The Kitchen

I have learned to cook in this kitchen. When we moved in Harrison was not yet two. I was really just feeding Nathan and I mostly spaghetti and salads. Now I feed four and some weeks I feed another family because they need a home cooked meal but just can't find the energy to do it that day for themselves. We've entertained in this kitchen - I love having friends over. And in this kitchen I have enjoyed watching my boys laugh, run, ram their ride-on toys into the cabinets and so on. The best part about our kitchen are the windows, I can watch the boys play outside while I was dishes or chop up food. We took a risk by building this kitchen. I had a vision and Nathan had determination and after a little lesson in plumbing, we made it happen. And... I think I'll miss it, a lot.

When Silas was a baby we would sit him in his swing so he could watch me cook. Now, he pulls at my leg whining incessantly "up!" so he can sit on the counter and watch.

There have been evenings when I've had 5 or 6 ladies over and we've stood around, chatting over glasses of whine.

We've had young couples over for pizza.

We've had birthday parties.

We've had neighbors over for BBQ's.

Our son's built a vegetable Christmas tree with their Nana and Papa!

Our kitchen has been shared and I hope it continues to be shared. It was made to be a blessing.

Before...

Check out how small those top cupboards are! I loved the yellow and white mix... 

The dividing wall comes down. 

Michael and Nathan became plumbers and hey, the water has bee held in those pies for two years now! That's pretty good! 

These are all of the new cabinets in boxes. It was a beautiful sight! 

Small note of disclosure - I did not want these cabinets. Nathan and I chose cabinets that we thought others would like so that a potential buyer would fall in love with our kitchen and buy the house. And well... It worked! :) Our buyer actually told me that she felt like our kitchen was "just right" for her and mentioned all the other weird kitchens she had seen. So, if it had been my choice the kitchen would have came straight from the set of the Bravermen's from parenthood. Oak shakers with checkerboard tiles and some red chair at a bar! YEP! One day I'll get this. Christina and I are kindred spirits...

I did however incorporate my favorite part of their kitchen, the paint color. At least I got that in :) 

Here's what we picked. Paint, cabinet color and tile. 

Obviously I was excited about the paint... 

It took 4 friends to help Nate get the cabinets up. 

Doors... 

Then the tile (My husband is talented! I mean, really!)

Our neighbor let us use his tile saw for almost all of our tileing. Our brand new neighbor at the time! We're really going to miss them! 

Then the granite which terrified me! I was so worried about picking the wrong color but it worked out great. 

And the finished product! 

This picture turned out bad... but at least it gives you some perspective of the length of the kitchen. 

Classic, homey and inviting. Mission accomplished! 

Momma, Up! 

Love to you all!