Foster Love: Busy Season- A Retrospective

January through the end of March is Stephen's insanely busy season at work. He's a trooper to work so hard for us. I usually try to pick a project to work on during this time so the time passes more quickly. So far this year, I've just been trying to be a good mom and run my new business. Some sewing projects are around the bend. I'll keep you posted.

Let's take a look back at last year. This time last year, my kitchen looked like this (Don't you love how the light fixture over the sink is like 3" away from the wall? So effective. And beautiful.):

Thank God this is a before and after post. However, it is not so blog-tastic that it will knock your socks off. I am very thankful that I was able to get this far. It is a work in progress. Clearly, the pressed oak builder cabinets had to be painted. This took FOREVER. I did obsessively paint every surface- inside/outside drawers, inside cabinets, under the sink, etc.). Thanks to all my friends and family for putting up with my whining during the process. I know if you heard me say "alcohol based primer" one more time you might have lost it. It was kind of a nightmare, nonetheless, it is done. Six coats later, it is done. And I love it.

I painted the walls, added hardware (actually my dad did that part for me), new hinges, and switched out the faucet. I feel like it looks so much better. In my dreams, I'm one step closer to THE Suzanne Kasler kitchen.

I have lots more planned for this kitchen. I'm tempted to list it all, but you'd be bored. And I realized that I kind of want to list it so you know that I know what needs to be done. Then, I realized that was pretty egotistical of me. As a designer, I have exposure to incredible homes and finishes. Unfortunately, we have yet to win the lottery (or play it). That dynamic makes home improvements (and home contentment) challenging for me. The good news is that figuring out how to improve our house as inexpensively as possible is a challenge that ends up expanding my creativity. Hopefully I'll get to some of it this year, and I'll share the changes with you as they come. Trust me. It will continue to improve.

In other news, we got about 4" of snow! Hooray!