100 Year Old Kitchen

Welcome to our 100 year old kitchen.

Well, that was the kitchen we were welcomed to when we bought our house.

Of course, we did a little work to it and by a little, I mean, striped the walls down to the lath board.  That's me wielding a crow bar.  This girl isn't afraid of hard work, while wearing heels or not.

And, though this HUGE home improvement project gave us moments of doubt, during the 2 months it took to complete, our kitchen began to get put back together and the memories of the lath board faded.

With the exception of replacing the gigantic radiator, with a more compact under cabinet heating unit, we did ALL of the work in the kitchen ourselves {with a whole lot of help from my dad}.

It's still a small kitchen, so we tried to make the most of the space that we have, including an art station for Grace made out of chalkboard contact paper.

The window above our sink was transformed into a greenhouse simply by adding 2 rows of glass shelves

Flea market finds and Goodwill treasures decorate our kitchen, hopefully adding back some charm that should be found in a 100 year old kitchen.

A flower frog holds a handwritten recipe from my grandma.  A Tiffany blue vintage scale shows off paper mache apple Grace just made.  The silver tray and blue soap dispenser were recent Goodwill finds.

Above our cabinets, I have our wedding guest book platter displayed, I love looking up and seeing the signatures of people I love.  The weather vane, a recent flea market find, points in the correct direction...in case I should find myself lost in the kitchen.

Our most recent flea market find, a greenhouse temperature gauge.  One day, I am hoping my talented husband will make me a greenhouse out of old windows BUT for now...

It hangs above my 'be happy just because' chalkboard sign.

Lastly, the hallway wall that leads into our kitchen went from this...

to this.   

The French door leads to our walk-in pantry {which also contains my craft supplies}.  Our pantry is another step closer to its grand reveal. 

And, that concludes our tour of the kitchen...

If you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, head out the back door to our screened in back deck.

But that will have to be a tour for another day :)

Chalkboard Sign

Sometimes we all need a reminder to...

In efforts to clean up my craft area and use up some of my supplies, thanks to October Overhauling, I decided to finally use this mirror my mother in-law gave me.  It never quite found a spot in my house in its current state so I decided to get crafty with it.

A transformation was in order so I carefully took the mirror out of the frame.  While we were painting Grace's shelf for her closet, I gave the frame a coat of white paint as well.

Sometimes, I forget I am a blogger, so focused on getting the task done, I forget to take pictures.  Trust me, as we were painting the shelves, chasing after our dog, entertaining Grace...I was also painting my silver frame white.

I convinced my focused husband to take a break and cut down some wood to fit into the frame.  Then, I gave that a few coats of chalkboard paint.

When it dried, I put it all back together and hung it in my kitchen.  I thought about using it to write out our grocery list or weekly menu but decided instead, on the simple reminder 'to be happy just because'. 

One of the things that make me happy, my kitchen...tomorrow, I'll give you a proper tour.  Today, be happy just because.

Grace's Closet

Things are about to get very real around here.

Be warned, if you have a weak stomach, look away.

I know...terrible isn't it?  This closet, in Grace's room, is both her closet and where my husband keeps his massive collection of tee shirts {they would be pared down already if I thought he wouldn't notice}.

We decided, Grace's closet was in DESPERATE need of a makeover.

As if you needed more proof, right?

So my handy husband built not just one custom shelving unit for her closet 

 But two!

And, she'll even have her own custom shoe rack.

If you are questioning if that disastrous closet can be transformed.  Let me just remind you what the master bedroom closet looked like.

And what it looks like now.

There is hope.

You are outta your gourd

Another gourd post. And, I'll be the first to admit, I am outta my gourd.

Inspired by Country Home, I decided to take some gourds, that weren't already decorating my flower boxes,

 and perch them on candlesticks or put into vases.

Am I out of my gourd, or does this look perfect for fall decor?

Long before Pinterest

I am the first to admit, the idea of stamping with fruit or vegetables is not a new concept.  My mom claims that when I was in school, I actually made these as well.  And, let me tell you, that was LONG before pinterest and blogs.

Though the idea isn't original, it still is fun and...

for this little girl it is still an original idea.

So we stamped with the rind of celery...

A lemon...

And an apple.  My personal favorite because we glued the apple seeds onto our apple prints.

When we were done stamping, we used our scraps and fixed a snack. 

Ants on a log, another idea that has been around longer than pinterest that continues to be a novelty for each new generation introduced to them.

Halloween Costumes - A Walk Down Memory Lane

My mom made all of my Halloween costumes growing up.  Looking back, the memories I cherish from Halloween, are those of my mom lovingly creating and transforming me into whatever I requested.

Two years ago, I attempted to start creating these same memories for Grace and I made her a Martha Stewart inspired chicken costume. 

And, I set the bar HIGH with this chicken costume. 

Last year, the pressure was on.  Again, I turned to Martha Stewart for inspiration and transformed Grace into a sheep.   

This year, I'm not relying on Martha for inspiration.  This year, I am hoping this beautiful material will be inspiration enough.  

Any guesses what Grace will be transformed into this year?

E is for Etsy

A is for this girl...

That's me, Amy of while wearing heels.

B is for Blogging...

Blogging inspires me and encourages me to...

C is for Creating...

which I do in my office, my crafting nook.

D is for Dollars...

$$$

which I make very little of as a stay at home momma.

SO

E is for Etsy...

Where you can now find me, Amy of while wearing heels...

creating inspired things, made with love...

while wearing heels :)