Style Lush

A Colored Kitchen

by Christina

I hate my kitchen. It's small and old and no matter how I try and spruce it up you just cannot polish ugly. It needs an overhaul. This is in our heads as something we want to do, thank goodness I'm not the only one who hates it! But it's going to be a while before we actually get that (money)ball rolling. I know I wont have the guts to go bold and it will likely be a clean white base and I'll accent with accessories but if I were brave? I'd have a colored kitchen!

If that's not sunshine on a cloudy day, I don't know what is! But, kitchens sell homes and at 34, there's no way we will live here forever, and the chances of someone else wanting my butter kitchen .... risky!

What about you? Would you do something so bold?

(image via houseandhome.com)

Adorable Measuring Cups Don't Have to Stay in the Kitchen

By Sara

Weren't the Style Lush/Food Lush 2011 Gift Guides AMAZING?!? So amazing that I sent many, many links of lovely items on those lists to family with the note "THIS IS AWESOME, BUY FOR ME, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!" I love that I can return to these guides all year every time I have to buy a gift and find something just right for my recipient. But I'm not here to plug the gift guides again, we all know they're the best out there; I'm here to tell you that I did get one thing from the guide that I just adore:

My lovely cousin, Melissa, gifted me with these darling owl measuring cups from West Elm for Christmas and when I opened them I was thrilled to pieces. You see, I had no intention of using these as actual measuring cups. Oh no, my plan was to sprinkle them around my house as little places to drop my rings, or keys, or spare change. And that is exactly what I did. The 1/4 cup sits next to my sink to hold my wedding rings while I scrub dishes. The 1/3 cup is in our laundry room to gather all the loose change my husband constantly leaves in his pockets. The 1/2 cup is on my nightstand holding earrings and bobby pins and all manner of random junk that accumulates there. The 1 cup is on our foyer table and collects my keys when I come in the house. 

I love that I can see these little owls in different rooms of my house and just the sight of them makes me happy. Sometimes you find BETTER uses for utilitarian objects...especially when they're as sweet as these owls. Thanks, Melissa, you're the best!

My Favorite Holiday Scent: Peppermint

By Leah

A few years ago I picked up some Method surface spray in peppermint. It was on super-duper clearance at Target, so I really should have known better, but noooooooo, I bought it anyway, and then it promptly disappeared from existence and I fell to my knees and cried out to the heavens because, Jiminy Christmas, that stuff smelled good. I used it to wipe down countertops and to freshen the air and, look, I didn't actually spray the stuff directly up my nose but that doesn't mean I didn't want to. 

I like the cozy feeling I get from fall and winter scents--candles, sprays, diffusers, lotion, whatever--and although I dig the occasional whiff of pine or pumpkin or sugar cookie or gingerbread or cranberry or mulled cider (is anyone getting hungry?) and even some non-scent scents like "solstice snow" and "midnight wonderland," for me nothing beats peppermint during the holidays. (Bonus that it doesn't make my pregnant stomach turn a loop-de-loop.)

I should have stocked up on the Method spray when I had a chance, but since it's too late for that, I'm now on an official quest to find the perfect peppermint accent for my home. Any suggestions? Do you know of any delicious peppermint candles or lotions out there? Is Method's "mint" (but not "peppermint") line going to suffice or will I just be disappointed? Is there another scent I should try? Or should I just buy a giant box of candy canes from Costco and eat my way through them over the next six weeks eight months?

 

Kushies Waterproof Bibs

By Elisabeth

You would think having fed two kids prior to my current baby, I'd have an arsenol of bibs just waiting for him to use. So NOT the case. After my second son wore the darling ones I bought from Bumpkins, I could never get the yogurt, sour smell out of them and had to toss them this time around. (NASTY. Especially after being stuffed in the back of a drawer in the kitchen for two years. Gag.)

I adore their designs, but if I'm going to be buying a new round of bibs I wanted to be staring at a new design, you know? And for as many pictures I take of my kids while they are in the high chair, I needed something to help me seperate one boy from the next. (I think I just wanted to buy more cute bibs and these are the reasonings I tell myself. Or my husband, rather.)

Enter, Kushies Waterproof Bibs.

I was thrilled with the "boyish" choices and have already put the two I purchased to the test. I've run them under the faucet to clean them off and let dry until I have to use them again. I have my eye on this last one above to round out my arsenal.

Great styles for both girls and boys. Plus, at least on Amazon, they're cheaper than Bumpkins!

 

{photo credits: amazon.com}

Feeding kids on the go: Sili Squeeze

by Christina

One of the best inventions to take place between my frist kid and my second is the squeeze pack of baby food. When I had my first boy life was a little easier on me, I had the time to make all of my purees and lovingly spoon them into my little cherub faced boy. Now? Ha-ha-HA! Now I have to shower at the gym while they are in the daycare. Lest I go all week without one. No time for purees this go round, is what I'm saying. We are on the go so much with one in school and my trying to hold on to a thread of sanity that tossing the baby a pack of food and an applesauce to my pre-schooler is awesome. I keep exras in my purse for meltdowns, I just love them. Except they are a freaking racket! Like, $1.89 each. So I'm spending a pretty penny for such a convenience. Today I discovered the Sili Squeeze.

.

They come in 4 and 6 oz. I can buy regular baby food or applesauce and put into this container and we're off. A little more work than tossing the pack into my bag but we can use these containers for years. I'm going with two of the 4 oz so we can bring them on airplanes. Find of the day. Thanks Cool Mom Picks!

(image via Silico.com)

Chalkboard door

by Emily

Inspired (again, SURPRISE) by Pinterest, I decided to paint a chalkboard door in my kitchen. The reasons for this were two-fold; for starters, I was simply itching to do a project, but the other reason I decided to go forward with it is that in my new kitchen, there is simply no room for hanging lists or calendars or anything else that falls into the Reminders category. Every inch of wall space is taken up by cabinetry, and since we made the switch to stainless steel appliances, we don't have a magnetic surface to attach school forms or shower invitations to. I DON'T EVEN HAVE A JUNK DRAWER, YOU GUYS. (It is actually quite freeing.)

I was inspired by these photos on Pinterest:

I wasn't drawn to painting the ENTIRE door; it looked very cool in many of the spaces I saw, but they were also spaces with a lot of WHITE everywhere, and our kitchen isn't that kind of space. We have wood cabinetry and wood floors and stainless appliances and I didn't want it to seem even darker in there with a big black door hanging out in the corner. So I measured out and painted two large squares on the door.

I use the top square for my (gigantically lettered, as Dave pointed out) lists (I WAS JUST TESTING IT OUT, OKAY?) and I left the bottom square for the kids to play with. The only downside is that chalk is DUSTY and it accumulates on the floor, but it's easily wiped up with a damp sponge. I love the way it turned out.

[photo credit: pinterest.com]

Kitchen Remodel: Before and After

by Emily

If you read my personal blog, you'll have already seen these photos, but I cannot help it: I AM SO HAPPY WITH MY KITCHEN AND I AM GOING TO SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS. And from various and sundry style blogs, if you'll permit me to.

The renovation took an entire month and involved complete demolition of the old kitchen (including taking out a weird little wall that made the kitchen u-shaped and blocked the view into the living room), new paint, cabinets, appliances, lighting and floors. It turned out so great, and the whole kitchen is now open and wonderful and all you people who warned me about stainless steel appliances and fingerprints? Well I have been spending a lot of time OPEN-MOUTH kissing mine, so fingerprints are NOTHING.

Here's a quick before picture, taken from the corner of what was the separate dining room. You can see the wall we took out and the cabinetry from 1978 and my adorable 90-year-old grandpa, who helped with demolition:

And from the same angle, here's the after shot:

I know, right? I GET TO LIVE HERE?

Here are a few more photos, and then I promise I'll shut up about it, okay? I PROMISE.

Next step: I DECORATE.

Family rules print

by Emily

You may have heard (because I haven't stopped talking about it, but we're talking EIGHT YEARS IN THE MAKING) that I am getting a brand-new kitchen! WOOOOOO! It's all very awesome and amazing and wonderful and so far, the whole process has been going pretty smoothly. Yes, we're living with my parents and FINE, all that's been done so far is the demolition and the installation of our new wood floors (WOOOOOOO!) but so far, so good. 

I'm really looking forward to getting back into my house in another week or so, but I'm afraid I am going to suddenly be overwhelmed with trying to redecorate everything and feeling stressed out about making decisions and then AFFORDING them. Because when you renovate a house, you don't really have much money left for extras, you know?

We won't have much actual wall space in the new kitchen because we pretty much have cabinetry in every square inch of the place, but one thing I've decided I MUST have is one of these family rules prints from AlexanderCreative. They can be fully customized, but I really like this one just the way it is:

I might have to tweak it a little to make it just to my liking (I personally am fond of bad ideas as long as someone is actually HAVING ideas), but I pretty much agree with the sentiment of the entire thing and I would love to use what little space I have in my home for something so personal and meaningful - especially since this is a rule book I intend to enforce.

[photo credit: alexandercreative.etsy.com]

DIY: Under-cabinet Lighting

By Jessica

My kitchen has been featured here before, but what we didn't discuss in that post is one of the things that bugs me about actually cooking in my kitchen: lighting. Rather, a lack of functional lighting. The main lighting in the kitchen comes from a center mounted florescent fixture so when you are doing anything on the counters, your body serves to block that light and cast shadows, not to mention the natural shadows that occur in the corners where that one fixture is too dim to reach.

The obvious solution is under-cabinet lighting, but have you ever taken a look at the options that are out there? It's rather daunting. I don't know about y'all but sometimes, even for a couple of out of their mind DIY-ers (did you see our bathroom reno?) daunting=doing nothing. My usual solution to get out of that rut is just leap and buy something. Even if it turns out later to be a mistake, it's not like I will spend mad cash on most things and since we do installs ourselves (soon Pergo floors, eep) I figure it's worth the experience regardless.

Here are some pics of my kitchen after installing the under-cabinet lighting we selected. The pic on the far right is with all other lighting turned off, and our kit came with a dimmer so it's fantastic for early morning light while bumbling around the kitchen for the Keurig without blinding oneself.

Now, I have a friend that was going all out in really planning what sort of light she was interested in: florescent, LED, incandescent, etc...but I just bought a set that we found wandering around Home Depot.

Here are some options if you are interested in doing the same thing.

(Top Row L-R)

RiteLite LPL704 Wireless 12-LED Under Cabinet Light via Amazon (battery powered)

Hampton Bay 6-Light Black Under-Cabinet Xenon Puck Light Kit  via Home Depot (plug-in)

GE Black and Stainless Steel Under-Cabinet LED Linkable Light Fixture  via Home Depot (plug-in)

(Bottom Row L-R)

Utilitech 13-7/8" Utility Fluorescent Undercabinet Light via Lowe's (plug-in)

DIODER Light strip via Ikea (plug-in)

INREDA Spotlight via Ikea (plug-in)

 

Fridge Magnets. Or how I clean my kitchen.

by Christina

Have kids underfoot all day long in every room all over your house? I do. Oh, my goodness I do! One who is all up in my face with juice requests and the other is scooting all over the place tripping me all the live long day. It can make it hard to get simple chores done, but in my kitchen I have the tot arsenal to keep them both busy while I do the dishes or whip up their lunch.

Fridge magnets.

This set is Nate's favorite, he's 3.5 but has had these since he was 2 and they still hold his attention.

 
You can build these in endless configurations and the switch allows you to have it all spin to the left or the right. I love that it doesn't make much noise.

The next two are also Nate's but the baby (10 months) is super into them now. One teaches animal sounds and colors  the other is a phonics set teaching letter recognition and sounds. The boys are learning and I'm getting things done and we are all in the same room. This is a very good thing.

 
 
Do you have any tricks to keeping your little people busy? I'd love to hear them, I could always use a new trick or two!

{images via amazon}