A Redo and A Recipe

Now that most of the yardwork is done and we are going to have some significant rain for the remainder of this week, we (more like I) decided that it was a great time to redo the kitchen. We have lived in this house for about 2 1/2 years and have done quiet a bit (from taking down wallpaper, painting every room in the house, to completely finishing the basement) I have searched and searched for what to do in the kitchen (colors, organizing, to creating more storage) I knew I wanted a red kitchen and so we painted that as soon as we moved in. But that is all we have done in the kitchen. Then I came across the black table and chair set that I now have in the eating area. With that my ideas started kicking :) That is when I came across this plate...

And with this plate came the inspiration for my redo. I really like the luxurious look of damask. Plus it goes so well with my red walls (and I am not about to paint those things again)

So here are some pictures of how my kitchen looks right now...

Currently this is just a plain ol red wall. My plan is to do a sort of "grid" effect with pictures. I have a ton a pictures of the kids so I am going to try to choose my faves and frame them in black frames.


Again this is just a plain area. My plan is to put window treatments up. I am tossing around ideas here. I really do not know what to do. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I also plan to change the light fixture. I have a fixture that I think will work here, but I am going to wait until I choose the hardware for the cabinets before I make a purchase.



The cabinets...the color of them is not my favorite at all. We have lovingly termed these cabinets "the builder's special" because I think that every house in our neighborhood has them. They are great cabinets, but I just don't care for the color. So we are sanding them down, priming them, and painting them white.


The florescent light...It. Must. Go. and it will...once I decide on the light in the eat in area I will get something complimentary to replace this light.


More cabinets...I did not realize how cluttered my kitchen was until I looked at this picture...ick...I will be changing that (I don't think the fridge could hold one more thing on it) haha! I am also trying to decide how to decorate the top of the cabinets. I have lots a silver peices that I could use here, or I could go with an entirely different style. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated here.

So there are my redo plans...let me know what you think!

With all this yardwork and house work I am so glad that I made the freezer meals! Boy those things have really come in handy. The other night I made the Chicken Tetrazini and it was a hit! Madeline really liked it (but of course that kid will eat anything!) I served it with salad and bread. Next time I think I will add some english peas just to have more green. Here is the recipe (ENJOY!)

Chicken Tetrazini
12 oz medium egg noodles, cooked and drained
4 chicken breasts, boiled, deboned, chopped
8 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
2 cans cream of chicken soup*
1 pint of sour cream*
parmesan cheese

*I use fat free and reduced fat products and that worked great in this recipe
Mix all ingredients, except cheese, together. Pour into 2 casserole dishes. Cover tightly and freeze.
To cook: thaw completely, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, and bake on 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly.
This dish was so yummy and I still have a whole other one in the freezer.

Enjoy the recipe and leave me some ideas for the redo :)

Jessica