Kitchen Layout Woes

Currently we are struggling with the kitchen layout.  I think Josh and I have this problem/creative process where we think we have something figured out, but there's this one thing that bugs us about it. At first we convince ourself we can live with it...and then as the time gets closer we gradually tear it apart until we come up with something totally different.  I can think of several times we've done this.  We did this when we were naming Waylon, but that's another story.

This is the rough layout that we originally were thinking we liked...

Josh is not a big fan of the booth in this layout.  I really want a booth.  I think it's such an efficient use of space... And they can have so much character with built in storage and cushions!  

So tonight we decided to take another look at it and see if we could liked moving the booth to be a part of the island...

Not bad... But Josh felt like it wasted some space in the dining room and I didn't like the bottle neck between the island and wall.

We decided to sleep on it, but I couldn't sleep.  I had to get up and draw this... Totally different.

When I started drawing I didn't think I would liked it, but just needed to get the idea out of my head and see it on paper.  Josh at some point had made the comment that we were wasting space by trying to have two large walkways into the kitchen.  I thought why do we need that?  The only draw back to this one is that there is a window that is along the far wall that is very low and we will probably have to block about a foot of the window.  That's a sacrifice I think I could make....for now anyway.  I guess I'll try to sleep on this now! 

Which one do you like?

House Updates for November

There is lots of activity going on at the new house!  The basement is fixed, the land is regraded, and new doors are installed!

The electricity is also back on which means that the next few things will be installing a security system, new garage door, and then on to the plumbing!  We had fun picking out many new things for the plumbing at Lowes!  Here's a few pictures of the things we decided on...

Yay, jacuzzi tub!!

Just the tub and surround here... Not the doors.  Too hard to wash up two boys with those doors!

Sorry these pictures are not the best but many of them were displayed really high or underneath a shelf.  The installed pictures will be much better!

I also got a chandelier from amazon that I love!

In other news we have a contract on our Lexington house!  Praise the Lord, it sold in two weeks!  Closing date is set for mid December!  It's going to be a crazy Christmas for sure!  

Big Way to Save Money

One huge way we save a lot of money is with our deep freeze.  We are able to buy many things in large quantities when they are on sale.  I buy a ton of meat that goes on sale due to the expiration date coming close.  You can just put it in the freezer and it's still good when you come back around to cooking it in a couple weeks. 

I have found things like bacon, sausage, and ribs on sale recently for 99¢/lb!  I just throw it in the freezer!  Other things I freeze are cheese, butter, soups, broth, bread, and deer meat (for all you hunters out there).

Also consider freezing leftover meals.  I do this in large and small servings for family dinners or to take for lunch.  Yesterday I found a Boston pork butt on sale for 99¢\lb.  It was 6.5lbs!  That's a lot of meat!  I've got it cooking in the crock pot with some bbq sauce, and I'll keep some in the frig for leftovers and then freeze the rest for later!

If you don't have a deep freeze I would recommend looking into getting one because you really can make your money back with your savings.  They do take up some room but keep in mind that they come in small and large sizes too. 

What's you favorite thing to freeze?

Couponing is back!

I haven't done much extreme couponing lately.  I haven't had the time or energy.  Plus, I've decided that for right now it's just not worth it unless Kroger is having a mega-sale.  Well it's been a while but the mega-sale is back this week!  It was definitely worth my time to clip a few coupons! 

Here's what I got...

Here's what I paid...

These are the things I got for free... Or practically free.  By practically free I mean I paid 4¢each for the Aveeno shave gel, but I made money on the cheerios and scrubbing bubbles so it evens out.

First let me explain Catalina.  A Catalina is basically a blank coupon that prints at the register and is good on your next purchase.  Normally for buying multiples of a product.  These coupled with sales and coupons made the shaving cream (basically) free and the scrubbing bubbles toilet cleaners were actually a money maker!  Here's how it breaks down.

The shaving cream was $2.79 each with the sale.  I had coupons for $3 off of two aveeno products.  Then at the register a $5 Catalina printed since I bought at least three aveeno products.  

So four shaving cream equals $11.16 total with sale... Minus $6 in coupons... Plus five dollars back in Catalina form equals...16¢!! 

The scrubbing bubbles were $1.69 each ($3.38 for two) minus coupons for a dollar each ($1.38) plus a $2 Catalina!  That's a 62¢ moneymaker!

As far as the other few things I got, the eggs and cheerios were free with a coupons that Kroger sent me in the mail!  I LOVE the personalized coupons they send!  We rarely have to buy eggs.  The yogurt was a free Friday downloaded coupon.  And the pasta was 49¢ each and you can print a coupon for $1/2 boxes.

Another great deal that I stocked up on... Butter!  They had this sale about 6 months ago and I stocked up but we just ran out of our stock pile last week so this is a perfect time for us!  Land O lakes butter is $2.50 with the sale (remember to buy things in multiples of ten)!  How do you stock pile butter?  It keeps beautifully in the freezer!  They only had 5lbs last night so I'm going back again during the sale for more!

Starting Renovations

So the first month and a half of renovations have brought a lot of change to the new house.  It's a long way from the finished product, but you have to start somewhere.

We started in the basement.  There were multiple walls that were caving in due to the drainage issues...all the water was draining towards the house.  First we hired cleaners to remove everything that wasn't steps, brick, or concrete downstairs and sprayed it down with bleach.  Then we had a guy come dig outside the problematic walls with a backhoe.  Josh and friends put up a brace to hold the house up while the wall was being replaced. After that block layers came in and busted out the bad wall and put up a new one!

Next problem we needed to address was the old cistern that was sitting below the porch.  Two walls were collapsing so we needed to do something with it.  Josh decided that the easiest thing would be to cut a doorway into it from the basement and have the block layers replace the damaged walls.  Bam! Safe room/storage cellar/storm shelter.

 

Next, is to fix the problem of water drainage by regrading the land so that water no longer drains towards the house.  

We have also been doing demolition to the upstairs.  Tearing everything out of the bathrooms and kitchen and taking out walls between the kitchen, dining, and family room to make it all open concept!  Pictured below: bottom picture is original kitchen and the top is with everything removed to see into the family room!  I know it's still intensely ugly and dirty but it's a start!

DISCLAIMER: First, I'm not a construction expert.  This is a very basic idea of what we did to repair the foundation.  Second, when I say "we" I mostly mean Josh, John, and Tommy.  They are the expert builders/masterminds.  Of coarse, I give my two cents when needed, but this stuff I left in their hands for the most part.  I'll have more input into finishing touches upstairs.