Friday, March 28, 2008

More food and kitchen ponderings

The yellow pantry was my mother-in-laws.
She had it in the basement storing laundry items!

I had to stop by the grocery store this morning for just a few items. Since next week will include a "stock up" day, I didn't need a lot. Still... I decided to wander through the store a bit and see if there were any items on sale which I will need soon. The prices continue to shock me and I am very happy for those lean years when I had almost nothing to spend on groceries. Skills which are being used again...

I'm not only having to stretch the grocery money even more but I have once again started to deepen the pantry. I'll share some of those experiences and lessons off and on. One thing we've already done is to make a return to "cheaper" coffee and to use 2% milk instead of real cream. I expect that is better for our health, anyway.

I'm "tweaking" my stock up list this afternoon. It's basically like our "priority spending" list. I'll decide two or three items to add to my regular grocery shopping list next week and then mark the date with a permanent marker and store them in a safe place. Once I have the number of items I want to have on hand, I'll start rotating... continuing to mark the date when purchased but placing the newly purchased item in the back and opening the "oldest" one on the shelf.

I thought you might like a few pictures from my kitchen. These are repeats for you all that have been reading for awhile. These were not taken all at once so there are a few changes. Hmmm... reminds me of one of those "which of these pictures are not like the other" puzzles! :)

I love the vintage yellow cart. It had some minor pieces missing when I bought it at Goodwill. My husband had the correct size of nuts and bolts in the garage and was able to fix it quite fast.

The red bookcase was beside my husband's bed in his childhood bedroom. The bread machine and the bread box are both white but they have "coordinating" Susan Branch scrapbooking stickers.... so cute.

What can I say about the stove? It still works. It came with the house so I don't owe any money for it. I can call it an antique... or at least vintage. It was probably brand new the same decade I was married. Like I said... it works.

Kitchen still life... a very good thing.

15 comments:

nanatrish said...

It looks so comfy and sweet. I can almost smell the aroma left in the air from some delicious meal. I always enjoy your blog and it just keeps getting better and better. Will we ever get to see a current picture of you? I feel like I know you. Thanks. Trish

Peggy said...

I followed a link from MOney saving Mom to your blog. Your home is lovely! l love all the tea stuff - I will share it with my tea-loving friend!
How many children do you have? And you homeschool? We do too.
I've enjoyed "stopping by" your blog!

Anonymous said...

I love the look of your kitchen, Brenda.

Carrot Top said...

Your kitchen does look homey. I bet it's one of the family gathering places.

Since your stove works, couldn't you up-date it with some spray paint? One of these times when DH is traveling he's going to come home to a "new" refrigerator because I aim to enlist the kids help, take it to the backyard and give it a new color!

Vee said...

That yellow pantry is great. I see that you might have a thing for yellow, too.

Good suggestions...I'm going to begin stocking up on basics myself. Noting date of purchase is an excellent thing to do.

Tabitha Ashley said...

Love your blog!! Your kitchen is great...vintage, but fresh. Love it!!

Susan said...

Your kitchen is so organized!
Charming! Your stove would go with a set of brown drip dishes I have!
Very retro!

Anita said...

Thanks for inviting us into your kitchen and dining room! You are a wonderful hostess! I wish I knew you!

Adrienne said...

Your kitchen looks very inviting. I could feel at home there visiting with you. I love the vintage yellow cart. My mother had a white one in our kitchen when I was young. She kept a roaster oven on the top that often had something scrumptious that filled our home with the most incredible aromas. Thanks for a peek at your kitchen. ~Adrienne~

~Bren~ said...

Oh my goodness!! I love the yellow cart. Well, I love the entire look of your kitchen. You have a gorgeous home!!!

smilnsigh said...

It's so much fun to see you posting home photos again. :-)

And as to changing appliances ~ we don't either, till needed. The kitchen really needed a re-do a few years ago. So we did what was needed. But the appliances stayed the same.

And my husband and one son did the work also. Saved a lot. But made for an interesting summer. They had to do it, after work. And I spent a lot of time with paper plates, etc. Camping out, at home. ,-)

DebD said...

I also have a "vintage" stove. It still works and I'm fine with that. Is that a Holly Hobbie picture? I loved Holly Hobbie as a child.

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

No, but it does have that Holly Hobby look to it.

A family of boys said...

Oh I just love your kitchen! Actually, all of the pictures of your home are so inviting. I'm a mom of all boys here and blog watching is one way to stay in touch with the girlie side of me.

Anonymous said...

Brenda your kitchen looks so welcoming and comfy! It's so nice to see pictures of your home. I too mark my items by date of purchase and rotate then. Next week I'm going to do a post about my pantry. I'm really shocked with the prices in the grocery stores. Even some of the generic items have gone up 20-30 cents!

Manuela

Manuela