Martinelli Centerpiece

What do a few bottles of a Martinelli's and some dried up flowers your husband gave you equal? The trash, right?

That's where they were all headed until I looked at my dining table *sigh* I don't think I had changed the center piece since we moved in (its only been a few months....a long few months). So...Instead of the trash, they now equal my new centerpiece!



Yep, you heard me right. Martinelli's center piece.

I just removed the label, got to scrubbing off the glue with Glue-Gone stuff, got a hand cramp, and yet another hand cramp. And.eventually. they finally turned out beautiful. I just love the way the light filters through the green~

I'll eventually get to painting that poor beige wall :( But I don't know what color, any suggestions?

I just can't wait to put some pumpkins in the middle :) I Heart Fall.

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Old Spaghetti Jars

I got this great idea last month to transform throw away glass jars back into treasures. I kept my husband from throwing away these spaghetti jars. He thought I was a crazy, and maybe I am a little bit, but at least I get results :) Here's what they ended up looking like:


Here they are with their former-counterparts-soon-to-be-transformed-to-coconut-and-sugar-holders-after-tomorrows-dinner:


The thing what took the longest was to get the glue from the label off. I scrubbed at it with Goo-be-Gone, then I spraypainted the lids brown and hot glued some ribbon around the jar. I used my cricut to cut some tags, added a little flower and hot glued the tag to the ribbon. I think this took me about 5 minutes to do (not including the label, that took so long I lost track, I recommend using the Prego spaghetti jars if you want to do this project, that label is a cinch to get off). I am too impatient to print the tag, instead I just scrawled it down by hand (this probably saved me like half an hour considering my printer is nowhere accessible).
I like it so much, I think all my spices, flours, sugars, and oils (yes, even oils) in my cabinet need to watch out. I am a little crazy and I may just go overboard :)

I didn't have a problem with the smell from the spaghetti  sauce, but if you do have a problem, just put some newspaper in the jar for a little bit. This works with my tupperware; you'll probably get the same results with the jars :)

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What to do, what to do

When we first moved in to our house, there were no appliances, not even a stinkin' stove. We pretty much had to eat out everyday for the first two weeks until we got all our appliances in. Here's what it looked like before, bare bones and all:

Luckily, we were able to find the perfect appliances. My husband wanted stainless steel, but I thought that black appliances would go great with the granite (I'm still happy with my choice, I love our kitchen!):

A few friends have wanted to steal my ideas (I don't call it stealing, I call it a compliment) about what to put on the kitchen counter. So, here's what I have on them today.

Don't you hate it when you're cooking and following a recipe and all of a sudden your cookbook closes, you lose your place, and you try to open it back up with all the gunk on your fingers? As much as I love this part of my day, I figured there had to be a solution. So, I went shopping in my house and found a great easel that I got from TaiPan (a wholesale decorating store. I think I bought it for like $5) and Voila! My solution. It holds the cookbook open and looks awesome. I like it so much, I keep it opened all the time!

Then I had to find a solution for my coffee maker/station. I absolutely hate having to go through the cupboards in the wee morning hours to find the stuff to make my coffee. I need the coffee to be coherent enough to find the things in the first place. So, I made a little tray, put my coffee maker on it, found a real cute vase/pot at TaiPan ($4!!) and put all my sugar, cream, filters, coffee grounds and whatever else in it. Then I decorated it up a little with some cute greenery and it pretty much saved my life. This thing is great. I just pull it out in the morning and everything is there in one place. I love it!

So, I love cake stands, but who really has the time everyday to make a cake and display it? And I just thought mine was way too pretty to hide away in storage, so I decided to make a stand for my sugar and flours. I also gave it a little backdrop with a tray I made; it fits perfect in the corner (it also hides all the power plugs.)

And depending upon the day and time, this little guy here is sometimes a counter item. In fact, the last time there was a cake on the stand above he was a counter item (naughty mutt). Somehow he got on the counter and ate all of my husbands birthday cake. He did such a good job at it though, it didn't even look like he was up there. Nothing was broken or tipped over, just an empty cake stand. But how can you get mad at such a cute face?

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