Kitchen Remodel

Stage 3: Extending the countertop

For those of you who have not seen the progress on our kitchen posts well let me share the posts so that so see all the stages of it:

Stage 1:Removing the nicknack/ catch all/ phone wall

Stage 2: Making room for a Pantry

Now that we have moved the cabinet from the top and bottom on the one side of the room we took the bottom cabinets and moved them over to the other side. We decided that we should extend the countertop and make an area so that we could have two areas for stools to sit. I had found on Pinterest a DIY butcher block countertop. Our currant countertop had been irritating me for the all of the time that we have been in the  house (5 years).

Originally we were going to add a lazy susan and have an island... but then we decided to the extension and then eventually add to bar stools for homework for the kiddos or just relaxing, reading the paper and having a cup of coffee! That sounds perfect!!!!

So my husband took some wood and extended the counter tops. We eventually took off the existing counter tops off once the put three pieces of wood on. Then we got some wood putty and filled in any holes. After that is was time to for my husband to become Mr. Sandman! He sanded the wood down and made the most perfect edges possible. 

 After that we stained the wood to our color of choice, a red mahogany shade. I still love this color! Other than the stink of stain and the epoxy these were my favorite jobs. This job was very rewarding because once you stroked the stain onto the wood you could see immediate results.  This was by far the most rewarding part of the job.

 After we were done with the epoxy paint it was time to paint the cabinets. With the darker wood on the countertops on top we choose to paint them white and to spray paint the handles black. Wahoo for painting wood white, even with two layer of primer it still sucked it up. It took lots of layers, but we are very satisfied with the results.

Hopefully now I have your creative juices flowing!

Post if you have any late night changes you have done while the kids are sleeping!

The Best Homemade Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Over ten years ago I found one of those fantastic cookies! Thanks so much to my sister-in-law as she gave me this recipe so I could make her little brother happy. The first time I put one of these cookies in my mouth I about fainted... because they are that good. Now-a-days, I can't make them that often because they are that good. Usually I make them for the super bowl party and only by special request.
So if I haven't thanked you in a while, THANK YOU KC!

Cookies

Oven pre-heated at 350 degrees
2 boxes of Devil's Food Cake mix
1 Cup Oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
4 Eggs
Combine all ingredients together until combined well. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a un-greased cookie sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes on 350 degree F.  Set on cooling racks and let cool for at least five minutes, then you may take them off the cookie sheets and place then individually place them on the cooling racks to fully cool.

 Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese soften
1 stick of butter (1/4 cup) soften
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2-2 cups of powdered sugar

Blend the cream cheese and butter in a bowl until blended well. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Once the cookies are completely cooled frost one cookie and find a pair that matches it and make a sandwich.

You of course can use whatever shape you want for the cookies. Also, you can add some food coloring to the frosting for something different. For the Super Bowl, I usually make these cookies and I try and make them in the football shape.
I always have bled orange, so of course this year I made the frosting ORANGE! Regardless of how the Broncos played (which wasn't good at all) and the Seahawks dominated in all aspects of the game.... I will always end the day by saying, GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!

On the 1st day of February....

The Reeser Family is getting ready for Valentine's Day this year!

Instead of being a Valentines Day Grinch.... I choose to turn it into a fun example of how God loves us, just like we do with the other holidays that I love.

So what better way to show Valentine's Day than hugs and kisses, XOXO! We ran to Walmart and got two of each x's and o's. The next day we got everything ready: paint colors chosen, paint brushes, newspaper on table.... but wait Mama's got to take a picture first! CHEESE!!!!

I am making O's on my O!

Doing a great job getting the letter O covered everywhere with the color pink.

On the first day of FEBRUARY mama made for us! Cinnamon Swirl Bread (Pepperidge Farm) heart shaped french toast, bacon and not-so-good-looking heart shaped strawberries.

Thankfully we already purchased our valentines cards from last year (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for fifty cents) and other than purchasing the x's and o's we really didn't have to spend much money. I don't plan on spending money on too many other things for our fun ideas that I may create or have gotten it off of Pinterest. And we are also going to use the 3 R's from things around the house. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

I know that the Lord will help me to share His love with my family and others and that is why I choose to make this month fun and exciting. Attitude is everything, I know that my family and friends, can tell with I am not excited about something. Life is an adventure and I am so blessed to get to experience it with my husband and two little boys. No matter the hardship, or how I feel I need to rejoice in what the Lord has done! I am so thankful to serve the Almighty Lord who give me grace, love and hope even when I am not in the mood! In my devotions I read  Romans 8 and so much of what it shared about is the things that I have been struggling with.

Nothing can take that away from my LORD and his LOVE!!!!!!!!!

Romans 8:38-39

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.