What I do when the husband isn't around and I don't feel like knitting. Wait. What?

That's right, there was just something about this morning that put me in the mood to not knit. Weird.

So. I got to work on a few loads of laundry and tuckered myself out pretty quickly. I love folding, but today just wasn't the day. But I had the feeling to do something at least something productive. I dumped the clothes in a pile on the sofa and went to find something that would feel a little busier.

But first I decided to fix myself a bowl of Raisin Bran. As I pulled the box from the one shelf in my laundry closet / pantry, all sorts of stuff fell. Chips, boxed pastas, granola bars, other cereal boxes, and even a can of enchilada sauce! That was it... I knew what I would do this morning: organize my kitchen.

Once I finished my cereal, I got to work. Pantry / laundry first, then medicine cabinet, and then whoknowswhatelse. It wasn't so bad, what with Billy Joel / Elton John Pandora Radio on in the background.

Cereals, pastas, other boxed goods stacked. Bagged mixes, loose and random items organized in containers. Interior of microwave scrubbed (gross!), laundry supplies replenished and organized. What a nightmare getting started! Yes, my microwave is in my laundry room sitting atop my washing machine like it belongs there. Everyone I know gives me a tough time about it being there, but look. Understand me here! We hardly use our microwave, like, ever. It's used a lot for us if it's used once a week. So, there is no sense at all for this huge ugly thing to take up 24 linear inches of the give-or-take 60 linear inches of kitchen counter space I have to work with! What are you using the top of your front load washing machine for? That's what I thought. So leave me alone about it. Here's the before, and the next two are the after result. Whew! That was tough.

Hey kids, shake it loose together
The spotlight's hitting something
That's been known to change the weather
We'll kill the fatted calf tonight
So stick around
You're gonna hear electric music
Solid walls of sound

Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out, B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Bennie she's really keen
She's got electric boots a mohair suit
You know I read it in a magazine
B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets

Hey kids, plug into the faithless
Maybe they're blinded
But Bennie makes them ageless
We shall survive, let us take ourselves along
Where we fight our parents out in the streets
To find who's right and who's wrong

 It turns out it's a good thing I went through this horrific sight and got everything sorted and organized. I'm low on laundry stain cleaner, canned goods, and totally overstocked on chips. I had absolutely no idea until I did this!

Then I turned to the medicine cabinet and the cabinet which stores Vespa's food and treats. Guh-ross. Grossgrossgross!!! I didn't even take a before picture. First of all, the cabinet itself is just about useless. The cabinet door measures about 6" wide. Then the cabinet is only about 6" to the back of it, but about 30" to the side... it fills in a corner in the kitchen, so it is pretty much there as useless filler. I'm using it for the medicine cabinet, and to store some items from the kitchen that are less used.

I got allergy meds organized first. All the little blister pill packs into their rightful boxes, etc. I struggled a lot with allergies last Spring (our first Spring in south Georgia), and I went through a lot of allergy medicines before I discovered the one that works at all -- Benadryl. I swear these cold meds aren't being used in a meth lab! I just had to go through all this stuff before I found that Benadryl was the only one that made be feel better. Too bad it turns me into a zombie. Anyway, one basket is filled with allergy and cold meds.

The other is filled with vitamins, supplements, Advil, Tylenol, and tummy control.

And finally daily multivitamins, my beloved Benadryl Itch Stick, and other essentials are right in front of the door now. And yes, those are Carlton's Flinstones vitamins. I judge him too.

Then I got Vespa's monthly flea/tick control together along with other random meds that didn't fit on the bottom shelf and shoved it all in the center shelf.

Finally, my last bit of storage in this funky cabinet went to my tiny cheese dip Crock Pot (that's about all it's good for) and my KichenAid Stand Mixer... mixers. The paddle, the hook, the whipper thingy, and the dust guard. They needed somewhere to go that was out of the way, and this was perfect. Oh, and Carlton's beloved 5 Hour Energy thingies. I count them as vitamins. Read the label. So, in they go with the rest of his little Flinstones!

Then there was little miss Vespa. Or this morning after her back yard prowl and failure at bird catching, she was more like Little Miss Sunshine:

I got her cabinet organized, too. Her extra food was stored in an airtight container to keep it fresh, and so were her beloved "doughnut" treats.

Such a pretty kitchen!

Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't all explode the second Carlton goes looking for the Tums at 2:30am.

Finally!

We finally have a place to hang our framed-and-signed-by-wedding-guests engagement photo:

 I finally have a spot in my bedroom to admire my Degas ballerina replica statuette:

 We finally have somewhere to stuff our underwear, t-shirts, and other casualish clothes that don't necessarily need a hanger to be happy:

I went shopping on Saturday and spent a whopping $190.00 on this solid wood chest of drawers. It's got wood drawers with dovetail joints and everything. And I was ready to have a drawer for our drawers, if you know what I mean! A shelf in the armoire just wasn't keeping me happy... because stacked clothes topple when they're on a shelf. The chest was delivered while Carlton and I were at work (I told them that was okay when I purchased it since even I have a real live grown-up full-time job now), and we ripped it out of its packaging tonight after supper. This sucker was really heavy! After we struggled a bit to move it from the carport into the bedroom on the wall I had designated, I started prepping the drawers for our drawers. They were dusty inside, so I wiped them out with a damp cloth. Then it was time to move the hardware out to the outside of each drawer. I like how it's very straight and square and minimalist and how it almost has an Asian flare. And I love the fact that the hardware is the same wood as the chest:

As Carlton and I unpacked the chest from its cardboard, foam, and plastic packaging, I had noticed it was a bit short and that the feet were shaped differently than what I had seen in the showroom. And when I opened the bottom drawer of the chest, I discovered why: it's because the legs of the chest were packed away for safekeeping. I set them aside for attachment tomorrow. Because, after all, there's no need to get overzealous here. It's not like the legs will run away or anything.

So now we have a beautiful new chest of drawers to store all of our stuff and to make our master bedroom feel even more at home and comfortable (for us and our armoire... she was so tired of toppled stacks of clothes!)

Hooray for finally having another new little important piece of furniture to help make our happy little house a happy little home!!!

My new favorite vegetable

If you know me very well at all, you know how crazy I am about zucchini cooked on the grill until it's charred on the outside and still crisp in the center. You've gotta cut it into quarters, spray with a little Pam olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and set it over direct flame. There's nothing better in the summertime! I have been known to skip over my steak or burger and just eat the zucchini with a HUGE smile on my face when it's done just right. Ahhh, so delish!

Lately, I've fallen in love with something that is JUST as good and -- because there's no grill preparation needed -- might even take less preparation than the zucchini! It's fresh, healthy, full of flavor, it goes with just about anything, and it's really quick and easy to fix. I've made small batches for just Carlton and me (yes, Carlton even loves this stuff!!!!!), and I've also made huge batches to feed 8-10 guests.

Baked Parmesan Broccoli:

1 package of fresh broccoli
Good olive oil
Grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Maybe some red pepper flakes for a little kick

- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut broccoli florets from their stalks. (If it's a large side dish, as if chicken and broccoli is all you're having for dinner, I usually prepare one broccoli stalk per person. If it's a smaller side dish to go along with two or more things, cut at your discretion.)
- Spread broccoli onto a nonstick baking sheet and drizzle very lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on lightly (I just use the stuff we sprinkle on our pizza at home -- nothing expensive!) and toss everything around to get it all evenly distributed.
- Make sure everything is spread out on the baking sheet well.
- Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. (The Parmesan cheese tends to get a little salty when it bakes, so while you do want a little salt, go easy on it and salt more on your plate if it's needed.)
- Bake for about 10 minutes, and voila! You've got a delicious, flavorful, and healthy side dish that everyone is sure to love.

We ate this all gone from our plates before I thought to take a picture. Yes, it's that good!!!

(Sometimes, if I'm feeling spicy enough, I'll sprinkle on some red pepper flakes once the broccoli is on my plate. It spares Carlton's sensitive senses that way. Yummmmm for me!!!)