Kitchen Cabinet Renovation

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and is having a great start to the week.  Today I wanted to share with you my kitchen cabinet renovation.  The day after we closed on our house, my mom and aunt helped me remove all of my kitchen cabinets and drawers and we prepped and primed that same day!  I felt so productive and was so excited to have my kitchen one step closer to my dream kitchen.  After a few days of painting the cabinet trim, I completely lost steam...  I was caught up with other house affairs and our wedding planning, so what should have been a few week project turned into many many months, BUT I have finally finished the cabinets, so I thought I would share with you the before, during, and after!

Here is a quick tutorial on how I renovated my kitchen cabinets:

1. Label all of the cabinet doors and drawers with numbers and include the same number on the inside of the cabinet and on a Ziploc bag with the hardware
2. Remove all cabinet doors and drawers
3. Remove ugly existing cabinets and drawer pulls (unless you are going to use them after being painted.  Mine were hideous and outdated, so they went straight into the trash!)
4. Wash cabinets with TSP Hard Surface Cleaner (I recommend wearing gloves as this leaves a weird feeling on your hands)
5. Sand cabinet doors, drawers, and trim
6. Use a tack cloth after sanding to remove all the sawdust and other debris
7. If you are changing the position of the hardware like I did, you will need to wood putty the existing holes, let dry, then sand down, and again wipe clean with a tack cloth
8. Apply one coat of primer to all surfaces and let dry for at least 24 hours
9. Apply one coat of paint to all surfaces and let dry for at least 24 hours.  Repeat until you are satisfied with the color and finish of the paint
10. Find all of the numbered Ziploc bags and put all cabinet doors and drawers back
11. Attach existing or new hardware
12. Enjoy your beautiful "new" cabinets! :)

The Before!

We numbered all of the cabinet doors/drawers with masking tape, then labeled the inside of the cabinet where we removed them from and then labeled the hardware in a Ziploc bag.  I would definitely recommend doing this if you are removing any doors/drawers as it makes it so much easier to put everything back up once the project is completed!

The primer, paintbrush, and paint used were purchased from my local Ace Hardware as a house warming gift from my mom!  I am sure you can find the same or similar products at any hardware store.

One side of the kitchen primed!

Other side of the kitchen primed!

The finished product!

More of the finished cabinets and drawers!

I purchased these satin nickel knobs from Home Depot and they came in 10 packs for $19.98 and we needed 20 knobs total.

The satin nickel drawer pulls are from Home Depot, too!  These were purchased for $4.32 a pull and we bought a total of 9.

I hope this post helps you with any future cabinetry projects.  I would definitely recommend labeling the doors/drawers like we did.  This made putting everything back on SO much easier and less stressful.  I will not lie and tell you this was a super fun project because it is very tedious, but once you get it done it so worth it!  Now we just need to get our butcher block counter tops, new back splash, and the remainder of our stainless appliances!  Stay tuned for the rest of the remodel soon! :)

- Courtney

Holy Grail Products

Hello Everyone!

The past few years I have taken a major deep dive into the beauty world, but I finally feel confident with my daily regime of products I wear on my face.  It makes me feel like a "real adult" that I have found makeup that suites my skin type, coloring, and personality!  I thought I would share with you my Holy Grail products, which you can find scattered about my bathroom counter on a daily basis much to Jon's disliking ;)

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
$18.00-$72.00

Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer
$35.00

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder - Diffused Light
$45.00

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
$23.00

Clinique Different Lipstick - Shy
$17.00

I would highly recommend all of these products to anyone who is either starting out building their perfect makeup bag, or looking for some amazing luxury products to try out.
Do you currently use anything mentioned above?  If so, let me know your thoughts about them in the comments below.  Also, do you have any Holy Grail products you would like to recommend?  I would love to hear about them ;)

- Courtney

Staple Healthy Foods

Hello Everyone!

Today I was planning on a completely different post for our Health topic, but the item still hasn't arrived....so I decided to share with you some of my healthy staple foods.  As I mentioned last week I am really trying to eat a healthier diet based on mostly meats, fruits, and vegetables.  I am doing this for both weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.  Once I reach my goal weight I want to continue healthy habits that are easily maintainable.  I have found that the best way for me to stick to a specific way of eating is to not buy any junk food or temptations!  I know this can be really difficult for people, but it really is the best way to avoid shoveling garbage in your mouth once you walk through your front door!  I try to keep certain things in my house at all times to ensure I  always have something healthy to eat.
 

I always try to keep berries in my fridge or freezer! They are my go to sweet food and curb my cravings for non healthy sweets!

I am someone who cannot function without breakfast, so when I am too lazy to whip up some eggs, oatmeal is the perfect way to start my day.

Similar to keeping berries on hand, I always have our freezer stocked with tons of vegetables. This helps me avoid eating carbs with my dinners.

Almonds, cashews, and walnuts are a great snack to have around. They are perfect for in between meals or to throw in my purse to avoid stopping for fast food while out and about.

Let me know if you have any staple foods you always have around your house.  I would love suggestions!

Remember stay positive and keep pushing for your goals :) You CAN do this!

- Courtney

Haul in my Head

Hello Everyone,

Happy Home Monday :)  Today I am lusting over all of the things I want to purchase for our home, but currently cannot.....hence the "haul in my head".  Slowly but surely all of these items should find their way into our house, but in the mean time a girl can dream (and drool), right?!

Victorian 2 Light Hester Inverted Ceiling Pendent

Marble Oval Top Side Table

Rose Quilted Throw

White Pedestal Kitchen Table

Flush Mount Crystal Light

Red Buffalo Check Curtains

 

Do you all have any items you cannot stop thinking about for your homes?  Let me know in the comments :)

 

- Courtney

Happily Ever Alfaro

Hello Everyone!

For my first Hodgepodge Friday, I wanted to share more wedding photographs!  We finally received all of our photographs on CD and as promised before I would show you all.

Enjoy :)

 

- Courtney