With Love from the Heart of the Home...the Kitchen

“Think this over carefully: The most charming hours of our life are all connected – by a more or less tangible hyphen – with a memory of the table."— Pierre-Charles Monselet 1874

What you can't see...

the fork holes in the table,

the autographs etched in the wood by famous little people,

...small pictures or smiley faces discriminately drawn under placemats...forever etchings to remember our time as a family around 'the table.'

Don't you just live in the kitchen?  Honestly, I don't love to cook, but it is listed on my job description.  This little window seat is the dumping ground for book bags, coats, etc...

My husband brought home bags and bags of  paraplast embedding medium; otherwise, known as wax.  Apparently, it had hardened too much for use at work, so he decided to bring it home, melt it and make candles.  In addition to the candles, I used the wax to adhere small boxwood stems to this bay window.

Here is the view from outside the window.  I have some small boxwood plants right out front, but not enough to make a wreath.  This seems to fill the space adequately.  These little sprigs might look nice on glass front kitchen cabinets or even on glass containers.

This pillow was painted by little hands and backed with some pretty fabric and trim.

My kitchen is black, green and white.  Ornaments and plates by Burton + Burton and Glory Haus tie all the colors together for Christmas. 

Rob bought the little nativity plate for me on our recent trip to the Billy Graham Library.  It is a nice addition to my small collection of nativities.

The colors are so bright and festive!

Some of you might remember this candy jar from last year.  I wanted some whimsical jars, but couldn't find what I was looking for, so I glued a snowman ornament to a glass jar for the desired effect.  My sister gave me the snowmen measuring cups, which I love!

This antique highchair sits beside the bookshelf.  We remove the potted plant when my niece and nephew come over for additional seating!

My 'log cabin' gingerbread house surfaced again this year.  I have stored this one for three years!  It is still in pretty good shape, but to keep little paws off of it, I displayed it under the large cloche.  The vintage red lunch box holds a sparse tree.

Two things I love: children's and baby doll vintage furniture and old timey lunch boxes.

We will have Christmas dinner here in just a few days!

Oh, I have a thing for pretty dish towels, too!

Children's artwork is another favorite of mine.  Just seeing how they are learning to express themselves with crayons and paintbrushes is so wonderful!  The Rudolph masterpiece is by my five year old.

I made this little chalk board years ago.  You can buy these at Michael's in natural wood.  I painted the 'Days 'til Christmas' with space to change the countdown.  This is a favorite around here.  My kids love to climb on the counter and change the number.  It hangs from our light fixture, so I am sure that is part of the fun!

These Burton ornaments are some of my favorites.  I have stashed them in cups and bowls all over the kitchen; however, it would be fun to have a Christmas tree in the kitchen, since we are in here so much!

More of these sweet little ornaments hang from my canisters.  The 'mitten' measuring cups came in a stack and were another gift from my sister.  I put the other 'mittens' in our granola jar and mixed nuts jar.

My daughter creates some more masterpieces (hopefully, now that she is older, this is on paper!)

There is just something about the kitchen.  It really is the heart of the home!
~
Have you heard the story about the father who tried relentlessly to grow grass under the swing set where his children played every day?  It bothered him that no grass would grow there!  One day, his wife said to him, "We are not raising grass, we are raising children."  Point well taken and the dad started to enjoy the bare patches on the ground.  Soon enough, grass will grow there, and it will grow tall, he thought.
For now, enjoy the bare spots in the grass created by little feet and the etchings in the table made by little hands!  No, my honey does not like the pieces of artwork etched into our table!  Certainly, one should teach their children not to write or draw on the table!  When I see the markings, it just reminds me of when my children were all so young and learning right from wrong.  It reminds me of their innocence over not knowing the difference.  I treasure those marks and I think, just maybe, my neat and tidy husband does, too!

Merry Christmas to you all, as you gather around the 'table' for your celebration!

Links:
Savvy Southern Style

Metamorphosis Monday; Just Something I Whipped Up Monday; Craft-O-Maniac Monday; Making Monday Marvelous;  Making the World Cuter Monday; Inspiration Friday;

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