My Little Red Kitchen Pt 1

I decided to share the little details of the heart of my Little Red Home... my kitchen! I just love taking a peek at the insides of peoples homes so I know you all will enjoy! Most of my days are spent here cooking, drinking coffee, schooling the kids and puttering away. All pictures can be clicked to enlarge. This picture is my main counter. On it, I do most of my prep work. Today, I have a rotisserie chicken that I will pluck and make chicken salad from. Then I will turn the leftovers into homemade stock=) Yum! My beloved coffee pot is also near me. It usually contains leftover coffee from my last brew... when its not full of fresh brew!! My kids made peanut butter cookies and they reside to the left in a Christmas tin (they insisted) and my newly purchased bananas are waiting next to the kids vitamins. A constant reminder that both must be eaten daily.

Back in 2006 hubby insisted that we buy new cookware. Ours was OLD and falling apart and frankly, they did not hold enough food. I was pregnant with #4 and lived very close to family... most nights we never knew who or how many extra people we would be feeding. We wandered into The Le Creuset store and walked out with 3 HUGE enameled cast iron pots and pans and were $450 lighter. Most people will never understand why we dropped that much on cookware and those that tell us that #1) never cooked for a larger crew daily and #2 never used Le Creuset cookware. We did buy the color of the month and received a 20% discount! It was the best kitchen purchase ever made (besides Joe... more on Joe later...) Both pots were bought in the biggest size possible (for family expansion) and I use both almost daily. The one on the left is called the brasier and I use it EVERY day. It hold the dozen+ scrambled eggs I need for breakfast and boils my 4 lbs of red new potatoes in chicken stock that I need with dinner and sautes all veggies to perfection! Its always dirty and filled with my latest kitchen creations. We outgrew the normal skillet 2 kids ago and this beauty is perfect!

My other beauty is in the oven ( its hiding place) its the 13 1/4 quart French oven in red!!! Perfect for my yummy SUnday Sauces that I make, my soups and my spanish beans. Most families of 4 or 5 would get the much smaller oven, but for us the bigger the better. This is the pot I will use for family dinners, for feeding my children-in law and my grandbabies... a very full home!

We also have an awesome stockpot which is put away. Jason wanted the really big one. I refused, stating "we will never need something that big..." well, its too small for us now and it collects dust. I eat my words whenever I try and use it.

The last most loved piece in my home is my black skillet which is right under my Brasier. We have since outgrown it but I still use it to fry 5-6 eggs at a time and try to squeeze at least 9 pancakes on it. I have seen bigger ones in magazines... one will soon be ours...
Ahhh, theres Joe. See him??? Look closely.... now can you see him?? We LOVE our Joe and you can read all about him HERE! This corner of my kitchen is not used wisely. Overflow from my pantry sits here, my breads and bag of chips sit here and all mixing and baking are done here. My huge corner lazy susan contains all my baking supplies and Joe sits nearby, so this place automatically got chosen! ( also my dirty pots and pans that I have yet to clean get pushed over here.shhh)
Ok, this view is much much better. My paper products are over here ( um, I ran out...oopps) along with our house phone and some fresh french bread I bought from Costco. It was a double loaf that I bought along with fresh spinach dip... 2 very big loaves... but once I got home and everyone "tasted", this is what was left. I won't even begin to show you what the dip looks like. Sheesh. In the background on my bartop sits my latest (cutest) purchase. A recipe box!!! I found one at Homegoods. Gosh I LOVVEE Homegoods... its red and green and CHERRIES!!! I plan on squeezing 10 minutes out of each day to write some of my recipes down in our new family box (and laminate) so I have a one-stop reference source and my kids will too. Isn't it darling? I will be going to Hobby Lobby soon to buy some embellishments and make it a bit more Gapgirl-y. This new recipe box will also go with that new apron I blogged about HERE. How nice will that be?? Coordination at its finest. I also bought some other organization "tools" (cute of coarse) but thats to be saved for another post coming soon! Anyway, all my prepping for cooking happens right here. That way I can keep an eye on all happenings in the living Room...
Which I overlook while I clean dishes or unload my heavenly dishwasher (who gets quite a workout and needs a vacation!) I have an open floor plan so I can see almost my whole downstairs from my sink. I really love the open floor plan. I watch House Hunters alot and most people put OFP on their list of must haves. From experience, I can also tell you most that request this DO NOT have 5 children. As convenient as this may be, the noise volume can be very very high. The luxury of watching TV while I cook fizzles away when all I can do is read lips because of all the buzz in the home. . We have surround sound wiring and I have been asking hubby to price some speakers so my days of squinting and lip reading can end!! But 99% of the time I do love it. fights and squabbles can be fixed as I clean and wash. The bartop has 2 stools (ugly) which we will be upgrading shortly(and adding 2-3 more and get used more than any other seat in the home. We upgraded and got the extended top so we can eat on it and have plenty of room for whatever it is we are doing. My kids and houseguests always find their way on my stool. They chat, watch me clean and have the first taste of whatever it is im cooking! I will never ever get another kitchen unless it has a feature like this! Its just a must!!! I can also see thru to my 2 story foyer (which needs to be painted a different color!!!) and keep an eye on what kid is going up/down and who is coming in and out of my home. A powder room is tucked off of the foyer along with my laundry room and a hall closet!!!
There she is, the beating heart of this home. The place where we gather and where most decisions are made. We have lived here only 2 short years and already we have so many memories of wonderful moments taking place right here... countless, priceless moments. We have had housefuls of friends and family.

Our Master Suite ( yes, it is a suite!) is located right to the left. Not far off the living space. The rest of the bedrooms (and our 3rd bathroom) is upstairs. I don't mind being here, my room is slowly getting decorated. I have a great view from my bed to our Little backyard. I lay in bed and watch our beautiful Yoshino sway. I watch the kids run and play in the yard and am still close to the action. Right thru the kitchen sliding door is our screen porch. Oh how excited we were to get one!!! We have a table and chairs and party lights out there. Many nights have been spent out there as well. The kids do schoolwork in it, the babies play play doh and on those perfect southern evenings, we enjoy our dinners out there as well. One day we will convert that as an extension onto our kitchen. As our family grows, we will need the space, but until then... oh how we will enjoy our little screen porch. We have a patio right outside the porch which in just a few weeks will contain a fire pit. Can you see me jumping around for joy??? I can't wait! The excitement is killing me. I love the smell of fires. Roasting marshmallows and just spending time with my kids, in the dark, letting them share their hearts with us. How perfect!

Once the kids grow older and eventually leave the nest, our home will be worn and tattered. Many homes around me are much bigger and grander than mine. Many contain more rooms and square footage but to me, my little red house has it all. Every time I clean my bathrooms and wipe down my counters, im reminded of the blessings God has given my family. A home like this was beyond any dream I could ever imagine. You might get tired of me chatting about my little red house, but I won't apologize. Im not sorry that I still thank God every day for the blessings He has given me!