Grandma's Kitchen

 My mom finally got all of her kids out of her house....and was able to remodel the kitchen.  It was a major undertaking, including moving appliances and walls around.  It looks amazing though and both of my parents love it.  If you have any questions about specific items or finishes, leave me a comment and I can find out for you.

 Under cabinet lighting and a small TV, with which my mom watches the Food Network and my dad watches football and baseball.

 One of my mom's favorite features in the new kitchen is this fabulous, deep stainless steel sink.

 Because they bumped the kitchen out, they had to redo the entryway as well.  This actually used to be my old bedroom, then a guest room, then an office/storage space.

 New flooring.  Tile in the kitchen and hardwood in then entry/dining/hallway.

 New matching china cabinets in the dining room.

My dad did a lot of the renovation himself, including all of doors, moldings, and baseboards.  I'm probably going to copy a lot of their ideas when we are able to renovate.  There are still little things here and there to finish up (there always are, right?) and then they need to move onto exterior of the house, particularly the front porch since they moved the position of the front door.  Keep up the good work, I love to see all of the transformations every time we come for a visit.

First Home

 My brother and his wife are building a house, should be finished this month!  These pictures are for documentation.  I can't wait to take some of the finished product.

 Leading into the master bedroom

 Kitchen

 Bathroom

 Master bath

 Bedroom #1

 Bedroom #2

 Living/Kitchen

 Opposite view

Backyard

Book Review: Lucid by Adrienne Stolz and Ron Bass

Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sloane and Maggie are two teenage girls who couldn't be more different in appearance and personality.  They share a terrible secret and know everything about one other despite never meeting or speaking face to face.  At night, they dream that they are each other.  Which girl and life is real and which is the dream?

I loved the premise and overall concept of this book.  The chapters alternate between each girl's life (or dream) as they try to navigate through school, boys, jobs, family, and the horrible realization that one of them isn't real.  After a couple of chapters of each girl's story, I was completely engrossed and couldn't put it down.  I haven't read a book this fast in a long time.  Fair warning:  the ending is not completely cut and dry, so don't expect to have all the answers.  It didn't bother me, but I know it can really annoy some people.  The language and sexual references (no scenes, just discussions and innuendos) are about the equivalent of a PG-13 movie, so I wouldn't recommend this for younger teens/kids to read.  Fascinating book and a great book club discussion choice.



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Peanut Butter Balls

 I got the rare opportunity to go visit my mom and dad for the weekend without any kids!  We had a lot of fun and tried out a new recipe.  These peanut butter balls are from Trisha Yearwood's cooking show on Food Network.  Not only were they easy to make, but they are really yummy.  They make a lot, which is great for a party or as gifts.  I think Trisha made hers a lot bigger and thus, had less PB balls per batch, but I prefer them more bite size.  I might add some mini chocolate chips or a chocolate drizzle on them next time too.  Everything is better with a little chocolate on it.  Recipe can be found HERE.