We have some recent additions to our kitchen that have increased our collection of countertop appliances that I want to share with you!  I’d say we have an average to small-sized kitchen – it’s probably 120 square feet if I had to guess, so counter space is a bit limited.  When my husband begged for months to get an espresso machine, I cringed at the thought of adding yet another “permanent” thing to our countertops.  I already felt like I was fighting for enough space to cut vegetables!

In the end though, I lost the battle.  And now, we welcome “Silvia” into our home.

That’s her on the left, next to the coffee grinder named “Rocky”.  And to complete our own in-home coffee shop experience, you can see our tea kettle and the french press as well.

I have to say, they all look sleek and stylish hanging out together, don’t they?  Like they could be best buds.

I’m pretty sure with the addition of the espresso machine, my husband has an internal debate each morning – “coffee? or cappuccino?  or maybe latte?”  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Unfortunately, I get next to nothing out of the whole deal.  I’ve never liked coffee.  I tried really hard when the TV show Friends was popular and coffee shops suddenly became THE place to be in 1998 when I was in high school – but I remember gagging on my first latte and swearing I’d just swallowed arsenic-laced mud.  Coffee and me just weren’t meant to be.  Luckily I can handle the smell, but I doubt I’ll ever become a coffee drinker, much to the amazement of every overnight host whose jaw drops when they ask if I want my morning coffee and I politely explain my lack of interest.

In college, I discovered tea and chai, so at the very least I can now have a lovely homemade vanilla chai latte  But first, I have to learn how to USE the thing!

How about you?  Are you a coffee drinker?  Or maybe married to one like me and don’t quite understand the morning ritual?

And what is on your countertop?  Do you have any prized appliances that have a permanent home there? (I’m thinking a countertop tour is in order!)

Before I got married, I think I had all of two kitchen items to my name: a crock pot my aunt had given me, and a knife I bought at TJ Maxx since all of the ones we had were dull.  Since then, through the joys of a wedding registry and marriage to a foodie husband, my cooking supply arsenal has increased dramatically.  Having the proper tools and supplies definitely makes cooking more fun.  Plus, I’ve gotten a lot more creative with our menus!

If you’re on the look out to add a few things to your kitchen, or just curious what you should register for, here’s what I would consider my top 10 essential cooking supplies, and some of my favorites.  Enjoy!

1. All Clad 4 qt Sauce Pan

My mother had the wisdom to give this to me even though I didn’t register for it, and I use it all.the.time.  At least 5 times a week, I would guess.  It’s great for sauces, soups, stews, curry, rice, pasta, and a lot more.  If you’re looking for a good all-around sauce pan/pot, go with this one.  It definitely works well for meals for 2 people, and would easily accommodate

2. 12 inch Cast Iron Skillet

I married a foodie guy who happens to have an entire set of cast iron skillets that originally belonged to his mother!  The thing that’s great about cast iron is if you care for them properly, they can last a LONG time.  Make sure you wipe out the pans with paper towel when you’re finished cooking, scrub with a sponge with no soap (we even have a special cast iron sponge just for cleaning that), and then put it back on the stove on medium heat for a few minutes.  You may need to re-season the skillet every couple of years.  We use our skillet for cooking sausage, bacon, fajitas, some stir fries, and sometimes for cooking boneless chicken breasts.  It’s a great  non-stick alternative since the seasoning of the pan does it for you.

3.  Crock Pot

The best gift ever is a crock pot.  They’re inexpensive and relatively fool proof.  Crock pot cooking is wonderful for families, especially busy ones, since you can prepare food ahead of time and it will be hot and ready to serve with very little fuss.  There are some amazing crock pot connoisseurs out there and there are some awesome books that can get you well on your way to making something other than pot roast.  Some of my favorite crock pot dishes are homemade pizza sauce, jerk chicken, buttered indian chicken, Mexican beef, Indian chili, and African peanut chicken with peppers.  I believe I have a 6 qt crock pot and I definitely recommend one with a built in timer!

4. Le Creuset Dutch Oven

First of all, who doesn’t love cooking with something pretty?  Le Creuset has a bunch of fun different colors to choose from, so why not make it fun!  What makes their pots and pans so versatile is that they are enameled cast iron – so you can cook with them on the stove or in the oven and then plop it right on your trivet on the table.  I have a 6 qt oval Dutch oven, and it is MORE than enough.  You can cook a whole chicken in it, and probably a whole turkey if you got creative.  I’ve made soups, stews, and lentils in my dutch oven – and they’re always yummy.  One word of warning though: enameled cast iron cooking isn’t exactly low fat.  You need a fair amount of butter or oil so things like onions don’t stick to the bottom and burn.

5. Chef’s Knife & Cutting Board

Well, I guess it’s two items, but they go together.  A good chef’s knife is definitely worth investing in. We bought something like this one – great for chopping just about anything.

And here’s a wood cutting board we like – cutting our veggies in peace

6. Calphalon 10 inch Non-stick Omelet Pan

Here’s where the non-stick is put to work!  We love this pan.  It’s great for eggs and pancakes, and anything small you’d like to cook on non-stick.  Ours makes an appearance every Sunday morning for breakfast

7. Food Processor

There’s many different brands and sizes, but I opted for a larger 9 cup Cuisinart since it came highly recommended by many folks.  Food processors are so incredibly wonderful.  I love mine so much, I wish I could sleep next to it.  (Not really.)  We use ours for making hummus, pesto, homemade mustard and spicy mayo, shredding and slicing vegetables and fruits, making bread dough, salsa, guacamole, smoothies, dumpling batter…I could keep going.  If I could recommend just ONE countertop appliance, this might be it.

8.  Deep saute pan

I will confess that this is actually on my wish list.  I currently have a large 5 qt saute pan that works really well and has enough room for everything, but it is large and shallow.  I want one that is a bit smaller and deeper, but can accommodate the same amount of food.  This kind of pan would be great for braising, making most of the Indian food we cook, and many one-pot meals.

9. Kitchen Aid Mixer, plus attachments

Ah, the icon of every newlywed kitchen.  And for good reason.  This thing is a power horse.  Obviously well suited for baking, we’ve also used ours for grinding meat and stuffing homemade sausages!  I definitely recommend the attachment set.

10.  Breadmachine

Another one of the joys of marriage – inheriting a breadmachine!  The one my husband had is a few years old, but it still runs fine.  We make our own bread in it every week and it is delicious.  So much better (and cheaper!) than store bought bread.  Breadmachines are relatively inexpensive and definitely a worthy investment.  You can also make dough, pizza crust, and rolls – though obviously you’ll have to bake them in the oven!

Honorable mention:

Stainless saute pan – we have a 10 inch one that was DH’s mothers.  It is thick and heavy and absolutely wonderful at browning onions or chicken.  Definitely a staple in our kitchen.

Salad Spinner – I had never seen one of these until I was older, but I’m so glad I did.  Makes cleaning and drying greens so much easier.

How about you: What’s your favorite pot? Or favorite countertop appliance?  Do you absolutely LOVE that one pan? Or ladle?  Please share!

P.S.  I don’t receive a dime from any of these companies, I just genuinely love to cook and love these items!

For a while I’ve been absolutely ITCHING to try one of Ana’s projects over at Knock Off Wood.  If you haven’t checked out this website yet, you are about to hit the jack-pot of all DIY jack-pots.  She designs copy cat versions of furniture from Pottery Barn, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, and posts the building instructions for free.  Yup, free.  It’s absolutely amazing.

I’ve mentioned before how I’d love to make a fun craft center or this beautiful console table (no longer necessary now that we’re inheriting a similar piece from my generous mom).  But I haven’t gotten around to any of that.  Blame it on lack of time or motivation, it just hasn’t happened. Neither of these projects are urgent things I need to have now, ya know?  But I did find something on her website that was an absolute perfect fit for our first floor bathroom:

It’s a super simple spa bench!  One thing that’s kind of problematic about our first floor bathroom is that there isn’t much storage:

That builder basic vanity cabinet is all we’ve got, plus the one towel bar.  Kind of a bummer when this is the main bathroom guests use.  For a long time I couldn’t really think of any feasible solution to our storage problem, but then I realized that a small bench right under the towel bar would be just the key, especially if it had a lower shelf to store towels and wash clothes.  Hence my joyous celebration when I found the plans for this simple, crisp, and clean spa bench!

I’m not sure what kind of would I’ll use for the top, sides, and legs – but it will definitely be something pretty and I will do it myself!  I’ll let you know how it goes.  I’m headed to the lumber yard today to stock up!  Wish me luck!

A while back, my mom asked if we wanted a console table for our house.  Free furniture?  Yes, please!

I had pretty much forgotten about this promise until I was visiting my folks this week, and I inquired about said table.

“Is it that one?” I asked.

Mom: “Yes, but I’m not ready to give to you just yet.”

My sad face must have given it away, because next she said, “We’ll have to see.  I’ve got a table downstairs from your grandparents that I need to work on that will replace it.”

Ah, makes a lot more sense now.

We made plans for me to take it back to Iowa when we visit over 4th of July.  I’m squealing with excitement!  Isn’t it so darn cute?

I love that it has the two drawers since we are in desperate need of some hidden storage.  Plus, the two shelves are perfect for displaying a few cute things, or adding a few baskets to hide some more…stuff.  Junk.  There, I said it.  I have junk.  Sue me!

Plus, the wood and style is pretty simple and should go well with a variety of things.  At this point, I’m thinking it will take up residence in our front hallway right near the door.

See, won’t it look perfect?  Of course, none of this is my furniture because *ahem* I still haven’t taken any pics since we moved in a year ago.  But you can imagine, right?  It will go along one of the two walls on the right corner where that bookcase is.  It’s not *quite* tall enough for my taste, but it should work just fine.

Is it just me, or is it the spitting image of this map console table from Pottery Barn?

Pretty darn close, right?

I found one more pillow picture today that FINALLY depicts what I envision our bed looking like.

Via Young House Love

I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes at me for obsessing so much about pillows, but I’m a picky person and I know if I don’t get it right the first time, I’ll be annoyed at myself.

Why do I love this set up?  I think it’s because I like odd numbers of pillows rather than pairs.  Pairing up the big square Euro shams, and the plopping another pair of pillows in front, and THEN a trio is a close second to me – like this:

But like I said previously, we already have two kings and two standards that we actually use for sleeping, and they’re not going any where soon, so I have to keep that in mind.

Back to West Elm I went to get my third Euro sham – and now, I am all set!  I’m planning to just place the 3 right in fron t of the standards and kings, just like the first picture.

And eventually, I’ll think about toss pillows.  But for now, this is MORE than enough for me to contemplate

We’ve had LOTS of strawberries lately.  We have a tiny strawberry patch behind our garage, providing a few small bites every few days.  Then our CSA share started for the summer, and we got a few more.  THEN our very generous and world traveling friends offered to let us have our free pick of their strawberries while they were out of town – little did we know that their strawberry patch is MASSIVE and takes up nearly a third of their yard!  We brought home at least two gallons of berries!!!

With all those berries, we had to get a bit creative.  I made several breakfast smoothies, jam, and strawberry rhubarb pie!

Let me tell you, this pie was DELICIOUS!  I used the recipe in the Joy of Cooking, which seemed pretty standard.  This was only my second pie crust I’ve made and it turned out perfectly.

BEFORE baking:

AFTER baking:

Seriously yummy

These lovely, succulent, delicious strawberries…

are my favorite part of June.

And ya know what?  They came straight from my garden  Don’t ya just love summer?

My first design board is for my younger sister, Carrie, and her husband, John.  I’ve been bugging my sister for a couple of months to send me pictures of her living room so I could give her a mood board.  They live in a nice 70s ranch that they’ve been slowly sprucing up with modern light fixtures and punchy fun colors.  Here’s the note from my sis:

Here’s our living room pictures, finally! I do have a large painting to put up, it’s mostly reds/oranges/some blues (modern) and I also found this really cool piece that’s pretty big too to put on the wall. It’s an old window with a cool modern red Coo Coo clock decal on it. Sorry I didn’t take pictures of those. We want to eventually have a big bookcase (probably Ikea) on the big wall behind the couch, and probably a small desk back there too. There’s probably 4 feet of space behind the couch.

Have fun designing our LR!

Carrie

Here’s their design board with a layout of the room.

First, they’ll keep the current soft turquoise blue walls, the couch, rug, the window treatments, and the turquoise lamp.  If there’s room for the rocking chair, then keep that too.  I’ve incorporated orange/coral, red, and a bit of purple/mauve for accent colors to give the room some interest.  Let’s get to the new stuff!

1. This TV console from Ikea will help anchor this wall and give a nice spot for their current TV, plus either a few accessories or a lamp.  Then it can transition for a widescreen TV later on if they choose.
2. Above the TV, it would be awesome if there were two floating shelves, stacked about 12 inches apart, for displaying photos, plants, accessories, or books.
3. Some sort of table or chest behind the couch would be great.  Since there’s not enough room for a coffee table in front of the couch, this will add an extra landing spot for drinks and snacks, maybe even a lamp.  I’d love to see a glossy red painted campaign dresser (scour around on craigslist) or a light and airy glass topped table, which are also plentiful on craigslist.
4. Storage is definitely needed, so we’re bringing in some fun shelves (turned on their side) along that huge wall – check out these simple square ones, or these more mod multi-sized ones, both in a brown/black color.  Above it, they can display their artwork and a few more accessories.  They can also add some fun and playful storage boxes from Ikea (white, orange, and basket-weave!) to hide a few items if they want.
5. Plopping two of these clear glass lamps on either end will add a bit of symmetry to the wall, especially if they put their art piece in the middle.
6. There are two options for working a desk space into their living room – either add a simple desk with side cube storage and display space, or forego the shelves and have a desk/wall shelf combo like this.  Since Carrie & Jon have a big pooch, I’d recommend the first option just so they don’t end up with wagging tails knocking stuff over all of the time, but this desk/shelf unit from Crate Barrel would also be a great space saving solution.
7. If Jon and Carrie need some extra light for their work space, placing their turquoise lamp they already own in the corner will add just enough.  To further decorate this space, they could use some simple boxes for storage, and add a nice simple botanical print in a basic white Ikea frame above the desk.
8. A nice parsons chair for the desk will look beautiful, and can double as extra seating as needed when guests stop by.  Brown leather, tan suede, or white would be best.
9. The space in between the window and the door is begging for some artwork or photos.  This would be a great space for a vertical display of several of Jon & Carrie’s favorite pics from their honeymoon, or of other favorite memories.
10. If there’s enough room by the front door, a simple hanging rack and this handy storage ottoman will help sort jackets and scarves and be a welcomed place for guests to kick off their shoes.  If space is limited, either skip the ottoman, or place the ottoman next to the door under the photos.
11. Some bright and fun pillows will help add some color to their couch.
12. A bunch of different fun accessories to dress up their shelves can be spread through out the room on the floating shelves above the TV, or along the bookshelves.  Look for things in the purple/mauve color – like these small glass vases from West Elm, or this larger bamboo vase from Z Gallerie; red, orange/coral – like this natural coral; and turquoise – like this vase.  White, (here, and here too!) and clear and natural woods will work too.

I hope you like it, little sis  I had fun decorating your living room.  Most of the items are relatively affordable, and a lot of the fun accessories could be substituted out for similar objects in the same colors found at Home Goods or any other home decor store.  Happy shopping!

Since it’s spring and gotten warmer recently (actually, it’s gotten colder here…) I’m starting to get really excited about wearing dresses and skirts again.  I have a few I wear with tights in the winter, but honestly, when it’s -20 outside, I’d rather wear pants.

Recently, a friend asked me about my favorite places to shop for cute tops, but all I could think about were dresses!  We don’t have much selection in our town in the way of clothing stores; often the best finds are at consignment shops or Goodwill.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t drool over things online!

Here’s a few dresses that I LOVE for spring and summer, with a lot of them coming from some of my favorite stores – Anthropologie, Ann Taylor Loft, and Banana Republic.

From Anthropologie

From Anthropologie

From Anthropologie

From Anthropologie

From Anthropologie

From Anthropologie

From Anthropologie

From Banana Republic

From Banana Republic

From Ann Taylor Loft

From Ann Taylor Loft

There’s quite a few more at Ann Taylor loft that I like, but this might become a parade of dresses if I don’t exercise self-control!

I keep wondering to myself how easy it would be to sew some of these…

My very generous mother is a quilting fanatic – her basement is full to the gills of fabrics, machines, and cutting boards.  Here’s what her sewing room looked like a few years ago…

Isn’t that unbelievable?  She has SO much fabric!  And of course, Celeste the kitty keeps her company often.

My mom has been sewing for probably 35 years, and she truly is a pro.  When I was younger, she made dance costumes for hundreds of little girls.  There were sequins and spandex all over the place!  Now, she focuses more on quilting.  It’s her form of art.  At least, that’s what I think

For the past 10 years, mom has been quilting projects for friends and family, often giving away quilts as gifts to commemorate special occasions like graduation, marriage, anniversaries, or births.  Not all of them get there “on-time,”  which is to be expected when 5 out of 8 cousins get married within a year and a half of each other!  I don’t think any of us mind waiting, though.  The quilts she makes are beautiful!

After waiting a little while, it was finally our turn for our wedding quilt.  My husband and I decided we wanted something with batik fabrics – they look like watercolors sometimes and are very beautiful and modern:

and a pattern that was a mix of modern and traditional, sort of like our house!  Here’s the pattern we chose:

I asked my mom to be a little creative with the border and make some changes, and obviously different colors will make it look quite a bit different, but I’m excited!  It will be a king sized quilt so that we can use it on our bed, so it will have 16 blocks instead of 9.  I’m guessing it’s the largest quilt my mom has made!

Here’s som photos of the fabric we chose:

And some progress being made…

Eeeek, it looks great, doesn’t it?  I’m so excited!  I know it will be a little while until my mom is finished, but I can’t wait to see the finished quilt