Ikea Kitchen Planner

Three words:

I.
Love.
You.



Seriously.

You make my life so much easier... I can change you around easily. I can play with features, and get a running total while I go!

Greg and I have finally finished up the cabinet choices. Next week we will go to Ikea, and talk yo one of the kitchen people to make sure we have done everything right. And then we will be ordering our cabinets.


AAAAAHHHHH

This is kind of scary.....

Here is a picture of our kitchen to be! It doesnt have the counters on it or appliances because those things are coming from other places.

OMG OMG OMG I can't wait..... even though I am totally nervous.

Note: the tiles are not how we are doing them. There are like 3 choices for how tall you want to put your pretend tiles on the wall. Also that left corner is going to have shelves, and they are going to be awesome. 

New Oven!

Well, there is something to be said about appliance shopping. The things I might say about it are not suitable for print. Having the Ikea Nutid slide in range in mind at the low price of $1200, yes I sad low price, I actually looked omline to read reviews. let's just say, they were less than favourable.

I try to keep in mind that most people who write reviews are either blown away by awesomeness, or experiencing a total suck fest. Ikea's appliances seem to represent more of the latter.

I had pinned a bunch of awesome looking slide in electric ranges to Pintrest and then went forth to read the reviews. Most were horrible. It seems that electronics die in ovens a lot these days. This is disheartening!

There were a few though that had good reviews, and were reviewed by people but also companies. So these are the stoves I did further research into. I went to the lovely store Corbeil Appliances not far from my house, and took a look at these stoves in real life.

One stove really stood out: The Samsung 30' Slide in range. It was pretty. It was functional. There was even a model that turns into a double oven! Yes! A single oven can be a double oven.

And because I am a girl who likes a good deal, though the double oven version was on sale it was still $2000 (!!!) we bought the floor model of the version one step down from that. It still cost us more than we had budgeted but I think we got a pretty amazing range at a pretty good price!

It gets delivered April 4. We haven't started doing anything in our kitchen yet... this could be fun....

Shit's Getting Real

OK. I have spent the last week INTENSELY SHOPPING FOR FLOOR AND BACKSPLASH TILES. I mean, super intensely. There are a few different tile places in Ottawa, and I have to say, that none really gave me the inspiration I was looking for. It's is important to keep in mind, that I am looking for things that are different than most people would put in their house. And that of course makes it very difficult to find what I want.
I went to EuroTile a few times, and I saw these AMAZING tiles:

I especially liked this one:

Then, we measured our space. Sadly, these tiles are 8"x8" and way too big. Our backsplash area is quite short. So, that took them out of the running. However, I am keeping them in my idea book in my brain for a bathroom... just in case...

I went to all the big box stores. Nothing nothing nothing. Everything is BROWN. Or GREY. and the white stuff all looks cheap and shitty.Everything seems so outdated. Especially at Home Depot. Home Depot, you are lagging behind in the design arena! Take note!!

We looked online. Greg found some cool tiles on Wayfair.com and these ones had us excited:

  They are small, and cute! They are different, and would totally work in our kitchen.

But then........

We went counter shopping.

Again, big box stores had zero laminates we liked. Laminates are so cheap and durable, and also authentic to the 50's kitchen. We had always thought we would use one. (I will give props to the people at Wilsonart, who have amazing patterns available!! Visit their website and see for yourself!) I had noticed this particular Quartz sample at Rona, and tucked it away in that brain idea book, and when we were being dismayed about crappy fake stone laminates, I took Greg over to the Quartz section and showed him this one. And you know what? He really liked it too. Now I know that quartz is like a million times pricier than laminate... but we have a pretty small counter space... so really, why not splurge??????

Here is a picture of the one we like. It is called Montgomery, by Cambria.

There is a bit brighter of a soft turquoise in there that wasn't picking up on my phone. but I think it's lovely!!!

And this brings me back to the backsplash.
None of the tiles we like would go with this counter. I have been hesitant to use subway tile. I feel that, while it is considered timeless, it is way over used and sort of expected. I wanted to try something more fun. But, I am willing to sacrifice my want for uniqueness for this counter. Also, there is a pretty serious lack of options anyways. So, it looks like we will be going with a subway tile after all. That being said, there is a pretty diverse range of subway tiles out there. I want one that is very glossy and very flat so that the wall will appear nice and flat and level and glossy.

I also picked the colour I want for the two walls and random other areas. It's Farrow and Ball's Blue Ground, which is just about the perfect colour that has been in my head since we started talking about this kitchen.

Here it is in action. Isn't it the best thing ever??????

I think so.

I took some flooring samples to Rona with a paint chip that was similar (because I am very forgetful these days and forgot the F&B one at home) and made a little mood board on their desk. I think that this kitchen is going to look amazing.

How's About Some Pintrest?

First off, you should be following me on Pintrest. I don't pin a whole lot, so don't be scared!

Find me here!

As I am thinking more and more about this kitchen that I am going to be designing (omg omg) I am really drawn into these warm turquoise rooms. Turquoise can be a very cold colour; but it can be warm as well. Striking the right balance between the accents colours will be the key I think.

I'm going to share a few pics I have pinned on my various kitchen boards. These are the ones I am using as my main inspiration. I want a vintage kitchen, but I can't have one, so I'm going to make a close one dammit!!

FLOORS

Flooring is one of the first things I would like to pick out. It will really change what colours I choose for walls, for counters, and back-splashes. I think that the right hue will hit me and it'll all come together. Here are a few of the looks I really dig:

CUPBOARDS

I love white cabinetry. I think it makes the space so bright and happy. It's also timeless. I don't want to do a kitchen again for 20 years. Here are a few styles that I think are groovy:

um, can we please discuss that SMEG fridge??????????

COUNTER

So I have one pic of a counter that I like that isn't butcher block..... however that's not a practice surface for this family!! I do love the Formica counters, and they are DURABLE, for ever. And that's what we will probably go with. Here is my lone pic:

hello Catherineholm I see you!

And now, to show you the main three Inspiration Pics that I am working off of, one at a time so we can discuss amongst ourselves:

I really love the dark floor in this one, and how the wood pops against all the white cabinets. I enjoy how the turquoise is kept to the backsplash, which gives it a bit of a showcase without being overwhelming; it keeps it modern. Yellow is probably going to be my main accent colour as well, so this has all the bases covered!

This one is pretty "retro". I am trying to stay away from full blown kitsch, but that'll be more dependant on accessories not cabinet styles and wall colours... right?

 This is my #1 favourite kitchen. I don't like the black dishwasher, but whatever. I love the subway tile. I love the sink. The floor is great and probably very close to what I am leaning towards. I like the style of the light above the sink with the wood valance and side shelves. This pic is pretty much everything.

So... as you can see, I have some decisions to make! This is going to be hard... wish me luck!!

Putting the horse before the cart

This year I dragged the family all the way to Aylmer Ontario for Christmas holidays. That is the very small town I grew up in. There is not much going on in Aylmer. On Tuesdays, from farther back than I was alive, there was a market. It was a farmers market, which slowly turned into a resale junk market and is now mostly dead except for a few cheese and deli meat vendors, fabric people, and a few used furniture guys. We went on Tuesday to get a bunch of stuff for Christmas, and we saw this green sink hanging out by some couches. I took this picture of it, and we left.

I posted the pic to Instagram, with the caption to the effect that I loved the sink, but we left it behind, though it would probably still be there next year when we came back.

Then this happened:

 We paid $14 for this sink. It is made in Canada in 1954, has the original water spout but not handles, and is in excellent condition. We are going to sadly have to rip out our glorious pink bathroom, but now that we have some sink inspiration... I might be ok with that. Now to find a matching toilet!!!

Merry Christmas :)

Kitchen Reno: It's Happening!

Well, I know I don't post too often on here these days. I have been so consumned with kids and life and work, that we haven't been doing a whole lot of stuff with the house. Well, let me tell you: the year 2015 is going to be filled with a whole bunch of renovations! yay!! I am excited. Scared, but excited. Greg worked long and hard on an Ikea kitchen planner to come up with this, our future kitchen:

I went to Ikea today, and it appears they are switching their kitchen system to a new one in Feb. I am looking forward to seeing what it is like! I am sure it is pretty much the same as this one, I mean really, how innovative can you really get on pre-fab kitchens? In any case.. this kitchen project is happening!! IT'S TIME TO SHOP FOR TILES

We aren't totally sold on an Ikea kitchen at this point, and while most of the reviews I have had in real life are very positive, buying something like this is scary to me. It's my first time. Eek.

Get ready for some posts, people!

Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage: you are a vegetable I have grown to love in life. You are so versatile; so tasty. And the way your inner leaves weave around inside when I cut you in half make me happy.

My mom used to make cabbage rolls all the time. When I was a kid, I would take off all the cabbage and eat the meat inside with copious amounts of ketchup. To this day, I still use copious amounts of ketchup on my cabbage rolls but now I very much enjoy the cabbage and the *secret ingredient* as well. Mom's cabbage rolls are always a big hit and I have myself brought them to many pot lucks by request. I guess at one point she got sick of making them for me all the time so she showed me how to do it. And now, I can bring to you, the cabbage rolls of my youth.

Mom, I am sorry to be sharing your recipe here online. But every time I make them, people ask me, no Beg me, for the recipe. So I am going to type that motherfucker out for everyone. Now I have a place I can send them to when they say "OMG those look so good can I please have the recipe??!!" You, dear reader, just may be reading this because I have sent you here. So, please forgive my lack of pictures. Please forgive my flowery writing style. It makes a difference when you are trying to explain such things as cutting the stalk part out of a leaf, when you can't show someone in real life. So saddle up my future cabbage rollers! Here, we embark on adventure :)

RUTHY'S CABBAGE ROLLS

One head of regular or flat cabbage
Ground beef, approx 1lb or more depending on size of cabbage

Minute rice, or cooked regular rice
Can of mushroom pieces, drained, or some fresh diced mushrooms
Green Pepper, diced
Onion, diced
Worchestershire Sauce
One egg
Garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Can of Heinz tomato juice (large can)
Medium to large jar of sauerkraut

Get a big pot of water boiling. Cut downwards into the cabbage around the stem, to loosen the leaves from the stem. Stick it in the boiling water. Let that sit for a bit. In the meantime, mix the meat, and all the other ingredients (not including the tomato juice and sauerkraut) in a big bowl. Mix it up real good. Now your cabbage leaves should be getting ready. Make sure they are cooked well or you might have crunchy cabbage rolls. Take a layer off at a time, three leaves usually, or more if they seem cooked. On a cutting board, cut in a V shape, the thick stem part off of the leaf, so that it isn't tough and thick. Take a handful of the meat mixture, roll it a bit, then fit it in the stem half of the leaf. Tucking in the sides, roll it up nice and tight. Place in a roasting pan, and continue on until the pan is full. You may need to layer, especially if you do two heads of cabbage at once (which I recommend because you can freeze them!) Once you have everything rolled, you cover it with sauerkraut and then tomato juice. Sometimes you may need more juice than is in one can. I find that minute rice sucks up moisture but pre-cooked rice doesn't so it needs less juice. Cook for 3-4 hours, covered, at 350. Check periodically to make sure they aren't drying out. if they are, add more juice. Serve with sour cream or ketchup!

Sometimes my cabbage rolls drip so make sure to have a pan or something under your roaster to catch the drippings. Also, you can use pork in these as well but we always used straight up hamburger. There are many versions of this recipe out there, but this one is the most flavourful one I have ever had. I do swear by the Heinz tomato juice, and do use their saurkraut as well but any sauerkraut will do!

As for the rice, I use more if I need more meat mixture, or if the mix seems too wet and sticky. Usually for one batch I use 3/4-1 cup.


Happy Rolling!!!