My Little Obsession and a Small Tribute to a Sister

It's the little things that remind me of being back in California, like fresh, warm from the sun, garden tomatoes. I pick some basil, and it snaps with moisture. It garnishes the succulent buffalo mozzarella I splurge on at the grocery store. Some salt, fresh-cracked pepper, EVOO, and balsamic vinegar, and poof! I have my favorite Summer snack.

I also sometimes add thinly sliced bell pepper (any color but green - yuck), and sprinkle goat cheese instead of mozz, thyme sprigs instead of basil. Easy on the balsamic for this one.



Admittedly, every time I pop one of these sugary, hot tomatoes in my mouth - not even bothering to wash them since I know exactly where they've been - I think of my little sister, Charlee, and my mouth turns sad.



I miss my sisters, and when I eat garden fresh tomatoes, I think of Charlee - born to be a grandmother before anything else in life - and her millions of tomatoes in our Dad's side yard. I remember enjoying/resenting those massive bags of surplus tomatoes she'd bring me and I'd attempt not to waste. I miss her guilt trips if she saw the bag just sitting on my counter, days later. I miss her unnecessarily detailed stories - epic tales - about how each tomato has been doing, how the sun was treating them, etc. She never hesitates to pour her soul into everything she does. There is no such thing as pacing for her, nor withholding. She is a 20-something granny with the gusto of a freedom fighter, even in her vegetable garden.

And you could taste those feelings in each of a million freaking tomatoes, osmosis transference of Charlee. Miss you, Tuggi.

The Wendy Project: Staging and Painting for a San Diego Move

I'll be painting and staging their entire 4 floor house for their soon approaching move to beautiful San Diego. While I don't want to condone their leaving, I'm excited to take on such an ambitious project!

Here's the first wave of befores, for your critique and enjoyment:

Random room between kitchen and Breakie nook, just off dining (goal: purpose this room as a traditional butler's pantry using a buffet piece, paint, and lighting):










The first of a trend - dark blue kitchen (goal: lighten and brighten with paint, light, and decluttering):








The jersey cream yellow living room (goal: emphasize moldings, built-in's, entry way, and fireplace):










The cobalt blue dining room (goal: emphasize moldings, built-ins, and chandelier):












What has now been deemed the Breakfast Nook (goal: give purpose to blank canvas by adding family breakie room):

Ali's Kitchen Update

Stuff's happening... or rather, "Steph's" happening. :D

Check it out!

Surprise! LEAD: A Catalyst for a Kitchen Remodel by Yours Truly

After a friend, Ali, came to me for advise on stripping the wallpaper in her kitchen, I neglected to ask when her house was built. The exterior looks very post 1960's, so I thought perhaps there were traces of lead but not super heavy.

The house was built about 100 years ago. Crap.

This means there is a dangerously high level of lead content in just about everything, but especially paint and moldings.

Didn't know this when we began aggressively pulling down the wallpaper one spontaneous morning visit. I went home for the day and got a panicked call from Ali the next night, saying she had gotten a home lead test kit (smart girl) and it cam back really red (red is bad). I immediately came over to seal up the walls with caulking, joint compound, and 2 coats of heavy primer. We wore heavy duty ventilating masks and kept areas wet and clean, as is advisable. We also sealed off all doors with plastic covering so the kids wouldn't be exposed. But this is the hub of the home - and the kids are hungry, and restless, and easily entertained by pulling each other's hair. So we had to act fast.

From Wednesday to Saturday, we stripped, panicked, sealed, and were safe.



Sigh. Rest. Breathe. Aaaaand hold onto your hammers, girls, cuz it's time to talk kitchen remodel...

She had a hodge podge of leftover kitchen cabinets from about every decade except her own. Good points included vintage upper cabinets above the sink with antique hardware. I'm smelling a jumping off point.

Vintage casual.

We will bead board six feet up the walls. This will create a stylish, vintage casual backdrop for the walls and add architectural interest. Meanwhile, it will better seal up any of the lead behind it and won't reveal paint chips of bumped. Plus, nicks and scratches to the bead board will be enhanced patina, versus walls that will just look like they need repair. Character, safety, and durability. We will paint above the bead board - potentially all the way through the ceiling, unifying ceiling and walls - to add color in an area that won't be getting knocked and crashed into by running children.

Here's the bullet-pointed color/material scheme for the budget-friendly, vintage-inspired remodel (all pics borrowed from Google):

These floors:



With these butcher block countertops:



With white subway tile backsplash behind sink, contrasted with Taupe grout, sort of like below but a lighter grout:



With this beadboard going up the walls 6 ft (higher than wainscoting, lower than a plate rail):



Something like these porcelain vintage knobs (bronze or polished chrome?) to pop against chocolate base cabs (maybe bronze or polished chrome on white upper cabs):





Wall sconce replacement - school house style to go with age of house:



Fan replacement:



And these base cabinets:



New cabinets: These Ikea cabinets have the rich, dark, traditional feel Ali loves and will go nicely with the glossy white bead board.

mid-tone wood laminate floor: clicks together and floats on top of vinyl tile and who know what lurking underneath. Super durable with kids and budget friendly. And they had already bought it! Good timing.

Now I know what your thinking: "But the wood tones don't match! Shouldn't she get darker floors or lighter cabinets to match?" Not necessarily. It creates more interest in a room, as long as it can be pulled off by repeating those colors somewhere else. It has to look deliberate. So we'll bring the brown of the cabinets into a bronze hardware and the tan of the floors in the grout of a white subway tile back splash, and perhaps in a tan paint color.

So then our color scheme show up in the following way:

Creamy White: vintage cabinets, bead board, trim, porcelain hardward
Tan: flooring, grout, paint color on walls
Chocolate: base cabinets, hardware

As for layout, the kitchen maneuvers as a galley style right now, which is hugely limited in terms of functionality and storage. I'd like to move the gas line and wrap in a cooking peninsula to anchor a benched seating nook behind.

(insert kitchen lay out here...teaser...)

They also have a chimney in prime real estate, so a shallow depth pantry could create a seamless face from one side to the other and maximize storage.

When you walk into the house, you're immediately in the kitchen. So the dead space behind the front door can act as a moment of entry way by adding coat hooks, and a shoe bench/trunk for storage and taking shoes/coat on and off. Perhaps I can put a wall mail sorter, key ring, etc there, too.

More to come... Would love some feedback, sources, anything you can offer, as always! Thanks gang!