New Dishwasher!!!

Dave and I decided a while back that our big Christmas gift to each other would always be something for the house.  I know it doesn't sound romantic however, we are always happier with a home improvement item.  Truth be told I'm not big on diamonds but I am big on something that makes the house better or allows me to build more things.

This year the gift was a new dishwasher.  We've known we needed a new one for a while.  Every night I was doing double duty with the pre-rinse.  The dishwasher was loud and harboring funky smells.  Nothing a rinse of vinegar and baking soda couldn't handle but it was gross none the less.

What broke the camel's back for Dave was when he saw a dishwasher advertised at Fry's as being BPA free.  We've gone through so much effort to rid ourselves of as much BPA as possible that Dave found it frustrating to think that something as basic as a dishwasher was voiding our efforts.  That and our 6 year old friend, O, who said "why is your dishwasher so loud".  That was it!  In Dave's book dishwasher trumped couch for 2013!

And so the process began! Dave was ready to buy whatever was on Fry's Sunday sale page and I needed at least a week of reading reviews and a through search for the absolute, perfect dishwasher for our household.  I finally came to the conclusion that LG's Top Control Dishwasher in Stainless Steel, Model #LDF7551ST was it!!! And it was on sale at Home Depot for $598 down from $849!

The research should have been the hard part. But no!  There was big drama with Home Depot. I'll write about that in another post. For now I'll just say that I won't be giving them my business anymore.  In fact, I think I'm going to start going to smaller hardware stores or specialty places.  I'm done with Home Depot.

The dishwasher I love!  I love the versatility of the racks. I can load things in multiple ways.  It's super, super quiet. The cycles take a while, but I don't mind.  The only thing that bothers me is that the exterior always looks dirty. Everything shows up on it and some  fingerprint and smudge marks don't really come off. But I'm so happy with it's quiet and great cleaning that the outside is doable.  Plus, at the end of each cleaning the dishwasher sings a little tune so you know it's done. It's pretty sweet. 

My Big Fat Glass Jars

P has become my sou-chef in the kitchen, 

so there is an ever present step stool for her. 

A while back I was so excited to get a set of canisters from our cool neighbors.  As amazingly cool as those canisters were to look at, they weren't very practical for my kitchen routine.  I ended up with two different sets of canisters on the counter and none of them contained anything I used on a daily basis. They were basically just serving a decorative purpose.  Unfortunately, the look wasn't turning out as I had hoped.  The kitchen looked cluttered with so many ill matched canisters on the counter.  And despite all those containers, I still had to pull down more every time I cooked.   

I cook daily.  I cook a lot.  I make everything from scratch; salad dressing, pancakes, waffles, pomodoro sauce and once upon a time baby food.  It was while I was pregnant that I began to eat organic. But it wasn't until I started looking into baby food for our 6 month old, at the time, that I became aware of every single ingredient.  I slowly eliminated anything pre-made.   It's necessary to add preservatives and extra salt to food that's suppose to stay on a shelf for an extended period of time.  I didn't want the added chemicals in our systems.  If you're interested in the subject a good book to start with is this.   

So, back to the canisters.  One day I realized that I pulled out my jar of flour 2-3 times a day.  It got me thinking. Why didn't I put the things I used most often out on the counter in big, cool looking jars?  Great. Now I knew what I wanted but I also had a set of requirements for these jars: 

• Well sealed, so no bugs or air got in the food. 
• Big enough to comfortably hold an entire bag of flour with extra room for easy scooping. 
• A wide mouth for ease of scooping and measuring. 
• Easily open with one hand, as often the other hand is holding another ingredient. 
• Look cool. 

 And the jar that fit the bill was the Montana jar by Anchor Hawking.  They're not Mid Century or totally modern but they do fit all the functionality points and come very close to the design point.   

I've had these jars for four months and I love them.  I can't even begin to tell you how much easier it is to scoop out flour that's right there in a jar beside the food processor. Before I had to haul out another canister and figure out where I'd temporarily put it with all my already existing mess.  I risked pushing the ipad right off the counter. (btw, the ipad has been incredibly useful in the kitchen.  More than I ever imagined.)

Fortunately for the overall design and color palette, the ingredients I most often use are also of similar color: flour, sugar, oatmeal and rice.  The last jar is for my weekly baked goods; cookies, muffins or bars. (We just finished off the last round when I took this picture.)  I believe a jar full of something homemade makes everyone happy;  specially a little host and her little guests.

Egg on My Walls

Sometimes I juggle too much.  I tried to make a quick meal before heading out for ballet class with P last week.  Thought I was so on top of it all. Dinner would be ready when we returned.  Instead I made a huge mess.  I left three eggs, in boiling water, on the stove and forgot to turn it off. When we returned, a cloud of smoke welcomed us in when I opened the door.  You would think I would instantly remember the eggs. Instead, I looked for an electrical fire because what else could it have been? I didn't leave a fire hazard behind. Not me!  

Needless to say, I spent the following day cleaning up egg off of EVERYTHING! I had to pull out the 12 foot ladder to get it off the ceiling.  The stove and cabinets were a mess. I even found a chunk of yolk on the sofa at the far end of the living room.  Scary.  The cleanup was a pain but it prompted a major spring cleaning.  It felt so good to do and now it feels even lovelier to live in. 

Sometimes home projects have nothing to do with remodeling or drastic before and afters. (The egg mess was drastic but very hard to capture the details on camera.) They do have everything to do with cleaning and maintenance.  It's amazing how much time they take up but they are the constant "oil changes" of the house that make it last.  

 The "after". A spotless kitchen!

Canisters

Have you ever gone to the salon with a picture torn out of a magazine?  You're eager for a completely new haircut and transformation!  After it's all done you come home and look at yourself in the mirror.  It's the same cut but you don't look the same as the model so you're a bit frustrated. Somehow in your mind this one cut was going to transform you entirely.  That's the way I felt with these canisters.


Back in February I posted pictures of this house and it's kitchen.  In the kitchen were these amazing canisters.  I really wanted a set.  I lucked out when one of our neighbors was having a garage sale and she gave me this set of Garner Ware canisters.(we have really nice neighbors) I came home, put them in the kitchen and got sad.  Somehow I hoped this set of canisters would transform our kitchen into the one from my previous post.  If only the canisters could get rid of our awful counter top and replace it with Caesarstone in white or apple martini. If only the canisters could get me cool backsplash tile and minimal cabinet doors with great hardware.  If only I could keep my counter top clear and clean.  I'm constantly cooking so it's a big struggle. I'm so not Mid Century minimal in that respect. 


Well, if you're looking for a set of these canisters to transform your kitchen, I just saw a set on etsy.


(Btw, don't ever get granite with this many color variations for a kitchen. You can't see anything on it; coffee beans, pasta sauce, crumbs, etc.  Horrible for cleaning up.)

Same Place. Different Time.

November 2008

May 2010

Rarely do I post about the same thing on this blog and my other blog, Mamma May I.  However, on occasion there are subjects that integrate both my house and child.  


Our 2.5 year old is now setting the table and getting some of her snacks on her own.  To facilitate this new found independence I moved all her dishes to a lower cabinet.  I installed a rolling basket from The Container Store for easy access and organization.  Our cabinets were not well designed for holding pots, pans, etc but this basket made the space easier to use.  I'm thinking of getting more for the rest of the lower cabinets. 


Watching P grab her dishes today I thought back to a time when she use to play in that same cabinet.  Before she was able to walk, P would pull everything out of there and fiddle with it while I cooked.  Looking at the picture from 2008 I remember feeling like we hadn't quite moved in despite being here for a year.  I felt like everything was still in boxes and the spaces of the house had not yet been defined.  


I look at the second picture of the same place from today and I see how much more we've made this house our own.  There are spaces that are still undefined but at least we have an idea of what we will be doing with them in the future.  Other spots seem to constantly be in transition and now I know why.  Our child is constantly in transition and her needs for these spaces continue to change.  This little nook is a case in point. 

Super Bowl Spots

I haven't posted in a really long time.  I'll talk more about that later.  I've missed my little place in space.  


While watching the Super Bowl,  I spotted a house I knew in one of the commercials.  My husband had photographed it when scouting for one of his jobs. I can't remember who the ad was for but I remember Megan Fox in a bathtub.  I recognized the kitchen with its great wall tiles, beautiful cabinets and great tin containers.  I'm not the only one who thinks the containers are fabulous.  Obviously the production designer, director and agency thought they were cool because they to were in the commercial.  


Here's a few pics of this fab house.

It's beginning to look alot like...

....Christmas.  I totally forgot my mother sent us Christmas dishes, place mats, mugs and dish towels last year!  Hubby got into the spirit of the holidays first by pulling them out the first day of December.  I had to call her, thank her and then apologize. I remember yelling at her for sending me more "junk" that I'd have to store.  I'm glad she did and I'm glad she can put up with her bratty daughter.  


The set if from Crate & Barrel...where she works. 

Kitchen

I'm starting a list of the things we want to change in the house. Lets start with the kitchen. I love its length and counter space. I love all the cabinets...for space but not their design. I love the light in here, especially in the mornings.

So, here is what I'd like to change:

1. Get new light fixture
   
2. Change the facade of the cabinets and drawers and replace hardware.
   
3. Change granite counter top. I can't see any of the spills on here because of all the damn variances in color. It's also just too busy.
   
4. Change out the faucet.
   
5. Get a fridge, washer and dryer.
   
6. New oven and over head vent which doesn't work. The vent also allows so much hot and cold air to come inside. It's wasteful.
   
7. Get AC vents to come into the kitchen. The previous owners did a redo and pulled out the soffit in the living room which had the air ducts on top of it. Without a soffit there is no vent.
   
8. The dish washer will eventually need to be replaced. It does a "fair" job.
9. Dividing door between laundry and kitchen needs to be done differently. The space could be used better and the door should be stylier.
10. If we should ever do a total redo I'd like the kitchen cabinets to go higher on the side where the fridge should go. Amazingly enough, I could use more storage space.

Some things like the washer, dryer, fridge are essential but the others I'm not sure how soon we can afford to do all this. Also there are big projects that need to be done in the house. For starters, the electrical needs immediate attention. Keeping the entire house from short circuiting and starting a fire is always a good place to begin.