The Big Kitchen Reveal!

We haven't updated this blog in so long, I had to Google the address to find it.  Turns out that we are not on the top websites for Brown Beauty on Google.

But, I realized that the last update was the flooring in the big bedroom!  That feels like forever ago, I can barely remember laying it.  We have accomplished so much since then, but the biggest and bestest project has been the kitchen.  I could go into pages and pages of detail about the kitchen, but I will let these photos speak for themselves.

Before:

Our kitchen used to look like something out of a 1970s horror film.  The brown cabinets, the header (I have no idea who would intentionally put in a header), the ceiling fan (?), the white appliances and the horrible yellow(!) laminate countertops and that sticky I-can-see-all-the-seams flooring.

In true J and J fashion, we got right to work ripping out cabinets, replacing drywall, designing a new kitchen layout, buying appliances, and laying hardwood flooring.

Here's the big, AFTER Photo:





We moved the entire refrigerator and added pantry cabinets.  Before, we were using some old cabinets in the fireplace room as a pantry, but it was a disaster.  The prior owners had a kitchen table in this area, but that was a huge amount of unusable space, especially after putting in the island with seating.

In any event, it was an enormous project and we just held our annual J's Giving celebration to show off all of our hard work.  We've done a massive amount of work in the other rooms too, but those are for a different post!

Enjoy!

Somewhere between "what did I get myself in to," and "this is worth it."

Shortly after the first lady and I purchased our home we roughly guessed the state we would be in on November 1, 2013. Putting our two obviously novice brains together we figured that we would be completely done with the upstairs and the kitchen by now. I am happy to report that we accomplished our goal. NOT

Home renovating is a painstaking process that is rife with underestimating. From how much lumber you will need to when things will be done, you will always underestimate the amount it takes. The second thing I did in this house was to tear out the old bathroom. That was back in April. As in 7 months ago April. We officially have all of our walls up and our tile purchased. And it feels like a victory. That is not to say that after all the work that has been done in there that it should have been a quick project. The number of man hours put into a 11 by 5 space is crazy. But I can not wait to finally take my Sunday morning paper in there and relax on my throne.

There is no greater feeling than the feeling that your hard labor made something that will hopefully last for a long time. The victories are few and far between in this process but this weekend was a huge victory. We finally finished the big bedroom flooring and trim and we are now done with all the wood flooring on our upper level. I put up the baseboard in the room yesterday and it is looking great. I know that it is pretty rough right now without furniture, but it is going to be really great soon.

The first lady and I leave our house at 7 am and don't get back until 6:15pm. We unfortunately work jobs that suck away a large amount of energy and motivation each day. But putting in another 14-18 hours every weekend is actually a relaxing time. I can't wait to have every one over to show off our house. If only my prognostication skills were accurate as to when that will be.

Garden of my Dreams

Holy Moses do I love my garden.  I like to talk to it, I like to sit next to it, I like to pull weeds, and I like to harvest things that I grew in my honest-to-god-backyard.   It is my favorite place in the entire house and I have already had a huge bounty of crops.  Besides the arugula and spinach, which are earlier summer veggies, I planted beets, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, brussel sprouts and peppers. 

Here's a small beet I pulled so that the other beets could have room.  You can't let them get too  crowded!

My cucumbers were doing very well and then Jon built me a cucumber trellis for them to climb and the plants on the trellis dried out (even with every day watering).  So, I moved them off of the trellis and am hoping for the best for my diminished cuke crop.   I have a serious pickle addiction that needs to be fulfilled!

My tomatoes have exploded.   I am learning several things this year about gardening and one is that I must have larger tomato cages next year. This is necessary to contain all of the tomato branches, I want them to extend upward, not outward!  My cherry tomatoes cannot be contained and they have become some sort of mutant tomato plant that extends into all of the other tomato plants.  Plus, there are hundreds and hundreds of cherry tomatoes.  We are going to be eating bruschetta for months.  It is still early for tomatoes and I've picked a handful of ripe cherry tomatoes almost every day for the last week.

I have also learned that we are drastically expanding the garden next year.   I need more room than 25x5 to have the perfect garden.  Plus, as a previous container gardener, I didn't anticipate that my plants would get so big so quickly.  Everything is huge!  And, that, makes me the happiest gardener in the whole world.

Happy Gardening!

J & J Electrical: At Your Service

This weekend, Jon picked out some beautiful ceiling fans for the back bedroom and the master bedroom.  He also tried out his internet-earned electrical skills and installed both of them!  They look great and it is nice to finally have working ceiling lights in the rooms.

 

We bought the Hunter 52 in ceiling fan which you can find at Home Depot.  It is a really nice fan with a remote control and pretty dark wood blades.  It is neutral and goes really well with the flooring.

We only had one minor incident of electrical shock when Jon tried to jam a screwdriver next to the electrical socket without turning off the power.  He didn't fall down, so we judged it as a very minor shock.

Then, Jon finished the baseboard in the back bedroom while I spent a lot of time outdoors with Moe.

 

The base looks great with the greyish color that I vetoed for our master bedroom.  We weren't about to waste that paint!

Finally, we went to IKEA and bought new hall lighting.  The old lighting was wretched and the new lighting is much prettier.

                                   


Things are shaping up at BB.  There's a lot yet that needs to be completed, but I'm excited that some of the finishing touches are going up.  We have house guests this weekend for a wedding and we are super excited to show off the place!

So. Long. Between. Posts.

I'm desperately sorry.  It has been so long since we've posted to Brown Beauty that you must have thought that BB burned down.  Knock. On. Wood.

Instead, Jon and I were just burned out.  We worked so hard to get the house ready for our big Open House, that we needed a big break before starting another project finishing the bathroom.  We've still been doing homeownery things, like pulling weeds, mowing the lawn and cleaning.  But, we haven't started any big new projects in a while.

But, we did hire some people to do the next step on the master bath.  Actually just two people, and actually, just for the electrical work.  We got a great deal with someone that Jon's dad knows and he and his son knocked out the electrical work in 2 evenings after work.  So, now, we are ready to drywall the bathroom, put in the plumbing for the rain shower, and finally pick out tile.

Here's what I would love the vanity to look like.  Of course this is just an "internet vanity" from some super expensive store, we will be going with the cheaper-than-$2,000 option.  Or, the fix-it-up-in-the-garage option.

Actually, I really love the walls in this photo too. I feel relaxed just looking at all that gray.











We are also thinking about slate tile for the floors and shower enclosure.  Gray is my most favorite of colors.

 

Anyway, we have a long way to go before we can start placing tile.  But, It is going to be very exciting to have the bathroom completed.

We also have plans in the works for a closet organizer in our master bedroom and we are determined to finish the flooring in the third bedroom before the summer is over.

Stay tuned for updates!

A Shrimp Boil

Sunday was our First Wedding Anniversary and we decided to throw a shrimp boil for a few  forty of our family, friends and neighbors.  As part of the guestbook at our wedding, we left out cards and small envelopes for our guests to write wishes or advice to open on our one year anniversary.  So, Sunday morning, we made coffee on our new Keurig and opened all of our cards.  Let me just say this, I'm super glad we didn't open them in front of our family because when some of our friends get drunk, they write inappropriate things.

Then we prepped for the party!

A Shrimp Boil, or a low-county boil has potatoes, corn, onions, butter, shrimp and a delicious sausage.  So, we prepped 40 ears of corn, 10 lbs of potatoes, 6 lbs of onions, 25 lbs of shrimp, and 14 lbs of sausage.    Have you ever seen that much corn in your life?  Our super cool friends Kim and Mike made us the Shrimp Shaped Sign for the front yard!

Our other friend Mike (we know a lot of Mikes okay?)  brought us the sausage from a sketchy and dangerous grocery store in Detroit.  It is the most delicious sausage in the world.

After it all boils up, dump the boil on crawfish party paper.  Or newspaper, whatever you prefer. And, then you get to eat it: 

We had so much fun!  Thank you to everyone who came, especially my grandpa from Florida who flew in and worked on my house on Friday and Saturday.  He mowed my lawn, mudded the back bedroom, and painted the stairs.  It sure does help to have talented family members! 

 

Of course, we had to get lots of pictures in front of the sign!  Oh, and my dress had seahorses on it, but that's basically close enough.  

A special thanks to my best friends, Natalee and Elizabeth who are the greatest helpers in the world and decorated my tables beautifully, made LEGIT sweet tea and shucked all of my corn.  I appreciate it so much! 

And, to my mother for getting us this cake:  The same carrot cake we had at our wedding 1 year ago!  

Mom:  Draw a brown house on the cake with some stick figures, call me if you have questions. 

It was a fabulous way to kick off the summer and it was so great to give everyone a tour of our new digs.  Thanks everyone!  We had a blast! 

A Real Life Miracle

People!  People!  A miracle happened today.

Jon and I agreed on something.  Without compromise and without a discussion.   It was a huge decision about:

LAMPSHADES!! 

That's right.  Miracles. The one thing we agree on in this house renovation project are the lampshades for our bedroom.  And, if I'm being totally honest with myself, I already told Jon that I liked these and wanted needed them, so he was probably just being nice.  

But, these Target Threshold Lampshades are going to be perfect in our new grey and yellow bedroom.   Stay tuned for the final photos of the complete master bedroom - hopefully tomorrow!