Homemaker Monday: To Design a Kitchen - Part Five

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Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs. (By the way, if you have been featured on Homemaker Monday in the past, your name is on my left sidebar. Check it out!)

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to Sweet Pea over at "The Newlyweds"! (I think her screen name is Sweet Pea. I couldn't be sure, though, so Sweet Pea, correct me if I'm wrong!) Sweet Pea has linked up here at Homemaker Monday for several weeks now and she always posts great-looking recipes! One of her posts even inspired me to plan a whole family home evening around making cakes in mugs and blogging it. (That post is HERE.) Last week she tutored her readers on how to make broccoli and cheese, one of my favorite ways to eat vegetables! The kids, too! Take a look at this delightful dish...


Looks awesome, right? This will definitely be making an appearance on my table soon. For her entire post, click HERE. Thanks, Sweet Pea, for all of your delicious posts and please feel free to take the "I Was Featured" button on my left sidebar if you like!

MINE: Work Center - The Island: In the 14 homes in which I've resided over the past 20 years as a homemaker, only one of them had an island. When my first husband and I first saw that our new military housing kitchen would have one, I was so excited, gushing and bubbling over my newfound counter space. His response: "It'll just be a place where you collect all your junk." I was hurt and pouted 'til he apologized, but in reality, I knew he was right. But he wouldn't be right this time! I would PROVE him wrong! And I did. I made a cute runner to lay across the length of it and purchased a pretty fruit bowl for the center and prove him wrong I did. I made it my life's goal that I would never clutter it up with my junk. That's when my love affair with kitchen islands began. I promised myself that if ever I designed a kitchen, it would certainly have an island. Some how, some way, I got my wish...


I wanted my island to be special. I wanted it to stand apart from the rest of the kitchen. I designed the perimeter of the kitchen in sort of a country restaurant industrial fashion, what with the commercial faucets, the stainless steel double ovens and dishwashers, the ice machine and the open cabinets. But the island would be different. It would be the focal point of the kitchen and this is how I would do it...

1. It would be green. My idea was to have it painted in a distressed fashion, but John convinced me that if we stained it, it would still tout the color I wanted, but the beautiful grain of the hickory would show. He was right and I'm so glad we did it that way...


2. Rather than stainless steel or rustic black hardware, as in the perimeter of the kitchen, the island's hardware would be copper or copper colored. I knew this would be lovely against the green, just as a redhead looks perfect in an emerald sweater. The crown jewel, so to speak, is the 33" x 9" authentic Mexican copper sink. We were able to find an antique copper finish faucet to complete the look, in addition to copper cup pulls and knobs...The carpenter and the granite man (my awesome brother-in-law) did an excellent job!


3. We would tie in themes from other parts of the kitchen, like this tile, which also borders the range hood...


4. There would be an 7' x 3.5' slab or "copper canyon" granite on the bottom level...


...and slate and copper tiles on the upper level...


5. A huge pot rack would hang over the island. To make the rack, we purchased two cheap pot racks with attached lighting on Ebay, sautered them together and painted them black. We then had our wrought iron guy fashion a beautiful hanger to connect the pot rack to the chains that attach to the ceiling. Our wrought iron guy is another genius with whom we've had the pleasure of working.


6. Our island would have unique, interesting bar stools, seven to be exact...


....Ah, but there are only four, you say. Here's a funny story about those bar stools. Although they may seem sturdy, apparently there is a defect in the way they are manufactured in that with very little use, the tops simply snap off the bottoms. It's very inconvenient and disturbing. We have even had to come up with a bar stool grave yard under the stairs...


We can only hope that our wrought iron guy can find a way to fix them permanently so that this travesty will not occur again. He IS a genius, so I think he can do it.

7. Our island would have lots of drawers on the sides and front for miscellaneous belongings, like Reynold's wrap, funnels, dish towels, and lunch bags...


8. Finally, on our island would sit a beautiful fruit bowl (courtesy of my mother) just like my very first island...



And there you have it. The island! Stay tuned next week for the sixth and final kitchen kitchen post in a series featuring the office and drink center!

(If you missed any of the previous "To Design a Kitchen" installments, click below!)
To Design a Kitchen - Part One
To Design a Kitchen - Part Two
To Design a Kitchen - Part Three
To Design a Kitchen - Part Four

OURS: All righty then, let's see what all of you Happy Holiday Homemakers have for us today. Dig in your archives or create a new post today, whichever you prefer, just share your talents, ideas, tips or how-to's! Thank you so much for joining us and we'll see you next Homemaker Monday!



P.S. If you don't see Mr. Linky, I believe it's because the Mr. Linky site is having technical difficulties. :( It should be back up soon.

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Thanksgiving Tablescapes for 32

My wildest fantasy has come true. I served dinner for 32 in my new home for Thanksgiving using the dishes I'd been collecting over the years for just such an occasion. It was hard work, but my mom, sister, husband, the kids and I rallied together and we pulled it off. Here are the tablescapes, just in case you care...

This is a set of dishes from Guadalajara my mother-in-law gave me. They are perfect in my hacienda-style home...


...and a close-up...


Next we have a set of dishes my mother gave me a few years ago. I love how she chose burgundy and blue instead of just one color. The centerpiece was purchased for me by my husband in Juarez, Mexico. I love it...


This set was purchased for me by my husband for mother's day a couple of years ago. Again, the chile motif goes so well in our home...


These are my grandfather's dishes in combination with the Guadalajara cups, along with place mats purchased on sale at Steinmart...


And finally, the kids under eight table. We used miniature park benches and the coffee table. Their plates or napkins haven't been set yet in the photo, but because they are under 8 years of age, they had to use paper...


So there you have it. If you took pictures of your Thanksgiving tablescapes, let me know. I would love to drop by and take a look. I hope you all had a wonderful day and that we can all remember to have a thankful heart every day.

I am pleased to list this post @...
Kelli's "Show and Tell Friday",
The Barefoot Mama's "Feminine Friday",
Between Naps on the Porch's "Tablescape Tuesday",
Cielo's "Hopeful Friday",
Biblical Womanhood's "Frugal Friday",
Canada Girl's "Friday Show and Tell",
and...


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

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How to Cure Hiccups...

I love being in the presense of old people. There is such a wealth of knowledge they can impart that cannot be partaken of in any other way. Below is a photo of my 95-year-old grandma...


I know I posted this photo a few days ago, but I wanted to make sure you didn't forget her face as I would like to share some of her wisdom here today. What she taught me has changed my life and the lives if those around me.

My grandmother taught me how to cure a case of the hiccups. Here's how...

Step 1: Fill a glass with water.
Step 2: Pinch your nose with your thumb and forefinger.
Step 3: Drink the entire glass of water while pinching your nose.

I know there are a lot of wive's tales out there on how to cure hiccups and I'm sure I've tried them all, but this remedy has never....ever....failed to work for me and my children. Try it and let me know what happens. Best of luck!

I am pleased to list this post @...
Shannon's "Works For Me Wednesday."

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Wordless Wednesday: A Snapshot of Our Family Dinner

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5 Minutes for Mom's Wordless Wednesday
and
Wordless Wednesday dot com.

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Hermano Juan's Easy Pinto Bean Soup

He was a tall and handsome missionary in Mexico City in 1977. That's when the locals first started calling him Hermano Juan (Brother John). Twenty-seven years later, he would meet a widow with six children, marry her two months later, and before they'd been married three years, he would have three more children, including a set of twins, with his new bride.


He is my friend. He is my lover. He is my husband of three and half years and he makes me whole. He also makes a really mean pot of easy pinto bean soup. Here's how...

Ingredients:
6 cups pinto beans
12 cups chicken stock
4 cans diced tomatoes with the liquid
2 cans diced green chile with the liquid
1 can tomato soup
1 large onion
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

(Instead of the chicken stock and tomato soup above, Hermano Juan actually uses chicken and tomato boullion, but I have substituted the real stock here to avoid the use of MSG.)

Step 1: Pour all ingredients in a stock pot. Stir.
Step 2: Bring to boil, then turn down to simmer and cover.
Step 3: Cook for four hours or until beans are tender. If you'd like, garnish with cilantro and fresh avocado and serve with tortillas or chips.


See? Easy! Thank you, Hermano Juan, for your bean soup and for all of the other millions of things you do for your family. WE LOVE YOU!


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Homemaker Monday: To Design a Kitchen - Part Four

Welcome to...

Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs. (By the way, if you have been featured on Homemaker Monday in the past, your name is on my left sidebar. Check it out!)

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" was posted by Kathryn over at The Kahumoku Ohana. She shows us, step-by-scrumptious-step, how to make lasagna...


This is making my mouth water just looking at it! She has some great ideas on how to make the process go faster and easier. Now that's my kind of recipe! Thank you so much, Kathryn, for joining us here on Homemaker Monday and please feel free to grab the "I was Featured" button on my left sidebar. For Kathryn's entire lasagna post, Click HERE. We'll look forward to visiting your blog often for some more great tips!

MINE: Part Four - The Food Storage Centers: The food storage for our family is located in three places throughout our home. Long term storage, such as wheat (which can be stored for 30 years or more), is kept in the basement. Bulk food storage, such a canned goods, paper towels, condiments, etc. is stored in a small room off of our kitchen. Everyday items, such as cereal, cooking oil, snack foods and peanut butter are stored in our kitchen right next to the fridge. Here's the set up...



This area was something I had a little trouble with and we didn't get it resolved until near the end of the planning process. I wanted a counter-depth fridge to give our kitchen a more custom, built-in look. I really didn't like the idea of having that stainless steel behemoth sticking out over a foot from our granite countertops, taking attention away from the design along that whole wall. John humored me and we went shopping. There were many counter-depth, stainless steel refrigerators at reasonable prices, but there was a down side. These counter-depth refrigerators were up to four cubic feet smaller than their full-size counterparts.

I begged John and reasoned with him that it would be okay, that we would just have to organize more carefully and we could just keep the extra stuff in our second fridge in the food storage room. He tried to talk me out of it, but I wouldn't listen. In this case, form would proceed function!

Then it happened. John performed the magic that he always does and fixed the problem. We could purchase the full-size fridge and have the cabinets custom-made to fit around the fridge. Our design would have all the glamour of the built-in, with the larger size our family needed. Have I mentioned before that my husband is a genius? Well he is... a genius...

The first thing we did was to have the carpenter make a two-inch wide, three-foot depth support on the left side of the fridge to support the upper cabinets...



He did an absolutely beautiful job of the hickory paneling.

Next, we asked him to build a 3' x 8.5' (3' depth) cabinet on the right side of the fridge, with a 2.5' x 3' (again, 3' depth) connecting the left support and right cabinets. Here is the side view of the cabinet on the right of the fridge...




We decided to use the back one foot space as a broom closet (as shown in the second photo above). Having cabinets 3' deep would have made it too difficult to access our food storage. We did, however, choose to leave the 3' depth in the overhead cabinets, as this makes perfect space to store tons of boxes of cereal from Costco. Seasonal and rarely used items can be stored above the fridge.

Here's how the pantry looks in use...


My favorite part about this pantry is the hinged shelf. Check it out...


My carpenter is amazing!

All righty then, that's it for now on my food storage. Next week we'll talk about the island!

If you missed any of the previous "To Design a Kitchen" installments, click below!
To Design a Kitchen - Part One
To Design a Kitchen - Part Two
To Design a Kitchen - Part Three

OURS: Okay, now it's your turn! Search your archives or write a new post especially for today and link up! If you have something holiday-y, we would LOVE to check it out. Thanks for coming today and have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!




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Rosemary, My Love

Something I wish I had more time to do is to garden. During the summer, John and I would spend any spare moment we had combing through the warm, humid nurseries here in Mexico looking for the week's new deliveries. We usually left with something that excited us in some way, like a hot pink geranium or a miniature Japanese orange tree.


One of my favorite groups of plants to linger over are the herbs. I love to snap off a leaf and rub in on the inside of my palms and just walk around smelling my hands. I'm sure I look like a freak, but I already do with 9 kids anyway, so it is worth it. One of my favorite herbs to sniff is rosemary. Here is a pot I have that I started this summer...


Not only does is smell fresh and clean, it's taste is divine. It is easy to grow, just give it lots of sunlight and snip it off when you want to add a touch of gourmet to your meals. Here's how I harvest rosemary.

After I snip off a piece of the plant with scissors like this...


...I start at the top of the woody stem and just run my fingers firmly down the length to the end, like this...


Most of the rosemary leaves come off easily this way, then I pull off the leaves all the way at the top, chop them up and add them to my recipes...


Stick around as I will be posting a rosemary chicken recipe soon. What herbs do you love? I would really like to know...

I am pleased to list this post @
Kelli's "Show and Tell Friday",
The Barefoot Mama's "Feminine Friday",
Biblical Womanhood's "Frugal Friday",
Canada Girl's "Friday Show and Tell",
and...


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

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Gratitude with Pictures

I am thankful...

...that the six-year-old girl thoroughly enjoys spending her time organizing drawers, like this...

...that in my years of traveling, I have somehow acquired suitcases in varying shades of pink...

...that my husband took us deep sea fishing this summer (and that the 16-year-old boy is really good at holding babies)...

...that my daughters have taught themselves the guitar...
...that toy manufacturers are coming up with cooler and cooler toys with each kid I have...

...that my hair, instead of looking like this,...

...now looks like this...

...that my daughter has a strong sense of individuality and isn't afraid to show it!

...when my kids work...

...that my grandma has made it to the ripe old age of 95. Go Grandma! I mean, no, don't go...stay! I mean....WAY to go, Grandma! Yeah!

...for baby helpers and toothless baby smiles...

...that I happened to be standing there when THIS happened and that I happened to have a camera two feet away from me...

...that my kids are sometimes friends...

...that I have NINE of them! (Oh, and that my mom introduced me to scrapblog.com, the place I go to make bloggy buttons like this one...)


What are you grateful for this week? I would really like to know...

I am pleased to list this post @...

Grace Alone's...



Thursday Thirteen dot com,
Rose-Colored Glasses' "Thankful Thursday",
Jayelee's "Thursday Thirteen"
and...



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