Welcome baby!

Surprise! Some of you have noticed it has been really quite around here, and for good reason.  In late January, our beautiful daughter was born, and she became part of our family through the miracle of adoption just three days later. 

It has been a whirlwind as she was born in a different part of the country than where we live.  We were gone for nearly 3 weeks!  But, we are home now, and settling in.

I am not sure how frequently I’ll be posting new recipes, but I do have some that I can’t wait to share with you. 

We also filled our freezer with a freezer cooking day, and I’m learning quite a bit about making healthy, easy meals with one hand ;-)  I hope to share what I’ve learned with you as well. 

Thanks for your patience as we get settled in.  We are so in love. 

4 Years.

You’re my other half.
My best friend.

You brighten my day.
You make me giggle.
You melt my heart.

 

I thank God that He brought us together.
I thank God that He made you just as He did.
I thank God that you care for and love me just as I need.

I thank God that we’ve been blessed to celebrate 4 years together on this day! 

Now… let’s enjoy some cake!

1000 - a special day!

Today was a special day here for Frog Prince and I ... we hit 1000 followers!  Never, ever, ever did I imagine or expect this to happen on our blog.  

This just amazes me.  All Frog Prince and I do is share recipes that are simple and easy and nothing out of the ordinary.  It amazes me that so many of you are Finding Joy in Your Kitchens too.    

And, I wanted to say, "Thank You!"

Thank you for reading this blog day in and day out.

Thank you for being bold enough to try these recipes in your kitchen.

Thank you for sharing your recipes with me.

Thank you for commenting - you always make my day.

Thank you for letting me know how you liked {or didn't like} a recipe you tried.

Thank you for tweaking recipes to your tastes.

Thank you for asking questions. 

Thank you for being a special part of our kitchen!

Our Kitchen Tour

Well, fellow cooks -- I can't tell you how excited I am to share our renovated kitchen with you today!

During our first year of marriage, we took a Dave Ramsey course.  After that, we started planing and saving so that when we were in a position to buy a house we'd have some money saved up to do some updating.  We fell in love with our house, and saw great potential in the kitchen.  In August, we moved into our first home - a big change from our tiny apartment kitchen.

Although we loved the space in the kitchen, there were a few things we wanted to change:

First - the cabinets.

Laminate front, dark and um, not the most pretty looking. Since we spend so much time in the kitchen, we wanted something light, airy and fresh.

We painted the cabinets a Delicate Lace, painted two accent walls blue and later added some hardware.

Second - the corner cabinet

The access into the corner cabinet (just to the left of the stove) was painful.  Since we planned to replace the counter top, we got my dad's help to swap in a lazy susan!

Third - the counters {and sink}

Sea foam green, although a pretty color, is not our color.  The old laminate counter tops had to go.  We decided on a solid surface countertop - and we LOVE it.

  

We went with a double sink, with one side larger than the other.  It's amazing.  That thing can hold so many dishes, and even fit in our biggest pots and pans.

It's also seamless -- which makes clean up a breeze.

Fourth - the back splash

We wanted tile, and found a beautiful one at Lowe's -- for, get this - ~20 cents a tile.  

That gave us a few extra dollars to apply to our new faucet {which we purchased with garage sale money!}

Fifth - open the kitchen up

We love the layout and flow of our home, but the kitchen was entirely closed off from the rest of the house.  

This is a view from the dining room to the kitchen.  See that tiny door?  That was the only "openness".  

We decided to transform this space into an eat-in kitchen.  My dad built us a cabinet with amazing storage space, and then we put counter top over the cabinet with extra hanging over into the dining room for an eat-in-kitchen, island kind of thing.  

That, is my favorite part of the kitchen, friends.  It's amazing.  The openness is wonderful and allows for fluid conversation and for people to "hang out" near/in the kitchen.  

So, here's the grand finale -- 

And, a side-by-side comparison

{it's fun to see the transformation right next to each other}

Thanks for sharing in our excitement!  In the coming weeks, I'll give you a overview of what's in the kitchen - to kind of show you around a bit.  And, I'll be updating our "In My Kitchen" page to include these new photos and a tour!  

This post is linked to Metamorphosis Monday, Take a Look Tuesday, Strut Your Stuff, Show Off Your Stuff, Transformation Thursday, Hooking Up with HoH, Show and Tell, I'm Loving It, February Before and After Party, Amaze Me Monday, Parade of Homes. Show us Your Kitchens

Reality Check.

Just because I like to keep things real around here...I share with you exhibit A.



Yes, that's a burned carrot.

Exhibit A created Exhibit B.



:(

Due to one absent-minded (almost) professor.... who didn't keep an eye on her boiling carrots.

I tried to salvage the carrots; but they tasted like a campfire. Thus, I didn't think they'd go well a new carrot dip I'm was planning to try.

Now, I need your help.

How do I clean this up!?!?!



I've tried boiling soap and water in the pan, but have had no luck. It's basically burned on water (not carrots -- those came out in one piece).

It's a non-stick pan, so I don't want to just scrub it out. Any tips?



~Your absent-minded chef.

It makes my morning....

 when I find twins in my eggs!



Has this ever happened to you?!

When making muffins, this little surprise made me smile.

Where does she do all this cooking?

Following up on an earlier post about my kitchen essentials, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to my very first kitchen.

Welcome.

This is where we cooked all our meals for the first three years of our marriage.

Yep, it fits within one camera view range. My grandma made the rug. :) And the closet door leads to a HUGE pantry (one of the big perks of this tiny kitchen).

Turning to the left, you see a little bit of counter space, our sink (pardon the breakfast dishes), the microwave (with a little bit of our tea collection on the top), and our "breakfast" bar -- which is where my computer sits most often while cooking.

Here's a view from the pantry...

On the other side of the kitchen, we have or stove and another small fraction of counter space.

Again, looking from the pantry...

And, folks. That's it.

There are two things that I've learned in this kitchen:

1) What I would love to have in the next one!

and,

2) You can still cook from scratch and cook healthy meals for your family from a tiny space :) Plus, when Frog Prince and I both cook together, we get to enjoy some quality togetherness in our cozy kitchen.

Hope you enjoyed the look around!

Want to know what's in my kitchen ... check out my post on kitchen essentials.