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IKEA Inspirations

Today I took my little sidekick with me to IKEA so we could check out their quartz countertops.

I have a quote already on quartz countertops, but I have a feeling that if I find something I like at IKEA it’ll be at least 30% less than the first quote. I’ll keep you posted on what I find out.

This white piece of quartz I really, really like for the kitchen, pantry, and laundry room. (The cabinets in those rooms will all be gray.)

 You can see the countertop with the gray cabinets here. Did you notice the Farmhouse sink? I’ll probably use a double bowl Farmhouse sink similar to the one in the photo.

I think this gray quartz will be really pretty with all the off white cabinets in the bathrooms. Do you see the pretty veins!? 💖😍💗

These are the cabinets I would use in the bathrooms with the dark gray countertops, I would use brushed nickel handles.

Close up of both pieces of quartz.

While I was there I took the opportunity to take some pictures of a few of the appliances we may be using in our new kitchen.

Glass top stoves. I’m leaning towards the double-oven. We’ll have more space to store things in the cupboards so I think I can sacrifice the lower storage drawer.

This brushed nickel goose neck is almost perfect….but it doesn’t have a pull down sprayer. Too bad. I’ll look for one at home depot. This one is more functional and it is brushed nickel, had a pull down sprayer, but no goose neck.

The handles in our last kitchen kept getting caught on our clothes!

I like these, I’m still looking for a brushed nickel handle like this one.

That’s all for now.

Here’s one last photo of my trusty sidekick. He was such a trooper.

I love him.

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STEP ONE: Floor Plan and Exteriors

I love floorplans.  I love browsing Zillow and MLS listings and I am really enjoying this process of building our own home.

We’re doing it owner/builder, but we’ve got a contractor friend who is walking us through every.single.step.

So, we are not alone!

The first step is find a floor plan you love.

This is ours:

Ryan wants a large master suite and a three car garage and I’d like a large island a roomy master closet. We both want a spacious great room so we can trick our children into hanging out with us.

I’ve always wanted a bonus room, I love how vaulted ceilings in bonus rooms add so much character to the space.

I have three daughters that love to dance. My plan is to use the same wood flooring from the kitchen in the bonus room so they will have a place they can dance. . . I still might like my bedroom up there, it’s going to be the cutest room in the whole house!

Thank you for visiting, have a great day!

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Cabinets and counters and floors oh my!

I decided to check out the kitchen cabinets at IKEA. They have great features like soft close doors, euro style cabinets, (more depth in the upper cabinets) also the drawers pull out to their full depth and can hold 55 pounds per drawer! I think that’s pretty incredible.

I’ve decided I love their GRAY BODBYN CABINETS.

I also LOVE the floors and the backsplash and the apron sink in the photo I linked above, too!

Here are some my ideas for flooring, backsplash, countertop, and cabinets for the home we’re building.

Hope you enjoy the photos. Have a great day!

Bathroom tile and hall carpet.

I absolutely love the subtle pattern on this gray tile. 

Gray cabinet, granite countertop and white backsplash and flooring for kitchen and laundry room.

Two carpet ideas, I’ll probably go just a little lighter than either of these.  I want something that is a little taupe with hints of gray and flecks of white/cream.

Last, but not least, info for the granite sample.

Have a GREAT day!

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IKEA Storage Bags

Did you know that IKEA has zip top bags? THEY’RE SO PRETTY!!

Maybe I’ve been spending too much time there, but last time I went I came across these and I’m so glad I did.

Each bag has a different color and a different printed pattern, so you can easily see the difference sizes.

My daughters just filled a 6 quart bag with two batches of muddy buddies, I don’t know if I was sad to throw away the bag because the muddy-buddies were gone or just sad to throw away such an adorable bag. Some things we will never know.

The bags come in the following sizes:

.04 liter/14 oz. (small sandwich bag)

1 liter/34 oz

1.2 liter/1 quart

2.5 liter/3 quart

4.5 liter/5 quart

6 liter/6 quart

Did I mention that you can recycle these and they are made from a renewable resource?  Did I also mention that I wanted my husband to wash the bag the muddy-buddies were in so I could use it again?  (I should have showed him this note on the website “Can be used over and over again since it can be re-sealed.” I’m sure he would have like that.)

Now go get some bags!  You can use this handy link if a quick trip to your nearest IKEA simply isn’t feasible at the moment:

SMALL BAGS

MEDIUM BAGS

LARGE BAGS

Now if you’re not sure what to put IN the bags, I’ll include this convenient link to a recipe for . . . . . . .Muddy Buddies!!!  You’re welcome. =)

MUDDY BUDDIES RECIPE

 

 

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Great Room Ideas for Expansion

Our current  kitchen is darling but it’s small.

It gets crowded REALLY fast if you add even just a 2nd person.  Imagine having 3 people working in there at the same time.  We’re a family of 7 and this kitchen is cramped for us.  One day I’ll show you photos of the  kitchen we had when we lived in a small 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment in Korea.  It may have been more functional than this one.

We met with an architect last week.  We talked about our goals for the space and I showed him the pictures in this post.   He’ll have a draft for us by the end of the week.  Please take a look and share your thoughts. . . . I don’t want to miss anything!

(To get an idea of the size of each space, I used 1 square =1 foot.)

Floor plan of our current kitchen, dining and family room:

Original Kitchen and Great Room Floor Plan

This is the first sketch I drew up when we were considering expanding.  I told my dad that even 2-4 more feet would make a big differences, he  told me it wouldn’t be worth the price for that small of change.  So I drew out some ideas at 8′.

Kitchen and Great Room Extension *’ with 2′ Cantilever in the Family Room

And I drew out another idea with a 12′ extension and quickly became sold on this idea, because I can tuck the dining area next to the kitchen and end up with a HUGE Family Room.  There’s even room for an 8′ island! Maybe dreams can come true.

Dining Room relocated and larger Family Room
Kitchen and Great Room Extension 12″

I’d love French Doors leading to the back yard.

Behind the kitchen there will be a utility sink, lower cabinets and a “mudroom” for everyone’s shoes and coats, etc.  If I had my druthers, I’d like to see an exterior door near the utility sink. Not sure of the exact placement of the Washer and Dryer or sink.

Have a WONDERFUL DAY! I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

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Sort of Before – Basement

These posts are called “Sort of Before” because I don’t have any true “before” pictures. But I do have these photos showing the progress of the flip, which I LOVED seeing progress on the house through photos.

We bought this house before we ever set foot inside, which worked for us, but I wouldn’t ordinarily recommend it. It worked because my dad walked through every inch of the space, measured every room and took photos of every angle in the house we could think of.  I knew before we moved exactly how large each room and every closet were, I knew the exact size of the yard because I took the measurements my dad sent and compared them to my current space and sketched out a floor-plan, too. I knew it had an entry way, brushed nickel doorknobs, granite counter-tops,  a great room, three bathrooms and a nice bathtub – all on the top  of my “want”  list. I knew it had plenty of bedrooms and was newly renovated and had NO POPCORN CEILINGS!!!!  (maybe the lack of popcorn ceilings was my true top priority, we had them in our previous home and did.not.love.them.)

Here are photos  of the basement taken during the flip.  The walls have all been painted, flooring is removed and some of the old light fixtures are still up.

Bedroom five – grey paint, white trim and waiting for flooring.

Doorway looking into the craft room on the left, stairs, then storage room on the right.

Downstairs bathroom, I like the tile on the floor, but I’d love to replace the vanity and remove the shower doors.

Bedroom 4 with a good sized closet and lots of built in shelves.

Craft Room, this door leads into 5th bedroom,  Lighting has been updated.

Family Room.  I love that there is a fireplace so I can put a TV above.  I’d like to have a lower mantle and some built-ins flanking the fireplace.

Lighting was already updated in the flip.

 

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Sort of Before, Sort of During – Main Floor

Our previous home had a large kitchen with a dining area, but it wasn’t a great room.  I always felt disconnected from my kids when I was in the kitchen and they were playing elsewhere. I wanted  to have a space that everyone could spend time in together, so when we were house searching “Great Room” was at the tippy top of the list.

Great room – view from the kitchen. Gray paint, fresh white paint on the cupboard boxes and banister. These are the old light fixtures. and if you glance to the left you can see the counter-top on  the kitchen desk, I can only assume this is the original counter-top  that was used in the rest of the kitchen.  Dishwasher has been replaced, too.

Kitchen with counter-tops on and flooring almost complete.

Different angle in the kitchen, better view of the sink. You can see the space where the stove will be.

Music Room, old light  fixture, old windows and waiting for new flooring.  Love the bay window.

Office. I love, LOVE this window and the chair rail and the fact that the closet was full of built in shelves, PERFECT for an office space.

Nursery. Good sized closet. Lots of large beautiful windows on the main floor.

Master Bedroom, view of master closet.  Not a walk-in like I had hoped, but larger than what we had before.

All the boxes on the ground are the new light fixtures for the home.

Master Bathroom. It’s a great size.  Shower, but no tub, BUT there is a large closet.  You can see that the drawers have been taped and painted and the vanity is waiting for a new, beautiful granite counter-top.

You can see  how the master bath is coming together. I love this piece of granite, especially up close.

Hall bathroom and the one and only bathtub.

Hall bathroom again, a different piece of a granite than the master bath. I actually love the variety. All the bathrooms are large. It’s nice to have the extra space.

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Sort of Before – Exterior

We bought this home in 2015, it was a flip, but we still had/have some work to do. You can see in the photos what we were up against when we moved it.

Front Yard, old roof and one CRAZY tree. Look at the those roots!

Do you can see a second crazy tree in the back yard to the right of this tree?

The daffodils are pretty. =)

Back yard, splintery swing set, & sad grass.

Backyard, backdoor and second CRAZY tree!

Garage with drywall and tape, but not painted, walls were FILTHY from 20 plus years of dirt collecting on the drywall. Garage door is being cleverly propped open with a 2×4 and the garbage can.

Our plan:

  1. Remove the crazy trees.
  2. Paint the garage.
  3. Fix garage door (that was done in the flip)
  4. Remove  the swing set.
  5. Revive the grass.
  6. New roof.
  7. New windows.
  8. New house numbers.
  9. Landscaping.
  10. Sconces. (done in the flip)
  11. Hot tub??

Stay tuned to see the changes.. . . . this could take a while.

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Melaleuca Review

I’ve tried to compile an overview of all the Melaleuca products we’ve tried so you can get an idea of what their products are like.
I’ll try to update this post from time to time and if there is a product you have a question about  feel free to ask, maybe I’ve tried it and I can tell you about it.
Have a GREAT day!
WHAT I LOVE:
All of the cleaners:
  • Tough and Tender Spray (gentle all purpose cleaner, safe for granite and marble – I use this multiple times throughout the day.
  • Sol-u-Mel (Stronger all purpose cleaner, we use it to clean grease off the rug or spills on the chairs in the car)
  • Tub and tile (for bath tub and shower)
  • Clear Power (Glass Cleaner)
  • Safe and Mighty (toilet bowl cleaner)
  • Lemon Bright – dish soap) they have seasonal scents, and we really, really enjoy them!  I’m hoping they’ll do their cranberry again in the fall, it was fun.)
  • Diamond Brite – for dishwasher (I generally buy two packs a month, 20 each, it’s nice on days I have to run the dishwasher twice.)
I think there are other cleaners, too. I’ve liked every cleaner I’ve tried so far.
Laundry stuff:
  • pre-spot spray
  • pre-spot rub on
  • detergant for washer
  • oxy something, laundry whitener
  • dryer sheets

Other items :

  • Hand Soap
  • Renew Lotion
  • Renew foaming hand soap (gentle for dry skin)
  • bar soaps, especially the Gold Bar
  • Renew body wash, neutral scent, doesn’t dry my skin, I prefer this is the scented body wash.
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Sun Screen (I can’t even remember how many of these we go through in the summer.  This is by far my favorite sunscreen and I don’t worry about covering my kids in chemicals, the price is around a third lower than if you purchased something similar at the health food store.)
  • Bug Spray
  • lip balm
  • lip gloss!!
  • MAKE-UP BRUSHES!!
Tea Oil Products:
  •  Mela-gel (in a tube and a disc, I like both)
  • Tea Tree Oil
Essential Oils and Accessories:
  •  Diffuser for Oil
  • Christmas Oil blend for the Diffuser, smells so good! I can’t wait for the holidays. Last year I used the entire bottle.  =)
THINGS I’M HAPPY WITH:
  • Make-up Mineral Foundation, I LOVE Bare Minerals, but I’m quite happy with Melaleuca’s version, especially when they sell it buy one get one free!
  • Make-up Mineral Powder/Veil, AGAIN  I LOVE Bare Minerals, but I’m quite happy with Melaleuca’s version.
  • fingernail polishes, they have safer ingredients, which is so cool! But I’m still trying to decide on if they chip faster than other polishes, I’ve only tried them once or twice, so more testing is needed. =)
  • the scented body wash was fine for shaving my legs, didn’t dry out my already dry skin, but the scent I tried was lame.
THINGS I’LL BUY AGAIN, BUT I WISH THEY’D FIX SOMETHING:
  •  Face moisturizer and Face Cleanser & Renew Lotion & most lotions (maybe the hand soaps, too, I can’t remember) – the tube doesn’t reach far enough to the bottom so it’s a pain to get the last couple of tablespoons out of the container.
  • Affinia Shampoo – just because the packaging is lame, why not make it prettier? It actually works really, REALLY well on my highlighted-dry hair, I just think visually it’s disappointing.  Picky, I know.
THINGS I’D LIKE TO TRY
  •  No Work – Shower cleaner
  • Micro fiber clothes
  • Lengthening mascara
  • eye liners
  • eye primer
  • face primer
  • blush
  • Koala Kids hair wash
  • Koala Kids body wash
  • Wax Melts and Warmers (like Scentsy)
THINGS I WON’T BUY AGAIN:
  • Tough and Tender WIPES (gentle all purpose cleaner, safe for granite and marble. LOVE THE IDEA OF WIPES, BUT THEY DRY OUT REALLY FAST, WHICH IS TOO BAD, BECAUSE I’D LOVE TO KEEP SOME IN THE CAR, instead I keep baby wipes. It’s another packaging issue, and the package they sell it is in really, really small.)
  • their eye shadow hasn’t impressed enough me yet. I bought one color I wanted it to be more sparkly, but that might just be me, and I tried a neutral color and wasn’t sue if I could see it, but it was quite neutral, almost skin color, so there’s that.
  • Some food products. There was corn syrup solids in their “healthy” granola bars. I’d rather see ingredients like honey or maple syrup or dates or just any other unrefined sweetener and I might buy it.
I’m sure I’m forgetting some things we’ve tried.  Overall, we’re really happy with the products.
UPDATES:
We’ve since tried the Koala Kids Body Wash and the Koala Kids Shampoo.  I’m really happy with both.  I love getting good quality products that are safe for my kiddos and the price is so much lower than what you’d pay for something similar at a health food store.
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Chick Pea Salad

You can use this scrumptious Chick Pea Salad just as you would a traditional Chicken Salad recipe. I love to use Veganaise instead of regular mayo and if I’m feeling adventurous I throw in a few handfuls of dried cranberries.

  •  2 cans (drained and rinsed) or 4 cups slightly chopped Chick Peas
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup thinly sliced green onions
  • 2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2/3 cup salad dressing or one avocado, mashed
  • 1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 T.  brown or regular mustard
  • 1/4 t. black pepper
  • 1/4 t. garlic salt

In a mixing bowl combine Chick Peas, celery, green onions, lemon juice, and black pepper.  Stir in Veganaise or mashed avocado, green pepper and mustard.

Cover.  Chilling for an hour or so is recommended, but you don’t have to wait to enjoy this delicious Salad.

Looks beautiful served on a bed of salad greens or sprouts.  Also works great as a sandwich filling.