Friday, February 28, 2014

Pots, pans, paint and hair………………


I may be absent for several days because I'm up to my ears in all kinds of things.

What in the world is going on in my kitchen?
I'm so short of cabinet storage space - because my dearest insists on bringing home Le Creuset baking dishes - he finds amazing bargains at HomeGoods and TJMaxx! I do love them but I don't have a pantry, so have just been tearing my hair out (more on that later) as to where I can store them. I saw a wonderful French kitchen island in a magazine and the light bulb went on. Like that rustic island in an awesome French kitchen, why couldn't I make use of the wasted space under my own much-loved portable island? A slatted POT RACK would be perfect for my large soup pots and saucepans, freeing up their cabinet for other cookware etc.

My lovely friend Jeannette has a great hubby who's all handy and helpful, and enjoys small wood working commissions. He made the pullouts in some of my cabinets last year - they have made a huge difference in my kitchen and bathroom life - so when I ran my idea, and the French magazine photo by him, he agreed to help. Thank you dear Jim.

Jim made the framework and cut the slats and I'm busy 
with my brush and paint can getting the components 
ready for installation.
I'll share it with you when completed. 


More painting ahead starting Monday…………not by me thankfully. The professional Bruce will return to completely rehab an upstairs bedroom which morphed into DH's home office for 7 long years.
It's a disaster now BUT I promise will be better than new soon.

After the textured ceiling is removed, dings and cracks repaired, and a lovely new coat of Swiss Coffee (a warm white as in my dining room) covers the walls………………I will be doing my best to vamp it up a bit. It will continue to be our office/sewing/workroom but, after a visit to IKEA perhaps, it will look neater, and less of an embarrassment when people visit and want a 'cottage tour'.


Following painting, new carpet is being installed in bedrooms, 'office', landing and staircase. I picked a color a few shades darker than our present carpet, more greige than beige, and with a small diagonal cut and loop finish for a change. Hopefully it will look good and Mary will be happy. Bob too of course!

You wouldn't believe how many yards of electrical cords coming and going from old desktop PC's, printers, phones were hidden behind the office furniture upstairs, it was alarming! So very alarming in fact that I took a break yesterday and headed to the salon and actually agreed to allow the lovely Suzi, my stylist of 18+ years - yes, she who cuts my blunt bob and keeps it radiant red and shiny with her magic potions - to cut my hair SHORT!!! 

After a calming cup of herbal green tea whilst my grey roots were being decimated, I thumbed through W magazine and showed Suzi a pic of how I'd want my hair if/when I decided to cut it. It was a young, hip model in a Chanel ad, hair redder than my red, long on top, short on the sides, full bangs, surely easy to maintain. Suzi agreed it was just the style she would pick for me with my type of hair, offered me a glass of wine and said "let's do it"! Well I passed on the wine, too early for me, driving home later etc.
Suzi grinned, "Would you rather wait until next time?"
No, I was ready for a change.
It's modern and I can do things with it.
I suddenly have texture, no curls but body. 
I love it. 
All who've seen it thinks it's great.

OK enough of this…………pieces of wood are calling for their second coat of paint, I must leave you now. Will return when workmen are out of my (short) hair - perhaps sooner if we have Internet.
Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are………
and many thanks for the lovely comments you left on my 
previous anniversary post. 
You are the best friends ever.



18 comments:

  1. Hi dear! I can't to see how the pot rack will turn out! Did I hear Ikea?? If you decided to come towards this way, I'd love to prepare another brunch with some Brazilian goods for you! :) You've mentioned about the blog link before, so this is the correct one: www.dreamingshabby.blogspot.com Hope it works. I know you pretty busy with all those projects, but have a wonderful and peaceful weekend! Love, Vanessa

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  2. Mary...I was sure a picture of you with your new cut and style was coming next!! You have to share!!

    I think your island is going to look fantastic and be a huge help with storage, you have wonderful friends. I have a similar problem with a cabinet that holds platters. Those are really my bane. I love them but the way they are stacked makes them impossible to pull one out without taking the whole stack out. I have some visions though. ;-)

    I like the carpeting you chose. We've been looking at Home Depot for our family room (the only room carpeted in the house). I love the pattern in yours and I want something short but soft. Your color is perfect.

    I am off to do a post. My tests came back A-OK and I am walking on air! I thank you again for your loving support and I can't wait to meet up again in the spring so I can give you a huge, well deserved hug! And Bob of course! :)

    XO,
    Jane

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  3. Mary, I think your made over island will be perfect for storing your pots and pans and will look forward to seeing it when it's finished. I like the new carpet you chose. It sounds like you have a lot of things going on in your home right now. I hope you will share a photo of your new haircut as it sounds lovely. Enjoy your weekend and the week ahead with all it's projects.

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  4. Mary, you didn't show us the new hair cut. You must have a pic soon!
    Best of luck with the kitchen project. You are a busy lady!

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  5. Hello Mary:

    How very exciting all of this sounds. And if you are like us, then it is necessary to try to project oneself to the finish and not dwell too much on the chaos which, however one manages thing, will ensue whilst the work is in progress. We have no doubt that the end result will be wonderful and do hope that we shall all be afforded at least some glimpses! Meanwhile, good luck.

    Jó hétvégét!

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  6. OOOhhhhh throughly modern Millie ith the hair cut, I am about to do the same with mine, I grew it fir a bit but have now decided its got to come off.

    Love the idea of the re jigging of the island unit, I am looking for a small table for 2 for our kitchen so we can have breakfast and lunch in there. No luck so far, but will find something eventually.

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  7. I think a photo of you in your new hair cut is in order!

    xo
    Claudia

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  8. Can't wait to see all these things that you have teased us about. The haircut sounds great!

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  9. About is the absolutely wrong preposition. I should have said "teased us with." Ha!

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  10. Yes, we want to see the new hair cut! Your island is going to be perfect for storing those Le Creuset pieces and I love your carpet choice.
    Hugs,
    Penny

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  11. Cannot wait to see the new hair style! I am itching to have 'something' new done to mine, too. I have trouble finding photos of hair like mine - very fine textured and mostly straight. It falls flat more often than not...especially when humid. I envy you girls with full-bodied hair. :-) Your island solution sounds just perfect. I so enjoy clever use of space!

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  12. Renovations are going on all over the place chez toi. The storage unit/island sounds like a great idea. My kitchen storage is quite limited, too, so I'm always looking for creative space.
    Hoping to see a photo of your new look soon!

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  13. Seems like everyone is decorating, love the floor and the carpet.
    Your hair sounds gorgeous and a salon where you get offered wine so chic.......a million miles from my hairdressers ( but there's another tale )
    See you on the otherside of the work.
    Annie x

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  14. You do sound busy and look forward to seeing the results
    of house and hair re-do's.

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  15. Hi Mary,
    Lovely to see you stopped by. Did you see my response to your comment about the flooding? Hope your friends and family are ok down south? They have had such a bad time down there.

    Great idea for your kitchen. I love an island and the storage they provide for what would normally be just empty space. You could also hang all the Le Creuset from one of those Victorian drying racks that are so popular in the country kitchens over here. However you would probably have to reinforce the ceiling to carry the weight of them :-)

    Happy weekend.
    Di
    Xoxo

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  16. Just seen your profile photo and your new hair looks FABULOUS! I hope all your decorating goes well (I love the carpet choice) x

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  17. Redecorating your home AND your hair? You are a brave gal! But I bet they both turn out beautifully.

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  18. It's important to know what you want from your cookware. Perhaps you want it to be lightweight, professional quality, or help you spend less time in the kitchen. ceramic cookware

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