Kitchen Tour

What a busy day today was!  I cleaned out my refrigerator and freezer today.  With that came a through cleaning of the kitchen as well!  So, since my kitchen is all sparkling clean,  I've decided  to join the Heart of the Home Party and show you my kitchen again.  I have featured it once before here on my blog and wasn't really going to do it again but  since I have made some changes since that post, why not?  It's time for an updated peek!

When you enter in my kitchen from either the basement, hallway, den, or office, you are in a small foyer area that we have put up a coat rack and I recently added this table for mail and junk.

Looking into the kitchen from that foyer area this is what you see.

To the left is a built in desk I converted to a bar, yeah, I still need to paint that last chair black too!

Let's move closer into the kitchen now.

What's that there?  No, not the cute checked pumpkin I found at Target after seeing it in all my bloggy friends homes, look again.

That's right, I'm talking about those yummy chocolate chip cookies!  I baked them just for you, because I knew you 'd want some while you enjoyed the rest of the tour.

Other then my very large island, I really have limited  counter space in my kitchen.

This area in between my refrigerator and oven leads to the dining room.  It also is where my pantry is located behind the oven.

For those of you that follow regularly can you tell I've been decluttering some.

This is command central here!

Let move over towards the kitchen table now.

I am so thankful for this built china cabinet.  I had one in my old house too but it was in the dining room.  This is why I have only recently wanted to buy one for my dining room.  Now I have two china cabinets.  Woohoo!

I bought this little side table a few years ago from Ross.  Love that store!

Well there you have it!   But wait, for those of you who may have wondered whats behind the double doors, I'll give you a sneak peek if you promise to overlook the mess.

Yep, that's my laundry room, smack dab in the middle of my kitchen.  It is not totally a closet laundry room but set back somewhat inside.  It's just enough for me to pile up loads of laundry on the floor inside, which is why your getting a very limited peek.  LOL!

I hope you enjoyed your tour of the heart of our home.  Be sure and visit Sheila at Note Songs for more tours of other beautiful kitchens full of inspiration.

Thanks for visiting today!

Mary

SC Silver Displays

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in our town and I got to spend it with two of my favorite men, my husband and my youngest son wandering around the state museum.  There was a harvest festival at the museum with arts and crafts, BBQ, music and several special exhibits. 

Then as if that wasn't wonderful enough we spent the late afternoon and evening getting caught up in the excitement watching the game on TV as our Gamecocks defeated the #1 team in the country in the SEC!  Woohoo!   Anyone that knows me well, also knows I am not really a football fan, but I just had to give a quick shout out to our home team!  Go Cocks!!!  We have now pulled off a major trifecta win in 2010 defeating number #1 teams in the nation in basketball, baseball and now football!  Woohoo!  That's something to be proud of here and long awaited. Woot-woot!   

Now for those of you have patiently waited for me to return to my point let me show you a little surprise I found at the museum yesterday.  I had no idea this exhibit was there until I stumbled upon it.  I am thrilled to be able to share this with you  today for Silver Sunday.  I am sure you will enjoy this as much as I did.

Can you imagine how excited I was to find this room?  This exhibit is not a permanent display and is running only through January 2011.  It is a wonderful display of silver from several South Carolina families and collectors that shows the artistry and craftsmanship used in these beautiful pieces made between 1750-1935.

This is what I saw when I walked into this room.

I was so thrilled, but I was wishing I had much more time to linger in this room then I did.  By the time I found this room it was getting late and the men were ready to leave.  I got my camera out so I could enjoy it later again and again.  I wish I had time to read all the captions in each display but I didn't, so you will just have to enjoy these visually as I do not have much info to share with you.

These pitchers were the very first thing I saw when I knew my camera had to come out.  Aren't they just gorgeous?  I just love the rope detail of the handles.

There were several cases featuring older and more unusual flatware.

I do remember this was listed as a men's breakfast silver setting.  I am assuming for the finer gentlemen of the day.

Gorgeous soup tureen!

These two pieces were owned by a Georgia family who had some family with SC connections. 

I tried to photograph the Palmetto tree on the tops for you, please pardon the glare of the silver.

I was quite amazed to see that there are older pieces of silver where the Palmetto tree was attached.  It is our state tree and is quite popular amongst those who live here.  You can find it on just about everything!

This coffee pot really caught my attention with it's beautiful hand carved wooden handle.

This set was positively stunning!  I just adore the ornate design, I think it was from Charleston.

Just look at all that beautiful detail! Gorgeous, isn't it?

The following two photos were not part of the silver room but were in separate displays elsewhere in the museum.  They are permanent displays.

This was a set presented to a S.C. woman after the death of her husband, who was a Lt. Col. in the war. 

This beautiful piece was presented to Andrew Jackson from the women of S.C. after his win in the battle of New Orleans.  It had been willed by him back to the family of a SC soldier upon his death. 

I found it rather interesting how much silver was presented and even used back in the older days of history.  I am sure many of you who have collected silver for some time already knew that though.  Seeing these beautiful displays all together really brings home the history of silver in our state.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure and stop by Silver Sunday for more beautiful posts of silver.

Thanks for visiting today!  Have a Blessed Sunday afternoon!

Mary

It's Exam time!

Guess where I am off to this morning?

You got it!  I am off for my yearly mammogram!  Now before all of you start moaning and groaning and jump away from this post please hear me out.  If this helps just one person get on board then it will have been enough and that is why I am sharing this with you today for Inspiration Friday!

Let me start by saying that I am not an expert on Breast Cancer, have not had it or have experienced the loss of a close love one from this terrible disease.  You are not going to find that type of story here.  I am just an ordinary gal trying to do all that I can to take care of myself, for me and for my family and loved ones.

To say I have not been touched by this disease at all would not be true though.  While I have not lost any close love ones, I have lost someone whom I truly feel would have been a great friend.  Shortly after moving here and joining the Sailing Club there was a couple who joined about the same time we did.  Their names were Cathy and Alan.  Cathy was my age and an 8 year breast cancer survior.  She worked for the same company as my husband though downtown and had a wonderful personality.  Before we even met, my husband said I can't wait for you two to meet you will love her.  They had a boat docked near ours and we would always speak to each about sailing and the club and stuff when we crossed paths. During those first years that they were members they also built a new home right across the street from the sailing club, you may have seen it on the walking tour that I posted.  I was so excited they were going to be neighbors, then shortly after moving in the cancer returned.  We rarely got to see other between the cancer treatments and the many vacations they decided to take.  One was a charter sailing vacation that I remember her telling me was the most beautiful vacation she had ever been on.  Even though she had been fighting cancer for 8 years she never gave up!

She fought it hard and for a long time but the cancer had spread to her brain and before our friendship could even begin she passed away.  I know you think it is odd to mourn a friend you really did get to know but I do.   Her husband has quit the sailing club and sold both their old boat and the house.  I am sure you can understand why.  The new owners of the boat are the ones that sold us our "new to us sail".  It is the clear one seen here in this photo.

Even though it is not made for our boat and not even the right size a bit too small, it sails beautifully.  The first day we tried it out we had a perfect sailing day and both my husband and I literally knew Cathy had been looking after us that day.  I am still amazed that my husband was actually thinking that too and told me so, it was that strong of a feeling.

I have another friend whom I cannot get to go for her mammogram for anything.  This just does not make any sense to me.  Why would anyone risk something that could possibly be caught early enough to prevent it.

That is why I am happy to post this and am happy to...

I hope you will too. I do even though, I hate going to these!  You see, I have a good reason for not liking doing this.  I have fibrocystic breast disease.  It is hereditary and makes for lumpy breasts.  Which is why I have a hard time with this...

I am always wondering about the lumps in my breasts, but they do tend to come and go.  Except for one lump, that did not go away and was like a small pebble two years ago.  It was enough of a scare to cause a mammogram to show that I needed a biopsy.  It turned out to be a small calcium deposit that was removed and I now have a microchip inserted to show the doctors where this was.  Weird!  The Mr. and I often joke about this being a tracking device they put in me.  Anyway, it was an ordeal I don't want to go through again.  However, I am always grateful it was nothing more and doesn't compare to what those who do have cancer have to face.

For those of you who didn't know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  This is easy for me to remember since I am an October baby.  For the rest of you, next time you are thinking about all that orange, think about how beautiful pink looks with orange and think about getting your breast exam.  If you don't do it for yourself, do it for your loved ones, or those you have yet to meet!

God bless and thanks for reading this!

Now go set up that appointment!

Mary

C is for Comfort

Hello Miss Jenny, I hope you don't mind but I have decided to fill in for Little Missy today.  I think the poor thing is just so very tired that she needs a rest.  She said her spirits are rather down and she just doesn't want to go to school today.  I can certainly understand that, can't you?   We all feel low at times and just need a break.  I myself have been dealing with some very unsettling issues lately and they certainly do take a toll on your energy levels.

Luckily for me, I have also had a few good things going on as well that help to balance out the weight of my stresses.  I also work very hard at maintaining that balance when things feel off kilter by focusing on my comfort items.   Of course the things that bring me the most comfort of all are not things but people, like family and friends and our furry friends.  But today I am sharing those other things that also bring me comfort.

 In the mornings I like to start out my day with coffee.  Here's my newest coffee maker I had to purchase after my Cuisinart stopped working.  We went with a Mr.Coffee this time around, much more economical.  Don't even think that I would ever give up this creature comfort!  I tried, it's sooo not worth it, what was I thinking?

 I really enjoy my specialty coffee on the weekends.   I add half of the classic roast Folgers with half of the vanilla biscotti Folgers in my coffee maker.  It's a wonderful treat that both me and the Mr. look forward too.  I love the smell of this coffee too!

I totally love my comfort foods too.  I learned about this one as a child.  While I do not have one of these often, it totally makes me feel great when I do indulge.  Yep, that's a banana, peanut butter, and mayo sandwich.  Yum!  Of course, I prefer homemade chocolate chip cookies, but honestly any chocolate chip cookie is comforting to me!  I know you would probably have to agree, right?

This meal is one of my all time favorite comfort meals for dinner.  I am so glad the cooler weather is back and I can make this again for supper.  We just cannot eat soup in the summer here in our household.

Yum, yum!  Potatoe soup, with toppings, and garlic bread.  It doesn't get much more comforting then that.

This belongs to the Mr. but I have a few too.  Fleece pullovers are super comforting! 

Here's a double comfy photo, no wait, a triple comfy photo!  A great pair of comfortable jeans, and furry chenille socks!  Can you guess the third comfort I see, of course it's the ottoman.  I just adore a home with ottomans.

Especially when you get to sit by a nice cozy fire with your feet up.  Sorry, you'll just have to imagine the fire for now.  We have a wood burning fireplace and I don't have any of those cute little manufactured logs on hand yet.  But you can bet your bottom dollar I will soon.  I love to have a nice fire going during the day if I'm home and those logs are perfect for me! 

The ottoman by the fireplace is also another great place to curl up with more comforts like a good book!  Here are just a few I am enjoying right now.  The book by Robin McGraw is a library book and is offering quite a bit of comforting information about growing older and managing your health.  I haven't started on the other book yet.  My inlaws gave it to me after I saw it at their house and thought it looked interesting.  I can't wait to read it.  I understand it will offer spiritual comfort.

Candles also bring me comfort.  There is just something so soothing about the glow of candlelight.

Here are two of my most favorite comforts.  Stretching out in the evening on my cozy couch to watch TV with the family.  My wonderful afghan, handmade by my mother is perfect to take the chill off and always wraps me with such a warm feeling of security too!  I just love it!

And finally at the end of the day, a great big cozy bed is the ultimate.  We invested in a good mattress last year and it really has made a world of difference in the quality of our sleep.  I highly recommend this very important creature comfort!  But do you see the other comfort in this photo?  It's one that I just recently put back on.  It's not just any extra blanket, it's a nice high quality "no pill" fleece blanket! 

So, there's my homework Miss Jenny.  How did I do for Alphabet Thursday?  I hope this will be sufficient for a good grade.  I understand Little Missy has been doing quite well and I wouldn't want to bring her average down.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone else's homework this week too!

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great afternoon!

Mary