Organized Kitchens

ORIGINALLY POSTED APRIL 2014

IN LABELLADIVA.COM

To some people, this kitchen looks terribly cluttered. To me, it is colorfully festive and beautiful.

Actually, this is what I was striving for when I first changed up my kitchen and pulled off the cabinet doors a while back. Colorful, festive kitchen glassware, especially vintage, is one of my big loves. I want to look at it every time I walk into the room. It brings me joy. Crazy . . . I know, to many of you, it sounds like I’m as crazy as a loon.

Well, as years have gone by and my new husband has added his touches to the kitchen, gone is the festivity and semi-functionality is what is left. He’s super tall and I’m super short, so something at his fingertips requires a step ladder for me. And not so appealing to my eyes.

As it stands, we have not solved our kitchen dilemma!

The photo comes from an article I found, 20 Organized Kitchens from Real Cooks. It looks like a promising article to assist us and I have decided to do more research looking for more articles like this one, which I will add to this post as I find them.

For those of us who love to cook and love our kitchen stuff, the way it is stored and organized is very important. When there are two passionate cooks in that kitchen, both opinions have got to count . . . not an easy task!

Dreams of Back in the Day

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 2014 IN LABELLADIVA.COM

Dreams can take you back to a time and place in vivid detail, at least they do for me. Since I’ve had this virus or flu that has hung on for way too long, sleep has been something craved and enjoyed.

This afternoon’s nap took me to a dream back to my childhood days of the 60’s. When I woke up, it felt as if I had actually been there again, reliving the moment, visiting with those loved ones that are no longer with us. It is truly a gift.

Anyway, the dream was part real and part parody . . . dreams can be like that. It was set back in the day, but I was a child in present day. The time and place was a party, probably around the holidays, at my godmother and godfather’s house. They had grand parties and as a child I loved them!

The food and drinks were overflowing, the music was playing loud and there were the regulars who were on the “dance floor.” You know how people get when they have alcoholic beverages, a bit less inhibited. Well, I can remember sitting on the couch with my Nana having a good time laughing with raised eyebrows at those who were really getting into the watusi or whatever dance they were shaking their booty to. In real life, we did that all the time!

It is very annoying that I can’t remember all the stuff that I remember right after I woke up. Don’t you hate that about dreams?

The good thing is I remember the people in the dream. Especially my Nana. I miss her so much and dream of her often. Sometimes I think I “wish” myself into a dream with her in it. It must sound crazy to someone who does not dream like I do. My Nana does not visit my mom in her dreams no matter how much she craves a visit with her mom. I tell her about mine like it was a real visit, we have a good cry at the days she was with us and how much we miss her. Dreams can be bittersweet!

On the other hand, The Captain has dreams of the military that are disturbing and often keep him from having a good night’s sleep. On occasion, I’ll have those disturbing dreams where someone is chasing me and I wake up exhausted and will fight my sleep so I won’t go back there. Bad dreams are like that . . . I often go back to them and feel like I can’t get out of it!

Dreams also have a strong power of suggestion . . . after seeing all that food spread out on those tables, I woke up so hungry for all that good holiday food. Of course, there is none of that type of food in the kitchen and it is later at night and too late for a trip to the store. I should go back to sleep and try to go back to that dream so I can have some of that awesome food.

Let's Talk Chicken

Can you ever have enough chicken recipes?

We can’t!

The Captain and I love stocking up on chicken when it is on sale at the local meat market or grocery store.  Sometimes we will cook whole chickens, shred the meat and freeze enough for one casserole in separate bags.  What a time saver, not to mention you can save so much money doing this.

Do you get bored with the same ole recipes week after week?  

Expand your choices!

Click here for chicken recipes from my food blog, Gina’s Italian Kitchen.

Moving website

I have decided to move LaBelladiva.com to this blog.  In the coming days, selected blog posts from LaBelladiva.com will be moving to this blog.

Having a paid website is highly overrated!

Happy Holidays :)

New website to replace this blog

More changes . . .

I will no longer be posting to this blog . . . it is being replaced by LaBelladiva.com.  

It is set up with RSS if you would like to subscribe!

Here we go again . . .

Our lives seem like a broken record on many fronts!

Health concerns have consumed our lives recently.

Most importantly, The Captain is quickly recovering from another surgery. Can I say that I would like at least one year without a hospital incident?  I know he would for sure!  My sweetie is one strong man for sure . . . and I love my hero so much :)

Our webspaces are undergoing more changes since we have both retired full time (for now) and enjoy our blogs, webspaces and social media so much we'd like to try to make some extra money with them.  

The Captain and I would be so happy if our readers would patronize our advertisers . . . at least check out their stores and see what they have to offer! I'm addicted to internet shopping myself . . . I have not seen the inside of a mall in years.

We haven't given up the idea for another internet store, but it has been put on the back burner since there is a huge oak tree limb sitting on and smashing our storage shed more every day and we are not sure what has survived. So much for my awesome vintage inventory :(  

I'm still throwing around the idea of making refashioned jewelry from my stock of vintage jewelry/components and my massive vintage rhinestone jewelry collection.

We are still without running water.  It goes to show you that anyone can survive almost anything and still live a comfortable life.  That does not mean that I would not be thrilled to have running water again!

Life is all about priorities that sometimes become a test of our strength as human beings.

Special people

Just as I was getting over another extended family member passing on, we got word of another who passed away yesterday.  It is never a happy time to celebrate the life of someone who has passed on, but it is especially difficult around the holidays.

Shortly after getting together for Thanksgiving at the home of my sister-in-law's parents house, where she and her mom made a very delicious meal and we had a great time, her mom passed away suddenly.  The family once again gathered to celebrate her life, surrounded by her favorite things.  Her passing on really touched me, she was such a special lady who was once so full of life. She was never the same after her son overdosed on Thanksgiving Day two years ago.  The irony hit me as we sat in her home on Thanksgiving Day and especially on the day the celebrated her life.  The decades of family gatherings she hosted also flooded my thoughts.  Awesome memories!

Life is fragile.  Seems like all I write about is death and food.

It has been a long time since I have counted the weeks we have not had running water.  The process continues and there is no end in sight.  My sense of humor sometimes escapes me.  Imagine living without running water . . . it has been since October.  My husband has gone through this ordeal relatively painlessly since everything is a fun adventure to him and most of the time that mentality has worked for me, but I do lose it at times.  That is usually when we visit my mom and feel like we are at a retreat with a spa.  Looks like we won't be ready for a new pump purchase by the end of December, so . . . my Christmas wish will probably not come true.  

Oh well, it is not the end of the world especially in light of celebrating the lives of two very special people who have touched my life in a meaningful way. 

Cherish those special people in your life . . . you never know how long they will be in your life.

Hope you are having a festive holiday season!