I should have been a Virgo

We are on the last leg of the kitchen "remodel". It started as just a "get-a-new-range" ... which led to new counters ... which led to the new cabinet doors ... and then we had the water damage from the broken refrigerator (new floors). We should have been done last Thanksgiving (all I wanted was a new range to cook the turkey) and already we are heading into Spring. But today the painters are starting and when they are done I can put everything back in its place. 

Martha Stewart's Bedford, NY kitchen

I do not believe in Astrological signs but for the record, I am a Capricorn. I think I should have been born a Virgo. I have a client that is always referring to decisions she makes as "the Virgo in me." And honestly, I didn't really know what that meant so I looked it up.  I am going to give you the shortened version, but there are a few of you that know me that will want to read it in its entirety (I love my sisters). 

Virgo Traits: Methodical, meticulous, analytical and mentally astute, the Virgo natives are perfectionists to the core, or at least, they like to believe that they are. They are excellent managers, and may even ruthlessly ensure that the work is done, and well done, at that. Fastidious to the tee, they may be perceived as narrow in their outlook, critical and quarrelsome by many. Yet, unperturbed by the others’ view of them, they will go on doing what they feel if right, quietly and with a dogged determination. 

I love having all my ducks in a row and even better, all my things neatly put away. Slightly obsessive. Slightly compulsive. So taking everything out of my cupboards (to paint) feels less like a chore and more an opportunity to fine-tune my organizational skills. Or feed the beast inside of me, perhaps?

Did you know that Mother Teresa was a Virgo?

Happy Monday everyone!

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What if you believed?

"You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

 - Psalm 139:1-4, 13,14

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Going with the flow ...

Right now I am listening to the hum of a wood sander on my kitchen floors. I love construction. I love the process and I love the progress. But sometimes it is just not what you had planned.

We had a water leak (uh, refrigerator) and have to refinish our beautiful maple wood floors. The wood extends throughout the kitchen, mud room, small bath and the family room, which means the entire space has to be redone. When we had the floors installed 12 years ago, we were able to put an oil based finish on them. But now, with the environmental restrictions, we can only use a water based product. With the oil base finish, and a little help from the sun, the floors turned a rich golden color. This time, our choices were to stain the wood to achieve that same patina or embrace the lighter color.

The funny thing (funny?) is that this all happened in the middle of redoing our kitchen. We recently replaced our dark granite (12" squares) with white quartz and put in a honed Carrara marble backsplash. Those changes came about because our oven died and in order to get the range I wanted we had to replace our counters ... remember this post? 

quick iPhone photo at Christmas - new counters / old cabinets / range half-installed!

Last November I decided it was finally time to get a new range. Our oven had gone out the previous Fall but the broiler still worked and I discovered that if I put a cookie sheet on the top rack to keep the food from burning I could still use the oven. I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with that because it bought me an entire year. I made my Christmas cookies and even baked a cheesecake that way. But then one day the broiler went out too and I knew I would have to make that decision to replace the oven. The problem was that we had an under-the-counter oven and a cooktop but what I really wanted was a range. And that would require new counters. 

I used to pray wish that the oven would go out so that I could replace those old granite counters but when it actually happened it wasn't where I wanted to spend my money. And so I struggled. Should I just replace the old oven with a new under the counter oven and call it a day (the less expensive option) or should I do what I really wanted (a range) and move forward with something that would bring the kitchen more up to date with the look I wanted. 

I wish I could say I was that person that would have been happy with just replacing. I tried. I went down to the appliance store and selected a decent replacement. But in the end, I couldn't do it. I went back and bought the range and had the counters replaced. And if this story isn't long enough... I then had to decide to paint the old (23 years old) cabinets that didn't match the refrigerator and dishwasher panels that I changed 6 years ago trying to move forward or get new fronts and be done. It's just never ending! So that is where we were, in the middle of replacing the cabinet doors, when the refrigerator died and the ice melted and the floor in front of the refrigerator buckled.

Here is what the floors looked like before the damage:

If you look close you can get a glimpse of our new counters and backsplash and the new cabinet door fronts that are waiting to be finished and painted. 

Here is the floor all sanded down:

In this image, you can see the old with the new:

What looks like a shadow is where they had not sanded yet. At first I was wanting to hold on to the old look but I think the lighter floors will be a nice change and will look great with our new kitchen. I am thinking they will look something like this once they are sealed and the final coats are on:

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I am trying to just go with the flow and embrace the change(s). Out with the old ... in with the new!

images: pinterest

Thoughts of home

We have some beautiful Liquid Amber trees in front of our home. In the fall they rain down leaves of red and orange and yellow. And in the winter they drop little prickly balls.

When my sweet granddaughter was living here, she loved to collect them. I don't know what the attraction was for her, but she loved those prickly brown balls.

Last week my daughter (the one who just moved) texted me a photo of one of those balls that had gotten stuck in her car windshield wipers. She wrote, "Aw, a piece of home."

I thought it would be fun to gather up a bunch of them and send them up my granddaughter. I am not sure who will love them more, Adeline or my daughter. I painted one of them pink for Adeline and a sprayed one gold one for my daughter.

What reminds you of home?

A couple of mood boards

I was playing around on Olioboard (I am still in the learning phase) ... I wanted to give a new client a better idea of what I was proposing. You know what they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words".

We are redoing both the family room (above) and the living room (below). The client already has the leather sectional in the family room and a "man" recliner. She asked that the living room be less formal and along the same lines as the family room so that when she entertains people will feel comfortable going into both rooms. I didn't realize that I used the same rug until after I was finished ... I guess I am consistent with what I like, haha.

Everything in these rooms are just "conceptual" and will all be adjusted when I meet with my client but it will give us a good place to start.  If she likes what she sees, it will be easy to replicate these looks with actual pieces. I will keep you posted on our progress :D

White legs

These were delivered today in a fun and beautiful new house I am working on ...

It is hard to see the fabric with my quick iPhone photo but it is fabulous and has a bit of a sheen to it:

I am currently obsessed with white legs (gee, are you surprised?) like this chair from Jonathan Adler:

The white legs were the perfect choice for this kitchen ... especially when you see what we are doing in the room next to it. A couple more weeks and I should have some nice photos of the finished space.

But to tease you ... this is the area rug that will be going in:

Power Shag Gargoyle - Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

Hope your week is going great ... thanks for stopping by!

Take me to the zoo

Shai Coggins

This was a continuous marathon of a working weekend for me (starting on Friday) ... sometimes that is just the way it works out and trust me, I am not complaining. It was wonderfully productive and Monday (although a holiday for some) will be the same. I love getting things done / checking off the boxes, especially those things that have dragged on for a while. You know, those last little details that sometimes take longer to get done then the other 90% of a room. 

pinterest

But there was one thing that I needed wanted to squeeze into the middle of my work day on Saturday and that was to attend the birthday party of a darling little girl who just turned three. She is now the big sister of twins and this was her day to be celebrated and the center of attention and I wanted to be there to be a part of her special day.

I snapped this with my iPhone as I was walking towards the zoo entrance ... it was so beautiful!

It was a beautiful and unusually warm day and was just perfect for a party at the zoo. I was told that this sweet little girl loves books (don't you LOVE when a kid loves books?) and so I thought how perfect to give her a few of the books that my own (very talented) sister has illustrated. 

images via here and here

It was a nice coincidence that this book has zoo animals in it (I love a theme!) and surprisingly I happened to find some wrapping paper in my house that had zoo animals on it too ...

It was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours and gave me the mental energy to continue on with my otherwise non-stop working weekend.

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How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun? Have you been to the zoo lately? :D