Unremarkable Kitchen...Remarkable Memories

Sweet BJ at Sweet Nothings is hosting a Kitchen Party on her blog this week! So many talented and creative bloggers are sharing their kitchens with us or are sharing one they have found that, in their eyes, is glorious. I have so enjoyed seeing these wonderful spaces and wanted to join in. Then, stupidly, I chose NOT to send in my photos because I was sure my kitchen would be deemed quite unremarkable...and yes, that RMS sting still hurts! So, unremarkable as it is, each photo is *clickable* and it will give you a larger image to see. Just don't look too hard for batter spills or cracker crumbs! The tea towels are really used...and are picked up on trips here and abroad. I have so many of them and they make me smile!

I considered removing the refrigerator decor but heck. It is part of our life so here it is. As is!

Good question...what IS for supper?

The sign over the window reads, "Enjoy the Journey" and I think we do! As you can see, a minimalist I am not!

We do not all have large homes or enormous design budgets. I am one of those! But hey. I have a lovely home and am surrounded by the treasures and people I adore. That counts for something right? We have already chosen the flooring and counter tops/tile back splashes that will be added to our kitchen, hopefully, next year. When we bought our home, we chose very neutral colors because we thought we might well have had to move again. When we realized, last year, that we were finally home for good, adding our own personality began...a little here and a tiny bit there. It will all come together someday soon but, until then, this is my kitchen, unremarkable perhaps, cluttered to some, but mine. It will never be featured in a magazine but it is our nest. Our kitchen table has seen it's share of dinners, laughter, hurried breakfasts and tears. Almost every member of my extended family has, over the years, dined at this table. You can see the small indentations from completed homework assignments and a nick here and there from each of our 17 moves. There is even a scorched spot that brings back memories of candlelight dining during our first hurricane. Isn't it wonderful that I love vintage? It was at this table that scores of adoption paperwork was completed and at which Daniel studied for his Senior year finals. It was here I sat after learning that my beloved father had passed away and it was here that we both sat upon learning that we had a daughter waiting for us in China. Yes, I have scores of dishes and glassware, all pretty and of which I am quite fond. I do love to set a sweet table and use the linens and lovely tableware I have. But this is how our kitchen looks on most days...mid afternoon. I have cleaned up from the morning rush and Grace has yet to get home, dragging with her an overstuffed backpack and many papers to check. I am still in the process of aging the walls so don't look TOO HARD! It is a dreary, rainy day so may appear to be a bit gloomy. Of course, odd duck that I am, I adore such days and feel all the more cozy in my little home. Someday soon I will have the brick flooring I crave (Not quite like our pretty Kat's but she WAS my inspiration!) but, until then, our kitchen will continue to be our safe haven. It will still shelter dogs with muddy feet and shedding cats. Young men, and not so young men, will still forget to remove their grass covered shoes after mowing. Watercolor paint will be splattered on the table and pancake syrup will still, somehow, magically find it's way onto the floor and walls. And I will love it all. I will be grateful for it all. Thank you dear, dear BJ for being such a gracious hostess this week! If you have yet to take a peek, please do!