Pantry Paradise!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have a pantry.

It's finished and it's beautiful. I keep wandering over to it, opening the door and just standing there drinking it in.

Wanna see?


Of course I had to put a few kitschy little things in there, right in the center where I'm sure to see them first thing when I open the door. The round tubs hold our medicines and vitamins, the old bank bag hides the grocery store bags we've accumulated and the big silver pot is actually a Laotian steamer used for making sticky rice (and I'm sure other things, but I only know how to use it for sticky rice). I may be using them for practical purposes, but they still make me smile when I look into my pantry (37 times a day just for fun).


I know these pictures do not do it justice. You can only see half the shelf space and thus cannot fully appreciate the depths and breadth of its storage capacity. But, alas, I lack the mad picture-taking skillz possessed by The Viking and so this will have to do.

It was so wonderful to unpack that last box and finally put everything where it belongs. The first thing I moved was the dog food bin; I have hated having that thing sitting in the living room all these months! The mop and broom finally have a home after 8 years of simply leaning against the wall next to the fridge, and all miscellaneous items now have a place to hide. Filling the pantry cleared a lot of space on the counters which lets the beauty of the beadboard and butcher block really shine through.

We finally have that spacious, uncluttered and lovely kitchen we've dreamed about since we first moved in here. It's amazing what a difference it makes and I still feel like I'm going to wake up and find it was all a very realistic dream.

The completion of the pantry meant we could finally give the floor a good cleaning and clear out all the pieces of wood, boxes of tools and piles of debris from the far flung corners of the room. Remember this?

All the wood has been removed! That large red thing is a storage box The Viking made for the fire station and has since delivered to them.


This area also got a bit of a spruce up:


It was a big moment when The Viking packed up his tools and carted them down to the basement.


And this:



Thanks to the help of my gracious and organized friend who shall ever after be known to this blog as Mrs. Nugent, the hutch now looks like this:


I have never known such spaciousness and ease in my own kitchen. I feel so spoiled and I absolutely love it. It is easier to keep clean, I feel a greater sense of accomplishment when I clean it and I find us gathering and lingering in there much more. Saturday is My Boy's birthday so we're having our first post-renovation party and I can hardly wait! The big debut! That will be the big test. Will the improvements make entertaining any easier? Stay tuned to find out!

I really must go. It's time to start dinner and then I must go lie down. I haven't been feeling well and have a busy weekend ahead so I'm trying to rest whenever I can.

Until next time...