Updating the kitchen for under $25!

For Christmas I got a little present from my hubby.

I thought we would play a little game and see if you could spot the update.

The picture on the left is the before {taken three years ago}

and the picture on the right is the after.

I can't believe how in the past three years not much has changed in my kitchen!

It's a little crazy.

If you noticed the new drum shade pendants as the update you would be right!

I shared a kitchen tour with you all a few years ago when we first moved in.

Not much has changed!

Seriously, it's a little trippy.

I really love my kitchen.

It's huge and is well laid out, but one of those things I have never liked were the pendants.

I wasn't a big fan of the bell shade, so when I saw that Lowe's had pendant light shades for $10, I sent my hubby a text and asked for them for Christmas.

It took Mike less than 10 minutes to install both new shades.

I think they made a huge difference and update the space right away.

Totally worth the $22 investment!

One final angle to see how the new pendant shades look over my island.

Do you have any good cheap ways that you update your living space?I would love to hear your tips!

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kitchen tour

I thought I would join with Love Stitched on her kitchen home tour. I blogged about the kitchen in our old home here. This time, I thought I would show you the kitchen in our new house.

It's an amazingly large kitchen with more cabinet space than I could ever dream of!

The granite is the same granite that we put in our old kitchen. It's called Giallo Santa Cecilia. It's great at hiding crumbs and bread clips. I swear we lose those little clips that are on the bread bag every time we open a bag!

I got used to my undermount sink at the old house, so I am thankful that there is one at the new house too.

I also have two fancy glass corner cabinets. This one usually has another glass vase in it that's being used right now, so it looks a bit bare now.

I love the kitchen island. Especially the fact that it has bar seating at the end. Perfect for little hands that want to help in the kitchen.

It also has this great vegetable sink complete with disposal so it makes food prep a breeze.

Want to know my favorite thing?

This Viking gas range and stove. It's amazing! I had never used a gas stove before moving here and was a bit apprehensive. In no time, I was cooking like a pro with it though! The convection oven is another story. Still trying to figure that out!

Did you notice that I have not one, but two kitchen aid mixers? We got one as a wedding gift from my in-laws (the only thing my husband wanted!) and I couldn't pass up the larger size mixer at a garage sale for only $35! They come in quite handy when I am doing a lot of baking/cooking.

And because so many of the cabinets are so high (and I am so short), we use this library kick stool all the time. A purchase that I made at a garage sale for a few bucks.

Still not sure what was supposed to be above the fridge (cabinets maybe?). Any suggestions there? If you peek around the corner and through the hall (see the arched doorway), you can see my utility closet. It's great for keeping our recycle bin and cleaning tools inside.

We've hosted several large dinner parties in our new home, and this massive island is perfect for laying the food out.

Remember how I said I have loads and loads of cabinets and drawers? I have so many that I even have a drawer for plastic flatware and cups!

The two corners of the kitchen have the lazy susan shelves, again, with not much to fill them (yet!).

Another feature that is so simple but yet so practical? The upright cabinet with the divider to store my dish washing rack as well as my cookie sheets.

Did I mention the miles and miles of counter space?

I also have my very own mom work station.

It's tucked right next to the pantry. Want to know what's in the cabinet above my desk? The candy jar of course!

Thanks for taking a tour of my new kitchen with me. Isn't it great?! What do you love about your kitchen?

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