kitchen

My kitchen has changed quite a bit (cosmetically) this past year. 

I think it started early last year, when I realized that the kitchen island I was using as a buffet in the dining room actually worked really well as a kitchen island. :)

Bob and Claire bought me the stool for Christmas. It has been great, because Claire perches there and does her homework or talks to me while I make dinner. The cat likes to sit on the stool, too, when she wants to tell me that it is time to feed her.

Last week, we bought Claire a couple bigger bookcases for her bedroom. She had outgrown her little kid bookcase, which was also my bookcase when I was little. I didn't want to put it out in the garage, so I stuck it in the kitchen, replacing the wire rack I had in here previously. (The wire rack went into the garage for storage out there.)

I am so happy with it!

About eighteen months ago, I was looking at Lissa's neat Keep It Simple, Keep It Fresh blog, and fell in love with the storage shelves she has in her dining room. I immediately grabbed her idea to keep pantry items in these Weck canning jars (I found mine at Crate and Barrel ... they are cheap), and label them with clear (instead of white) labels. For me, this wouldn't be practical for things I get into every day, because the clips are fiddly to take on and off, but it has worked out great for my baking items. And I think they're pretty. :)

I've also been able to tuck the trashcan in next to the washer and dryer, which has been nice.

Another opportunity for more RED! :)

Do you see those paint chips above the washer? The kitchen is due for a paint job, because it hasn't had one in almost ten years. I've chosen the green on the far left, which is lighter and a wee bit yellow-er (less gray) than it is now.

We also got a new dishwasher, because the one that came with the house finally died a month ago. I know the fashion now is to get stainless appliances, but I actually prefer white appliances. So as the old stainless/black appliances conk out, we're replacing them with white ones. I guess this is backwards from the trend, but who cares, right? :) 

I think those are all the bigger changes. Everything else is me just moving stuff around occasionally, because I'm fidgety.

It is a blessing to have a kitchen that I enjoy working in. We sure gravitate toward this room ... maybe because that's where the food is. :)