Kitchen Refresh

I think almost everyone can agree that our homes feel so bare when the Christmas decor gets put away. There are a few things in most rooms I'm ready to tweak a little this month. Even though I'm in the middle of remodeling our home office, I stopped and picked up a few things for my kitchen. Luckily, I knew exactly what I wanted and it was easy to make a couple of stops to pick up a few things one afternoon in between looking at paint and wallpaper. My husband's Christmas gift to me was a new coffee machine so naturally I needed a new coffee bar. I tried to put one together with everything I had on hand, but I really needed just a few more things so I wasn't running all over the kitchen to make my coffee in the morning. I am not a morning person!

My husband bought me a Jura that grinds whole beans and makes my espresso, coffee or cappuccino at the touch of a button. I needed a small cup to froth my milk, a place to hide my sweet n'low, a sugar bowl for the people not on a diet (I know nothing about that!) and a place for my stirring spoons.


The Jura really is the star of the show. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this coffee tastes. I've made lattes, coffee, espresso and cappuccinos. The cappuccinos are definitely my favorite. I'm also hoping using 2% milk and a Sweet n' Low will be better than the 280 calories worth of creamer (I measure and die a little) I normally put in my coffee every morning. I realized the reason I was putting so much creamer in my coffee is because the coffee was subpar in my traditional drip coffee to say the least. Keurig was even worse! I can almost drink it black out of this machine. It wasn't me! It was the coffee! Next time you visit Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma try this coffee. They usually give free samples. I know it's expensive, but if you are a coffee connoisseur like me you will have an epiphany...or as Oprah says an aha moment. If you like the coffee buy it at Bed, Bath and Beyond. You can use your 20% off coupon!

I found the two tiered tray on clearance at Homegoods for $18! I can't believe it, but it wasn't even damaged. The coffee gods were smiling down on me that day. It's a very feminine look that I could easily change up if one of the four males in my house complains one day. I decided since it was hidden in a corner of the kitchen it wouldn't be such a big deal. Unsurprisingly, no one even noticed there was a change.

The blue and white pieces are from my china set. The sugar bowl and creamer cup that holds the gold spoons are from Anthropologie. The gold spoons were also a Homegoods find.

I didn't change too much in the rest of the kitchen, but I added fresh flowers and that made a world of difference.

I also added a marble and gold cutting board very similar to the two tiered coffee tray behind the stove. I felt there was a bit too much wood there.

My obligatory shot of Mario. He was not moving from the sofa when I was taking pictures. This is us having a stare down.

Easter in the Kitchen

So, I've never decorated any part of my home for Easter. Before I had kids I always imagined that I would have a family of ceramic bunnies in my kitchen and giant faux Easter eggs in my front yard. Then, I had kids and realized my former self was insane. I can barely keep up with the necessary parts of Easter, like stuffing tons of plastic eggs with candy the night before my kids' school egg hunts. This year I finally shopped early and spent the extra money for pre-filled eggs. Why didn't I do that before? I also found a few Easter décor items for the house while out shopping this week. I can't tell you how together I feel right now.

Breakfast Room Centerpiece




The coffee bar got bunnified, too.



The eggs are from Pottery Barn, which are already on sale. Both of the bunnies were found at World Market for just a few dollars each. These touches of Easter may be small, but they made a big impact with the little guys in this house. Plus, smaller décor is easier to store!