What Ana Does

 I can't take enough pictures of our new kitchen. It's been a total game changer EVERYDAY.  I love all the light fixtures and options to light the space. I love the huge sink and cleaning it up each night. I love that I can see the TV, so I can watch Ted Lasso while I'm making dinner by myself. And that all of us can be preparing food in there at the same time, because there are several prep space options.  On the other side of the kitchen, I'm so glad we added these cabinets, in BLUE, to the space and basically doubling the size of the kitchen. It's amazing! I have my coffee station over there and all the cookbooks and baking pans are in the cabinet. It's handy. And PRETTY. The Nova color on the cabinets in the kitchen table area is just my favorite!  Then I added this horizontal panels to this part of the wall, an attempt to do that design trick and "tie" it in with the wood oven hood. It's rustic and interesting. It's the first thing you see...

During our kitchen renovation, our walk-in pantry got outlets! (Nope, there were no outlets in there before -- crazy, right?!)  That was a huge addition to this wonderfully useful room that houses all our small appliances and servingware, like bowls and glass jars. We can now use those small appliances in the pantry, rather than carting them out to the kitchen counter.  It's on the list, at some point, to replace the Formica countertops, laminate floors and add a backsplash in here, but not at this time. So I painted the room this moody blue and came up with a FREE solution to the backsplash.  Chalk pen!  This was too easy. I got a level and a scrap board and made horizontal lines along the wall with a white chalk pen. Then, added horizontal lines to connect. Voila!  It was really just as easy as that.  The best part, it's all chalk, so if I decide I don't like it or want to try another design, I just wipe it off with a wet sponge.  There's nothing I a...

This is our first kitchen renovation, we'd done bathrooms and basements before, and I'm learning a whole lot about how this is all done. Sure, I've learned a bunch from my HGTV shows, but it's obviously far from the real thing. 1. Put your plan up on the wall! As much as I like our contractor Bruce and the guys he brings in to do the jobs, he forgets a lot about the details of the OUR VISION. A perfect example: the plumbers had to come back and hide more plumbing because he forgot we're not having upper cabinets. Taking the advice of some Instagram home designers I follow, I tacked up the cabinet plan and other views on the wall of the kitchen. So I, or Bruce or anyone else around, can reference them.  We've pointed to them so many times in the last few weeks, they're super super important. You have to expect these guys are working on other jobs, so they don't have your plan memorized. This helps so much.  2. Be on sight as much as possible and check in...

I've always wanted my kids to be readers. Reading is transformative and has always been a part of my life, and I really wanted that for my girls. So, following common parenting practice, I read to them every night of their childhoods -- up until they were in to chapter books. And I loved it. It was ritual and sharing and the best part of some of my days.  But, once left to their own desires, they did not read. And it was frustrating to me because I followed the equation: read to kids = kids are readers. Ugh.  Following more parenting advice, I offered MONEY for completing books. Reading is not an "intrinsic" habit and therefore needs to be pushed along with "extrinsic" rewards. According to this parenting expert, this isn't a "bribe" but a "reward" for building a positive habit.  Bribes are done at the point of pain (eg. "if you're good for the next five minutes, I'll give you a chocolate treat") and don't lead to go...

Wow. Once the walls went up to cover all the holes the plumber and electrician needed, the kitchen room looked so much BIGGER! With a clean ceiling thanks to no more soffits, the room just looks so wide! We had daydreamed what the kitchen would look like without the soffits but seeing it was a whole other thing.  TOTALLY WORTH IT! I was also amazed by all the new sightlines. Never before could you see the patio door from the front hallway, and now you can thanks to the new openings in the dividing wall. That additional longer view and all the sunshine hitting new places ... I just can't get over it. Now imagine all the white cabinets and walls, the additional lighting and warm wood accents -- and this kitchen is going to be a beauty!  Progress is slow and steady -- the steady part I'm happy about, the slow, no so much. I wish I could get 8 more guys in here working. But this is just the reality, I guess. And the drywall process has been LOUD. Lots of sawing and drilling pieces...

While we were away, our GC started the kitchen renovation with the demo! It went from this ...  To this ...  Week two is over and the plumbing is done and electrician is underway. It might take him the week to finish up and get the inspections done. But after next week, we should start seeing this room get put back together again. There are decisions to make every day -- from position of sconces to where I want light switches and outlets. I've got to come up with a plan for the trim on columns and where the family room panelling should end and sheetrock will start.    Here's the design concept post for a preview of what's to come. 

(Ok, so the title is an obvious pun, forgive me, I had to.)  After two years of being home, we were delighted to be able to head back to Europe and fulfill Alice's wish to see the Acropolis after becoming fascinated by Greek mythology at school.  Dave had a meeting in Madrid for a week, so we tacked on our vacation to his trip, picking him up in Madrid and flying together to Athens and then to Santorini.  MADRID  We've both spent time in this cool city, but it was the first time for the girls. I was so excited to show them Plaza Mayor and how singularly wild and cool the capital of my "homeland" (as my dramatic father calls it). I have a whole itinerary here . It's a walkable city that's pretty easy to navigate. We only had a half-day to explore but it was enough to sample all the flavors.  From Plaza Mayor to Plaza Del Sol to Gran Via to the Corte Ingles and, the best spot, Marcado San Miguel. Spain is just the best.  ATHENS It was our first time in this v...