I can ALMOST say that our renovation project is DONE!! We have ONE MORE DAY, I think, this coming week. They have not done the front door, painted the little hallway to the master bedroom or hung our under-cabinet lighting. Minor details. I have been battling with my sinuses for 3 weeks. Today I took an Allegra-D. I had no idea a decongestant could throw me in to “nesting” mode (without being pregnant). You’ll see what I mean shortly. Anyway, here is our new pantry! The old pantry had lots of random wire shelves, so we took that all out, painted it and had our contractor do these nice wood painted shelves. LOVE THEM! I went to Target Friday to scout out some baskets because that’s what I’ve seen on Pinterest and it looks super organized. Haven’t bought any yet. There is also a blank wall on the right side so I am trying to figure out what to put there to make it both organized and cute! It doesn’t take much to excite me.

Do you remember this post from SEPTEMBER 27th? Today I FINALLY tackled this room. Jeff & I have been chipping away at it for a couple of weeks, and today (thank you Mr. Allegra-D), I got it all cleaned out, dusted, mopped and organized. The contents of this room (which is what we call our “mystery room” adjacent to our eating area in the kitchen) are temporary. This is my old dining room table which I used to sew on, which will be used probably by Browder to do homework for the time being. The boxes underneath the table are picture frames and chotchkies that we have no where to put right now, but it is all out of the way and organized until we get ready to hang stuff! I have hung 1 clock and a key rack in the whole house I think. Oh, and a bulletin board.

“Mystery” storage room. We will eventually decide if we want shelves in here, cabinetry, a desk…. exciting stuff, huh?

And… the moment we have all been waiting for…. the finished KITCHEN!

I’m in the market for a few counter stools, which I cannnnooootttt decide on. The island pendant lights were hung last week and they are from good ole Pottery Barn.

We painted our ceilings in the kitchen too and while I was unsure about doing it, it turned out great, especially the huge dome over the table! We painted them the same color as the walls.

Our next project is our den! We had it all painted (ceilings too), but the furniture in there was mine before I met Jeff. It’s great furniture but we’re thinking we need to update since we have a new kitchen. Maybe by Christmas.

The dining room has been painted and the funky arches have been taken out. We have no dining room furniture in there so there’s not much to see. I have to give a shout out to Amie of Linen and Boxwoods! She is my sweet friend who helped me along the way with all the decisions regarding paint, cabinet colors, lighting, etc. She made several trips with me to the tile store, the lighting store and put up with my texts of pictures of paint swatches painted all over the walls. THANKS AMIE!! She is getting ready for her own renovation with our same contractor, so I can’t wait to see it all unfold!

Our next major renovation will be our bathroom, but we’re taking a break until after the new year so you can have a few months of actual applique posts rather than renovation updates. I am STILLLLLL…. working on my sewing room too. I can’t quite figure out what to do and won’t commit to hanging anything on the walls (other than my bulletin board). Maybe soon I will get it together. Maybe when I have another Allegra day. Seriously – I cleaned out our garage, put a bunch of stuff in the attic, hung the boys winter clothes up and put up some of their summer stuff. Ditto on my closet – I got out all of my winter clothes and put up some of the summer stuff and started a Goodwill bag. I’ve accomplished more today than I have in 2 months.

War Eagle!! Time to crash…

Yesterday I managed to squeeze in a couple of customer items. It seems lately I am turning my machine on once a week. The rest of the week I am running errands (18 stores today to find leotards for Sissy ~ she starts ballet Monday!!!!!) or doing homework or cleaning up something or watching the kids play outside. The below bib was brought to me so I do not know where to find them (other than Embellish (local store) here in Montgomery). It matches the gown I monogrammed and posted not too long ago (may have posted on Facebook?). The font is MWP Sunny and I did the burp cloth ~ 4×6 ply cloth diaper from embroiderthis.com. One day I will compare these diapers to the Gerber ones you get at Walmart! I love these – they are thick and even (with straight edges). AC Tutu design and I dusted off my sewing machine once again to sew the ruffle ribbon on the bottom. I’m sure there is a real name for this trim/ribbon, but I have no idea what it is!? I have it in hot pink and turquoise too.

I also did this towel ~ AC Pirate Ship. The striped fabric is “Children at Play by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller”.

On to the kitchen… Yesterday nothing much happened ~ they brought our washer & dryer back in (HOORAY) so I was able to wash clothes again! I washed 2 loads Sunday at my SIL’s house and that has been it, so I have piles!

 Today the cabinets came in to the house. They are scattered everywhere and they will start installing tomorrow morning! When we started this we decided we’d do the kitchen, eating area and laundry room, plus Sissy’s bathroom and that would be it for now. Later we’d do the guest bath downstairs and our bathroom and maybe the 2 baths upstairs. Today our contractor came by to take out Mallory’s cabinet (while we weren’t at home), only he accidentally took out the guest bath cabinets instead. Uhhh can we say OOPS! Jeff & I thought it was hilarious and were quite surprised to find no cabinet in the guest bath, and now we’re ordering a new cabinet for that ASAP.

Imagine walking in to see this when you didn’t expect it! I guess if this is our only major snafu then we’re OK! Mallory’s cabinets will be white!

Here are several pieces of the island which will be a new feature to the kitchen. Our old kitchen did not have an island and we’re doing it in a darker stain.

And the rest of the cabinets are scattered across the kitchen and eating area! I was excited about this one…

We’re in the process of picking out our knobs and pulls, but here are some of the cabinets! These are taupe with mocha glaze.

I can’t wait to see what all they do tomorrow! It’s all coming together! Still lots to do – countertops, backsplash, painting, lighting, etc.

I am exhausted and going to bed ~ for a short week it has been a long (busy) week! Have a great weekend and I’ll be sure to post pics of Day 9 (tomorrow ~ Friday)!

We managed to do a design this week and we are working on more as I type! Here is our Christmas Wagon, which I will try to sample tomorrow! Have a great weekend ~ dare I say War Eagle!!