Between Two Pheasants...

As per usual, the project has wrapped and I'm not getting around to an update until a couple of weeks later.

Going back a FEW months, I wanted to update you all on Cinderella's Room. If you don't remember how we started this project, click on  link to the 1.0 post. Do you know how hard it is to keep a six year old's room clean? Especially when there is a two-year-old little sister running around. Tough!  I can't remember when I snapped these pics, but I assure you that this was the last time it was this clean. Tada! The brown prints, "Beauty" and "Grace", are from one of my favorite shops in Kansas City, called Hammerpress. Seriously, check out their online store . Another item from the nursery is this white rose metal frame. During our move across the country, the mirror within broke and it's been sitting in a closet every since. I decided to add some cork to it so Cinderella can display the copious amounts of art she produces.  Finally, the bird cage and an heirloom from my childhood, the Troll. Kidding. The Troll is new. How crazy is it ...

We are done (read 98%)! The tile is in and the appliances have been put back in place. We have a rug and something hanging on the wall (gasp!). It's been a looooooooong twisty road, but so worth it. I couldn't be happier with how it has all come together. So, about that 2%, here's what's left: Toe-kick under cabinets need to be painted. Quarter round trim around baseboards. Chips in paint from moving the fridge and the counter installed. Electricians back to figure out what's going on with two electric outlets. New oven and stove. I'll let you know in two years when we finally have it 100% over the finish line. So, how about some final pics? Yeah!

It's already mid-July? How did that happen? Of course we are still plugging along on the kitchen remodel. I think this marks two months without an oven/stove and a mudroom since our fridge takes up most of it. But, who's counting? By the end of May, Jesus had finished painting and we had our new Schoolhouse Electric Lights installed. Here's a close-up of the over-the-sink light. Since this picture was taken, we've exchanged the bulb with an Edison bulb. It's not as bright, but it's more period-appropriate.  Here are a few side by side shots of before and after painting. What a difference! Next post will be all about the floors and there is some drama involved!

One month later and a lot of progress has been made on the kitchen. Ugh, but it's not done. We are inching toward the finish line. OF COURSE it always takes twice as long as you originally plan. After the cabinet doors and drawers were in, Tom and Nate took out their aggression the counters and back splash. By far it was the most gratifying as well as messy part of the reno. We are so lucky to have talented and amazing people in our world. Tom and his lovely wife, Betty, are our neighbors who have renovated/restored several homes. (They also give us fresh chicken eggs and figs from their tree) They gave us the confidence that we could take out the counters ourselves and even offered to help. While they worked, I pulled out all my mom-tricks to keep the girls occupied outside. In process pics:

Remember this room when we moved in? I barely do. It feels amazing to look back at the real estate photos and see how much progress we've made. This sleeping room/porch is one of the reasons why I love this house. For a recap of when and how this wallpaper came down and the beginning of this room's transformation, you can read about it here . Shortly after, the Handyman and I painted the walls SW Mint Condition, but didn't dare touch the trim. For a long time, the room looked like this. Yuck! We didn't touch the trim because there is A LOT of it. There are seven windows, three doors, and baseboards in this room. There was... Lots of chipped and cracked paint: Nail holes and damaged wood. Gaps between the baseboard and plaster wall: And, window hardware needing to be cleaned up. We knew that Jesus would need to save us on this one. The main reason it took so long to get back to this room is that I hadn't found the right ...

I remember a moment when we were walking through the house with our realtor thinking, "a french door really should go where this window is so people in the house can access the backyard." At that time, I had hoped these hypothetical people would be us and we are! We people are the proud owners of a new french door (as of August)! The door is from Home Depot (Orepac is the brand, I believe) and it was not cheap, but it was about 1/2 the price of Andersen which the price of a small car. We had a real handyman/Jesus' sidekick, Ricardo, install it for us. The door is fiberglass and has a real wood grain texture. Since it is in a fairly sunny location, we opted for something that was a little more indestructible than wood. The hardware is also from Home Depot. Now that it's here and we have a glorious view to our outdoor fireplace, I'm dying to put in a deck. That's going to be a project for 2017 and hopefully sooner rather than later. Side no...