Renovation Hard....ship! Just kidding...sort of :)

This is where it all began! Love you Jarrett!

Hello Everyone,

It certainly has been awhile since my last post, but I promise I’m going to start writing more regularly and hopefully by autumn it will be a weekly post. One of the reasons I have been unable, or shall I say unwilling, to write is because we are in the process of renovating our 114 year old home. This process began the way most of my harebrained plans do, by jumping right into it before I even knew what I was doing. I basically forced my husband, Jarrett,  to help me demolition a wall in the kitchen that we suspected would have a cream city brick chimney behind it. Luckily it did indeed have a Cream City brick chimney behind it and it wasn’t even falling apart! Jarrett had a lot of apprehension at first, but once he started ripping things out he got on board, probably because at that point it was really too late :) I think subconsciously I was planning to renovate the entire kitchen following the demolition of the wall, but ostensibly that was all we were going to do, however; another charming characteristic of almost every project that I spearhead, is that I decide we can do so much more and it “won’t be that hard!” Right Jarrett?! The fact of the matter is that we took down that wall in May and it is now August and our kitchen is not fully completed. To be fair we did take on a lot of the labor intensive and time consuming work ourselves. Additionally Jarrett is essentially working 3 jobs and I work 5-6 days a week doing physically challenging work…it gets more challenging with the years! 

I’m happy to say there is a light at the end of this self inflicted, dirty, dusty, dysfunctional tunnel! We are almost done, we just need to put the last coats of paint on our cabinet doors and install knobs and pulls. I think I can! I think I can! I think I can! This whole process has been a very enlightening one and quite the learning experience for me not only as a homeowner, but as a designer and essentially as a foreman for the project. We’ve had bumps and we’ve had triumphs…I’ve smiled and stood back admiringly, I’ve recoiled and walked away in anger and lord knows I’ve cried! To be completely frank it has not been easy. Our house has been in a state of disarray for far too long and the amount of times I've tripped and, or, stubbed my toe are too many to count. It has put a strain on my relationship with Jarrett at times, but overall I think it has actually brought us closer. We’ve had to work together on certain projects and although we snapped a few times (sorry Jarrett) it would usually end with a high five and a hug….well maybe some wine first and then a hug. 

The next few blog posts will chronicle the steps we’ve taken during this kitchen renovation. There are lots of stories and pictures to come. You will see our obstacles and frustrations, but hopefully you will find that the finished product is pleasing! I’m not going to sugarcoat any of our mistakes, or the problems we faced. All told we managed to do this renovation for roughly $7,000, which for a kitchen is pretty awesome! I will be specific in the posts about how much certain fixtures cost etc. because I know that when I find a project that I particularly admire on Pinterest I want to know where they find their pieces and if they are even remotely in my price range. I hope to get the next post done by the end of next week so look out for that! Well I better get back to painting so I can have a finished product to show you eventually :) Wish me luck!

XOXO

Kate

Summer, A Love Letter (a post from last year, but seems pretty relevant)

Summer in Milwaukee has finally arrived, patios are open, and as my coworker Kim put it, “It seems like everyone has a dog now! Did everyone adopt a dog over the weekend?!”

Everything is green and growing, as sail boats proliferate on Lake Michigan. Living in Milwaukee during these all too short months is truly magnificent. You feel so lucky and think to yourself, “I can’t believe I live in this beautiful place!” Of course when February arrives those sentiments feel like incomprehensible babble, blurted out during a fever induced hallucination. In spite of our harsh and sometimes abusive winters, most Milwaukee residents still feel pretty lucky and contented to grow where they’ve been planted. Summers are a love letter penned by the city to its faithful and understanding citizen lovers. One we can take out and re-read every year, reminding us why we stay, why we love this place for exactly what it is, while at the same time hoping for some of its flaws to fade with time and diligence.

Milwaukeeans soak up every moment of warmth, sunlight, and green space, as evidenced by the astonishing number of festivals taking place across the city. Every bar or restaurant with a thought for success tries to curate the most welcoming patio, as well as lining their sidewalks with as much bike parking as possible. For me, one of the great joys, and welcome visions signifying the onset of summer, is the beautiful burst of soft, and fragrant, pink petals spilling out of my peony buds. This year I finally put wire cages around my beloved plants to prevent them from slumping over, as if they’ve had too much to drink.

This coming weekend really begins the kick off of summer festivities, it being Milwaukee Gay Pride weekend and also Locust Street Festival on Sunday. Pride will feature performers such as; Blondie and Sarah Silverman, and Locust Street is a festival in the Riverwest neighborhood featuring lots of local music and vendors. Riverwest, my old neighborhood, but not too far from my current one, is a vibrant and diverse community, full of hipsters and blue collar workers alike. Its bar and restaurant game has been on the steady incline for some time and attracts people from all Milwaukee neighborhoods.

My husband, Jarrett, and I will be attending what my close friend Nels calls his “Big gay brunch,” and then we will head to the Walker’s Point neighborhood for the Pride Parade, we will then likely finish our day strolling down Locust street, people watching and sipping a Milwaukee brewed beverage.

I’m currently seated on the patio of Colectivo Coffee overlooking McKinley Marina, enjoying one of those famous brewed beverages (strangely, not coffee), and marveling at my city. I love you too, Milwaukee.