what we've been up to

I'm getting really bad at blogging lately. & it's not because we haven't been doing anything at our house. Recently G & his dad built display cabinets & a mini pantry in our kitchen. The doors are built, now they just need to be installed. I'm so thrilled with how things are coming along!

First we painted the paneling above the existing cabinets with glossy white paint.

Then the frame for the display cabinets went up.

Then I put a couple of coats of our cabinet paint on the outside. 

Now all I had to do was paint the inside of the frame and the ceiling.

We still had a bit of a gap between the ceiling and the paneling, so I used some caulk to fill in the gaps. I used it again after the installation of our crown molding in the kitchen.

I love the crown molding!

I feel like the ceilings seem taller with the addition of these display cabinets.

Here is a look at the pantry they built in the awkward space to the left of our refrigerator:

Our narrow garbage can fits perfectly in the bottom of the pantry. I am pretty excited to add the doors though. 

Here is another addition to our kitchen:

I found these fruit & veggie prints on Etsy & have loved the pop of color they add to this corner.

Our hearth room has changed a little bit since the last time I posted an update.

I recently rearranged the displays on our bookshelves.

The cabinet doors have been built, and one side has been installed.

Here is a closer look at the doors on the other side waiting to be installed.

I love how they turned out!

G also built a new medicine cabinet for our master bathroom while I was out of town two weekends ago. It is from a photo he found in my Restoration Hardware catalog. He still has to add some more detail & stain it, but I love it!

I'll leave you with a peak at our bedroom with the new wall color. We love it!

{alli}

buttermilk pancakes with blueberry syrup

G & I have a new favorite weekend tradition: making homemade pancakes on Saturday morning. We have tried several different pancake recipes, & this one is by far our favorite. I found it on Pinterest one morning when we were looking for a new one to try. 

Here is the original post by honey & jam.

We topped our pancakes with the blueberry syrup recipe included in honey & jam's post, as well as fresh strawberries.

please ignore the iPhone quality photos

These pancakes take no time to make, & we had all the ingredients on hand. 

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 tbs melted butter
1 cup buttermilk (I recommend this substitution)

directions:

Combine flour, baking powder, salt & sugar in a medium bowl, whisk to combine. Add egg & butter, stir lightly. Add buttermilk & whisk - not too much, it’ll make your pancakes rubbery.

Heat your griddle to about 325 degrees. Spray with cooking spray. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/3 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides, turning once. 

blueberry syrup:

1 cup Maple Syrup
1 cup blueberries

Heat in a small sauce pan until blueberries have burst. Pour the blueberry syrup over your pancakes. Top with fresh fruit.

 Enjoy!

P.S. I will be posting a long over-due post soon to update everyone on our house progress. We've been working on the hearth room, kitchen, hall bathroom, master bedroom & master bathroom!

{alli}

curtain love & front door redo

Over Christmas my sweet sister Lindsey gave me paneled, burlap curtains she made for our living room. I absolutely love them!

They look great with our new rug & pillows.

I would love to replace the original blinds with some bamboo curtains like these:

the lettered cottage

emily a. clark

birch & lily

sas interiors

 In other news, I painted our front door one Sunday afternoon. I used the grey paint we used on our fireplace redo. I also used black spray paint to cover the metal storm door.

before

& I made sure to scrape off this intimidating home security sticker:

Here is the after!

after

Here is a little info about the front entry. When we first moved in, the house had an iron rail around the porch, as well as old wooden boards covering the concrete base.

We ripped up the boards, took off the rails & tore out the two bushes crowding the entry.

It looks a little bare now, but eventually we will get around to fixing it up. The front door makeover definitely makes a big difference! I can't wait to replace the wooden porch & work on our flower beds & front yard this spring!

{alli}

my favorite cookie

 

If you've been around my side of the family for long, you've probably had my mom's chocolate chip cookies. She actually got the recipe from a friend years ago, but they've been a family favorite ever since! The recipe makes a very large batch, so sometimes I cut it in half, or freeze half.