Favorite Nook: Hi Sugarplum!

As with many of the blogs I now follow daily, I found today's guest poster via twitter. Hi Sugarplum is my favorite kind of blog - fun and fresh about a woman and her style - decor, fashion and DIY. Just looking at her blog header brightens my day.

So naturally I just had to know what her favorite nook was and its a goodie. Who is ready for a kitchen makeover?

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Hello, I'm Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! Thank you to Mrs. Limestone for inviting me to guest on her awesome blog! Brooklyn Limestone was one of my very first blog crushes (some may consider it an addition), and I've fallen hard for many other blogs through this 'Nook' series...so I'm a beyond giddy to be included! Actually, I hope she doesn't have me confused with someone else...but I'm grabbing the chance while I have it! I have so many spots in my house where I love to curl up, but my kitchen is the room that gets my heart racing the most.

It probably has something to do with how homely it was when we moved in. I'm warning you now...shield your eyes because this room was beat with the ugly stick.

Told you! We're a family of Crystal Light lovers...not a good combination with white Formica counter tops! And yes, that is a manual flip-clock on the wall oven. We lived with this kitchen for five years, so it's no wonder that I'm still obsessed with the new version a year-and-a-half later.

We kept costs down by having the cabinets re-faced instead of replaced, and added an extra tall crown molding to give them more heft. (Heft in cabinets = good; Heft in my back end = not so good.) All the stainless appliances are from Ikea, and we did many of the accent touches ourselves...like backing the glass cabinets with fabric and choosing hardware and fixtures from budget-friendly places like Lowes, World Market and Target.

My best score was the glass subway tile, which I pestered negotiated down to $9/square foot! I have to keep myself from licking it most days. And the gorgeous granite counters that don't melt at the mention of a hot pan.....*swoon*

I'm thinking of painting the walls and ceilings an icy blue/gray, and plan on turning my attention to the Breakfast Room next. (Well, after I finish my Daughter's Room, and the Living Room. Ok, Breakfast Room will be completed after the Dining Room!) Is a room ever really complete? Not in my house.

Most Saturday mornings I can be found sitting at the sunny breakfast bar; blogging and catching up with all my favorite blog reads.

But as happy as the Kitchen makes me, the most joyful nooks in our house would have to be snuggled up in my son's and daughter's beds....reading books, hearing about their day, and humming them to sleep. The world slows down during those times, and there's no place else I'd rather be.

Thank you so much for having me over today!!