hey, good lookin'!

what 'cha got cookin'?



i have been extremely derelict in my blogging duties over the last two weeks - especially when i consider how many LOVELY (really, you are. *wink wink*) i have picked up since the fabulous mrs. limestone featured me on hers.

well, the sun is shining and i'm thinking of lots of fun, summery feasts that i should be cooking up - which means that it's time to re-do the kitchen!

i've been talking with the contractor and it looks like we're going to get to work in a couple of weeks - which means i have just enough time to solicit your opinions on my plans.

here's what we are starting with (not bad at all, but it just doesn't flow with the rest of the house). and sorry, the photo quality isn't the best - i took these with my phone at the open house last year.


the cabinets are new and in good shape - i plan just to remove the crown moulding and paint them all white. we'll also remove the hardware and replace with these from house of antique hardware:

what do you think? milk blue or milk green?

and how about these, in polished nickel, (also from house of antique hardware) for the drawers?
i'll also replace the current pendant lights, which are faux alabaster like the rest of the house was when we started (someone clearly had a weird fetish for the stuff! t.m.i.?).

i'm vacillating between these two, both from schoolhouse electric:

which one do you like? i'm leaning toward the first because i LOVE color - but the shape of the second is pretty awesome.

the granite that we have will stay put - it's black and SPARKLY and i love it.

and the walls have been repainted a pale, pale blue-grey, with the door to the backyard a nice bright red (you can see it in my last "project doorway" post).

the floors, however, don't match the rest of the house, so i am thinking of covering them with black and white checkered industrial tile from armstrong, like in this photo:

doesn't this kitchen just look so clean and dreamy? and i love that it is both modern and retro at once.

so what do you think? am i on to somethin'?

check ME out! i'm on brooklyn limestone!

how very exciting! i've been an avid follower (along with thousands of other folks) of "a brooklyn limestone in progress" since stumbling upon it a year ago - just when i was starting to daydream about how this old house would take shape.

aside from being insanely talented (seriously, check out her before-and-afters on apartment therapy), stefanie, the author of brooklyn limestone, is so lovely and gracious with her feedback and time.

today i am thrilled to be included on her blog, filling in as a guest poster while she is away on yet another glamorous trip.

please stop by and check out my post -- and leave a comment so she'll consider having me back!

jen x

what?!

omg! i just realized yesterday that i haven't written a thing on the completed family room!

you all saw this preview (well, maybe not all of my lovely new readers!)...


but i'll try to get some photos of it this week (if we aren't drowned in rain and grey clouds again) and show you how it turned out.

stay tuned!

well, what do we have here?!

came home on sunday from a FUN girls' weekend with my mom (facials, massages, shopping, dinner on the town) loaded up with new flowers for the yard (YAY). as i was heading out back to put them in a nice sunny spot, something gray and fuzzy caught my eye.

this is, generally, cause for alarm in my house, as our vines are the secret hiding place of bob - the biggest rat i have ever seen in my life. (seriously, he's the size of a chihuahua and totally unafraid of us).

luckily for me this time it was a kitten!

he ran for one quick second but, upon hearing my friendly (and sultry - i assure you) voice, he came running. he's quite the little loverboy! i'm really hoping he comes back soon but, in the meantime, here are some photos.




are you in love yet?

iceland again.

if you read this the first time around, go ahead and give it a skip.

i was reading more about the motherland, and eyjafjallajokull volcano today (fascinating, right), when i thought to myself that it might be a good idea to remind my readers (all two of you) that iceland isn't so bad!

so, here again is the post i put together after christmas in iceland, meeting the fam!

me at the blue lagoon. the colors were indescribable!

i know that this blog is supposed to be about the process of renovating and decorating the house, but i still thought it relevant to include a post about my trip to iceland last month. after all, each place that we go leaves an indelible impression upon us and changes us - which ultimately influences how we live. for me iceland was about the colors, the simple and modern interiors, and all of the fabulous art.

street art in reykjavik. i heart graffiti.

some of you will undoubtedly ask "WHY ICELAND? and why iceland in the MIDDLE OF WINTER?!" well, it's simple really. my grandmother was from a small town in the north of iceland, akureyri (note: this is the 2nd largest city in the country at 17 thousand people. a HUGE portion of the population, 200k+ out of 300, lives in reykjavik).

my grandfather met her when he was stationed in iceland during WWII - and she broke off her engagement with some poor local boy to run off to the u.s. and marry this tall, handsome american boy.

the fjörds of akureyri, where my grandmother was from.

akureyri architecture - surprisingly like home!

i'd never visited but my dad and i had talked about it for years as he had not been either. and so, when he saw a great deal in one of his travel newsletters, we leapt at the chance. and i then got in touch with my family there (not hard since we are actually in almost daily contact despite the fact that we'd never visited) and made plans to meet them all.

we flew in for a very short trip - just 6 days because i have taken so much time off this year to deal with the house, and had a fantastic time.

perpetual dusk in the wintertime - great since it's my favorite time of day!

iceland LOVES christmas.

meeting my family was a memory i will treasure forever. i was the only non blue-eyed person there (my mother is from taiwan, my father met her when he was stationed there during the vietnam war), but i felt like i fit right in. i saw my freckles, i heard my laugh, and felt my grandmother's spirit in them all.

my family (and me looking, and feeling, like a drowned rat!)

what struck me, too, wass how big a part of the culture art, in all its forms, is with icelanders. from food to sculpture to street art to fashion - iceland is at the cutting edge of it all. you can't walk through reykjavik, in particular, without noticing.

SWOON! local fashion is gorgeous (and expensive- these were over $600 u.s.)!

bronze statues in reykjavik's town center.

tasted as good as it looked!

there's so much to see in iceland and the people are so warm and lovely - there's no doubt that i will return.

enjoying our favorite pastime.

one too many for dad?

i hope you've enjoyed "getting away from it all" with me, even for a few minutes! i've kept this VERY brief, but will write more if you all seem interested - it's a fascinating place.

jen x

me and dad at gullfoss.

and one of my favorite songs from "cousin" björk for your entertainment: