Kitchen Renovation Continues - Part 7 - Boomerang Countertops!

Well, it's finally here; Turqoise Boomerang countertop installation day! It's almost like a newly celebrated holiday at our house! Seriously, can I tell you how ready I was to make the next step in this ongoing project!

First, let me say, that our contractor (call me and I'll be glad to give you his information...) was AWESOME! First of all, he's kind, professional, returns all your phone calls, doesn't try to push things on you that you either can't afford or don't want to do and works long, long hours ...stay tuned to the photos below and you'll see exactly what I mean! So, let's get started...it all happened on Thursday, March 12th.

The guys got here around 9:30 and came in to double check all their measurements and take one last look at the old butcherblocks before they

took them outta here... Okay, they got their measurements confirmed and then they pulled

out the old countertops;

Oops, what's that I see in the lower right hand corner of this shot, could that be turquoise boomerang backsplash that I see laying over there... This is our contractor, E. H. and his helper, L., set up in our driveway with the workbenches, saws, etc...and oh yeah, that's the back of my countertop you see propped up there. We were lucky, it was gorgeous weather for our work day.
The guys have brought the pieces in and started making the fine tune measurements and get them all lined up and double checked before taking them back outside to start adding the polished aluminum trim that I purchased from Outwater Plastics. They were great too, they helped me so much on the phone with all my questions, measurements, etc...as you see, I did all the research to find the products and get them ordered and stuff so I learned more than I ever wanted to know regarding polished aluminum trim and inside vs outside measurements...should I go on? Oops? You caught my island topless! See our custom 10" backsplash?! I'm SO glad my contractor suggested these to make our kitchen more custom and he was so right and there was only $100.00 difference in the price; so why wouldn't I? He then told us he'd do custom trimming around the outlets with the trim and you'll see below how this really stands out as a custom detail that we love. Thanks for the suggestion E.H.!

Oooooohhhhh, aren't they pretty? Here's where they brought them in to make sure that everything "measured up"; and the place you see on the right side of the sink is the cabinet where we took out the dishwasher (that I never used and only stored dishes in anyway) and he was rebuilding for us. See the custom hole he cut in it to have a subfloor piece in case we ever need to reach those pipes again under there.

Here they are making some minor adjustment cuts...check out the length of their hair, easy going cabinet guys you just gotta love it!

L. makes cuts to the aluminum trim on the table they have set up outside on our carport. Yep, that's right, we have a carport as our house was built in 1959. Our utility room is also located on our carport too!Doesn't it look good? See how they had to make all the special miter cuts for the corners and joints. Yep, you guessed it, I had to find all the right trim pieces online and then get all the screws to screw them on...I told you I learned alot in this project.
Ooohhh, Ahhhhh, I absolutely LOVE the look of it! Formica's turquoise boomerang and then the trim is from Outwater Plastics. I can provide any of you with the the information if you want it. Above, you'll see how he had 3 different sizes and shapes of trim, that he had to cut and then match up. The above shot shows the countertop, the face plate edge trim, and the cove piece.

See how late it's getting....he's still hard at work... See, they hadn't "quite finished up" by 6:00 or so, so E., pledged to commit and stay working as L. had to leave I think. We all already had such busy schedules for Friday that we all decided he could stay until 9:30 or so and then he'd be able to pretty much finish except for a few minor things. Friday the 13th actually turned out pretty good for us as our countertops were completed and so was our new slink installed, so not that bad a day, huh? and I even got to see some The hubby helped him fix up some extra lights and he kept the saw a spinning until 9:30 p.m. and then he just worked fast and furious to get it finished primarily before he left as I had only asked for one day off from work and B. did have to work.
Are these awesome or what? See how sharp and detailed his miter corners are? He did a great job and then polished them smooth...Love, love, LOVE THEM!C Check out all those custom cuts and details in the top of the backsplash and at the cove joint...See how gorgeous they're looking? We Love Them! E & L; best of luck to you in all your future projects!

E.H. our contractor had just made his last cut and walked in the house to install it when I took this shot...you know the neighbors were glad we were ready to turn off that saw for the night. I just appreciated the fact that he was so willing to stay and finish it up for us, great guy, great job!

Oh, and did I tell you, that living through renovation...Sucks!

So, let me just remind anyone that has had to go through something like this, yeah, it's fun and I'm excited but if me and the hubby's marriage makes it through this then we can make it through anything. You see, everyone thinks he's such a passive, sweet, kind and patient man - well, let's just put it like this...even HE can be pushed to the edge in all of this. I had to "walk away" again tonight... best thing to do when no one has anything nice to say anymore...enough said about that just wish us luck to be able to make it to the light at the end of this tunnel! LOL!
Whew, I feel better already...hope he does....!

Click on Pictures to view them larger...

I forgot to mention that if you want to see any of these images larger, just click on them and most of the time they'll enlarge so you can see the details!

My Birthday Celebrations - Saturday Morning Treasure Hunting

Well, you know a perfect birthday HAS to fall on a Saturday and I HAVE to go treasure hunting! And, I was so lucky to come home from treasure hunting to the gorgeous roses above from the sweet hubby and a beautiful card that almost made me cry. It just goes to show you that even though we've about come to blows a few times through our kitchen demo/restoration project, we really do love each other and I truly know how blessed I am to have this wonderful man who works so hard, is so kind, and who loves me just the way I am; 46 & all!

Found this awesome old covered casserole dish (actually a few weeks ago but am just now posting) at a moving/estate sale for only $8.00. I also got the hubby a pair of sawhorses (which we've already used while cutting tile for the kitchen backsplash project) for $10.00. The summery fabric underneath; huge piece, just $4.00. Love them!

Okay, can I tell you how happy I was to find this awesome pair of chalkware parrots from 1967 at a sale for only $5.00; well, they were marked $7.00 but you know it's all about the bargaining!

Got this "Best of the Best" cookbook at this awesome estate/moving sale in the most gorgeous custom home, (which was actually designed by the husband of one of my garden club circle friends) and it was only $1.00! Can't wait to make something from it in my new kitchen...it won't be long now....

If you know me, and know how much I love vintage buttons, then you have no doubt as to how happy I was to find this button box on my birthday; you guessed it, cheap; only $2.00! I'm going to use it to store sewing items in I think, or I may put some of my vintage buttons in it. I use them to make jewelry with and button bracelets....

If you look to the right of the above picture, you'll also see the cool, heavy wall sconce that looks like a banana leaf and candle which also came from the same sale, it was $10.00. It was kind of "pricey" for me from a garage sale but it was so nice & heavy I didn't want to pass it up. Notice the DVD's in foreground, same sale, only $1.00 each and to the left of them; best treasure of the day and best bargain, garnet bakelite bangle that I got for a mere $0.50!

Steal, cha-ching!

Okay, so, it's hard to tell from this picture, as to the size & Scale of this picture but this gorgeous hand made bowl is stunning! Got it at the same moving/estate sale for, are you ready....only $5.00! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it and it's going on the table as a spring centerpiece as soon as I get my dining room back together and that's just a matter of days now...

We have another friend, who has a beautiful beachhouse and has a piece very similar to this on her table that I coveted so you can IMAGINE how I did the Happy Day Birthday Dance when I found this! Isn't it nice to see how easy it is to make me happy?! And, I'm cheap too!

It has gorgeous purple dragonflies in the middle and these awesome black and white zebra stripes around the ruffled edges! Oooooohhhh, aaaaaahhhhhhh!

My Birthday Celebrations for my 46th! Friday Night

Here is where the birthday weekend started....good food,

good friends and good times!

Cheers & Bottoms Up for my birthday bash on Friday, March 6th at Barnacle Bill's on North Monroe...! For those who know the place, know that you just heard a little jingle as I wrote that! But, I have to admit, that margarita in my hand really kinda sucked! It was more sour mix than anything and that's about all I drank of it. I'm so lucky to have such a large group of great friends and I spent time with alot of them for my birthday. This was Friday night and we all went to eat seafood and share some laughs for my big day; hard to believe that I'm actually 46 years old now as I still feel about 30; so I'm hangin' on to that feeling for as long as I can!

These are "my girls" C. & T. and they joined us for my birthday and were so sweet and gave me some awesome gifts that I love. Towels & stuff for the new kitchen project and a beautiful Turquoise teardrop pendant necklace and the sweetest cards. I wouldn't have met C. if it hadn't been for T. and I love them all! I also wouldn't have met the other T. (of Thelma & Louise - proud parents of Ruby Rita - who you see they didn't bring to the party...it's okay Rita as I scolded them for leaving you in the glove pocket of the truck....) if it hadn't been for C.! I love how friendship grows when good friends and good hearts are involved. Below is T., me and T.; it really stands for Trouble, Trouble & more Trouble! LOL!

Thank you so much for coming girls!

I love ya all!

This is C., T. & D.R., hubby of T.R.; I love that man too! He's put up with me for a long time too, you see, as I knew him, before he even met and married my girl T., and he knew my hubby before I knew him...you see, it really is true, six degrees of separation... or is that seven degrees, can't remember, old age really is setting in! We did almost all have to break out our "readers" to place our orders. This is our very own "Paula Dean"! I love this face & I love this gal! She's probably one of the most generous and kind people I've ever known and a total nut at the same time! So, of course, we get along like biscuits & gravy!Below, you'll see my "boyfriend" A., in action trying out the gumbo, which we all know, is no where near as good as his own homemade gumbo, it's FANTASTIC and so is my Boyfriend!
T. & D. eating some oysters...D. is the "other woman" involved in my boyfriends' life and god knows I love her too! Thanks for the gift certificate to Chili's D & A; can't wait for my awesome blossom!
The photo below is immediately following A. adding tobasco sauce to his gumbo to "kick it up a notch"; looks like it worked huh?
I think this shot sums it all up for the evening! We had a great time and even ran into some old high school friends to boot, so, thanks guys for once again making a night full of fun and great memories to my life!

Kitchen Renovation Project Continues - Part 6

This shot above shows the kitchen after we've taken all the old tile down from the backsplash, sanded the wall a number of times, and primed it to make sure we're ready when the counter tops show up on Thursday, March 12th. You'll see the current butcherblock ones that are coming out.

Check out our litttle green vintage Westinghouse fan on the island that we used to help dry the primer and the joint compound that the hubby used to repair the wall after we took down the old backsplash. My sweet hubby sent me out shopping while he worked on this. As you can imagine, it stirred up so much dust that it was in every (or I should say is still in) crevice of everything in this house....LOL).

This is a close up of the wall after the hubby had repaired it after I took down all the previous tile and banged the crap out of my nuckles using a hammer and chisel. Oh yeah, even some of our tools were vintage, the chisel I used belong to my father-in-law and had a beautiful red bakelite handle. (Of course, you knew that we'd have vintage tools...)

Drying and prepping the wall....I love this little fan! It's funny though, it's kind of loud and hums along and the only way to turn it off or on is to unplug or plug it in; no power switch needed I guess back in the day!

Whew, I'm back and catchin' up!

Well, as you might have guessed, I've been totally swamped with the home repair/renovation project and I've also been really, really, REALLY sick for the last month so I have gotten behind on my updates but am going to try and do a little catching up with everyone today as people have told me that they've been checking and have been disappointed so here goes!

Well, first, to ease your minds, I'm definitely feeling better but still am having some asthma issues due to a number of things but primarily because of the 3 inches of yellow pollen that cover EVERYTHING here right now! I love that it brings spring along with it but I wish we could have the beauty of spring without the pollen but I guess that's a wish I probably won't have come true.

But, after 3 rounds of steroid shots, a Zpack of antibiotics, cough syrup with codeine, an inhaler and Advair, I'm starting to breathe a little easier!

Well, this was more of a catch up statement so I'm going to catch you up on other events in the next few posts.

Hint, Hint, think TURQUOISE BOOMERANG!