Category Archives: Kitchen
Flashback: Finding a portrait
When we first moved into the house, I found a drawing on the top shelf of one of the bedrooms.
We assumed it was of the previous owner – Mary Jane.
I propped it up on our stove while we figured out what to do with it.
(Yes, those are mustard yellow curtains over the stove. See the before video for a better look.)
Should we hang it in a place of honor? Should we give it back to the family?
I couldn’t decide if it was cool part of the house’s history or a little creepy since Mary Jane had passed away.
But before we could make the decision, Mary Jane’s son stopped by to introduce himself and Nate gave him the drawing. Problem solved.
I still wonder where we would have hung the drawing if we kept it and if Mary Jane would approve of all the updates we have made.
What a tax refund bought me
I was really lucky to get a tax refund this year. I decided to spend it on two purchases I have been thinking about for quite awhile.
A new mailbox
First up is a new mailbox for our entryway. Its been hard for me to find a nice looking, long lasting mailbox. I first tried to update the original one with a new coat of paint, but it isn’t holding up. If it was the right size, I may have spent the time refinishing it again, but we really wanted a larger mailbox that could hold periodicals. So the search began.
What we were looking for in a mailbox:
- Modern, but house appropriate
- Wall mounted
- Stainless steel or Brushed nickel
- Big enough to hold periodicals
- Well made
My quest lead me to the Salsbury Stainless Steel Mailbox. I love the satin stainless steel finish and the decorative pattern across the front. Although for $80 it is an investment, its going to do wonders for our curb appeal. It’s just fabulous and can’t wait for it to arrive in the mail.
Vitamix Blender
Next up, is a huge purchase for me. A new blender. For someone who has a smoothie for breakfast almost every day, a blender is a necessity.
I have been contemplating buying a Vitamix blender for quite sometime. The $400-500 price tag was very difficult for me to justify. Really, for a blender?
Well, last week my one year old Black & Decker blender went kaput and I had to figure out what to do. Do I buy another “cheap” model or do I bite the bullet and invest in a Vitamix? Although it is a steep price, the Vitamix really was the best option for me.
Reasons why I purchased the Vitamix 5200:
- 7 year warranty
- Power – a whooping 2+ peak hp motor
- Amazing reviews on Amazon
- Makes my daily smoothie quickly
- Replaces my food processor
- Replaces my coffee grinder
- Can “Dry” blend to create meals & flours
- Makes nut butters & soup
Hands down the Vitamix can just do more things than the average blender. I like multipurpose appliances. I don’t have the space nor money to spend on many appliances.
I like the reliability. The Vitamix brand has been around since 1937. I can’t think of another machine I own that has a 7 year warranty. If I am going to pay the big bucks than I expect it to last all 7 years if not longer.
So after much deliberation, on Monday I took a big breath and purchased the Vitamix CIA Professional Countertop Blender on Amazon.
Later that same day, I stopped by Costco and found basically the same model for $100.00 less. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the two, is 1) the CIA branding, 2) a 20 Recipes and Techniques from the CIA Master Chefs cookbook and 3) the color selection. So, I purchased it and am returning the Amazon model.
I have used my Vitamix for breakfast smoothies the last two mornings since I purchased it. I have to say I am impressed. What took me about 5-10 minutes of cutting up fruit and mixing the contents when the blender “froze”, now takes about 2 minutes. This thing pulverizes ice in seconds. Looking over the standard cookbook, I can’t wait to try out soup, dip and even making my own flours.
Overall, I am very excited about my two purchases. Although its a lot of money to spend, I do know that I will be enjoying both purchases for years to come. And you know that the Federal government is thrilled that I used my refund to stimulate the economy.
Spring is here
With the warming temperatures, Nate and I tackled a few more items both on and off our Spring To-do List.
Trimming the tree. (NOT on The List)
Our poor dogwood had a butcher of a trim job years ago that resulted in some gnarly limbs. I really wanted to get this guy pruned before its leaves came in.
Luckily, my parents are experts at this sort of thing and came over with a chainsaw to help me get the situation under control. There are still two giant branches that will need to come down, but at least we made some progress.
Painting the Front Door (ON The List)
Our new front door is pretty on its own. Everyone loves the orange color of the front, but the back was a little too cream for us. Nate painted it our favorite white – Frost from Behr.
Install Door Knocker (NOT on The List)
I purchased this door knocker from Anthropologie about a year ago for our old door. It’s been waiting to be installed since.
I think it works so well against the orange door. Plus without a door bell it is very functional. It was so satisfying to get this up!
Removing the remaining glue from the kitchen floor
(ON The List)
Last year, I removed most of the glue from our kitchen floor. You can read all about the process here. I have been meaning to move the stove and fridge to finish the project since. It only took a couple of hours to soak the adhesive and scrape it off.
Painting the bathroom counter apron. (ON The List)
This was one of final projects for our bathroom. The apron was installed after filming Bath Crashers and still needed a couple coats of polyurethane. Again, this project took a couple hours to sand, paint and waiting for each coat to dry. I pretty much moved from back and forth between the kitchen and bathroom to get both done.
Painting the pocket door. (ON The List)
We have a pocket door between the dining room and mini hallway. This came in very handy during the Bath Crashers shoot. We sequestered the cats in the back part of the house to keep them out of trouble.
Nate doesn’t think we have enough color in the house. He said everything is green, blue and grey so he painted the pocket door a lovely cranberry color (that totally works with the cool tones in the rest of the house). Now, he has easy access to a shot of color whenever he needs it! 
Woo! It feels good to check off these hanging projects! We only got a few more weeks until Nate’s Spring Break to finish the list.
Another rainy day
Sacramento has had a string of storms the last few weeks.
It has introduced us to a few leaks in the roof.
and showed us our soggy patches around the yard.
Stove Update
So Mr. Home Warranty Repairman came over today and ended up replacing the two large 8″ surface burners and terminals on my electric stove.
I paid $60 service fee for him to come out and just doing a little research on the internet – the cost of the burners and terminals itself would have been at least $60 so I think it was a good call to go through the home warranty.
He also critiqued my fridge (said it is a good model) and told me to check to see if my dishwasher has been recalled.
Priceless advice and a working stove – what else could a girl want?
Stove Issues
I didn’t think I would have a reason to use my home warranty that I purchased with my house. I just didn’t have many things to use it for. I thought maybe a water heater has an issue or maybe the pool pump?
But now I am having issues with our stove cooktop. One of the burners isn’t working at all and another one is just acting wacky and burning food and my pots.
I was trying to figure out what to do to fix the stove when I remembers the warranty.
So I called the 1-800 number and a service guy is coming out Wednesday. I will have to pay a service charge of $60.00 – which if they just replace the burners should cover it.
I am excited to see if the warranty service works out for me. it’s much better than buying new stove parts myself in hopes I fix the problem.
Kitchen Floor Redo
So our kitchen floor was a mess. We ripped out the crumbling linoleum when we first moved in on a whim and was left with a gross, stained concrete floor.
At the time, we had other projects to work on so we covered it with a green IKEA rag rug. The rug looked great when it was clean, but keeping a rug clean in a kitchen was not an easy task. In fact, I began to hate that rug with a passion. Just thinking about that grubby rug makes my toes curl!
So weeks, months go by with the rug in the kitchen while I tried to figure out what to do with the floor. Do we replace the linoleum? Or just refinish the concrete subfloor? In the end I decide to just refinish the sub-floor. I would rather have the kitchen floor flow with the rest of the house.
I finally stumbled on some web posts about how to remove glue from sub-floor with an adhesive remover.
Eureka!!
During my next trip to the local home improvement store, I bought a bottle and brought it home to test it out.
Although a messy process – it worked great.
Here’s the difference.
Removing Glue from a Concrete Floor
1) Buy a adhesive remover. I used Henry EasyRelease Adhesive Remover.
2) Dilute the adhesive remover using the manufacturers directions.
3) I found it was easier to divide the floor into small sections to work with. The solution needs to stay wet and its easier to control in smaller sections.
4) Apply the solution with a squeegy (or an old paper binder!) so you get a even thin coat on the floor.
5) Leave solution on floor for 30-45 minutes.
6) Use a wallpaper or floor stripper, remove the gunk from the floor. I must warn you. It will be messy. Make sure to have a mop and rags handy.
Our floor still needs another treatment and then probably needs to be buffed, but I am very pleased to finally throw away the decrepid green rug.
