A Little Help In the Kitchen Please!

First things first. The kitchen. This house has lots of potential but the kitchen and the bathrooms are going to be the biggest task. Why you ask? Well, lets start with the kitchen.

The appliances are, um...vintage...and the countertops, they speak for themselves. The linoleum flooring also needs to be updated. But, I know the people that lived here before loved it the way it is so I certainly want to respect that while at the same time making it my own and er...more updated.

The oven and microwave must have been fancy back it the day. Its one of those combos that attach together. I think one of my friends had a microwave/oven combo in their Barbie Dream House...I remember it being pretty cool.

This is the eat in kitchen area. I love that they kept the beams the origional color and did not pain them. 

One of my main concerns is that the fridge is custom framed and it's small, very small. Much smaller than the mega fridges of today and yep I sure do want one of those mega fridges. They are shiny, have bells and whistles, and fancy bright lights! Shiny things are hard for me to pass up. Fortunately, we have a handy friend that helped knock out the framing and cabinet above to make room for my mega fridge. 

He reframed around the new fridge and then built a wine rack above. Love. It. 

Yes, I do believe I need more wine up there. 

I think he did a mighty fine job. Now, if this mega fridge ever needs any mega servicing, we are in trouble because I don't think there is any way to get it out of the kitchen, it was hard enough to get it in! So, lets hope that mega fridge is built to last a mega lifetime. Next on the kitchen recon mission agenda...floors, countertops, and back splash!

Cheers!

Refrigerator Recon

My refrigerator, what can I say. It is a gigantic mess.  This is odd for me...to allow my refrigerator to die a slow and painful death. I am typically a very clean person. Even one little cat hair tumbleweed blowing down the hall way can drive me nuts. Toothpaste stuck to the sink drives me nuts. Spots of the floor drive me nuts. An unmade bed drives me nuts Anything not clean drives me absolutely nuts. But, for some reason my poor refrigerator does not fall into the "typically clean" category or even the "drives me nuts" category. So, I have taken matters into my own hands and completely cleaned out the refrigerator. I have given it life once again and I love it. I even open it just so I can look at how clean and organized it is. I plan to make it even more organized. I saw a great article in Real Simple about how to organize your refrigerator so, I am going to take it one step further. But for now, brace yourselves for the pictures to come.

So, this is how it all started. Messy, unorganized, and just plain filthy. I think there is even sour milk in there. Um, gross.

I started by pulling everything out of the fridge and freezer.

I pulled all the drawers, shelves and racks out of the fridge and cleaned them all in hot soapy water. I should have used bleach but for some strange and rare reason, I was out.

This is what I found when I pulled everything out of the fridge. Really, its gross. There is a mozzarella cheese stick back there that was cryogenically frozen. I think that is some wine and Millie's dog hair. RIP old girl. Her dog hair would get EVERYWHERE. So, I am not surprised I found enough laying around in the fridge to knit a sweater. Please don't judge. I am showing this picture because I am human and I can't possibly keep everything clean unless Mr. Lucas hires me a maid and I know that ain't happnin'

Then, 2 hours later......

Super duper spankin' looking new refrigerator and freezer!

I purchased box of OXO  containers at Target. I am going to get more, these things are awesome! So I organized various foods into the containers. I also had some zip lock containers that I used to organize with as well and Pyrex that we got as a wedding gift. I rearranged the shelving to make things fit better as well.

I wrapped the meat in freezer paper because the containers the come in can take up so much room! I also divided the chicken and placed in freezer bags. 

I am pleased but like I said, still have a bit more organization to do. But, for now. My fridge is happier and so am I.

Cheers!