Freezer Spring Cleaning

I've spent the afternoon going through our freezers. Yes, freezers! In addition to the freezer in our fridge, we also have a deep freezer that lives in the garage. It's great for storing TONS of food. I hate wasting food, so I've been going through everything. Throwing away things that have been in there for years (yikes!) and trying to come up with meals for the week using foods that are still acceptable. I had some questions about a couple of things, like how long is too long to freeze raw chicken? And I stumbled upon this article from RealSimple. It's a great reference to have when cleaning out your freezer. Enjoy!

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/freezing/how-long-you-can-freeze-foods-10000001012124/index.html

second look

I'm not sure if you caught it, but the kitchen cabinets (from yesterday's post) are two different colors. I was hoping the finished product would be more dramatic, but I really like how subtle the transition turned out. All the cabinets above the countertops are painted Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore and all the cabinets below are painted Hazy Skies, also by Benjamin Moore. We had a special lacquer paint mixed in order to create a seamless finish.

Just thought you might want to take a second look...

My inspiration came from one of my favorite sites design*sponge.

after

As promised, here's photos of the finished product. Keep in mind the interior design is nowhere near complete, but it's a start. You'll find a complete list of resources at the end.

View from front door looking into entryway (living room to the right)

View from entryway looking into living room

View from living room looking into dinging room

View from back of dining room looking into kitchen

View of kitchen with new cabinets and retro chandelier

View from kitchen looking into living room and entryway to the right

Storage under the bar

Kitchen

Dining Room Chandelier

:: RESOURCES ::

Wall Color - Benjamin Moore, Hazy Skies

Trim and Moulding - Benjamin Moore, Swiss Coffee

Entryway table - Scott's Antique Market, Atlanta

Coral - Beach Dwelling

Bar lights - At Home

Barstools - borrowed from a friend (I ordered 3 wooden/metal stools back in November and I'm still waiting for them to come in)

Chalkboard - antique window, chalkboard paint

Coffee table - Blue Ocean Trader

Rug - (temporary, one I want has been ordered) Dash and Albert

Dining room table - Broyhill

Chairs - Four Hands

Chandelier - Pottery Barn and pages from an antique French cookbook

Frames - Scott's Antique Market, Atlanta

"EAT" letters - Urban Outfitters

Starfish - Pottery Barn

Fridge - GE Profile

Dishwasher - Whirlpool

Rug - Martha Stewart

Hand towel (on fridge) - Martha Stewart

Kitchen fixtures and shades - School House Electric

Trash can - Simple Human

Drawer pulls - Restoration Hardware

Cabinet pulls - Home Depot

Countertops - AWP Butcher Block

Clock above bar - Restoration Hardware

Baskets - Target

Canisters - antique

Hand towel (on oven) - Cat Studio

time flies

Wow. Where did the time go?! It's been over a year since my last post. Lately, I've been really inspired and have a lot of things to share, so welcome back!

In September 2009, after living in our house for only 7 months, we decided to renovate our kitchen, living, and dining rooms. We completed the project 3 months later, December 2009. And I just realized I never posted photos. The interior design is still a work-in-progress and I'm afraid it will be for a while. But I'm okay with that. I want to make smart decisions about the pieces of furniture we do buy. I think it's important to choose wisely. Not only do I want each piece to tell a story, but I want our furniture to be with us for years to come...timeless.

Today I leave you with photos of the before. Tomorrow's post will feature the AFTER.

View from front door looking into entryway (living room to the right)

View from entryway looking into living room

View from living room looking into dining room

View from back of dining room looking into kitchen

View of kitchen with retro cabinets and vintage chandelier

View from kitchen looking into living room and entryway to the right

Day one of demolition :: view from entryway into living room

Demolition :: view from dining room into living room

Header installed :: view from dining room into living room

still here

I'm sure you've noticed the blogging has been non-existent lately. Brian and I both have full-time jobs as well as a job that doesn't put food on the table (renovating this house). When we're not being paid, we're either running to Home Depot or using the air compressor to nail molding to the wall or spray paint our cabinets. So you can see why the blog has taken a back seat. Don't worry, we're still here, still working.

This past week has been a roller coaster. Brian has attempted to spray paint our cabinets with ZERO success. It has eaten up TONS of our time, patience, and energy. So we have a cabinetmaker coming to look at the cabinets tomorrow. We're so anxious to meet our deadline (Thanksgiving) that we're willing to pay someone to finish the paint. These cabinets have caused Brian the biggest headache thus far in the reno (more details to come on the cabinet project later). Brian had to work without me this past weekend because I spent most of it on the couch or in bed suffering from a sinus infection.

Just wanted to let you know we're still here. And hopefully I'll have some updates/projects in the next couple of days. Good night!