Is it just me, or is there something satisfying about being able to peek into others' lives by seeing what they have in their homes? I for one love to see inside houses and see what makes the inhabitants who they are. Neat? Messy? Readers? Criminals? Loners? Pet owners? So here for your viewing pleasure is a tour of what I think is one of the most telling rooms for a housewife and homesteader - the kitchen. Enjoy your voyeuristic peek into our kitchen, and our lives. You might just learn something new about The Finstads!
Let's picture a clock face, and start at 12 o'clock as you stand in our entry and face into the kitchen. I've always wanted a window over my kitchen sink. I could do without the difficult-to-clean black sink, though! Also note the dishwasher - we never use it. See those super-awesome, amazing, wonderful curtain valances? I made those.
Next, turn to your right to face 3 o'clock. Another window! Not too shabby for a basement apartment. You also get a glimpse of my 'pantry' here. More on that later...
Turn once again, now facing 6 o'clock (OK, our kitchen's small and this shot is at an angle, so it's really more like 5 o'clock). This is our weird stone wall, built using leftover stones from the outside of the house. In front is more storage - baking supplies in the two flank cabinets, and all of our pots, pans, and general cookware in the glass-fronted ones in the middle. On top is our bunch-of-grapes wine rack, ever-trusty KitchenAid mixer, and generally where all of the mail lands.
You can also see a little sliver of our insanely green front door. Don't panic! I assure you that our color choice was intentional! We had just returned from Ireland, and wanted to paint our door a crazy color like they do there, and we thought green would just be oh-so-appropriate. It almost glows.
One more time, with feeling! Turn once more, now facing 9 o'clock. See the other stone wall? Cool. Except when you scrape up against them. Or have to constantly vacuum dust off of them.
So, I hope you enjoyed your tour. Feel free to make a donation on your way out. Wait...what's that? See something you like? OK, here are a few close-ups of my favorite things, and just a few things that make us, us.
The refrigerator. It can say a lot about a person! Especially if I let you see inside. Here you can see our October menu, our running grocery list (another owl), photos, magnets, cards, 'meat maps' and our indoor/outdoor thermometer. Fun stuff, eh?
In this photo, you might see evidence of shows we've attended (note the Belfast DukeBox VIP wristband at the top of the right picture), weddings we have attended or plan to attend (our save-the-date front and center on the freezer and another invite on the fridge front), as well as various cards (including wedding wishes from Duke Special himself), Bible verses (Titus 2), magnets, and photos we love. We have a lot of photos of ourselves around. A little narcissistic, perhaps?
I heart aprons. That is all.
We have no 'formal' pantry, so we make due. Hey, it's what food hoarders in small apartments have to do! We also have a small set of shelves in another room, and two food-grade, gamma seal buckets in my closet. Yes, I said my closet.
I don't know why I like these jars so much. I think because they make me feel sophisticated, like a real adult with a real kitchen or something. Huh...go figure... Oh, the owl? That's Harvey. He's our buddy. So much for being an adult.
Lastly, our fruit basket. I remember the day I found this in Marshall's and yelled to Jean from a few aisles away - 'Oh my gosh! A fruit basket that is shaped like fruit!!!' Please don't judge me by my brown-nanas. I'm making banana bread today.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed your tour! What would I find if I came into YOUR kitchen today?
Our refrigerators are very similar!
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