I hope everyone is sitting down because I would like to announce that Mr. vB and I have actually, wait for it…FINISHED A PROJECT!  The Kitchen has officially been checked off the To-Do List. {If the mood strikes us we might still upgrade our dishwasher and change up the bar top, but for now we are all good!}

But before I debut our new digs, you know I gotta show you were it all started.  And just to warn you- this is gonna be a long post.  I took us just over 6 months to get it all done.  That is ALOT of projects/photos to recap!

Just like most things in this house, Mr.vB had already renovated this kitchen once when he originally moved in. Here is what it looked like back in Jan ‘05.

This is the few from the hall looking into the kitchen and dining room.

And here is looking from the back pantry room into the kitchen. {nice isn’t it?!}

The original plan entailed opening the wall up between the kitchen and dining room and also rearranging the cabinet layout.

Here is the kitchen right before we started taking down the cabinets.  The upper cabinets did have doors, but Mr. vB was working too fast.  By the time I grabbed the camera, half of the doors were already down.

We were never fans of the original cabinet doors as they were very 80’s-ish with the wood accents. Our appliances (which came with the house) also bugged us as they were mismatched- Black Stove, White Hood, White Fridge and Silver/black dishwasher.

We started by rearranging our existing cabinets. Mr. vB took down all the existing cabinets..

And then put them back up in the new layout.

We also added floating shelves beneath. Instead of buying them, Mr. vB attached pieces of re-bar into the brick wall.  Then he built a box that would slide around the pieces of metal and become our shelf.

Once the new layout was in place, we purchased the new fridge, stove and exhaust hood.  To properly exhaust the hood to the outside, it required drilling a BIG MESSY HOLE in the brick wall.  We sealed off the kitchen to hopefully contain the mess.

A few weekends later we decided we had to do something about the back splash.  Previously it had been painted to buy us some time, but we had always envisioned it in tile.  We ended up having some left over tile and grout from the bathroom project, so we decided it was time to take the plunge.

It was actually quite easy and we had that part done in a weekend.

Then month by month we purchased the new cabinet doors and hardware. {As you saw, we reused the existing cabinet boxes as they were in pretty good shape, and once the new doors were on you wouldn’t be able to tell anyways!}

I love how the new doors and hardware make the counter tops look so much better!  I was never a fan of the Formica {especially with the old doors} but now they look so much richer.  I am still thinking about removing the existing Formica bar top and replacing it with a granite slab, but we’ll see.

Another new addition was the hardwood floors.  You might remember me mentioning that we discovered these the week Mr. vB was on vacation. What a difference they make to this room!!  We were never fans of the bright orange tile, but had no clue such a gem was hiding under it.  We might have ripped them up sooner had we have known!

Our final tasks were to add base board and shoe molding, touch up paint, caulk, and clean!!

So one more before shot and then the grand unveiling..

Before

And AFTER!

Dotty and Flo even made it down for the photo shoot!

There you have it!  Was it worth the 6 month wait??

So what I love most about reading other people’s blogs are the ideas they give me… As you can see in my blog roll to the right, I have several blogs I regularly stalk because I love their style and creativity. {you should check them all out too!}

From those blogs and blogs linked to their blogs, I have a stack of {idea} printouts for bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms and more.  Each printout has a different design idea that I would like to implement around this house.  But currently these ideas are in a messy pile tucked into a manila folder and that is no way to treat fabulous ideas!!

So tonight I thought it would be good to make…

My Rosewood Ave Idea book.

Pretty Cute eh?

I took a simple photo album from Target.. Some paper from my scrapbook-ing pile..

and these fun thickers (chip board stickers)..

And Viola!

A inspiring idea book for inspiring ideas!

Richmond is having it’s 3rd snow storm in 6 weeks.  Yes you read that correctly.  The first time it’s fun and pretty, second time it’s kinda cool, third time just straight up sucks.  Let me explain..

This morning I headed over to the local Kroger to pick up a few items to sustain Mr. vB and I throughout the blizzard weekend.  The place was INSANE!!!  There were no carts left, barley any food, and CRAZY people at every turn.  I took my time, gathered my groceries, and then hunkered down in line to wait my turn at the checkout.

As I was patiently waiting my turn, I heard someone behind me ask, “Is this the express line?”  I turned and said, “no we are all in the same line.”  They responded by saying, “Actually, this is the 15 items or less line and you have 25 items in your cart.”

I think my head whipped around like the girl from the exorcist.  In my most calm voice I responded by saying, ” We are all in the same boat here.  I don’t think it matters what line you are in today.”  {Mind you EVERY line was 30 people deep}  The ladies behind me continued to be obsessed by the fact that I had an extra 10 items in my cart.  They even had the audacity to tell me I needed to get in another lane.  Really people?? I don’t think I was in the wrong for standing strong in the 15 items or less lane.  I told the ladies they could switch lanes if they were that worried about the number of groceries in my cart!!!

UGH!!!!  It took me almost all day to calm down from that nonsense!  Snow really can bring out the worst in people, can’t it??

Any-who, we had to postpone the BBURP Outing #5 tonight.  Mums couldn’t make it to town and we {Dnort, dwayne, and mae-mae} didn’t think it would be good to be out driving in this mess.

So it looks like it’s going to be another weekend stuck indoors working on the kitchen.  Which is actually a good thing.  Keep those fingers crossed that I will be able to post some finished photos during the Super Bowl.  Not literally on CBS during the game, I meant on the blog.  But you probably figured that…

Cafe Gutenberg and River City Diner

Last Friday night we were back on the town still looking for the perfect burger…

We headed down to the Farmers Market Area to check out side by side competitors Cafe Gutenberg and River City Diner.

Cafe Gutenberg has always had good food, but recently changed hands, so we were wondering if it was still up to par.  Things started off well.

I was quite excited to see on menu Grass Fed Gutenburger. {especially after that recent Oprah on the movie Food, Inc, but that’s a different post all together!} Local Beef, Local Produce..nice.

The presentation was great!  BUT…my medium burger came out almost rare! Ugh! I actually left the last bite on my plate…

The next stop was literally 4 doors down from Cafe Gutenberg, so I didn’t sulk too long because I knew we were on to get another burger. It could only get better.  Right?!

The vibe in River City is definitely that of a diner.  Great 80’s Tunes were rocking in the background and more than once someone at our table started to belt out a lyric or two.

Mr. vB and I ordered up the grilled onion and Swiss burger and the Monger’s got one with cheddar and jalapenos. {AND a chocolate & peanut butter milkshake!}

Apparently it just wasn’t my night for burgers.  Again we ordered it medium and this time it came out Well Done.  {You know I normally don’t like to pass judgment on any of the burgers until all have been tasted, but having struck out at both places I just couldn’t hold it in.} Mr. vB didn’t seem to mind, and I allowed the onion rings to make up for the burger disappointment.

We are back out this Friday Night and we will have a guest judge in tow!  My Mums is coming to town for the weekend to help with some projects, so we invited her to join us in the burger tasting as well.  She toted herself today as a Burger Connoisseur… let’s see how she feels after 2 burgers in one night!

{See Highlights from BBURP Outing #3, BBURP Outing #2, BBURP Outing #1, and How It All Started- Hamburger Helper.}

It’s a new month… time for a new shoe!

I always get giddy when I recieve my Boden USA catalogue in the mail.  I love their clothes and style.  Only problemo is their price tag!  Most everything that catches my eye is a bit expensive- but oh-so cute!

They did not disappoint in their latest catalogue..

Butterfly Slingback Flats… $118

{they come in 3 colors- turquoise, yellow, and pewter which are all very cute!}

The Turquoise makes me think that Spring is right around the corner, even if reality is telling me there is 10″ of snow outside to dig out from!!

{Don’t worry girls, you haven’t been replaced.}

I bought a new friend for my favorite Orchid yesterday.  Isn’t she gorgeous??

I’m thinking about naming her Dotty…

On to the weekend plans…Since it is currently pouring snow outside, I have a feeling Mr. vB and I will be spending a lot of time indoors today!

We are {hopefully} finishing up the kitchen cabinets and starting on our new breakfast nook area.  Have I mentioned this new project to you guys yet? {Imagine that- we are starting a new project before finishing others!} It will include a new tile floor, a cute eat in area with a fold down table and 2 chairs, and some extra storage space.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  I need to reveal why the Boots n the Bae weren’t allowed in the kitchen.  Wish it was something really exciting- sorry for the let down.  While Mr.vB and I were putting the fridge back into its cubby on Saturday night we put a BIG nice SCRATCH on the new floors!  I called Mr. Sanders crying, begging, asking him to come back over and work his magic.  Sure enough he did and the scratches are now gone.  But the wet polyurethane required some drying time.  Hence the reason no paws were allowed in the kitchen.

All-right- Happy snow day everyone!  I can hear Mr. vB upstairs starting on the kitchen cabinets.. gotta run!

The Boots n’ the Bae are not allowed in the kitchen for 24 hours..

Any takers on why?

Honey Whyte’s and CanCan

We took a brief hiatus over the holidays from burger tasting, but were back at it this past weekend. First stop was Honey Whyte’s in Shockoe Bottom.

My first thought when we walked in was this place was a total dive. {Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to put down hole in the wall joints- they normally have the best food!}  After Dave Monger got over the fact there was no coat rack and that he would have to sit on his coat, we were ready to order.

Mr. vB and I ordered up the quarter pound Rodeo Burger (cheddar cheese, bbq sauce, and fried onion rings) and the Monger’s got the quarter pound Steamer (jalapenos and cheddar). Oh- we also ordered up the fried pickles as an appetizer! YUMMO!

The quarter pound option was definitely smaller than the portions at the other burger joints, but we were all very pleased with our meal!  On to the next stop!

We headed over to Racine, but due to the fact they were PACKED and only had 6 tables {yeah they are that small} we decided to regroup.  We were on a burger mission, plus we had a pregnant woman that needed to eat!!

Carytown was close by, so we decided on CanCan.

From the photo below you would think the name of the restaurant was Can.

Let’s try the sign on the other side of the building…

Much Better… now on to the Burgers!

This time we ordered the same burger as the Monger’s. The Cheeseburger  {with gruyere} and Frites!

W-O-W… now that’s a burger!

We are definitely getting the hang of this burger rating thingy.  I actually find it quite funny that after each bite one of us comment’s on the patty, the bun, or the sides.  I may never eat a burger the same way again! {hopefully when this contest is all said and done I will be able to eat burgers period!}

We are headed out again this weekend..Baby Monger is due in just over 2 weeks {sorry Dave and Amanda..not trying to freak you out!} and we still have 6 more venues to visit.!!!

A normal Sunday for Mr. vB and I includes me waking up first, starting the coffee maker, and feeding the kiddo’s. (Boots, Bailey and Milo)  Once my coffee is ready I sit on the couch and catch up on my favorite blogs until Mr. vB wakes up. {which could be anywhere from 9:30 to 11 o’clock.. sometimes I have to make a little extra noise downstairs to get him moving! Luv You Hon!}

BUT this Sunday morning we shook things up abit!  Mr. vB and I have been trying to change up our workout routine and we have always said we wanted to try a Yoga class.  Well I mentioned this to my friend/neighbor, Karen, who is a Yogi and teaches over at Yoga Source in Carytown. She suggested that we come try out her Sunday morning class.  I mentioned this to Mr. vB and surprisingly he was down for it, even though it meant waking up early on a Sunday! {yes- Sunday at 9am is still early to my husband!}

So off to Yoga Source Mr.vB and I went this morning.  And an hour and a half later we emerged from the studio feeling awesome.  The class we took was called Slow Flow Vinyasa and it kicked our butts!  It was definitely a bit of a challenge since neither me nor Mr. vB had any clue of the poses that Karen was talking about, but she helped us to get each just right!

**Side-note- I have always been the type of exerciser that thought you had to SWEAT BUCKETS to get a true workout, but boy was I wrong.  Mr. vB and I used muscles this morning that we didn’t even know existed.  At one point I even looked over at Mr. vB and he WAS sweating buckets!  We are sure to be so sore in the morning!**

I was so impressed by Karen’s teachings that when I was suppose to be clearing my mind of all thoughts, all I could think about was how I was going to write this post!!  For anyone looking for a great Yoga class/instructor YOU HAVE GOT to try out Karen’s class.  She teaches multiple classes during the week over at Yoga Source, and she also does private sessions.  Karen even has a once a month Yoga session at a cool loft downtown called “Last Friday’s”.  Check out her website for the full scoop! www.yogawabisabi.com.

Introducing for the 1st time…please hold your applause… OUR NEW FLOORS!

As I was typing this post I heard a loud crash upstairs {I’m using the computer in the basement}.  Not knowing what the heck it could be I ran upstairs.  I had opened all the windows on the first floor to air it out a bit, and one of the windows literally fell out of the frame.  And you know it had to crash right onto my new floor leaving 2 nice dents. I knew the floor wasn’t going to stay pristine forever- but jeez!  I’m hoping with a little sandpaper and some stain we can camouflage the dents…. Plus once all the furniture is back in place no one will notice it- right?!

Mr. vB and I are going to spend the weekend trying to get the house back in order.  We need to put some shoe molding down, plus wipe down all the walls and trim! Sounds exciting doesn’t it??  Mr. Sanders said we could put the furniture back in place by Sunday, but the area rugs would have to wait at least 30 days.  Guess that leaves me some time to get all the finishing touches just right!