I have always wanted a white kitchen and a farm sink. And when J and I decided to forge ahead and purchase our “fixer-upper”, I had only one stipulation (well that probably isn’t entirely true-pretty sure I had more than one), I was going to have the kitchen I had been dreaming of. I figured if we were going put in all of the hard work and labor, then I wanted to reap the benefits of the end result with a kitchen we could really love and enjoy. And fortunately for me, my hubby was on board. Thus began the work of not only gutting the existing kitchen (which was literally full of exploded paint balls, crusted, moldy spaghetti sauce, and chewing gum-everywhere), but picking all of the perfect pieces to build my new kitchen. And to tell you the truth, I’m not quite sure which part of the equation was harder work!!!

Once the kitchen was finished, we went about year without backsplash. I actually had one picked out from the beginning, but when I went to order it, the dye lot had been slightly altered, making it all wrong for the space. And so I became a huntress of tile. I looked high and low and in every store I could think of and finally, I happened to pop into a Home Depot (not our usual Home Depot) with my hubby and there it was, hanging in the special order section. It must have been meant to be. So after waiting patiently for our order to arrive (which was nothing compared to waiting for over a year to find the perfect backsplash), J and a friend installed the tiles, and I finally have my gorgeous, perfect, totally finished kitchen.

Before…This picture actually makes it look decent-which it wasn’t.

Getting my sledge hammer on to remove that AWFUL tile floor, only to discover four more layers of flooring that needed to be removed, and then, instead of the hardwoods we had hoped for, rotted-out subflooring from a previous flood.  Yikes!!

New subfloors, patched walls, and no more hideous light fixtures (thank goodness!!!!!)

Cabinets and appliances going in-that was an exciting day.  Although we did live without counter tops and running water for about two weeks (that was a real adventure!)

The almost finished product, and the way our kitchen looked for the last year (please excuse our messy counter tops).  It was beautiful and just fine the way it was, but with no backsplash I always felt something was missing…

And FINALLY-the tile going in, and looking fancy!!!

And…the finished product!!  It looks even better in person!!!

So there you have it. Pretty sure I’m quite in love with it, and pretty sure all of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this kitchen make me love it that much more. Looking forward to sharing many more before and after stories and photos from our remodel, including the rest of our kitchen, complete with a gorgeous handmade bar crafted by my talented father-in-law! Stay tuned…

xx

As a district planner for Macy’s, I am always busy juggling many different hats and recently the addition of opening a new store in the City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake City, UT has been added to my plate. It is the only retail development in the United States opening this year, so it is a pretty darn big deal. And while the hours have been long, and stocking shelves, chasing orders, and planning plans have all been exhausting, I know the results will be well worth it in the end.

But perhaps more challenging than the grueling schedule, has been the difficulty in figuring out what to wear for this type of work. Normally we are in an office setting, but for this phase of our job, as we set the store, we have to be casual, comfortable, and open to getting dirty. And let me tell you, for me this is much more difficult than you might think. Not only do I work in fashion, but I LOVE fashion so have a hard time dressing dowdy for any occasion. And having to be at work an extra hour early, I am certainly not at my most creative when it comes time to getting dressed in the morning. So a challenge it has been. BUT I did manage to pull together a few looks, and even felt this one might just be blog worthy.

Jacket:  H&M (sold out)

Polka Dot Top:  H&M (recent)

Jeans:  Seven for All Mankind (old)

Boots:  Aldo Farmar (sold out)

Ring:  Italian Flea Market

Nail Polish: Hunger Games for China Glaze District 12 with OPI gold crackle

And yes, even though I have been doing a lot of manual labor, I still made sure to paint my nails.  I can’t decide if it is an addiction or obsession (or both) but not matter the situation, you won’t often catch me with bare nails.  It kind of feels like being naked!!

Stay tuned for more updates on the new store to come.  Our grand opening was actually today!!!  It was amazing, but exhausting, so I am off to bed to get some  much needed rest.  Sweet dreams(of new shoes, of course).

xx