Happy Spring & The Winter That Wasn't:
Happy Spring to all of you out there! It was 80° yesterday which is crazy for March! We didn't really have much of a winter this year. It was 62° on Christmas day! I believe that was an all-time record. I really missed having very little snow this year and it's really not good for snow pack and water here. While it is really pretty to see all the green it is way too early to be this warm. I hope we're not going to have a brutal, early summer. It was nice to see some of the bees out pollinating the peach tree which has flowers just opening up. The backyard is super green and the Italian parsley that should have gone dormant on the deck never did because it was so mild-
We did get a little bit of snow this winter, but just not very much. Meanwhile watching the news it was terrible to see what the Midwest and East Coast were going through with all of the blizzards, over and over. I guess nature is what it is, we just all have to stay prepared. Preparedness is one of those things that people need to keep taking seriously. A lot of people still don't seem to bother, which I don't understand! I guess we all do what we do. Luckily our new little dwarf apple tree did great over the winter. Hoping for apples in the coming years. Girls are laying eggs steadily also!
Upcoming Interior Home Updates:
We've been living in our house right now almost 25 years. We've done a lot of updating over the years with various things. When we first bought the house the carpeting was super cheap and wore out really fast, so that was one of the first things we did. Dave installed laminate through the main part of the house at one point. We had the kitchen cabinets refaced by professionals which luckily has held up really well. We painted all the rooms and the exterior, changed out all the light fixtures, redid both bathrooms, and that's just the inside! This time goes on of course things wear out and need to be replaced. Then there are things you're just ready to update, and we saved up for. Since we have no plans to sell the house we decided to have some work done, by professionals. We don't want to be on the roof and have to be careful with lifting, etc. We got several bids and are happy with our choices.
At this point we're going to be getting new light gray carpeting in all three bedrooms, new luxury vinyl planking in our kitchen and main bathroom, new countertop in the kitchen with under counter sink, new backsplash. We're also going to be removing our old microwave exhaust fan and replacing it with a vent/light that's ducted out. Will buy a new smaller microwave. We're going to be updating our current "buffet" that used to be an old computer desk the previous owners installed and we'll top with butcher block. I may whitewash it. Will probably keep the fabric for now but may pull that out and put in a couple of painted cabinets. Here's the previous blog post of on of the original updates Kitchen Update
A couple MINOR updates first-
hoping to replace the old Habitat brushed stainless dining fixture. We have a combo kitchen/dining room, hoping to get something like this,
sort of rustic French/Scandinavian. Maybe thrifted, new one here Rustic Wood-Chandelier -
Old one-
We're removing this, to replace with a small vent/light like this in white Broan-NuTone Nice and quiet, a good brand! We will remove and have the backsplash go up into that area, maybe add a shelf when they install the tile-
Small bathroom needs a new faucet, that's it! Old Ikea one getting pretty worn, too much hard water-
Major changes- Old sage bedroom carpet, will get a light gray-
NEW kitchen and bathroom flooring will be LVP, same as our small bathroom. We will install a new toilet as well-
Old kitchen laminate counter/plastic backsplash-
New counter, quartz "Peppercorn", basically white with small particles of gray/off white. We were going to do a light gray, but it was too dark. We wanted something durable and simple-
Backsplash still to be decided. We got great advice- what until counter is in, then make the final decision! We are leaning towards a satin white/off white with a textured surface, like this- Apollo Tile White I REALLY wanted Zellige tile, but it's WAY too expensive. It's handmade (partially) and I love the rustic look-
Really looking forward to an UNDERCOUNTER sink, finally!!! Will be this one KRAUS Undermount Counter top very similar to our new one-
I'll do some "after" shots once things start up. New roof coming first! Carpet, then counter/backsplash, then flooring. So excited!!! Work to start in about 3 weeks, roof sooner. Happy Spring!!!