Let There be Light!

  Bottom light fixture lit up. We're obsessed with the bright, warm colors it makes.

There are some things in our house that cause us to ask, "How, in 85 years, has this not been done?" One of those things is our hallway landing. I forgot to take a before picture of this particular project (sometimes you just need to get things moving along) so our old Italia post will have to do.

The landing of our stairs has a huge window, but no light. No sign that there's ever been a light there. So at night, it's dark. I mean, really dark. And, the sloped ceiling casts weird shadows, so you can see every little bump in the plaster along the stairway. Basically, it was creepy and ugly.

This has bothered me since we moved in, along with the fact that the light at the bottom of the steps was totally in the wrong place, and also an ugly light. (Again, no before photo so you'll just have to trust me).

The good news, though, is that it's been fixed! My parents visited for Easter, so my handy dad was kind enough to re-wire the entire outlet (3 lights, 2 switches) and give us light in the stairwell!

 

Do you see the little fixture peeking around the corner? 

 

Landing light up close.

 

And on. Can you tell we're a bit obsessed? 

Moved and upgraded bottom light fixture. We bought and returned 3 different light fixtures trying to find the right one.

 Thanks, Dad!

Unexpected Encouragement

Today while I was doing some further research on marble counters (this is what I do) I came across this picture and nearly fell out of my chair! These are our colors! Well, very close at least!

Photo courtesy of gardenweb.com

I can't tell you how many times in planning the kitchen I've thought - I just wish I could see how it will all look together. Well, this is about as close as it could ever get!

This kitchen has so many things we plan to put in ours: dark wood cabinets, white marble countertops, light backsplash (although ours will be porcelain subway tiles - this looks like some sort of stone mosaic tile) stainless appliances and wood floors (but ours will be more honey-toned). It even has an orangey-red wall!

All it's lacking is some schoolhouse lights, a farmhouse sink and a butcher block top to the island, but it's amazing to see all the colors we're working on in one photo. And the best part - we really like it!

I take this as a sure sign that the kitchen gods are smiling on our plans.

Urban Gardening, Year Two

Can you believe that just one year ago, our backyard alley still looked like a jungle? Yuck - it gives me chills just thinking about it. It wasn't until Memorial Day last year that we had our raised garden beds ready to fill and plant, so things weren't growing until nearly June! I'd say it was worth waiting for though - you can see the final product of our work here, and how nice it was once everything finally began growing by July here.

Well, I'm proud to announce that since we didn't have to first lay 1,600 cobblestones, or build up a retaining wall this year, we're much better on our planting schedule! Here are some pictures of our budding garden.  

Wrigley seems to approve.

Last year I planted 4 strawberry plants, which produced approximately 7 berries. They spread and spread like crazy though, and I have a feeling we'll have a FEW more this year. 

 

Lettuce was our absolute favorite thing last year, and is sprouting nicely again! 

Last fall C and I noticed these two plaster relief "thingies" in the parking lot of a closed-down restaurant down the street. We watched for weeks and they didn't move, so we finally claimed them for ourselves. One was broken into 4 pieces, so C was kind enough to repair it with Bondo (oh the things Bondo can fix - better than duct tape!) and hung them up for me this weekend. Aren't they fun?

I think they're a nice accent next to our little seating area! 

Our final garden plants ended up being:

Arugula
Romaine Lettuce
Buttercrunch Lettuce
Spinach
Beets
Broccoli
Green Beans (growing up Sweet Corn)
Carrots
Celery
Onions
Strawberries
Heirloom Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Roma Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Jalapenoes
Zucchini
Basil
Rosemary
Mint

Stay tuned for more pictures, and hopefully lots of yummy meal posts!

Four - Budgeting the Details

As our target date for kitchen/bathroom construction approaches, I've been going through our ideas and plans to narrow down what we think we want to do. We've been advised to begin serious talks with contractors in July, so we're trying to finalize our budget and hopes for the project to be prepared.

So, I've been going through our wish list and selecting where we plan to splurge, and where we plan to save, in order to meet our goals. It's been a lot of fun!

For example, I've known all along I want a farmhouse kitchen sink - the kind where the front apron is exposed. But we've wavered between splurging on clean white fireclay:

Photo courtesy of Rohl Home

or saving with deep rich copper:

Photo courtesy of Van Dyke's Restorers

This week we decided on the copper. It's actually surprising to us that copper's the less expensive options - I mean, have you bought a copper pipe lately? Yikes! Anyway, while we love the clean, classic look of the white sink, we think the copper will wear better, and add beautiful depth and texture to the room. Plus, I love that it will get better with time, as it develops its own unique patina!

Schoolhouse lighting has also been a must all along, and I absolutely LOVE to peruse the gorgeous designs of Schoolhouse Electric. Their prices tend to give me sticker shock though, so eventually we were able to find another schoolhouse style light for about one fourth the price! With 9 of these fixtures in the plans (6 in the kitchen, 2 in the upstairs bath and one in the half bath), that's a few hundred in savings!

Photo courtesy of good old Amazon

So, that was a few saves. Let's talk about a splurge now! Way back when kitchen plans were just a twinkle in our eye, I put some rather fancy kitchen hardware on my Christmas list. For the last few Christmases and birthdays, my parents have been great about giving me a drawer pull here and there, so they've been slowly collecting. I've since wondered if I'm being too extravagant, but then I hold the solid brass pieces with their beautiful brushed nickel finish, and decide once again that I don't care!

We have decided, however, to curb the price a bit and add some variety by using the pulls above on drawers, and the corresponding knobs below on all cabinet doors. This saves about 1/3 the cost, and aren't the little round knobs cute?

Photos courtesy of Restoration Hardware

And now, for our biggest (and toughest) savings decision. Are you sitting down? We've decided to give up the checkered marble floor in the kitchen, and instead have our old worn wood flooring replaced with new oak flooring to match the rest of the house. It took several days for me to be ok with this, but now I'm excited for the openness and continuity it will give to the main floor, as well as the warmth and softness it will bring to the kitchen.

Photo courtesy of Granite Gurus

Since we're giving up the marble floor, we'll also saving on our backsplash with white porcelain subway tiles rather than the marble ones we originally considered.

It's not all savings though - I'm not giving up all my marble! We're hoping to SPLURGE on a white, marble countertop! We love the beautiful, classic look of the white stone with big grey veins running through. Don't the tiles and counter look great together?

Photo courtesy of Granite Gurus

Watching Anthony Bourdain's travel show No Reservations (available instantly on Netflix) confirmed that we were on the right track with the white marble countertop, as we watched his Sicily show on repeat, and it inspired us to take advantage of all the practice Chris has gotten making butcher block cutting boards. We want to top off our island with a warm, rustic butcher block top.

Photo courtesy of Domestically Speaking

I'm still convincing Chris and we can totally save on this by having him making it. We may have to splurge on a planer first, though, for that to happen!

So, that's our updated as we get closer to the big day . . . . only four months left to wait!

Pole Saw

Our kind neighbor saw Chris the other day standing on an extension ladder trimming dead limbs off our big elm tree out front with a pair of big pruners, and brought over his pole saw for Chris to borrow.



The tree is, well, probably about 90 years old so Chris still ended up needing a bit more height. But it was a huge help, and we were able to get rid of a lot of dead stuff, much overdue.

Doggie-Gate

Gated Wrigley, wondering what he did wrong

Wrigley loves to play with us. In fact, he thinks he is actually one of us—that is to say, human. He follows us wherever we go and tries his best to be part of the gang. Since spring weather has finally arrived in Kansas City, most meals are shared on the porch with the family.

Wrigley loves the porch, but he also loves the rest of the neighborhood as well. Unfortunately, our neighbors are not so keen on dogs running around the street and through their yards. So, when we "porch-it," we wall in the beast with extra patio chairs, ghetto-fabulous style.

With two solid handrails bordering the stairs, I had an "ah ha" moment this morning, and decided to see if a custom cedar gate would work. With u-shaped ends, I can slide in this simple gate and keep Wrigley at bay in style.

Newly gated Wrigley, grinning with a hambone

Cutting Board #2 - Mixed Woods

End grain cutting board with mixed hardwoods

 My friend had a pile of milled hardwoods mixed in a bucket last week. I asked if could take some of them home to make another cutting board. I know there is some red oak and maple, but I'm not sure what else is in the mix.

Top view of board

The results are wild and irregular in a honey tone. I also tried staggering this board, instead of a true checkerboard look like last time. Projects like this are good for beginners (like myself) who are trying to get better at using a table and miter saw.

At this point, it is still fun to make the boards. However, the final step (sanding) takes way too long without a planer. I think this will be the last cutting board I make until I have one. If I do get a planer, I am open to taking more orders on boards.

Red oak end-grain border

The Least Fun Project Ever

New insulation, R-25 rating, installed in attic

When we had our home inspected in 2008, the inspection guy suggested we add some more insulation in the attic. There was about 6 inches of that old newspaper/cellulose stuff.

"Well, that sounds good," I agreed.

Two years later, we still had not added insulation. Probably because it is just expensive enough, and just plain itchy/hot/uncomfortable in an attic. Well, thanks to a friend with some extra insulation, we finally bit the bullet and dropped about 30 rolls of insulation into the attic.

The results are, well, dull itchy and yellow as of now. Hopefully the new attic "scarf" save us some money in the hot and cold seasons.

Yard Work: Neighborhood Edition

In the midst of remodeling our house for almost two years, we have found ourselves connecting with our neighbors and neighborhood. Yesterday, I met up with some friends from Troostwood Neighborhood, and we cleaned up their park.

Since I can make videos, I offered to film the event so that they can promote their local efforts.

Greener Grass

Wrigley snuggling with the happy grass

I thought it would never happen. A lush green lawn  — and not the "I-just-bought-some-sod-and-rolled-it-out" kind, but an actual thick green turf that grew on its own, well kinda. And Wrigley agrees that it feels good underpaw.

The secret? Well, I guess you could say drugs ... and some dedication.

My grass is all hopped up on seed, fertilizer and weed control. Its a slow process that takes some serious faith in the green grass system. Let me be the first to tell you that if you stick with it for a couple seasons, you will begin to see results that are very satisfying. But it does take time.

What I learned in the process:
1. Fescue is the best for my sunny yard, and not bluegrass.
2. Leaves left in grass will suffocate your grass over the winter.
3. If you are in a drought, its pretty hard to keep grass alive without a sprinkler system.
4. Clover won't die without weed killer.
5. Mow your lawn at its highest setting to let the good grass control the yard and block weeds from getting sun (this one is really important and took me two seasons to actually believe).
6. Spring is for preventing weeds, fall is for seeding and preparing the lawn for the next year.
7. A lawn aerator is a big scary machine that pokes holes in the earth and can pull you anywhere.

Wrigley approves.

Finally, grass I can walk on barefoot

Is Less More?

AFTER: Leftover butcher block wood turned into a pen holster

Two points for writing a design catchphrase.

In my experience, sometimes less is more — sometimes more is more. Just depends on what you need and are going for. This is a test on whether or not we need 100 pens at any given moment on our desk, or just eight. I think we should know soon enough if this was a good idea.

I suppose I could have put fancy matching Ticonderoga pencils into the piece for a prettier picture, but the pen/pencil mix is probably more realistic.

BEFORE: Previous pen solution for my desk

How To: Homemade Cutting Boards - Part 2

Completed 12" x12" end grain cutting board

Orion and I met up for a second night on the cutting board project.

I can now tell you that 50% of the work on cutting boards is sanding. The rest is gluing, and waiting, and waiting and waiting.

We managed to get three cutting boards out of eight 1.5" X .75" X 6' strips of walnut and red oak. One board is completely sanded and ready for use in our kitchen, the other two are getting smoothed out in the coming days.

We used a random orbit sander to smooth out all the surfaces. 80 grit was not rough enough, so we went to 60 grit for quicker results on the super hard surface. In a perfect world, this would be a job for a planer, but since we don't have one, the hand sander will do. After 60 grit feels smooth, we did 150 grit and 220 grit for a perfectly smooth finish.

After sanding, added something called "feed n' wax" on the wood, which is a combo of beeswax and oils to make the wood visually richer.

The results are satisfying — and we've learned a new trick that will be perfect for making family gifts next Christmas...

Patience is the secret

Orion glued up the biggest cutting board last night

Cutting board smooth as marble after 220 grit sanding

The waxy oil looks like snot

This wood was thirsty for sure – now it's in HD

Rubber grips on the bottom allow for some grip and leave room for moisture to escape