The Builder in Me

A while back I posted about the Kreg jig and wanting to build some things for the house.

Well I've had this beauty pinned to my pinterest page for quite some time.

Photo and plan can be found here

The pin keeps disappearing, but luckily it's popular and can easily be found via a quick google search.

Looks like a good way to get the washers up, off the floor without spending all the money for pedestals.

Building project #1 on my list.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Revisited - Fridge Door Handle Covers

I mailed the covers I made to the house and they were so kind to put them on the fridge.

I think they look great!

Sorry for the low res, but you get the idea. She also said that the cover fits perfectly on the freezer drawer. So I can just go ahead and use the same measurements for the freezer handle cover. Cool Beans!

So, have you made your cover yet?

Aloha A Hui Hou!

DIY - Tired of Fingerprints and Smudges

It's been weeks since we've returned from our trip and I can't stop thinking about how smudged up the door handles of our stainless steel fridge/freezer were and how I wound up wiping them down every time I walked by. I had to come up with a solution.

In one of the care homes I worked in they wrapped the fridge door handle in Saran Wrap to keep it clean. It worked, but I didn't want to be that wasteful.

Then it came to me. Why don't I just sew "handle covers"?

I knew I wanted some kind of green, Aloha print, quilted fabric, but didn't find anything I liked at the fabric store.

On a whim, at the thrift store, I went thru the bedding isle and found a small throw in just the right color.

Cha-ching - MINE!

First, I carefully took off the bias tape so that I could reuse on my covers.

Then I took measurements and cut out what I needed to make each cover.

Then pinned the bias tape all the way around and sewed it in place.

Next I wrapped the cover to be around the handle and using a vanishing marker I marked where they over lap. 

This marks lets me know where I need to sew the velcro.

I decided to only add a few spots of velcro instead of a long strip. Thought it would be less bulky this way.

Once the velcro was in place I wrapped the cover around the handle, with opening facing me.

I pulled it nice and tight, pressed the velcro dots together.

This is our fridge in Hawaii - excited to put it on our other fridge.

Then, ever so gently, I turned the cover around so the seam was in back and wah-la! A nice cover that won't show smudges and that I can toss in the washing machine when it gets dirty!

I made 2 for the french doors, but will have to wait till we're at the house again to measure how big it has to be for the freezer drawer.

What do you think? Maybe I'll go into production!!

Aloha A Hui Hou!

Shared with:

From Drawings to Reality

OK, last entry about the kitchen...for now...I promise.

When we were at the house last year I sketched, on scrap paper, what I envisioned the kitchen should look like.

While sorting thru some papers, I was happy to find that the contractor had saved them. Yay David and Lisa!

So cool to see that the kitchen turned out almost EXACTLY the way I sketched it (will get to that below).

Down to the lamp, just the way I hoped it would look like.

Closing those shelves make the place look so much tidier. 

Great looking wall of cabs - amazing amount of storage!

Here is where we made a slight change. I skipped the plate rack and opted for a spice cabinet.

Amazing what can happen when you get the right team together. Thank you again Lisa and David and the rest of the crew!!

Aloha a Hui Hou

No more Laundromat for us!

They've arrived, have been put in place, have been tested and they work!

They look so HUGE!

When the weather gets a bit better the contractor will drill to vent out the dryer. I don't think I will need the dryer as much as I need it in Hawaii, (95% of our laundry gets dryer dried) but I'm glad we have one....

Yes, you read right we used the dryer for almost EVERY load we wash. Because of the high humidity our clothes would never really dry and they get musty, really, really fast.

At first we used these and they are supposed to "last"  for a month and they dissolved and filled up with water in half that time.

Now we have to keep a heating element in the closet so the clothes we do get dry, stay dry.

This is from the Gun Safe Dehumidifiers website 

I think/hope the dry temps in Idaho will be more clothes friendly.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Good to know we have friends...

One message to one of my new friends on the mainland and the delivery of our new washer and dryer has been ensured.

Woo Hoo! Thank you so much to our new friends!

Aloha Hui Hou!

Well that never happened before... x2

Taking advantage of the Presidents day weekend appliance sales and after doing some internet research we were finally able to choose a washer and dryer. If you read my previous post  you'll know we were trying to figure out what would be best. Well we (I) decided that front loading machines would be the way to go for us and we narrowed it down to  the, Frigidaire Affinity Electric Steam Laundry Pair:


FWIW - It's totally a coincidence that it is yet another Frigidaire. 

washer capacity is 4.2 - Dryer capacity is 7.0

On Saturday, Roger and I went to Sears to see if they had this set in their line up and if they could price match or if they had something that could compare. 


At first, the sales person was "taking stink" about Frigidaire. I leaned over and whispered to my hubby that one of the things I learned in sales was, smack talking what you don't have to justify the fact that you don't have it.  Surprise, surprise, right after that he fessed up that they didn't sell that brand. We said it was ok and that we'd look around.


After a bit of browsing the sale guy approached us again and asked what store was selling the pair at that price. I showed him the ad and explained that it wasn't for here, the gentleman started looking online, and didn't find the pair in the Sears data base, but he did find that Sears price matched R C Willey's prices and checked their site. 


When he saw the ad and the price all he could say is that it is an excellent deal and that we should go for it! That was a first!


On Sunday morning I tried to call the store to place the order, just to find out they're closed on Sundays. I didn't want them to sell out before I could get our order in (you never know how many they have in stock), so I went ahead and ordered online. 


This is where the second first comes in - When I printed the receipt I noticed the fine print. They will only deliver if the person that purchased the set is there to accept delivery with the CC that was used to pay for the machines and with a valid State ID....uh-oh! That isn't going to work. Wrote them back and hope to hear from them tomorrow.


Oh and I didn't order the pedestals. I know that it would be good for my back, in the long run, to have the openings at a comfortable height - but I found this DIY project to make my own pedestal. Will think about making it the next time we're there.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the washer qualifies for the energy saver rebate - I like the sound of money finding it's way back into my pocket!


Aloha Hui Hou!

The last one

So, we have all our kitchen appliances except one - The Range.

Just before Christmas we saw a cooking special and the cook was cooking things in the oven"s". Different things required different temps and she had two wall ovens so she could get everything done at the same time. I was in love! In love with the idea of having 2 ovens. Due to the layout of our kitchen, putting in 2 wall ovens is not an option for us. So I started looking for one of the fancy new ranges that has 2 ovens, a smaller one on top and a medium size one below.

Our other appliances are from Frigidaire and they only offer one double oven. So far I've only found it at Lowes.

It had what we wanted, 2 ovens, self cleaning, convection oven, 5 burners (one oval), convertible to LP and it matched our other appliances. The only thing holding me back was the price. Is having the 2 ovens worth $500 - $700 more? I looked at other brands that were a bit cheaper, but I just couldn't bring myself to pick one that wasn't from Frigidaire.

So yesterday Hubby and I went to Sears and looked at other double ovens, just to see what they are like, and you know what? Although the thought of 2 ovens in a range is pretty cool, in reality it's not for us. The lower oven is so low to the ground, lifting a heavy roast or turkey would be a real piece of work. Not to mention how much smaller the "bigger" oven is....much smaller than I thought it would be.

That means it's back to the drawing board - but this time I have a lot more options. A LOT.

For now I have narrowed it down to these 3 because they match what we already have best:

I know they all kind of look the same, but the one or other has a feature that the others don't have. Now to ponder some more.....

Lesson learned? Look before you buy....Oh wait, just like when I bought the fridge, I almost forgot that lesson...

Aloha Hui Hou!

Laundry day

So today is one of my laundry days and since I shouldn't lift heavy loads I guess I will have to pass...for today.

I'm looking forward to buying a washer and dryer but am unsure what kind of washer to get.

In the past I've always had a front loader and like the fact that I will have a flat surface across the top of the washer and dryer and can put a counter top across...for folding and such...

But a top loader has it's benefits too. You can add something quick. You can leave the lid open and let it stand and soak for a while...

Then comes the question of having them stand on pedestals or not.

 

You'll get that extra storage, but it is too high to work on.  Also having it on the pedestals means if the basement ever floods, the machines will be safe.

Not to forget about the all new steam washers and dryers. Does anyone have them? are they good? are they better? Is it worth the extra you pay for them?

Looking for some good feedback :o)

Look before you buy...

If you know me, you know I long for a nice kitchen. If you know me, it's no surprise to you that I am thrilled with the prospect of designing - rehabbing our country kitchen.

But where to start? I guess the fact that we bought the house without appliances kinda sealed the deal on them being the first step.

One Saturday I got Roger to go with me to Sears to check out the appliance section. He wanted a gas range, I wanted electric because I wasn't planning on cleaning the oven and I know he wasn't planning on that either. As we looked at gas ranges and I was thrilled to learn that you can get a gas cook top and an electric, SELF CLEANING oven! Can I hear a Whoop whoop?!


Next came the fridge. We knew we wanted a decent size fridge with freezer. After all I had plans. A big vegetable garden, eggs, dairy, jams, jellies, pesto I NEED a big fridge! But for the sake of the environment, it had to be energy star rated. Next we had to think of the lay out. If we get a big fridge opening the door will take up a lot of space. So our options were narrowed down to either a side by side or french door fridge.

Since we were planning to stay at the house on our last trip and there was no way to keep food cold - the fridge became our first purchase. Shopping around, watching sales, I was on a mission. I knew it would have to be a GREAT deal in order for me to buy. The Sunday before we flew over, a french door Frigidaire fridge went on sale at Best Buy. It was $700 cheaper than comparative models. I called the Best Buy in Idaho and it was selling for another $100 less than it was selling in Hawaii! Good things do come to those who wait! I placed the order and scheduled delivery for the Wednesday after our arrival. I was so excited.

On that Wednesday the delivery men carried the fridge up the front stairs thru the front room and wanted to go on to the kitchen...and then guess what? It was to big to get thru the door way, even if we took the doors off it wouldn't fit in.

Talk about Bummer! Not only should I shop for bargains, I should have measured the door way before I ordered! But I'm not giving up yet - we have a plan. After we put new flooring in the kitchen the contractor will remove the door frame so we can slide the fridge in. I'll strip all the paint off the frame, restore it and then it will be put back up. See? I fixed it.

So for now it's standing in the front room, waiting for us to come home.

We didn't bother putting the handles on yet.

Another thing we were able to get done while we were there was fulfill Roger's dream by putting in a propane gas tank. It's just like the kind you use for your grill, just 4x's as big! Right now it's empty. No sense in letting a full tank stand around. 

Wash the Dishes, Dry the Dishes...have a cup of tea

As we were on our house hunt Roger promised me that we will get a house with a dishwasher. Well, turns out the one we bought didn't have one and there isn't really a spot to put one if I want to keep the vintage kitchen. So what to do? Well add more counter space and put one in is what we'll do!

So we were on the sale hunt again. We knew we wanted stainless steel to match the fridge and that the style of the handles should match too.

On Thursday Roger went thru Sundays ads again and found that they had a dishwasher that not only matches the style of the fridge, it is from the same manufacturer. On Saturday we drove over to our local store to see what it looks like close up and we were not disappointed. Looks great and was $150 off. What a deal! Went home, ordered it online and even got free delivery. Our contractor will be there on Monday anyway to finish up with the trees so they will be there to check it over and sign for it. Woo Hoo!

Aloha Hui Hou!