What Every Chick Should Have...

Today found me thumbing through one of my all time favorite books, Nesting, It's a Chick Thing by Ame Mahler Beanland and Emily Miles Terry (click here for my original book mention Deals and Inspiration.) I love this book, and anytime I pick it up, it seems I can't put it down!   I came across one of their wonderful "every chick should have..." lists pertaining to the kitchen, and since I have been spending more and more time in my kitchen lately, I particularly loved it and thought you might as well:

According to Beanland & Terry, in your kitchen "every chick should have....

* Luxurious hand lotion next to her kitchen sink

* A stereo in the kitchen to play tunes that inspire, calm, and cheer

* At least one delicious frozen entree in the freezer -- for afternoons or evenings too fun to stand in front of the stove

* A well worn recipe card with a favorite family dish from a grandmother or other cherished relative

* Pictures of family and friends on the refrigerator door

* Someone to call if you get into a culinary fix

* A hidden box or bag of some wonderful junk food

* A signature specialty that you can whip up with one arm tied behind your back

* Something distinctly "you" in your kitchen -- a frilly apron, an oven mitt, or a trivet from a memorable trip

* A beautiful bottle or tin of something deliciously refined and gourmet -- like a limited-run, estate-bottled olive oil or balsamic vinegar, or English tea biscuits in a vintage tin

* A neighbor who will lend you an emergency cup of sugar or an egg"

Ame Mahler Beanland & Emily Miles Terry, Nesting: it's a Chick Thing, 2004

Do you have anything/s that you think some be added to this "should have" list? 

What are your favorite must haves for your kitchen? 

A can of paint...

CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 

Our new-to-us house had a kitchen redo somewhere in the mid 1990s and we knew before we moved in  that we would need to give it a bit of TLC. 

Fortunately, I actually like the cabinets and they are great quality,  and plentiful, so we decided there was no need to consider changing them.  Eventually, (translated to mean when the $$$ is available)  we would like to have new counter tops. The current ones are solid surface, neutral and in great shape, so we kept those as well, which fit with our budget!  At the point we change counter tops we will also change out the cook top but since it has 6 burners and a grill I am happy with it for now.

This project was a first for us, in that we didn't remove the wallpaper before painting.  After hearing several friends say they had painted over wallpaper successfully we decided to give it a shot.  It worked and you would never know...and it saved us many hours of stripping wallpaper!
 

Before

After:

 

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We decided to have a little fun and painted a chalkboard on the wall so we could include all the silly "rules" that have evolved in our family over the years.  This was a super easy project with just some chalkboard paint and  molding to frame it out. 

I am still waiting on 1 window treatment (for over the sink) and plan to get a new rug for the breakfast area as the one above is one that I put there just for functionality. We used as many accessories from our old kitchen as possible. Of course, there are decorative items that need to be tweaked but I am just thrilled with the results and couldn't wait to post pictures.



Budget for Redo = $0 (well, you know what I mean!)

Results = Priceless!!!

I am participating in the 88th Metamorphosis Monday!!!!

 and Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick

Baby steps and Monday Motivation!

Wow, I am showing y'all my mess (or at least ONE of them...there are plenty more). You may be asking why I am showing you the deep dark secrets that my kitchen cabinets hide; well, it is part of my New Years Resolution to pare down and simplify (Year 2!). Once-upon-a-time this was a well oiled and organized cabinet - one that provided much support and help in my times of need...Now? Not so much! Over the last couple of, gulp, years I have let it become a jumbled mess of stick-anything-that-doesn't-have-a-place-in-that-cabinet (think: that scary kitchen junk drawer - on steroids!) So today I tasked myself with tackling this cabinet, just this one as to not overwhelm or scare the natives...baby steps!

This is the cabinet that holds all my lunch making supplies and left over paper products from various parties and such. One thing I really dislike is being wasteful and by letting this cabinet become disorganized, I was very wasteful because many things that could have been used over the years were forgotten or became damaged and had to be discarded. THAT really bothers me!

Removing everything was where I started and deciding what things needed to find a better home was the 1st step to progress. Also, deciding what things needed to find the trash can was another important step! The collection of flower vases found a lovely home in the basement, neatly placed on a shelf!

Now things are back in and organized! We can now make use of the left over paper products as the need arises AND I can easily find the right dish without having to "unstack" the world.

FINISHED!

Gosh, I feel almost giddy!