25 Days of Christmas ~ The Holiday Kitchen

My kitchen and I have a lot in common, we both clean up pretty nice but we don't always look like this.  Knowing that the lens sees all, I gave it a little extra elbow grease setting up for this session:>) I should tell you this is a "before" photo.  We remodeled this kitchen 20+ years ago and January will be the kick off of the remodel for this room.  It has served us well, it's produced a lot of meals and been the center of many happy family gatherings, but the old girl needs a little work.

I mentioned a couple months ago that Earl was going to,that very day, order the new counter tops from Ikea...well, Ikea changed suppliers and one of the sizes we really needed is out of stock. Indefinitely.

Back to square one. In the meantime, this is where all that holiday baking has been happening, and with the Christmas music playing and the sun streaming through the windows, it's still a warm and homey place to be. So lets get started!

In November I whipped up some white valences from muslin that I had laying around and decided they were way too plain, no time before Christmas to make something else so I added some cute red and white banners for a touch of color. As soon as the remodel is done I will want something else anyway, but these are fresh and crisp in the meantime.

The live rosemary Christmas tree came from Whole Foods. I stepped in the door where they were displayed and the scent of those trees was so fragrant I had to have one. Since then I have thought of  enough ways to use fresh rosemary that I fear the little tree will be denuded before Spring. No ornaments, they would impede my snipping off tips for cooking!

 This is the view from the dining room. It's one big open space, so many times for parties or family get togethers, people sit in the dining room or belly up to the peninsula counter top and hang out while we cook. You can see the Bakery sign I made and, yes, the boots that are necessary this time of year in Michigan.

If I were a home blogger I would stuff the boots with greenery as if that is the way our boots always look and we don't need them. We need them, and I'm too lazy to cut the branches, stuff them, take the pictures and then haul them back out to the woods. Imagine pretty branches in the boots, and while you are at it, imagine red ribbons tied around the top ;>)  Nice.

The Christmas Aprons hang from a mosaic heart that I got from my sweet friend,

Penny at The Comforts of Home.  One of these days, I plan to show you how many things in my home  have been sent by my blogging friends. I think of them in every room as I see the things they have sent.

 Victoria found this Amaryllis bulb at Home Depot while she was shopping there around Thanksgiving and brought it home for me. Sweet daughter:>)  As you can see, it has co-operated nicely and has two blooms flowering now and another two that will open later. I love the color of this!  The plate holder is where I always keep the fresh fruit. It stores a lot without taking up a lot of space. 

 The apples bring a spot of pretty color into the kitchen.

 And here is a close up of the Amaryllis. Gorgeous!

 At the end of the kitchen island is the fridge and some shelves that hold a lot of necessities and some festive little touches. This is an area that used to have built in shelves when we moved in so long ago. They were the only cupboard space we had! The basket on the middle shelf holds the weeks grocery ads, my address book, and lots of little sundries that I need on a regular basis but that I don't want to have laying around junking up the place. I love baskets for storage! The basket below it holds potatoes and onions.

 This shelf is built into the wall next to the fridge.  It is actually a little bump out over the basement stairs, we could close it up, but it's a great place to keep the cookbooks and to showcase a few little holiday touches.

 I found these little guys at the dollar tree. For three bucks they add a touch of whimsy and hold cedar branches that I snipped from outside.

And that is the tour! I'm looking forward to the new year, and a little face lift for this area, but for now it's just fine, and I am pretty sure in no time at all, the counter tops will be filled with more baking supplies:>)

But that is the best decoration for a kitchen isn't it?