Kitchen Before and After

I've been wanting to post before and after photos of our kitchen for a long time. Every time I start- I quit because our kitchen doesn't have much natural light and it's hard to take photos in. I decided to buckle down today and take them whether they looked dreamy or not:) I had just cleaned and organized all my kitchen cabinets so I figured that today was a "now or never" moment.

Most of our home as been a 'work in progress' from 2010. And if you have lived in your home while remodeling it- you appreciate the end products a LOT. My kitchen still needs a pantry and a cabinet framed around our double ovens but a lifetime table from Costco does the trick for now:)

We will start with the before:

Before we tore into it. The cabinet doors were bowed due to being made with wood that wasn't dried properly. The island had two cracks in it from the same issue. 

I was 8 months pregnant when my kitchen looked like this. We used our bathroom for a kitchen. Oh, and was on bed rest as well:) We made it through!

We used the same cabinet bases and made new doors. Josh did a LOT of the work himself. I'm one lucky wife.

If your home has ever looked like this due to remodeling raise your hand!

and the after... 

 I know, I know. I have lots of copper. Some claim it's out of style now- but I love it still. It's one thing that fits with our 'more rustic' home and I love collecting it!

 I love this utensil bar from Ikea. I like things to look nice but they MUST pass the practical test! I like having a place for everything.

Yard sale planter.

 I love my hammered, copper sink!

Above the refrigerator.

 Josh sanded and refinished all those beams, by HAND. 

I can wipe them now without tearing holes in my cloth:)

I recently added this table on the right. It's always nice to

have extra space to place your groceries on when your

kitchen counters are full of dirty dishes:)

 I have dreamt of a sideboard for this space below our open shelves for so long. I finally found one on Craigslist. It was a good deal but came with a price:) Turns out once we get it home it's a fancy office desk with a motor in the bottom to raise your computer screen. See the hole in the top? And it was heavy as an elephant. I'm serious. The couple claimed it was a solid sideboard and that's why it weighed so much. We opened the first three drawers (that worked) and said we'd take it! Once we got it home and found a motor inside I could have bawled. The front two doors don't open but Josh is going to convert it over one of these fine days. Things are not always as perfect as they seem:)I still love it! Hole in the top and all:)

If you are getting ready to remodel your kitchen bless your heart!

It's worth it I promise!

Hope

Hopefulthings ramblings

It's been awhile since I've sat down and said "hello". I'm so grateful for the amount of folks who say they still use recipes from this stagnant blog:) One day I hope to get back into creating recipes regularly...

 I Recently wrote an article for the Daughters of Promise magazine. It is on

"Cultivating a Restful Holiday", a 10-page assortment of Christmas decor tips, recipes, and gift ideas. To purchase a copy or digital subscription head over to here.

My newest hobby is finding treasures for my "hopefulthings boutique" situated in my sister's fabric shop. It really has been a fun adventure for me. I was in no way looking to start a business. My sister and her friend decided to move their fabric shop from a home based; pop-up shop to a retail space on Main Street in Dayton. They had some extra space so they suggested I sell some of my extra antiques and home decor. I consented and have really enjoyed it! I'm not in it for the money... It's simply an outlet for me; and I can still keep the home fires burning.

I recently added some new inventory and wanted to share it with you.

I hope your having a wonderful December!

Hope 

Pecan Pie

I have a recipe to share with you!

A pecan pie made with real maple syrup and no Karo syrup. I've been tweaking this recipe for a couple years now, but I'm finally where I want it to be.

 Pecan Pie

 1 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 large eggs

3 tbsp. melted butter

2 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or plain vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. whiskey

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans.

In a bowl whisk all ingredients together except the pecans. Place pecans in an unbaked pie shell and pour syrup over pecans. Bake at 350 for 45 min. 

Or until top starts to puff up. 

Happy Thanksgiving week!

Hope

Making Apple Butter

I've always wanted to make apple butter and yesterday I finally did! My friend, Amy, invited us over to make it behind their barn and it was a lovely time.

Here is a link to watch a video of the day!

 

Happy fall!

Hope 

Caroline Bakes again!

It's been a busy last two weeks- so yesterday I decided to let Caroline bake cookies for her Dad. 

Here is a link to the video.

 Enjoy!

Hope

Barn Sale 2016

Another wonderful barn sale has come and gone. The weather stayed nice and clear. It was a little warm but better than rain (i kept telling myself while I was sweating setting up my booth)... :)

It seems to get better every year. This year was another great group of talented vendors; enjoying what they do, interacting with community and sharing their talents. 

Here are some images I caught of the event. I see now I missed some vendors; it's starting to get hard to capture them all!

 

 

 

See you next year!

Hope