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I love flowers.

Happy Friday.

More Kitchen Pics

A few of you asked last week for more pictures of my kitchen and I’m happy to oblige! We hired Mark White of Kitchen Encounters in Annapolis. He and  his assistant Serena Lehn were fantastic to work with. Mark is like a lumberjack designer in his plaid shirts and laid-back demeanor and Serena, well, she’s just a doll. I wanted to use the professional pictures, the ones that Mark commissioned to take after the remodel was done.

Isn’t it beautiful? Only kidding. This is what it looked like before we moved in five years ago. The previous owner obviously had kids too. It was the living room with a sliding glass door to the porch.

When we moved in we made some cosmetic changes to the living room but I couldn’t help but feel that the layout of the house was all wrong. The kitchen was calling out to be moved to the living room. The husband claims that he didn’t hear a thing. I heard it loud and clear.

This was our kitchen. As you can see, I did the best I could with storage space but I just had too many dishes…I put an old Chinese desk in the middle for an island. The desk is now our vanity in the new powder room. I’ll show you that some other time.

This was what we were living with for months and months. Walls came down, dust everywhere…I wish I was blogging a year ago…I could have used some design support back then.

Alright, now the kitchen photos.

This is the after. Small change.

The cabinets have gloss a finish over them that I just love. You can’t really see it well but it makes the whole kitchen seem so much bigger because of the reflections. It’s a small space, I don’t remember the exact dimensions but if someone really wants to know I guess I’ll look it up for you.

Those glasses of alcohol are props. We weren’t drinking during the photo shoot. But they are our glasses. Anyway, the refrigerator is behind panels, I love that. There is a microwave/convention oven, a regular oven, and a warming drawer next to the refrigerator. The island has a little of everything I wanted. It’s worth a post all of its own.

There is a small sink to the right of the stove top. I use that for chopping and washing veggies. The stove top is gas, finally! I’ve always wanted a gas stove. See the lights over the island? Guess what my favorite color is.

There are drawers below the stove top where I keep most of my pots and pans. The fireplace as you can see was an inferno. That was our first “log” set. I’m glad we didn’t burn the house down.

The glass tile behind the hood goes to the ceiling. You won’t believe the decision making process over that.

Do we?
Don’t we?
Yes we do.
No, it’s not necessary.
Okay, lets do it.
Wait – do we have enough tile?

Those of you who have remodeled know exactly what I’m talking about.

I LOVE my sink. I love it. You can hide a week’s worth of dishes in there. And I have. It’s one of the best decisions I have ever made. Now there’s four glasses of wine.

There’s that inferno again. As you can see the cabinets are two different woods. I loved the zebra wood but I didn’t want it all over the kitchen. So the Serena suggested that I use it in certain places as accents. I love it. Did I say that already?

It’s also on the desk/snack area that separates the kitchen from the rest of the living space. But wait…

Refrigerator drawers…we put all the kids snacks and the bread there so they don’t have to go to the “big” refrigerator. It’s wonderful. So glad we did it.

We had never hired a designer before but the experience was so positive that we would do it again in a heart beat. It was sooooo worth it. We knew what we liked but we didn’t have a clue where to begin. Though once Mark suggested we put a rock garden in the middle of the living room. My answer was “Our neighbors already think we’re crazy for hiring a designer, what are they going to think when they walk in here and see a rock garden?” I hope he was kidding.

You may ask, “Is the rest of the house up to par with the kitchen?” Answer: Lord no.
You may ask, “Is it over done for the neighborhood we live in?” Answer: Probably, and we don’t care.
You may ask, “Is there something you would do differently?” Answer: Yes, and I’ll tell you about it another time.

Okay just keeping it real. Here is the desk area today, just now. It’s still beautiful but very lived in. It serves it’s purpose. After all, I have kids and animals. There’s a kid right now. He has sunglasses on, inside.

After we were done with the remodel, Serena said to me, “It’s you.” I have so many things to tell you about the different features in the kitchen, but I’ll do another time.

Thank you Mark and Serena for my beautifully designed, wonderfully functional, absolutely gorgeous kitchen. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I hope you enjoyed the little tour!

UPDATE: Okay, I feel like a heel. Yes, the kitchen has my heart and is the brain-child of Mark and Serena but the “real” work? That was done by CRM Construction, the Bill Howes outfit of plumbers, electricians, carpenters and just plain great guys. They were professional, talented, polite and always cleaned up after themselves. They don’t have a website, I’m gonna have to talk to Bill about that but here’s their contact info:

CRM Construction Inc,
1355 Skinners Turn Road
Owings, MD, 20636
301-855-2230

AND…this is not just a “show” kitchen. I love to cook and now I have a beautiful and functional space to do it in.

Here’s some recipes…
Eggrolls 1 and Eggrolls 2 with Ponzu sauce.
Red curry stir fry.

And that sink is great for cleaning fish.

I’m a little punchy today. It’s Friday.

And today and joining Metamoraphasis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch. I found her last week and have been all over her blog looking at her gorgeous home.

Look! A Chandelier!

I came home today and saw this…

A chandelier over the dining room table!

I’m beside myself, sniff. A chandelier! What a wonderful surprise.

Thanks honey, I have the best husband.

And underneath the chandelier? The boy, doing his homework…life is perfect.

Time Passages

Taken April 4.

The same bloom, taken April 11.

Do you see the hummingbird shaped blossom? So cute.

Taken April 16.

Taken today when I got home. The hail storm was cruel to the little blossom.

You should go to Shutter Sisters and see all the spring photos. Beautiful.

I'd Do It Again

A while ago, I committed to making a scrapbook to give Miss Wendy as a gift.

SS stands for Short Stirrup. I don’t know what that means. Probably because the girls on the team are short(?).

A lot of you know that I love to scrapbook. I have many many scrapbooks. I had plenty of time before I started working.

Before I was teaching fitness classes and working…

Before I was teaching the sixth grade girls for small groups, teaching fitness classes and working…

I said “Yes, I’ll do it.” A second later I was kicking myself…

It literally took months…I spend hours on it, I stressed over it, I cried over it…

I drove to the farm a million times and I photographed and photographed. That part was fun though…

I crossed my fingers…

And then there was this…

It was worth it…

I’m ready to do it again.

Wordless Wednesday – Lovely Kitty

I wish I was my cat.

Last night during the Cubs/Reds game, a kitty ran onto the field and a baseball player picked him up by the tail and flung him over the stands. The girl and I both screamed simultaneously.

The cat has a good life. Once again, a not so wordless Wednesday.

What's Your Play no. 42

I’m playing again over at Laura’s place at dolcepics.com. This is a beautiful photo.

Inspired by Diane Schuller’s, I did my best to maintain the integrity of the photo but give it a little pop. I wanted it to be a photo I would want in my own wedding album.

I did a sepia toned treatment, masked out the bouquet and boosted the entire photo with TRA2 “Punch Out”.

I don’t have a picture of my bouquet…sigh.

Tea With Two Pilots & An Insurance Agent

…so I’m talking to these guys when the husband goes and gets the car. Since I was sitting 12 inches away from them I heard every single word they said. I overheard them say that someone in their group was a pilot. He was getting a ribbing for using a straight edge to put the letters on his sign, you know, pilots are persnickety about details like that.

I asked if one of them was a pilot and as it turns out two of them were. One flew a news helicopter and the other flew a police helicopter…yes he was a policeman. He said that this was the first time that he was on the other end of a protest. The third guy was an insurance agent…he was the one who was teasing the other two.

They started to tell me all kinds of flying stories and well…I’m married to a pilot. Flying stories don’t fascinate me – yawn. After all, the husband comes home with a few every time. Last weekend he was struck by lightning – again. What I was more interested in was what they were doing there. What brought them there? It was their first protest, why would they come? Why would they take a day off of work and come downtown in the pouring cold rain, holding a sign of protest (nicely aligned at that). Why?

They also tell me they were accosted by someone before they got to the restaurant. “Who?” I say. The insurance agent answered “Some a..- ” and he caught himself before he finished. He was going to swear and he didn’t. He refrained himself. Why? (I’m a pretty curious type) Because I was a woman and a stranger and he was trying to be polite. Which brings me to the point of this post.

Our political discourse has reached the point of poison. No one can debate anything objectively, it always seems to degrade to personal attacks and insults. A prime example is the President’s press secretary. His arrogance drips with every defensive position and acrid comment about the opposition. I know how it feels when someone you support is attacked. I know because we all lived it with President Bush’s presidency. Every time someone called President Bush a liar, a murderer, dumb and stupid something inside of me would shrivel and scream and my little imaginary hands would go over my little imaginary ears. I believed that President Bush was a good man, an honorable man, doing the best he could for the country he loved. I found myself simmering with anger with the insults. I fear I may be the only one the country who feels this way, but I’m okay with that. So I’m not going to do that to President Obama. Don’t mistake this for support of his policies. If I supported them I wouldn’t be protesting out in the rain.

So that brings me back to the insurance agent. He was making his position known but he was being polite. He was speaking with me face to face. The internet offers so much anonymity that people feel they can say whatever they want without recrimination. And when there is, they wonder why. We should know that what we say and how we say it is more of a reflection on us than on “them”. Choose our words wisely whether we are speaking face to face or whether we are on the internet – blog, twitter, facebook – whatever.

They wanted to talk about flying and I kept bringing the conversation around to politics.

“We need to worry that once we monetize our currency inflation will occur.”
“Our national debt doubled in the last two months.”
“We say that past policies didn’t work but we continue to follow them.”
“Middle class families can’t afford another tax hike (hence the sign). Make the tax cuts permanent.”
“China owns us.”

Their discussion was earnest and respectful. An example to how we should all be in our political discourse.

First time protestors and gentlemen. I’m glad there are still some gentlemen around.

Self-Portraits

For the kids’ entry ~ us after the metro to DC, a Cherry Blossom Festival, shopping, manicures, and a fondue dinner.

For the adult entry ~ me after teaching a step class, teaching a yoga class, fixing the network printer, fixing an email application, taking the boy to school after his doctor appointment, cooking dinner – hence, the wine. And it’s SOOC – as is.

You can see all the self-portraits at iheartfaces.com this week. It was really fun to see everyone’s faces…

More Than I Ever Could

These photos are not the best examples of photographic technique.

But every time I watch my children play, the words of artist JJ Heller comes to mind…

“You love everyone that I love,
More than I ever could.

Light and darkness,
Doesn’t matter because Lord I know You’re good.”

Thanks Shutter Sisters.

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