The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of - Kitchen Update

What kind of house did you dream of living in when you were younger? A new one with all the latest conveniences? An old Victorian? Farmhouse? Cottage?

For me, I've always been drawn to old houses. I guess I love the woodwork, the wide mouldings, beadboard, the history of a place. At one time, I thought it'd be cool to fix up an old Victorian, another time I thought it'd be nice to have a new one that looked like an old one.

But deep down, my real love was for a cottage with a big front porch, wood floors and shutters, white picket fence, and a kitchen oozing with cottage charm - white porcelain sink, window that looked out over the backyard, and beadboard on the walls.

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picture I took at Cape Cod - love the roses on the picket fence!

While my farmhouse has a front porch (it's not huge or wood but it has one!), it doesn't have a white picket fence (maybe someday?) nor the wood floors and shutters, however, I'm happy to say the kitchen is starting to "ooze" cottage charm.

This weekend we installed the sink (White cast iron!),

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the faucet (this one...I'm in love!),

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and then my beadboard backsplash!

After tearing off the formica on the window sill, Bruce built a wood face for it - it was pretty torn up under the formica - something we have found to be typical with this house.

I painted the lower cabinets grey and the beadboard and sill the same white as the upper cabinets. Ahhh! Be still my heart! My dream kitchen is coming to life.  We still have lots to do -  add a plug to the chalkboard wall, beadboard to the ceiling and the backs of the open upper cabinets, and  I still need to paint the drawers and doors (can't replace them just yet) - but with the progress we made this weekend, the kitchen of my dreams is coming to life.

Now, if you'll excuse me...I need to wash the dishes at my white sink while gazing out the window (that overlooks the backyard) and dream a little more.

Sharing at the following parties:
A Stroll Thru Life - Inspire Me Tuesday
Coastal Charm Show and Share
The Dedicated House Make It Pretty Monday
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Friday Smiles

Hi Friends! It's Friday! Yay for the weekend. I'm looking forward to working on the kitchen some more. I should have lots more pictures to share of our progress on Monday.

In the meantime, I want to share some smiles with you. First off is my cute wooden sign I made for our guest room. It has that touch of whimsy I love! I found a fabric online that had these cute chicks on it that I used for my inspiration:

I used one of those wooden shelves from the 90's that had heart cutouts on it. I took it apart and used the upper back piece for this sign. (I've got plans for the heart portion too). A great way to repurpose something that is outdated!

Here's a close up:

It will be so cute and will let our "Peeps" know they are welcomed!

Next, I want to leave you with my updated chalkboard. It rather sums up how I'm feeling about Fall right now. It just can't get here soon enough for me. I'm tired of the heat but I know we still have several weeks left. If you can't find humor in it, then it can drag you down! So I'm choosing humor!

It says "August - Summer's Farewell Kiss (unless you live in Texas...then you
still have another month (or more) before you can kiss it goodbye)

At least, it's been cooler (upper 80's, lower 90's) this past week because of all the rain we got! That is something to be extremely thankful for!

I hope you all have a wonderful and happy weekend! :o)

Not Quite Fall

Seems like a lot of people are jumping on the Autumn decorating wagon. As much as I love Fall, I'm just not there yet. I'm not ready to put away my seashells and Summer look...not yet.

But come September, I'll be all over it - even if it is still 90+ degrees outside. Truly, Autumn is my most favorite time of year!

We did get several days of rain and cooler temperatures this past week. The rainy weather made it feel like Fall! (Very unusual for August in Texas!) I decided to take advantage of a break in the rain to clean off my front porch at the city house...it was a mess: leaves, dead plants, and just grunge built up over a hot Summer's benign neglect.

I swept, threw dead plants out, planted new ones,

 moved the concrete benches to the sides of the porch instead of under the long windows

And boxed up the various bits and pieces of my daughter's gardening efforts so she can take them back with her the next time she visits.

Ah, much better. Now it's ready for when I'm ready to decorate for Fall.

(We still need to repaint the house. Going to get rid of the yellow!)
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In the studio, I'm working on several paintings: Autumn stuff - pumpkins, scarecrows; coffee cups;  a sign or two;  Christmas card design; plus more:

Not to mention the longhorn painting I'm doing for my twin sister and her husband

I'm happy with the way it's turning out although I have a ways to go. (The colors are muted in this photo). I need to finish it by Halloween.

I'm hoping to get lots done this week.

Are you ready for Fall?

P.S.
I'll be participating in a Texas Blogger Fall Hop in October. I'll be sharing more in the weeks to come. I'd love for you to come visit and see what we each come up with!

Happiness Is...The (Almost) Finished Bathroom!

Happiness is a project crossed off the To Do list. In this case, the hall bathroom at our city house. Yep, it's pretty much done! Oh, there's some paint touch up and some shelves to put up over the toilet but it's basically done! First, a side by side comparison:

Here's what I did -

Cabinets restained:

New shower curtain, towels, and rugs:

close-up of curtain (excuse the wrinkles!)

And art on the walls!

close up of painting I did of my
children playing on the beach

 Plus special memories and accessories on the counter:

I am replacing the cabinet over the toilet (my late father-in-law made it for me) with chunky shelves. (It's going to go in my art studio where it will be better utilized.) I hope to get the shelves done this weekend.

Sand between my toes, salty air, the sound of waves. I can almost feel it! One project down!

I'm sharing over at these parties!
Wow Us Wednesdays
Thoughts of Home On Thursday
Vintage Charm Party
Snickerdoodle Create Make Bake Party 145
Make It Pretty Monday

Hello Beautiful!

Just a quick update -I was at the farm this week...

This little cutie was leaping and running around. The dogs were inside so didn't bark and scare them off.

And...

The old countertops...

are now gone!

And the granite is installed!

Hello Beautiful!

Here's just a little sneak peek.

Just this simple change has transformed the kitchen. I smile when I walk in. I want to hug them. (ahem) Ok, I just petted them a lot. :o)

We are far from done with the kitchen BUT my beautiful, new countertops are in and I'm in love.

Hope your week is going well. 'Til next time,
Cecilia

Nautical Art For The Bathroom

I spent last week creating new artwork to hang on the bathroom wall. With the vanity done, I'm moving on to touch up painting and accessorizing.

If you remember from my inspiration board, I wanted some shadow boxes with shells. I had some shadow box frames leftover from another project. They were black so the first thing I did was to paint them ASCP Old White. Then I lined the back with scrapbook paper and glued my shells on. Easy as can be!

oops, you can see my reflection in the glass. 

I also took a tiny frame, popped in a piece of beach themed scrapbook paper, turned it on the diagonal, and then glued a seahorse to the glass.

I also painted my boat shelf, lightly sanded the old oar and then gave it a coat of clear wax, and took an old wooden ball and covered it with sisal.

Lastly, I took a cheap white frame and added wood-look scrapbook paper to the sides. Now it's the perfect rustic frame for the picture of me and my mom on the beach.

I'll be adding a couple of chunky shelves (stained to match the vanity) above the toilet. Then just a few more touch up projects and I can decorate and do a final reveal.
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In other news, I'm waiting on pins and needles for the countertop people to let me know our new kitchen counters are ready! They came out last Thursday to measure and Bruce and I tore off the old ones this weekend. Bye-bye Formica from the 80's.

The new faucet also arrived and we picked up the sink as well. We are well on our way to the farmhouse kitchen of my dreams! Stay tuned for those updates - I'll share as soon as I have some pretty to show you. There's a whole lot of ugly right now. :-)

We found chunks of drywall missing under the formica backsplash 

The new counters, sink, and faucet are going to make a huge difference!

Until next time, have a great week!
:o)
Cecilia

Linking up at these parties:
Fluster Buster Great Ideas
Vintage Charm Party 42