Kitchen cabinet reveal

So, remember 2 and a half months ago when I blogged about my kitchen cabinets almost being done? Yeah, they've been done for a while but I've been too lazy to take pics. Which is awful cuz I'm soooo outrageously proud of how they turned out.

I've got a smorgasborg of pictures to show. And FYI peeps-these are all taken with my iphone as I am still without a new camera (RIP). Forgive the quality.

I am head over heels in love with the way they look. I think it brings so much more of a sophistication to my kitchen and, since I couldn't monetarily upgrade anything this really helped make this room more welcoming to us. Let me point out though that I don't know what peoples obsession is with cream in this house. I mean, is it a builder's thing? Is cream just cheaper than white? I have had to paint every God forsaken peice of trim in my house (including those lovely pantry doors above) a crisp white from that awful cream. And they continued it with the microwave and fridge. Off-white. UGH. It.looks.dirty.people. I refer to this cream color as "smoker's yellow". Since it looks like something that might have been white but a smoker has lived in the house forever and turned everything yellow. Anyhow. I'm stuck with the cream fridge/microwave which really throws off my vibe but whatevs. We'll upgrade when we can. Luhvah wanted to gut everything and has hated the kitchen since we moved in (especially the laminate counters). But since painting I think Luhvah has accepted it a little more.
Remember before the Honey Oak color:

Okay, awful pic but I couldn't find another (forgot to take before pics like a bozo!). And yes, my house is a mess. Whatevs.

Anyhow. The after is much better:

Like I said, brings a whole level of sophistication to my kitchen that it lacked before. And the knobs and pull helped too:

The kitchen cabinets were bare when we moved in and just adding hardware I felt it helped them so much. I've vowed to never go nekkid again (at least in the kitchen hardware department).

When I painted I decided I wanted to try an open shelving area to make it more interesting. After deciding where I wanted the open shelf I just took down the cabinet door that was on it (I couldn't possibly do all open shelves  cuz 1) all my dishes aren't that pretty and 2) I keep a hell o' a mess behind those closed doors!) I painted the inside all black as well. Peeps, this is how lazy I am...I didn't even fill in the holes where the hardware went. Ssssshhhh don't tell. You don't even notice unless you're studying real hard. And if you are then you'll find plenty wrong with my house so git out!

I had all the dishes already to make it pretty. No need to buy anything.

Everywhere else I left the insides the original color:

While we're talking kitchen let me also point out that I would have loved to add white beadboard (even beadboard wallpaper) below the cabinets as a backsplash but I was going cheap so I didn't do it. I didn't mind the backsplash that was put up by the previous owners but they only put it on one side.

Weird.

And now it looks to dark and not at all what I want anyway for the kitchen. Maybe down the road I'll get that beadboard wallpaper and do both sides.

More shots of prettiness:

Also, let me point out the new wall color:

It's Revere Pewter color matched to Behr paint/primer. I love it. I'll be showing you more pics to come of the finished product in the whole house. (See, that's my excuse for delaying so long on posting the kitchen-been too busy painting our whole house!) Here's a picture of the color on the walls before with Monkey helping (Revere Pewter is the color in the lower left corner you can barely see):

So, there it is. Finally done. And to keep it real- here was the other side with my sink:

Look, even though I have dirty dishes in the sink and on the counter all I can stare at is the pretty cabinets and hardware (and so should you!). Le sigh. It was tedious work but I am sooooo glad I did it (and I can't believe it took me this long to do after 7 years at this place-I've been wanting to paint them since we moved in!)

Here's the breakdown of what I did monetarily and physically:

1) Primer -Before primer I didn't bother sanding or anything (unless it was super rough). I just slapped primer down after cleaning very well with soap and water (and magic cleaner for really tough grease areas). I already had a quart which I barely used for my front door project so I finished that off but it wasn't enough so Luhvah went and got a gallon. We could've easily gone with another quart though and been fine. I did 2 coats of primer (1 Gallon-25.00? I think)

*****EDIT: I found the primer I use online by chance and wanted to share. In fact the blog that talked about it had some interesting points about not having to sand (YAY!) with this primer. You can read about it here. Here's the primer I used.

2) Paint- after primer I went straight to the paint. FYI peeps- I didn't sand really at all. I know this is a huge step in painting cabinets--sand, sand, sand between each step! But I just didn't have the patience. I got Gripper paint from Glidden I believe (I have to look and report later). I just hope that helped with the many coats of paint and the sealer.

Anyhow.

On to paint- I did basic black (Onyx I think from Behr? Maybe Glidden? I totally suck at these breakdowns). I had to do 3 coats of the black paint to get  good even coverage and I used a foam roller to cover. (1 Gallon- 30.00)

3) Poly sealer- I used a Polyuethane sealant on the cabinets and did 2 quick coats on them with a quart of poly I had already for my stairs project.  (15.00/quart- but I already had it)

4)Hardware- The pulls were from Overstock and were 18.00 for 10 of them. The knobs were from ebay and were 25.00 for 20.

I'm not counting the wall color because really it was put all over the house so it goes into the budget from that other project.

In total I spent 98.00 (if you don't count the poly I already had or the wall color). I think that's an amazing number considering how much of a change it made in my kitchen. $98.00!!!! That's it. Wish I'd done it sooner.

Surprise! It's a Girl!

It seems like I should have written this post 2 months ago in a more appropriate time frame (aka, daughter's birthday). But, like always, I've never been one to do anything in an appropriate manner let alone something that would make sense.

So, I'm writing this post today. Mostly because I'm in a weirdly sentimental and thoughtful mood and I just wanted to get it out. Right about now you're saying, "well, what the hell is this post about then?"

It's about my daughter. Luhvah affectionately calls her Monkey:

This was probably 3 years ago. Now, she's a tidal wave of emotional surges known to most as a teenager (she's 13).

I got into a heavy discussion with a friend (as we are wont to do) about raising kids. She mentioned that when I worry about raising Monkey right that it makes her ovaries want to split open and self-procreate (my words, not hers- her words are more like, "Oh gosh, I can't wait to have kids and start raising them!)

Anyhow. It got me to thinking about all the things I want for Monkey. All the things I'm sure all parents want for their kids but go about it in completely different ways. I have a board on Pinterest solely devoted to Monkey. So, I thought I'd share some of those things.

One thing not on Pinterest is a quote I found while reading my LIT text book for school.

"a teaching goal...to help young readers develop an internal locus of control through which they assume that their own actions and characteristics will shape their lives. They ask the question, 'What am I going to do with my life?' while people with an external locus of control depend on luck, chance, or what others do. Their major life question is 'What will happen to me?'"

When I read this quote I immediately realized that until recently (say...in the past 7 years) I have had an external locus of control. And I hate it. I've gone through life dealing. Dealing with things thrown at me, dealing with how people have filtered in and out of my life, dealing with the jobs I've had, dealing. Which is really surprising considering what a control freak I am.

But, in the last 7 years, I've chosen to be in the former group. To have an internal locus of control. I now think, "What am I going to do with my life?" And I realized when I read that quote that this is my goal with Monkey-to teach her at an early age to ask- "What am I going to do with my life?". I don't want her going through life with a laissez-faire attitude wherein she gets thrown things and just learns to adjust her life around them. I want her to have purpose.

Sure, she can't plan everything down to the wire. A healthy amount of going with the flow would have to be incorporated into her life when things change without her doing. But, for the most part, I don't want her to  float through life.

Since I was a child I've been an opinionated, unruly, willful person.

Creative Consequences

And yet, I still let people, circumstances, and just plain stupidity, run my life. I went to college because it was what you do, I went to my sister's college cuz she was there. It was convenient. Then I dropped out cuz I couldn't figure out what I wanted to to do. Then I became a travel agent through happenstance, not choice (I did love the job though for 10 years). Then I had an unplanned pregnancy, again, through lack of responsibility, and certainly not by choice, at 22 years of age. Luckily (LUCK-ha!) God is a merciful God and gave me my wonderful daughter who drastically changed everything in my life. I would never take her back even as I realize that an unplanned pregnancy at 22 with a man I did not love was not the best decision (in fact, it was no decision at all-again, external locus). I guess the first real decision I made solely without any luck, chance, or external situations was when I married Luhvah (if you haven't gathered yet, Luhvah is not Monkey's biological father-though he is absolutely the best Dad she could ever have and legally adopted her-God bless that man!).

I tell you all this so you know how I don't want my daughter to be. To remind myself of what I want for her. I don't want her 22 and pregnant (or 16 and pregnant or any age and pregnant when its not a conscious decision she has made with a husband she loves). I battle with how I'll explain to her that she was in no way a mistake. That God gave her to me and through her He has taught me many things about life and myself. But it was definitely a struggle raising a baby at 22 when I was barely an adult myself and I never want her to have to go through that.

I pinned a great series of articles from this blog:

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The series is about raising a daughter. I especially love the confidence post and the lessons on men. I want her to know that she can be whomever she wants to be and that I'm proud of her. She doesn't have to be what I want her to be, what Luhvah wants her to be, or what the world expects. She can be herself. And that means thinking for herself. Too often I tell her what I think. She's introverted by nature, I'm extroverted. She's shy, a thinker, a quiet reflective person who hides her thoughts.  I blurt out every little thing I think and feel. I don't want to overshadow or ignore her feelings. I always want her to know that her opinion matters.



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I want my daughter to live, and live well. I want her to dream big and watch those dreams come true. I want to be there for her and help her make them happen. I want to guide her and teach her how to be the best person she can be. Thankfully, she's already well on her way.

Running the Race-My first 5K

Most people who are runners are probably thinking, "No big deal" but let me just tell you, in no particular order, exactly why running a 5K was definitely a BIG deal for me.

1) Ummm... hello, obvious-I've never run 3.1 miles before.
2) I'm totally out of shape.
3) I much prefer lying on the couch watching movies and eating cookies than exercising.
4) The race was in the morning. Check-in at 6:30 am, race at 7:30 am.
5) I am sooooo not a morning person.
6) Read number 5, like, 4 more times. Repeat.

So, I was up at 4:45 am to get ready to go. It was difficult.  We got to the park and I was fortunate enough that Luhvah, daughter, and a friend (who already had many 5K's and a couple of half marathons under her belt) went with us to cheer us on. In a previous post I outlined how my goal for running was 36:00 min.

Here was the map of the path we ran:

When we got there to check in it was still dark. But I had nervous adrenaline running through me so I was wide awake. Here's a pic with me and my friend, Charity, who woke her ass up at 430am to come support me and my first 5K!
 Thank you, Charity!

I want to point out that this was a 5K that ran up and over a bridge in the Tampa Bay area. This bridge was my nemesis. When I explained to Luhvah our path over it he was like, "No, I don't think you're going over it..." and I was like, "ummmm...I'm pretty sure we are and I know it's sooo steep going up those inclines...I'm scared!" But until he actually saw us running it he was like, "no way".

Here is a play-by-play of my run (click on it to see up close):

I don't know if you can tell in the photos above but that is a serious incline. Although it was a beautiful day and a very picturesque route over the water I could hardly concentrate on that when I was too busy reminding myself to breathe.

About a fourth of the way up the incline my friend, Rachael, who was running the race with me, gave me a thumbs up and was like, "Yay! Keep going! We can do it!" and all I could think was I don't have time for your shit I'm running here How are you even able to speak right now, let alone be happy???!

Here we are at the start line waiting for the race to begin:

And doesn't she look so cute and perky? I, on the other hand, look a little scary. She didn't tell me that she was going to wear makeup and (stupid me) I showed up sans makeup barely brushing my hair to throw into a ponytail and there she is looking all adorable. When I noticed it I practically screamed in her face, "ARE YOU WEARING MAKE-UP???" To which she replied, "ummm...duh! we're not running a marathon- it's just a 5K." As if I wouldn't sweat my balls make-up off. 

To keep it real, here we are after the race:

Look how much redder my face is. I woulda been drippin' makeup if I'd worn it, y'all.

The end of the line, here I am crossing the finish line:

Adrenaline kicked in as I rounded the corner and (with the help of the downward slope) I had a burst of energy just being glad I was almost done. I was sooo happy passing the finish line.

See the clock above the word FINISH? Yeah, that's my time. So, my goal was 36:00 min and I totally made it! YAY! I was jazzed (see my jazz hands, y'all?)

Luhvah was the greatest husband on earth and made both me, and my friend Rachael, signs. They were displaying them, cheering, when we crossed the finish line.

Y'all, they were glittered and bedazzled with flashy battery operated stars that blinked. My Luhvah is sooo awesome. Know what makes him even more awesome? He got all the supplies from Michaels---with coupons. God, I love that man. He knows just how to get me hot!

After the 5K, I told Luhvah and Charity my thoughts midway through about how I never wanted to do one ever, ever again. After I cooled down some 20 min later Charity asked me if I still felt the same way. Of course not! And now my goal is a 10K. Which is what I started working on this past week.

The other day I went out to run a mile just to see what time I could run it in.

 9:30 min.

I've never been able to do that. Even when P.E. in school required a mile out of you under 10 minutes. Never.

After I finished my 9:30 mile I was in awe of the fact that I ran a MILE and it didn't feel like I had even exercised. I mean, sure, I felt hot and sweaty and I pushed myself running but it was over so quickly I didn't even feel like I had worked out. And I felt so accomplished because I ran a mile and thought, "gee that was nuthin'".

And even more amazing- I have to run 3 miles now before I feel like "Gosh, that was a killer RUN!" Because I took it slow the week after the race and ran only 2 miles another day and it was like, "wow...so fast." I was done in 20 minutes.

Now my goal is a 10K and I'm hoping to run one soon. Until then, I am looking forward to running another 5K-the color run! It's a 5K where they throw color on you as you run.

This time my daughter is even joining in on the fun! I'm sooo excited and will keep you updated.

Fall Mantle-2012

Well, I barely had enough time to decorate this fall (by barely I mean I had better things to do-like watching t.v. all day in my pjs whilst eating chocolate cookie dough ice cream). But I wanted to be able to link up to CensationalGirl's fall mantles party today. So, I threw something together this weekend.

I have my fall scents in my Scentys and I have my decor up but really, it's not fall here in Florida yet. It's still hovering at 85-90 degrees (which, admittedly, isn't awful) but it's certainly no 70 degrees and blustery.

I want a blustery day.  A day where the windows in the house are all open because it's cooler outside than it is if I turn on the air. A day where, when I do have those windows open, it is just this side of nippy in our house and I can make chili in the evening and not sweat my balls off (figuratively speaking). A day where I can light our fire pit out back because there's a nice brisk breeze and the smell of the burning wood floats into our open windows. A blustery day y'all!

But, alas, I live in Florida. And I won't have those lovely days until February. And of course, by then, everyone else will have blizzards and such and be sooo envious of my location, location, location but until then I have to endure my favorite season without the weather to accompany it. Halloween? Hot as Hades. Thanksgiving? As thermal as the turkey in the oven. Yup, that's how my Autumns go nowadays.

Anyhow. Enough of my bitchin'. You're here to view my pics. I'm posting to tell (and show) all those out there who don't have the money to decorate expensively or the knack to pull off a Pottery Barn look, to keep on truckin'. Cuz it takes practice. And I wanted to show everyone that, even though I love, love, love to decorate, I don't always get it right. Or perfect. But I keep trying. I made a post before about how I decorate with trial and error. It's always a work in progress, my decorating. This time is no different.

Here are my pics for my fall mantle:

I'm still not done with it. I think it needs tweaking. I just worked with what I had and tried to find something I liked.

And, of course, since I have no camera, these were taken with my iphone. So, not the best pics.

And here's another photo of another vignette I have up. Mostly going with orange:

This orange vignette is my pumpkin patch. Cuz there are sooo many pumpkins on display.

I wish I had better pictures. Oh well. Now, let me show you some of my favorite pins from Pinterest:





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I always love the natural, rustic vibe of fall. I just can't seem to replicate it at my house.

Here are the issues I have with my mantle vignette (aside from the truly crappy pics):

1) My biggest problem is that it feels busy. Crammed. I hate crammed decoration. It just makes it feels like a bunch of tchotchkes threw up. But when I look at my inspiration pics they don't look crammed and obnoxious. They flow, ya know? And yet they still have stuff on them, like, stuff stuff. Get me?

This is my problem- too much stuff looks cluttered. Pottery barn-too much stuff= warm and inviting, and not too much. Or, reverse effect: my problem= too little stuff looks barren and cold. Pottery barn-too little stuff= minimalist and casual.

Most people say you shouldn't compare your decor to PB. After all, we don't live in a magazine. But still, others somehow manage to decorate beautifully (I only think one of my inspiration pics are PB).

2) I don't like the color of my candle sticks (no other color to tie into it on the other side) and I don't care for the container they're in (too stark white).

3) I'm undecided on the gold rectangular frame. Is it too much for the shelf? I have my mirror, a gold empty frame, and a white oval frame...too many shapes?

Now on to my orange vignette:

 I really like the clock with fall garland and I want to keep the orange platter and white cermaic pumpkins. But here's my issue with this vignette:

1) you can't even really see the 3 mason jars with votives in front of the orange platter due to the garland.

2) Too much orange? Too bright and cheesy? (i.e. the orange bow on my candle?)

3) Again, cluttered. Not simplistic. Your eye is traveling to see too many things so it can't settle anywhere.

My point in critiquing my decor is to tell you-it's not done. And to show people that you don't have to have a perfect look to link up to a link party. And don't get discouraged. Just keep trying. Eventually I will get that "Pottery Barn" look I want to achieve (might help if I had a better camera). It's all about trial and error. Give and take. Add and delete. I will work on my shelf/vignettes some more in the coming days and hopefully (if I'm not too lazy) post those updates.

Running! Staying fit for Zombie apocalypse...

This year I decided to attempt to stay healthy (hasn't really worked yet). Of course, my motivation was mostly my vanity (shed those pesky 10...um...20... ahem ::: mumble, mumble::: pounds) but  I knew since I was nearing my mid-30's it would benefit my health to get into shape. So, with the help of a friend (always makes it easier), I decided to start a Couch to 5K program (freebie app on my phone-C25K) to help me run regularly.

Let me just say, I am NOT a runner. Nor am I a healthy person. If you need any evidence of this fact just take a look at my statistics--I've been running for 2 months now 3-4 times per week (no lie!) at least 1.5-2miles at a time (most recently 2.5-3miles) and I've not lost one.single.pound. Luhvah says it's cuz I'm mostly likely gaining in muscle but I know it's cuz I just haven't changed my eating habits (80% of weight loss is made in the kitchen-not the gym). But what a bummer that I haven't even lost 5lbs. :(

Anyhow. As I said, I'm not a runner. I'm not here to tell you how completely freeing and rejuvenating it is and how I feel one with the universe (Oooommmmmmmmmmm) or any of that mularkey. Sure, there are moments when I run and I'm like, "Yes, I can do this. I feel good!" But most often than not my initial reaction is ::::whine:::: "No, I don't wanna run! Do I have to? Yes, you.must.run.Why? Why must I run? I can skip it. It won't kill me to skip it. OMG, it will kill me if I skip it. No! No. I should run. I can't skip it. Then again, how much could it hurt? Really, it's no big deal. I'm fine...Oh crap, I have to run. I will be a horrible person if I don't run.Get your arse up and RUN!!!!" That's pretty much my inner dialog each day I run (3-4 times a week. Rinse and Repeat). So, no I'm no runner. I feel glad that I finished after I'm done (like, OH-THANK-JESUS-I-DIDN'T-DIE-I'm finished).

My friend and I signed up for a 5K (a motivational goal) so we had something to look forward to. We decided on Miles for Hope which is in Clearwater, FL because of the time frame (fell perfectly for when our C25K program ended).

Here is the link to my page if ya want the details (or to donate to the cause which I'm running for-Brain Tumor awareness):

http://www.braintumorevents.org

And last night I finally graduated my C25K program:

I can run the 5K (3.1 miles) in 37 minutes. Not great (not even average I believe). But I'm dying trying to run it in 36 minutes. Anyway, so far my time is 37 minutes. I'm really hoping all this running will help prepare me for the Zombie Apocalypse which, let's be honest, we all know will happen. Even the CDC has a page for it.

I will be back to post pics after the race. Wish me luck!

FACE CAKE

My daughter has been wanting a face cake since seeing this commercial about a year ago:

Every time we saw that commercial she would say, "I want a face cake. They look cool."

Unfortunately for my daugther she's got a really cheap mom (I'm hoping one day she'll appreciate that fact). But that means that I would never spend 20+ dollars on a store cake. For every birthday (except 1) I've always made her a cake myself (I'm no Bakerella  so it's always box cakes) but I could never understand the idea of spending 15.00-20.00 for a grocery store cake over making my own with some Betty Crocker and icing that costs all of 4.00? Kids never care. Sugar is sugar is sugar (in my household anyway). So, I always make her cake myself. One year I made a Spongebob cake, another rainbow cupcakes , another year she just had to have those pull apart cupcakes (you know, the ones that look like a full cake on top but are a bunch of cupcakes pushed together that you pull apart?). So, I've always tried new and different things for her.

Granted, my cakes have never come out looking professional (see here and here). But again, I don't know how much my daughter cares because SUUUGGARRRRRRR  she loves me and the effort I put into it (most of the time I let her help).

Anyway. Back to the point. This year she wanted a face cake. So when I stumbled upon this picture on Pinterest I just knew I had to make her a face cake:

I started by buying a box pound cake mix, disposable sheet cake pans (12x8 I believe was the size, came in set of 3), fresh strawberries, and 2 containers of cool whip. The total for this cake did come out higher than I normally spend at 13.00 I believe (mostly because of the strawberries-I'm sure you could substitue frozen and it'd be cheaper).

I started by making the pound cake as per the directions. I only used 1 box but poured half into 2 separate sheet cake pans for 2 separate thin layers. After baking I took out of their pans to cool on the counter:

(that lone strawberry is there cuz I forgot to take a pic until I was starting the next step).

Then, after they both had cooled I spread cool whip on 1 side and pressed slice strawberries into it:

Yum, looks great already. I carefully placed the other thin layer of pound cake on top of the strawberries and pressed gently:

After which I began to frost the whole darn thing. I needed a smooth surface for make face:

I used both cool whip containers.

Then, per the instructions from the blog, I found a pic of daughter and contrasted it in severe black and white:

and cut out the stencil with a razor blade:

So far so good. This is where it went downhill. I froze the cake to get a solid surface to work with and I made the cocoa sifted stencil on top:

I messed up. My problem was the paper. It was basic computer paper and not stiff enough. So, when I sifted powder on it and tried to lift it straight up it bent and bowed in the middle under the weight of the cocoa causing some of the powder to fall on the cake. Le sigh.

 

I was quite disappointed in my finished product. This looks like the Asian version of my daughter. And she's not Asian, she's Mexican (well, a quarter Mexican). So, I was rather disappointed. I know the reason it failed and if I ever did it again I would use a heavy duty card stock type of paper. That way it can take the weight of the cocoa when I dust it on.

 

I don't think my daughter was all that pleased but she knew I tried and was upset with the outcome and, bless her heart, she tried to make me feel better on her birthday about her cake! She's a really good 13 year old.

 

Anyway. There was my Pinterest try and FAIL but not cuz it didn't work but because it's got some kinks in it. So, all those out there reading-- learn from my mistakes!!!! This was a really neat idea and I wanna try again cuz it could absolutely turn out neat-o.