..All In One Night

When the guys were finished taking the patio slab out on Monday, they went around with the blade and smoothed out the dirt. Bill stopped home yesterday morning to do a little more prep work and told me to come look at all the tracks in the back yard.

There were tracks from lots of quail and and are those
smaller ones MOUSE tracks?

Several sets of bunny tracks.

There were javelina tracks.

Bobcat tracks.

And even mountain lion tracks.

All in one night.

Our backyard is a happening place!

Favorite Things About My New Kitchen

We remodeled the kitchen using all IKEA cabinets. Our old cabinets were made of particle board and built in 1978- needless to say, they were starting to break apart and they also had a musty smell. So we decided to remodel and looked at many, many places before we settled on IKEA. (It was also very fun and easy to plan it on their web site.)

The low cost was the major reason we even looked at them but then we saw all the features that were available and it was a no-brainer. I wanted to get rid of all base cabinets and only use drawers because I was tired of kneeling on the floor and scrabbling in the backs of cupboards.

In case you are thinking of getting drawers instead of base cabinets in your kitchen I would strongly encourage it! I had a few drawers in my old kitchen and a few pull-out shelves behind doors. I decided I love, love, love the drawers the best. 

I also wanted cabinets that go all the way up to the ceiling for maximum storage. I also wanted to have fewer wall cabinets so the kitchen would feel more open.

The most exciting thing about my new kitchen is having a designated baking and meal prep area. I used to have to go and gather things from all over my old kitchen. Now EVERYTHING is in one area.

The wall cabinet holds my baking ingredients and spices. 

The top three drawers hold utensils.

All of the drawers are fully extendable so you can even see what's in the back of the drawer.

My sorting is rather complicated- but everything is grouped according to purpose.

I seem to like utensils. A lot.

Hee hee.
I even have more in a ceramic container on the counter.
I can't bear to part with any.
 Is there such a thing as Utensil Hoarders Anonymous?
Um, my name is Carol and I have a utensil problem.... ;)

Here are the two base drawers and then my pan/board cupboard to the right.

Each drawer (even the little top ones) can hold 100 lbs! Yes, each one. In my pots and pans drawer there are two cast iron items- a fry pan and a dutch oven. When the drawer is fully extended it does not sag or even wobble.

I love, love, love having all my cookware in one place!!!

On my new Maytag (not from IKEA) stove there are two ovens.

  The small oven on top has only one rack. It heats up quickly and is real handy when you need to cook something small- like a pan of bars. And a high temp of 425° for pizza has to only heat up that small space- same thing for lasagna that bakes a long time.

And the bottom oven is both standard or convection.

So I can cook a turkey in there or three pans of cookies at a time!

Another thing I love and have never had is a lazy susan cupboard.

I used to have to empty out the cupboard in front to get to the stuff in the dead space in back. Now it is pure luxury to just twirl that thing around. And it holds a lot of stuff!

The (huge!) kitchen sink and faucet are from IKEA too and I am so glad I went with them. They are perfect. 

Top Shelf:

• Griddle
• Colander 
• Citrus juicer 
• Mini food processor
• Two large vegetable graters 
• Gravy strainer
• Kitchen aid attachments 
• Electric hand mixer 
• Hot air popcorn popper 
• Electric can opener
• Coffee grinder

Bottom Shelf:

• Toaster oven
• Crock pot
• Oils and syrups
• Blender
• Paper towels

Having this amount of storage means I do not need to keep my

small appliances or paper towel holder on my counter!

*bliss*

                                                                                                               

This can act as a cupboard too- I keep the coffee grinder, can opener and paper towels right there so they are easy to grab.

To the right of the sink I keep linens and Tupperware stuff.

Top two drawers are dishcloths/towels and wraps/baggies.

Then in the next two down I didn't really know what to put in them so I am just using them for candles in the left and tablecloths/napkins in the right.

The bottom two drawers hold lids in the left and containers in the right.

Yes- that is a juice pitcher standing in the back right.

The bottom drawers are very deep.

All of the drawers and cupboards have a bumper so that when it reaches the last inch it self-closes quietly and gently. So even when you slam the drawers shut-

your stuff doesn't tip or slide around.

*happy grin*

The everyday dishes and serving dishes are stored in this area.

 The wall cabinet can hold 80 lbs so I bought another shelf so I could fit everything in.

The base cabinet has two small upper drawers- one holds silverware and the other one I haven't found a use for yet. But I am sure I will soon!- I refuse to have a junk drawer!

The two large drawers underneath hold snacks/cereals and large serving bowls/platters. 

Yes. Those are those huge red Tupperware bowls. Deep drawers!

Now for the fridge/microwave side.

I decided to not replace my pantry when I was planning the kitchen because they always seemed to be a disaster in all three of my houses. I can't seem to keep up on them and was always losing track of food.

Another thing about planning your own kitchen- you can really customize it so all your odd stuff will fit. This is the second kitchen I've done and each time when I was planning I would figure out what will go in each cabinet so I would know the type and size needed.

I ordered a cabinet especially for my vacuum to be stored.

This left side wall cabinet is above the microwave. The base cabinet that is below I decided to not get any drawers. I got just one shelf so the cupboard would be high and deep so I could use it to store Costco boxes and other bulk items in there. The basket holds onions and potatoes and behind it are white and brown rice jars.
The cabinet above the fridge is the same way- I wanted to be able to store my big coffee urn, punch bowl, and huge platter up there. So it has only one shelf and is wide open.

So, this sounds like an advertisement for IKEA! I don't know if they are for everyone but they are perfect for us. I was able to get everything I wanted for a fraction of the cost for cabinets from the Home Depot type stores- and their drawers only hold up to 40 lbs.
IKEA also has a 25 year warranty on their kitchens, which also helped us in our decision to use them. We were worried about long range durability but after we looked them over, Bill noticed they used commercial quality hinges/support systems. We thought they would be just fine.
So far so good!