Let's Take A Tour - The Kitchen

The heart of the home. I always wondered about that. Why is the kitchen the heart of the home? Why not the living room? Isn't that where we do our "living"? It would seem to be, yet no matter how small a kitchen is, it's where everyone congregates. I guess it's because that's where the food is.

My kitchen is just beyond the dining room. Unlike many new homes, my kitchen is not open concept. The mirrored wall separates the kitchen from the rest of the living area. This was one negative in this house for me, since I'd become accustomed to having my kitchen open to the family room. Once inside, though, I was pleasantly surprised with what I found.

As you enter, there is a small walkway that I decorated simply. On the left I have my plate rack. I bought this years ago from Kirkland's, but the plates it came with have those same fall colors that so much of my old decor have. They are lovely and I do plan on using them in the fall, but for summer I wanted something a bit more cheerful. However, I didn't want to spend a lot of money. I found nice decorative dessert plates for $12.99 at TJ Maxx, but that would mean spending $39 on plates. I got the whole plate rack with plates for $20. That was a no. I looked on Amazon but the cheapest I found were $20! I was about to give up, when I thought, wait, what about the Goodwill? I found these lovelies for $2 each. They have cute pictures of fruits on them, apples, pears, berries, and they make me think of summer days at the park. I like that I now have options for my plate rack.

On the right hand side I had the same issue: a fall color picture in the middle of summer. This is one of the items I found for half price at Hobby Lobby and I couldn't have been happier. I love decorating with pitchers full of flowers. I currently have five of them throughout my house! This was meant to be in my home, and at $8 it was a bargain I couldn't pass up.

This is the first thing you see when you walk into my kitchen. This baker's rack was in my old home next to my pantry. I bought this off of Amazon years ago and I love how it serves a purpose while also being decorative. The clock above it is from Walmart. Notice the pitcher filled with Dollar Tree florals at the top :-). 

This artificial olive tree is a favorite find. I was at Hobby Lobby just a couple weeks after they'd reopened, and as I was checking out I noticed they had some trees on clearance for $30. They looked so realistic and I knew that was a really good price, but I was already paying and I didn't want to hold up the line to go check them out. So I left, but I couldn't stop thinking about how nice a tree like that would look in several places throughout my home. I was also thinking of the arches for above my front door. I decided to go to Hobby Lobby to get the arch, and if they had any of the trees left I'd get one. There were two olive trees at the store entrance, and they'd been reduced to $24.99! I picked that up faster than you can blink! The little basket is from the Target dollar spot for $5. I feel like wherever I put this tree it gives life to the room. Oh, and the little plaque above the tree that says Home Sweet Home? I found it at Hobby Lobby for $4, and I put it there to hide the hideous old phone jack in the wall!

As you turn the corner you walk into my new kitchen:

This kitchen is definitely smaller than my old kitchen, but it's laid out so well I don't miss the extra space. It's been remodeled, and I love the finishes the previous owner selected. I'm pretty shocked at how similar our tastes are! But honestly, I believe God knew what I wanted as well as what I needed, and He was happy to oblige. 

I have a small coffee station in the corner of my kitchen. Since I'm the only one that drinks coffee, and I typically only have one cup per day, I don't need a whole lot of space. I put up the "All I need today is a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus" sign that my old boss gave me right above my coffee corner. The Keurig was a clearance find at Walmart - just $50. It was brand new in the box; I think someone got it through the website and returned it to the store. Since this particular model or color wasn't in their stock it got relegated to clearance. That was four years ago and it still works beautifully while adding a pop of color to my otherwise neutral kitchen. Underneath is a K-cup holder my son gave me that Christmas. He also gave me the mug:

My kids have a running joke about who my favorite child is. They know they're all my favorites, so this is done in fun.

Beside my Keurig is my sugar and creamer cannisters. I have issues with dairy, and I don't like flavored creamers. Refrigerated creamers don't get used fast enough in my house before they spoil, so I use powdered creamer instead. I bought these cannisters from Kohl's several years ago. They match my dishes that I bought there as well. The little clay princess was a gift from a cousin, and the cake stand is from Target.

Above my sink is something my heart desired but I didn't think I would get in a townhouse: a window! I had a window above the sink in my old house and even though it faced the neighbor's house and a blank wall, I loved how it brought light into the kitchen. Most townhomes we saw had galley kitchens in the middle of the home and no windows at all. I was thrilled that this house not only had a window above the sink, but it has that wonderful canal view! The windowsill is narrow, so I can't have my orchid or any large planter here. Instead I have this small cactus my daughter gave me for Mother's Day, and some artificial cacti I brought from my old house.

 

On the other side of the sink are my toaster oven and utensil holder. Actually, that's not a utensil holder. It's a cookie jar I got on sale at Kirkland's, but it's the right size. No one needs to know ;-).

The stove and refrigerator are against the wall adjoining the dining room. This is the original footprint of the home, and I've often wondered why the previous owner didn't have the kitchen flip-flopped when she remodeled. Perhaps it was too expensive, or structurally impossible, I don't know. But I think these appliances and cupboards could have been moved to the wall where I have my baker's rack, and this wall opened up to the dining room. I would have turned this into a peninsula with a large counter/kitchen bar area. It would have added more counter and cabinet space and opened everything up. It's not something I would do now, since the kitchen is new and it would be a waste to tear out these cabinets that are very good quality. It's just a shame it wasn't done before.

But I digress. The appliances are also new and in very good condition. I put some fake plants in the soffit above the fridge, and added the Kitchen sign that I got at Hobby Lobby. My daughter likes to tease me about that; she says it's a good thing I clarified what room we're in. 

I've had my KitchenAid mixer for years; it was a Christmas present from J while we were still together. I normally don't like having it on the counter but it's too big for any of my cabinets. Now, in that case, you might be wondering where the rest of my small appliances are. On first glance this kitchen appears to have little storage. But wait. There's more...

On the wall opposite the sink, right by the entrance, there are two bifold doors. Behind them...

...is a massive pantry! Not only are all my small appliances in here, there's food storage, bakeware, and anything that wouldn't have a home otherwise in my small kitchen. I would not have given this house a second thought if it didn't have all this storage space. It shows how a small space can be utilized to its fullest potential.

In the future I want to do a blog post on how I organize my kitchen. But this house tour isn't over. There's still plenty more to see. Stay tuned!

Tackling Tuesdays

I'm kinda wondering what's going on.  It's December 30.  This is supposed to be the dead of winter.  Just last month we had cool temperatures, enough to only open the windows halfway in the middle of the day so that all the cold air wouldn't come inside the house.  That was in the fall.  Why is it now that it's winter our temps are so high?!  It's 82 degrees outside!!  Something just ain't right.

After my simple breakfast of cereal and toast, I decided it was time to work on the donate pile.  I've had clothes ready for donation for months, and I have been putting off going through it and dropping it off at the Goodwill.  Seeing as today is December 30 I figured I couldn't keep putting it off any longer.  I gathered up the pile and separated it on my bed.  There was a lot of clothes.  Then I went through my boy's closets.  There was a whole lot of clothes.  Then I went through shoes.  I'm not buying anymore shoes.  This is ridiculous.  Going through my clothes reminds me that: 1 - I am a very blessed woman, and 2 - I need to stop misspending my blessing.  I mean, I do try to spend wisely, but there's times when I miss the mark.  Like, why did I buy those cream colored shoes when I have a pair already that work perfectly fine?  I got them at Payless because they were reduced to $10, that's why.  I thought I was getting a bargain so I bought them.  Truth be told, they've never been outside my house.  I would put them on, be ready to leave, and I'd go change them because they squeak.  I'm not even kidding, they sound like a pair of worn out old shoes and they are brand new.  I added clothes to the pile that no longer fit me and they are like new as well, but at least I got some use out of them.  I have to pay better attention to what is a bargain; spending $10 on a pair of shoes that I'm never gonna wear isn't saving money.  All in all I filled 3 kitchen trash bags with clothes and a large box with shoes.  My daughter also packed 2 bags full of clothes and accessories into the car.  We are all done donating for the year.

I took fish out for lunch but my youngest son invited us to have sushi.  For some reason he has been on this "I want to try sushi again" kick.  We had it once before at a buffet style place for R's birthday and he didn't care for it.  For some reason the soy sauce that was on the table was making him sick.  He was wheezing and having an allergic reaction to it.  I use soy sauce for cooking and he's never had a problem with it, but the one at this particular restaurant irritated his bronchial passages.  That was almost 3 years ago, and he didn't want sushi again for a long time, but now something peaked his interest and he's been begging to have sushi for weeks.  We went to the same buffet style restaurant because for $11.95 you can have all the sushi you can eat, and let's be honest, you won't find deals like that anywhere, plus the food is prepared right in front of you so you know it was just made and not sitting there for who knows how long.  I confess I didn't expect he would eat any of it.  I figured he'd try one or two pieces and decide he still didn't like it.  He proved me wrong.  That boy ate a bunch of different rolls, and even had sashimi!  I guess my baby boy is growing up.  These are things he never would have eaten before, but not only was he willing to try them, he was open-minded about trying new things and really enjoyed his meal.  We all did.  It was really good.

After lunch we drove to the outlet mall, where my son purchased his first longboard.  He convinced his sister to take him with the sushi meal :-).  The longboard is made of bamboo, is very sturdy and a nice design.  He was so thrilled to finally have his longboard that he has been wanting for months.  He's even happier that he still has money left over after spending $200 on it.  Yeah, I didn't realize those things were so expensive.  Glad he paid for it out of his money!

I went ahead and made the fish for dinner.  It was kind of weird; I typically don't cook late in the day.  We eat leftovers from lunch or something quick like a sandwich, but I wasn't going to let that fish go to waste.  Afterwards we took Molly out for a walk.  She's been limping lately, and we aren't sure if the problem is her hip or her leg.  American bulldogs need lots of exercise or they can have hip problems.  Taking Molly out is a mission.  She is a powerful 70 pounds of muscle, and she can yank a person's arms off.  I have my own issues with arthritis; walking her causes my joints to ache because of all her pulling and sudden stops.  No one else likes walking her for the same reason.  Today my daughter decided we'd all go out, so out we went.  Molly could not be more excited.  She loves going out and exploring, but she pulls so hard on her leash she starts wheezing, which gets her tuckered out fast.  Good thing too: it was humid out, so none of us wanted to be out there longer than we had to!  We did enjoy seeing the houses with all their Christmas lights.  Might as well take advantage of it, since the lights will be going down soon.

I'm gonna clean up the kitchen now, then take a shower and hop into bed.  I think I might read tonight, or watch something on TV.  Not quite sure yet.  I hope everyone has a pleasant evening.  Good night ya'll.