Alyssa had a great tag yesterday showing the 10 things she loved about her kitchen, so I thought I’d play along.
1. My kitchen artwork. My brother-in-law James took this photo for me to indulge my Amish fetish one Christmas. If you look closely, you can see the little buggy driving down the sunlit street. Thanks again, James!
And this is an original watercolor by Howard Rees, a relative on Ryan’s side. We inherited this picture from his mom. The house in this painting is the house that Grandma Rees grew up in. I love this painting.
2. My handy dandy hand towel. I keep a hand towel folded next to the sink. I don’t know why, but I find it to be very useful and comforting to have it so close to the sink.
3. My home fragrance oil thingie. Have you seen these at Bath & Body Works? I love this invention, because it produces more fragrance than a candle and won’t burn down your house if you accidentally leave it burning. (It’s a tea light, so it just burns out after a while.)
And this is the best smell to put in your thingie. I’m not kidding.
But sometimes I use this smell instead because it can get stressful being so sensual all the time.
4. My under-the-counter TV. This is a very new addition to the kitchen. I was inspired by the one in my mom’s house.
I use it to watch informative, educational shows.
5. My barstools. I love these barstools. They make it easy to pretend that I am Regis and/or Kelly, but mostly Kelly.
6. My island. I do most of my work right here at the kitchen island. It is a great, big workspace, and it’s very close to the fridge, which I find to be an important aspect of a good workspace. Here’s Ryan’s and my computer standing at attention. When we’re not looking, my computer is saying to his, “It’s OK, not everybody can be a Mac.”
7. My chalkboard. We picked up this chalkboard at Pottery Barn years ago, and it has been a favorite feature of mine in our kitchen. I like to find fun, inspiring and uplifting quotes to put on it. Like this one, from the Dalai Lama.
8. My green canisters. I love these canisters. Not only are they pretty to look at, they are very useful! I use them to store lots and lots of stale air!
9. The toy drawer. This is where I collect and store the zillions of little toys that make their way downstairs to the kitchen from the children’s living quarters. Ryan can’t stand this drawer and wants it abolished. But he doesn’t know what it’s like to pick things up five thousand times a day and carry them back to their rightful spot, which just happens to be up a flight of stairs. So I tell him this, and that if he wants to put the toys away he should be my guest, but he should probably focus on more important things like the next disease he thinks he’s dying from. That usually works.
10. My messy drawers. Here is the part of my kitchen that will give all my OCD friends an anxiety attack. I have no problem with my messy drawers and cupboards. I don’t feel the need to organize, alphabetize, or color code them. When I need a knife, I find it right away. It’s right there, wedged under the ladle and spatula; and with just a little bit of elbow grease, I can wriggle it out in 15 minutes or less.
And maybe you should just get a paper bag handy to breathe into before you sneak a peek at my pantry.
Alright, now it’s your turn. What are your 10 favorite things about your kitchen?
