Kitchen Upgrade...

Handsome got up early yesterday morning and drove to our favorite millwork company (Tom's Custom Millwork, Ashford, WI) to pick up a new countertop we'd ordered about six weeks ago. When we built our "big" house in the early 1990s, Tom's was just a fledgling company down the road from our building site. They provided all the custom wood trim for our windows, doors, and casings in that home. Since then, they've grown from one small building to at least three large buildings and a huge contractor clientele. We're grateful that they were willing to provide custom hickory countertops (a small retail order) for our farmhouse.

Over a year ago, we had a kitchen island installed by our younger son. We ordered the hickory top from Tom's, and said we'd be back. Handsome called them last week to see whether our order was ready, and when told yes, said we'd pick it up this week.

So, this is the countertop that came with the cabinetry we purchased a few years ago. I painted everything this light sage green, which was a perfect match (darker shade) of the color we'd chosen for the walls. The counter was nice and served us well, but we knew the rest of the kitchen would eventually be butcher block, too.

Handsome had given our former carpenter, Jeff a heads up last week, so he was expecting our call today. He only lives about three miles away, and showed up on our doorstep about twenty minutes later. In no time, our new countertop was installed, and we love it!

I haven't styled it yet for this photograph because we will be light sanding and oiling it today. Jeff laid down a bead of caulk along the back edge, so we wanted to give it a full day to dry and cure.

We also have the same countertops for the smaller cabinets on either side of the stove, but I just had to share this one because it completely changed the vibe in the kitchen. It's lighter, of course. The last countertop was black, after all, but it also matches the other counters in the room, now, which makes a huge difference.

I also asked him to hang my new rolling pin rack in the pantry before he left. I knew I'd have a hard time getting it safely secured - and straight - so I asked Jeff, who was happy to oblige. 

I found this particular rack on Etsy from Farmhouseon5th. They have a huge selection of wood products, but after searching through various sellers, I fell in love with their rolling pin rack. (There's another in their store in case you're in the market. giggle)

Now, it's where I asked Jeff to mount it, and it's already populated and waiting for my next pastry project. But first, we're going to treat the countertops so seal them. We'll do the light sanding, and then I brush on heated mineral oil which is allowed to soak in for a bit before it's wiped off. We'll oil it again in another two weeks or so and then about every eight weeks. The other counters will be treated today, too, because they're "due for".

I'll be taking advantage of our countertops a few times before the weekend. I'm making another big batch of bread for the freezer - to hopefully carry us until I'm healed well enough to make more. I'll also make a few batches of rhubarb and blueberry scones for the freezer. They're perfect for those mornings when we fancy a little something sweet with our morning coffee. They're easily pulled from the freezer, brushed with cream and baked. All in preparation for next week. 

Once we've treated the countertops, I'm going to sit back down to my needlework. I have a deadline, after all. More tomorrow...

Lounge Lizards...

Brynwood Needleworks - Bella On The Bottom. Carly Up Top.

  

I bet you're wondering why there's a lawn chair (with a pretty dog quilt) in our living room. I can explain.  In recent months, Handsome (with his new knee replacement), and me (with my bad right "wheel") have had a little difficulty getting out of our Stressless™ recliners.

We decided that we wanted to change out our living room furniture, and began by selling the furniture we had. The recliners (leather and in great condition) sold in mere hours and left here on Friday. We did purchase a new recliner for Handsome, which was delivered on Saturday. 

 

The Stressless™ sofa sold in one day, and the loveseat that I purchased from the estate of a friend, left here on Monday. We're interested in purchasing a sectional sofa to come into the room, but haven't found one that met our criteria yet. We're going looking again today. 

In the meantime, seating got a little scarce in the room. We have one Stressless™ chair that was in Handsome's office, so we brought that into the living room for now. Handsome has his awesome new massaging recliner, and I wanted one more seat (the Labradors are lost without a piece of furniture to climb into. lol) in the room, so I brought one of the outdoor lounges in and covered it with a whole cloth quilt.

Bella immediately climbed under the lounge, and fell asleep. We didn't even know she was there until she stretched, revealing her legs and her hiding place. Carly was above her and heard her move. I caught this image as Carly was investigating who was below her. It was actually pretty comical to watch.

Brynwood Needleworks - Tag-a-weenie

I've also helped Tag into this temporary, popular seating piece (in front of a window that looks out onto the north field). They rotate sitting here, also pretty comical. 

I think we'll find our new furniture today or tomorrow, and am looking forward to it being delivered so that we can get back to regular indoor seating, rather than this odd chair, but for now, there are three happy lounge lizards. I'll be happy when we're back to normal, and promise to share "before" and "after" photos with you.

 

Farmhouse Update - The Pantry...

A Place To Hang Towels

Handsome and I do dishes every night after dinner. Together. By Hand. Usually, I wash the dishes and he dries. We talk while we clean up after our evening meals, so that the sink area of our pantry is tidy for making coffee first thing in the morning. We actually like the time we spend talking and doing dishes. It's become a happy ritual.

One of the areas where we wanted to add some light was at the sink. There's one overhead light in the pantry that I'm sure was perfectly fine for many years, however, if I'm washing, Handsome's tall physique kind of blocks the light. We decided we wanted to add something to the sink area to help.

He's on his way to play circus music this week in Iowa. I went to Hobby Lobby, and well...one thing led to another. Before I knew it, I'd found three pieces I thought would be perfect, paid for them, and turned for home.

Early Winters' Brass Candle Lantern

The vignette in the first photo is the shelf, with hooks, I bought for hanging towels. I moved the "Coffee Labrador" up from its previous spot directly above the paper towel holder. Now it's above the tray portion of this shelf.

Recently, I was unpacking a few more boxes and happened up this portable camp candle lamp. I purchased this one (and one other) shortly after Handsome and I got married. His initials are engraved on the front (below the silver name plate shown), and on the back I had engraved something sweet we've shared between us since before we were wed. The lantern fit perfectly on the third hook.

Let There Be Light!

My main purchase was this cubby hole shelf unit. I wanted something onto which I could mount a strip light fixture. This fit the bill on many levels.

Once I got it home, I took measurements and installed the wall anchors and screws where they needed to be. Next, I mounted the LED light strip under the shelf.

Have you ever had trouble siting the location for the mounting hardware before? I discovered a genius, little method to avoid trouble. I just take the largest width of painter's tape, find a good reference point, and then place the tape across the back of the piece with the mounting hardware within the taped area. Using a pencil, I perforate the tape right where the screws would go for hanging. Now, gently pull the tape off the back, and mount it on the wall where you want to hang the piece. Make sure it's level, and then drill pilot holes through the tape where you marked the mounting hardware to go, and install your wall anchor. (I happen to like the screw in-type). Now you can pull the tape. Hang your piece, and you're all finished. Easy!

Pantry Sink Area

 

The last piece was the "rake" on the side wall. Another place to hang tea towels. I also put almost all of my creamware into the cubbies. Then, I ran the outlet cord for the light bar behind the "labrador" shelf and down to the outlet. We'll do some permanent solutions when we remodel the kitchen and pantry, but for now, this is going to work like a charm.

 

Oh, I don't want to forget to tell you about the gift Shelly gave me shortly after we moved into Hickory Hill Farms. She brought a small milk can down for us. She said her dad used to take it up to the dairy each week for milk. Now it's ours, and is in a place where it can be seen. I love it up on top of the shelf!

 

I installed everything myself, and spent well under a hundred dollars on everything. A lot of form and function for the buck! Now, washing dinner dishes will be a little brighter. Happy. Happy.