At Considerable Cost

My favorite kitchen decorations have been in boxes in the garage and attic since we moved into this house.   A few weeks ago, I finally decided how I wanted to hang them, got out the big ladder, and went to work. I have had most of these red and green handled kitchen tools since I moved into my first apartment after graduating from college.   Mama and I bought some of them on trips to antique malls and some of them she bought for me later.   A few of them are ones I brought from my parents' house after Mama and Daddy  passed away.   I have had vintage tools hanging in every one of my kitchens, from tiny rental kitchens to our first purchased home.   I just couldn't figure out where they would go in this kitchen, though.   In all my other kitchen spaces, there was a long horizontal space, usually above cabinets, where I could stretch them out along the space.   Here, my cabinets are deep, which is great for displaying favorite items that belonged to Mama, but it meant I had to

In a previous post , I mentioned baking an apple pie for Clare's Kindergarten teacher.   I packaged it in a pretty basket which had a beautiful apple-themed wooden lid.   It turns out the teacher loves baskets and has a red kitchen! For the assistant in Clare's class, I filled a pretty star-shaped candle holder with Hershey's Hugs and Kisses candies.   A note attached that read, "Hugs and Kisses to a Super Star," completed the gift. Summer vacation was the theme of the gifts Emmeline gave her third grade teachers.   I found cute personal-size cooler bags at our local Kroger and got a fantastic deal on insulated cups.   I used the bags as gift bags.   A hand-written note from Emmeline and me, the cup, along with a little tissue paper, and the gifts were done. One last gift was for the dear woman who stands on duty every day in the car-rider line.   She calls the name of your children into the walkie-talkie so the teachers on duty can have you

 It's the second full week of second break and it's been a good start to the season.   The weather has been beautiful.   We even had a few cool mornings and we were able to stay at the pool during the noon-three o'clock hour without even breaking a sweat one day! Soak it up kids!   I made an effort in an attempt to celebrate the Last Day of School.   This is as fun and creative as I'll probably get all summer, so enjoy! Streamers on the door.   The wrong side, really, for effect, but they still liked it:) A basket of summer goodies awaited them, just beyond the streamers. I bought a copy of the Williams-Sonoma cookbook for children.   Worth.Every. Penny.   The recipes are delicious, fresh, and arranged in a simple format that is easy to read.   Emmeline has made three of the recipes and has plans to try her fourth tomorrow for lunch. Easy to follow, attractively arranged recipes.   I wanted a cookbook with good recipes, not