Category Archives: RANDO•RAMA

by laraonthesuedesofa | May 17, 2013 · 6:15 am

Kitchen Makeover: Backsplash, Shelving and More Painting!

Now for the pictures that you have been WaiTinG for! As I worked on painting the cabinets, I also added open shelving. Check it out!

I bought the corbels at Home Depot and used MDF board for the shelves. Next, I added a wainscoting backsplash, which I don’t have ANY pictures of that process (sorry!). But, I do have pictures of the nearly finished kitchen at Christmas!

Just for dramatic effect, let’s see where’ we’ve come from the beginning…

BEFORE

Here is an “after” picture (as of December 2012)!

We added a new light fixture above the sink and painted the trim around the window. The trim, shelves, corbels and backsplash are all the same color. I used white trim paint from Sherwin-Williams.

Here is a “before” from the right side of the room. Remember how I said I was going to build a cabinet to hide the range hood pipe? (where the greenery is in the picture below)

Well here it is!

I took a cabinet door from a “lazy susan” cabinet that I bought on Craigslist. I cut the cabinet door down to size, and hung it. It opens from the bottom (the hinges are on the inside top) but I LOvE that it gives us extra storage space! The other big changes on this side of the room is a new fridge and range hood! I also added wainscoting to the back of the open cabinets (the one with the microwave and the cabinet above it). This really prettied them up :) What do ya think?!

These pictures pretty much bring you up-to-date on how my kitchen looks today. We recently replaced the light in the kitchen ceiling and put in recessed lighting. We also finished taking off the popcorn ceiling and now have a “knockdown” texture on the ceiling. It looks so much BeTTeR! All I have left to do is paint the ceiling (white) and add crown moulding to the top of the cabinets. We eventually need to switch out our kitchen sink and replace the countertops (since those are the ones I painted 5 years ago!) but I am so indecisive on what I want…so it could be a while :)

My kiddos are officially on sUmMer bReaK, so who knows when I will finish up the kitchen! We are so close though, and I am thrilled with the results! It has really opened up the space and feels like we doubled our cabinet space since we added the open shelving. Gotta love that!

Let me know what you thought of the kitchen makeover!

Cheers,

Lara

6 Comments

Filed under At Home, DIY, RANDO•RAMA

Tagged as backsplash, before after, corbels, Kitchen Makeover, wainscoating

by laraonthesuedesofa | May 10, 2013 · 6:15 am

Kitchen Makeover: Painting!

Now for the fun stuff!! I painted the lower cabinets “Mourning Dove” by Martha Stewart. I had it mixed at Sherwin Williams, and since it is a discontinued color, just ask them and they can find the formula and mix it up for you!

I decided to add some FuN to the room by adding chalkboard paint on the back wall. I love it! And so do the kids!!

Remember this cabinet? This is the first cabinet I removed when I started the kitchen makeover!

And here it is painted!

To this day, I am still debating if I like the distressed look (see the left cabinet door below) or if I want the cabinets to be solid white (see right cabinet door below). What do you think?

The upper cabinets were painted Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.

I never shared with you the picture of the ceiling after I ripped out the soffit. Here it is! The ceiling also shows were I started taking off the popcorn ceiling. Yep…I opened that can of worms and will share that process with you later. I can assure you, all the mess and work was well worth it ;)

So just to see where we’ve come, here is a “before” of the left side:

And here is a “during” of the left side:

Here is a “before” picture of the right side of the kitchen:

And here is ”during” the painting process of the right side!

Stay tuned! Next week I am going to share pictures of the backsplash, open shelving, and the rest of the painted cabinets!!

Cheers!

Lara

Honoring Teachers, Nurses, and Mothers!

It just occurred to me that this week we are celebrating three of my favorite professions…NuRsEs, TeAcHeRs, and MotHeRs! Having been a first grade teacher for the 8 years prior to having my children I know how teaching can sometimes seem like a thankless job. There are MaNy parents who go out of their way to let you know that they appreciate the difference you are making in their child’s life. BUT…for every parent that thanks you there are 5 that say nothing and 5 that do nothing but complain about what you are NoT doing for their child! I saved every card and thank you that was ever given to me by a parent or student and now being a parent myself know how important it is to simply say…ThAnK YoU!

Next up…Nurses! I have to say up until my late 20′s I had little experience with nurses. I never broke a bone or needed surgery and had no reason to visit a hospital. I guess I saved up my need for nurses for the grueling 2+ year struggle with infertility and then my 2 time bought with postpartum depression. There is No WaY I would have made it through both of these experiences without the support of the nurses who took care of me during these times. When going through my 3 IVF cycles, it was truly the nurses, not the doctors who knew my story. I saw the doctors every morning on a rotating basis, but it was my nurses Mary and Pat who were my true cheerleaders. They cried with me through the disappointments and were on the phone with me when I found out I was expecting my miracle baby. It takes a SpEcIaL kind of person to be nurse and share in the highs and lows that come with the fragile life we are given. To all of you…ThAnK YoU for all you do!

Finally…a huge thank you to all of the MoThErS, AuNts, and GrAnDmAs! For years I dreamed of having a baby and being a stay-at-home mom. I am not sure what exactly I thought I was getting into, but I can remember saying a few times in the very beginning, “Where are the cute baby bunnies and little yellow duckies?!!!” Baby gifts and baby cards always have cute little animals on them with cheerful little expressions…there have been MaNy a day that our house looks like a bull ran through a china shop and I have yet to see those cute animal faces! That being said, I believe that being a mother is the hardest JoB in the world. Every single decision you make directly affects those you hold so dear. I wish all of you a VeRy HaPpY MoThErS DaY!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

4 Comments

Filed under Good Life, Holiday, Inspiration, Inspire, Life, People, RANDO•RAMA, Relationships, Uncategorized

Tagged as mothers, nurses, teachers

by laraonthesuedesofa | May 3, 2013 · 6:15 am

Kitchen Makeover: Tearing Out MORE Soffit

Last week I shared with you how I tore out the soffit and raised the cabinets on one side of the kitchen. Was Doug surprised when he came home?! To be honest, he wasn’t as ShOcKeD as I anticipated. In his defense, it is a “norm” for me to take on projects, and for some reason I get itchin’ to do it when he is gone. Serves as good motivation to surprise him I guess ;) The AWESOME thing is that he is extremely supportive of my love for this type of work, but under one condition….that I don’t drag him into helping me all the time ;)

…But every now and then I give him that puppy dog face that he can’t resist, and he becomes my partner in crime! Which is why I want to share with you how much easier and faster it was to raise the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen!

I obviously was so tickled when Doug agreed to help me that I didn’t take NEAR as many pictures of the pRoCeSs! In fact, due to having a helper this time around we were able to demo the soffit, raise cabinets and finish the left side of the kitchen (below) in 2 hours! That’s right…2 hours! To get started, here is a before picture:

Same process, just much faster with two people! (for more details instructions, visit Kitchen Makeover: Raising Cabinets)

As you can see below, we threw plastic over the stove and counters for easy cleanup. I learned my lesson after doing the demo without it last time ;)

We raised the cabinet on the end first (as the white rectangle BELOW shows where the cabinet use to be). This made raising the cabinets a breeze because all we had to do is go straight up. Didn’t have to worry about keeping them level because they stayed flush to the cabinet next to it! We just worked our way across the kitchen, unscrewing and raising one cabinet at a time. We also didn’t mess with taking the food out of all the cabinets at the same time. With each cabinet we moved, we took out the food, raised it, and then put everything back. Super easy!

Notice the cabinet above the stove in the picture below. We didn’t raise this cabinet to avoid messing with the range hood and exhaust vent. I decided I would eventually make a new cabinet and door which would maximize our storage space and hide the pipe! You’ll get to see how that turned out in a future post!

To recap, here is a BEFORE picture of the left side of the kitchen (that I took a few years ago!)

And here it is AFTER!

The cabinet above the stove is the only one that stayed where it was originally. And in the meantime I tried to make the exhaust pipe “pretty” by throwing a plant up there Ü

One more thing, notice the 2 small cabinet doors above the microwave…

shoup house 3

…and then how I removed them in this “after” picture. I think I am digging the idea of open shelving ;) And speaking of shelving, see all that extra wall space we created by raising the cabinets? Stay tuned for pictures on how it looked once we added open shelving under all of the raised cabinets!

We did It! (**I couldn’t help but do the Dora song and dance**) What a great project for a Saturday morning. Tackled it right after breakfast and we were done by lunch! I wish all projects were that quick.

Next week I hope to share the different changes I made in the kitchen by PAINTING! Here is a sneak peek…Have a good weekend!

~Lara

2 Comments

Filed under At Home, DIY, RANDO•RAMA

Tagged as kitchen facelift, Kitchen Makeover, raising kitchen cabinets, removing soffit

by laraonthesuedesofa | April 26, 2013 · 6:15 am

Kitchen Makeover: Raising Cabinets

For those of you that have patiently waited…the time has FiNaLLy come! I am starting my Home Makeover Series today, beginning with my kitchen makeover!! If you remember, last April we began preparing our house to have it MOVED 100+ miles. It was during that time that I probably lost my mind for good Ü

The same month that we tore off our old mudroom in preparation for the move (which use to be where the door/clock/purses hang in the picture below) I decided if I already had a demo pile of trash outside, I might as well add to it by tearing out the soffit in my kitchen! Here is what my kitchen looked like 12 month ago….

KITCHEN BEFORE

Believe it or not, one morning I decided I had lived with this soffit long enough…and I knew Doug would be gone for 24 hours so he couldn’t talk me out of it…so at 10:30 a.m. this is what I did:

Step #1: CUT SMALL HOLE in soffit to see what you are getting yourself into. Luckily, our soffit was hollow!!

Step 2: SCORE YOUR SHEETROCK from the ceiling so you have a clean cut when you pull out your soffit. This will keep you from tearing up your ceiling!

Step 3: RIP OFF THE SHEETROCK!

Step 4: KEEP GOING!! DON’T GIVE UP!

After I made it halfway across the kitchen, I removed the first cabinet (as you can see in the picture below, the white area is where the cabinet was). Moving the cabinets would allow me to rip out the rest of the soffit AND keep the cabinets safe from demo!

How did I do it ALONE, you ask? Well, since my kids were too little to recruit AND cabinets are HEAVY, I had to get creative Ü I flipped one of our barstools on its side, wedged towels in-between the cabinet and stool, then held the cabinet in place as I unscrewed the screws with the electric screwdriver. Once I got my balance, I carefully took them off the stool and placed them in a safe spot.

Support Your Cabinets if Lowering Them By Yourself

Step 5: SUPPORT YOUR CABINETS before removing

The idea was working, until I got a too CrAzY and wedged the stool so tight that I couldn’t get IT or the cabinet loose! So…I ended up having to take the barstool apart. :( But no worries! I screwed it back together and it is just like new!!

Once the cabinets were out of the way, I started pulling out the studs. Some of the studs were hard for me to remove due to really big nails securing the studs. I used a sawzall and cut most of the studs, then used a crowbar to remove them. Yes, I did make some pretty obvious gashes in the sheetrock. We’ll worry about that later ;)

Step 6: REMOVE remainder of cabinets and CONTINUE TO DEMO SOFFIT!

In the picture below, see how the soffit comes out to the middle of the room? I removed this cabinet and took it out for good! I knew doing so would really open up the space! (And as far as giving up a cabinet and loosing the extra space, I have a solution for that in a future post!)

Don’t you agree? Look at how much it opened the room!

Step 7: FIND STUDS and REHANG CABINETS

I thought I took pictures on how I hung the cabinets by myself, but apparently I was getting tired by that point! The picture above shows the first cabinet I hung. As you can see, I purposely left a gap between the cabinet and ceiling so I could add crown moulding in the future.

The idea of hanging the cabinets was pretty easy because all I was doing was moving them straight UP. The screws could stay in the cabinet holes because I would still hit a stud. The hardest part was doing this alone and having the strength to hold the cabinet exactly where it needed to be AND screw in the screws at the same time. I used the barstool and towels again, and to make sure the cabinet was level, I taped it to the top of the cabinet so I could see if it was level or not! My body is sore just thinking about this step of the process. It was quite the workout, but I finished!!

10 hours later I had cleaned up the demo pile, tossed it outside, and got to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Here is what the kitchen looked like at 10 A.M.:

KITCHEN BEFORE

And here it was at 8:00 p.m. (I took some of the cabinet doors off because I wanted to see if I liked open shelving):

KITCHEN AFTER

Ya think Doug noticed when he came home the next morning??? :)

If you want me to continue “Lara’s Home Makeover Series” comment below by telling me what you think of this kitchen project!

Cheers~
Lara

15 Comments

Filed under At Home, RANDO•RAMA

Tagged as before and after pictures, DIY, kitchen demo, Kitchen Makeover, Kitchen Transformation, raising kitchen cabinets

by robynjerseygirl | April 23, 2013 · 6:17 am

iPhone Mommy

I admit it…I spend WaY ToO MuCh time on my phone. It is a habit I have been saying I am going to stop for a long time, but have yet to accomplish. It would be bad enough if I was taking time away from my kids by just talking on the phone, but we all know that is not what I am doing. I hop around from email, to Facebook, to Pinterest, to Twitter and sometimes throw in a game of skee-ball. The problem is…NoNe of this is more important than my kids! If you are hooked on your phone and have been trying to stop, this letter written by Tonya Ferguson on her blog 4 Little Fergusons might just be what you need to finally put it down.

Dear mom on the iPhone,

I see you over there on the bench, messing on your iPhone. It feels good to relax a little while your kids have fun in the sunshine, doesn’t it? You are doing a great job with your kids: You work hard, you teach them manners, have them do their chores.

But Momma, let me tell you what you don’t see right now …

Your little girl is spinning round and round, making her dress twirl. She is such a little beauty queen already, the sun shining behind her long hair. She keeps glancing your way to see if you are watching her.

You aren’t.

Your little boy keeps shouting, “Mom, MOM watch this!” I see you acknowledge him, barely glancing his way.

He sees that too. His shoulders slump, but only for a moment, as he finds the next cool thing to do.

Now you are pushing your baby in the swing. She loves it! Cooing and smiling with every push. You don’t see her though, do you? Your head is bent, your eyes on your phone as you absently push her swing.

Talk to her. Tell her about the clouds, Mommy. The Creator who made them. Tickle her tummy when she comes near you, and enjoy that baby belly laugh that leaves far too quickly.

Put your eyes back on your prize: your kids.

Show them that they are the priority. Wherever you are, be ALL there. I am not saying it’s not OK to check in on your phone, but it’s a time-sucker: User beware!

Play time at the park will be over before you know it.

The childhood of your children will be gone before you know it.

They won’t always want to come to the park with you, Mommy. They won’t always spin and twirl to make their new dress swish. They won’t always call out, “WATCH ME!”

There will come a point when they stop trying, stop calling your name, stop bothering to interrupt your phone time.

Because they know …

You’ve shown them, all these moments, that the phone is more important than they are. They see you looking at it at while waiting to pick up brother from school, during playtime, at the dinner table, at bedtime.

I know that’s not true, Mommy.

I know your heart says differently.

But your kids can’t hear your words, Mommy. Your actions are screaming way too loudly.

May our eyes rest upon those we love, first and foremost, and may everything else fall away in the wonderful, noisy, sticky-fingered glory of it all.

*********************************************

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

1 Comment

Filed under All-Or-Nothing, Family, Friends, Getting Real, Hard Reality, Kid Stuff, Life, Parenthood, RANDO•RAMA, Relationships

Tagged as iphone mommy, Kids, phone, smartphone

by robynjerseygirl | April 11, 2013 · 6:37 am

Easy Outdoor Game

The hour before dinner in our house is always difficult because the kids can’t help but get restless waiting to eat and waiting for my husband to get home from work. In an attempt to avoid taking out every single backyard toy, I came up with this simple game that kept them busy and didn’t leave the yard a mess for me to clean up!

If you have a walkway similar to mine you can use each stone individually. If you have concrete you can divide it up into squares and play. I used sidewalk chalk to write down the sight words that my son is working on. I also drew some pictures for my daughter to color in to keep her busy. I had my son pick out a rock and instructed him to toss his rock onto the walkway filled with words. Once it landed on a word he had to run to it, say the word, then bring the rock back to me. It was such a simple game, but it kept him busy and helped him practice his words!

You can modify this to any level:

*Write letters on the stones to practice upper and lowercase letter recognition.

*Write numbers on the stones and use 2 rocks. Have your child add together the two numbers that the rocks land on.

*Draw pictures with your kids and have them tell you the first letter for each picture and the sound that it makes.

The possibilities are endless and the only thing you have to do is collect your sidewalk chalk when you are finished!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

Doll Shoe Fix

How many times am I going to have to put these doll shoes back on?!!! If that is a question you ask yourself daily, here is a quick fix to keep all of those Barbie, Princess, and Fairy shoes on the dolls instead of all over your house!

I always keep a tube of E-6000 Industrial Strength Adhesive (purchased at my local craft store) around the house for quick repairs on everything and anything that my kids “accidentally” break. I decided to try it on the doll shoes and…not as shoe has been lost since I secured them to their feet!

Make sure you let the glue dry for a few days before you let your kids play with them again, and I wouldn’t suggest trying this if you have kids who put toys in their mouth. My kids are 5 and 3 and have never put strange things in their mouth so I figured I was good to go with this one!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

1 Comment

Filed under Junk Drawer, Kid Stuff, RANDO•RAMA, Uncategorized

Tagged as barbies, doll shoes, fairies, glue, lost shoes, missing shoes, princesses

by suedesofa | March 21, 2013 · 8:52 am

Get Your Posse and Get Your {Exercise} Groove On!

Source: girlgetstrong.com

If you read Robyn’s post The Weight Is On yesterday, you can probably relate. As spring approaches it is just natural to want to get in shape whether you have gained excess winter weight or you’re just feeling like you’ve been stuck inside for way too many months and are needing a ChAnGge oF sCeNeRy.

Sometimes it can be hard to get started when you see the long road ahead to reach your WeiGht-LoSs GoAl. Afterall, overcoming the inertia can be a difficult thing to do.

On Monday we had a little pep talk and we decided that we would overcome the inertia together. So we made a 2-MoNtH pAcT to exercise consistently from now to mid-May, basically, the beginning of summer. It is actually quite motivating when you look at it in the context of summer being right around the corner.

One thing that really motivated us in our new goal was this website from the National Institute Of Health that can help in your weight loss efforts. Here’s the link: http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/ . It allows you to put in your weight, goal weight, and a few other items. It will then tell you how many calories you need to consume each day to reach your goal. We played around on it and found it quite addictive.

(You do need to have Java installed on your computer. You can install a free version by going to www.java.com ) Here is what the simulator looks like:

Overwhelmed by the idea of tracking your calories? No worries! Check out this quick, easy and free calorie counting website: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ They also offer a free app for your phone!

So, if you’re like us and you need to overcome inertia, GeT yOuR PoSsE - a group of friends, an exercise group, your neighbors, or family members and get your exercise groove on. After all, there’s only about 60 days until summer!

Lara, Robyn, & Robynn

2 Comments

Filed under Hard Reality, Health/Fitness, Inspiration, Inspire, Life, RANDO•RAMA, You

Tagged as 2 month pact, bw simulator, Lose weight, make a pact, National Institute Of Health

by robynjerseygirl | March 13, 2013 · 3:03 pm

Italian Knots with an Easter Twist

Every Christmas and Easter my Grandmother would make batches and batches of her Italian Knots. They have always been my favorite cookie and I am so glad that she taught be how to make them. This year I am adding a twist to the traditional knot cookie and shaping the dough into the shape of a bunny!

Click here to see my original post on how to make traditional knots.

Recipe:

4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

½ lb. butter (2 sticks)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

5 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

Dough:

Melt butter, add sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt…slowly add flour. Chill dough in refrigerator for an hour. Form knots or bunnies and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Icing:

Mix confectioner’s sugar, a drop of vanilla, and warm water until you get the consistency you want (I like my icing on this thick side). Dip tops of cookies into icing and add sprinkles! EnJoY!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

Category Archives: RANDO•RAMA

Kitchen Makeover: Backsplash, Shelving and More Painting!

Kitchen Makeover: Painting!

Honoring Teachers, Nurses, and Mothers!

Kitchen Makeover: Tearing Out MORE Soffit

Kitchen Makeover: Raising Cabinets

iPhone Mommy

Easy Outdoor Game

Doll Shoe Fix

Get Your Posse and Get Your {Exercise} Groove On!

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