When it comes to health

I am in love with this image. Absolutely, positively in love. And I just fell a little deeper even when I dragged it to my desktop and it automatically saved as "watch-her-run.jpeg". Better than any image of a super skinny model in a bikini, this image has been pure inspiration for me since I saw it a few days ago.

I've talked about my health here in the past, and truth be told, I've done next to nothing about it since that first post. It's unfortunate that things often have to get really dire for me to actually make a change, but that's how I work and for the most part, I haven't steered myself too wrong in the past. Anyways, with my health that's kind of how it's going right now. I'm not doing well. I've been to doctors more times than I can count in the last few months and have gotten so many blood tests done that I have literally had a bruise on my arm at all times the majority of the summer. It's a long story, but the bottom line is that everything is coming back "normal" and no doctor I'm currently seeing is ready to give me any sort of diagnosis. The medication that I've been on for years that keeps my dizziness at bay is not approved for women who are pregnant or nursing, which means that while I don't have to worry about that TODAY, it is something I'm going to have to stop taking at some point in the not too far off future. I don't have it in me to go from doctor to doctor begging for someone to give me a reason why I am absolutely exhausted ALL. the. time. and I don't have the money to keep going to specialists and getting blood draws on the regular. What's left is for me to take it all into my own hands, accept that it might be a little difficult, and do something about it. That means less eating out and more eating fruits, veggies and proteins at home. It means less hitting snooze 12 times and more getting up for a jog with Louie or a P-90X video in the living room. It means less spending my money on flip flops and more investing in an awesome pair of running shoes that will make it a little more fun to drag myself out of bed in the morning. I honestly have no idea if any of this will make a difference, and I promise that I'm not exaggerating my tiredness, which means actually getting out of bed to workout is going to be really, really hard for me. Wish me luck, say a prayer for me, cross your fingers, whatever. But I'm gonna need all the pep talks, motivation and literal shoves out the door to workout I can get.

Making do

It occurred to me this weekend that planning to start kitchen demo while we were out of town was quite possible one of the smartest decisions the hubs and I have ever made together. We've only been IN town and actually dealing with not having a kitchen (which really has translated into not really having a downstairs at all - living room and dining room included) for one measly little week, and I am going bananas. I can only imagine what kind of mood I would be in these days if we had been around for the entire first week of this process too. Poor Buddy Louie just doesn't know what to do with himself either since we've been corralling him in different parts of the upstairs and the front porch depending on where the commotion is. Thankfully, we found a great deal for doggy daycare all last week so he was pretty worn out in the evenings and just slept a lot.

We're making do with what we have and for the most part, it's pretty amusing. We've been eating out way more than we'd like, but when we are home Dan will throw something on the grill and we'll eat upstairs in the office at one of our desks. We tried to grill a pizza last night and it was a bit of a disaster thanks to not having anywhere to actually roll out the dough, so I ended up eating a late night bowl of my beloved Cheerios on the dining room floor, which Dan thought warranted a picture.

Yes, yes I am sitting on a plastic Target bag. The floor is dirty from all the demo dust!

The good news is that we can (sort of) see the finish line. Our awesome contractor was at the house ALL day yesterday working on the floor patching, which is looking good. He was also planning to sand the drywall yesterday, so I'm hoping that happens this morning. My amazing beautiful granite is potentially getting installed tomorrow, and the new cabinets are supposed to come by Wednesday where they will be painted along with all the existing ones. We've decided to save money and tackle painting the walls ourselves, so if all goes as planned we'll be doing that this weekend. And THEN... it'll be time to get creative and figure out where everything is going to go in our "new" kitchen!

Kitchen Decorating

With drywall in the works, granite being cut and cabinet painting happening in the next few days, I'm starting to be able to really envision what our finished updated kitchen is going to look like. Of course, this means I'm already starting to think about how I'll fit everything in it's place and more importantly - how I'll decorate. I'm certainly going to work as much as possible with what I have, but there's obviously a few little things I'd love to add to the mix!

1. Pot rack with bookshelf ($99.95) - I've seen pot racks at Ikea for much less and am hoping they still sell them, but couldn't find any on their website. Either way, we're thinking we'll need something like this over the kitchen cart for added storage and easy access to the few pots and pans we use regularly.

2. Cabinet & drawer hardware ($4.99/$7.99) - Can you believe it? I'm going to have two whole drawers!! This calls for a celebration... and some sleek knobs for the fronts. I haven't quite settled on a finish for hardware yet, and Dan couldn't care less (something I genuinely love and appreciate about him when it comes to decorating, because I have such strong opinions about it!) A friend told me they did lots of shopping around for their kitchen and found that Ikea was the best price and quality is great, so no reason not to go the route that calls for a trip to one of my favorite stores!

3. Chalkboard (DIY!) - There's going to be a weird little alcove where the pantry was knocked out and the soffit for the stairs juts out. It's hard to explain but the tall pantry cabinet will end up half under the soffit and half not. I'm hoping a large vase on top of the cabinet will help balance it out, and I think a nice tall and skinny chalkboard with a simple frame next to the cabinet will make the space look more intentional. We'll see once everything is installed!

4. Decorative bowls ($8.00) - I've had my eye on these for awhile and love the idea of a stack of them out on a shelf somewhere for a pop of color and pattern in our mostly-neutral kitchen. Obviously, these are on the "nice to have" list and not the "necessary to have" list :).

5. Wire storage baskets ($12.95-$15.95) - We found out last night that the glide-out shelves we wanted for the pantry cabinet cost $50 EACH, instead of $50 for four like the regular standing shelves. Regular shelves it is!! So, we'll need to get creative about utilizing that space without making it impossible to get to things at the back of each shelf. We're thinking some kind of baskets or bins that will help organize and control clutter, while being easy to pull out from the pantry will be helpful.

6. Waverly fabric ($39.99/yd) - There's a dirty old plastic blind on the one kitchen window that I will definitely be replacing... hopefully with a fun patterned fabric and a DIY curtain panel!

7. Striped floor mat runner ($36.95) - We actually already have a green runner from Crate & Barrel that I'm ready to move from the hallway, but if we don't find something new we love for there, this one would be great in the kitchen and promises cushioning for standing chores like doing the dishes!

Say yes to the... granite

The week before last, I got sent on an out of the office excursion for a day, and managed to squeeze in a trip to a place I found on craigslist that claimed to have "TONS!!!!" of granite remnants.

They had two.

Shockingly though, one of them was literally straight out of my dreams. An insanely gorgeous, marbled gray piece with a ridiculous amount of character and swirls of pattern and color running through it. I'm not exaggerating when I say I wanted to hug it, and I may or may not have spent several minutes drooling over it.

Tell me this isn't stunning:

I left with a sample and my fingers crossed that when I got the quote it would be affordable. Seeing as it was the very first place I went looking for a deal (since Home Depot and even HOBO were well out of our non-existent budget), I did a decent job of not getting my hopes up. Eventually, the guy called me with a $775 quote. Ouch. Great price for granite that's usually upwards of $60 a square foot. Not a great price for cheapskates like Dan and I. Womp.

I told the guy we'd have to think about it and waited. He called me while we were in Kentucky and I turned on the charm and explained that (1) it wasn't in our budget, (2) I completely understand this is already a low price for a piece like this and (3) if I'm going to buy a remnant I was expecting to save a LOT of money over a typical store, not just $100 or so.

He texted me a few minutes later with a drop to $600. I literally didn't even ASK them to drop the price, and just like that I saved $175. That's my kind of bargaining. 

After some back and forth both with the granite guy and my favorite guy (that'd be Dan), and an early morning trip to check out another place that was WAY more expensive, we decided today to go for it. Eek!!! This kitchen update is getting more and more amazing every day, and now I really really can't wait to see how it all comes together.

Happenings

I realized the other day that I didn't even mention here that I was going on my second service trip of the summer last week. Apologies to the three people that may have been wondering where I was! I spent my week in the gorgeous mountains of Louisa, Kentucky as an adult volunteer with our church and the Appalachia Service Project. I went on this trip once before with Dan several years ago and it was miserable, so I've avoided going back for quite some time. I am so so SO glad I changed my mind and decided to go again this year - the entire week was amazing and I was nowhere near ready to come home when Saturday morning rolled around. There's a ton of pictures floating around on facebook already and I'll try to post some here soon!

While we were gone, this was happening at home.

That, my friends, is my current disaster of a kitchen, sans-pantry! We decided to bite the bullet and get demo going with our contractor while we were out of town, knowing that Louie would already be at my Dad's and therefore out of the way. Being out of town also meant one less week of us having to eat every meal out since the kitchen is a mess and our dishes are stacked on every available surface in the living room and dining room. Needless to say, I am insanely excited about this project, and it was such a thrill to come home to a MUCH larger looking space! I can't wait to chop some veggies or whip up a batch of ice cream on all that extra counter space we're gaining. In the meantime, I'll continue taking lots of pictures to document the excitement here :).

Happy Monday!

Ice Cream, You Scream

I've been pinning a ridiculous amount of fancypants ice cream concoctions lately, and I'm realizing that with July half over, I'd better get going on trying them out before summer is over! I keep my beloved Kitchenaid mixer right out on the counter (in the corner that's unusable anyways thanks to our current layout), so it's easily accessible when I do decide to whip up a batch of something sweet.

Now to just decide which flavor to try first...

Roasted peach and lavender ice cream from Tartelette 

Salted caramel ice cream from Sprouted Kitchen

Strawberry orange sorbet from Delicious Shots

Strawberry sorbet with balsalmic syrup from Real Simple

Snickerdoodle ice cream from Noble Pig

Work it out

I NEED to get in shape. 

That is all.

It's my birthday and I'll wish if I want to

The most exciting day of the year (not really) is coming up in just a few short weeks my friends. That's right - I'm turning the big 3-0!! And honestly, I'm pretty darned excited about it. I'll be spending the weekend with my best friends in Dixon, IL at a camping musicfest with Mumford & Sons and several other bands and I. Can't. Wait. 

To pass the time before the birthday extravaganza, I decided to do one of my favorite things - online shopping. I didn't actually purchase anything (so proud of myself), but instead made myself a wish list of sorts to share on this little blog of mine. You know, for when the hubby starts thinking about what fabulous things to get me for the big day ;). So, enjoy. And don't ever tell me I'm hard to shop for.

1&2. Baggu bags (Duck Bag in sailor stripe - $24 and Zip Pouch in platinum - $20). Tell me that striped beauty doesn't look like the PERFECT take-anywhere bag. I'm pretty much positive it would go with every outfit and every season. And the little zip pouch is what one of my favorite bloggers refers to as "perfect for the essentials". Plus, it looks shiny and soft, so that's an added bonus.

3. Gold Star Edible Glitter - $8. Imagine a cupcake. With frosting. And EDIBLE GLITTERY STARS. Um, yes please. 

4. Tiffany Infinity Necklace - $250. I KNOW Dan is rolling his eyes at me right this second as he reads this (hi honey!) But let's just get real for a second. I have been looking for the perfect everyday necklace for, oh, about 10 years. And I am 110% sure that this is it. To start, it's gorgeous. And I absolutely love that it doesn't have a typical dangly charm since I think that style actually tends to look a little odd on me. I also love that the chain is slightly thicker than the norm, which to me means that this would look amazing with most any outfit - including dressing up my usual tshirt and jeans without even trying. The perfect gift for a milestone bday? I think so.

5. TOMS Classic Canvas Slip-On in Gray - $43.95. I'm pretty sure I'm the only girl I know without a pair of TOMS. And for every pair purchased, a pair is given to a kid in need. Cute shoes + a good deed? Win-win in my book.

6. Design*Sponge at Home - $22.43. This blog is bananas amazing. Pretty sure that means the book would be as well. (I've actually flipped through it several times in-store. It really does look phenomenal.)

7. Benefit Cosmetics Ooh La Lift - $22. People that actually know how to apply makeup (not me) rave about this stuff. And as much as I love my super simple 5-minute routine in the mornings, the area under my eyes literally skews purple when I'm sleepy (which is always), and could use some serious help.

8. Clarisonic Mia - $119. I've talked here about my obnoxiously sensitive acne-prone skin in the past, and I've heard nothing but amazing things about the Clarisonic for skincare in general, regardless of type. I hate how after I wash my face, my toner still swipes off a ton of dirt and makeup, which is proof that my fingers or a washcloth just don't cut it. A good friend swears the Clarisonic gets every little bit of every little thing off, and leaves your skin super soft in the end. 

What's on your wish list? Anyone else have a big birthday coming up yet this summer?

Dream Kitchen

If you follow me on Pinterest, you may already be well aware that I have a dream kitchen style. I tend to pin anything and everything I see that fits into this dream, with hopes of eventually making it all a reality.

When we first bought our house, I was dead-set on having a deep dark red kitchen. Don't ask me why, but I just had to have it, and so we painted half the walls dark when we did our initial remodel. For the most part, here's where the kitchen is at today:

And across the room (opposite the photo above):

Honestly, I'm pretty proud of this little bitty room, seeing as we did the entire makeover for about $3,000 INCLUDING all new appliances. What, you didn't know I was an insane deal-hunter?

But my tastes have changed (who's surprised?), and I've begun to regret the over-abundance of color I insisted on when we first bought our house. I partially blame thank Pinterest and blogs for my ever-changing ideas, but in all honesty the majority of my hopes for a kitchen update come from the fact that the layout of our space is the furthest thing from user-friendly and stresses me out nearly every single time I try to cook a meal. Look again at the photo above - see that chunk of counter space above the dishwasher? Yep - that's IT. The only useable counter space in our kitchen. Now try and picture one person at the stove cooking while another stands *thisclose* to them trying to chop vegetables, add in Louie who has this thing where he has to lay right under our feet no matter where we are... and you have chaos. There is additional countertop, but it's blocked by the fridge, which is also blocking the only 2 drawers and one and only base cabinet we have in the kitchen. Super convenient.

Behind the wall that the fridge sits on is a pantry, which for all intents and purposes is great to have and provides a great amount of storage. But its in the way, and we're ready to say goodbye to it, which is why the latest plan is to hire my sister's best friend's dad (follow that?) to knock out the pantry! The fridge will slide into place next to the currently-hidden counter, and a tall utility cabinet will be installed next to it to act as a pantry. We'll gain a small cabinet above the fridge, plus the base cabinet that's unusable right now, as well as counter space and an overall MUCH more open look and feel.

I. Can't. Wait.

Obviously we still have a lot of planning to do and logistics to figure out. Oh, and there's that little issue of cost that we're working on, seeing as we don't exactly trust ourselves to knock down a wall in our house and therefore need to hire it out (this will also include some plumbing and electrical work, as well as patching the floor and ceiling where the wall is being removed).

But that doesn't mean I don't already have exactly what I want all in my head. As I go through all of my favorite inspiration images, the same elements pop up again and again -

- WHITE cabinets
- Neutral walls (I'm planning on carrying the perfect-gray Dolphin Fin by Behr that's already in our hallway into the kitchen for consistency... and because we already have an extra gallon of it)
- Gray (granite?!) countertops
- White tile backsplashes
- Cabinets with glass-front doors or no doors at all
- Crisp hardware

Fingers and toes are all crossed with hopes that we can tackle this soon. Until then, I'll keep swooning on Pinterest.

M.I.A.

Well. It's taken me quite some time to get back in the swing of things after my week in Detroit. This is kind of the norm for me after a service trip, seeing as my "real world" is so dramatically different than what we experience and learn about while we're gone. And this year, just when I think I'll probably feel back to "normal", I'll be leaving for a second trip!

My sister and I in Detroit, working in the urban garden.

Perhaps completely contradictory to the above, I have started to make a little progress on my summer projects list despite all the other craziness going on! Pictures are to come, but for now let's just say that once again, craigslist is my best friend.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday! Here's to me attempting to blog a little more regularly again :).