I had a super wonderful and busy weekend! Saturday, once again, was ALL about football! Grandson #2 had a morning game after which we returned to their house for an afternoon of food, Florida Gator football and reconnecting with some of my son-in-law's family that I hadn't seen in a few years. Then, we were back at the field for a late game. It was kind of fun to be playing a game where the field lights were on but, it meant a very late dinner and a much later than usual evening for me!
Then, on Sunday, my brother and sister-in-law came down for a wonderful visit. It was the first time I have seen them since they returned from their 8 week vacation so there was much catching up to be done! I made them another pot of my go-to soup that has become one of my favorites. It is the Mexican lentil soup recipe from "The Chew" and is super easy but brings a bunch of flavor quickly. I usually just serve it with a salad and a loaf of crusty bread and another new addiction-Irish butter. I actually even had time to set a cute Halloween table but, apparently was so busy talking that I forgot to get any pictures-either day. That must be the sign of me having a really good day.
In any case, we are now less than two weeks away from our family party and then my trip down to St. Pete for the huge "trick-or-treat" celebration so I figured I had better get busy and share the rest of my decor so I can then start getting my ducks in a row for food, shopping, costume, etc.
Let's head into the kitchen today. And, let me start by saying that I still can't believe that I used my baker's rack for photo displays for so many years instead of its intended use-sort of. Having most of my dinner and serving ware so easily accessible makes it so much easier to grab and use and, after all, using it is the reason for purchase-with a little bit of decor display thrown in of course! Lol I do have melamine dinnerware for almost every holiday that I use on a daily basis that I keep in the cupboards. I go to the melamine because since I am using it so often and for basically every meal, there is less chance of breaking or chipping-but, when I set a full table, I still prefer the "real" stuff".
I'm still loving the "palette" art my grand daughter made for me last year while she was visiting my BIL and SIL. I also got to use my pumpkin Dutch oven for soup service. I love that thing-almost as much as I love my jack-o-lantern stock pot that you will see in a minute. I still find it hard to believe that so many of my most unique pieces are from places that no longer make any of these kind of items. I guess the rest of the world is cutting back on holiday craziness-somehow that's one parade I just can't seem to join. Lol
And, as predicted, I caved! I came so close to not to...but, what's a Nana to do? Such a simple request..."please put out the laboratory Nana"...and so I did. I did find that I had sold a number of the jars and bottles that I used to use here but the important items were right where I left them. I really think if I just put out that beaker of eyes, the magnifying glass and the crazy eyed glasses, she would have been fine. The funny thing is that when my friend brought her grand daughter over, she went straight to that vignette, grabbed an eyeball and magnifying glass and put on the glasses! Who knew that so little could make so many happy?! I actually think that now that it is not quite so cluttered, I like it a lot more myself! Maybe no begging will be necessary next year!
Note to self...STOP buying Halloween napkins!! This is seriously only about 1/3 of the number of packages that I have. I buy a lot of them after the holiday when they're really on sale but, at this point, I truly don't think I will live long enough to use them all so I guess then a bargain really isn't a bargain. Ha-ha
And here he is...straight from the Hallmark store many, many years ago!
This old, handmade, wooden carpenter's box kind of serves as a counter top baker's rack. It is full of lots of little needed items (cheese spreaders, coasters, straws, witch's hat bottle cork, salad servers, pumpkin stirrers, Halloween pasta, extra plates, etc.) that I might not use as often if I had to dig in cupboards and drawers to find them. Here they are "grab and go".
So that is pretty much the kitchen. I get excited just thinking about how soon it will be packed with people, dogs and food! So much to do, so little time...and so much more to share. Stay tuned.
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