Welcome...

I was going to write a post about 7 things in my kitchen that I'm really happy to have, BUT when I went to take photos, I realized there is so much I just love about my kitchen, that I had to tell you all about it! So, I got kind of carried away, and if you actually read this to the very end, I will be quite surprised!

Almost 10 years ago we bought this home, it was built in 1973 and while it had good bones, it lacked severely in aesthetics...so we quickly went to work.

The kitchen is one of my favorite places to be, come on in, and let me show you around a bit...

THEN: Dropped ceiling, funky blue flower wall paper, minimal counter space, 30 yr old linolium floor tiles, 30 year old electric stove with sparking wires, cabinet above fridge that I couldn't reach, ugly old laminate cabinets, and no pantry. This 2nd photo is from the Sale Ad for our house...do you LOVE the Royal Blue carpet??!!??!!???

NOW: Raised ceiling, adding space above the cabinets, painted cabinets, hubby made new doors/drawer fronts, added wood flooring and 3 feet of counter/cabinet space, built in a pantry on rollers that hides the A/C-Heater Unit access, moved that unreachable cabinet above the fridge to new space and added glass doors, built arched entryway with shelving, and added much loved skylight that adds so much sunshine and joy to my Kitchen! :)

The old kitchen had no pantry, and I badly needed one. Hubby built this one...the shelf is on rollers, twice a year he rolls it out to fire up/down the Heater (hidden compartments are fun!). See my collection of aprons, I wear a different one depending on my mood and what I'm cooking, LOL - silly gal.

Here's a "collage" of Hubby doing some of the hard stuff, like holding up drywall with his head...standing on that "forbidden" top step of a ladder...learning to be a fantastic carpenter - I love that my man can do anything! :)

Now, with all the hard work behind us, I'll steal a line from Julia Andrews and show you "a few of my favorite things"...

I like to use REAL Butter, but I don't like the way it tears up your toast. This Butter Bell keeps butter at room temp, soft and spreadable ~ you fill the "bell" with butter, and the base with cold water, it seals out air and bacteria and keeps butter fresh and soft, change the water every day or two.

My 30 year old Roper stove did fine for a while until one day while baking pizza, I heard sparks and saw smoke coming from the back of the stove...apparantly the wires were shot and it was time to get a new stove - I was pretty happy about this because I love to cook with Gas and I REALLY like my GE Gas stove with electric start and a sealed top (no gunk can fall inside), electric start in the oven means no pilot light. The control of cooking with gas is one of my favorite things! :)

Another of my favorite things is my red ceramic Kitchen Compost bin with a charcoal filter in the lid for no smells! You toss kitchen scraps in there to put in your compost pile, or if you don't have a compost pile (I don't) - just bury them directly in the garden and plant on top for rich soil and healthy plants.
I'm also REALLY smiling about my cute measuring cups which are too pretty to put in a cupboard, so they are displayed and ready to use each day. I just want to measure stuff all the time because of these! :)

I also really like my Hamilton Beach quick mixer with a whisk attachment. It's perfect when I need to whip just a small amount of whipping cream and don't want to break out the big ole KitchenAid, also for immersing into soups or salsas.

And last (becuase I don't want to keep you here ALL day long talking about my Pampered Chef items that I just couldn't cook without!), but not least, I really like my pretty dish drainer....

"Hi, my name is Kathy and I handwash my dishes"

Yes, I have a dishwasher, but I prefer to wash dishes by hand ~ I'm not sure if I could explain why, there's just something about it that I like, kind of like hanging clothes on the line, it just feels right. I didn't want just any ole' dish drainer on my counter though, so I looked far and wide to find one that would compliment my kitchen, this is what I found.

Maybe this is the reason I like washing dishes by hand...the view from my sink...

If you are still awake after this extremely long post, I thank you for sticking it out!

For more DIY projects, visit Kimba at A Soft Place To Land

Would you share with me what your favorite room in the house is, what makes it so special?

Have a beautiful sunshiney, Jesus filled day!