The Kitchen!

FINALLY! Our much overdo kitchen pictures! Hurrah! Let's first remember what we started with...

Gross. And NOW (almost the same view):

Ahh...so much better and brighter! I can't imagine having that terrible WALL where the peninsula now is. Yesterday I prepped dinner while watching the Olympics and was happy as a clam. There will soon be a dining room table in the middle there.

Here's a BEFORE of the actual kitchen - 

And AFTER: 

 I still want to put something on that back wall - maybe these cool graphic prints we got as a wedding gift in colored frames? And I will paint that wood stool something fun someday.

Here are some other details for you:

Normal size stove! (If you remember what I had before...)

Awesome flexible faucet.

Big deep drawers for storage - LOVE THIS.

Some green friends in our window.

Big ass sink.

Breakfast area.

SO HAPPY!

Here's all the materials we used if you are curious:

Cabinets - Ikea Akurum Adel Off-White

Drawer and Cabinet Pulls - Pulls Direct

Countertops - Honed Absolute Black Granite

Stove Hood - Pacific Sales

Appliances - From Sears

       - Bosch Dishwasher

       - LG Convection Range

       - Kenmore Elite Fridge

       - Kenmore Microwave

       - Kenmore Washer & Dryer

Sink - Kraus

Faucet - American Standard

Hanging Lights - Restoration Hardware

Kitchen Chairs - Restoration Hardware - On Sale!

Table - Neal's Grandmother 

Map - Style De Vie inside HD Buttercup

A plug for a friend...

One of our best friends and frequent dinner party guests, Cassidy Lange, has just started a line of handbags. They are fun, loose, practical shapes, made out of amazingly soft leather right here in Los Angeles. Not only are the bags great, that she's pulled this all off while having a busy day job as a film studio executive is pretty damn impressive. 

Go check them out here: www.cassidylange.com and from now until Labor Day you can use the coupon "firsteditionlondon" and get 30% off your order. 

How yummy is this "Glazed Vintage" one?

Hurrah for local Los Angeles businesses and creative friends!

Fire! (Not ours!)

Hi all...this is not our house:

...but it IS in our neighborhood. Yesterday afternoon we heard tons of sirens and helicopters swirling...turns out a house 6 or so blocks away caught fire. See this post on The Eastsider for details. Yikes. Too close for comfort. Luckily, it sounds like no one was hurt and the fire didn't spread.

Even freakier is the fact that our backyard is basically a tinderbox of dried out weeds and trees that was making me upset because it is so ugly, but now Im panicked because it's probably not very safe.

Ironically, we had gone that morning for the second half of our landscaping consultation at Burkard Nurseries, where the owner Frank talked us through, not only adding a few walls to flatten out some yard for a garden, but how to put in super simple pipe irrigation to get water down to the bottom of our yard so we can start planting something more attractive then the weeds and old tile and drywall that exists now.

I will take a few BEFORE pics so you can see what we mean. Ugh. It's going to be a big project, but one that this house reminded me, is even more urgent for the safety of US and our neighbors.

Good News!

We FINALLY took some DONE kitchen pics yesterday and will fix em up and post them very soon. Back in the swing so vow to do a little more posting.

Stay tuned!

Kitchen Details...

I know we owe you guys pics of the whole kitchen, but here's one of my favorite details in the kitchen. In the end of peninsula, we had our contractor put an outlet for mixers, blenders, and in this case, my sewing machine (had to hem some curtains!). It's inside the cupboard, so no ugly plug out in the open and it's in a perfect place for utilizing that counterspace.

The cabinet door DOES actually shut most of the way, so don't worry about me accidentally filling the cupboard with flour and goo from the mixer.

Friends in the Neighborhood...

Our amazing friends Matt and Amelia just bought a house 5 blocks away from us and moved this past weekend. We could not be more excited. Matt and Neal have been close friends since freshman year at NYU and when he moved out here with his high school sweetheart Amelia, they've been one of the best things about living here.

Amelia also happens to be a beautiful writer and author of the award-winning blog, Bon Appetempt. They documented their move (and the move of Matt's prized possession - The Vivianne) with some beautiful shots of our neighborhood, great music and a little bit of comedy.

Enjoy!! http://www.bonappetempt.com/2012/06/video-attempt-vivianne-moves.html

And you should definitely be reading Amelia's blog if you aren't. She chronicles her adventures in attempting recipes from magazines and cookbooks as well as becoming the cook, wife and woman she is today. We're even featured sometimes - from the original attempt, to some that, um, weren't as delicious.

Our OTHER neighbors...

The tenants are good - took out the garbage on Tuesday night and brought the cans back in, unasked, on Wednesday. Neighbors on both sides of us are quiet and nice. Though we did think the apartment building on the left stole our yard waste can. (I stole it back.) 

However...there are some not-as-pleasant neighbors in the hood...

Echo Park is overrun with skunks...or maybe just one skunk that sprays pretty much every day. It's getting a little out of control. Open a window for fresh air - get a waft of skunkiness. What do we do!?

I do, however, realize how much worse it could be when I think of the poor dogs in the hood that are getting the spray directly. I should go see if the tomato juice supply at local grocery stores is low.

**Apologies for the lack of posts lately, we've been busy, and we've had Neal's little sister, Emily, living with us for a bit. AND since being finished, the kitchen has been cluttered and dirty because I've been enjoying it so much! Will take more pictures and post more this weekend!**