Kitchen Highlights

I wanted to share some of my favorite parts of my new kitchen.

First up...my Wolf cooktop.

This thing is amazing.  After years of cooking on an uneven electric range, I can't tell you the joy of "on is on and off is off".  It cleans so easily and it just makes me smile.

Next up is my Fisher & Paykel double drawer dishwasher.

I find each drawer the perfect size for dinner.  I just do a drawer load each day or as needed and I find I'm not having moments when all my plates are dirty or the silverware is low.

It's easy to load and even easier to unload.  Hope it works as well when we are entertaining.

Finally, I'm loving my huge island.  As I'm a messy cook, it's just so nice to finally have enough counter space.

And if you are wondering what's for dinner...It's quiche with bacon, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots and shallots. (Everything I could find in the fridge).

Yum.

New Beginning

I officially live out on the farm.  We have talking about this for so long, that it hardly feels real.  I keep asking my Sweetie if he ever thought this day would finally come.  He was pretty confident that it would.

So....out with the old,

Joey saying his good-bye to the old house

And in with the new,

View from the front porch

And just to let you know...I'm getting into cooking in my new kitchen.  Today, I'm making soup on my wonderful Wolf cooktop.

Once I get my kitchen organized I promise to share photos.

Have a great week.

Good Bye House

I officially send good-bye to my house yesterday.  This house provided me safe harbor when I needed it most.  It provided security, peace and happiness to my son and to me.  It was perfect for that time in my life.  I had great neighbors and enjoyed living in a great town.

I was surprised I didn't feel more sentimental about leaving it, but once we removed all the furniture, dishes, photos...it just became what it was; a house.  I realize that my home is where my family is and now that all my "stuff" is out at the farm, that now feels like home.

Time for me to start my fourth phase of my life.  "Oh life on the farm is kind of layback..."

Up North 2013

We all just got back from our Up North vacation for 2013.  I wonder if there are any other states where the words "Up North" mean as much.

With our wonderful, majestic Great Lakes, I find it hard to believe.  For all Michigan's pros and cons, the Great Lakes are it's greatest attribute.

This year we rented a place on Lake Michigan in Pierport.  For the Michiganders, that's half way between Manastee and Frankfurt.



This was the main house:

And this was the "Cottage House":

Most of us stayed in the main house, but Gigi (Great Grandma), Aunt Deb the Great and KiKi (our Texas cousin) were in the Carriage House.  Benefits...quiet in the morning.

Following are just some of the moment of frivolity and joy that followed:

Safe to say that I...

this vacation.

Salmon BLT

The July/August edition of Food Network Magazine came in over the week-end and it is full of yummy things.

I made the Grilled Salmon BLT Club for dinner on Monday night.  Although I just made it in a sandwich...I didn't feel the need to add an extra piece of bread to make it a club.

It was just delicious and very easy to make.

Here's how my version looked right before I bit into it.  It was messy to eat but well worth it.  Salmon, bacon, avacodo, lettuce, tomato, grilled red onions and a dill parsley mayo.

You can find the recipe here.  Great summer dinner.

My Latest Project

I actually got to do a project this week.  Felt great to do something creative.

Here is the finished project:

I used three Ikea frames to make the art work above the bed, which is just three pieces of fabric.  Pretty cool huh.

On the verge of listing my house.  Keep your fingers crossed.

And Finally...The Granite Counters

Hi friends.  I'm finally getting around to posting the photos of the new granite countertops we had installed at my house.

Here is the kitchen:

And the bathroom:

I also built this little Ikea thing:

First time in years that the dressers in the bedroom actually match.  You can also see the new carpet in this photo.  No more teal carpet.  Although it was high quality carpeting, I can't say that I miss it.

Sure hope all this stuff helps this house sell fast.

Absentee Blogger

I have been a very bad blogger as of late and I am so sad about it.  I can't fully explain my absence, but it seems to be related to me not being in a  "happy place".  I blog best when my life is on an easy roll.  When I have time to create, cook....relax.  Things haven't been that way for the last few months.

Reasons....

1.  I started a new job in January.  I am now a Realtor.  This is such a significant change from my previous career.  There are just no words.  And the amount of daily learning going on is overwhelming.  Consequently, I have good days and bad days.  There has been tears, sleepless nights and my confidence has taken a hit.

There have also been moments of "Ahhh, now I get it" and I have had some fun.  There is a team of other "newbies" at the office and getting to know and work with them has been great.  I've also gotten to meet new people and I always like that.

I've got a couple deals in the works for June and hopefully all goes well and I can build up some confidence again.  I think that is what has taken the biggest hit (oh...and my bank account is a little shaken as well.)

2.  We are in the process of getting my house ready to sell.  We've installed new granite countertops, sinks, faucets, door handles and carpet.  The interior and exterior of the house has been painted.  Basically, it's going to look great, but the process has completely disrupted daily life.

3.  With the above process, we have packed up a lot of our stuff and moved it out to the farm.  Some stuff was great to pack away, but other stuff wasn't supposed to get moved yet.  My shoes must be there.   I have about 5 pair of shoes, two of which are sneakers.  It is hard to dress every day knowing everything has to go with black flats, black heals or black flip flops.

4.  All my crafting stuff has been packed up and moved.  So no carding to help relieve the daily frustrations.  Making a card always lifts my spirits and I feel a little lost.

5.  Then there is just the daily stess...stress and more stress.

I think that about says it.

I am working to break through and get back to my happy place.

Thanks for listening.