My Home | Weekend Kitchen Renovation

Last weekend I finally conquered the last remaining undecorated room in my home - my kitchen! I did it on a budget too! A full renovation wasn’t in the cards for us (we’re not sure if this is our forever home and don’t want to sink ten, twenty or thirty thousand dollars into a complete gut reno) so I kept the total budget under $500.

Click through to see the entire kitchen renovation!

My mom came to help for 24 hours (a snowstorm forecast cut her trip short) but we managed to repaint almost every surface (including cabinets).  I also tiled behind my stove and sink. Adam updated my electrical outlets from builders beige to a clean crisp white too. Later in the week I was able to shop for accessories and finishing touches and I just love how it looks! And the best part is that it didn’t cost a lot of money!!

We live in a 95 year old home and based on the style lines, we believe there was a kitchen update in the 1950s when the second owners moved in as well as a basic update to get the house on the market when we bought it. The cabinets were mismatched not only between sides of the kitchen but the builders grade cabinets on the stove wall didn’t match each other perfectly either. I’d been eyeing kitchens on Pinterest with white uppers and dark lowers so that’s what I did with my space. On top I used Bistro White and on the bottom a dark gray (not sure on the name!). Before painting I used a shellac primer to give the cheaper cabinets a more durable surface for the paint to hold onto as well.

On the ceiling I used standard white ceiling paint and on the walls, the same grey from Felix’s nursery I had left over.

My mom and I were able to get the majority of the painting done before she left town - quite a feat with a six month old baby wanting all of our attention!!

I hadn’t previously planned on it, but my mom hinted at how cool the backsplash would look tiled, and I had two and a half left over boxes of subway tile so I went with it! Adam picked up mortar and grout along with a tile cutter and I was able to complete both in a total of about four hours (broken up between naps and help with the baby and sitting overnight to strengthen!!)

I kept most of the existing hardware because those knobs and pulls can really add up in price! I did change out the upper cabinet hinges on the sink side from an antique bronze to chrome which works better with the white.

Decor wise, I changed out taupe mini blinds for

white cellular cordless window treatments

(similar). They let in so much light and now I don’t have to look at the alley while I do dishes (unless I want to!!). I also bought two kitchen rugs for the sink side because a new floor wasn’t something we could tackle in a weekend. I think they looks great!!!

Additionally I treated myself to new kitchen towels and a couple of bowls that were on clearance. To keep my fridge a little more streamlined, I put some of our favorite family photos into magnetic frames and moved them to the side. And it’s not every day I have a case of fresh flowers, but they make such a difference to me!

I spent just under $200 for paint, painting supplies (rollers, tape, trays, etc) and electrical outlets. The tiling supplies were around $50 and as I mentioned above I used tile I had left over from my bathroom reno. The window treatments were pricey at $90. The rugs were $50 total (from Target) and the other accessories about $15. I donated our older large microwave and swapped it out for a smaller version which was $65. (I also moved it to the counter so I could use its previous shelf for cookbooks and bowls of fruit). The project was done almost entirely in one weekend but was totally complete within a week!

My Spring Closet | 2015

WhatIWore: Last week on a whim I booked a ticket to the Gulf Coast to visit my sister and took it as an opportunity to update my spring wardrobe. Last year I was just starting to show my pregnancy and my usual favorites (like full, colorful skirts) wouldn’t cut it. If I’ve learned anything about my style in the past year, it’s that I know what I like and when I like something, I wear it all the time!

So here’s a real view at what I bought… yesterday. Let’s start with the header image, shall we? I’ve never worn a pants jumpsuit and it looks really easy and cool. It’s a button front style so I can still nurse the babe and I’ll probably style it with cute flats and a straw hat for day and nude heels and long earrings at night. It’s a bigger splurge but I have a feeling I’ll throw it on a lot. 

Next up… tops! (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6) You might be thinking to yourself, damn girl, three striped shirts? Why? I’ll tell you! I really like stripes! I’ve been wearing some version or another of a Breton striped tee for six years and some of those knits have begun to show their age, so it’s time for an update. I also think they’ll be cute with jeans (which I bought for winter in my new size and will carry over to spring), black jeans (same as the regular denim), shorts and bold skirts (see below). Stripes are technically not a neutral, but they’re absolutely a core building block to my closet (see over a hundred striped OOTD posts here). 

I’ve also purchased a basic navy top with flutter sleeves, a burnout long sleeved tee and a polka dot sleeveless tunic. Those will all work with jeans or denim shorts, as well as any other skirts that fit (once I unpack ‘em!)

Now… bottoms! Because have jeans that fit well, I won’t need to update anything there. If being outside and more active changes anything, I’ve got plenty for the next size down (which is what the majority of my closet is composed of… I’d love to someday wear those pieces again!)

New pieces include two floral skirts (red/black and purple) which I would normally want to sew myself, but I just don’t get the sewing time I’d like anymore. These will look cute with the stripes or would be great with black or white tee shirts and a cute hat and flats. I like the retro appeal of them!

Also included are two pair of shorts (denim, patterned) to throw on and go into mommy duty. I used to think I’d never buy denim shorts when I could just cut off a pair of old jeans, but I’m too hesitant to chop a) new jeans and b) jeans I might fit into soon!

You might notice I haven’t bought any dresses. I have so many that I couldn’t wear last year because of the baby bump, that I think I’ll be ok this year. They’ll probably be for date nights or time spent away from Felix because they’re not very nursing friendly! 

I still have a few other items I’ll keep my eyes open for - navy rain boots, a navy raincoat or trenchcoat and a little bit of a budget for anything that jumps out at me.

Finally, I’m not super sure what I want to do for shoes, but they’ll need to be comfortable enough for long stroller walks with the kiddo. I’m also pretty set up with handbags so unless something grabs me through the screen and begs me to buy it, I probably won’t put any money into that either.

What’s on your spring shopping list? I’d love to hear about it on my facebook page!

Six Months

WhatIWore: It’s pretty mindblowing to believe I have a six month old baby already! These past months have flown by and been in slow motion at the same time. It was so much fun to look back at photos of Felix from each month and try to pick favorites. He’s changed so much! He looks more like a baby to me now than he did at 3 months, probably because his hair has thinned out and lightened up so much. He’s nearly doubled his birthweight and he’s more comfortable in 9 month sizes than he is six month onesies. No teeth or crawling yet, but lots of baby talk and giggles. We have our moments, but he really is such a good little guy. He’s such an old soul and our favorite time of day is looking into each other’s eyes when we wake up together in the morning. Felix Quirk, I love you so much! 

What I Wore | Lived In

WhatIWore: I’ve lived in about five sweaters this winter and this is one of them. Because it’s more graphic, I try to space it out more than my black and cream turtlenecks and try to change things up a little with the coat and boots I pair with it. Last time I did a soft taupe boot and matching hat, but this time I pulled out my oldest pair of brown boots, my camel hair coat and the navy knit hat I recently made. 

When: February 23, 2015

What:
Hat: Self Made
Shades: Karen Walker ‘Super Duper’
Sweater: J.Crew
Coat: ?
Jeans: Guess (on sale!)
Boots: Banana Republic (old)
Ring and Bracelet: Robyn Ferrari, gift

Where: Lunch Date and Class

Why: Although I don’t wear much jewelry while I’m caring for Felix, I like to wear a few pieces when I’m at work. I’ve really been into teal/turquoise pieces (these are actually Jasper beads) lately. I think they pair really well with camel and denim and navy, but would look great with black too! Robin is offering What I Wore readers a 15% off discount with code WHATIWORE15