Field of Dreams...and a fresh start

On our anniversary trip, my husband and I passed these gorgeous fields of sunflowers that stretched as far as we could see. They felt very symbolic - flowers that give not only beauty, but function as well, and I felt compelled to stop and take some pictures. They may be my new favorite flower. 
I'm posting two pictures of the reed glass I used to replace our quail cupboard. I didn't have time to style the cupboard properly (as I was supposed to be packing for our trip, not making major kitchen changes), so I'm disappointed in how these pictures turned out, but in any event, it's a vast improvement over that dark corner that the stained glass created. The kitchen is starting to become a brighter space, and that's what I'm working toward.

I am so very grateful for our local hardware store, who very patiently listened when I brought back the acid-washed glass I tried first. The acid wash had several small flaws in it that really stuck out in that corner, and I just wasn't happy with it. So they worked with me and I traded out the acid wash for something called "reed glass," which is created by raking through the hot glass. It gives a bit of an optic effect which I haven't decided if I like, but I KNOW I like it better than that poor brown quail. If any of you have ideas for what should go in the cupboard, let me know. I think it has to be white or a color because clear glass doesn't show at all.

If you look below the cupboard, you'll notice a glass mosaic backsplash - I'm quite proud of that as I did it myself in early July using something called Bondera from Lowe's. It was almost too easy and I worried for a while that the whole thing would fall off. But those tiles are clearly on there for the long haul, and I didn't even have to tear off the laminate.

If I can take time before we start our return trip, I'll post as much as I can of the process (I did this before I knew to take "before, during, and after" pictures). But for those of you living with a dated kitchen like mine, a new backsplash really does make a difference, and mine cost under $200. If I'd used subway tiles instead of glass mosaic, it would have cost less than $100. So it's something to think about adding to a project list.