Kitchen Reveal Time!

YAY!!!

It's finally done!

This post has been a long time coming.

Today is the big reveal day of our kitchen

and I'm so excited to share it with all of you.
Sit back and grab a cup of coffee, tea
or maybe a cocktail if you are viewing
this post later in the day because it is
going to be a long picture heavy post.

If you are new to my blog, welcome
I love having you visit.

If you've been following me for a while
you probably remember that

I mentioned we were going to do a

few updates to our kitchen due to a few
of our appliances all dying at the same time.
When we moved into this home 18 years ago
all of the appliances were white.
We replaced our refrigerator
and dishwasher a few years earlier
and chose to go with stainless steel.
We were hoping that the remainder
of our appliances would quit one at
at time. Who would have thought that
the rest of the appliances would all go
bad at the same time.
Granted, they were 25 years old.
That's ancient when it come to appliances nowadays.
They sure don't make 'em like that anymore do they?

Over the years we have been very slowly updating each room.
It was now time to give the kitchen a little facelift.

First, let's take a look at how our kitchen used to look.
Check out that big box light above the island.
Even though it was big, it didn't give off much light.
This picture is deceiving in the fact that it makes
our kitchen look like is it full of light, it wasn't.
I used my TTL flash on the camera to flood the
room with light.

Our oven and microwave were built ins.
Hubby had already removed the old microwave
before I could get a picture of it and replaced

 it with a small temporary one.

Our kitchen isn't a big kitchen by any means.
We don't have a ton of counterspace or cabinets.
Our island had a cooktop in the center of it
taking up valuable work space on top, plus
the storage area in the cabinet area below.
Oh how I detested that cooktop in the island.

When we replaced our refrigerator a few
years ago I lost the cabinet above.

 An old view from the master bedroom.

From old.....

to the New and Improved.

These are the changes that we made to our kitchen.

Replaced the box light with 2 orb pendants
and added 4 can lights around the island.

Removed the cooktop and laminate countertop
from the island and replaced it
with a solid piece of quartz.

GOODBYE COOKTOP.

Hello beautiful island.

I now have my full island workspace which measures 3' x 6'!
I am in seventh heaven every time I work at this island.

By removing the cooktop from the island I was
able to have a drawer built and added to the
center of the island.

Hubby built me a drawer divider to get a little bit organized.

Plus I gained valuable storage space under.

The double basin stainless steel sink was replaced with
a 30 inch single basin fireclay farmhouse apron front sink.

A new faucet and stainless steel sink grate was added to the sink.
I absolutely LOVE this sink!

Created a backslash with 3 x 6 beveled subway tile.

Removed the built in oven & microwave and
replaced them with a new range & microwave.
We were amazed by how much light came into
 the kitchen just by removing those built ins.

Custom cabinets were built by the Amish
 and placed above the microwave, refrigerator
and below the farmhouse sink.
All of the old trim above the cabinets was removed &
replaced with new custom made trim.
The Amish did a fantastic job matching
our cabinet stain perfectly.

Replaced outlet covers to match new blacksplash.

Replaced the light colored oak counter stools
with new darker shorter back wooden stools.

I gave this cabinet an updated look by removing
the doors and the decorative piece that was on top.
Then I completely stripped the stain and
re-stained it to try and match our cabinets.
I did it!
It matches perfectly.
It also got new knobs.
It's perfect to display a few of
my many cake plates that have been
stored in a closet.

Hubby gave the room a fresh coat of paint.
I purchased a couple of new throw rugs
and we were finally done with this room.

A view from the dining room.

View from the backdoor.

View from the living room.

View from the laundry room.

View from the sink looking into the living room.

A final view of our beautiful island.

Whew, that was a lot of photos.
Hubby said I did a good job designing our new kitchen.
He was pleasantly surprised at how nice it turned out.
We are loving it.
It was a long wait to completion
but it was worth the wait.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of
our new and improved kitchen.

That's it for this week.
Until Next Time,
Veronica

Divided We Stand

Today we are talking kitchen drawer organization.

Do you have a kitchen drawer that looks like this?

Or this?

I realize that these drawers don't look that bad to some people,

but to me I was tired of  these small dividers for my drawers

and not being able to utilize the whole drawer.
Everything just seemed so cramped and messy
for my liking.

Have you seen those custom made drawer dividers?

Everything is so organized and the whole drawer is utilized.

Although these are  nice, I couldn't find ones that would

fit my drawers perfectly. In order to have what I wanted

custom made by a cabinet maker was more than I was

willing to fork over.

NO WAY WAS THAT HAPPENING.

So I did a little brainstorming and came up with

an idea that Hubby and I could build our own.

The first thing I did was laid out how I wanted

each drawer to look.

Next, I drew out a rough drawing for the dividers for each drawer.

Then it was off to Home Depot to see if we could find something

that would work for my drawer divider idea.

We ended up getting (6) 1/4 inch x 3 inch x 3 foot pieces

of unfinished poplar boards which costs $2.54 each.

Using my diagrams Hubby was able to create 3

custom made drawer dividers in an afternoon.

I had Hubby build the dividers and just set them

into the drawers. I didn't want them to be permanently

secured. I wanted to be able to remove them to

clean the drawers when needed and not have to

clean around a bunch of cubbies.

Total cost for 3 custom made dividers: less than $16.00!

Oh how I love to be organized!

Our kitchen remodel is nearing the end.

We've had a few unexpected setbacks

and a couple of projects that I am working

on before I officially call it done.

Stay tuned.

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

Homemade Soft Pretzels

I love soft pretzels,

especially when they are dipped in cheese.
I love them so much that when I went to
my hometown fair (which is 600 miles away)
 I made sure that I got a
soft pretzel with cheese each night.
That proves how much I love soft pretzels!

Little did I know how easy these

are to make until I came across

a recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction for
her 30 minute Homemade Soft Pretzels.
I just knew that I had to give this recipe a try.

I followed her recipe to the T.
These really are super easy to make from scratch

and they are definitely better than

the store bought frozen brands.
There is nothing better than biting into a warm
homemade soft pretzel dipped in a warm cheese sauce.
Talk about comfort snacking.

I was quite impressed on how my first attempt at making

these turned out.

They only require 6 simple ingredients which
you probably have in your pantry already.
No special equipment needed.
I mixed mine up in a bowl with a wooden spoon.

Hubby was impressed also.

I couldn't wait until these were done to start dipping
them into the cheese sauce.

I will definitely be making these again and sharing them
with the grandbabies.

Give this recipe a try.
I guarantee you'll love them also.

Happy Snacking!

Until Next Time,
Veronica

Continuing The Silver Fox Journey

Just a quick update on my Silver Fox Journey.

It's been 12 weeks since I last colored my hair.

I just had 2 inches of color cut off to help

my hair become healthier.

I wouldn't even let my hairstylist wash my hair

before cutting it, just wet it down with water.

 I didn't want any shampoo or

conditioner with any parabens, sulfates or silicones

used on my hair. Just another way to eliminate

chemicals from entering my body.

I have been with the same hairstylist for close

to 15+ years. She gets me.

She actually complimented me on my silver

fox journey. She told me, "If anyone can make

gray hair look good it's you". What a sweetie.

This coming from a young 30 year old.

Before the cut.

This Silver Fox journey is making me bolder.

I've noticed that the older I get

the less makeup I need to wear.

I can't believe that I am posting a picture of

myself with no makeup on.

Here I am after she cut it and I let it air dry.

You can really start to see the silver strands

starting to shine in the front and the top of my head.

12 weeks worth of silver growth.

I will not be doing a big chop to get rid of the color.

I'm going to go with the ombre look.

I want to see the difference in the colors and

how my hair is becoming healthier by eliminating

the chemical coloring, plus I want to see how long

it takes to grow out the silver and how I react and

change along the way.

The journey continues.

I will keep you updated with my progress.

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

Embarking On A New Journey

Time changes all things.

Oh, if only we could stop time.

Wouldn't that be nice?

The way I see it, you have two

choices when it comes to the passing of time.

You can try to fight it and be miserable,

or you can embrace it gracefully and be happy.

I choose to embrace it gracefully and be happy.

Now that I'm retired and living a some what
slower paced life,

I cherish time and life more.

I snapped this picture of myself on May 11, 2019,

the day before Mother's Day.

I'm 57 years young.
This picture is straight out of the camera.
No tweaking or touch up done.

A few things that I've noticed with the passing of time
to my body are:

 My skin and hair has become drier.
My skin and hair react badly to chemicals
in products that I've used for years.
I am losing a lot of my hair.
Luckily, I have a ton of it.

I'm more sensitive to fragrances.
A few more wrinkles have made their appearance.

My skin has gotten thinner and lighter in color.

I have aches and pains in the knees, hips, feet and

back if I do anything strenuous for any length of time.

Just because my body has changed over time

doesn't mean that I have to give up on living life.

It's just my body's way of telling me that I have to make a few adjustments.

 Go at a slower pace and to nourish my body with more
healthy foods and beauty products to keep living life to the fullest.

So....I've decided to embark on a new journey.
I'm blazing a new trail people.
Who better to blaze my trail than myself?

I will be joining the Silver Fox Club.

In order to be a member of this elite club
I will be totally eliminating one major thing from my life.

HAIR DYE.

I will no longer be coloring my hair!

I've finally realized that my hair color doesn't define who I really am.
Rather, it's my sense of vitality and character that does.

I'm going SILVER!

Au Natural.

I had Hubby snap this picture after I washed my hair
to show you how much silver I have.

It's been 7 weeks since my last hair color appointment.
Do you noticed those short wispy silver hairs towards the
front of my head?
That is new silver hair growth.
By eliminating the hair dye my hair is already
starting to get healthy and grow new hair.

This picture is when my hair is dry. You can really see
those short, curly, wispy silvers.

I noticed my first gray hairs when I was 16!
I'm so done wasting time, money and dumping chemicals
on my head trying to fight a losing battle with the silver strands.

I have finally come to the point in my life where

I'm comfortable embracing the gray.

The first few months are going to be the toughest.
It won't always be pretty or easy.
At times, it may seem like I am letting myself go.
That is not the case.
It is all part of reaching the end of a trailblazing journey.

I refuse to believe what the beauty and fashion industries dictate
about what is beautiful and fashionable for women as we age.
Why is it that when men let their hair turn silver
we as a society accept it and consider them distinquished?
Yet, when a woman lets her hair turn to silver,
we consider her to be old and not caring about her
appearance anymore.
We aging women are forgotten and put out to pasture
for the more youthful women.
Case in point, how many supermodels to you see
who are in their 30s, or 40s and beyond?
Or better yet, ones that have gray, silver or white hair.
We as aging women need to fight back and show the
 beauty and fashion industries that we can
be graceful and beautiful as we continue to age
no matter what color our hair is.
Besides, last I knew silver was a color.

Look at all those silvers!

I'm well on my way to becoming a Silver Fox!

Believe me when I say,
I am so EXCITED about this new journey.
I can't wait to see how my hair turns out
once the dyed color is gone.

Will it make me look old and ready to be
put out to the pasture?
Who knows.
Only time will tell.

So follow along with me on this trailblazing journey to

see how I morph into a Silver Fox.

In case you were wondering.

Yes, those are my natural curls.

I simply wash and condition my hair.

I use my fingers to comb through my hair

and scrunch up the curls. Then I let it air dry.

No brushes, combs, blow dryer, or curling iron EVER.

Whether we like to admit it or not,

time does catch up with us.
So be a trailblazer and go against the beauty and fashion
industries to prove that we can be beautiful as we age naturally.

So, are you one to fight it,

or are you going to embrace

time gracefully and blaze your own trail?

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica