What a Kitchen Renovation looks like

After all the planning and ordering for the kitchen, and packing it up and 'moving' it elsewhere all around the house, we finally began renovation last Wednesday, July 24.

For anyone who's done anything like this, I SALUTE YOU!!!

Our Daily Life  as we knew it was transformed, literally and figuratively! Just take a look at what my house looks like now....

My Pantry in the Living room

My other Kitchen Mess in the Dining room

I tried organizing things well, but since nobody knew ( That includes me) where everything was or where things had to go back in to, it just became pure CHAOS! I've learned to live with this chaos because trying to 'fight' it was truly a futile effort! Hahahaha! The old adage of, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em", truly applies to how I try to fix our stuff right now! And I know you all can sympathize with me on that. 

Aside from our outdoor space and kitchen (the big bright spot in this whole fiasco which I will share later on), we have settled in the basement...

DISPOSABLES - My 'bestfriends' at the moment!

Another Lifesaver - the Little Cooker that could!

It truly works fine for now and we get to watch movies too as we finish up eating (Bear with me as I try to see the positives in our situation)! We're also adding a small exhaust here on the ceiling using the duct work on the vent from our old kitchen. 

As for the Kitchen itself, here's what we had so far...

DAY 1 - removal of the appliances

DAY 2 - Removal of the countertops and sink

DAY 3 Removal of the old cabinets itself & Some of the old floor

On Day 4 the carpenters put some of the cabinets in place already to see the overall lay-out and I definitely was so excited for that part! I'll share that with you soon!

For now, I know you can understand why my posting has been sporadic, as things progress, things need to be decided upon and ordered. So far, except for some minor 'gliches', I think things are going smoothly. But PLEASE, continue to cross your fingers for us!!!! ;-)

Have  a Wonderful Day!

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The Shabby Creek Cottage
Jennifer Rizzo

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Giddy about one little thing... Soft close door damper!

As  my kitchen renovation progresses. I start to take notice of little things that I didn't even think of before.

Like this one - the loud banging noise when you shut cabinet doors! Don't you just hate that, aside from the protective cushions you can apply on the corner, I asked my carpenter, what else I could do to minimize this.

Of course, he told me about the soft-closing hinges (saw some at Home Depot about $9/hinge!), which I wasn't about to do since my cabinets are new and I don't want to replace all my new hinges just yet! 

So, I went to Home Depot and got this...

Soft Close Damper

Basically, here's how it works (The one in the video is not the one above, but it works similarly. I could not seem to upload the video for the damper above)...

At $4 a piece, this was exactly what I was looking for and I love it's simplicity (just 1 tiny screw to attach)  and of course, function!!!! 

I am so giddy about this tiny little thing and if you don't have one yet, a screwdriver is all you'll need to install it! Thank goodness for innovations! Hopefuly my ears will 'bang-free' for awhile, at lease in our new kitchen!

Have a Great day!

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Dwellings - the heart of your home

Kitchen Pendant lighting options

I need your help! I'm so confused as to what kind of pendant I should put on our island.

With all the beautiful pendants out there choosing one is sooo difficult! This is the vent that's going on the island...

                                                                 Zephyr Island Hood Milano G series

The plan's changed a bit and instead of having the vent centered on the island, I decided to have it centered in the kitchen instead. Meaning if I stick with this original lay-out...

                                          Vent will be moved this way --> 

... the vent would be covering the refrigerator area. So, we decided to put the cooktop off center to the right. And with that, I will need 2 pendant lights over the island to the left <----- side of the island.

I want pendant fixtures that are fairly easy to clean, don't want any shades or fabric close to my vent and I don't want any uplight as well. Here are my favorites...

Small Hicks Pendant

Super love this one, not too big, but price-wise, pretty expensive, hence my hesitation

Stylish Selection Chrome Pendant

The cheapest ($49) of my options but definitely not lagging behind in beauty. Saw this at Lowe's already and I do love it but the only thing is the that I might get 'chrome' overload since a lot of my appliances will be stainless steel on the island.

Jonathan Adler Rio Pendant

Love this one for it's simplicity. However, might be a bit big for the space. Have to see first when island cabinet is placed...

Cap & Globe Pendant

Cute, classy and simple. Nothing not to love about this one.

Jonathan Adler Pendant

Another Adler fave, mid-century chic.

Mercury Glass Pendant light

Very pretty to look at and price-wise, super reasonable compared to the others. Only possible issue is again the size.

Ecran Pendant Light in Lattice

My ultimate fave right now. This lighting is sort of customizable. There are 2 types of  of finish on the outer glass, gold or platinum plus, 3 different patterns - Lattice, Moroccan and Plaid. I love the plaid the best. What's more, you can buy extra glass shade and change it up when you get tired! 

Only down side? Of course, the price!

Anyway, your guessing that I'm going for gold/brass accents. Hence, my love for more of this type of fixture. If you were to choose, what would you choose? What's your dream kitchen lighting? Do you have the lighting of your choice in your kitchen? What did you consider before you picked that one?

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Great Weekend!!!

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Filders under one roof
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Design Details of the Disney Fantasy - PART 2

 

Ok, last time I showed you a lot of the design details of this fantastic ship. And today, I'll share with you their gorgeous restaurants and clubs!

The Enchanted Garden

An elegant conservatory/restaurant on the 2nd deck with a beautiful changing ceiling from dawn 'til dusk!

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The Royal Court

A Lavish and elegant dining room with the Disney Princesses in mind! You see all sorts beautiful mosaic art here and truly fit for any Prince or Princess!

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Snow White is one of my favorite and I just love this mosaic mural!

Animators Palate

A wonderously themed rotatinoal dining restaurant that boasts of two amazing shows which we all enjoyed!

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I would love to have one of these!

Ever-changing wall decor

Love all the sketches in the lobby

Mickey on the floors too!

The Cabanas

This is by the pool deck which hosts buffets all day long!

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Amazing Nemo Mosaic Mural

See the gorgeous detail!

La Piazza

We enjoyed family "Trivia games" here in the daytime and at night, great music and lighter ambience in this Italian piazza-themed bistro.

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Ooh-la-la

Perfect name for the perfect lounge. They serve different types of Champagne here and I love the peach one I tried. I felt like Marie Antoinette in this place!

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Skyline Lounge

Stayed only in this gorgeous lounge in passing since most of the crowd here were big groups. Love the changing European skyline scenery.

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O'Gills Pub

Where we watched the NBA Eastern Conference finals (Miami vs. Indiana), a real sports bar atmosphere.

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The Tube

Inspired by the London Underground, this disco is for adults only. Super cool place to hang-out.

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Remy

Inspired by the movie of the same name, this is fine dining at its best on a cruise ship. We not only enjoyed the ambience here but the servers were all informative, friendly and the food was superb! Worth every penny!

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Check out Remy up top!

A hidden rat on the chairs

My yummy dessert - too pretty to eat?! Nah! Love the Chocolate gold flakes!

The D lounge

Where we had a lot of family disco, cooking shows, family game shows and BINGO!

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Hope you enjoyed the part 2 of the tour of this marvelous ship!

Have a Great day!!

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