of quartz I could buy (approximately 65x132) and designed the cabinet bases around that.

I ended up with three awesome storage cabinets on the bar side…

Two great built in shelving units on the ends….

The trash cabinet, drawers, sink and dishwasher on the “work side”…

The drawers…I LOVE the “dish drawers.” I had the cabinet maker make the drawers heavy duty and I used THIS system in the drawers for my dishes….

The bottom drawer has the same system and holds glasses and small plates.

I also had the him make “drawer in drawer” systems for the drawers that would hold all the silverware and cooking utensils…then I built the dividers!

Again, LOVE!

As you can see, the utensils were total chaos without dividers!

You may notice I don’t have a “junk drawer” in the kitchen. Well, that’s because I have tons of drawer storage in my laundry room and have TWO designated junk drawers!!!

Okay, one is actually a “tool” drawer. I keep a hand full of tools in the house so I don’t have to go to the shop every time I need a hammer or screwdriver. (Wait til you see the shop…OH MY!)

Again, I built dividers to keep everything relatively organized!

Building drawer dividers is NOT hard…I showed you how HERE. I used ½” oak on these so they are a tad sturdier!

You may also notice I only have two upper cabinets.

That is because I don’t NEED tons of upper cabinet space because I have an AMAZING walk in pantry.

It even has an electric outlet so I don’t have to clutter my counter tops with the can opener and toaster.

The “cooking space.”

First, it is no secret I love walnut. When I was working with my cabinet maker I made it clear that I wanted the most beautiful walnut he could find for these bases. I showed him this “inspiration photo.”

He did not disappoint.

No stain…just three coats of Waterlox. This product is amazing!!! Super easy to apply and has held up beautifully so far. My experience with oil finishes is even when they do get a little worn and tired looking, a quick wipe with 0000 steel wool and tack cloth and a fresh coat of the oil finish brightens like new!

So much of my “inspiration” for this space came from my last home…floating shelves, reed glass upper doors, under counter lighting and gas cooktop.

The oven is a tad “low” for my tastes but the gas cook top needed a specific clearance beneath it. I love the built in look of the microwave…it is just a counter top microwave sitting in a cutout. The large drawer beneath the microwave holds all my daily cooking pots and pans. All the drawers left of the oven hold utensils, baking sheets, mitts, etc. Plenty of organized space for things you need every day at your fingertips! Again, the pantry is large enough to hold things I don’t need every day…crock pots, large pots, mixing bowls, casserole dishes, etc.

The “breakfast room” is adjacent to the kitchen…I shared it HERE when I shared my laundry room….

One thing in my pantry is super special…a functional piece that has sentimental value. This pull down knife holder was my grandmother’s…then my mothers…and now mine.

Maybe silly to some that such a simple piece can mean so much, but it does!

The den….

A perfect space for just the two of us! I didn’t make HUGE changes in this space.

One change was the built ins. “Back in the day” a big base cabinet with shelving above was all the rage. Probably so you would have a place for your big ole’ honkin’ television.

I wanted plain ole’ built in floor to ceiling shelving. I removed the base cabinet and custom built shelving to fit in the space…presto-bingo…shelving!

There are still a few changes I want to make to this space. Again, reface the fireplace and change out the paddle fan…again, all in due time.

The guest room and exercise room are right off the den. Nothing show worthy at this time…the guest room is almost identical to the guest room in my other house. The exercise room is currently my “wrapping room” and that is REALLY not going to be shared at this time!

This is my gift wrapping room….

I did promise to share how I made the cute door signs. I think I will save that for next week! This post is getting a bit long.

So until then….

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It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!

And we all desperately need something positive to focus on right now!

It has been a tough year. I can’t believe we have all spent almost an entire year “social distancing” and wearing masks in public. We even cancelled Thanksgiving this year…now that was a stinger!

For me, it has been a fairly stressful year. First, I sold the apartments and bought rental houses…a major “career change.” I bought this house and waded through the treacherous process of “remodeling.” I sold my home of 20 years and went through the whole purging, boxing, moving struggle.

My mom died and we had to clear out and sell our “family home” of 50 years.

It has been a stressful year.

So I am clinging to every single “happy” “positive” “joyful” thing I can possibly find….as I shared before, some days it is really hard to find the positives when life seems to be throwing you one negative after another…but it is sooooo important to find and focus on any little positive thing you can find!

So today I am super focused on all the wonderful changes we have made to this house to make it our home!

Welcome to our home!!!!

I shared our front porch several months ago HERE. I absolutely love it…and last month they FINALLY got our yard sodded…looks amazing!

The porch lanterns are beautifully decked out for the holidays!

I love the few changes I have made to the entry,…

The “before.”

You can see my attempts to “detraditionalize” the house by changing out the transoms and removing the crown above the windows and cased openings. A new front door.

One of the first things I did in this house was paint all the interior doors black. It is something I had done in my last house and I loved it…and it was something that made this house feel like “home” from day one.

I changed out the light fixture in the entry…nothing major but I like the “big lantern” look. Inexpensive light fixtures are a good way to bring in current decor trends without breaking the bank. I found this style for over $800…but this particular fixture was under $100 at Lowes.

One of the HUGE expenses in the little makeover was the flooring. The house had REAL hardwood flooring but carpet in the living room, dining room, master bedroom and office. Again, I am not a big oak fan but I decided to work with what was there. We removed all the carpet, laced in new wood flooring, sanded it all down and just added a clear coat…no stain. I love them!

My office is to the right of the entry….nothing drastic in there yet…just cozy and functional.

Eventually I want to do something with this entry…maybe some board and batten…maybe a long runner…who knows. Something. Someday.

The dining room…this was one room I couldn’t wait to get decorated for the holiday.

Again, the before….

Again, the look of a more expensive chandelier but for MUCH less…I got it HERE. Elegant but simple.

I absolutely adore this room! I have never had a formal dining room and while I’m not sure how often we will use it, it is a beautiful space!

I had originally planned on using a round table because the room is “square” and smallish. After cruising the blogosphere and Pinterest I decided I did not like round tables. James and James makes beautiful custom furniture so I was able have a 6’ table with a 24” insert made…it is GORGEOUS!!

(The door in the dining room goes up to what we refer to as the “bunk” room. A HUGE room over the garage. We have every thing from our attic PLUS all the seasonal decor we had in a storage unit stored on one side…the other side has a full size bed and a twin bed and a gaming TV for the grands…hence the “bunk” room! It is AWESOME but not really show worthy!)

You may notice I went a bit “bow batty” this year…I found an amazing tutorial on youtube for lantern swags and funky bows. LOVE! Again, I could do a tutorial but find one that works for YOU. This tutorial worked for me!

Next week I will share some cute door decor I created with funky bows and wood signs…just too cute!!!!

James and James make benches but I decided to construct one…

I applied the same stain I used on THIS cabinet top. On raw pine it has more of a “pinkish/whitish” color.

I really like the bench and I bought a sheep skin rug to mimic an “inspiration photo” I found on Pinterest.

I love the bench…I love the rug on the bench…but I absolutely love this table and I can’t being myself to “hide it” behind a simple bench. So for now the bench sits behind the couch where it will be easy to pull in when we need the additional seating.

The living room…super excited about this room as well. In our other home we had two living areas…both were about the same size, neither big enough for “large gatherings.” As our family has grown, a large gathering room is essential.

The before….

(Wait til you see what I did with that wall between the living room and kitchen!!)

The minute I saw this space I knew what I wanted to do with it.

Even though we first toured the house in July, I immediately zeroed in on the perfect spot for a Christmas tree (don’t ask me what I think I will do with the space the other 11 months out of the year…lol!)

I still want to reface the fireplace and replace the paddle fan…all in good time!

The “den” is a cozy space for two…this room will fit the entire family Christmas morning!!! Something fun to look forward too!

For now I am going to save the kitchen and den area. It has, by far, the most dramatic changes and is the “cream on the top” of this house. It deserves a spotlight all it’s own! Maybe next week I can find time to get it all staged and ready for it’s debut.

Until then…find the positive, focus on it and be grateful!