kickin' kitchen

I admit, I can't bake worth a hoot, but cooking? I can do that. It may not always taste out of this world, but give me some garlic, onions and butter, and I can make most anything. But if it's one thing I've learned living alone and choosing to cook to save $, it's that kitchens need to be functional.

Now I can live without a dishwasher, but everything else needs to be at arms length. Even more importantly, organized. I've lived in my share of small kitchens and over the years I've determined ways to create an organized, but stylish kitchen dejour.

These days it's easy to find inspiration. Can you say Pinterest??

With the help of our friendly inspiration site, it's not too hard to find unique items for keeping your space super tidy and stylish. I've taken my inspiration from here, Country Living, Real Simple, etc. The easier, cheaper and cuter the better!

Behold, my cooking room storage (and a little decor):

I like to use lots of clear storage items in my kitchen. It not only helps with the functional part, but it keeps things in sight without being too cluttered.

I'm a tea drinker so all of my tea is right where I can grab it:

I put on my hot water and grab a bag. Sometimes I use loose leaf when I have it, but it usually doesn't stay out on the counter. I also have my silverware in a pitcher. I HATE having to open an hard to open drawer to grab something that I need "right now," so having my forks, knives and spoons right at my finger tips helps when I have a hot something ready to eat! (you could call this lazy of course, but I call it smart :))

With very little counter space, you have no choice but to be creative. For several years, I've always loved having a pedestal of some sort to hold sweetener, butter, etc. Now, I don't use sweeteners (or matches) often, but when I do, they are easy to reach as well.

  

Again, clear containers help to see what's in side and keeps things stylish. And, I'm not against using original packaging for items so long as it's cute, of course...

Finally, this wasn't in the original picture because it kinda threw off my color scheme, but I also keep a grouping of often needed cooking items right next to my stove.

I can easily reach over and get what I need when I need it. Above that are my spices, but I'm not really 100% sold on my storage idea, so no picture this time...sorry.

What are your kitchen storage solutions? I'd love to hear about them. I'm always looking for new and exciting ways to spruce up and organize my kitchen!

Happy longer lighted days!! Hope you have fun things planned for spring! Until next time!

a wreath for winter weather

Magnolia wreaths are usually donned during the holiday season, but who says you can't display your magnolia pride throughout all the winter months?

Since painting the Fox's door red, we decided it needed a nice wreath to set it off (as if red doesn't scream loud enough already...). While visiting my parents, we thought far enough ahead to remember to grab a bundle of leaves from their magnolia tree. (shameless plug: if you haven't been to my parent's place, visit www.thiswholehouse.net). Not knowing how many we may need, we grabbed a handful and headed on back home.

Said tree:

Said leaves:

One evening when the Fox was working late, I decided that I could tackle this wreath with no problem. So I did. I cranked up the DVR, whipped out the glue gun and a grapevine wreath that I'd purchased at a thrift store, and off I went.

I clipped the leaves at the base of their stem (to allow for a good bit of stem to be stuck into the wreath), then once the glue gun was ready, all I did was start dabbing the leave stems with glue and sticking them into the crevasses of the wreath.

I went all the way around the wreath until it was completely filled in. I used most of the leave, but only choose the best ones. Once it was finished, we hung it on the door and added a cute bow (that we used on the top of the Fox's Christmas tree). Voila!

I didn't want it to be perfect - if you know the Fox and me, we're into rustic. But, overall, I think it turned out well. I'm not sure how long the leaves will last, but the good thing is that it is easily removable and we can create a whole new look for summer! I'll have to put my thinking cap on for that one...

That's it! How easy was that? Just took a little time; but since I was engrossed in whatever DVR'd show I was watching, it went by surprisingly fast! Good luck with your own projects! And stay tuned for what we have coming next!

man-corating: for the stylish gent

Most blogs these days are dedicated to the style of women, ladies, girls, chicks, etc., but very few depict a more masculine style. Maybe that's because women usually make the design choices. And in that case, if you are the one calling all the decor (and other, don't be coy) shots, then feel free to ignore this post. But if any of you have a guy like mine in your life, this post could open the door for a new avenue in your relationship...co-decorating!

I know, i know! You probably think I'm nuts allowing a man to have any say regarding the overall look of a home, but let me stop you before you get all "that's a woman's thing. Guys should focus on the yard or cars or something." You may be right in some instances, but what if your man lives alone (a boyfriend, a good guy friend) or he has a space in your shared home (some men call these "man caves," but I prefer the term "gentleman's quarters." It sounds much more sophisticated.) Either way, giving an interested man a say in the design of a space, may be a building block for a relationship.

If there is one thing the Fox and I enjoy, separately from each other, it's style. In fact, it's one of the things that attracted us to each other. Since our time together, we have both taken an even stronger interest into the opposite sex's style. I've enhanced his horizons about the treasure to be found at thrift stores and yard saling, and he has taught me about shirt collar types, Billy Reid and the likes. It's been a very fascinating journey and one I thought was worth sharing.

In July, the Fox became a bachelor; he lost his roommate of over 4 years. Not only was he a bit lonely, but he found himself in a style-less home. 😞 Sad, but not defeated, he called up his savy, bargain hunter, decorator friend (me) for a little advice. Over the past few months, we have been on a mission to man-corate his place.

Last weekend we went to a yard sale that was the ultimate, Billy Reid-esque gold mine. I immediately grabbed up a vintage metal stool and a couple of weathered suitcases. Like most times, I hadn't had a purpose in mine, but you can't always wait for that. Thrift style doesn't lend itself to buy as you need decor items, it's buy as you see.

The lady hosting the sale had some great things, but they weren't all prices I was comfortable with, so I told the Fox we would come back later and maybe we could get some of the items at cheaper prices. A few hours later we did just that. After some brief haggling, we walked out of there with a solid wood desk, a trunk and four framed oil paintings for less than $100. You can't beat that kids!

We rushed home and soon the man-corating began! Our first order was finding a place for all those neat oil paintings. The Fox had an empty space in his breakfast nook, so I quickly devised a plan to take this blank canvas....

And turn it into...

Sorry for the poor quality photos. The end result turned out wonderfully! I need to take better pictures of the overall look of the breakfast nook, but for now, here you go!

We added the vintage stool in the corner ($15), the lamp and shade a total of $8, the picture collage and vintage suitcases (seen below that immediately snagged at the yard sale). It turned out so cozy!

So, it's coming together bit by bit. Stay tuned for posting of the other things we're doing in this "gentleman's quarters." If you missed the post on The Fox's awesome valance that we made, check it out here! It's so cool and we had a great time putting it together!

Happy Holidays, y'all. I'm going to try and put "post more often" on my list of new year's resolutions, but that was one for this year as well and.... ;/.

Merry Christmas!!

a long, long time ago.

Hi fellow bloggers! I apologize for being M.I.A. for the last couple of weeks, but I'm here to say I'm back in action. I've been busy moving into my new casa!

Unfortunately, with moving comes the list of "to-dos" like: transferring bills, setting up new accounts, getting cable and internet - which I have neither of at the moment. Thankfully I have a super nice downstairs neighbor allowing me to use his internet so I can do some work! It's amazing how much you rely on the simple things in life. It will drive you crazy!

Anywhoo, after a super tough weekend of hauling my massive amounts of stuff up a flight of stairs into my new digs, I finally have a place to call "home, sweet home." And let me just say, I LOVE IT! It's probably one of my favorite places I've ever lived (minus the stairs - i'm not a fan of those on grocery shopping days). But, stairs or no stairs, I was determined to make this place mine - and that I did. My momma was nice enough to help me and the end result is super fantabulous!

The before and afters are below.

Bedroom Before:

Le Bedroom After:

The Kitchen Before:

The cooking area after:

The hallway before:

And after:

The bar - a must:

The living room before:

And the after:

And that's the tour. Sans the bathroom - that will be taken at a later date as there are still some things needing to be done in there.

On the to-do list:

- paint the bathroom shelf

- hang the wine glass holder in the bar area

- finalize dining room

- decorate the porch (yep, it's got a cute porch, too!)

I'll be sure to keep you updated, just stay tuned. Oh and keep watching for some photo shoots - families and more families :).

Happy Tuesday and GOOOOO COCKS! We better win this thing!