Kitchen

I am VERY slowly hanging things on the walls.  I've decided the first thing I want to do in the great room is choose fabric for curtains.  Then I'll address what to hang on the walls & where. . .  : )  The kitchen was easy because there's nowhere else I would have hung the items that are above the cabinets.

There's so much counter space I hardly know what to do with it!  Don't get me wrong, when I'm cooking I take advantage of nearly all of it!  At the edge of the counter by the pantry door is my very large cutting board that I LOVE!  I find myself cutting a lot of vegetables these days so it's nice to have a board that accomodates me.  Now I just need a knife sharpener.  Just yesterday I cut up a bunch of tomatoes, a jalapeno, cilantro & onion for some quick salsa to serve over cream cheese.  (Thank you Nicole for introducing me to this deliciousness at bunco!)  : )  Oh, and that yellow squash in the bowl is spaghetti squash.  It tastes AMAZING & is such a great alternative to pasta with some yummy marinara and zucchini.  Just puncture it all over with a skewer and put it in the oven @ 375F for an  hour.  My homemade marinara was a little too spicy for the kiddos but with a mild marinara and some mozzarella even they ate it!  : )

Lilyanah has decided under the counter is a perfect place for her to display her art, I have to say I agree.  I'm half tempted to paint it with chalkboard paint so the kids can draw down there but that's too big of a committment and not very realistic.

If you look in the picture above there's a blank wall to the right of the fridge in the kitchen.  I'd like to get one of those vinyl decals that's a chalkboard and put it there.  The dishwasher is a little further away from the sink than I would prefer but I'm not complaining because at least I have a dishwasher!  : )  Eventually we would like to do some sort of backsplash and add crown moulding to the tops of the cabinets, but that isn't the most pressing home improvement at the moment.

So there is a glimpse of where I spend quite a lot of my time.  It's such a blessing to live in this house, I'm just anxious to have friends and family visit so it feels more like a home.  I almost forgot, you are looking at the two items we  upgraded on in the house.  I chose to have a pull down spray faucet (black) and got a little deeper, little longer sink than what came standard.  It's crazy how many dishes fit in that sink.  Westyn's even had a bath in there once.  He didn't like it, but with all the sand we have at our house it's like living at the beach and I didn't want all the sand he had on his body upstairs!  : )  Now to go spend some more time in this lovely room preparing yet another meal!  : )  Any healthy suggestions that kids love?  Love you all!