Inspiration Tuesday!

Hello friends!


Big news in the Gantz house.... We have FINALLY decided on a style/design for our kitchen and master bathroom renovations. Gotcha. Now, you may not think this is big news, but to us it is! We have been debating about these renovations for a couple months now, not being able to pull the trigger. I think now that we have a very clear vision of what we want... the magic can begin!


I want to share a few of my "inspiration" photos for both spaces. Our house has a definite style to it that I like to call "Modern Farmhouse."  I am slightly obsessed with antiques and things of that nature, but at the same time, love straight lines and geometric patterns. Trying to find the balance between these two seemed to be a challenge at the beginning, but I think I have achieved this in our dining room and living room. Now.. I am the one that thinks this and am no expert in any shape or form. Other's may have a different opinion, but they don't live here, therefore, it doesn't matter!

Let's talk kitchen!

Right now our kitchen has a very funky layout that drives me crazy. Here's a photo of what we are currently working with:

This was before we randomly decided to start demo-ing the floral board. Sorry Gabe!

This picture above is looking in through the dining room. Here's another view:

This is looking from the sink- we took a door off to see if we could strip the varnish and paint the doors. Holy work.

Now here are the pro's of my current kitchen:

• Space. I have ample space to work with in designing the new one.
• Cabinets. Even though I can't use all the cabinets because of the weird layout, I have space for a lot of things.
• Window. The window over sink lets in so much gorgeous light and looks out into the back yard.

Let's talk con's:

• LAYOUT. There is not a great working triangle for this chef-wannabe. 
• Floral board. Whoever invented that plastic floral board covering the walls is not a friend of mine. 
• Counter tops. Outdated. 
• Cabinets. Outdated. 
• Storage. While I have a lot of cabinets, there is no pantry or broom closet.

There are good things and bad things about the kitchen and it helped when we first decided to renovate this space to list them out. It has led the new design.

Here is my inspiration picture:

The things I love most about this kitchen are as follows:

• Cabinet colors.
• Pops of bright colors (ours will be mint obviously)
• Those adorable "EAT" pallet letters
• Type of floor (wood ceramic tile)
• Rectangle back splash (ours will be a glass tile)

Up next.. We have to figure out how much work we want and have time to do ourselves, what we need to have a professional do, and how much we want to spend. Kitchen and bathrooms add up very quickly and we don't want to have to sell a kidney to pay for it. Can't wait to show you updates of this project! 

On to, the bathroom.

Our master bathroom is terrible. I mean carpet, laundry facilities, original vanity terrible. See below:

This was when we first moved in. We do have a dryer and adorable laundry hampers from TJMaxx in there currently. But I mean honestly.. Why do people put carpet in bathrooms? I will never have an answer to this question. When we bought our house we new it needed renovating which was one of the reasons we purchased it, we wanted to make it our own! Here are the inspiration pictures for the new bathroom:

Here is what I love about the above pictures:

• SUBWAY TILE. It comes in so many different colors but we are going with good ole' white with a dark grey grout. Very classic. 
• Wood floors. We are once again doing the wood ceramic tile in the bathroom. 
• Re-purposed vanity. I am on the hunt for an antique vanity that can be re-purposed into a vanity with sink. 
• Modern farmhouse feel. See above. 

Gabe and I are off to pick out tile tonight and can't wait to show you what we decide on! I will most definitely keep you all updated of this ginormous project we are undertaking. Wish us luck!

Have a happy and blessed day all!

Xo- Karalie 

Flea Market Fun

Hello friends!


We have started on some new projects in our house and thought I would share the before pictures with you!

I have been looking for a dresser to "re-do" into an entertainment stand for awhile now, and guess what... I finally found one! The lucky winner was at Boyle's Joyland in Topeka! Now.. first we must chat about Boyle's. If you have never been there, you must go. And lucky for you, they are open 8 days a week (if you haven't seen their TV commercial, just go with it.) There are so many things in that store I would love to get my painting hands on (including one particular claw foot tub- yikes!).  There is also a full-sized stuffed timber wolf there, but I am not in the market for any taxidermy at the moment.

This store is very overwhelming by the amount of things in it. I tend to be a little claustrophobic so I practiced deep breathing while I was there.. but then there is a weird smell.. so don't breath too deep.

Anyways... here are the 3 gems I found at the flea market:


First up: 

This awesome silver metal, antique looking, funky lamp base! I have been looking for a lamp base for this shade for probably a good 3 months now. I found the lamp shade on sale for I believe it was $5 at Lowe's and it has to have a knob to keep it in place. I thought, Easy! I can find a base for that anywhere! Wrong. Then I saw this beauty and voila! Mr. Boyle's wanted a whopping $6.95 for the base. Therefore, I have a very unique lamp for under $12! Here's another look:

LOVE.

Up next, this cute little shelf/wall piece:

That awesome ladder back there is going to be a quilt rack for the living room. 

This piece has a small shelf at the top, then two behind the glass, then those cute little cubbies on the bottom. This was an expensive $7.95. One of the frame pieces needs re-glued, but that's a piece of cake. This is going to go in my living room once I have painted it! Can't wait to show it too you all spiffy looking. Now... for the biggest purchase at Boyle's:


A DRESSER!!! Hallelujah the search is over!

It is currently this awesome shade of cobalt/purple. This color would be something I would have loved when I was 12 (I stamped electric colored flowers all over my wall at age 12- hippie child at heart here) but this just really won't fit in to the color scheme in my living room. Therefore, bring on the paint stripper and sander. I cannot wait for this to be finished and show you all how a $30 dresser can be an amazing piece of furniture with a little elbow grease (if all goes according to plan). Here's another angle:

Hope it fits in the living room!

I will post some "after" pictures once I get my behind in gear and get these guys done.

Have a happy day all!

Xo- Karalie 

Week Night- Date Night

Hello friends!

Gabe and I decided that since the weekends get so busy, we would have a date night during the week! Tonight consisted of dinner and a movie.


Dinner for us tonight meant Burger King and our movie choice was Lone Survivor.


Now, I am not a huge movie guru. I like to watch them on TV but it takes a special movie for us to go to the theater (I mean, tickets are $10 a piece!) and I would have to say, Lone Survivor is worth way more than a $10 ticket.

I had been hearing really great things about this movie and was excited, and a little nervous, to see it. I was nervous because I wasn't sure how I would react to a very real account of an experience that many of my patients have seen or dealt with themselves. The movie is based on a book that the Seal who made it out alive, Marcus Luttrell, wrote. The movie is said to be done very close to what actually happened to Seal Team 10 and what they had gone through in Afghanistan. Between the physical wounds and the emotional wounds, I cannot fathom what it takes to be a Navy Seal or any other member of our military. It is a strength that I have no comparison to and the scenes at the beginning of the movie that include a glimpse into what I would imagine is basic training for the Seals, is tough. It makes me feel like a huge wimp for being "too tired" to get up and work out in the morning. It makes me feel like a huge wimp for not being "strong enough" to carry some heavy boxes. This movie makes one look at themselves and say, "Would I ever be able to endure that?". And the simple answer is no. These men are special. They can carry on after being shot multiple times and carrying another soldier after their own shins and ankles have been broken. It was one of the most emotional movies I have ever seen.


This movie hits us hard, right in the heart, because we know it is real. As you watch someone falling down a rocky cliff, we know this happened, and happens to our military men and women often. After the movie was over, I had a really hard time saying this movie was "entertaining". To me, someone else's pain should never be shown for someone else's entertainment. But these men's pain, is what makes me able to wake up and freely go to the gym before I go to my job that I freely chose. This story shows us how big the sacrifice is, it is more than we can imagine. This is a story everyone needs to hear so we can all take a moment each time we see a Veteran (and not just on Veteran's day) and say "Thank you."


Lone Survivor kept me gripping Gabe's hand the entire time and fighting back tears. I thought my eyes were open to what being in our military really entails, but after seeing this movie, my eyes are open even wider. Please go see this movie. I really hope it makes us all stop and think. We need to be more grateful and more aware of the sacrifices others who don't even know  us, are willing to make on a daily basis for us.

Once you see the movie, read the book. 

Xo- Karalie