Thursday, August 2, 2012

Kitchen Makeover and Money Clipart

On day 2 of our summer vacation, my husband (also a teacher) and I decided to remodel our kitchen. I guess he was bored already and I jumped at the chance to freshen up our not so lovely kitchen. We just moved into this house in March and we planned to wait a few years to redo the kitchen...but patience is not a strength for either of us.

As promised, I thought I'd share some pictures. Here is the before...


We decided not to spend a lot of money on this kitchen (like we did at the last house), because painting our "older" cabinets would save us enough for 3 family vacations.  We are pretty simple people.  We usually prefer neutral decor, but we went "wild" and painted the cabinets blue (which we affectionately refer to as Smurf blue...it's really an antique blue). We did all of the work, except the granite installation ourselves.  My husband is the king of bargain shopping when it comes to appliances and house stuff.  I've always wanted a farmhouse sink, but didn't want to break my budget with one item.  Luck for me, Mr. Bargain Shopper found a farmhouse sink for me on craigs list.  We are waiting on some drawer pulls that are on back order and I bought fabric to make curtains (but have not started that yet).


I've also always wanted a big farm table for our kitchen.  Our new house has a really long skinny spot (in front of a fireplace) for the kitchen table.  As soon as I saw the spot, I knew it was perfect for a farm house table.  I thought I'd have to wait 5 years to save up enough money to buy one (remember, we're both teachers).  :)  Lucky for me...my handy husband rocks!  I love him...see below.


One more picture...  Last night, a few of my best teacher friends came over to see our new house.  It was so much fun to just talk, laugh and visit.  I think I forgot to ask them for permission to post this picture...but since we're close friends I'm sure they assumed that I would.  It was dark outside by the time we got around to having my daughter take this pic.


Don't we look happy and relaxed?  (from left)
Jenny (2nd grade teacher who teaches next door - famous for her love of beagles, running mileage and patriotic concert)
me (so grateful for the time with these friends)
Emily (retired teacher who comes 1 time a week and spends the WHOLE day helping me - Thank you, Emily!)
Cari (retired teacher who donated an entire Jeep Commander full of prized teaching possessions to me when she retired)
Kathy (BTF best teaching friend - famous for loving power tools, collecting antiques and her decorating talents)
black fur ball - Kalli our youngest goldendoodle (famous for needing attention 24/7)
golden fur ball - Daisy our oldest goldendoodle  (famous for her doodle hugs)

One more thing for this random post...  money clipart.  I'm looking for money clipart that has realistic pictures of the coins.  It would have to be clipart that I could use to make freebies and products to sell in my online stores.  I can't seem to find any that look real.  Anyone know of a good resource?

Tomorrow...my progress on the craft room clean up project will be revealed.

8 comments:

  1. Your kitchen looks amazing!! We're getting ready to remodel our kitchen too. I know the process will be horrible, but the outcome will be worth it :)
    ❀Jodi
    Fun In First

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  2. I absolutely love the kitchen makeover! I'm a huge fan of the granite and stainless steel. Your husband is extremely talented - the table is incredible! I'm very picky about my money clipart because my students struggle already without being confused by different looking graphics. I use the coins from The 3AM Teacher (on TPT) and really like the realistic look.

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  3. Kimberly,
    I have an answer to your coin clipart. The U.S. mint has high-resolution coin pictures for downloading. There are activities for kids, too. Check these out:
    http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/?action=photo#LincolnPenny

    http://www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/coinCurricula/

    I'm a newbie blogger. Come over for a visit sometime!
    Corinna
    Teaching Fabulous Firsties!

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  4. That kitchen looks fantastic! I had a kitchen re-do on my list, too... But only the wallpaper got stripped. Nothing else. Oh well...

    Elizabeth

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  5. Kimberly,
    I love your make over! And your sink is to die for! My sink is like your old one, and it collects a lot of water around it, especially in the back by the faucets. My husband did suggest that we get new cabinets. . . I know. . . HE suggested it! I agreed and said if we're doing that then we have to have a new countertop and sink. . . that's all I need. Everything else is fine. We'll see how far this dream goes, but at least it's fun to dream about it!
    Patty
    Second In Line

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  6. Hi Kimberly! Great kitchen remodel. :-)

    E-mail me about your money clipart.

    Crystal
    Teaching Little Miracles

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  7. I don't know how I missed this - I love your makeover. And why didn't we talk about being a two teacher household at the meet-up? We have that in common...my hubby is a teacher too, and we are pretty frugal too and would much rather spend or hard earned money on memories rather than "stuff"...what grade does your main squeeze teach? Wish we lived closer!!!!

    Holly
    Crisscross Applesauce in First Grade

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