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Because I know everyone must be insanely curious, I decided to post a quick before-and-after comparison of our kitchen work. Even if this does make this article the second photo comparison in a row. Sorry about that.

On the left, we have our before-kitchen. There was nothing wrong with it, per se. Actually, that’s a lie. The linoleum was peeling up off the floor and the ceiling fan’s pull chain had broken, which was a problem because it wasn’t hooked up to any switch anywhere. Which meant you had to twist the bulbs on and off to ensure you had enough light to avoid tripping over the linoleum.

But other than that, we were mostly all about making the kitchen feel more modern, with clean lines and bright, strong colors. We couldn’t afford to replace the cabinetry, or even buy new appliances, so our options were limited. And by options, I really mean money, which meant options.

So here’s a list of the final improvements:

• New vinyl tile on the floor is slightly less hypnotic
• Cabinets now marble white instead of anonywood brown
• Walls add vibrancy instead of sucking life from souls
• New knobs and hinges match the walls nicely and still complement the remaining wood tones
• Benches got a new coat of paint. Err, tablecloth of fabric
• Old and busted: ceiling fan. New hotness: track lighting
• Wood baseboard replaced previous old vinyl wraparound
• Valences hide our vinyl blind shame
• Tablecloth on the table covers remnant of kitchen fruit motif

And all of this work was done on the fairly-cheap. While I don’t have an exact number (and I’m not counting sweat equity), I’d say we were able to complete this renovation for right around $500. Not bad for such a big change, eh? In my opinion, the difference is night and day. And not just because that’s when the photos were taken.

The above image is of the tiny Glazebrook township, on the banks of the Glaze Brook, a few miles west of Manchester in Cheshire, UK. One could surmise that, seeing as how I’m a Glazebrook, my ancestors might have hailed from this area. Particularly the Glazebrook subset of my ancestors.

It’s an idyllic scene: a small rectangle of houses just outside of the hustle and bustle of the larger towns on all sides, close to the open fields and near a little river.

Although, in some ways, it’s nice to know my family (in the greater sense of the word) has moved on from such settings. We’ve moved up in the world! In fact, here’s a look at my neighborhood, where two generations of Glazebrooks have lived continuously since, err… 1999:

My neighborhood is that little triangle of houses, just outside the hustle and bustle of the city proper on all sides, to the west of the open fields on the bank of the Des Moines river.

Huh. I guess some things never change.

Whew. This weekend, Amanda and I successfully hosted our first-ever dinner party. Or party of any sort in this house, actually. And although it was a lot of work, it was totally worth it.

The final and official menu turned out pretty kick arse:

• For Dinner:
  • Turkey (brined & roasted) (via Amanda and I)
  • Chive Mashed Potatoes with Turkey Gravy (Ditto)
  • Apple-Herb Stuffing (Same)
  • Green Bean Casserole (Us again)
  • Cheesy Carrot Casserole (Sara!)
  • Homemade Cranberry Sauce (Anne!)
  • Dinner Rolls (Amanda and I)
• For Beverages:
  • 5 bottles red wine (via Amanda & I, Kate, Lindsay, Megan, and Anne)
  • 2 bottles white wine (via Amanda & I and Julie)
• For Dessert:
  • Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake (Megan)
  • Pecan Pie (Hannah & Toño)
  • Apple Crumble Pie (two of ‘em) (Amanda & I)
  • Flan (Hannah & Toño)
  • Chocolate & Vanilla Cupcakes (Sara)

So, Holy Crap, in other words. We had a lot to eat. :)

We had 11 people in attendance in total, counting The Hosts with the Mosts. People started arriving around 5:30pm, we all sat down to eat shortly after 6pm, and people filtered out slowly until pretty close to 11pm.

Dinner-Related Happenings of Note:

After peeling five pounds of potatoes what for the mashing, we tried sticking the peelings down the garbage disposal. The intense vibrations from the disposal unit trying to handle the extreme overabundance of ‘tater peels actually managed to shake the drainage pipe lose from the wall, causing a small flood of extremely starchy water all over the new floor. I got the pipe reattached, though, and after a bit of plunging, it didn’t cause us any more problems.

Smaug was being his usual social self during the meal, hanging around the dinner table and playing with anyone who happened to glance his way. At one point, he got bored and jumped up onto the credenza under the window. The only problem with that was, the credenza was covered from end to end with our desserts. He realized his mistake at the very last second and managed a mid-air course correction, missing the caramel top of the delicate Flan by a quarter inch and then stepping carefully around the pies before I caught him an inch from the side of the cake. He spent the rest of the evening locked in the basement.

Miles spent the majority of the dinner outside, because he was just a little too excited by all the new people and smells. Around dessert time, we felt sorry for him, and let him in while we ate our sugary snacks. He happily galloped around the table for a while, saying hello to everyone, and then wandered off for a bit. A few minutes later, we realized that while we were stuffing our faces with cake and pie, Miles was in the kitchen finishing off the turkey left on the platter. He managed to eat a good pound and a half of turkey before anyone noticed. Luckily, I hadn’t finished carving the bird, so there was still some left for leftovers.

But other than that, things went really smoothly. We’re calling the party a success, and are hoping it turns into a yearly tradition. :) And if you would like to see my photos of the evening, you need go no further than right about here.