In the Kitchen

I knew pretty early on that I was going to love our updated kitchen, but it really didn't completely occur to me until this weekend when we finished up a few more pieces of it and I utilized the heck out of my new counter space with lots of baking.

First up was FINALLY getting the doors on the cabinets. I was honestly very very VERY little help in the door-painting, so this chunk of the kitchen work is all thanks to Dan. Thanks cakes! I am loving how clean the whole kitchen looks with the doors on. And look!!! We have drawers!!! In our kitchen!!! You have no idea how exciting this is.

We also grabbed some shelves (finally) at Ikea over the weekend and Dan hung those up for me Sunday. I of course wasted no time at all styling them, and am totally smitten with all my colorful little kitchen goodies being out in the open and brightening up what used to be an unused wall.

(I just realized that the majority of the stuff on my shelves is from West Elm - the pretty little bowls, owl butter dish, and 'L' mug and small plates underneath it. Guess it's pretty clear who's homegoods make my heart skip!)

With lots of the clutter off the kitchen cart and the counter, I started up some baking right off the bat, beginning with homemade breadcrumbs that were toasting in the oven before the shelves were even fully hung.

Considering how insanely simple the breadcrumbs were, I imagine no stale bread will ever go to waste in our house again. I just threw chunks of bread into my food processor, spread the crumbs out on a cookie sheet and toasted them in a 350 oven for 7 minutes, and then mixed in a bit of olive oil and italian seasoning before throwing them all in an airtight container for later use. 

My infatuation of baking with apples continued with a recipe I make every year because it is THAT good - caramel apple cheesecake cookie bars. The hubs and I enjoyed a piece with a movie last night...

...while my caramel apple cinnamon ice cream base steeped in the fridge. After churning, I added in ALL of the below - cooked cinnamon apples, a caramel drizzle and graham cracker chunks. I have no doubts this is going to be decadent.

Overall, a bit of an indulgent weekend mixed with lots of hugs from my adorable nieces, a little bit of sleeping in and some shopping with my mom, sister and aunt. It's back to the grind today, but at least it's already Tuesday!