Home Improvement - Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen Project 2024 - Get the Cabinets Painted

I originally considered having the cabinets refaced. I contacted two different companies but one wouldn't work in downtown Minneapolis and the other company never got back to me!

My kitchen cabinets aren't really top quality and will probably need to be replaced at some point but in the meanwhile, I decided to have them painted. I saw blue cabinets on HGTV's "Love It or List It" and I really like blue so decided that would be the color. I also like the idea of having lighter top cabinets. I was inspired by the pillowcases on my bed!

I completely underestimated the impact this project would have on my and Maggie's lives. I hired an excellent painter, but this project required that I remove everything from the cabinets, select and purchase paint, and not use my kitchen for an extended period of time. I lost access to the refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, sink, etc.

The painter and his one-man crew did an excellent job masking off everything. It was a crazy combination of paper, plastic, and painter's tape. Since the kitchen is part of one big room, it was not a straightforward job.

We also had problems with the grey paint. I won't bore you with the details, but it took 3 tries to get enough of the right paint. And picking cabinet hardware! Oh, my. After scrolling through pages on Amazon and visiting multiple stores, I ended up choosing something very similar to what was on the cabinets in the first place! Ha!

I am very happy and pleased with the final project. Here is the link to my video (of course, there is a video)

PS - this project kind of celebrates my 3rd anniversary living downtown. I closed on the condo 3 years ago March 26th.

A Short Trip Up North

Click on the image to view the video

FYI the video is best viewed in landscape mode.

Apparently, I can't spend more than a month or so at home without needing to go somewhere. I decided a short trip up the North Shore of Lake Superior would be a good option. And why not go to Thunder Bay, Canada, so I could 1) visit a new place and 2) say I left the country.

My friend Bud agreed to join me and Maggie (my cat). Maggie was way overdue for a road trip and to try out our new cat-carrying backpack.

We left Minneapolis Wednesday morning. Stopped in Duluth at the Duluth Grill for brunch. If you have not eaten here, you should. The food is crazy good. Headed up Highway 61 to Lutsen to stay at Solbakken Resorts which was the only pet-friendly resort I could find in the area. We made really good time and got to the resort before check-in time. We went on up to Grand Marais and stopped at Voyageur Brewery for a beer.

Back at Solbakken where Maggie got comfortable and we relaxed...honestly, I think all three of us fell asleep. Woke up in time to see a beautiful sunset. Solbakken is right on the Lake so we walked down to the water to see all the colors.

There is virtually no snow anywhere! And it wasn't super cold. There was also NO ice on Lake Superior. It has been a very strange winter. After napping and sunsetting, we went up Lutsen Mountain to have dinner at Moguls restaurant.

Thursday Maggie got back in the car and we started our trip to Canada stopping in Grand Marais at Java Moose for coffee. I follow the owner of Jave Moose on Instagram. She wasn't there but the coffee shop is right on the bay and such a lovely, friendly place. I had never been past Grand Portage and Thunder Bay is only about an hour away so getting to Canada is a piece of cake. There is an incredible overlook at the top of Mount Josephine that gives a full 180 view of Lake Superior.

The border between the US and Canada is the Pigeon River. The Grand Portage State Park is also there as is the tallest waterfall in Minnesota! The Grand Portage Ojibwe people along with the MN Department of Resources have created an accessible trail to view the falls. It is a super easy 1 mile there and back. With little to no snow there were just a few places where the boardwalk was icy. The views of the falls are spectacular.

From the State Park it is just a few hundred yards to the border crossing. I assured the Canadian border agent that Maggie would not be let free in Canada and we were allowed to pass. One odd geographic thing once in Canada was how flat the Canadian side is. After a short way into Canada, you are in the Slate River valley and lots of farmland. Northern Minnesota is not like this as it is hilly and tree covered.

Maggie in the backpack

Okay, Thunder Bay...I had been warned that there wasn't much to Thunder Bay and Bud and I have to agree. It is an amalgamation of two "towns" Port Arthur and Fort William. There are a lot of train tracks and apparently a port. The city doesn't really take in the "Bay" that it is on. We asked about an "old town" or touristy area and were told there isn't really any. We ate lunch at an okay place and walked around Port Arthur Park (Maggie got to get her first backpack adventure) but headed back to the US in short order. If you do plan a trip to Thunder Bay, be aware that it is in the Eastern time zone!

Back in Minnesota, we drove through a small grove of old growth trees on the Arrowhead Trail. This is something I had seen on one of my Boundary Waters trips. To be honest it isn't that impressive, but it is nice to know it is still there.

Back at Solbakken, we rested before having a very nice dinner at Cascade Lodge Restaurant. Friday we headed home first stopping at Coho Cafe in Tofte for breakfast.

Click here for link to the trip video.