The kitchen... oh, the wonderful kitchen...

The story of the kitchen:

The house I bought was used as a business. The owner, at one time, had lived in the house and had a beauty salon in the front. She tried to sell the house but didn't have any luck. It was on the market for 3 years. She moved and decided to turn the whole bottom of the house into a business. She makes hand-woven baskets and decided to have a store to sell her baskets. She sold items to make gift baskets; baby items, tea, coffee, jams, and lots of other goodies. Since the house was a business, she took the kitchen out and made a basket weaving area.



Photo of kitchen before we bought the house

When we looked at the house there was a utility sink, a few cupboards, and an island in the kitchen/dining room area. In order for us to purchase the house as a residence, the house had to have a kitchen.

Lucky for us, the owner's partner was a contractor. We negotiated the kitchen into the offer on the house. They moved the island back to create more dining room, put in a stove hook-up, and hung upper cabinets. They also put in a double sink. They did not want to put much money into the kitchen, so the bare minimum was done to pass the inspection and appraisal.

There are a few problems: The kitchen does not have the best layout. The sink is basically just whatever they could come up with on short notice. There is no dishwasher, and there is one florescent light in the ceiling. We also had a problem because I didn't have a stove or a refrigerator when we moved in. I now have a new refrigerator, but I have a very old apartment sized stove that is too small for the kitchen.

I have been slowly making the kitchen more my style... I have hung my vintage kitchen items and painted. I used 2 shades of green, and I am accenting it with yellow and lemons. I have a pot-rack hung over the island to save space, and my walls are now wall to wall vintage displays.



As you can see in the above photo, the cabinets did not have a knobs on them. I HATE (and I must emphasize that) cabinets without knobs. I have been trying to decide what type of hardware to put on the cupboards. I wanted something that was fun and funky. I also wanted them to fit with my vintage design. While searching on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/) one day, I came across a seller who sold vintage faucet handles. She had a few green ones in different shades and shades. I contacted her to see if she could locate some more green ones for me. Over the last couple of months we came up with enough green handles to put on all the cabinets in the kitchen. A big thank you to "scrapyardgirl" for all her help, she was wonderful to work with!

I had to get the template for cabinet hardware in Syracuse, I couldn't find it in town. I knew they had such a thing from watching the DIY shows on TV. I recommend this tool if you are installing hardware! It makes it really easy....

The ALIGNright by Liberty

I figured out what hardware was needed and then was off to Ace. The people that work there are great.... and they are getting used to helping me with my crazy ideas. It was really simple and I had all the tools in my handy-dandy tool cabinet.

Tools.

Drilling after I marked for the knob.

Bolt, handle, spacer, washer, door, washer, lock nut.

I think they look great! Unique and fun.....

Lower doors.

Upper Doors.

Now all I have to do is find something equally cool to use for the drawers! I am open to any suggestions!

Snow, snow, and more snow...

Ok, so I had forgotten just how much snow Upstate New York gets. There were a few things that needed to be done:


Snow tires - I slid everywhere I went for 2 months. Time for snow tires! I had 2 put on the front of the car. I would have liked to get all 4, but the budget didn't allow it. The shop that took the old tires s off said the tread on them was very worn anyway. I am not sure if it was from the towing or just bad tires, but they won't be gong back on the car in the spring.




Snow shovels - How did I not have a snow shovel? Even in New Mexico we did get SOME snow. I found an old one with a bent corner in the shed... the previous owner must have decided it wasn't worth taking. Then I invested in two light-weight plastic ones so I could enlist the help of my strapping young boys....






Snowbrush - Yes, I had one in New Mexico. I bought a better one here. The one I had was not meant for the amount of snow I clean off the car here. On a side note... after the car doors frooze up and I wasn't able to GET to the snowbrush in the car, I now keep it in the house.



Boots - The first day I wore my snow boots out in bad weather, my feet were wet within minutes. There is nothing worse than cold, wet feet. I think I had bought these boots the last time I was in New York before we moved to New Mexico, so I am wondering why they ended up being so whimpy. They were suitable for New Mexico winters, but not for the amount of snow here. After searching high and low in Syracuse with mom, I ended up getting a pair of snowmobile boots here in Old Forge at the Ace Hardware/Old Forge Department Store. They were pricey, but they are SO worth it. My feet are now warm, dry, and happy! I only run into problems when the snow is more than knee deep... then the snow sometimes gets into the top of the boot. I do have these nifty drawstrings that tighten up the tops to try to prevent that.








Snow Blower - After a couple of months of shoveling I decided we HAD to get a snow blower. The snow kept building up in the driveway and on the path to the back door. I must have looked really pitiful shoveling one day. I had just started cleaning the snow that the plow had packed at the end of the driveway. One of my sorority sister's husbands stopped in his truck with a plow. He plowed the worst of the mess from in front of my driveway. After he left I shoveled the path back to the door and around the propane tank. I then moved my car over to the post office parking lot and started shoveling the driveway. Someone else (I have no idea who he was) pulled up with HIS truck and plow. He said couldn't stand to see me shoveling all that snow. So he plowed the end of the driveway where I park my car.

The next day I went looking for a snow blower. I lucked out and found a great deal on a used one. It had been traded in for a new one at a shop here in town. It had been sitting around for a while and the guy wanted to sell it, so he told me I could have it for $250. That was a lot lss than I expected to spend. It had been serviced... with new belts and things. The best part? I had told him I would come back when my tax refund arrived. He told me to go ahead and take it, and pay when I had the money! So I got to test drive it for a while before I paid for it. It works great!







I haven't used it much... but winter isn't over yet! I am sure I will have plenty of time to get use out of it before spring arrives.




Having FUN - When I was visiting mom, we dug out a couple of old pairs of cross country skis. One pair fit me, and one fit Skyler. We went to Play It Again Sports and got a pair for Liam. The school offered lessons after school. So the boys now know the basics of cross country skiing! I can't wait for us all to get out and ski. McCauley mountain has trails, and they groom the golf course for skiing.

The kids have sleds and have been using the drop off in the front yard between our house and the neighbors house to slide. They also have built a snow fort. Barkley loves running around in the snow in the back yard. Looking at the amount of tracks in the yard, you would think I had 5 dogs instead of one!




I am sure the novelty will wear off, but right now? We are enjoying
the winter here in Old Forge... the snowmobile capitol of the east!