OK… so here’s what happened…

I intended to take a few days off of blogging to finish up my kitchen cabinets and get ready for our family vacation.  That was at the end of March!  A week turned into two weeks, and now it’s been almost a whole month!  Some kind of weird inertia took over, and I just couldn’t get started again.  (On anything.  You should see the state of my house.  Yikes.)  Anyways… hello blog friends!  I’ll be around to visit soon!

Here’s what I’ve been up to over the past month…

Family Vacation:

Our whole family went to Disney World!  That’s Jeff, my Mom & Dad, and my sister and her husband, and our 4 boys.  And yes, we wore matching shirts the whole time so that we could find each other in the crowds.  (In spite of the nerd factor, I’d totally recommend it!)  See how easy it is to spot us in the ‘flash mob’???  Bahahaha!

Anyways, the vacation was fabulous!  We all loved it. 

As for kitchen progress, well, this happened:

I drilled holes in the wrong spot for two of the pantry doors.  Grrrrr.  THAT totally sucked my energy.  So I have to fill holes, and do paint touch ups.  But it is great to have the doors back up!  Here’s the pantry.  I love the gold knobs. 

More on this another day.  It’s beautiful outside, and my little one is ready to go for a bicycle ride!

Hope you are having a great Monday!

Shit my kids drew on: The White Sofa

Yep, they’ve been at it again:

… a closer look…

For the record, the pen actually washed right out!  Thank goodness for slipcovers I guess. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

More Painting… and a Color Change

My kitchen faces south, and is SUPER bright.  (Not that I’m complaining.)  The problem with all of the light is that it is like a spotlight on all of the imperfections in my cabinet paint job!  Ugh.  As soon as I hung the first door, it was clear that they were going to need another coat. 

So, I decided that I might as well fix the white situation if I was painting everything again anyways.  I went with Benjamin Moore Simply White.  It’s still a warm white, but is ‘whiter’ and has less of a gray look to it than Moonlight White.  It’s close enough that it still looks great with the Moonlight White wall colour, but it is a lot better against my super white subway tiles.   

Let’s hope this is it!  I’m so sick of painting!!!

Casa Carissa: My New Plant!

Remember in January, when I decided that I needed a big crazy tree for the corner of my living room?  Well the coolest thing happened.  Not long after I blogged about it, a friend sent me a note saying that she had a big plant that was outgrowing it’s space in her house, and if I wanted it I could adopt it!  Um… YES!!! 

I patiently waited for the weather to warm up… and it finally did (for a few days).  So I loaded it into my van, which was hilarious because Beckett’s head was completely surrounded by leaves (should have had a photo), and now here it is!

Isn’t it great!?!  I love how it adds some life to that corner of the room. 

A before / after:

 

Mad Men Style: Don and Megan’s Apartment

Did everyone watch the Mad Men Season 5 opener on Sunday???  I loved it.  The best part was seeing Don and Megan’s new Manhattan apartment.  I couldn’t find many pics, but here are a few decor highlights:

Sunken living room, abstract art, walnut built-ins, and a funky hanging lamp.

Large sectional with colorful throw pillows:

Color blocking on the walnut kitchen cabinets + a big crazy plant in the dining area:

Geometric curtain fabric and grass cloth wall covering:

Big zebra print pillow (love it!):

Don’t you just love Megan’s look?  Love her hair, and everything she wore on this episode.  I’m still dying over how awkward her big performance was!!!

So… what did you think of the Mad Men Season opener?

 

First two photos courtesy of AMC via Mail Online.

Last three photos courtesy of AMC via Casa Sugar.

AyA ‘BlogPodium bound’ Contest

I was so excited when I heard about the AyA “BlogPodium Bound” Contest.  AyA Kitchens and Baths is flying one Canadian design blogger to Toronto in May for BlogPodium!  After everything that I read about the first BlogPodium event, I’m dying to attend the event in May.   

The challenge was to create a dream kitchen mood board.  Kind of timely since I’ve been working away on my own kitchen facelift for the past few weeks!  I skipped over to the AyA Kitchens and Baths website for some inspiration, and here’s what I came up with:

 

With my love for black and white, it was only natural that I designed a bistro style kitchen with white cabinetry, and a black island.  I fell in love with the open shelving in the AyA Kitchens and Baths gallery, so that was a mandatory touch.  For practicality, I chose quartz countertops.  Classic white subway tile with dark grout emphasises the bistro feel.  A professional range with a traditional hood front, both in black, provide contrast and a great focal point.  Brass hardware and lighting add warmth, and the bright green tolix stools give a fabulous pop of color!

Sources:

1 – open shelving – kitchen by AyA Kitchens and Baths photo via Canadian House & Home

2 – wall lighting – Circa Lighting

3 – over island lighting – Restoration Hardware

4 – traditional hood front – AyA Kitchens and Baths

5 – professional range (in black) – Bertazzoni 36” Range via Mrs. G TV & Appliances

6 – Bedford style cabinetry in white (perimeter) and jet black (island) – AyA Kitchens and Baths

7 – brass hardware – Restoration Hardware and Lee Valley

8 – misty carrera quartz countertop – Caesarstone

9 – colorful stools – Tolix

 

Thank you to AyA Kitchens and Baths for this fantastic opportunity!

Progress Report: Cabinet Doors

Yay!  The doors are almost done.  I thought they were totally finished, but when I brought them into the bright sunlight of my kitchen, I realized that a few of them need some touch ups.  Nothing serious, all stuff I can do after they are installed.  I’ll share more dets on the painting process another day.

Here’s a sneak peek.  You can see that I’m still not finished tiling.  I ordered a light to go above the window, and I can’t finish tiling until the wiring is finished. 

I spray painted the original hinges to go with the new hardware:

Speaking of hardware.  I picked out these cute gold knobs, only to find out that they are BACKORDERED.  Blurg.  I was able to bring home 3.  I need 21!!

So far, I’m super happy with the way everything is turning out.  Although it’s taking forever!!!  

Have a great weekend everyone!