the kitchen before & after

A few years ago (2009 to be exact) I sent an e-mail to Layla from The Lettered Cottage. and purchased a photo consultation that came with a free written consultation.

My living room was the lucky recipient of the photo consult and I adored the whole process, especially the end result! I did a post about it here. Layla did a post about it here!

I've made a few changes since then, but overall the room is pretty much the same.



I also did a post about my kitchen here but wasn't able to do much more than switch some wall art.

Fast forward to this spring when we decided to bite the bullet and tackle the kitchen. Clearly I'm on top of my blog posts because it's almost a year later and I have yet to post about it. Everything in good time.

Here are shots of my kitchen before-





And just a little more than 2 years later and with lots of helpful inspiration from Layla, here is my kitchen after-





We didn't spend a ton of money- instead of using granite or something else equally as expensive, we opted for C*rian. Rather than getting all new cabinets, we opted for adding new doors, hardware and a fresh coat of paint. We also decided that although the dishwasher wasn't stainless, we just couldn't justify getting a new one when our old one worked just fine. It's all about weighing your options and prioritizing your wants.

These choices felt like the right ones for us both functionally and financially. Each time I walk into the room, I smile! It was worth the wait.

And, as luck would have it, we're in need of making some changes to the kitchen in our new house and we've already ordered some of the same products to transform that space too. When something works- why not stick with it!

A huge thanks to Layla for her design genius, her willingness to share it and for making kitchen dreams come true!

Happy New Year

We had big plans for New Years Eve....



Jon, Cooper & Wade went fishing. They had a fantastic day for it and caught a rockfish. Thanks to Cooper, the fish was set free to ring in 2012!

I spent the day with my sweet river friends scoping out some fun shops and thinking about furniture placement at our new house.

Jon and I decided to take Cooper to a movie and "We Bought a *oo" seemed like a good choice. I should have done a little more homework because I wasn't quite prepared for the emotional toll it would have on me. My word.....I sobbed the entire time. Sweet Matt D, children with no mother, a boy who doesn't want to move but has to anyway, blowing the cover on the Easter Bunny and a dying tiger??? STOP THE MADNESS.

In all seriousness, I really did like the movie, it just was more than I bargained for in my current state of "on the verge" as we get closer to moving day.

After the movie we grabbed a pizza and then headed next door for a celebration. I was in charge of decorations. I have a New Years bag of treats and the favorite item of the night were these glasses.



Yes, they're from 2008. But if you look closely you'll see that part of the 8 is missing in an attempt to make them pass for the 2009 party. I'm nothing if not committed to the 3R's! I don't think these will be back next year.

Cooper made it until about 8:20. We toasted early with some sparkling cider and he was out for the count.



Sweet little thing.
Jon lasted about 2 more hours......
And for the 2nd year in a row, I'm the last one standing!



Hope you were able to ring in the New Year with the ones you love, whether it happened at 8pm, 10pm or midnight!

"delete this from your memory" (an early morning exchange)

I woke up today and couldn't bring myself to walk on the treadmill. It was dark and cold and I was super cozy. When I finally pulled myself out of bed, Cooper padded in to our room and promptly sneezed five times.

Then he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said the words I never want to hear.
"Momma, I'm sick"

Poor kid- sneezing, sniffling, headache, body aches.
So. NOT. Good.
I had a marathon meeting from 9 until 5 that I simply couldn't miss.

So, like any good mother, I dosed him up with meds, stuck him in the shower and waited to see whether there might be any hope.

NONE.

So, I got him snuggled back in bed and sent an email letting my team know that I would need to attend the meeting via phone.

I'm thankful that I have that option because otherwise, I'm up a creek.
There is no back up plan.

To calm my nerves and get me ready for the battle of an 8 hour conference call, I did what I'm sure many people would.

I cleaned out a closet.
I've needed to do it for a while and I had 30 minutes to kill since I didn't have to drive to work.

And after I was finished, I shot a message to Jon-

*************************

From: Carolyn
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 7:39 AM
To: Jon
Subject: Sick kid

Ughhhh.
No school for him.
Poor thing.

His response-


From: Jon
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 07:48 AM
To: Carolyn
Subject: RE: Sick kid

What wrong with him? Too much candy? His ear hurts? Do you need me to come home?

My response-

From: Carolyn
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 7:55 AM
To: Jon
Subject: Re: Sick kid

Not ear silly. (he had this weird ear wound...but it's not a reason to stay home)
He is sneezing, stuffy, head aches, throat hurts, can't move his body hurts.

I can work from home today- you stay

*******************

He shot me back a message letting me know that he had downloaded some sports stuff on his computer that Coop might like and this was my response-

From: Neblett, Carolyn [mailto:carolyn.neblett@capitalone.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 8:55 AM
To: Jon Neblett
Subject: RE: Sick kid

Awesome, thanks.

I cleaned out the hall closet- tons of stuff to take to the Good Will and
lots to throw away too. I'm getting brutal!

Hope you have a good day-
xoxo


And with that, I thought the exchange was finished and we'd both go on with our days.

Until this came....

From: Jon
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 9:26 AM
To: Carolyn
Subject: RE: Sick kid

Wow that's awesome.

Another thing I think we could do is revamp our whole disk/glass situation.
I think we could buy some place setting of just one thing. We have such a hodge podge of plates, bowls glasses ect. Some of which we use very little if at all. I don't know how much that stuff costs but Im willing to pay for it as I really think it would help us stay more organized. Im thinking something very plain but practical (like a solid color).

Perhaps we could take all the old down the river. Let me know your thoughts.

My response-

From: Carolyn
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 10:38 AM
To: Jon
Subject: RE: Sick kid


I'm not sure what a disk/glass is but I think you may be treading on thin
ice here.
We have dishes- they are blue/yellow/white and we have a service for 8
(dinner plate, bowl, salad plate and cup/saucer). What about them isn't
organized and what about dishes that we already have isn't practical?

So that my head doesn't explode- this is probably a conversation to have in
person.

: )


His response-

From: Jon
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 10:42 AM
To:Carolyn
Subject: RE: Sick kid

I will never speak of it again, please delete from you memory.

The word disk should have said dish.


************************

Ok, couple things here.

1) I'm not sure what he could have written that might have shocked me more.
2) I ADORE our dishes. They make me happy every time I take them out of the cabinet.



3) I have been working really hard over the past year on being more organized and being less attached to "stuff". I'm purging and getting rid of things that I never would have dreamed of throwing away before. And for the life of me, I couldn't imagine what in the world was wrong with the way our dishes were organized and how changing the color of the dishes would help.

UNLESS.
Unless he doesn't like the dishes.

But seriously- is that even possible? How could he have an opinion on the dishes that we've used for our entire married life?

4) To be clear, these dishes pre-date him. We didn't register for everyday dishes when we got married because I had these and they were basically brand new.

So, when he got home I brought it up. And do you know what he said?

"It really doesn't have anything to do with being organized. I don't like those dishes. Well actually, it's not that I don't like them really- it's just that I'm TIRED of them"

Really? Tired of them? Do they really impact you that much? Would it kill you to eat from the same plate that we've used since 1999?

And then I wondered.
Are these dishes out? Am I screaming 1995, which is when I got the dishes? Am I living in the past? Are they offensive? In bad taste? Tacky?

Should I cave and get new dishes (after all, he did say he'd pay for them!)
Because really, I do love plain white dishes and have coveted them from Wade and Sarah ever since they registered for them.

But a replacement plate is selling for $54 at Replacements and $30 on e*bay. That's gotta count for something. And so does using what you have- and not creating more excess.


HELP!!!
What do I do?

Thankful Thursday & Relay Foods

(via google)

My friend Angela gave me the scoop a while ago about an awesome new concept in food shopping. I thought it was a great idea so I signed up- and never placed an order. Fast forward to this weekend when I got a message from the Founder & CEO saying that October was a big month for Relay and asking for our help by getting out the word and placing an order.

So I did.
I logged in on Monday night, picked what I wanted- dt. coke, avocados, hamburger patties, scallions, olive oil, dog food, ground turkey, bacon, butter, brussel sprouts- (random, I know!), paid on line and waited until Wednesday.


(via google)

Then, I stopped to pick up my order at a nearby parking lot where they loaded everything into my car and wished me a good night. Then I drove home.

So easy, so tasty, so addicting.
I've already placed my order for next week.
I am LOVING this!!

Check it out....if you're in Richmond or Charlottesville then you're in luck. If not and you're interested in having Relay come to your area- let them know!!


I'm thankful for Angela, for saving time, for being a little green, for buying local, for reducing my stress, for removing the temptation that faces me whenever I walk through the aisles of the grocery store, for people with great ideas who want to make the world a better place, for my family who shared my enthusiasm for this awesome new way of shopping!

Have a super weekend-

The Bees

Jon can't be still, or rest, or slow down or be stagnant. EVER.
It's super admirable especially since I'm close to his polar opposite.
Sometimes it drives me insane, and sometimes I have to step in and call a stop to the madness. Most times I just sit back, accept it, laugh at it and be amazed by it. Sometimes, I even get caught up in the busy.

Spring, Summer and Fall are easy for him to be busy- but Winter is TOUGH. So each year he latches on to something to pass the time.

Last year it was his obsession with RV's, the year before that it was finding THE perfect boat, the year before that it was buying a tractor.

This year? Becoming a beekeeper.
He spent all winter reading books, researching on line and talking about how awesome it would be to have bees. He even offered the honey from his bees to Wade & Sarah to use as wedding favors.

"Honey by Jon"
I told you, obsessed.

On Thursday night his obsession became a reality.
Wade came over and we were outside waiting for them to arrive.



I got a text that said, "Bee ETA 5 minutes"



So exciting.

In these pictures, the opening to the hive is covered so there isn't any danger.

See?


That one bee must have been late getting home because he was stuck outside the hive. He drove for 2 hours in the back of the truck clinging to the screen so that he wouldn't lose his family.

Jon got them all set up on their special "skunk proof" blocks. I wasn't aware that we had a skunk problem, but by all means....let's be on the safe side.



After they were all set up, it was time to remove the safety screening. That meant putting on the bee suit. This picture makes me laugh- clearly bee keeping is very serious business!



Day 1- nobody got stung. Not bad!

Although I have forbidden Cooper to go near the bees until we're more comfortable with them he couldn't' wait to try on the suit.



I'll admit it's pretty interesting, totally green and makes a great story. What's not to love?

Stay tuned for more bee adventures.

The Cleanse

I've been thinking for a while about making a change...I couldn't do it on my own, so I enlisted the help of some friends and this book!



The plan was to get together after work for some good wine, yummy food and fashion advice. I was ready for the brutal truth...regardless of what it left me with at the end.

Before they came, I did a little cleaning on my own.



I thought I was thorough....I purged the things that I knew were wrong and some that I was pretty sure about even though I didn't want to admit it.

Evidently, I was a little off. This is where we ended up!



And instead of feeling deflated, or stressed and overwhelmed because I have little left in my closet....I felt great!

This was the message I sent to update some friends who were waiting anxiously for an update-

*******
The purge has been completed. It was brutal, hilarious, alarming and freeing.
I LOVED IT.

And to give you an idea of how the night went....these were some of the comments:

"Um, NO."
"Absolutely not"
"See, look- you just instantly lost 15 lbs!"
"I love those…..they are the most flattering pants you've had on tonight" (this after I had already tried on 16 pairs of pants)

Me- Diana- I like this, do you think it really has to go?
Her- It does. Blocked prints have been out for years.

"Have you ever worn this? Please tell me you haven't." (I had...many times!)

"You can wear that……..but you have to wear flats with those pants" (this was said this repeatedly……evidently ALL of my pants are too short)

And my favorite quote of the night-

"You need to stop wearing blue. It makes you look like a sailor"

I felt energized, free and excited about the possibilities!
Next stop- shopping to fill in the gaps that exist AND to get some longer pants.

********************************

I love my friends, I love their honesty, I love that they're willing to help me out in my time of need and I love that we can laugh hysterically about bad fashion and poor color choices.

It's spring, a time for starting again- to tackle a change that you've been meaning to make and to get a fresh start.

The cleanse....hope it helps you too!!

Crochet Coral Reef

While we were in DC, we took in the Museum of Natural History. If you live close by, run- don't walk to the museum before April 24th.

The Hope Diamond is there- and it's incredible (and in a special setting for a while)




But the thing that left the biggest impression on me was the coral reef- which had been crocheted.



It was breathtaking. From far away it's beautiful but once you get up close and can see the actual handiwork- it's unbelievable. That anyone could crochet a reef....that hundreds of people did it together...it's simply brilliant and quite impactful.

I couldn't tear myself away and I took way too many pictures. I discovered later that there is a Flickr group dedicated to pictures of the reef. Go visit!

The museum description says, "experience this homage to the disappearing wonder, beauty, and diversity of living reefs that are threatened by pollution and global warming".

Part of the reef was healthy....and some was toxic . The very things that threaten its health were used to create this work of art. I didn't notice at first but was blown away and then sad/angry to realize what people do without even thinking and how much of an impact it has.







I simply loved it.



Hope you've been overwhelmed by something beautiful lately too (or inspired to make a difference)!

the stuff & swap

My friend Diana's brother is an Army Captain....he's serving our country proudly and is currently stateside. His best friend is stationed in Af....stan (is there some sort of internet protocol on internet military discussion??) and Diana has taken he and his unit under her wing.

My very kind hearted friend combined lots of Christmas cheer, pride in our country, a desire to help, some willing friends and yummy food into a night that will truly make a difference in many lives.


This is where the stuff comes in.
She asked us to shop for the soldiers and bring things to "stuff" in boxes to send overseas.

Everyone shopped....


There were videos, books, hand warmers, tubes of chapstick, cans of tuna, nuts, cookies, cakes, pringles, games, jump drives, a Christmas tree, ornaments....

SO MUCH STUFF!!


And everyone pitched in to sort, organize and pack.
We're sending a ton to the men who are working so hard for us and the US.



So great!!
And after we stuffed, we got to swap.

You know I'm a HUGE fan of the swap.
The dining room was full of treats...ours for the taking.



And what didn't get swapped...is on its way to Caritas- an organization that helps homeless families transition into having a home. They'll use some for their families and the rest will be sold at their annual yard sale that's happening this weekend.



Great friends, fantastic food, helping others, spreading love and being green.
Such a great way to start the Christmas season off!

Ever have one of those days???

When this completely escapes you?

The kind of day when all you want to do is eat an entire birthday cake layered high with butter cream frosting???

The kind of day that makes you think that the only possible way to make yourself feel better is to go out and spend a bunch of money???

And then you snap back into reality because you're supposed to be not eating carbs and your bank account is crying?

I had one of those today.
So, after being talked off the ledge by a sweet friend, I decided to try and visit my happy place....

I re-arranged some shelves.
No cost, no calories.
I was desperate!

Before (sort of- I had already taken some things down prior to my pic)



After



I accomplished something that made me happy.
I feel good about it.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better....I don't have many more shelves!

It's not easy being green....

One of my goals this year was to eliminate using plastic bags for lunches. I've been using these instead.

And I ALMOST MADE IT....except that I went away for the night to a conference and left my hubby in charge.

When I unpacked Cooper's lunchbox tonight, I almost screamed.
THERE WAS A PLASTIC BAG INSIDE!!!!!!

So close. With less than a month left in the school year I've been hijacked.
I'm going to overlook it- I have to.

Otherwise, I may be thrown over the edge.



I agree with Kermit, it's not easy being green.

Quick Stop....Pays Off!

Cooper and Jon were occupied on Saturday and I headed to the grocery store by myself. I love grocery shopping by myself....it means that I can stop in for a quick visit to my favorite thrift shop. It's run by the Junior League and over the years I've scored some super finds.

It's totally hit and miss....
Today I found this.


I collect white pitchers...and this one was really teeny. Perfect for violets in the spring. And 50 cents. Sold.

Nothing in my size called out to me, so I swung by the kids section.
I don't usually find great stuff for Cooper here- but it never hurts to check.

Jackpot!
I found 2 pairs of khaki's (light and dark) and a pair of jeans from the Gap. None of them had pricetags but they were in fantastic shape. I also found a rugby shirt from Gymboree and 3 hoodies. Again, no prices.






At the counter, I asked the lady about pricing for the clothes- and she gave me the best news.

They have a new pricing policy.
Any kids clothing over size 2T was $2/item.

Are you kidding me??
7 items, all brand name, all in great shape, in the next size up so the kid can grow and not look like a freak and it's going to cost me $14????

That's not all....my pitcher had a red line on the sticker. Red lines were 75% off.
Yup- I paid mere pennies for my pitcher.

With tax, less than $15- I'm being green, cost conscious and supporting local charities. All on my way to the grocery store.

I love a bargain! LOVE!!!

When in Doubt...Swap it Out!!

For the past few months, I've been mildly obsessed with a blogger called "The Nester". That's both her blog name, and how she refers to herself. I read her all the time and think she's got some fabulous decorating ideas, tricks, tips and advice. Most importantly- or maybe- what I like most about her is that she's practical. And comical. She feels like it doesn't have to be perfect or pricey to be beautiful.

That makes a TON of sense to me.

Anywhoo....a while back she hosted a swap party.
And then I thought- hey, I could do that.
And then I wondered....could I really?

So I called my friend Sallie, explained the idea and waited for her reaction.
She loved it! (she's a good friend that one)
And so we planned. We altered Nesters version and had a Christmas swap.

The big day came and Sallie and I were all a flutter.
Jon helped make things festive by hanging garland. He was injured in the process but he pushed through the pain in true hard core party mode. I do adore him!



I haven't had time to make my wreath yet. Not to worry- nobody cared (not even me).

Everyone brought their stuff. We had so much that I had to throw a tablecloth over the dog crate and use it for display! I'm creative like that.


(bad picture, but it proves that improvising does have it's place- it also shows that I need to work on that corner!)

We mingled and tried to figure out the best strategy for the actual swapping.



I gave people time to preview and then we picked numbers and waited while that person picked their item.



Because everyone brought so many fantastic things, we were able to do 2 rounds of swapping and a bonus round if there was anything else that you were dying for.

And in between all of that swapping.....


We ate!




The food was delish...


but the friends were even better!

Thanks to Sallie and the rest of my fab friends. Hope the swaps have found new life in your homes. I am LOVING mine!

Merry, Merry!!

Transformation

I'm a big fan of The Lettered Cottage. Layla lives in an adorable cottage in Alabama and her blog is full of design fun and stories of how she and her hubby have tackled crazy & fabulous projects to make their house a home. I enjoy visiting her blog because she's got skills that I wish I had and she puts ideas into my head that make me smile. She's also sort of a goof and isn't afraid to laugh at herself which ranks high in my book.

My friend Denise re-did her kitchen and dining room on Layla's advice and they both look fabulous. Anyway- late this spring she celebrated her 1 year blog-anniversary and had a special on her design consultations. I'm all about a special, so I bought a photo consultation and decided to ask for her help with my living room.

I didn't have a ton of money to spend, but I thought that some paint and a few tweaks would make a huge difference- I just couldn't figure it out on my own.

I sent some pictures to Layla and told her a little about my style, things I like and where my struggles were. Basically, there are lots of family pieces in the room that I want to continue to use and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what to do with the huge gaping expanse of white wall in the room. I was happy-ish with the furniture arrangement but was open to something different and I realized that the sofa and chair/ottoman weren't made for each other but that I couldn't help that so could she help me tie them together.

These are the pictures that I sent-

(looking in from the front hall)


(view from the dining room)


(the view that best captures the nightmare wall that has been stressing me out)

Oh, the other thing to note is that although I bought the consultation in the spring, I didn't send her the pictures until August....and in the meantime- she was inundated with business. No worries- I was happy to wait.

And so, when I opened my in-box on Friday and saw that she sent me a message- I was over the moon.

This is what I saw-



In addition to the picture, she gave me a ton of written suggestions-

*Try a mirror over the mantle (larger than the picture that's currently there)
*Swap out the sofa table and the large chest
*The picture over the chest may be a tad low
*If you add a mirror, you may want to try a grouping of 4 pictures over the piece of furniture next to the fireplace.
*I'd suggest a gallery wall in the open space- I've included an example, but if the sea theme isn't your thing, swap it out for something else.

I cannot tell you how excited I was!
I spent some time (and a little cash) over the weekend and have implemented a few of the changes that Layla suggestion. The only thing that I bought was the large mirror over the mantle. My friend Sallie (a design guru herself) braved the terrible weather and helped me with the selection. Thanks Sallo!!!

The other changes were swaps from elsewhere in my house and made me look at things with a different lens. I don't love the picture next to the corner cabinet (Layla suggested another mirror and the one that I took down is too small I think)- but it will work for now- it's larger than the picture I had there originally.

I also don't love the dragonfly pillow on the sofa(I do love it- but not here) but I needed something and why not try free first. I moved those pillows from the porch and Layla was right- it makes a huge difference. The old pillows found a new home in the guest room. Who would have thought! I've still got the huge blank wall- but it's something to work on and now I've got inspiration.

I do love the coffee table (so does Jon)- which was in my guest room serving no purpose. I'm also crazy about the wooden chair with the round side table and floor lamp. I think that may be my favorite thing so far. It wasn't something that Layla called out specifically, she just made the changes and as I looked at them I thought- hey- I can do that! She did suggest using an initial pillow in the chair- which, as luck would have it, I happened to have in our bedroom. Now it gets showcased.

I'm happy with it so far although it's still a work in progress...the paint will come, as will a different pillow on the sofa and a little handy work from Jon to hang the mirror rather than just having it propped up and of course, filling the wall. I'm also on a mission to find things to fill the corner cabinet. I made a few changes, but nothing drastic.

Here is the view now!


(This is the same view as the photo that Layla designed)


(another view- see the swapped sofa table and raised picture?)

Isn't it great when you see things from a different perspective?
Go check Layla out- hope she makes you smile too!

Thanks Layla!