Buffet BOOYAH!!!! Hello Butcher Block!!

Ya'll - I CANNOT BELIEVE MY LUCK!!!

I have been stalking As Is for the perfect butcher block top for our buffet...remember, my challenge is to buy the entire thing in AS - IS by May otherwise I have to buy the missing pieces :(. This weekend I popped in to Ikea and found this Numerar butcher block just sitting there waiting for me to snatch it up. And snatch I did...literally - there was another man eying it the moment I left to go get my cart!! Back off, Buddy - you DO NOT want to get between me and my As Is miracle!! Here we are 2.5 weeks in to my challenge and, thanks to this great find, I am almost completely done!!

This is how we left off last week with the buffet looking a little on the rough side (check out the entire post here)...

My new Numerar counter top weighs in at a hefty 97lbs and is 96 7/8 x 25 5/8 feet - Oh man, am I in heaven!! This puppy is waaaayyyy bigger than the one I was hoping for which will leave me a big 25x25 leftover scrap as well as a 11x73 scrap that will be perfect for cutting into shelves. Oh, wait - it gets better...do you know what the regular price of this butcher block lovely is?? $169...do you know what this lady got it for??? $30!!! YES - $30!!! This, by far, is the best deal I have gotten in As Is so please excuse my over use of exclamation points and yelling!!!

via

OK - I think I am calm now... I loaded it up (along with a little something I'll tell you about tomorrow) and drove it home. We had to wait all week to buy the right blade to cut this piece (apparently not many places sell a 5.5 inch fine tooth blade...argh) but it was all worth the wait as we learned our lesson on the office counter top - we need a fine toothed blade to avoid splintering. Once we had the blade I was pumped to get cutting...with a little assistance from E, of course. If you haven't heard by now... E is the slow and steady go to man for projects like this as I am way too fast and careless to go slow - check out his crafty work on my desk counter top here.

Once I made my marvelous markings (all on a piece of painters tape so I wouldn't get permanent marker on the wood), E went to town cut cut cutting away. FYI - since this was a new blade and we weren't quite sure how it would cut we did a test cut on the end of the counter piece to make sure it wouldn't splinter. If you have enough extra material to work with I HIGHLY suggest doing a test cut!!

I forgot to take the picture of the edge but I can assure you it was clean and perfectly cut!! :) Yeah!! As for the rest of that big ole' block, I marked off 3 different cuts for E to make which would leave us with the 3 pieces I spoke off earlier. With some careful arranging and rearranging of our saw horsies none of the blocks were able to fall to the ground and get damaged once they were cut lose...so so so important when you plan on using every piece!!

See how slow and diligent my masked man is?? I could NEVER have the patience to work this slow!! :) We were a few inches away to being just about done when...chug chug chug...the 3rd battery was drained and the project was put on hold till the new one recharged...

Once we were all charged up, the last piece was cut and our counter top was ready for a mock run...

ooooohhhhh....

aaaaahhhhh....

Not so bad!! I am not done with her yet...lots of sanding the raw edges and a few coats of sealant will do the trick, but for now she is sitting pretty in her new spot in our house. Our walls are a little wavy but that has nothing to do with the counter top so when we figure out a back splash (I am thinking used corks?) you won't be able to see the difference. Oh, and see the wine rack I started putting in and the nice white backing to it?? That was a project in itself but, don't worry, I will show all the steps in my process in the next post...which I am hoping will be the end post for this project! :)

For now - I am actively searching out the rest of the pieces I need to get my buffet finished. The biggest problem will be finding the doors so I am keeping my fingers crossed for my Lidingo doors...can you keep your fingers crossed too?? Pretty please!!

Thanks for stopping in...I am off to sand and buy some sealant for our new buffet. What did you guys do this weekend? Anyone working on a buffet like I am?? Feel free to leave a comment with a link to your latest and greatest!!

Bianca Numerar counter top, how to cut a numerar counter top, how to cut a counter top, using a circular saw, Ikea Lidingo doors, Ikea buffet,
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What is Wet, Pink, And Gross All Over?

I am in Spring Cleaning mode here at LBR I have been feverishly scrubbing down the kitchen all week. When it came time to rinse out one of my rags I noticed the water from the faucet was coming out a bit strange. Upon further inspection it turned out to be just a kink in the hose but what I found while figuring that out was a big eye opener to me...

First let me start by saying I love our faucet. E picked up this Hansgrohe faucet at Costco...to be honest, it wasn't love at first sight but over time it has grown on me. Unfortunately, something else decided to grow on IT...this moldy mildewy grossness!! After calling E over to show him what he has been drinking from and seeing the sheer horror register on his face (I LOVE to gross him out!), I immediately took to scrubbing. This little clean up only took an old toothbrush and some orange vinegar water (more on that below) and all was better.

AHHHHH...I feel much better!! There is still a bit of water and suds on there but I can assure you all the yuckyness came off. We have only had the faucet since June of last year (when we did the big kitchen remodel) so it isn't like we went years without cleaning the head but I can honestly say I have lived places where it was never a thought to clean the actual faucet head. I am happy to say that that will no longer be the case!! This baby will be cleaned every couple of weeks from now on. I mean, I clean the faucet anyway - why not clean the head of it?!

On to my newest vinegar solution. I recently subscribed to Angela Coffman's Grocery Shrink. What this woman can do with a budget is amazing!! In the past few years my everyday cleaning solution has been that of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. I have no exact mix but I tend to do half and half...that may seems like a lot for some but it works for us!! At first the smell was a little off putting but I quickly warmed to it as it reminds me of dying Easter Eggs as a kid. Do you guys do that? Use white vinegar in your Easter egg dye mixture? Anyway, E has never quite taken to the smell and some people have a real aversion to it. Once I subscribed to Angela's newsletter I was promised a recipe collection for her cheap, non toxic, environmentally safe cleansing products...and she delivered!! The next day in my inbox was part #1 of her solutions and the day after came part#2.

My first project was to spice up my cleaning solution. Angela suggests infusing the white vinegar with orange peels to make it smell better but also to harness the cleaning properties that citrus fruit oils contain. We already had oranges on hand (as we have started juicing them each morning) so all I had to do was collect the peels and soak them for a few weeks...super easy!! Since we weren't peeling our oranges before juicing them I simply juiced them and then scraped out the gook leftover to come up with just the peels. I was afraid if I left the gook then the sugars from the juice would make the solution sticky...no beuno for cleaning!!

Then I just let them sit...and sit...they even made it into a few posts of mine!!

My famous $1.50 Notes Zone post...

AND my Oh, My Achin' Back post...

After 2 weeks I strained the dark orange vinegar out and placed it in a new container. I then took my spray bottle and filled it 3/4 of the way with water then added the orange infused white vinegar to the top...yes, it is more than Angela suggests but I figure what the heck - it's my orange vinegar and I can do what I want with it! :) I forgot to take pics of that but I think ya'll are smart enough to figure it out!!

E is very happy with the new smell as am I. You can use any type of citrus fruit for this potion. I think lemons and limes would be delightful!! Or perhaps a grapefruit!! The great part about this is you can add additional fruit peels as you go so there is no need to cut and peel your whole 8lb bag of oranges all at once. These 2 bottles (old pasta sauce jars) took about 5-6 orange peels each.

It's your turn now...have you found anything super gross while Spring Cleaning? Do you have any safe and cheap cleaners to share?? Feel free to leave a comment or even a link to show us what you're up to!! :)

Now get back to cleaning!!

Bianca

PS - I am linking up to share this cleaning tip with others...don't ya' think that's important?? Please follow me over to the lovely ladies blogs by clicking here!!

Buffet Action... yup, it's a repost!

I posted this last week but had to remove it pretty quick do to technical problems - so here is the encore performance!

This weekend has been a blur starting with my Sunday trip to Ikea, a baby shower, dinner at grandmas, and a 3 day trip to Maine. I have been busy!! I'll let ya'll in on my trip to Maine tomorrow (Don't forget the Foodie Friday linky party!!) but for now I must shine the spotlight on my As Is purchase of the week!!

When we remodeled the kitchen (more on that here and here), our original plan was to include a buffet against the wall that leads you in and out of the kitchen...better said in pictures - see the red arrows?

It was to look something like this:

Actually - it was to look exactly like this with narrower base cabs... Of course, once we started construction things changed and we reconsidered. First, the electrician put a long 5 switch panel right about where the upper cabinets would have ended making for an awkward time trying to turn something on and secondly, we thought it might look a bit too cluttered. For the time being we put that big ole' Ikea Billy bookcase in the spot as a stand in pantry while we thought things over.

This weekend while perusing the As Is section I found the 2 bottom cabinets I would have needed had we gone through with the buffet. Of course, I couldn't pass them up...they were sitting there all alone and naked with no door fronts to keep them warm. I got the go ahead from E and brought those 2 - 30x30 Akurum wall cabinets home for $16 a piece. Oh - and in case you are wondering "why wall cabinets?" it is because Ikea only makes 2 depths and the 24 inch base cabinet is too deep for our walkway but the 13 (including door) works splendidly...that is exactly how deep Billy was so we are pretty used to that space ratio now! Thanks to the brilliant hacking skills I used with my office project (check it out here) - I have mastered the technique of substituting Akurum base cabs with wall cabs.

Don't mind the mess - this was taken right before I left for Maine! I was in total rush mode! :)

See the big light switch? Ooops. Anyway - our plan is to install legs for the bottoms and then stabilize the cabinets to the wall. We are still debating the counter top but I am about 95% sure we will use a 14 inch deep butcher block and we have also decided to nix the idea of upper cabinets so the walkway flows better and doesn't overwhelm the space. Maybe a long mirror for above or perhaps some photos?

Last Sunday I removed Ole' Billy and transferred him to his temporary new quarters in the guest room (Have you seen the latest transformation? Look here!). I am actively searching Ikea (as is my wing-man) for the proper Lidingo doors as well as the butcher block. With Ikea's big kitchen sale going on right now I am sure to have everything I need by the end of next month...yes, it will take time but it will also be CHEAP! This is the official beginning of The Ikea Buffet As Is Challenge!! :)

This area is going to make the perfect drink station for parties and get together's all while keeping people out of the main cooking zone of the kitchen. This is just a sneak peak but I can not wait to show off the end result!! :)

Are you guys working on something splendid? Want to share? Feel free to leave a comment and/or link to what you have been working on!

Bianca

Spring Clean to Glam up Those Kitchen Cabinets

The problem with glass front cabinets is they show everything...hmmm...I thought that was the point of them!  Well, once you live with glass fronts for a while you realize you have to keep them (and their contents) in check or they tend to look super messy.

If you checked in yesterday you may have read my post on beautifying my glass front cabinets with just a squeeze of the caulk gun...if you didn't shame on you ;) but you can always click here to get caught up.  Once the caulking was done I was ready to weed some things out and overall rearrange the madness that is our cabinets.  For one thing, we had glasses and mugs in different cabinets.  We also had dishes and bowls on both sides...let's get it together, lady!  I have no idea what I was thinking when I first loaded up my cabinets but I now knew it was time for a change.

First things first - move all drinking glasses, wine glasses, and mugs to one side.  It makes sense to have the glasses and mugs closest to the fridge and stove where we get more of our drinks from...we drink A LOT of tea in this house!!  See the Boss mug?  E thinks that is his but I always drink from it when he is gone and I never pour his tea in it...so that means that I am the BOSS!!  He also bought me a mug that say "Over the Hill" which he thought was a inspirational saying to congratulate me for making it to 100 followers...He had no idea what "Over the Hill" actually meant...

Second - I moved all bowls and plates to the other side - why they were all divided I have no idea!  This way we have all the different sizes in one place for easy access when dishing out our food stuffs...mmmm...food stuffs...

Third - do something about the zoo that is our serving dishes that we rarely use.  They were all staggered about in weird formation.  How could I show them off a bit without being to obvious at the same time...This is where the brain kicked in.  I used a similar idea as when I fixed my laptop to be a PC (see that here).  Instead of using a pot holder for a sticky surface I took some sticky clear bumpers normally used for doors and such and stuck them to the glass shelf.  I then propped up my dish against the back of the cabinet to where it would lean against the stopper to, well, stop it from sliding further.  See?

+  

=

With a small piece of sticky rubber I was able to make the cabinet look a little more presentable.  I would much rather look at a little clear bumper than the labels on all the bottoms of my dishes!  Ooops - in this picture you get a before shot of all the shelving holes...the after (from yesterday's post) looks soooo much better!

All these quick fixes with the help of yesterdays caulking the cabinets look much more presentable.  The best thing is it cost a few cents and very little time to make the kitchen look showroom ready... OK - maybe not that good but something close.  I realize we could use some fun punches of color in our dining ware and perhaps a cute print for the back of the cabinets but for now our motto is "Work With What We Have" and what we have ain't so shabby!  :)

Oh - and adding fresh herbs to your kitchen really help liven up the place.  The herbs in the Milk container are cilantro straight fro the grocery store which I bought for less than a buck.  If you change the water every couple of days they will last on your counter top for over a week~I love walking by to catch the scent lingering!!  :)  As for the rest of the stuff on our counter...Dog treats, a bowl of garlic, the oranges we will juice today, and the Olive Oil and dipping dishes I brought down from the cabinets which will get a lot more use now that they are within arms reach. 

Also - I want to make sure I point out my Nana's antique cake stand that I received at my wedding shower.  It is beautiful, fragile, and will remain on the top shelf in these cabinets until I die...I am afraid of breaking it!!  Check it out...

What are you guys doin' for your spring cleaning?  Feel free to leave a comment and let me know where your projects are at!  I am about to take it outside when this weather gets a little warmer tomorrow...stay tuned for some garden fun!!  :)

Click here to check out where I am sharing this link and PAR-TAYING!!!

Bianca

Got Caulk? Fill 'er Up!

Well, here we are for another episode of Caulk Talk (Missed the other?  Check it out here).  In my opinion Caulk is the Queen Bee of remodeling...in ladies laymen terms, the Spanx of all DIY oopsy forgiveness!  I have been meaning to get around to this little project for quite some time so I am glad I have finally found the time to get er' done!!

It is no secret that we at LBR are big fans, OK, HUGE fans of Ikea.  Someday I will have to take you on a tour of all things Ikea in our house but for now let's focus on the heart of our home...the kitchen.  For those of you just joining us, last year we gutted our old dingy musty kitchen (here and here) and transformed it to a nice bright white mecca of food fabulousness, IKEA style!  Ever since the glass front cabinets went up I have been itching to tackle those crazy little shelving holes...

See them?  They are hard to miss when everything else is white white white...  Since I was rearranging and cleaning out the cabinets I thought today would be a fabulous time to break out the caulk and get to work.  This is a super simple and cheap way to make your cabinets look just a wee bit more cohesive without having to get all crazy and paint.  Obviously, if you don't have white inner cabinets then white caulk may not be the way to go but you can find a colored caulk or fill with white then paint over with whatever color you have.

There ar minimal steps to this process and the outcome is well worth it!

1.  Get you caulk...OK, that should go without saying but from past experience (mainly when working with E, my husband) people (again, E) tend to get all set to start a project and don't even bother to gather the supplies...crazy people... You will also need:

• A small flat edge, similar to my painting tool thingy (I never have learned the correct term but I LOVE this thing).  You can also use an old gift card or credit card...I tend to have a lot of .63¢ remaining gift cards on hand.  
• An old work rag and/or paper towels.

2.  Now - take the caulk gun and over fill the holes you are planning not to use.  I left a few holes open in the event I want to move a shelf up or down but that will most likely never happen as I like the shelves sitting where the cross bars on the door fronts are...but anyway, fill them all or leave a few open...the choice is yours

3.  Take your flat edge and quickly smooth it right over the hole.  I was able to do a few at a time.  Now take your rag and wipe off the excess caulk from your flat edge.  

4.  Use a different wet rag to gently wipe around the holes in case any of the excess caulk smeared while using your flat edge.  

THATS IT!!  You are done!!

Here is a little pictorial:

 And here is your glammed up looking wonderful in white end result!

One more time with a before and after:

This look so much better...some of the screw heads could use a coat of white paint but Ill save that for the next time I break out a brush...

Looking good...And for less than a buck and in less than an hour!  Just my kind of makeover!!

FYI - If you accidentally fill a hole that you need to remove the caulk from later just take a small drill bit and gently drill it out.  It removes really easily and you have your hole back!!  Of course, I know this as I may have accidentally filled a few holes on past projects that I wasn't supposed to!   :)

What are you guys working on??  Feel free to leave a comment and/or a link to your post and let me know how caulk has changed your life!!  :)

Click here to check out where I am sharing this link and PAR-TAYING!!!

Bianca

Come on Baby Light My Sink

GET READY for the big $1 transformation!!!  First a few words from our sponsor...me...

When we remodeled our kitchen I was soooo unprepared for all of the little details that came with it.  Lighting was a biggie.  I waited until the last day to find the lights I wanted to use and, even then, I was not completely satisfied with my choice...big surprise to ya'll I am sure considering my recent indecision's here and here!!  :)

The lighting over the eating area worked well for us as it was centered with the space and gave off quite a bit of light to the bar area.  The pendant U chose for over the sink matched the other one so I snatched it up and went on my way.  Matchy matchy is not always the best way to go but in a pinch it seemed better (and easier) to do while the electrician (AKA E's cousin) was at our house waiting for the fixture.  I am sure we could have installed it ourselves but the lighting/outlets were all newly wired and part of his job in order to pass inspection.  Here is some  pics of the old pendant...It has been a nice light, maybe a bit boring, and gives of A LOT of light...too much, maybe, but overall - it worked for us.

See to the left over the sink?

Matches these lights over the counter...but kind of blah...

Last week, while in the AS-IS section at my home away from home, Ikea, I picked up a $1 lamp shade.  I had no idea what I wanted to use it for but this weekend it became clear.  I unscrewed the glass and light bulb from the old fixture, held the new one in place, and then screwed the light bulb back in...

Pretty, don't you think?  A cheap and easy way to update your light fixtures!  I love the way this lamp shade glows.  The pendant was quite stark and it hurt to look directly at it...like the sun during an eclipse - now it is visually pleasing and offers some texture to the room.  I would like to shorten the metal rod a bit so the shade sits a little higher - E is just barely clearing the shade while doing dishes - but that will happen in time.  For now, this beauty is workin' her charm.

Anyone else updating some old light fixtures?  I have plenty more to do so I would love a bit of inspiration!!  Feel free to leave a comment and a link to your lighting project...

Bianca

PS -  I am linking up with some fabulous ladies at their Linky Parties + The Frugal Girls - check them out here and join in the fun!!