subway

once avery was born, we felt ready to begin tackling the kitchen once again.

the cabinets desperately needed some sanding + a new paint job, and as i said before, i hated the fluorescent light fixture above the sink.

so, we ripped it all out and started from scratch!

(don't mind the incredibly cluttered kitchen!!  i can't stand messes...ask danny :)

after sanding and painting, we started to tile the backsplash.  thanks to youtube, we were able to get it up quickly and without any major complications!  thank goodness for technology.  we used a simple white subway tile and i couldn't be happier with the finished result:

another one of danny's friends lent us his tile cutter!!

i'm not sure we could ever fix up a house on our own... 

the process was relatively easy...

except the tile spacers kept falling out so we kind of just had to eyeball it in some places.

during the tiling process, another one of danny's talented friends installed the perfect lights i found for our cabinets:

and once the tiles were set, we were able to grout and finish it completely.  we were a little worried, since we've never grouted anything before...but miraculously it turned out!!

one of the hardest parts for us was finding the balance between waiting long enough for it to dry...but not too long that it wouldn't come off.  luckily, we found it! it took a little bit of arm strength to wipe it clean (our my arms were definitely sore the next day...) 

but i must say, it was worth it.

glistening clean.  isn't it lovely??

next up: the first faucet installation + the cabinet renovation

the seven layer wall

once we knew we were moving in, the wallpaper was the first thing to go.  

from first glance, we thought the walls were the only things covered...come to find out, the entire ceiling was covered as well.  

seven layers of wallpaper later, we found the original paint color.

beautiful, isn't it?? :)

 some of the wallpaper we uncovered was extremely vintage looking.  our house was built in the 1920's.  i would love to be able to see pictures of our home throughout the years!

since danny has connections with some incredibly talented people, we were able to re-texture our ceiling and walls...thanks to cody!  then, danny's dad painted the ceiling.  what a good man!  (i promise we helped too!)

and then, we were finally able to paint!  we got a sample of one, but it was a little too green for me...

and then we found this:

and that's where we'll end today.

next up: the tile backsplash + cabinet lighting!

evolution

one of my biggest goals last year was to work on fixing up our home.  there was {and still is!} plenty to be done but we have come a loooong way from the first time we stepped foot in our little place.

over the next few days, i'm going to have an extreme home make-over: mckinley edition :)  

taking you step-by-step through the evolution of the kitchen.

the kitchen has been our main focus mostly because i spend a lot of time there.  i wanted a space that i loved to be in...and what we started with was something almost frightening.

see for yourself:

mis-matched cabinets had to go

kitchen scissors attached to the wall (!!!)

random single cabinet seemed out of place

stove was from the dark ages

one foot of counter space next to the oven was ghetto...believe me.

oh, and the wallpaper!!! it was everywhere.  covering the walls + ceiling!!  layers and layers of it too.

frilly curtains...not my style :)

wallpaper under the windows in the mudroom

the pieced together backsplash was a definite eye-sore

fluorescent lighting is not a favorite of mine

...and the faucet was un-stable.  as in, it moved every time you turned it on.  awesome! :)

would you agree with me?

something needed to be done!

get ready for tomorrow's next installment of pictures :)

p.s. i'm wanting to enable comments again on my blog but i can't seem to figure it out.

any pointers??  jessie.lynn.george@gmail.com

happy new year!!

what an incredible year it has been!!!  there have been plenty of good times, and some hard times but all-in-all i think it's safe to say it's been the best year yet!  here's a recap:

january

.decided on new year's eve to spend a week in oklahoma to help out mike + bekah

.tore up the ceiling in our living room!! it was a disaster for a long time, but it is beautiful now

february

.started the trading post blog  

{one of these days i may start it up again...maybe :)  anybody want to help??}

march

.began the renovation of the yard

april

.welcomed baby avery into our family!!!

may

.began the renovation of our kitchen!

{as of now, jan. 2012...it is almost finished! pictures to come!}

.built growboxes and planted a garden!

june

.blessed sweet baby avery

.celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary!! so glad we were able to go.  

that was the last time i saw my wonderful grandpa.

.snuck away to the large city of price, utah for a seminary training :) 

max stayed with the grandparents.

july

.celebrated the fourth of july with friends and family

.ran a 10k!  

{next time i will train...}

.spent lots of time outside + ate tons of popsicles

.went to the ute stampede

.camped with the mckinley family

.spent three jam-packed days in salt lake city with danny's family

august

.took a somewhat relaxing family vaycay to st. george

.graduated from BYU!!!

.took family pictures

.celebrated three years!

september

.max turned TWO!

october

.installed a sprinkler system! ...with the help of many

.spent halloween weekend up at fish lake with close friends

november

.went to idaho for my grandpa's funeral

.happy thanksgiving!

.cut max's hair into a mullet...for a few minutes :)

december

.chopped off all my hair!

.threw alli a bridal shower

 .celebrated christmas eve with delicious dinner + a puzzle

.had a wonderful christmas day + vacation {post to come...}

.celebrated alli + tony's wedding!!! 

{post to come as well...}

.rang in the new year!!

here's to an even better year.  yay for 2012!!