Kitchen Reveal Day 2010

Today is one of the most fun days on the blog world...


Last year, Penny from LAKE LURE COTTAGE came up with the idea of a kitchen reveal day.  Good, bad, ugly, things we like, things we hate... all would be revealed for the world to see.  A perfect idea for the voyeur in all of us.


BTW, the idea is not too late.  I would love to see what the inside of a NYC apartment kitchen looks like.  Or Chris's outdoor setup (what stays outdoors, how do you transport to the grill, etc.), or fellow retirees that are downsizing their lives.  What do you keep???  Or twin bloggers... how identical are your kitchens?  How about my two favorite Mary's.  A southern kitchen reveal and the best blog I know of deserves a peek into their kitchen.  If you miss Penny's deadline, I am sure if you do it sometime soon, she will add you to the blogroll (use my name, it will get you far).


So, here's a line I haven't used since I was 5 years old in my old playhouse with Sandy Mann...


If I show you mine, will you show me yours???

Like I said, I did the reveal last year as well. (Click HERE).  It is great fun to reread that and see what has changed.


Quite a bit actually.  I went into a bit of detail during hell week, when we had our kitchen torn apart in order to install new granite counter tops. Pain in the arse while it was happening, but I sure do like them now.  We do quite a bit of informal entertaining.  Great place to hang out while I do the finishing touches is the bar.  Convenient to serve as well.

I love my snooty wine bottle holder.

For the life of me, I can not figure out why Jackie thinks this is funny.

And speaking of Jackie... I think the Black Friday shopping trip at 3 AM caught up with her (that or the grand babies' cold).  She wanted to explain that the kitchen is usually cleaner, but due to fever, I was in charge of cleaning.  She is not happy about you all seeing the kitchen without her seal of cleanliness approval.


But, time and kitchen reveal day waits for no man (or wife).

We also got a new deeper sink and a new water faucet (spray attachment included).  I try to keep the left side of the sink clear for prep.  the right side is my appliance area.  I keep my kitchenaid mixer there full time, as well as the coffee pot.  Whenever I need to bring an appliance out (food processor, blender, whatever), there is usually a mess coming.  So it is convenient to do that prep next to the sink.

Electric stove.... sigh


This last year, I only had one fire in the oven.  Down from 2 last year.

Next up is my photo area.  It is a work in progress.  I found a couple of clip on lights that are clamped to the cabinet doors.  I use daylight balanced bulbs so the color is not off.  I point them at the white area that is the bottom of the cabinet for a bounce soft light effect.  Or, at the side for a diffused effect.  I can use different tablecloths or napkins or the granite top as the base.


I try to take photos that would be accepted by Foodgawker or Tastespotter.  I am averaging about one acceptance a week.  If you want to improve your photography, make a commitment to submit every post for a month.  You will be humbled and so mad that you work harder to get better shots.

My current obsession is to get my "rock" cookies listed on one of the sites.  So I have done several different setups trying to get one that works for the judges.


BTW, do you all know about my contest?  You can enter to win a $25 gift certificate from the chocolate and nut mail order company where I get these.


Click HERE to get to the contest info page.


But I digress from my kitchen...

A BIG change is my new island!  12 square feet of additional counter top space.


Built in trash cans and these drawers that I have control over (Jackie and I still share the kitchen even though I cook 98% of all projects).  She tends to fill all the spaces with things that we use once a year.  i use all this stuff at least every week if not every day.  No clutter in my new island!

Some clutter here (Jackie's area).

My closet to hide the appliances.

How does anyone cook without music???

Or booze???

Use your crystal, what are you saving it for???  Same thing applies to that fancy underwear in the back of your drawer... When was the last time you used your crystal or good china (or fancy skivvies?)

And with that bit of advice, the tour is done.




Thanks for looking, now show me yours!


BTW, if you liked this post, click this link for the roundup to see what other folks have...


http://lakelurecottagekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/12/2nd-annual-kitchen-reveal.html


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