The Sound of Music, Vintage style...

I'm taking a cue from my favorite movie for this post and sharing "My Favorite Things". If you've ever seen "The Sound of Music", you know that Maria sings this song to the Von Trapp children at the beginning of her time as their governess.  It's one of my favorite scenes and one of my favorite songs from the movie (the hubs can tell you all about that as he heard it sang at the top of my lungs just recently:-). Anyway, part of our journey to "greenness" is our love of vintage, antique, and plain ol' old stuff. Several of you noticed and commented on my vintage kitchenware in previous posts, so I've chosen a few of my favorites to share close up. 

The first ones I want to share were a gift from my sweet husband.  He purchased them on one of his many outings to antique and junk places. They are cut glass salt and pepper shakers labeled "made in occupied Japan". It's the first vintage surprise he ever bought me (there have been may since). 

Next, are my ever trusty bowls. They are great for soup or cereal. Originally, they were each part of a mixing bowl set, but, when I rescued them were just lonely single bowls sitting there waiting to be taken home by me (for real:-).

My next set (there are actually 5--3 are white with aqua print) was started with the one on the bottom. It was a birthday present from my Mom and had been a gift at my parents' wedding. 

These cuties are salt and pepper shakers. They were made by the Federal Practical Housewares company in Chicago, Illinois. We procured these after having previously starting a collection of condiment jars.  My last favorite things are those condiment jars. They are shown in the picture following the salt and pepper shakers. 

My favorite things may not be the ones Maria sang about in "The Sound of Music", but I still had fun sharing them with you. Feel free to shout out some of your favorite things in the comments:-)

Cheers,

LaDonna

It's the Little Things...

I'm gonna be honest now and tell you that I'm really out of things to share about my kitchen, so this post will be a stretch. Progress is at a standstill because we were working on show stuff all fall and then Christmas stuff, so we came to a grinding halt about the end of September. My dear hubs is in the middle of an awesome project that I'm hoping he will finish within the next week or two so I can share that with you. I also hope to get to civilization next week and pick up some more Alabaster paint to finish one section of trim at the ceiling and a couple of pieces of furniture. Until then, I'll be flying by the seat of my pants (something not that foreign to me:-).

When you move all your junk from two houses into one and still have stuff in storage units and boxes and every possible place you can stuff it, you learn things. The first thing you learn is that if you need something, you probably won't be able to find it. Ever. Okay, so maybe not ever, but it will feel like ever. In those times, you learn (this is number 2:-) to think of all the good things that have happened to you. Like maybe the fact that you're getting to start from the ground up on a new adventure with the hubs and neither of you have killed the other after pretty much spending 24/7 together for almost a year. Or the fact that you even had choices when the old job ax fell...many, many people don't. And there are (Yes, I know I started a sentence with AND. If that bothers you too badly, look at the one before, it started with OR:-) always the wonderful things you find when moving (instead of lose, I mean temporarily misplace in a safe spot.) take, for example, this curtain...

I found the set from which this came as I was packing up the house we lived in for 12 years almost to the day. Perfect fit for now. I love this curtain; it's the short version of the long ones we used in our old living area. The short ones were going to become pillows, but never did. I am glad because now I can use it in the kitchen to add color...and, if you know me, you know I like pops of color:-) 

Another thing you learn, is to mix it up. (Probably because you can't find the things you used to use together, but that's ok.) I have the striped curtain in the only big window. Obviously, that size wouldn't fit a shorter window, and changing the matching one isn't an option because I'll possibly need it for another spot. To solve the problem I turned to aprons. Yep! Those things that most people wear to keep from ruining their clothes when they cook. Those. In our ETX (that stands for East Texas in my lingo) rental, I used aprons to cover the two windows in our kitchen.  It fit with the vintage decor of the house. I decided to carry that over in my kitchen here (at least for now). Just a warning, the aprons don't "match" the striped curtain. I'm not really that kinda person. I use what I like, and meld it all together. So if things that don't "match" really upset you, you might want to close your eyes and stop reading now...

You also learn to make do with the things you can find until you find the things you're looking for (wow! Isn't that a great sentence ending with a preposition!). I've been cooking with salt, pepper, red pepper, and garlic until now. However, we found the other spices, that I THOUGHT were somewhere on the farm, in one of the storage units. Phew! Now I can expand my repertoire. 

I could go on all day about things learned through all of this...however, it would take all day and I don't want to bore you to death, so I won't (I hear that collective sigh of relief!). I will, however, leave you with a pic of one of my favorite aprons. Just because "it's the little things"...

Cheers! 

LaDonna

Blessings...

So I’m writing this blog post by firelight…just like Abraham Lincoln. Okay, maybe it’s really a candle, and Abraham Lincoln didn’t have a computer, so it's not really like him. However, I really am like him in that there is no electricity right now. None. There is a half-baked Stouffer’s lasagna in the oven and some really tasty, probably-going-to-be-ruined-by-morning-if-the-electricity-doesn’t-come-back-on cheesy Texas toast in the freezer. Sigh. First world problems, eh?!

That said, I am not unaware of the destruction wrought in North Texas yesterday or in Tennessee a couple of days ago. Nor am I blind to the many REAL struggles happening around the world. A little ruined lasagna and cheesy Texas toast isn’t really something to get worked up about. Neither is the Molasses-in-January pace with which our house is being “fixed up” (or the very spotty posting on this blog, for that matter). I’ve been trying to be more aware of my blessings the past year or so because there are many. Yes, there have been and will continue to be struggles, but when I sit and think about it, blessings of all shapes and sizes really outweigh those. 

One of those blessings was being able to take a cabinet we found at the flea market in Warrenton one year and turn it into something great for our kitchen. When we acquired the cabinet, it was pink…not a pretty pink, though, almost a salmon-y pink.  Here are some pictures I snapped of it pre-workover.

Front, pre-workover...

Inside, pre-workover...

I had an epiphany as I worked with my open shelving cabinets, and decided to use the technique I used for the back of the shelving for this cabinet.  I painted it with Waverly’s Lagoon chalk paint (sorry, folks, Annie Sloan is outside the budget!), and then took to the shelves with my awesome contact paper...yeah, you know the stuff:-) 

Contact paper and foam board...project essentials...

Before I go any further, I must give a MAJOR shout-out to my industrious husband for his part in making this cabinet sturdier (more sturdy? OH MY GOODNESS, sometimes the former English teacher in me is impossible to find!) than it was. He took out ALL the shelves, the top and the bottom of the cabinet, cut new ones that are thicker, and put it all back together.

SO back to the contact paper…I covered the top of each shelf and the top of the cabinet with contact paper since it so wonderfully matches the Lagoon color I used to paint. I then used foam board and contact paper to make inserts for each of the panels on the door. The top one is covered with chalkboard vinyl (BEST stuff since sliced bread! I used my 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby and purchased it.) so that I can write a Bible verse or a quote on it, and that bottom two are covered with the same contact paper I used on my cabinets. I also created an insert for the top panel on the INside of the door from foam board and chalkboard contact paper. This is where I can keep a running list of what I need to purchase from the grocery store. I am pleased with how the project turned out, and it is serving us well as additional pantry space.

Outside...

Inside...ran out of paint on the bottom panels...

In place beside the pantry...

Stay tuned to see what happens next at the Gatlin house…

Cheers,

LaDonna

Of Pinterest and Walmart...

WoW! It is has way too long since I last posted. Time completely got away from me.

It's been such a wild and crazy fall with shows, making jewelry, pickin' with the hubs, and visiting with family, that I had to stop and think about where I left off!

We were talking about the Alabaster paint I used for the cabinets and I promised the next post would be about my upper cabinets. Well, here goes...

As stated before (I think:-), when we moved in, we decided to just put lipstick on a pig for now, thus the basic improvements we are making in the the kitchen now. I want to live with it for awhile to decide exactly what I want to do with it. I already know I'm not one for granite counter tops and stuff like that; I'm a pretty simple person when it comes to fixtures (well, except for that Aga cooker I dream about having...but that's for when my ship comes in--Ha!). 

The cabinets currently in place were built in the 80s (much to my dismay the originals are gone.) and have many eccentricities. Then when they leveled our house, the top ones shifted and now have gaps that weren't there before. I'm fairly certain they will eventually come out, but for now, we are using what we have. 

Since we are working with what we've got, we (well, I:-) decided it was the perfect time to try something I've always wanted to try...open shelving. The fact that the hubs wasn't having a very easy time putting all the doors back on with the new hardware I chose, made it easier. In my defense, it looked just like the old stuff, it just didn't fit like it. Anyway, I spared him the frustration of putting the top doors only...he only had to fight with the bottom ones. 

Cabinets with no doors...

To help me dress up the top cabinets, I looked to Pinterest. I found a variety of ideas, but finally narrowed it down to this one. I didn't follow her instructions exactly, but I took her basic idea and implemented it.  She used fabric and foam board; I used contact paper (yes, contact paper! But not the stuff from the 80s and 90s!!) and foam board.

So here is what I used...

Supplies...

1.  foam board
2.  contact paper
3.  scissors
4.  utility knife (not pictured)
5.  yard stick (not pictured)
6.  patience (yeah. not pictured either)

Not gonna lie, I was a little short on #6, but I managed to persevere over the course of two days. I have trouble with the old "measure twice, cut once" practice...let's just leave it at that.
 
Moving on...

She covered foam board with fabric and it looked fabulous. I didn't have fabric nor the desire to traipse around looking for some, so I was ecstatic when I accidentally found some contact paper at the local Walmart.
It was the exact color I needed with a design I really like...problem solved. Plus, I figured it would be easier to work with than a hot glue gun and fabric (eh, maybe not). Anyhoo, I cut the foam board to the size I needed for the back of my top cabinets. I then cut the contact paper to fit with a slight edge to wrap around to the back. Lastly, I placed the covered foam board into the back of the cabinets. 

Almost finished...

I liked how it was coming along. At times it took some finagling, but I got it to work. The blue works perfectly and the pattern adds dimension, so I am happy with it.
 

Left side...

Right side...

So the pics are terrible, but I never claimed to be a photographer. For some reason, I never can get the right light to take decent pics in the kitchen.

I'm learning there are pros and cons about open shelving. Sometimes I love it; sometimes I hate it. My final decision has yet to be made...

Cheers,
LaDonna



 

A Pox and Alabaster...

When we went to take the doors off to paint the cabinets, (my husband insisted--I'm not gonna lie, I'm a tape those suckers up and paint with them on kinda girl.) this is what we found (well, he found:-)

Painted over hinges...fun!

Yep! The hinges were painted over. All. Of. Them. Mr. LaLa had a TIME getting them off, but he succeeded (he's like that:-) This is where the pox comes in. As I was watching my dear hubs work on the hinges, I blurted out "A pox on those who paint over hinges!" Of course, I wasn't serious--I don't actually wish a pox on hinge painters...I do, however, wish they wouldn't paint them. 

After the hinges were removed, we taped off the Iceberg we had already painted and started work on the cabinets and the trim. For them, we chose Alabaster, another paint color from Sherwin Williams. This is what the pantry looked like before the paint...

Before paint...

This is after...

With paint...

Of course, the doors aren't on in this picture, but it already looks better.

Here are some of the upper cabinets after being painted. The Alabaster really brightened them up, especially when they are next to the Iceberg walls.

 

Right, upper cabinets after paint...

Below is a shot of the lower right cabinets after paint (and with new hinges--I'll touch on that in another post.)

Lower right cabinets...

The floor is still the old linoleum because we plan to try to reclaim the original pine floors and want to do that all at once instead of in spurts. Hopefully, we will be able to work around all the termite damage to save them. 


Tune in next week to see what happened with the upper cabinets...I'm trying something new to me.


Cheers,
LaDonna

Iceberg!

Nope! You're not on the Titanic about to hit one; you're on my blog about to behold the new color of my kitchen...you guessed it...Iceberg:-)   

A little background on the color Iceberg.  We lived in our CS home for about 9 years with builder grade "Summertime Tan" on the walls in our open living area. (Actually, it was on all walls except those in the master suite which my dear husband had previously painted about 7 years into our time there.) Both of us have definite opinions when it comes to paint colors; thus, we had a difficult time agreeing on any. We did agree on the colors for the master suite, but it took about 7 years, and then we didn't like them. Sigh. 

In 2011, we finally found colors for the open living area with which we could both be happy. One was Iceberg from Sherwin Williams. The living area, dining room, and kitchen walls were painted this color.  

Living area in the CS house...

Breakfast nook in the CS house...

After having such a time choosing a paint color, we decided that color would carry over to our current house. We both still like the color, and as the old adage states, "If it ain't broke; don't fix it!"

When we moved in here, our kitchen was an off-white color.  Not a bad color in and of itself. However, it was very dingy, as it had been that color for many years through a couple of different occupants. The top of the walls were also lined with a fab*u*lous (NOT) wallpaper border featuring country cottages and stores.

That was the first project into which we dove. It was a bit more intense than I envisioned. One section came off with no problem, but the rest was really stuck on well and required significant elbow grease. It finally came off, and we were able to move on. 

Sans wallpaper border:-)

The next project was to paint the walls (the walls that are staying). We performed the necessary evil of taping off the trim and the cabinets so that they didn't end up painted Iceberg along with the walls. Their color is for another post:-)

Before I go any further, let me state that I hate to paint. HATE. Just the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach and want to turn and run. Far. For a long time. Crazy, huh?! Especially since we have A LOT (yes, all you English teachers out there, I'm aware "a lot is a cemetery plot", not a word to describe the state of having several--but I'm a rebel) of painting to do and this is merely the beginning. I managed to get control of myself, adult-up, and get the kitchen painted. It did take awhile, but it got done...ya gotta do what ya gotta do. (and I gotta do that a whole lot more--I just keep reminding myself what a blessing it is to actually have a house to paint.) 

Here is the first wall I painted...

Before...

After...

The opposite wall...

As you can tell, the blue makes a significant difference in the look. After the cabinets and trim are painted and the door replaced, you will see an even bigger difference. Stay tuned:-)

Cheers!
LaDonna

Thanks, Clint!

Que the theme from the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood...you know the one, it starts out with an eerie windpipe whistling and gets stuck in your head so you can't get it out. Yeah. That's the one. Now that it's rolling in your head, let's talk about my kitchen.

The kitchen is the one place in which I don't quite know what I want yet. My game plan from the beginning has been to put some lipstick on it and call it a day for awhile.  I only want to do the kitchen in a major way ONCE. That's it. ONCE. I don't want to remodel the kitchen every 5 years because I hate it. I don't have the time or the energy for that. Thus, I want to do it right (as right as possible) the first time. That may seem like a tall order, but I'm fairly confident I can get it done in a way that will serve me well for the rest of my life. That's not to say I won't ever change the paint color or something like that, but I don't want to put in new cabinets 5 times before I die always searching for the "perfect" layout. I'd rather spend my time making jewelry or bags, traveling or reading.

So I'd call the kitchen a mixed bag when we moved in. It certainly had a variety of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Let's take a look...

the GOOD:

Well, there were cabinets, a stove, a pantry and room to put a table for an "eat-in" kitchen, which I love.

the BAD:

The pantry is small, the cabinet shelves are slanted, and the plug for the stove quit working. On the other hand, there's nothing bad that can be said for room to put a table!

     and

the UGLY:

Where to start? That's partially apparent in the photos above...namely, the wonderfully cream and brown colored linoleum. Sigh. Oh, and don't forget the splits in the doors to the outside and the door to the bedroom (an easy fix, though, with a trip to Gonzales and the architectural salvage store there). We also had a small rodent problem that fortunately rectified itself (whew!) However,  the best part is probably this...

A little redneck ingenuity...

Yep! That's duct (Duck) tape...on the floor...in the kitchen doorway. It's covering the cardboard that is covering the holes created by those pesky termites a few years ago (thankfully, no active ones currently). Not to give anything away, but there are several more of these lovely patches in other rooms in the house. Brilliant solution, huh?! We want to do all the flooring at once and are nowhere near ready for that task; so...duct tape:-)
 
Stay tuned for our lipstick journey the next few weeks. Oh, and thanks, Clint for starring in a movie whose title I could use to take a tour through my kitchen!

Cheers!
LaDonna