The holidays were great but a whirlwind of course. My company is awesome and closes the office between Christmas and New Year's so I had several days off. I saw almost all my family and got to spend some quality time with my sister which was great! I made another batch of Red Velvet Cupcakes and everyone loved them.
I also started two home improvement projects which is what is part of what has been keeping me so busy lately. A few days before New Year's I decided to start renovating my kitchen. When we moved into our house over three years ago the kichen was mauve everywhere! Mauve wallpaper floor to ceiling, mauve countertops, mauve tinted backsplash tile - YUCK! We immediately took down the wallpaper and painted the walls thinking we would replace the counters shortly thereafter. Well....counters are very expensive it turns out so we never did get around to it. So I have been living with pink counters and orange walls. Not the greatest combination.
Now we have saved up enough money to do the full renovation. This will involve painting the cabinets, walls and trim, replacing all the cabinet hardware, counters and backsplash tile, replacing the floor and replacing the light fixtures. We'll do everything on our own (with FIL's help) except installing the new counters. Whew! I'll be glad when it's finished! Here is the what the kitchen used to look like (please ignore the clutter):
The second project I've started is replacing the floor in the living room, hallway and entryway. It is (was) carpeted. The new floor will be pre-finished red oak. I can't WAIT to have it completed. Currently all the carpet has been torn out and the floor has been purchased. I am not actually installing the floor, but FIL will. I swear he's MacGyver. He can do anything, including saving me thousands of dollars on the installation fees!
In retrospect, I probably should not have started BOTH these projects at the same time. The living room and the kitchen are both barely functional right now. Hopefully I can keep my motivation level high enough to make it to the finish line.
Also one of my SILs is getting married in Vegas this weekend! Wheeeee! The whole family is leaving on Friday to fly to Vegas for the wedding. Only close family is attending the wedding. Then two weeks after we get back there will be a big reception for the rest of the family and friends. It's going to be a great time. Last weekend we had a bridal shower for her and I again made the Red Velvet Cupcakes at her request. Those things are popular!
Since my kitchen is not fully functional, I have not been baking or cooking much lately. So I probably won't be posting many recipes in the near future. I do have a backlog of recipes I've made, but haven't posted yet so I will try to get those up soon. Look forward to home improvement posts as I work through my two projects and also gardening posts as I research and prepare for my first garden.
I'm happy to be back! Happy New Year!
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