Spring

Aaaah. The first day of spring. Between the bouts of rain and blustery wind we managed to get quite a bit of outside time yesterday. Miss M is such a happier girl if we get outdoors. We played in the grass, and sang Ring Around the Rosie (yes I know the song's origin, but Miss M still loves it). She sat in the wagon, and I pulled her around and around and around the yard, between the raised garden beds and up the hill and down the hill, and all around again. She loves her wagon she received last year for Christmas from Nana and Papa.

We're getting ready to get a couple of goats. They're for the blackberries and later for milk. I'm allergic to cow's milk, but I can handle goats milk just fine (something about the proteins). We're going to look at a pair of doelings tomorrow. I've been working on getting an area fenced for them. Since the goats we're looking at are just a few weeks old, I'm not planning on sending them up the hill quite yet. So I've fenced off an area of grass and made a temporary shelter for them. We'll see how it works out.

Kitchen Progress

I don't have pictures of our kitchen progress, but above is a shot of Miss M from this past Thanksgiving. Isn't she sweet? I'm such a sucker for handknits, smocking and mary-janes. Thank goodness Miss M is a good sport about my girly aesthetic.

Things are moving forward with the kitchen. I feel like we've turned the corner, and starting to win the war on the peachy-pink kitchen. As of now, the only pink item left is the countertops, but we are calling that "Phase-Two" and may not be upgraded for a bit. However, we are making good headway. So far we have:

• Ripped out the upper cabinets by the window, which will be replaced by open shelving
• Cleaned, sanded, deglossed and painted the lower cabinets a medium green color 
• Painted and painted then repainted the walls (the first color was way to close to the living room color and wasn't right)
• Primed and painted the the trim
• Cleaned and sanded and primed the upper cabinets
• Cleaned, sanded, deglossed, primed and painted the cabinet doors
• Replaced breakfast nook storage with ladder-style shelves from elsewhere in the house 
• Removed wallpaper
• Removed backsplash from behind sink and oven
• Painted the ceiling 
• Replaced light above sink
• Replaced ugly ceiling fan with three beautiful new lights
• Replaced drawer hardware with pretty bin pulls, and door hardware is waiting to be put on
• Purchased shelf brackets for open shelving

The "Phase-One" to-do list:

• Finish painting the trim
• Paint the upper cabinets white
• Paint and install the open shelving by the window
• Drill cabinet door hardware holes bigger, and install new hardware
• Spray paint the hinges with oil-rubbed-bronze paint (as new hinges are outside the budget)

So close! Spring break is next week, and we're planning on finishing everything during spring break. Pictures coming soon.

Phoebe Wahl

I’m a huge fan of art depicting families, especially mothers and children. My newest discovery has been Phoebe Wahl (Who also hails from the Northwest, woot!). I first saw her artwork in Taproot several months ago, and instantly fell in love (and have been stalking her blog ever since). I love her use of curvy ladies, happy children and flowers. See more of Phoebe’s work here.

Kitchen Remodel

 Our kitchen is in the awkward teenage stage. Let me explain: When we started our remodel, the kitchen was complete. The countertop matched the wallpaper, which matched the flooring, which matched the backsplash. Now mind you, it was all horrible shades of pink with a coordinating heart and flower motif wallpaper - incredibly dated and grandma-styled, but it did match, and it was well done. Ken and I are changing the color scheme from warm pink/peach/cream with an early 1980s cutesy flair to a farmhouse-styled bright white/black/bits of cool green. At this point, it's half old, half new and entirely horrible; aka awkward teenage stage.  I know from previous projects that everything goes through this stage, and I just have to keep going, but I have a difficult time keeping my motivation. It's a big project, so the middle is lasting quite a while. "What have I done? It's so awful!" keeps running through my mind. It will be great, and I will love it, but right now it is awkward and terrible.

To date we've:

• ripped out the upper cabinets by the window, which will be replaced by open shelving
• Cleaned, sanded, deglossed and painted the lower cabinets a medium green color 
• Painted and painted then repainted the walls (the first color was way to close to the living room color and wasn't right)
• Primed and painted the first coat on the trim
• Cleaned and sanded the upper cabinets
• Cleaned, sanded, deglossed and primed the cabinet doors
• Replaced breakfast nook storage with ladder-style shelves from elsewhere in the house 
• Removed wallpaper
• Removed backsplash from behind sink

The to-do list:

• Finish painting the trim
• Paint the ceiling (I'll enlist Ken and his long arms to do this)
• Rip out the countertops and replace with faux-butcherblock - like these ones 
• Replace sink with apron-front from ikea
• Install molding-style backsplash
• Paint the upper cabinets white
• Paint and install the open shelving by the window
• Replace linoleum flooring with herringbone tile - see last inspiration photo below - it may be a little bit before we attempt this
• Replace light above sink - this is the one we want
• Replace ceiling fan with something more period appropriate
• Build a range hood cover - like this one 
• Replace hardware with these bin and door pulls 

These are some inspiration pictures we are using for the kitchen:

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 At this point, our biggest inhibitor is time and money (but isn't that true for most everything?) - we're saving for the various items on the list, and I try to get a little something done each day while Miss M naps. It will be a while before it's all done (especially the flooring - I'm nervous about that) - but wish us luck, we'll need it.

The Coast

 

My parents, Ken, myself and Miss M all loaded up in my parents van and spent the day playing on the coast. First we went to the aquarium. Miss M loved the otters and the sharks. It was all really cool. Then we stopped and had a quick bite to eat at a neighborhood seafood shack, and then we loaded our stuffed selves back into the van and drove to the beach. There was lots of foam on the sand, which Miss M loved to jump into. We had a blast.

And Then We Played Outside

 

Miss M loves to play outside. Most two-year-olds do I think. So between bouts of sprinkling rain, we went and played outside. We found a ball and kicked it back and fourth. There may have been a few rounds of ring-around-the-rosie. Then the rain started back up again, so we skipped our way back inside.  

A Dolly For Miss M

Okay - so the title is a little elusive. I knit the dolly for Miss M for Christmas. In the hurried bustle of the season, I only had time to make Cindy-Lou-Who (as she was later named) a quick sundress. A couple months of hard playing later, and that sundress was history. I decided to hit up ebay for a dolly dress solution. Low and behold, someone was selling an arsenal of American Girl style doll clothes for $1.99. I bid, and no one else did, so it was mine.



 The package arrived yesterday afternoon, and Miss M was entertained for hours making outfits. The small fasteners were a little tricky, so I had to help. But as a girly-girl myself, I don't mind dressing up dollies. I certainly have enough practice under my belt. I believe the doll clothes were made from the Felicity patterns that the Pleasant Company used to produce. Do you remember Felicity? They don't make her anymore. I had Addy and Samantha myself, but I always had a soft spot for Felicity and her wildly political tea-refusing ways. Miss M definitely likes the Felicity-style clothing, and I think Cindy-Lou-Who looks smashing.