{Project Organize} A Rainy Weekend

I got a lot done on a rainy weekend...

I am almost complete with organizing the kitchen cabinets. The kitchen was not in bad shape at all, it just needed to be cleaned up a little. Each drawer didn't take so long at all. I still want to buy some organizers for our junk drawer, but it is cleaned up, the organizer bins would pretty it up a bit and help keep it organized. So that is on my list. Not a priority but something to do at some point. There is always more that can be done but not necessary.

I still need to work on my spice/cooking cabinet. I need to find a good way to organize my spices so I can find things. Just the other day as I was cooking, I realized that I had 2 bottles of cumin. I probably couldn't find cumin one day and went and bought another bottle. So it needs helps. I need to determine what is best. I have seen many different ideas on pinterest, but I am not sure which one will best meet my needs and my space. So I will be back to that one. My challenge with organizing is deciding exactly how I want things to be.

I went through my files and recycled a lot of paper! I got rid of paper and files that I no longer needed and got all my files ready for 2013. So my 2012 files are organized and ready for our tax appointment next month. That was a priority and I am glad that I got that done.

I organized my office supply drawer. I bought an organizer for the that drawer and it made a world of difference.

I put together a binder for all our user manuals. I found a lot of great ideas on pinterest and took one on. Check this link out. I just have to print out a cover sheet and find a good place for it.

I got a lot done over the week. It helps to have a rainy weekend to get things done. I feel like I've made a lot of progress. As I keep going through different areas of the house, I am purging as well, so I feel good about sticking to this goal.

My next goals in Project Organize is to organize my recipes. I bought some binders and supplies, so I will be working on this one next. I've started and I wished that I had a before picture, but I will make sure to get an after photo when I am done.

{Project Organize} The Pantry

So I have been working on Project Organize, I have been going through the house and making a list of everything I would like to work on. I have been on pinterest looking at various ideas and inspirations for a more organized home.

I am starting with the kitchen. I look through my kitchen cabinets and fortunately many of them are organized nicely and I am happy with it. However, there are a few areas that need a little help. So I took note:

• Spice cabinet: buy a lazy susan to easily get to spices
• White cabinet: find a good way to organize platters
• Bakeware cabinet: find a good way to organize bakeware
• Tupperware cabinet: get rid of unused Tupperware and organize

I did tackled one of the kitchen cabinets that was in need of help.  I organized the what I call the white cabinet, because it is white. I bought a platter organizer at Big Lots for a few of dollars. Now rather than stacking my platters on top of each other they are stored vertically. It is now much easier to get to them and actually gave more room in that cabinet. So great for a $3 investment.


Next, I organized the pantry over the weekend and I am done with the panty and food storage area.

So my pantry looked like this:



and this



As you can see it is not very large, but it is somewhat deep and I needed to do something so that what was in the back didn't get lost. I often could see what was back there and neglected it. As I cleaned the pantry out, I found some of the things in the back were expired and things I didn't even want to eat. So in the trash it went. I bought some baskets from Walmart, a drawer from Target, and made some labels and now my pantry looks like this...









It is so much better. All of Baby Bear's snacks and cereals are on the same shelf so that she can reach it. She just pulls out the basket to look for what she wants. I took the sugar and flour out of their packaging and pour them into the clear Snapware containers I already had. I bought them from Costco years ago. Then labeled them. It will make it much easier to see how much is left and to scoop out when baking. I don't know why I hadn't done it before.

I didn't spent a whole lot on this, about $25 for the baskets and drawer. So the pantry is done! Now on to finishing up the other kitchen cabinets. I am feeling good about my progress.

So much to do this Holiday Season

I love the holidays. This year is no different despite the chaos. We are hoping to move into our newly remodeled home next week. Just days before Christmas. And yes we are going to spend Christmas in our home. We may not be totally moved in but we will have Christmas in our house!

Papa Bear has been working like crazy to get it all done. There are painters, electricians, and carpenters (oh my!) at the house. Everything is all scheduled and hopefully the rain will clear up by early next week so that we can move in. I am excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. I have so much to do, I have to pack, move, and then unpack before people come on Christmas day. The day after we are hosting a holiday party. I have to cook and bake, wrap Christmas presents, get a Christmas tree, decorate, and many things that I can't even wrap my head around.

It is hard to prioritize what to do since space is limited and many things are being packed up. Do I wrap presents now? If I do then where do I put them so they don't get ruined or lost while moving. I am not sure. I am trying to pack but is also hard to organize myself. I know there is much that we no longer need, so I should sort as I pack. It is just all overwhelming.

Overwhelming as it may be, it will all be okay. We may not be totally moved in but we will definitely have a memorable Christmas as a family in our house. That to me feels really good.

Our Kitchen: Refrigerator purchased

We bought our new refrigerator tonight. I am very excited and can't wait to use it in my new kitchen. We picked out the Samsung 28.0 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator in Stainless-Steel. It is a really nice looking fridge and I really like the FlexZone drawer feature that will come in handy when Baby Bear is older. It will be a great place for her snacks and drinks. It has a lot of great features that we really liked. I hope it will work as well as we hope it will. It will be delivered next Tuesday!



Everything is starting to come together.

Our Kitchen: More progress

Lots of progress is being made very quickly. We are planning to host our annual Christmas party with a group of close friends. The evite went out on December 1st, so there is no turning back now. We are committed. We have been slated to host for years, but have put it off since we didn't have the space. This year we said we would be ready to host and Papa Bear is working very hard to get us there. These photos were taken last month and much more progress has been made since then. Here are a few photos of the kitchen.

The hardwood floors are in.



The glass tile backsplash was installed. It looks kind of green in the photo, but it is actually more of beige color in real life.



Since this picture was taken the dishwasher has been installed in that hole.



We are getting closer and closer every day.

Our Kitchen: Before and in progress

The granite counter tops are in!!! Here are some photos with the new cabinets (still need to get the backsplash in):





Some close-up photos of the granite. I love it!





We still have to get the glass tile backsplash up. We had a sample of the white glass tile backsplash, but I didn't like how it looked, it was too stark white with the granite. We just need a color that is closer to the color of the granite, an off-white or cream, which shouldn't be a problem. There is still much work to do, but we have come a long way. Take a look at some before shots of the kitchen:





Here is a picture of the kitchen after Mr. Bear tore out the wall joining the dining room and kitchen.

Our Kitchen: The granite

We went to Arizona Tile in Ontario, CA to pick out granite for our kitchen counter tops over the weekend. What a great showroom and a painless experience. I thought that I had an idea in my head of what I wanted. I wanted lighter colored granite. But after walking around and looking at all the beautiful granite, I started to become unsure. There were many options and they were all so beautiful. Granite really is beautiful. Papa Bear told me to pick out what ever I wanted and he said that there really was no way to go wrong with granite since it is just beautiful. So it really was up to me to find the right fit for our kitchen.

I had found one that I really liked and Papa Bear agreed it was very special, but it had a lot of variations within the slab. It was called Typhoon Bordeaux; it started off with some browns and golds with burgundy on the top half and then gradually changed to a cream with gray, burgundy, and gold on the bottom half. It was indeed beautiful with all the variations in the granite, but Papa Bear reminded me that we would be using about a 2 foot part of the slab for the counter tops so not all of the variations that I liked would show up (the slabs were really big, maybe 7-8 feet tall and 10 feet wide). I am glad he brought that up. I really liked the cream part of the slab especially since I was sure I wanted to go with light granite; but we would have to get the entire slab. A little disappointed, I walked around more to take another look while Papa Bear went off with Baby Bear. He went and talked to the sales person and he told the sales person what I was looking for. The sales person mentioned that he had some slabs of that same granite that was just the cream colored part. It was the same but the cut of granite only had the lighter part.

Meanwhile, I walked around and looked at all the granite again. I found two lighter colored granite styles that I kind of liked and asked Papa Bear to look at a couple of them. He mentioned that the original one we liked came in just the lighter variation of the granite. So we asked them to pull out a few different slabs so that I could take a better look at them and make a final decision. We picked the Typhoon Bordeaux that was all cream. I am so glad that Papa Bear mentioned to the sales person what I liked because they only had 3 slabs left. We need only need 2 slabs but they like to reserve 3 slab just in case something happens along the way. Granite can break and when working with the heavy large slabs you never know what will happen.

Here it is.



These pictures are from the website (the second photo shows it close up):

The pictures does not do it any justice, it is really beautiful with some burgundy, gold, and gray in it. It really is special and exactly what I was looking for. I thought it would be so much harder to pick something out. And before I saw this one; I had narrowed it down to 2 others that I liked but but did not love. Thank goodness Papa Bear likes to talk to people, because as soon as they brought this one out, I told Papa Bear: "That is it!." I had no doubts. I can't wait to see it with my cabinets.

Kitchen Design

Our new (new to us) custom kitchen cabinet are all in and Papa Bear purchased our cast iron kitchen sink and faucet. I am excited to have this large sink.



I have always loved the look of white cabinets with a white tile backsplash. But our cabinets are a beautiful cherry wood and so I had to do a little research on what look color counter tops to go with these cabinets. We will have oak wood floors put in to match our existing oak floors in the rest of the house. So that is a lot of wood and darkness especially considering that the kitchen doesn't have a lot of natural light; we only have one big garden window. So I thought that light colored granite counter tops would brighten up the kitchen and would go nicely with our cast iron sink.

I haven't found a picture of a kitchen that clearly depicts how I picture it in my head. This kitchen is fairly close. It has light colored counter tops and simple white tile backsplash, which is along the lines of what I am going for. Plus the island is white cabinets, which we have a cabinet that joins the kitchen and dining room that will also be white. This picture shows me that all those parts can go together.



I shared my thoughts with Papa Bear and while he like the idea of light granite to brighten up the darker woods, he wasn't too thrilled about the white tile backsplash. He had installed some under the cabinet lighting and he wanted a backsplash that would pick up the light and be a little more exciting. He wanted something a little more special.

He suggested glass tile. I wasn't quite sure about the glass tile backsplash, the glass tile I had seen are usually small and look like mosaics. While beautiful, it just wasn't my style nor was it the classic look that I was going for. Then he found this white glass tile backsplash (the white tiles beneath the cabinets in the picture below).



It is a white glass tile that is larger in size than the smaller tiles you usually see with glass tile. I love it. It brings a modern touch to a classic traditional white tile backsplash. Plus, the under the cabinet lighting will really make these tile pop and bring a little specialness to the whole design. Those are the ideas for now, as we go things may change as a I am sure they will. Papa Bear ordered some samples of the glass tile and soon we will go pick out granite. I may totally fall in love with something else as time goes by.

Home remodel back on track!

For three years, we have been living in the back apartment while the front house was undergoing a remodel. We put the remodel on hold when the recession started and Papa Bear's business slowed down. Then I got pregnant and we once again started on the remodel. But Papa Bear's work starting to pick up again and when there is work, Papa Bear has to work. We had hoped to be in the house by the time Baby Bear was born, but that did not happen since Papa Bear was pretty busy with work. It was a good thing that Papa Bear was busy because that meant income, which is important when you have a baby.

Now Baby Bear is a one year old and walking! Papa Bear is really motivated to get us in the front house and has told me that we will be there by Labor Day. Papa Bear has been working really hard the last few weeks and has taken some time off to devote to our home remodel (usually he is working on other people's homes, so our home usually falls down on the priority list).

Our house was built in 1913 and Papa Bear has had the electrical work redone in our garage, had the exterior paint touched up and finished, had the rock work on our chimney and porch fixed, and had our hardwood oak floors patched up. Papa Bear has made a lot of progress on our kitchen. Initially, we did not plan to replace our cabinets since that was out of our budget. So we were going to live with the old cabinets for the time being. But Papa Bear was able to get us some beautiful custom built cherry wood cabinets for our kitchen for almost free! A client was tearing out these beautiful kitchen cabinets and replacing them. Papa Bear offered to demolition the kitchen for free and in doing so was able to take the kitchen cabinets. So we got custom cabinets for the cost of labor to have some of his workers remove the cabinets. Papa Bear measured out all the cabinets and got out his trusty pencil, graph paper, and ruler to design a kitchen that would work with the cabinets and he did a wonderful job! It was almost as if those cabinets were custom made for our kitchen.

Over the weekend, Papa Bear demolished our existing kitchen cabinets with the help of his father and he installed the cabinets. The other day he purchased our new stainless steel LG kitchen appliances:




Aren't they beautiful. They go very nicely with the dishwasher that we got from the Ellen Show last year (which Papa Bear designed the cabinets around). I am so excited to have a beautiful kitchen. I can't wait to use them.

There is still much for Papa Bear to do: granite counter tops and tile backsplash, our bathroom, refinishing the hardwood floors, paint, etc. We are well underway. I will post some kitchen in progress pictures soon. I am so lucky to have such a talented husband.

So much to think about

We are finally moving forward with the remodel on our home. We had put the remodel on hold for a while now, but with Baby Bear on the way it is time to get back in gear so that we can get in the house. So now we have a lot of decision to make with the house. Much of Mr. Bear's original plans have been changed due to budget and time (we want to get into the house before Baby Bear makes an appearance), so we have been thinking about a lot of things and trying to make practical decisions. For example, with the floors: we originally wanted hard wood mahogany floors. Mr. Bear had picked out this gorgeous set of hard wood floors. Well, it is a bit expensive and it is quite possible that a baby/toddler/child will not be so nice to the floors. Not the most practical choice at this time.

Right now, in addition to doing research on infant seats and strollers, I am also doing some research on washer and dryers. So much to consider: top loaders vs. front loaders, capacity, steam washers. There are so many different brands and a lot to think about. I am thinking Baby Bear will produce more need for washing than I already have, so I will have to choose wisely. Any recommendations or advice?

My man is talented!!

I shared with you a few weeks ago some pictures of Mr. Bear's talent. I have a few more picture to share. He does the most amazing custom work.

Here is an entry way:




Here is a corner leading up to the ceiling:




Look at this ceiling:

The Very Talented Mr. Bear

My wonderful husband is a finish carpenter and a very talented one at that. Often when we are in social situations and we are asked what we do, Mr. Bear likes to say "I cut wood." And indeed he does, but he doesn't just cut wood he creates beauty and art in his work. I have seen him at work and sometimes he looks at a project like an artist looks at a canvas. He has such a great eye for beauty and is very detailed oriented that his work is always very beautiful. I just have to brag about his work because I think he is absolutely awesome and I am just so proud of the work he does. Here is a house he worked on in the past and he was asked to come back to do some additional work just recently.

Home Sweet Home

A while back a friend asked me to post some pictures of my home. Our property consists of a front house and a back apartment over a detached garage. Mr. Bear grew up in this house and several years ago bought the property from his mom. The house was built in 1913 and the back apartment was added on in the 1950's, it is located in a historic district in our area. It is a beautiful craftsman California bungalow with a gorgeous front porch. It is the best house on the block!

Currently, Mr. Bear, Chase Monster, and I are living in the back apartment. We are in the process of remodeling the front house and this has been a work in progress for a long while now and the remodel has been placed on hold for a number of reasons, mainly financial. Fortunately, Mr. Bear began with his renovation and remodeling of the property before we were married and started off with the back apartment. The back apartment is for the most part finished and a perfect place to live in while the front house has missing walls and torn out flooring. So for this post we will take a tour of the back apartment, which is home sweet home for now. I have yet to add too much decor, but this is supposed to be temporary until the front house is completed, although we have been here for a year now. Definitely beats living in a construction zone that is the front house! Being that Mr. Bear is a licensed contractor, he designed and did the entire remodel of the apartment. As you will see Mr. Bear is very talented and has a great eye for design.

Let's start out with our small but beautiful kitchen. Mr. Bear designed the entire kitchen from the counter placement to the stainless steel sink and granite counters. There actually used to be a wall separating the kitchen and the living room, it was torn out and it is now opened up with a small counter with stools. If there was still a wall, I wouldn't have been able to take this photo.

There are also under cabinet lighting. Gotta love my KA mixer :)



I just recently purchased a pot rack to help with my storage issue in my small kitchen. I love this pot rack, it looks nice and frees up room in cabinets for other items, plus it allows me to show off my pretty stainless steel pots and pans!


Let's now move onto the living room area. We have a huge leather sectional couch, you can fit a ton of people on the couch. Mr. Bear, Chase Monster, and I can sit on the couch and never even come near each other. It is an awesome couch that we got for free! I love the color on the walls, selected by Mr. Bear, it is a golden color and contrasts nicely with the crown moulding which is painted in Mr. Bear's favorite white, Swiss Coffee. Yes, Mr. Bear has a favorite white and it is the white he recommends most often to his clients. You will be amazed how many shades of white there are!

As you can see the couch even makes Chase Monster look small in this photo and we all know that Chase Monster is anything but small!


So this is a taste of our home for now. I will take more photos later to give you a tour of the rest of our home. Stay tuned for the bedroom and bathroom.

=^..^=