I added summer touches to the butlers pantry, finally! Styling these shelves was such a fun project for me. I had the music cranked and just let my mind wander and just played. Played with color, texture and shine. I added my purple dessert cups (thrift store find) and some moss balls. Plus some purple napkins I found in a clearance bin and some modern purple and white dishes. I tried to keep in mind what I use a lot, so I tried to keep the most used items closer to the bottom. Within blonde reach For my coffee bar, I must have walked around my house 30 times looking for the perfect container to use to store coffee pods. I finally chose a birdcage. Simply because no one has ever done that yet. (yes this idea is patented, so if you copy it plz pony up one dollar ~ Kidding!) I like the birdcage because it is functional, pretty and I can also see when we are running low just by walking by it. One of the top shelves I reserved for stemware and white pitchers. I can’t seem to walk by any ki......

We finally seem like we are making progress around here with the Butlers Pantry.  We still have quite a lot of tiny little details to take care of but at least I can start to play with all the custom shelving I have. I also admit that I did (and still might be) taking a small break from blogging. It has been really nice to not feel like it is a responsibility for me to post something every 2 or three days.  Plus with Spring here I am going to be moving outside to clean up and mulch all my flower beds, so I am trying to mentally prepare for that workout! Also I do have some news. Now some of you may know that hubby and I are currently living in sin, we are not married. We have been living together for over 15 years, with everything split as perfect partners, so he has always been a hubby to me. Well I finally decided if a man can love all of my quirks, and live with me for that long, he deserves a prize. So we are going to be making it official and go to the courthouse to get m......

Hi! I finally made my way back to my laptop to give you an update on how the butler's pantry diy project. I still have dust everywhere, but it’s slowly going bye bye room by room. I am also chief stainer and poly woman so I have all the doors and drawers drying downstairs. The drywall, tape and mud process took days longer than expected but reno’s usually do, don’t they. I always have it in my head that it should have only taken us 2 days but given our current reality that was way off base. Especially since we are not professionals. We also have ceiling and floors to patch up at this point. But we did get lucky when we bought the cabinetry. It was on sale So delays can be a good thing for a budget I guess. I had hubby keep the cabinets upstairs so I could sit and stare and plan the layout. I like to imagine different scenarios and think things through with peace and quiet. Not someone standing there with a drill in his hand asking where do I want them. Because when rushed, I a......

Kitchen Pantry Update - Part 3 Frustrated. Stressed out. and filthy. That describes me, my clothes, my home and my attitude. I envy people/couples who can point, click and say that is what I want and pay for it without a care in the world for budget. Budget I hate that damn word. It is limiting, totally arbitrary and probably made up by a MAN. When I came up with this “BRILLANT” idea, my goals were: 1.  Move the pantry. 2.  Storage for the broom, mop, vacuum, etc. 3.  Hide the microwave. 4.  Hide the Garbage can. 5. Use stock cabinetry. 6. Let more light into the hallway / entryway. Well, that is causing this blonde to be extremely frustrated. Me, irritated, mad and getting sick of the choices and compromises.  I am a passionate, stubborn, opinionated person who knows what she wants, likes and especially hates. I also operate on the premise that even function, should be stunning. But when you factor in I live with a man, who also knows what he likes and dis-like......