Tag: home

Day #55 – Kitchen: Ambient Lighting, Helpful Hints, New Curtains

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

Yesterday I thrifted the new lamp for the kitchen. I also went back that same day and picked up this owl light. It used to be a wax melt warmer in it’s heyday, but since the bowl part didn’t make it to the thrift store, it’s now just a cute little owl light.

It’s made a huge difference in our night time kitchen.

Since I had moved the elephant lamp to the top of the cabinets, I put the little lamp I got yesterday in its place.

I was getting tired of the battenburg lace curtains on the dining nook’s window. You can see a part of them above. I remember that I had seen some lace ones at the thrift store while I was shopping yesterday. I grabbed Jackson and we went to see if they were still there. They were, but I knew I’d have to cut them off to get the right length. I cannot cut a straight line to save my life. Low and behold, right next to them was a lace tablecloth. I knew I could make this work better. I just folded it in half and draped it over the jute rope I had been using for the curtain rod. Curtain rope?

So much better because more light gets in. I would have never put anything curtain-wise if we hadn’t put the chicken coop right in front of the window. I’m using “we” loosely here.

I do think the creamier color is just better suited more than the stark white.

Since we have such little space I needed to ways to help with some of the issues I was having. I hated the recycling just sitting on the table until someone decided to take it out to the bin.

I just put a washtub on a plant stand and now we just carry the whole tub to the bin.

I use a new kitchen linen everyday. It would either pile up by the sink or pile up on the washer until I did the next load. It would drive me crazy.

Just nail a basket to the wall and problem solved.

I’m pretty sure I have the Chicken Fried Rice recipe in one of the other blogs. I made it again tonight because It is just that good. Gavin, Hannah’s boyfriend, had dinner with us. I doubled the recipe and we have leftovers to eat on tomorrow. I’m already thinking about it.

Now I’m going to go finish cleaning the kitchen and then finish reading my book. It’s so good and I now I want to read all her other books.

Kitchen Clean Out

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn OrganizingLeave a comment

Yesterday’s weather was crazy. I didn’t have our television on all day. I was in the kitchen and heard a crash. This is what I walked out to.

It had been pouring and the wind had kicked up, apparently very strongly. I found out later, when Donny got home, that there had been tornado warnings.

I, however, had decided that I was going to clean out and reorganize the kitchen. I cook, roughly, 95% of our meals. I hate spending money eating out when I know that I can make the same meal at home. This means that I have A LOT of kitchen stuff. One of the drawers that gives me the biggest headache is the “gadget” drawer. I like to be able to just know where everything is and be able to grab it quickly. This is how it looked before.

And the after:

My “baking” cabinet was like playing Jenga every time I opened it. There are certain things that I use several times a week which is my blender, funnels, sifters and cheese grater. I don’t know why I never thought to put the panini press in the back and pull every thing else forward, but it makes so much more sense.

I cleaned out the bakers rack. The top shelf is where I keep most of the ingredients I use when I bake. The middle shelf is bread items and the bottom shelf is chips and stuff.

My main reason for doing this reorganizing was to find a place for the new cast iron. Because the giant pot wouldn’t fit in any cabinet I just put it on top of the fridge.

The double griddle was able to be slid in the side of the pots and pans cabinet. It’s still easy to get out, but out of the way also.

I did get rid of several water bottles and just stuff I don’t use. We don’t have a lot of cabinet space so we have to get creative. Unfortunately we have to use a whole set of upper cabinets for a pantry.

The top left is back stock and the top right is baking ingredients.

So that was my kitchen.

I’ve decided to post my dinners on here so that I can have a visual of what exactly I’ve made. I sometimes actually forget and if the family likes it or doesn’t I’ll have a record of it.

Last night I did tacos. I love the little griddle for my tortillas.

Super easy meal. Everyone was happy.

I’m trying to actually meal plan more. I normally have a vague idea, but I’d rather it be more concrete that scrambling at the last minute to try and figure something out. My mantra for this upcoming year is going to be “no matter if I’m tired and don’t feel like doing something, I just need to do it anyway because I’ll feel better about doing it in the long run”.

Small Spaces

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home StuffLeave a comment

I have spaces in my home that just make me happy. It could be one of my kids artwork. It could be shelves that I made that hold things that are special to me.

With little storage in our kitchen I have shelves that hold staples that I use on a regular basis. The shelves were given to me by a friend. Thank you Cindy. The bakers rack below it was found on a curb on my street in Baton Rouge and was helped carried home by that same friend.

Donny and I built shelves that fit in the kitchen nook window.

At night, with the twinkle lights turned on it looks so cozy.

I love when the suns shines in to the window above the sink because it bounces little pops of color from my stained glass.

When we got rid of Jack’s dresser I repurposed the drawers into shelves. The ones in the dining nook holds cookbooks and other fun little treasures.

I love plants

We have very few pieces of furniture that we have bought new. This green shelving unit is one of them. It’s from Nadeau, started off turquoise because we bought it specifically for our kitchen in Baton Rouge. I painted it green and I like it even better.

When our home flooded in 2016, I saved some of the drawers from our bedroom and made these shelves. I love the thrifted lamp with the stained glass bulb.

I love having shelves because storage is at a premium in our home. These are the most recent ones in our bedroom.

No matter what type of home you live in only bring in things that make you happy. Your style is your style. You don’t have to follow trends, unless that is what you like. Grow and bloom where you’re planted.

I’d like to introduce you to Stevie Wonder. I named him that because apparently skunks are blind. He was outside eating at the cat bowl and on the way to his food ran right into my leg. Didn’t even phase him, he just kept on to his destination. I think he’s getting used to me.