Kitchen Cabinet Sneak-Peek

Sssssshhhhhhhhhh....do you hear that?  I hear singing... 

Is it the angels singing??  

I think it is...but they aren't singing hymns...

Oh I hear it now...

NA NA NA NA, NA NA NA NA

HEY HEY HEY

GOOD-BYE!

GOOD-BYE HONEY OAK!

HELLO LOVE!

Sorry for the corny intro.  That's what happens when you spend all weekend in the garage.  

Like I shared earlier, I've finished 2 out of 3 sections of cabinets.  I'll share a tutorial at a later time.  But this has been a process.  I'm pretty proud of myself for really taking my time.  I've even done the inside of the doors the same way...so that is why it's taking me a little longer than I thought.  AND I've poly'd the front of the doors, too. 

As you can see from the middle picture, I took down the quarter-round that trimmed the soffit/top of the cabinets.  I think we've found some new trim that will frame it out nicely.  But I'm not committed to it just yet.

If you have been following me for a bit, you are probably asking yourself, 'where is the beadboard wallpaper?  Wasn't she going to put it in the insets?'  I'm so glad you asked!!  (read: delirium) 

The answer is yes, the original plan was beadboard wallpaper in the insets.  I loved it and I was so excited about it.  But I got to thinking about all my cabinets (21 doors), and thought it might be too much.  I saw a picture of one kitchen, and it looked beachy--not french country.  And I got skeered. 

My sis-in-law Tammy who is a builder said she did a kitchen with beadboard only on the bottom cabinets.  I thought about that idea, too, but played it safe and left it off the insets.  But I will use it on the cabinet ends.  And I figure I can always add it later if I wanted to change the look again. 

So that is your sneak-peek!  Let me know your thoughts!  Have a great rest of the week!!!

Point of No Return

ok girls...

I'm at the point of no return.  I started painting the kitchen cabinets this weekend...

My cabinets are on 3 sides of the room...I have completed 2 out of 3 sections.  And I have to say, they look freakin awesome.

I have been in my garage since Friday night working on these suckers, so I haven't had a chance to upload pics.

Stay tuned...I can't wait to show you.

Evolution of a Green Thumb

Do you have a green thumb?  I've never considered myself to have one.  Growing up, my mom wasn't really into gardening or yardwork.  My dad and brother maintained our yard.  When I was in sixth grade, we moved to a zero-lot-line condo, so we had yard men maintain our yard which was only about the size of an area rug.  The only maintenance we had to do was to sweep our back patio.

Hubby loves to be outside, cut the grass, edge, and weed-eat.  (Thank you hubby!)  And so I am very grateful for our nice yard.  When we first got married, I really didn't want anything to do with yardwork.  But my interest did start to grow, but only at the same time my tummy was growing :)  So the past few years I have watched from the sidelines.  But there will be no more tummy growing, and I'm ready to dive in.

As far as flowers go, I'm clueless.  But last year, we planted a few sunflowers in a pot with the Princess, and it was fun to watch her keep up with their growth.  And of course, since watering was involved, she was all about it.

This year, we planted some forget-me-nots. 

Almost 4 weeks later, we're starting to get some green sprouts!

The other night I went to the dollar store for a few things.  But got side-tracked with the whole section of seed packets that were 4/$1.00.  So I snatched some up.  I bought Sweet Williams (how appropriate), Sunflowers, Zinnias, Morning Glories, Snapdragons, and a Flower Garden mix.  I bought 4 packets of each type.  Is that a lot?  Because I don't know.

I bought some potting soil and some containers, too.  (you know I'm itching to spray paint these) 

And I'm sure that the $1 store potting soil doesn't compare to miracle grow.  I'm sure all you master gardeners out there are twitching right now.  Deep breaths. Remain calm.  It will be ok.  I am open to feedback if you want to comment :)  We planted one packet of seeds in each pot.  Is that a lot?  Because again, I honestly don't know.

Oh, and I even bought a cute pair of gardening gloves!

I told hubby that I think I'm starting to get my green thumb!  He's so excited, he can't stand it! (read: sarcasm)

I realize that it takes longer for seeds to grow than it does to drive to Lowe's to buy plants already in bloom.  But I also realize that it's the satisfaction of planting the seeds myself, and in a few months I can say, look what I did!  Just like decorating, painting, or re-purposing furniture.  It would be easy to let someone else do it for me (if I had the money), but it's the feelings of accomplishment, satisfaction and pride that I crave.  For example, I did have a decorator come to the house when we first moved in.  And it's at that point I realized I didn't really like anything she picked out.  Not because it wasn't pretty--because it was.  But I didn't like it because I didn't do it myself, and I didn't pick it out, and it wasn't a trophy score from Goodwill :)  It's the thrill of the hunt, and the thrill of the transformation that makes it so much fun!

The Princess drives me crazy sometimes during this 'I wanna do it' phase.  But in reality, she's just like her mama.  Lord help me.

And another part of growing this green thumb, is not only to share the experience with the kids, but it's a way to spend time with them, too.  When we get home, I'm ready to go outside with them, and this is something we can do together. 

So stay tuned...Here are my before pics!  HA!

We'll see how this little project goes! Now off to goodwill to find some plant stands that need rescuing and a coat of spray paint!!!

Thrifty Treasures

Happy Monday! 

I'm linking up with Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for her Today's Thrifty Treasures party held every Monday!

And Nifty Thrifty Treasures at Coastal Charm held every Tuesday!  (I can't believe I'm actually early for this one!)

I have wanted to join this party for a couple of months now, but Mondays seem to sneak up on me.  But not today!

Although I haven't taken pictures of all my recent finds, I thought I would share my most recent score.  I'll save my other little things for next week.

I've been on the lookout for something to transform into a kitchen island.  I found this base cabinet at the salvation army. 

It was priced at 47.99, with 25% off sticker.  Then I saw a sign that said furniture is 1/2 off if the date is past 30 days.  The manager said, no, not ALL furniture is 50% off.  Items over 30 days old are ELIGIBLE to be 50% off.  I smiled sweetly, batted my eyelashes, and said, well, can we talk about it?  (smile, bat, bat, bat)  He said, OK!  Since you have a nice smile!  Woo hoo!!!  So I got this baby for $24! 

It's 36 inches tall, and about 12 inches in depth.  It's banged up a little.  It just needs some TLC and a coat of paint.  And of course, I have a vision for this beyond a coat of paint.

If my vision doesn't turn out, then for $24 it will be worth it to sit in the garage and store some of my junk accessories.

So stay tuned!

Have a great rest of the week!  Happy Thrifting!

Confession

I have a confession to make.

(Excuse the shadow & dirty window)

It's the 3rd week in April and my Christmas wreath is still on the door.


Yes, people.  It's true. 


And it's an old one, at that.  I was busy this christmas making wreaths for other people, that I did not make one for myself. 

Everyday when I drive past the front of my house on the way to work, I look over the front door and think, I've GOT to take that thing down.  And do you know how many times I have gone in and out the front door since christmas was over?  Why haven't I just reached up there and taken it down?  I guess it would have been too easy.

But in the back of my head, I knew I wanted to do another spring wreath or arrangement for the front door, but just wasn't inpsired by anything.  Until this weekend.  I stumbled upon a new friend, Tracy, at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures.

I saw her simple spring arrangement on her front door, and knew that was the inspiration I was looking for.  So on Saturday I packed the kids up into the car, and headed to the Lobby.  After the kids went to sleep that night, I started my little project. 

(Here is a visual for you:  Me and hubby were both sitting on the couch.  I am working on my arrangement, and he is beside me cleaning a civil war bayonet.  Just take a moment and imagine that picture in your head.  This is my life.  My blog should really be called Flowers & Firearms.)

Anyhoo...Here is my front door now...

Yay for spring!

Telephone Table Re-do

As part of the WYWO kitchen renovation we did for my in-laws, I refinished a telephone table for them.

In the old kitchen, the telephone desk was a floating shelf from the wall.  But of course it was torn out, and a new table was picked up by Tammy at our favorite Antique Gallery for only $30! 

Here is a before of the table...It's so cute!

My sis-in-law Vickie liked how I did the dresser, so I used the same paint/glaze mixture from that project.  It's 1 part black satin paint, and 3 parts clear glaze.

Here it is after the 1st coat, which is the scariest part, because I always think it's not going to turn out right, because it's such a thin layer...(I believe that was a run-on sentence)

And here is the after!  I used two coats on the legs, and 3 coats on the top of the desk.  And a coat of poly over it all.  Easy peasy.

We attached it to the wall to it would be secure.

LOVE IT! SO CUTE! SO EASY!

NOW GO PAINT SOMETHING!

Beadboard Cabinets Part 2

EAT YOUR HEART OUT ERNESTO!!!

DUDE!  SERIOUSLY.  OMG!  I'M SO FREAKIN EXCITED. 

Hubby is asleep and I can't show him---so I'll show ya'll!

Remember my beadboard cabinet idea?  Read through again if you want to catch up and see how I left them.

I painted one black, and one Rustoleum Heirloom White.  Both satin finish.

I did not like how the beadboard took the black paint.  This is two coats, and of course the flash makes it worse, but it doesn't look good in person, either.  And honestly, in this case, I really didn't want the black to look good, because I'm stuck on this vision in my head for ivory cabinets.  And if I have an idea in my head, forgetaboudit.

The heirloom white isn't too bad by itself.  This is two coats.  I did not prime.  I sanded with the 3M Sandblaster Sanding Sponge 150 grit for bare surfaces first.  Used tack cloth to remove the dust, and applied my first coat and let dry.  Then I sanded with the 3M Sandblaster Sanding Sponge 180 girt for between coats.  Again, used tack cloth, then applied my 2nd coat. 

The doors have been sitting in the garage almost a week.  But I've been too busy to think about glazing.  Until tonight.  I grabbed some glaze and went to work.  But really, it wasn't work at all.

I used two old washcloths--one for the dry application, then a damp one to wipe off excess.  Wipe on, wipe off.  Repeat until you get the look you want.  I applied and wiped twice.

Check out the results.  I couldn't stop taking pictures to show you. 

Can you see the vision??

Look at it with my wall color, and my new floor...

And my hardware...

WELL???  COMMENTS PLEASE!!!

And you're probably wondering who the heck is Ernesto?  And why are you telling him to eat his heart out?  Ernesto is the painter that re-did my M-I-L's cabinets.  He wouldn't tell me any of his tricks.  Well now I REALLY know why!  THERE ARE NO TRICKS OR SECRETS TO THIS!  Maybe I should think about a career change...hmmm....

Dishing It

Happy Wednesday!  Hope everyone is having a good week!

I talked to my M-I-L today, and she said her countertops look amazing!  I can't wait to see them!  I'll go back over to their house on Saturday, so I can take the final 'after' shots for the Reveal Part 2.  So stay tuned!  And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here to read about our 'While You Were Out' kitchen re-do my hubby and his sisters did for their parents!  Start at Day 1 and work your way up!

So before I log off and start making some centerpieces for a work function (long story--stay tuned for that blog post), I was breezing through my dashboard and saw this party Dishing It Party going on at Serenity Now-A Mommy's Solution to Staying Sane.

I've never really done this kind of party before, so here goes nothing.  My nana used to say that you should make a new friend everyday.  So that applies to the blog-world, too, right?  I heart new friends.

So let me take a minute to answer Amanda's questions:

~How long have you been blogging?
My first post was April 16, 2009--almost exactly a year ago!


~Why did you start blogging?
Hmmm...I think I started blogging to talk about my kiddos.  But all of our family is here in town, so after a couple of posts, I really wasn't sharing anything that the grandparents didn't know about. 

Then I came to a point in my life where I had to be honest with myself and others about my struggles of being a working mom and my compulsive shopping, and this was a good outlet to put it all out there!  Transparency is a wonderful thing!

~Tell me about your blog's title. Why did you choose it?  (this is a long answer)
My blog address was originally the mcgeefamily blogspot.  But I changed it to theprincessandthemoose because obviously we call our little girl the Princess, and we call our little boy Moose because he weighed almost 11 pounds at birth.  He answers better to Moose, than he does to Will.  Some people think it's cute, some people think it's not.  I don't see any harm in it.  I like to imagine me being a football mom in a few years, and the announcer will say 'Moose McGee on the tackle!'  Sounds cool, anyway.

But I originally wanted the address to be creatingbalance, but it was already taken.  So my blog title is Creating Balance.  I work full-time outside the home, and so it's a constant battle to maintain that work-life-kid-hubby-friend-family time balance that we all struggle with.

~What do you blog about?
Like I said, I started trying to blog about the kids, but I really just felt like no one really cares that the Princess told me I was the best mom ever.  Or that Moose finally cut his back teeth.  And most of the time, by the end of the day, I really cannot remember the cute things they say, or do.

I've always been a thrift store junkie, and amatuer decorator...I thought I was the only one until I discovered I was normal!  There are other girls out there like me who spray paints junk and mis-treats windows!! 

So it's a mix of thrift-store finds, my diary of a working mom, and some family stuff.

~What is your favorite thing about blogging?
Mostly before and afters, and my deals I find at the thrift stores!  I love it when people say, 'oh I love your urns!'  And I proudly say, I GOT THEM AT FRED'S!  I'm not too proud to tell you how cheap a price I paid for something!

~If you had to choose one famous person to become your blog's next devoted reader, who would you pick?
Hmmmm....I dont' know if I could pick one...so I'll pick 3:
Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman
Sarah, Thrifty Decor Chick
The Nester

~What's the funniest comment you've ever received on a blog post?
I'm not sure!  I was embarrassed by a comment from a friend a couple of weeks ago.  I wrote that her baby was born in January, but he was really born in November.  She wasn't mad.  She thought it was funny.  But I felt stupid :)  luv u Carla!

Anyhoo, that's me! Have a great night!  Looking forward to meeting everyone!

While You Were Out--The REVEAL, Part 1

Monday, April 12  7:30pm

SURPRISE!!

She can't believe it!

Lots of tears...we all started crying...but there were lots of smiles and hugs, too!  They had no clue! 

So here are some after pics....Remember...countertops will be installed tomorrow morning...then backsplash on Saturday.  So I'll do another Reveal Part 2 later this weekend.

Dennis made this custom piece to cover the hot water heater.  It's gorgeous!  And will go great with the countertops.  Now it's made to look like it belongs there...