Today, I’m showing you a real behind-the-scenes-omg-what-a-mess look into where we are with the Jar Of Lemons kitchen reno, how we’re surviving a kitchen renovation, and our plans on finishing the kitchen!
Jar Of Lemons Kitchen Renovation Update
So we started this with a high level of ambition and decided that we were going to DIY this whole thing so that we could save $$$ for other Edna The House things! 3 months later….we’re OVER it.
We bought the butcher block, cut it (ourselves – and by that I mainly mean Cody hehe 😇), finished it with a food grade sealer, painted the lower cabinets, and installed new hardware. Seems like no big deal, right? It took us forever. As two people with zero experience in this realm, we were pretty proud of ourselves!
A week ago today we made the decision to hire someone to tile the backsplash, since we didn’t have any of the right tools (or the energy, for that matter) to complete that project. When the contractor came in and looked at everything, he offered to pretty much finish the job for us for just a little bit more! SOLD. Thank goodness.
His exact words were “we could probably finish this in a couple of days, no big deal” LOL. It would have taken us months! So we took him up on the deal, and as I’m typing this they’re installing the butcher block! Once they install the butcher block, sink, faucet, and tile, it’ll be on us to finish painting the upper cabinets (white) and add a few more coats of sealer.
Surviving A Kitchen Renovation
Getting through this kitchen renovation as a food blogger has been a lot tougher than I expected it to be! Part of that, if I’m being 100% honest, is because I’m just not a very patient person. <—something I’m always working on, so I guess this project is definitely helping? Either way, these things always take longer than you expect them to. So here’s what I learned on surviving a kitchen renovation:
1.) Be patient with yourself and others
Listing this one first because it’s the toughest of all! This is a patience testing time and it’s a great idea to think of it as an exercise. An opportunity, if you will, to work on your patience!
2.) Be ok with chaos
Kind of goes along with patience, but this one was SO hard for me. When my house is chaos, I tend to feel like my life is chaos! Learning to be ok with the chaos in my home has really taught me to be ok with chaos in life. It used to paralyze me, leaving me thinking “when things are RIGHT, I’ll do what I need to do”. But now I’ve learned (well…LEARNING) to embrace the madness and function in it!
3.) Don’t give up
It’s also easy to think that since everything is a mess, that there’s no point in cleaning or organizing. This type of thinking was a form of giving up (for me) and resulted in making me feel more stressed out. Once I decided I was going to clean the whole house even with the chaos, it helped clear my mind and brought peace!
4.) Make a list of go-to recipes that don’t require cooking or baking
This is a tough one if your sink is out of business, but if not, then making a few of these recipes in advance is definitely helpful! Some of my faves? These Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats, Honey Oatmeal No-Bake Energy Bites, Peanut Butter Protein Bars, Meal Prep Southwest Chicken Burrito Bowls (made ahead), Healthy Sriracha Tuna Stuffed Avocado, and Spinach & Mushroom Naan Pizza (made in the microwave). 👌🏻
Future Plans
After the contractors finish installing the butcher block, sink, faucet, and tile, we will paint the upper cabinets, the wall around them, and install two small shelves above the sink. The next phase of the JOL kitchen may have to wait until next year, but we hope to change out the floors eventually as well!
Stay tuned, friends. Updates to come!
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