White and Grey Kitchen

Finally...the kitchen has been mostly done for a while, but I haven't had the time to take any pictures AND keep it clean for five minutes while the boys were home. 

I've been wanting a white kitchen FOREVA. I loved our reddish/brown cabinets when we moved in and they were new. But as they wore, they started to look a little tired. And the color started to feel orange...and when the sun would shine in the window in the morning, I would see a meeeelion little fingerprints and smudges and wipe marks, even though I wiped them down all the time. 

So-without further interruption, is my mostly complete kitchen. The photo's aren't super awesome quality because I don't have a super awesome camera...

Before (the second photo is in progress)

After:

I feel like I live in a new house. 

xo-Chris

Linking up to:

 The Charm of Home
 French Country Cottage
Tatertots and Jello 
Homespun Happenings 
Boogieboard Cottage 
Petite Hermine 
Cherished Treasures 
Between Naps on the Porch 
DIY Showoff 
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 
Elizabeth & Co. 
Fingerprints on the Fridge 
Not Just a Housewife 

Back to School and a Sign

Today was the day...

My boys headed off to school. 1st and 3rd and I can hardly believe it. They are ready and I'm ready, but it makes me sad that another year will sneak by while we are busy with homework and brushing teeth and learning lessons...

The first two days are half days...so just enough time to pull the downstairs together and then go get them again...and make a sign. 

While mowing the lawn last week I noticed this perfectly good piece of weathered wood in our fire pit. Who would throw out such a beauty you ask? Me too...(hus-ahem-band). Lost his mind I tell ya! So I quickly snatched it out of the pile and put it on my counter. Where it sat like this for a week...

What can I say...

After I put the little down for a nap and cleaned the kitchen, I decided it was time to get it finished...out came the white Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I printed off the letters from the computer, but because the background is white, I couldn't use my tracing paper...so I had to wing it. 

Which didn't work out perfectly. But I'm still pretty happy that the naked spot above the window is feeling a little less naked...

 

MFF (Mister Freckle Face) asked what projects I was going to get started on after the kids are in school full time. Let's face it, I've got a limited time since my belly increases in size daily...seriously. 

But I do have plans for a certain ceiling...and a certain laundry room may get some cute new shelves. And I need to get to work on the little's new room as she moves to the playroom, to make room for the newest little. And I need to actually finish nursery...more to post on that this week I hope!!

Thanks for stopping by...I hope to see you again!!

xo-Chris

Linking up to:

It's So Very Cherie

{Pretty} Pantry Organization

I know I haven't shown a final picture of the kitchen yet...it's ready. It's just been so busy around here with kids getting ready to go back to school and everything else, that I took a mini-break and figured I would get to it (and everything else I have planned) when they get back to school (TOMORROW!!). 

Along with school starting comes grocery shopping for school lunches. Along with school lunches comes packages, boxes, snacks...it all gets crammed in the pantry. Empty boxes get left. Crumbs get spilled. Packages get ripped open and left for the package fairy to come and take care of (has anyone seen her? She stopped coming around here). 

A dirty secret hides behind this door that I've made pretty to hide the UGLY truth. 

It goes something like this. Once a year I completely re-organize this space and make it useable and functional and usually not so pretty. But it works. The grand finale at the end of summer/beginning of fall looks like this...

Does yours look the same? It is so hard with a family to keep it functional, organized and pretty. Ok, we never even got pretty before. But at least it was CLEAN. Don't call the authorities on me just yet. 

While at Lowes checking out their clearance plants (don't you LOVE this time of year!!) I spotted this.

It's a Spanish Tile pattern on a "greige" background. It's SO pretty and mimics the handpainted stencil that Emily over at Jone's Design Company created. But I'm 5 months pregnant. And I really didn't want to cram myself into the small pantry and stencil, then paint, the walls. 

It's pre-pasted. But I have a bucket of paste and find it easier to slap the paste onto the wall and then put the paper up. 

Today...I want to hide in here until school starts. I cannot take another argument over Play-Doh. 

The red canvas bins weren't my first choice. But there weren't many good budget choices and I didn't want to spend $200 making the pantry functional. So these were around $5 each from Walmart. I thought the red worked since the EAT sign is red. 

 I may or may not have drilled a hole into the wall to allow the cord from the ugly toaster oven to be plugged in behind the refrigerator. Shhh. It never has to leave the pantry again. Can I get a BOO-YAH?

  

I shopped the house for these baskets because I didn't feel like spending $20 a basket at the store. The dark brown rectangles are from Big Lots (used to be in the Laundry Room) and the rattan one with handles is from Ikea. I've had it forever to hold magazines...which reminds me...I need a new place for the magazines.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The wallpaper is amazing. I would like all of my bins/baskets to match and for everything to be magazine worthy. But that's just silly (I keep telling myself). 

Should we do a cost breakdown?
Wallpaper- Lowe's, ~$26
Red Canvas Totes-Walmart, $5 each for the small, $6 each for the small = $42
Everything else I had...grand total $68! 

I'll be back soon...

xo-Chris 

Linking up to: 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Embracing Change 
The 36th Avenue 
Southern Savvy Style 
The Crafty Blog Stalker 
Beyond the Picket Fence 
The Shabby Nest 
French Country Cottage 
504 Main- Tickled Pink Party 
Tatertots and Jello 
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia