Countertops

Now for the worst part of all.....sanding. Not that I am having to do the sanding, but I know the clean up is going to be a huge pain. Even with the drop cloth up I am finding dust everywhere. Its one step closer to having apretty kitchen so it's completely worth it but **sigh**. 

Now on to the staining. Abby made the stain from some of our black walnuts. It turned out to be the PEREFCT color! I couldn't be happier with it.

EC and Marnay helping me stain. We put two coats on it.

Now for the oiling. The flax seed oil really makes the color pop.

Perry added these corbels to the bar and it makes it look 100% better.

After the oil dried I tried to wash some dishes. When the water splashed on the wood it made water marks and the stain would wipe away. So we decided to go ahead and urathane the top. I didn't really want to, but in order to preserve the wood and keep my coutertops looking amazing, we went for it. I LOVE my new countertops. It makes my kitchen feel warm and cozy. I can't wait to get it there and start cooking. While we had the kitchen torn apart I went ahead and put new contact paper in the cabinets and drawers. Talk about having that new kitchen feel. It's wonderful!

 

Around the house is November

The pie Emily made for Lesa, but she ended up being sick on her birthday. It was okay, we are it and celebrated Lesa a few weeks later with more goodies. I really wanted to add this picture because of that horrid countertop in the back and remind myself of just how yucky it was and how glad I am to have my new countertops!

One of the ladies that comes to the herb classes found these goodies for the kiddos. She was so sweet to think of them!

Mrs. Tammi gave EC a silicone cookie cake pan and EC couldn't wait to test it out. It turned out super cute and yummy! 

Emily found herself a foot pump sewing machine a an antique store for a steal of a deal. She brought it home, got it cleaned up and got it working nicely!

Lesa asked me to make rolls for her for a thanksgiving party and I just thought they turned out cute and yummy. The wood burning oven at the feasting hall cooks the best bread hands down.

Pippin and Hugin. Father and son. Hoogie still can't stand Pippy. Poor thing.

Munin got to come hang out on the porch since it's cooler weather again.

She's so sweet and dainty.

 

School

Apparently their team won!

Learning to make macramé water bottle holders. 

Love these girls.

Julia, Keira and Ella Claire.

That's as close as he wanted to get to all those girls.

Making snowmen.

Making play snow.

 

Starting on the countertops!

Oh man, it's not the most flattering picture, but I don't care. This was the last time I cleaned these stupid, horrible countertops!! Now that Friendsgiving and herb classes are over with, I am sooooo excited to get these things out of here! I'm not excited about the whole process, but I know it will be worth it in the long run. Goodbye 80s white bathroom tile. Hello white oak that was laying behind our house when we moved here. I know the tree is just as excited about getting in out of the elements and becoming part of a beautiful kitchen. 

I tried to get pictures of every angle.

Perry used the porch as his work station. It was beautiful weather (to begin with).

Needed a little extra weight to hold the boards down.

First of a lot of sanding.

It already feels better.

Woah, this is the part that makes me want to run away. I hate all the crap flying everywhere and how dirty everything gets.

But look at that new sink!! Worth it!

This sink and faucet retailed for $500+. We found it ready to install on craigslist for $40!

All the boards are in for the countertop and backsplash. Now for the fiberglass resin to go in the holes and in the gaps between the boards.

Yeah, that wasn't enough tape. I ended up having to crawl inside the cabinets and tape up the boards from the bottom so the fiberglass wouldn't go everywhere. We still had some problem spots, but it looks great. It was a lot of work!