There's No Turning Back Now....

So after stressing about all the details (sweating the small stuff!) we finally started our kitchen renovation yesterday. Oddly this was not stressful. Getting everything packed up and out of there (the night) beforehand was crazy stressful. Our contractor was really sweet to leave us a working sink for as long as possible, though that may be until this afternoon. I think the plumber is on his way right now.

I know I need to go back and do a for real post on the kitchen before so there will be an even grander Aaahhh, Oooohhh when the final reveal comes but I need a day or two for that. 

I'm excited (and nervous) that it's finally actually happening.

Also, we found a little piece of the original vinyl flooring under the cabinets. It's actually kind of cute in an early 80s vinyl flooring kind of way.

Lots of stuff happening here. Now I just have to be patient for it to look like a real room again!

I Need Some Inspiration

We are still plugging along with the planning stages of our kitchen renovation (and still living with the ripped up floors.) We are making progress though. It all comes down to budget. This is (one of the) stressful times in the remodeling process when you have to decide what can stay and what has to go to make the project actually affordable. I really want a apron front sink but can I justify the extra cost in our budget. The banquette with drawers is too expensive. Can my contractor site build something to keep the cost in check? These decisions are not fun, but they are necessary.
So, having said all of that what I really need is to look at something pretty and think about how much I'm going to love our kitchen when we're finished. I made a mood board for the room to inspire us. The Husband laughed at me for calling it a mood board. Clearly he doesn't read design blogs!  This is what is currently inspiring me today.

1.  Cafe curtains for the kitchen windows in a pretty fabric inspired by nature, maybe like this one
2. A new burlap shade for the pendant light over the sink
3. Reclaimed wood openshelves with hand forged shelf brackets, image source here
4. A sleek single control with high arcing spout and a pull down spray possibly like this; in my fantasy kitchen it would be a beautiful bridge faucet with separate hot and cold water controls. But let's be honest, when your hands are full and/or covered in gunk you don't want to have to fiddle with the water using both hands to get the water that you need.
5. White recessed panel cabinets 
6. Pulls for the cabinet drawers...or maybe the doors in a brushed brass finish
7. A soft neutral wall color to let everything else in the room shine, Benjamin Moore OC-47 Ashwood
8. Lagos Blue Caesarstone countertops; what I really want is soapstone, but budget, grrrr, we'll see
9. Stainless steel range similar to our existing one we will reuse
10. New stained hardwood floors in a darker but not too dark finish
11. Knobs for the cabinet doors...or maybe the doors in a brushed brass finish
12. This is a Murano style glass chandelier that is serving as a lovely color inspiration for my own plans to breathe new life into a hand-me-down chandelier. More one that as the plans progress
13. An antique farm table; I have to say goodbye to a table that I love because I've finally accepted that it is and will always be too big for the room. Here's a little inspiration for future table shopping.
14. Cushion fabric for the banquette/bench seat in the kitchen, maybe like this

I'm feeling a bit more inspired. Hooray!  Now to get back to crunching the numbers! Question of the day: How do you determine what is worth it to you and what is not when trying to stay on budget?

A New Beginning

The end of 2012 brought a little mini disaster to the Reslus Arms that is setting the stage for exciting new possibilities in the new year.  My Mother-in-law discovered that our water heater had cracked and was seeping water into the house.  It was Christmas morning and she had stopping by to check on the Old Inherited Cat while we were at my parents for the holiday. Thanks to some quick work by my  brother-in-law the water was stopped and complete disaster was averted.

We arrived home late on Christmas night to this....

The water heater lives under the stairs behind a coat closet. The hardwood floors ins the surrounding areas had already started cupping.  We were sad and frustrated but honestly thankful that it wasn't worse. 

The next day we started making phone calls. A friend that's a contractor came over and helped us get it drained and out of the house. Apparently the builder installed the heater then built the house around it! We had to remove the closet door and door FRAME to get it out. Next our insurance adjuster stopped by and we got the ball rolling with that.  Later the clean up crew showed up with their moisture meters and their fans and then their saws and hammers to dry everything out.....

Then we got the flu. While the fans and dehumidifiers were roaring downstairs I was upstairs with the door closed unable to get out of bed.  

Finally the new year came and the fans and dehumidifiers went away. I was finally able to drag myself out of bed and downstairs to this...

A new beginning...we have always wanted to extend the hardwood floors into the kitchen. This would be a very good time to do that. Of course that means we will need to renovate the kitchen now rather than later. There is always a domino effect when thinking about house projects. I am little excited and a little scared about the prospect of so may changes and decisions at once. I do this for other people every day but it is much harder to do it for myself. I will be posting about our new adventure over the next few weeks (months?) as we make decisions about flooring, cabinets, counters, lights, appliances, etc. and will show you the progress along the way. Let the adventure begin.

Little Tile Big Impact

I've been working on a new SUPER gorgeous display kitchen for my friends at DesignLine Home Transformations for awhile now. It's going to be very clean and classic looking with white cabinetry and lots of special little details. There is a rather impressive hood that's getting some special tile for the backsplash area. Here's a sneak peek at the hood in progress

And here is a little look at the options for the tile

Which one would you pick?? I'll show you more in a few weeks when everything gets installed! Stay tuned...

A New {temporary} Addition

Last Friday our tiny 4 lb chihuahua discovered, on two separate occasions, a baby squirrel. The Husband, who is generally at war with the squirrels, saved them from utter chihuahua destruction. And when faced with the overwhelming cuteness of this....

decided to save them outright. Now we (really he) are parenting squirrels. After some research the Husband got them hydrated and warm so that there might be a chance the Mama squirrel would take them back even though their nest had been destroyed (but not by the chihuahua!) 

On Saturday, once the babies were warm & dry attempts were made to get the Mama squirrel to take the babies back. The attempt was actually strapping the little nest the Husband made out of a clementine box high in a tree near the old nest. Unfortunately, the Mama had moved on.

On Sunday the Husband announced that they had names. Now you can meet Tauny (the girl)

and Ray (the boy)

Here's a few more cute pics because who doesn't want to see pictures of cute baby animals.

We will be squirrel parents for the next 2-1/2 months slowly transitioning them for their life in the wild. I don't really know the details of what that will be. I think the Husband doesn't want to freak me out all at once! Wish us luck!

Bon Ami

Good Friends! The only way to start blogging again is to just start so here it goes. I recently had a little shopping trip to restock paper products and cleaning supplies for the house. I know, super exciting, right? While looking for something else I came across a product that I love but hadn't been able to find for years.

As the French say, Bon Ami** is a good friend. In our house it was called Bon-am-ee. It lived under my Mom's sink for all of my childhood and under mine for most of my adult life but I hadn't been able to find it for a few years. They've been making it since 1866 so apparently I wasn't looking hard enough. It's a magic powder that scrubs all the nasty stuff away without being a made of a bunch of scary unpronounceable chemicals. I'm a sucker for packaging too. Love the new (old) look! It makes me want to actually clean something!

What are some of your favorite go-to cleaning supplies?

**no one affiliated with Bon Ami has asked for this endorsement. They don't even know that I exist. I love it all on my own. Call me Bon Ami. Let's be friends!

A Little Spring Cleaning at the Edge of Spring

So I took a break. I stopped blogging, stopped reading blogs and generally stepped away from the computer for a few months...well almost - I cannot stop pinning! It's been a good time away and I'm trying not to feel too guilty about it. It wasn't planned, it's just that one day away led to another and the next thing I knew it was the middle of June! I do feel refreshed and ready to get back at it as well as share a little bit about what I've been working on while I'm away. In the meantime pardon the mess. After taking such a long unplanned break I've decided that the ol' blog needs a good overhaul/ spring cleaning.  I've already made a few changes and there will hopefully be a few more in the next week or so.