A Few New Cabinets in the Kitchen

December 19, 2011 AT 8:15 am 25 Comments

December 19, 2011 By traci 25 Comments

Oh my goodness!

Y’all would not believe the work we (okay, Cy) got finished in the kitchen this weekend! He worked a 14 hour day on Saturday! We were desperately trying to get things finished by Sunday, and we mostly did it. There are a few more things to finish up, but it looks great!

I took a bunch of pictures along the way, but we got so much done that I cannot put it in one post. So my next few posts will be to show you what we did over the weekend.

First, I want to show you the cabinets we added around the stove.

This is what our kitchen looked like before we started…

When we knocked our old pantry out and created a new one, we left a space to the left of the stove for more cabinets space.

Cy built a frame for our new lower cabinet.

The upper cabinet was one of our old cabinets that we painted white and re-used.

Since we did not have matching cabinet doors for the new lower cabinet, we decided to leave it open and add some baskets.

Over the weekend, Cy installed two more upper cabinets. The one in the middle he built. We will leave that cabinet open which is why we put a bead board backing in that cabinet.

The other two cabinets are ones we re-used, and they will have doors on them.

Cy added the middle shelf to the lower cabinet, and it now holds my baskets.

Here it is now. We still have to add the crown molding on top, and the doors to the side cabinets.

You can see the tile back splash Cy installed.

We are getting there! Smile

I plan on showing you our new open shelving next!

If you haven’t entered the Jo Totes giveaway, click on the picture below. It ends tonight at 9:00 pm EST.

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Jo Totes Giveaway! (Up to a $109 Value!)

December 16, 2011 AT 6:48 am

December 16, 2011 By traci

Hello, friends!

I have such a GREAT giveaway for you today!

Jo Totes is giving away the bag of your choice

from their beautiful online shop

to one very lucky Beneath My Heart reader!

I am the proud owner of a Jo Totes camera bag myself, and I cannot tell you how much I love it! I carry it every day!

You might also recognize some of these ladies from around blogland sporting their Jo Totes!

(photo from Destiny @ A Place For Us)

Click on “Read More” to enter this fabulous giveaway!!!

[Read more...]

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we have a new faucet!

December 15, 2011 AT 9:34 am 30 Comments

December 15, 2011 By traci 30 Comments

We have been without a working kitchen sink for about two weeks, and it’s been killin’ me y’all!

Since the water was turned off, I didn’t have a dishwasher either! Which wasn’t a major problem since their hasn’t been much cooking going on in the kitchen lately. Smile

But we still had some dishes, and I have been washing them in the boys’ bathroom sink. It has definitely been inconvenient, but we’ve made it.

My hubby installed our new kitchen faucet yesterday.

Of course, I was wanting a vintage vibe with my faucet so I went with this one from Home Depot.

It is called Glacier Bay Lyndhurst 2-Handle Side Sprayer Bridge Kitchen Faucet in Chrome.

It was the cheapest one I could find for the “look” I was after.

They carry it in oil rubbed bronzed, brushed nickel, and stainless steel but I wanted the shiny chrome.

The best part is that it was only $104.00! That is a great price, and we love it.

I keep forgetting I have running water and keep heading toward the boys’ bathroom when I need to rinse something out. But I think I will get used to it quickly.

I love how tall the neck is on the faucet! It’s perfect. And it feels so heavy duty.

Oh my, we still have so much to do! And Sunday is approaching quickly!

No matter what, we will take time to put up our Christmas tree this weekend. This is definitely, by far, absolutely, without a doubt, no jokin’, the LATEST I have ever put up a Christmas tree in my entire life!

But, it’s all good.

What is your favorite finish on a faucet?

ORB? Brushed Nickel? Chrome? Stainless Steel?

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Kitchen Makeover Update

December 13, 2011 AT 10:38 am 55 Comments

December 13, 2011 By traci 55 Comments

Hey Friends!

Just wanted to keep you up to date on our kitchen makeover. Smile

Though it seems we still have a lot to do, I have to remind myself of how far we have come!

Here’s the before…

And as of this morning…

kitchen 006

It looks like a different room, doesn’t it?!

I really love how big it feels.

We added some hardware to the drawers that I got at Lowe’s…

We also added hardware to the pantry doors…

In the picture above, you can see that Cy has built me a bottom cabinet to the right of the pantry.

I am going to use the baskets that were in the guest house of our last home in that cabinet. (To tour my former guest house, click on the picture.)

I was making sure they would fit in our new cabinet. Now Cy just has to build me a shelf in the middle of that cabinet to hold the baskets.

So here is what we have left to do:

1. Install the microwave above the stove and a cabinet to the right of the microwave.

2. Finish painting the kitchen.

3. Install the subway tile backsplash.

4. Install the open shelving.

5. Install the new faucet.

6. Finish new cabinet doors below the sink.

7. Install recessed lighting.

I think that’s it. We hope to be done by Sunday.

Do you think we can do it?

What do you think of the progress so far?

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More Simple and Inexpensive Christmas Decor {from Our Fifth House!}

December 11, 2011 AT 10:29 pm 7 Comments

December 11, 2011 By traci 7 Comments

Okay, I do not want to freak you out or anything, but Christmas is less than 3 weeks away! Ack!

Are you finished decorating your house?

Have you started yet?

I haven’t! Unless you call this “decorated for Christmas”…

Jonathan and I found this little tree, that used to be my mom’s, while we were getting some things out of our guest house (aka: storage building). The boys were so excited when they saw that little tree! Precious.

I am hoping to get our real Christmas tree up this week.

So if you are like me, you are still looking all over blogland for some great Christmas decorating ideas.

That’s why I am so excited to have Carmel, from Our Fifth House, here on my blog today!

She is going to share some great ideas for simple and inexpensive Christmas decor.

And guess what?

She’s another Kentucky Girl!

This state is loaded with DIY talent! :)

She lives in the city right next to me, but we have never met. I am hoping we can get together during the new year. (Got it, Carmel?!)

Now, here she is…

Hello, I’m Carmel from Our Fifth House, and I am so delighted to be here today! I was so very honored when Traci asked me to participate in her Christmas series! She said she was running a series on simple and inexpensive Christmas ideas, and I thought to myself, “Wow, is she reading my mind or something?” I honestly can’t think of two other words that would better describe how I like to decorate my home for the holidays!

To deck the halls in a simple and inexpensive way I follow three basic rules.

Christmas crafts don’t have to be time consuming. When you keep things simple you can create a lot in a small amount of time.

I made this wreath using some clothing that my son had outgrown. The shirt had a small stain and the vest had a hole in it, so they weren’t worth donating. Repurposing these items kept them from realizing their trashy future. ;) The wreath form and wooden letters I purchased at Hobby Lobby. It not only took just 15 minutes to make, it also only cost about $5 - thanks to a nice little 50% off sale!

I also made a little Christmas village to use as a centerpiece on my kitchen table.

This was another very simple and easy craft project. These paper mache houses ranged in price from $3 to $6. I placed a battery operated votive in each house and in the evening they are so cute! My kids love this village and my daughter is begging me to add a snowman. That may be my next craft project. ;) Those evergreen pipe cleaners are probably my favorite. You can do so much with them from making a sweet little Christmas tree to using them as napkin rings!

My second rule is the easiest to follow.

Decorating with the cards that you receive brings in such a warm feeling and personal touch to your decor. We’ve yet to receive any cards just yet, so I hung up a few photos. You really don’t need to a buy a Christmas card holder. You can string up ribbon, twine, or a crochet chain (like I did) to your windows and use clothespins to hang your cards and pictures.

Simple and sweet!

Last but not least is rule number 3.

Even if you don’t have a chalkboard you can turn a mirror into a message board using dry erase markers. I love adding some of our favorite Christmas movie quotes and scripture verses to lots of wipeable surfaces in our home. It’s just a fun way to bring in even more holiday cheer!

Apart from following these rules, my main focus when it comes to decorating my home for Christmas is bringing in the feeling of hope and joy. I want to cherish and be grateful for the very best Christmas present that we’ve ever been given – Jesus!

Thanks so much Traci for inviting me over to your beautiful and inspiring blog! It was such a honor to be here today!

Cute stuff, Carmel! Thank you so much!

If you have never visited Carmel’s blog before, you are in for a treat! Just click on the button below to check it out!

Also!

The Winner of the 20 North Ora $25.00 Gift Certificate is…

Shirley (daisyjean@******)

Congrats!!

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Best DIY Projects Highlights!

December 9, 2011 AT 10:25 pm 13 Comments

December 9, 2011 By traci 13 Comments

Hello, friends!

I am so happy to announce that we now have our couch back in our den! Woohoo!!! We actually have a place to sit! I have never loved my couch so much in my life. Smile

So now we have the couch and our tv on the piano bench. What else could we need?!

Tonight, I have been watching Christmas movies with the boys on the couch, and it feels great! I’ve also had a chance to look through all the great projects linked up at my Best DIY Projects of November party.

If you haven’t had a chance to check them out, click on the button to see all the goodness.

Here are a few I thought you would enjoy and wanted to share with you:

Beth has done it again! I recently featured her roman shade, and now I am loving the new headboard she made out of drop cloth!

She gives a great tutorial of how she made it so click on the picture to check it out. Great job, Beth!

Being Brook created this beautiful rustic wood headboard for just $35.00. She has a lot of beautiful pictures of her new headboard and shares how she made it.

Kudos to Strawberries and Sweet Love for painting her first piece of furniture!

I think the chair turned out great, don’t you?

I love this Family Handprint Tree that Liz, from Naptime Decorator, made!

How precious is this?

Wouldn’t this be a great gift idea too? I think it would be a cute Christmas gift for Grandparents with all of the grandchildren’s handprints on it.

Lauren, from Only From Scratch, made her own Advent Calendar from drop cloth!

What a special Christmas treasure! She said she would be filling the pockets with little cards that had activities for her family to do each day, along with a bible verse from the Christmas story. Great idea, Lauren!

This Marshmallow Wonderland Vignette makes me smile! It is the creation of Janet from Today’s Fabulous Finds!

I love that sign and those cute little trees on stumps. Precious!

I am going to end with this beautiful DIY Wall Art Sign made by Katie from Creatively Living.

My heart took a deep breath when I read the scripture on this sign. It is one of my very favorite scriptures found in Lamentations 3:22.

“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

I love the promise that God’s compassions never fail and are new every morning.

Just like we never have to worry about whether or not the sun will rise each morning, we never have to worry if God’s love will be there when we wake up. It is new every morning.

No matter how bad we mess up today, or how difficult our life circumstances may be, we can lay our heads on our pillows at night and know for sure that when we wake up, God will be there still loving us and giving us a brand new day.

I pray that you will find JOY in this promise today!

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My Apologies and My Hardwood Floors

December 9, 2011 AT 9:08 am 44 Comments

December 9, 2011 By traci 44 Comments

It seems that every day I feel I need to apologize to you.

Mainly about two things.

First of all, I am so, so sorry if you have written me an email or left a sweet comment that deserved responding to, and you haven’t heard from me.

I have gotten extremely behind in my emails. There are over 450 emails in my gmail, and it makes me a nervous wreck. I used to be able to keep them under control, but as my blog has grown, so has my inbox! I started getting extremely behind this past Spring when we sold our home and moved into this new one.

Now with all the construction and renovation going on, plus raising four boys, it seems I barely have time to get a post up.

Please know that if you have emailed me or are waiting to hear back from me, I am not ignoring you. And please do not think it wasn’t important to me. It is!

It’s just that my family is more important. (And I do not apologize for that.) I am learning a lot about blogging, and right now in my life, I am learning that sometimes something’s got to give. So for my sanity, my time answering emails has got to be what “gives.” (I read every email, I just don’t always have time to answer them.) I’m praying that I can get caught up in the new year!

Secondly, I want to apologize for not being able to share more details about our kitchen renovation. I had the intentions of sharing tutorials of every step of our renovation, but that hasn’t happened. It’s just been impossible. I have been so busy helping with this renovation, that I am just barely able to take pictures and post about the progress.

I had wanted to share with you a tutorial of how to install the hardwood floors, but my husband was moving at such a fast pace, that I couldn’t get pictures of each step! And sometimes it is best for me to stay out of the way, if you know what I mean. Smile

I am hoping to share a floor tutorial when we do the hard wood floors in the addition, though.

Right now, life is just crazy!

I HIGHLY recommend not doing a renovation to your home during the holidays! This has been a little too much for all of us. But we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, so I know this too shall pass.

It’s so funny to me how connected I have become to you, my readers. I worry about you like I worry about my own children. Smile You have blessed my life in so many ways, that I want to give so much back to you. I never want to disappoint you.

That’s why I felt the need to apologize. I know you will understand. You always do. I am a mom and wife just like you trying to keep it all together. Right now, I do not feel like I am doing a very good job of it. I had a meltdown a couple of days ago in front of the boys. Let’s just say the tears were a flowin’!

But it’s bound to get better….right? Smile

Okay, enough of that.

I want to share a few more pictures (minus any tutorials) of our new floors. I really do love them!

I am loving that I have wood on the floors and wood on the ceiling!

Cy put two coats of Semi-gloss polyurethane on the floors.

Here is a picture of my man installing the base boards at night, still in his business clothes. Smile

I love that man more than words could ever say!!! Y’all have no idea how amazing he is and how hard he works for our family. I do not know how he does it sometimes. God has blessed me beyond measure!

Cy chose to install a little bit of a higher baseboard than we originally had. Higher baseboards are definitely a characteristic of older homes.

If you are wanting to add a little “older home” character to your home, you can definitely do that with the baseboards.

Just look at these beautiful pictures I found…

woodgraindistribution

Our baseboards are not quite this beautiful, but good enough. Smile

DIYlife

This weekend, we are hoping to get a lot more completed in our kitchen. And I am hoping we can get our furniture back into our home. We still do not have any furniture to sit on except our beds.

And we still do not have a Christmas tree up! The only Christmas décor in our home right now is our advent calendar. That was a must!

Just look at it there…all by its lonesome….amidst the construction…

We have a blanket covering the entrance to the addition right now. We had to take the door off when doing the floors.

I will say that although our lives feel upside down right now, and our house LOOKS upside down right now, I am so very thankful that I even HAVE a home to be upside down in.

I am blessed.

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Our Family Christmas Cards from tiny prints

December 7, 2011 AT 10:48 pm 24 Comments

December 7, 2011 By traci 24 Comments

I am so excited that I am going to be able to send out family Christmas cards this year!

The past two years, I didn’t have the time to get them sent out, and I hated that.

Sending out Christmas cards is such a special tradition that is sadly getting lost. I remember my mom sitting at the kitchen table each year writing Christmas cards to all our friends and family. And I know how much I love receiving Christmas cards in the mailbox each year. I especially love cards that have pictures on them. It is so fun to see how we all change over the years.

So this year, I created my Christmas cards at Tiny Prints.

Tiny Prints is a premier online stationery boutique, carrying all sorts of lovely paper products such as party invites, greeting cards, birth announcements, thank you notes and holiday cards.

They have an amazing selection of Christmas cards to choose from.

I spent a little time looking through all the different choices from flat, folded, tri-fold, and even ornament holiday cards.

I decided on this tri-fold card Snowflake Grid card…

The BEST thing about ordering these cards online was that I could just quickly upload family photos that I already had on my computer to the Tiny Prints website and place them in the card template.

I do not know about you, but trying to get that “perfect” family picture for a Christmas card just never happens for me. And I cannot afford to pay for a professional photographer to take our pictures.

So I uploaded some of my personal pictures into the template and this is what I made:

I decided to not print the pictures in color, but instead went with Sepia.

The tri-fold format allowed me to put several different pictures of our family on the card.

Here is the front:

And here is the back:

The cards fold very easily and fit perfectly in the envelope.

I also ordered some matching address labels like these:

Now I just need to find the time to put them all together and get them in the mail!

Will you be sending out Christmas cards this year?

Do you like giving and receiving Christmas cards?

If you would like to order your Christmas cards from Tiny Prints, just click HERE.

There is still time to order them and get them out by Christmas, so hurry! Smile

And if you are interested in some matching address labels, you can get those HERE.

To all of my wonderful readers,

please consider this post my Christmas card to you!

I wish I could send all of you a real card in the mail,

but we both know that is not possible.

So from my family to yours,

I wish you all the Christmas blessings

your hearts can hold!

*This post was sponsored by Tiny Prints. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Pillow Giveaway from 20 North Ora (and sneak peek of my new floors)

December 6, 2011 AT 11:05 pm

December 6, 2011 By traci

One of the best parts of blogging is “meeting” precious people all over the States.

One special lady that I am so glad I have gotten to “know” through blogging is Judy from Oklahoma.

Judy is a wonderful seamstress and has her own little Etsy shop for of her beautiful creations.

Here is what Judy’s profile on Etsy says:

I’ve always been a creative person and finally went back to school to study Interior Design. I have done design work for 20 plus years but my one true love is sewing – especially pillows. My Mother was a stay-at-home mom who taught me to sew, crochet and embroider as well as do all kinds of crafts. The name of my shop 20 North Ora was my parents’ one and only address. I thought since this is where I learned all of these things – the name was fitting.

Isn’t she just precious?

And look what I received from Oklahoma in the mail last week…

Three very well made and beautiful pillows just for me!

I love them Judy! Thank you so much!

Click on “read more” to enter a GREAT Pillow Giveaway from North Ora!

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Lemon Loaf

December 5, 2011 AT 11:18 pm 5 Comments

December 5, 2011 By traci 5 Comments

Today, I am excited to continue my Simple and Inexpensive Christmas series with another wonderful post by Tracie, from Cleverly Inspired!

Tracie is from Kentucky too!

So today is double the Traci(e) and double the Kentucky!

The recipe Tracie is sharing with you sounds so simple and so delish!

Here she is!

Hi, my name is Tracie and I am the author of Cleverly Inspired. My mission with my blog and anything that I write on it is to inspire you to be clever in your own life. I hope you find projects that you go out and do for yourself…and I hope you enjoy every minute of it. There is a sense of accomplishment that is so powerful when you can say…”yes, I made that…” A sense of pride is always a good thing. I am a firm believer that you are never supposed to stop learning. And the best part about learning something new is to share it with someone else. I am always sharing…whether it is a recipe, project, decorating tip, photography skill, the list goes on and on. My hope is that you enjoy learning too…and you pass it on.

I am so thrilled to be sharing here at Traci’s today! I thought it would be fun to share a recipe that would make great little neighbor, teacher, or hostess gift….fits so many occasions! Package the little loaves up with some wax paper and baker twine…a sweet card and your done! Something homemade is always in style…and appreciated!