Excitedly Anticipating Autumn

My favorite season BY FAR is fall, there is nothing better than this season.

I excitedly await my walks around our lake and hearing the crunch of all the leaves under my feet. I love the scent of falling leaves, fresh air, and apples. My favorite color has always been green, but the color of fall leaves of the burnt red, orange and yellow come in a very close second.

In fact, when I look around my house at the paintings on our walls, you can tell how much I really love the fall season. I look at these photos all year long and I still love them all so much!





I can't wait for squashes of all shapes and sizes to be prominently displayed at the farmers market. Corn stalks to decorate the front entrance to our neighbors houses. Kids jumping into the huge the leaf pile they just raked. I look forward to stomping through the muddy paths at the local pumpkin patch, looking for the "perfect" pumpkin. And as much as I can't believe I am saying this, I start to get a little excited for football season to start. I love to cook up a large batch of chili with friends and just curl up in front of the TV to watch a showdown (though us girls usually just talk the whole time.)

Maybe I love this season so much because I have so many memories during this time of the year. I am sure all the colors, sounds, and smells play a large part in this, but it just gets me so excited each year as the summer comes to a close. I hope some of you out there share my excitement for my favorite season and wishing you all a beautiful autumn!

~Beth

Ideas for Decorating Above Cabinets

As the kitchen remodel comes to a close, decorating ideas start flowing through my mind. Most importantly, how to decorate above the cabinets. I have expressed before in other blogs how decorating really weighs on my mind. You would think a person such as me who works in a creative job that this talent would come easily, but for some reason I tend to over think it. Also, the fact I am a super cheap person doesn't seem to help.

Originally, when we started this kitchen remodel, I wanted it to be a wine theme. Well, after the paint colors and backsplash tile was picked out I just didn't know how well of a wine theme would work with our kitchen. Our kitchen is painted blue, the counters are pretty cream, and most wine decorating items are red. I was afraid it would look like a red, white, and blue kitchen gone awry.

I decided to compile some pictures for decorating above the cabinets. There are many pictures out there of what others have done, and it really helped me decide on things I like and things I don't like.
Like: I love the baskets! I think the way they varied the size and color of each it creates such a nice placement of the objects! Also, everyone can use more storage space! Too bad my cupboard space is limited to 12"
Like: This is probably my favorite of all of them. I just love how all the items coordinate so well with the theme of fishing. I think when you use a common color, theme, or subject it just groups everything together and makes it look so much more polished.
Don't Like: I could see it now...there I am, waking up at 3am for my midnight snack (you get hungry a lot when you are prego) I flip on the lights and AHHHHHH!!!! millions of little eyes staring at me. Some of you may find this cute, but I think clowns and dolls should be left to the kids room.
Like: The homeowner did a great job in creating a white backdrop of plates to tie in the main color of the kitchen, but then used a color that was not in the current kitchen to create some contrast. Using the silver to draw your eye upward makes this above cupboard decorating a success.Don't Like: This was actually on a website called ugly kitchen or something like that. I do like themes in kitchens, but it gets to the point where there is so much of one theme it looks like junk is just thrown together. A few of these bird houses would have made it look more organized then the... I don't know...fifty they have up there.
Don't Like: Ok, we have to be practical when choosing items to put above the cupboards. Could you imagine getting up there to dust all of these dishes?? I mean, they wouldn't have to be dust free all the time, but the few times a year when you tried to dust them would be a nightmare! Also, for some reason, the blue just doesn't seem to go with this kitchen. It almost looks too forced of a decoration, if that makes sense.

Photo Source

Like: Yes, I know I already said too much clutter is a bad thing. I do hate dusting. The reason I like this one is because of the back light effects. I really like how the dishes glow with the above cabinet lighting. Also, being that they are mainly white or clear I do not think they would show much dust.
Don't Like: It's funny because I ran across this photo and one in the previous on two different websites and I don't like either. They are the same kitchen with what appears to be photoshopped elements above the cupboard. I actually love the kitchen, but the mirrors in this one just look out of place. I feel like they are trying to mix the modern with a obvious traditional kitchen. Also, I have always been a fan of white space. A crowded design, or in this case decoration, is never good. The eyes tend to shy away from overflowing and overdone designs. Leaving areas for your eyes to take a break will make your decoration seem more deliberate and well thought out than overdone.
Like: I like this one for the simplicity and the fact the owner chose little plants as opposed to vines. Almost every picture I came across for above cupboard decorating has vines in it. I mean, I like the vines, but it's nice to see something a little different then the standard ivy.

Well, those are just some of the above counter decorating that I have found online. If you have any you would like to suggest I would love to hear from you. The more ideas the better!

UPDATE: Please read my follow up blog on decorating above the cabinets.

~Beth

Painting The Front Door Red

Want a quick and easy makeover for the front of you house? Paint your front door. I have been dying to paint the front door and since the kitchen is finally finished I decided to tackle this project this last weekend.

Here is our door before. It is the same color of our house. I thought painting it red would create a more open/inviting image for the house.

The paint on the door was cracking, so the time to paint was perfect! Also, the handle on the door has been broken since we moved in. You can get out of the house, but you can't get in.
Last summer I was at a garage sale and I saw this deadbolt and lock display set for sale. I talked the lady down to just $15 and purchased this item below. I found the same set later at Lowe's and it was over $100, so I think I got a really good deal. I had it re-keyed and it was ready to go...now just to paint!
To start out with, scrape off all of the paint you can. Our paint was so cracked it was pretty easy for me to scrape it all off.
Next, apply your tinted primer. I had to use tinted primer because it makes the red paint more vibrant with less coats.
I then applied three coats of the red paint to the door after the primer paint. I also did the same scraping, primer, and paint to the side windows around the door. It looks wonderful!!!
My husband was nice enough to install the door handle and lock so this short project is complete!

We are so happy with the red door and it adds so much more character to our house!

~Beth

Organizing Our Kitchen

A few posts back I talked about organizing the kitchen and I highlighted some of the items I found that I thought would greatly aid in keeping my kitchen not only clean but arranged neatly.

With the kitchen practically finished, I have successfully organized most of the cupboards in one way or another. I found though, when I actually went to purchase all the items some of them the cost really outweighed the benefit. As I have said before, I am a cheap person and just thought there had be another way then spending lots of money on storage containers. I did purchase some of the items on my previous list, because I could not find substitutes that I liked. However with a little creativity I was able to use some everyday items as storage containers. This not only helped in the organization but it also helped the wallet.

I will first start out with our spice cabinet. My husband and I love to cook, so we have about a million spices. I purchased this little "stadium seating" shelf organizers from the Container Store for $4.99 each and they work great for viewing all the names on the labeled spice jars.
I have found that if you buy spices in the bags from the foreign food section you tend to get a whole lot more spice for a lot less of a price (that should be their tag-line!) We had about 15 bags of spices. Before they were all thrown into the drawer below and you would have to dig through it to find the one you needed. Buying little jars for all of them seemed like way too much work (and money), so searching around the house I found these jars that we have been saving for my hubby to organize his random nails/screws in the garage. We buy this local salsa and they sell it in these pretty nice canning jars. I stole a few of the large and small jars from him, slapped on a homemade label, and filled them with our most frequent used of the bagged spices. Genius!
In the drawer below, we have more spices! I know just crazy! The original spice rack we had came with these white jars. I HATE things on my counters, so I threw the rack away and just kept the jars. These jars were just a little too tight to fit standing up in the cupboard, but I purchase this slanted organizer and you can now see all the labels. As for the black jars, they were the perfect height to see all the labels as you open the drawer.
Also, who could forget this cute little rack I talked about a few blogs back. It's great for hanging aprons, pot holders, and dish towels on and just so handy being within a couple feet from the stove and cook-top.

In the kitchen we have this desk that is built into the corner. Before it stood as a dumping ground for all types of junk. You name it, it was there: 20 rolls of 20 different kinds of tape, post it notes my hubby received as freebies at work, a million writing tools, and lots of coins. I had these two shoebox like containers that I used to hide all the roles of tape and post it notes in. Now when we need more tape, we can just look there for the next roll. I am sure we have a lifetime supply. All the writing utensils were put in this container I had used at one point in a bathroom somewhere. It was just sitting empty. The coins were placed in the old time money bag (the orange bag) and I know the bag doesn't look the best, but it's sturdy and will hold a ton of change. The stationary set serves as our fast grab section. I fill it with post-it pads, scratch paper, one roll of tape, pens, scissors, and paperclips. It's easy to refill and quick access without digging through the boxes, not to mention a totally cute pattern!
Ahhh the big purchase. How I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this thing! I never knew I could love a trash can so much, but this little slider has made our life so simple! The unit features a trash and recycling pullouts cans that fit great in the cupboard under the cook-top. This was so expensive though! It was a total of $95.85 after shipping (shipping was $25.90 YIKES!) It has relieved us from remembering to put the garbage can back under the cupboard and the handy recycling bin has been very nice too!
The ugly organization: I was going to buy this fancy, dancy pullout slide for the items under the sink but I just decided not to yet. Who knows I might change my mind. I call this the ugly organization, because it just doesn't look nice but it serves its function.

I purchased some cheap 3M removable hooks from Target and placed them on the inside of the door. It's nice to have a place for the towels to hang dry out of view. Also, while at Target, I found this paper towel dispenser for about $4. It too has that removable adhesive on it. I stuck it to the bottom of our sink and it has stuck there quite nice. I like the paper towel holder, my husband hates it. He keeps pulling off too many at a time and gets mad at it. This might have to go in the future. The other nice little addition that we have is this small compost bucket from World Market. It was just $14.99 and saves us from having to walk out to the garden with our veggie scraps. I am not kidding when I say that there is no smell that comes out of it. It has this charcoal filter in the top and holds it all in. I have not dumped the bucket in....wait for it....about 4 weeks! It's totally nasty on the inside, but I figure that it will just compost the more.
Of course, I wrote a whole blog (see blog here) on this pot rack already. We really wanted to have a normal pan rack displayed in our kitchen, but the problem was the only spot available would be above the sink and that would block the view of our backyard. We installed the pot rack just left to the cook-top and we are just so darn proud of our little pot rack.
In the drawers, I purchased these put together drawer organizers from Target. They server their purpose to group like things into each little section.
And the big one...the pantry. I do not have the luxury of a walk in pantry. I would love to have one, but the place it would have gone the previous owners decided to put another half bath there. (We have two half baths on the main floor with really no reason to have two.) They were not big on cooking I guess. So we are stuck with this really large pantry in the kitchen.
I know, it is full to the brim! I really do have a food hoarding problem. Well, anyway I will break down the organization. Starting at the top. I have this space above the cupboards that serves no purpose. I would much rather have my cupboards go to the ceiling. I have worked with a local wine store here in town and they were kind enough to give me a couple wine crates. I think they look just super cute above the pantry. I use them to hold random items that we need in the kitchen, but I just don't use a lot.
Below that cupboard we have the "dead space" area. I called it dead space because all it stored before were items that we never used! I purchase this large expand-shelf from the Container Store for $14.99 and I use it for my large, odd shaped items that won't fit in the built in can holders on the doors. Behind the shelf I have hidden more infrequently used kitchen items.
On the other side, in the "dead space" area I purchased this Gravity-Feed Can Rack from Amazon.com ($39.79) and there is a reason why it four and half stars out of five. It is awesome! This guy was pretty tough to assemble (which I think would be why it's not a five stars) but it is so heavy duty! There are always certain canned foods that I like to keep in hand at all time and I use this rack to hold them all. They just roll forward when I grab an item out of it. Also, this organizer saves the space in the built-ins on the doors for the other canned food items that I only keep one or two on hand.
In the rest of the pantry I just used some storage containers and baskets (most of which I had) to keep the place a little more arranged. I tried to label the containers as needed but some of them were see-thru so it was not necessary. The baskets I just filled with random items that matched the shelf contents. For example, on the baking shelf (flour, sugar, baking powder) I filled the basket with chocolate chips, sprinkles, and baking nuts.
Well, that's it for organizing my kitchen. It does not look the prettiest in some places, but it serves its function well and that is really all that matters. I wanted to have the ability to keep the place put together and clean. All of these little additions have really made it easier for me to accomplish that goal.

~Beth

Broccoli Wild Rice Soup

Easy, fast and delicious. My fabulous Mother-In-Law Terri shared this soup recipe with me and it is now one of my favorites!



Ingredients:
1 package of Uncle Ben's Chicken & Wild Rice Mix
5 Cups of Water
1 8 oz. pkg of Frozen chopped broccoli
1 Medium Carrot, shredded
1 tsp dried, minced onion
2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup
1 8 oz. package of Cream Cheese

Combine rice and content of seasoning & water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in carrots, broccoli and onion. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Finally stir in the soup and cream cheese. Heat until the cream cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!

How To: Install An In-Cupboard Pot Rack

About a month ago I wrote a post about organizing my kitchen and adding a pan rack was one of my ideas.
We really wanted to have a normal pan rack displayed in our kitchen, but the problem was the only spot available would be above the sink and that would block the view of our backyard. Browsing around on the internet I came across this in-cupboard hanging pan rack from a cupboard company (Ayr Cabinetry). I LOVED IT!

We have a cupboard just left to the cook-top that really doesn't get used much, so I thought this would be a perfect addition to the kitchen and really aid us in the storage of our pans.I contacted the company and they told me they just purchased a pan rack (that normally would hang from your ceiling) from amazon and mounted in the cupboard, but they didn't know how the carpenter had mounted it in the cupboard. After about a month of going back and forth I nailed down our plan of attack. Here is my little How To:

What you'll need for this project:
36" inch Dual Track Natural Wood Ceiling Rack
Electrical Saw
Drill
(4) L-Brackets about 1.5"
Small Level
Stain (if you want it to match your cupboards)
8 screws (about 1/2" to 3/4")

I purchased this pan rack from overstock for $37.74 (pic is hyper-linked). You really do not need to purchase this rack, you can just use some 1"x2" board and buy some pan hooks. I found the pan hooks, were about $6 each (6 times $6= $36, and I could get all the parts for just $1.74 more if I bought the rack)...so I thought purchasing this rack was the better route to go.

Next, you need to start out with measuring the width of your cupboard. We chose this cupboard next to the cook-top so that it was easy access for cooking.

Take the two wood boards out of the kit and cut them down to the width of your cupboard. Make sure that you measure twice! You don't want them to be too small.

With the remainder of the board (the cut off part), cut a rectangle that is about 1.25" long. This will be the "gap" between the two boards so that your hooks can slide back and forth.

Clamp the boards together. It should be the long boards the outsides and the small 1.25" boards in the middle on the ends. Drill holes in the boards equivalent to the size of the metal screws that came with the kit. It should look like the picture below.
Attach the boards together with the metal screws that came with the kit.
At this point I chose to stain the rack so that it matched our cupboards. This is entirely up to you.
Next, measure where you would like your rack to hang. Make sure that you put the rack high enough for your tallest pan. Also, you need to make sure that the rack is in the center of the cupboard. Start out with marking just one side.
Attach two of the L-brackets in the area you have marked off as center one side of the cupboard. Place your wooden pieces on the L-brackets to line up the other side. Using your level, mark where to place the two remaining L-Brackets on the other side. Making this level is very important.
Once your L-Brackets are in place you can attach the wooden rack. Drill holes in the rack where you would like to place your screws. This should prevent the wood from splitting. Make sure to avoid hitting the metal screws that hold the rack together. We only used the outer holes on the L-Brackets. Use the remaining four screws to attach the rack to the L-Brackets.
Insert the metal hooks in the pan rack and then adjust your shelf (if you have one) to the right height above the rack. We had just enough space for the shelf to be used to hold pan lids.
And wallah we are finished! The rack is in place and couldn't look nicer! It's just so handy to have the pans close at hand!

We are so proud of our little pot rack. It's just another nice way to keep your kitchen organized and minimize the clutter!

~Beth