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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Come on in....to my kitchen & dining room!

So excited for the next round of Momfessionals Come on in series.  This month she is highlighting kitchens and dining rooms.  My kitchen is where we spend most of our day and thankfully it is one of my favorite places in our home.  My favorite thing about the space is all the natural light we have.  Somebody was definitely thinking when they designed the bay window/door area and the large picture window!  We get early morning sun on this side of the house but usually by 8 or 9 I can open up the blinds and bring the light on in.  :)
Please excuse the picture quality...we are still having issues with our photo correcting program.  :(
 
While I love this space now, I do have big plans for changing in up.  It is just a little to white and bright overall for what I would have chosen if we built the house.  I think the darker paint helps and I am actually good with the white cabinets.  My biggest complaint are the white appliances and the way too light counter tops. Hopefully a black splash will help too.   I have also seen some really cool islands that are painted a different color than the rest of the cabinets....maybe I will be brave enough to try that too!
The other great thing about our kitchen is the layout.  It is perfect for hosting parties and the flow was definitely well thought out.  There is plenty of room for everyone to move around and not feel crowded.  This is a huge change from our old house and it warms my heart to have my friends and family around me in the kitchen!
 
Looking into our kitchen from the back door. 
 
The view from our living room.
 
The view as you come in from the garage and mud room.
 
Same view but with our window open as it normally is during the day.
 
Looking towards the main part of the room from my standard spot at the kitchen sink.  :)
 

Also in our kitchen is our main computer and 'command center'.  It never looks like organized or clean but I took these pictures after I cleaned up for Chase's party.  :)
I spend a lot of time here keeping us organized, paying bills, planning out our schedule and of course, blogging.

 
Now on to our dining room....
I was determined to have a chair rail and the dark green paint in our dining room after seeing this inspiration picture from The Yellow Cape Cod.
 
I basically refused to paint or update the room when we moved in and until we could make this vision happen!  I had to wait a year but my sweet hubby did the wood work himself and I love it!  We decided to hold off on the picture frame molding but I do hope it will happen in the future.  ;)
Our living room and dining room are so connected and open to each other and I love the way the colors coordinate and compliment each other.  The drapes are temporary and we are still searching for the perfect items to accessorize the buffet but overall I am happy with the current look. 
 
Looking in from the living room. 
As you can see it is a pretty open area connected to our foyer.

The view in from the front door.
Open to the living room
 
If you missed last month's link up on our family rooms, check it out here.  The green paint we used in our dining room is the same as the cut outs in our living room.

Linking up with the lovely Andrea at Momfessionals for her Come on in series! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

New Year's Resolution - Month 4


Start a blog.  Post at least 4 times a week
How about post twice a week?!?  Apparently that is a more realistic goal the past 2 months.  :)

Lose the last of the baby weight
Still on track here.  I have officially lost the last of the baby weight and a few extra pounds as well.  So excited!  We are so close to our vacation to Mexico which has been a big motivator for me.  My self confidence is up and I am excited to start toning and keep on track!

Try a new recipe each week
I didn't get a new recipe in each week BUT I did find 2 amazing new recipes to add into our favorites rotation!
The first is a White Cheese Chicken Lasagna from All Recipes.com and it was hands down one of my favorite new dinner items!  The sauce was so good and it was very easy to cut the recipe in half so I didn't have a ton of leftovers.  I was a little intimidated since I had never made a lasagna before, but this one was super easy. 
Since it was still Lent, I decided to try out a new Shrimp pasta in white sauce recipe from Taste and Tell blog.  My husband said it tasted like something we would get in a high end restaurant.  Win!  :)  Now we are not big mushroom or asparagus fans but I just traded them out for broccoli and it worked perfectly for us.
I have a couple new recipes pinned that I am excited to try out in May so hopefully I will have a few new winning ones to share next month!

Make an effort to be less tired
Backtracking a little this month thanks to my allergies.  Man, can a bad allergy day just knock the wind right out of me.  We are officially done nursing so coffee is my current best friend!  ;)

Be present
I think this will always be a work in progress but I do find it so much easier to ignore my phone and other distractions while we are out enjoying the beautiful weather. 

Thanks for checking in and keeping me accountable to my goals!!