KITCHEN RENOVATIONS + RECIPES

I am so excited to finally get to share little bits and pieces from our House Renovations. After living in our newly renovated house for almost a year we finally feel settled and ready to share our happy place with everyone! A few months after getting married in April of 2015 we started house hunting. Ryan and I decided we wanted to be in the charming historic district of Downtown. A couple of weeks after searching for the perfect house I randomly drove down the street that Ryan grew up on. When I noticed the “SALE” sign in the yard of the house that his family owned when he was a little boy I knew that Ryan would want to see it. I immediately called my realtor and 30 minutes later we were the first people to look at the house since it went on the market. We walked in and all of the wonderful childhood memories came back for Ryan. Everything in the house was the exact same. The floors, the wallpaper, his bedroom it was all exactly the same as it was when his parents sold it many years before. We knew it was the perfect house and put a plan together with our architect and met with our builder and the rest is history. About 14 months later we moved into our newly renovated house! Our kitchen is the room that we spend the most time in. We both love to cook and entertain so I decided to share this room first! I knew that I wanted an all white kitchen with pops of color and fell in love with these pendant lights (smaller version here) to hang above the island as soon as I saw them. We chose to do Carrara Marble for the countertops, we loved the contrast of the gray veins with the white. The white subway tile behind the range kept the kitchen bright and paired perfectly with the marble countertops.

I decided to add pops of color in the accessories since everything else was mainly white. This Woven in Vintage Rug adds an unexpected bright pop while still pulling the kitchen together. Another way I add in color is through fresh flowers, I have always been a sucker for gorgeous blooms!

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We chose these fun barstools because we loved the look with the hardwood floors and exposed beams. For the finishing touches we went with brass hardware! The kitchen faucet and large white farm sink were a must-have with all of the cooking that goes on.

So, there you have it…. Our happy place, the room where we spend most of our time with family and friends. Thanks for stopping by to see our new kitchen! I can’t wait to share the other rooms in the house with you.

A huge thanks to Croft Architect, McCreight Custom Construction, Kinloch Interiors  & John Fulton (custom cabinets) for making our kitchen dreams come true!

{ We only got one pic of the kitchen before the renovation, scroll below to check it out}

Since we are on the topic of kitchens I wanted to share some of my latest favorite finds for healthy summer snack options and recipes.

I started seeing Vital Proteins Collagen Powders popping up all over my Instagram feed a few months ago and couldn’t wait to try it out. I saw a lot of other bloggers and had some friends telling me that they could tell a huge difference in their hair, skin and energy levels after adding collagen into their diets. I have to say I absolutely agree. I’ve been adding a scoop of the Vanilla Collagen Peptides to my post workout smoothies in the morning and can honestly say that I feel like it gives me a boost after a long workout. I just mix in some frozen berries, a scoop of almond butter, almond milk and ice. Its quick, easy and delicious! Learn more about the benefits of collagen here.

Another new favorite on-the-go snack that I first came across at my local Whole Foods is Wholeme Products. I wanted something that was a healthy, convenient snack option that was made from real ingredients. Since I knew how amazing the Banana Cinnamon Chip flavor was I decided to give them all a try with their Cluster Lovers Sample Pack. Its safe to say I love every single flavor. If I’m in a hurry I’ll just throw some in a ziplock bag for a healthy snack at work, if I have a little more time to spare I’ll make a smoothie bowl and top it off with Wholeme clusters. Believe me, these need a place in your pantry, or belly…they wont last long after you open the first pack!

 View all of my favorite healthy summer recipes here!

All photos by Emily Bolt

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