Contrasting Colours - Kitchen Kick Boards

What's the point in renovating if you can't have a bit of fun with colours right?

 

We are playing it safe and having pure white kitchen cupboards but changing it up a bit and having black kick boards. Whoa I know we're living on the edge of interior design with that colour combo!

 

Seriously though, black kick boards will make the white cabinets look like they're floating. Plus they'll hide stains and scuff marks.

 

Take a look at these contrasting cabinets and kick boards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think of contrasting kick boards?

 

You can see the final kitchen plans here and our renovation action plan here.

 

 

[Image 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

 

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Friday's Letters - Dear MKR Dinner Party

I'm linking up my Friday's Letters over at The Sweet Season why don't you head on over here and link up some letters too.

 

I'm imagining I'm writing my letters from this awesome desk space with an entire black board wall for my hand written notes and musings.

 

 

Dear MKR Dinner Party - The first cook off is this weekend at a friends place - we are using score cards and everything it's going to be very serious dinner party .... Until the wine comes out!

 

Dear Lexi - Week 13 and you have had your first trip to the vet and $180 later I'm thinking you've been an expensive dog so far! Maybe it's a good idea to stop chasing stinging insects hey Lexi .... they hurt and made you sick!

Dear Mr P - Bringing home a big bunch of flowers for me this week was so sweet and romantic. It's such a small thing but I get all warm and fuzzy inside and can't wipe the smile off my face. I love getting flowers. But I love you more xxx

Dear Indian Take Away - This weeks delicious Indian takeaway certainly kicked ass on the usual Maccas burger takeaway binge. To have it home delivered by the owner because he lives nearby was even better. Jolly Good Indian you are now on speed dial!

Dear Outdoor Movie Night - I like a good movie night but the outdoor cinema was probably not the best location now we're into Autumn and it was spitting with rain! It was a beautiful night under the stars nonetheless and Kon-Tiki was a great adventure and true story to watch.

Dear Kitchen Renovation - Having the final kitchen plans signed this week makes my dream for a new kitchen all the more real. Need to get stuck into the action plan pretty soon! 

Head over here to join in this week's Friday Letters

[Image via Pinterest]

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Final Kitchen Plans

Since we signed off on our Kitchen Design last month we have been back to the kitchen company QN Designs about 3 times to confirm final measurements.

 

Final kitchen design signed and complete

Firstly, there wasn't enough room for our  fridge which meant the drawers beside the fridge had to be reduced so the fridge would fit. I was pretty upset about the drawers because it would mean I had nowhere to put  my pots and pans which is kind of crucial! So we tweaked it to make the fridge area smaller - fingers crossed the fridge doors will open OK or worse case scenario we might have to buy a new fridge!

 

We also squeezed room for the drawers by reducing the size of the microwave area - there are so many different microwaves on the market and they don't need such a huge space as they did years ago. I can live with a smaller microwave if it means I have more drawer space. Storage is my main goal in this design!

 

We made the glass cabinets over the oven bench bigger which means they should fit all my different wine and cocktail glasses. Every domestic goddess needs wine glasses within easy reach! 



Fridge cabinet and Glass overhead cabinets
Cooker bench - Drawers, oven and microwave cabinet

Onto the Island Bench in the centre, unfortunately this had to be reduced in size to allow enough room to walk around the kitchen. I'm not too happy that we have lost both bench top preparation space and drawer space in the Island Bench but there's not really much we can do about it. We have a small kitchen and maybe the Island Bench isn't the best design for a small space, but having all drawers instead of cupboards is what I see as the benefit to this Island Bench Vs L Shape Bench.

 

Island Bench

Over to the sink area, we have squeezed in a dual pull out bin which I'm really happy about - no more running into the laundry with my hands full of food trying to open the lid with the foot pedal while food falls everywhere! A bit of an extravagant extra at $450 but the convenience makes it worth the money.

We made the sink cupboard smaller so we could make the drawers on the end bigger - again with the extra storage - storage is my best friend in the kitchen!

This means we can only have a single basin sink which is fine because we'll have the bonus of having a dishwasher. The plumbing will be a bit tight under the sink with such a small cupboard but luckily we have a super star plumber friend who completely redid our bathroom plumbing and so this sink will be a piece of cake for him to install here's hoping!

 

Sink Bench - Drawers, dishwasher, cupboard and drawer bin

Finally, the pantry with the overhead cupboards we ended up making the pantry and overhead one cabinet so it looks like one unit. Then the overhead cupboard with the open shelving next to it will be set back slightly. This is because we don't want to cover the existing window. Hopefully you wont notice they are different depths.

The only other option we have is to reduce the depth of the pantry but this would mean less storage room for food etc which isn't really practical. Once I have some nice decor and cookbooks displayed in the open shelves that should distract the eye from the different cupboard depths and I don't think it will be too noticeable.

 

Pantry, overhead cupboards and open shelving

They are also making a pelmet to go over the top of all the cupboards to go to the ceiling height. We will then install the cornice ourselves. I don't like cupboards that stop short of the ceiling as you accumulate so much dust, oil and dirt and who wants to clean that? Not me!

Pelmets overhead of cabinets
 

So that's the final kitchen plans and I'm feeling pretty good about how it's turned out. The kitchen company have been really helpful trying to do the best they can to meet our needs and being patient while we tweak and make changes until we're absolutely happy with it. 

 

This week we will pay our first installment which is 40% of the total cost of the job so the cabinets can start being made. We are also being sent a schedule of works so we can see what we need to get done on our renovation action plan in time for the kitchen to be installed.

 

Stay tuned for more kitchen updates in the coming weeks!

 

[All images my own]

 

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Book Review: Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown by Adena Halpern

I have just read the book Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown, Notes from a Single Girl's Closet by Adena Halpern.

 

This was the story of Adena the author, telling the tales of her love/hate relationship with her wardrobe, from a young school age through to now when she is in her mid 30's.

 

Each chapter is a new outfit, a new memory and a new time in her life. This isn't a fashionista book but rather Adena relating back to the clothes she wore and how she felt about herself and life at the time. From the embarrassment of her prom dress she sewed herself, the over the top Madonna phase, the perfume scents those closest to you wear and the memories they evoke to what she was wearing when her partner proposed to her.

I really enjoyed this book it was easy to read and made me smile most of the way through as I felt I could really relate to it. The author is a bit like Carrie Bradshaw and being based in New York and Los Angeles you get that vibe as well.
 

I would recommend this book to those of us who always seem to remember what you (and others!) were wearing on a certain day and a certain time in your life - you'll absolutely love this book. 

 

I give this book 4 stars.

 

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:

1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

 

[Image via Angus Robertson]

 

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Blogging Your Way Ecourse Blog Boss - Course Review

Over the past 4 weeks I have taken you through what I've been learning on the Blog Boss online course with Blogging Your Way Ecourse guru Holly Becker. Now here is my final recap of the course in case anyone is interested in taking one in the future to see if it would suit you. You can see all the Blogging Your Way Ecourses here.

 

I have learnt so much about blogging in the past month. Sure there's lots of information out there on the web and in books about how to do things to your blog but this course was fun, interactive and engaging. It made me want to learn.

Lessons are done via a blog post on a certain topic. There are about 10 blog posts a week on different topics as well as 1-2 podcasts to watch. What I found really useful was converting the posts to a PDF to print out and keep which I've done for the topics I want to refer back to.

There is homework each week and you are given the entire week to complete it and then post to a forum for other students to see. The idea is that you can interact on the forum with other students and with the teachers as well to help each other out and ask questions etc.

I won't lie this course for the last 4 weeks has been pretty full on with a lot of content to read and absorb. But it was manageable as you didn't have to read the posts on the day, I tended to save them up and read through a few in one day making notes and printing what I needed to.

 

The teachers are clever and fun which has kept me engaged the whole way through. They range from the lovely Holly herself of Decor8 a decorating blog, Irene of Bloesm a design blog and Steffi of Ohhhmhhh a food and design blog.

 

I really found this was one of a kind information that is so relevant to those of us in the blogging world. We understand each other and it seems to have been a bit of a taboo and unspoken language about how we set up and run our blogs like they are a business - it was such a release to read and learn about how to be our own blog boss.

At the end of this course I am feeling really driven and enthusiastic to learn and put into practice the ideas and tools I've been given. In fact I've already spent hours making changes and taking onboard what I've learnt - hopefully my lovely readers can see the changes I've made to make it easier for you to navigate around my blog space!

I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to take their blog to the next level and learn things from how to make your blog look more appealing to how to approach a business for sponsorships. For more information on what the course covers check out my week by week reviews below.

The course fee is $129 USD and includes 4 weeks of the online course plus access to the forum for 4 weeks after the course ends. I felt the course offered great value for money taking into consideration the teachers time and efforts on lessons and course content.

#blogboss

Picking the Decor8 BYW Blog Boss Ecourse
See my Week 1 recap here

See my Week 2 homework here
See my Week 2 recap here
See my Week 3 recap here
See my Week 4 recap here

 

[Image via BYW Ecourse byfryd]
 

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Lexi 3 Months On - The Backyard Destroyer

Who would've thought this cute little furry face that we rescued from the RSPCA just 3 months ago would turn into a backyard destroyer?

  

Lexi has turned the lawn into a sand pit with her running and digging, beware of twisting your ankle walking into her rabbit hole tunnels she loves to dig, she's pulled over and emptied all my herb pots under the patio, frangipani cuttings I'd been growing chewed to bits, vegetables trampled and destroyed, all the plant tags removed so I have no idea what I've planted where ... I've officially given up on the backyard!

Like most dogs Lexi's 2 favourite things to do are CHEW and DIG!

She pulled down a set of brand new outdoor lanterns 1 by 1 and tore them to shreds, all my plastic solar lights, wooden stick oil burners, little kids shoes (oh yes that caused tears!), her own bed  and blankets, door mats, just about anything she can get her teeth into really.

Mr P put a paint brush down turned his back for 10 seconds and she had grabbed it in her mouth and ran with wet paint dripping everywhere to chew her new play thing. Can you imagine? Lexiiiiiiiiii drop the paint brush now!

There must have been kids that lived in our home before us, finding toys down our drain was a big hint to this!

Lexi has dug up all sorts of treasures ... Barbie dolls, dinosaurs, trucks, cars, figurines and all sorts of funny objects. It's hilarious to come and find her in her bed holding onto a dinosaur with its head bitten off. You get em Lexi!

When Lexi's not chewing - she's digging.

Oh yes we have lots of places for her to dig. Like where our lawn use to be for instance. Yes we had lawn but not anymore. The backyard is just one big sand pit for Lexi to dig until her little paws are content. Sometimes she doesn't just dig, she excavates! Check out this little project she left for me recently ... friends think she should be helping to work on the mines she'd find gold in no time!

It took me a while to realise that whenever I give her bones, she buries them straight away. And then digs them up. Buries. Digs up. Buries. Digs up.

When I caught onto this I started to make little ice dog treats for her instead that way she had to lick her treat she couldn't bury it anywhere! It's a mix of beef stock, leftover meat, chicken or veggies or dog biscuits and I freeze it in a disposable container and then put it in her bowl for her to lick away for hours. I did wonder if her tongue would stick to it but it didn't (thank god!) and it kept her amused for a lot longer than digging bones did.

On the upside Lexi has been learning her manners and knows how to sit, drop, stay, and go to her bed.

I've tried teaching her to catch the ball but half the time she makes me go fetch it myself which isn't so much fun! She does love to play chasey though, she bolts around our Around The Tree Garden and has now made a bit of a running track for herself, complete with booby trap holes so if we should follow her around the tree to chase her some more we would probably twist an ankle. Ouchy!

Lexi the backyard destroyer ... just don't leave your shoes outside friends!

Do you have any tips for stopping dogs from digging and chewing everything?
I'd love to hear them!

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[All images my own]

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Friday's Letters - Dear April

I'm linking up my Friday's Letters over at the lovely The Sweet Season today why don't you head on over here and link up some letters too.

I'm imagining this weeks letters are written from this relaxed spot right on the beach front ... I don't think I would get much writing done with that gorgeous view.

Dear April - Last month was so crazy busy with family Birthdays and study taking up all of my time. April you can just cruise on in and stay a while please.

 

Dear Lexi - Week 12 and you've been a little under the weather this week poor lil pooch. My home made mix of tea tree oil and water hopefully helps sooth your skin. Feel better soon. 

 

Dear Decor8 ecourse - After 4 weeks of study I've finished the BYW course and man do I feel invigorated to chase my dreams and turn them into reality. Watch this space!

Dear Blog - I've spent hours making changes to the layout, my bio, about me and contact pages and adding new page tabs for a House Tour, Entertaining, Craft, Travels and Books. I'd love some feedback from my lovely readers - what do you think of the new look?

 

Dear 30th Birthday Party - Karaoke, jukebox and slushy machine some of the things on the menu tonight for a friend's 30th Birthday party. I'm putting my dancing shoes on!

 

Dear Wedding - I don't know how a bride gets ready for a wedding because I spend weeks planning my outfit, the present, etc and I'm just the guest! I still have nothing to wear tomorrow to my friend's wedding .... Oh well all eyes will be on the bride anyway!

 

 

Head over here to join in Friday's Letters

 

[Image via Pinterest here]
 

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