Drawer Pulls

So the drawer pulls finally came and now the kitchen hardware installation is complete!

Above: in the dining room.

Above: my favorite view is this stack of drawers with pulls.

And Henry wanted some face time on the blog too.

 

I am happy with how it turned out.  And, I got a great deal on everything.  The pulls and knobs were around $1.50 each, which is a steal if you've ever priced cabinet hardware.  I got them here.

Winter Update

We had our first snow that stuck last week.  Henry insisted on going out in it with the older siblings and lasted about 4 minutes before he tromped back into the house in a huff.  (Truth be told, I knew he wouldn't stay out long, but I wanted to see him all bundled up).

Yes, we did the unthinkable and let our kids open presents 10 days early.  Our reasoning: we weren't going to be here on Christmas Day and we didn't want to take the presents with us, plus it was the last weekend we had before leaving.

When I put an apron on, Lucy put hers on, which led Henry to want one on too.  Domino effect.

Finn's Christmas Lego helicopter.

Lucy carefully building her Lego campervan.

 

And here's Miles with his Star Wars ship.  He hasn't taken off those pajamas since he got them, save to bathe.

Merry Christmas season from our crazy house to yours!

Kitchen Knobs

This kitchen has never had pulls on any of the cabinetry.  I thought that pulls would dress up the cabinets, plus give me something to grip instead of the edge of the cabinet or drawer.

I've only received the knobs so far, and the pulls are on their way, so here's what I have to show so far.

 

I think it dresses things up in a subtle way.  Now I just have to get used to grabbing the pull instead of the cabinet door when I want to open one!

Cookies with the Cousins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several weeks ago my Mom brought cousins Ivy and Ruby over the river and through the woods to visit.  Among other things, we frosted and decorated sugar cookies.  It was an intense 20 minutes and the cookie creations were as varied as their creators.

Homemade Fire Starters

 

 

 

 

One day for work a couple weeks ago, Lucy and I made homemade fire starters from pinecones and old candles.  We melted the candles down with a homemade double-boiler on the stove, tied string around the cones for "wicks" and then dipped them in the melted wax and let them cool on egg cartons.  It was alot of fun. 

Office Christmas Party

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's an excerpt from my weekly letter to my family about Travis' office party dinner:

It was so fun for me to decorate the house with fresh greens, berries and lights.  I stockpiled plates, candles, glass hurricanes and a tablecloth at the Goodwill in Redmond in preparation.  I even found treasures at the thrift store in gold chargers, ornamental berries and pine cones, and more pillar candles.  Each guest got a little gold sparkly take-out box with homemade toffee inside, wrapped in a red ribbon.  I was in my element.  Taking a clue from last year's party where I was over-stressing about the charred chicken cordon-bleu and Travis almost ran to the store for rotisserie chickens, I kept the main dish easy in a spiral-cut ham, then we had mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, Ruth Wilson's rolls, green salad with assorted dressings, green beans with bacon and onion.  The desserts were chocolate cake, carrot cake, and Costco cheesecake with cherry topping.  With the rented table and chairs, we tightly fit 16 people in the kitchen and dining room.  Travis works with a good group of women and we had a good time chatting with them and their dates.  The kids ate quickly and then disappeared downstairs.  And as much fun as it was to anticipate, it was nice when the last dish had been washed and placed on the stack, the lights were turned out, and I went to bed for some much-needed shut-eye. 

Valances: Third Time's the Charm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's pictures of the new valances.  Sorry the pictures didn't upload very well for the previous post.