Pecan Pie Cookies

Yum, these pecan pie cookies are awesome, easy to make and perfect for the holidays.

Highly recommended!

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Hole in the Wall Gang

We've got a hole in the wall! After demoing out the cabinets on our own, we hired a pro to take down the wall separating our dining and kitchen. We likely could have done it, but when dealing with major items of the home that basically make it stand up, I tend to defer to the pros.  Call me nuts.

Looking from the kitchen into the dining room!  Yay!  It's Christmas central there in the DR, what with the wrapping and packing.  Pardon our dust!

I need to paint both sides of the new pass through and the flooring is a real issue. For now, a rug's going to cover the hole.  Totally amateur, I know.  But until we rip out the kitchen flooring, there's no good temporary solution.

Faucet Love

Thanks to the great blog Russet Street Reno, I found our new kitchen faucet. Yeah, installing it is probably like a YEAR away but at least I'm saving big $$ now.  I told Jake that we'd be assembling a kitchen in our basement over the next year 'cos I'm buying stuff if I find a screaming deal.

$85 bucks, no shipping or tax--whatta deal. I can't believe how expensive plumbing stuff is! 


I'm hoping it looks awesome with the polished nickel pulls I want to use from Martha Stewart's line at Home Depot.  I used these on my bath vanity and they are pretty and very classic.

Demolition (Wo)man

The kitchen remodel marches onward.  Phase I is underway: taking out the wall separating the dining and kitchen.  It divides the space into two small, dark areas that don't work well together.

My new favorite tool is the sledgehammer and "wonder bar", the black and yellow item visible on the counter. Those two items fueled this weekend's demo project, plus a Sawzall wielded by Jake.

Taking down the top cabinets was pretty easy with the wonder bar and a little muscle:

We discovered some old 80's wallpaper under the cabinets.  I was hoping to find some super cool stuff from the 60's, but not so!

The faux granite countertop came off with a couple of whacks from underneath with the sledgehammer and went to a good Craigslist home that same afternoon.

 

Next up: let's (get a professional to) cut a hole in that wall!!