HOLIDAY KITCHENS

Here are a few pictures of my kitchen this year.   Now it is a little overdone because it is merchandised for my Holiday Boutique which is tomorrow.  So the kitchen is done in reds/greens/whites and it's full of eye candy.

My favorite black beauty hutch is stacked with holiday goodies...some handmade some vintage.

Sorry for the glare on the picture frame, that is my Nonna's photo and she likes the spotlight. lol

Here is a new table I made for the show and will serve as a beverage stand for guests. (come back on Monday for the post on how this table was transformed)

A vintage style tree with....yep vintage Shiny Brite ornaments...which will be for sale tomorrow.

Another tree with more Shiny Brite ornaments....the black trays are in my shop too.  They are vintage tin trays that I turned into chalkboard trays and will hold some yummy yuletide treats (that's another post too...lol)

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY HOLIDAYS ... FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS 

-MJ

Kitchens......AT THE PICKET FENCE

WAKE UP CALL

Every have that something happen to you and you realize how lucky you are.   Well today was that day for me, I cant believe Im sitting here typing this but I have so much nervous energy right now I gotta get it out.

Today was a yucky rainy day here in Jersey, my son missed his bus and the 4 year old stayed home.  So that made for 3 of the 5 kids home today with me.

Everything was going fine, I was photographing some new jewelry pieces and posting them up on Facebook.  Nothing out of the ordinary right?.....

It was getting close to lunchtime so I put the l year old (bday yesterday) down for a nap.  And the other 2 asked for some Ramen soup, so I put the pot on and I threw 2 tortillas in the toaster oven.

I walked away for 10 seconds and I smelled something...I turn my head and the whole kitchen is full of smoke I look at the toaster oven and smoke is literally funneling out of all of the holes!   I grab it by the handle, which if anyone ever watched BACKDRAFT..you never open a door!  Same applies to toaster oven doors.

Flames shot out at me, the whole thing started flaming up!  I had to get it out of the house...I had 3 kids here! I stuck my hand behind it and pulled out the plug, they yelled for my son to open the back slider doors.  I picked it up (flames and all) and ran out and off the deck (wood) and onto the driveway.

I then went to go get the hose, but guess what it was disconnected. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!   So I tell me son to bring me some water.

Bless his little heart....he literally brought me a plastic kids cup of water.   When I throw the water on it, it just gets worse.  Then I noticed that the BBQ was out and only 2-3ft away.  Flames are flying from this little stainless monster.

I tell my son to call 911 because I dont think Im gonna get this under control and Im afraid the tank is going to  get hit with a spark and blow.

I find the mop bucket and run inside, the house is full of smoke.  I tell my son to put jackets on himself and sister and get out of the house onto the deck for fresh air.  I fill the bucket and fun outside and dump it all onto the oven....it starts to sizzle and smoke ridiculously but no flames.  So I do it again...

My son is calmly reporting to the dispatcher our address and answering questions, I then get on the phone and tell them that I think I got it under control.  Call ended.

Phone rings....Police dept calling to double check.  I tell them Ive got it under control, officer says they will send someone out to check anyway.  I say OK.

5 minutes later......SIRENS!    Police car, fire dept chief SUV, fire truck, volunteer vehicles....approx 12 cars show up on my quiet block like a noisy St Patricks Parade and they come to the back to see this...

Now it may seem small but dont let the size fool you.  This little bad boy was blazing and you can see from the glass door that once was clear.   That crater spaceship looking thing....was my lunch a nice toasted tortilla.

It only takes a few seconds so please be careful when you are using your ovens...toaster, convection, free standing, or cooktops.

My house smells of smoke and so do I....so for the rest of the day besides airing out the house I will count my blessings that

1. My 12 yr old son was here to help
2. I didnt panic(well i did, but) I worked well under the pressure
3. Kids listened to instructions.
4. God still has work for me here.


Blessings to everyone, life is short ....today was my Wake Up Call!


Linking this up...because I think it's so appropriate that I never had lunch and lost my appetite!

CLUTTER FREE CUCINA

Well the holidays are over and all through blogland little elves are packing away the decorations while we sit and blog at our computers!   HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Did you fall off your chair?  Well you know the reality as well as I do, but by now most of us have moved on to the next project/season/holiday.  Any excuse to redecorate right?

Well  my kitchen is fairly small but alot bigger than my old galley kitchen in my tiny 1913 farmhouse (still miss it).  This kitchen has nice cabinets and all matching stainless appliances.  Im not in love withe countertops so I cover them up with vignettes and other small appliances.  Everything was here as is when I moved in 1 year ago, I just painted the walls a putty color to tone it down and bring it closer to backsplash and floor.

But the clutter must go.....I need to free this house and my cucina of this clutter.    So here is what I have done and what we look like at this point.   Of course there will still be some tweaks.

The red with go after Valentine's Day but Im keeping the hutch with my Nonno's pictures and its presentation.  I'll go more neutral in the glass containers (love using brown rice and oatmeal so they will blend perfectly)

This is the first viewing of the kitchen .....Ready....Set....Via!

This is the cooking wall...cabinets are nice...backsplash is nice. I keep my oils out on the counter and both my knife sets on either side of the oven.  On the left usually is the dish rack..but Ive eliminated it (thats another post entirely).

The is the left angle that is next to the sliding door to the deck. (this also becomes the drop off for all things to be recycled (ugh clutter).  Im also missing an HG apothecary jar because Im using them somewhere else.

The is the wall with the pass through window to the dining room.  I think the cabinet is way too high but thats just me.  Dont mind the vday clutter on top. lol 

This is the odd wall....it holds the fridge, hutch and hallway to upstairs (kids floor) This is the way it looks a desk in the hallway so my 4 yr old can color whenever she wants and on the fridge is her work.  She spelled and wrote the word MILK all my herself!

Back sliding doors to deck.....in the process of steaming gold curtains!

UPDATE:

For those of you that read here regularly, you know I usually change things around by the time I post...but I like to keep the original pics so you can see the changes and if you like or don't like them.  So here is a minor adjustment.

I switched out the large Marshall's plate for my Home Goods bird cloche and used a vintage saucer to complete the triangle (I have a 3 obsession still from merchandising days). lol

I switched out the red/white plates for the cream/green and used top level for dessert plates.

MY GIVEAWAY GOODIES ARE HERE!

Well if you remember I won a $40 giftcard for CSN stores from gracious host Melissa @ Keep Calm and Decorate.   http://keepcalmanddecorate.blogspot.com/
I changed my mind from my original thought of what I would do with the $40 if I won.   I decided since I was doing Part 2 of my mini kitchen makeover I would look for items that I need for my kitchen.   Well they've arrived.

So this is what I came up with....it totaled $39.98!

 8 pc Ginsu Cutlery Set......