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 married on April 24th.
I am keeping things real simple, we are having a BBQ afterwards, to celebrate with a few close friends and family. I wasn't even going to have a wedding cake until my sister bought one. That is how simple and rustic we are keeping it. Some beef and chicken kabobs with side dishes and drinks. A fire pit and some music.
Thats it.
No fuss and on paper plates. I want it to be about the memories and party, not the money we spent on things no one will ever remember unless I put it into my blog. LOL
So in the midst of doing this butlers pantry, my sister and I have been also working the BBQ. I admit she has been so sweet and excited about the whole thing. It really is cute.
Everyone we have told about the wedding, has said the same thing:
Well its about time! LOL
I guess no one believed me when I said I make playing hard to get an art form.
We covered up the old built in cabinet because it was so deep, it just wasn't functional unless you are 7 feet tall and don't need to put a microwave in front of it. The depth of the old built in was also too deep for me (I'm 5' 2") to even reach inside to grab something without a ladder. Plus when a cabinet is that deep unless there is a huge 36" wide lazy susan inside it, you have to pull half of the contents out just to get what you need.
Because what you need is always in the back isn't it? well, in my house it is.
I am seriously going to be re-sanding the side of the taller pantry cabinet and darkening it, the stain just didn't darken like the rest and it's not working for me. We still have to make a custom shelf above the tall pantry also, but we will tackle that on a rainy weekend.
And we need to add some trim on the front of the shelving, so it mimics custom cabinetry. Again a rainy day project. I might go on the hunt tomorrow for knobs and pulls. I also need some sliding pull out shelves. I think it would make things a lot more functional for me for food and recyclables.
But you know me, even before we can call it finished I had to start adding some my dishes. I am trying to keep things closer to the bottom that I will use more often due to this whole pantry is 8 feet tall.
It's got to be quite a sight to see me standing on top of the countertops to reach the top shelf, but I dont care. The storage I have now is amazing.
You will also notice that I made a nice spot for a new microwave and a pretty little coffee bar on the left side. Once I get the rest of my kitchen thoroughly scrubbed I will do some tweaking for a Spring Kitchen post so you can see how much counter space I have now that I was able to move the coffee pot.
Above the taller pantry we will be adding custom shelving for some white platters to simply slide in and out.
But this is where we're at for now with this project.
My MIL is still doing very well. She is back home now and taking things easy. So hopefully for her life will get back to normal in a week or so, and she can get back to her normal routine. She is currently getting around with the use of a cane and now will get frequent visits from a Physical Therapist in her home to check on her progress as needed.
Ta ta for now!
XO,
Christine
If you'd like to see every phase & stage from start to finish; there are links below to see each phase.