In My Kitchen. Fun App, and a Reno Update.

Summer is finally here at Casa Budget Design Girl!

My son had his last day of pre-school yesterday, and we are free as can be until fall!

Today I am going to share a recipe with you that I made last weekend when we had friends for dinner. 

I am also going to be sharing our progress so far with our kitchen reno. 

First up, my Caprese Kabobs. (That's what I'm calling them...Is that Italian-Greek?)

This could not have been any easier!!
Here's what I used to make these...

Trader Joe's has fresh mozzarella balls in olive oil. I have seen these at the regular grocery store, but I like to use Trader Joe's dairy, since it is hormone free.

I just used a cherry tomato, a small basil leaf, a mozzarella ball, and another basil leaf on a tooth pick.

Yummy organic cherry tomatoes.

Some fresh basil. I have a container inside, and outside. I tried to use the small leaves for these, but you could cut or tear the larger leaves into smaller pieces.

I arranged these mini kabobs on a platter.

Then I drizzled them with Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinegar.

 I keep my Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinegar in this cute ironstone like bottle on my counter.

Fresh, delicious, and pretty healthy, as far as appetizers go!
I will be making them again to take to a graduation party this weekend.

Now, on to the state of my kitchen...
You may or may not know that we had a pretty major leak here recently. You can read about that here, and the new design inspiration here.

Well, we had the leak repaired, and the whole area was cleaned and dried for DAYS!!! I was NOT a FAN of the jet engine fans!!! Haha. ;-)

Anyhow, we have drywall again, and though all the food from my pantry is in large bins in my dining room, we are able to at least use the kitchen.

We are getting a new floor, since it was damaged, and could not be patched. :-)
I have very nice 24 inch travertine in here now, and throughout the downstairs. It looks nice, but it is a BEAST to keep clean, people! I have been dealing with it for 11 years, and it's time for a change.

I'm going with hardwoods, I think!

Here's the kitchen now...

 The whole pantry wall has been replaced, and we will re-build the pantry.

We have a lot of work to do. The floor demolition will start the first part of July, then the hardwoods will be installed with new baseboards. We are also planning to get new stainless steel appliances, and have the cabinets painted a creamy white. (I painted them once myself with help from my wonderful mom, and I am not doing that again! It was a TON of work!!)

I am removing the backsplash also, I think. I would love to change the granite too, but I'm thinking we may have to wait on that. We'll see.

The walls will go lighter, and we will order a new sink and faucet.
I also plan to paint the kitchen island a charcoal gray.

I am also hoping to build an "L" shaped upholstered banquet window seat, and find a longer, skinnier farm table.

That's the update for now. We are making progress, but it's going to take a little time, and I don't want to rush through and regret any of my choices later.

Stay tuned. I will be sharing my progress, and selections.

Have a great day!
xo
-Lisa
P.S. I could really use some "Likes" on my Facebook Budget Design Girl page. I'm starting to get a complex! Click here to get to my page...Thanks! :-)

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