My Wooden Bowl....

Unexpectedly turned out to be my favorite and most used wedding gift.
It's been nearly fifteen years since Tommy and I tied the knot and I remember opening this gift and thinking, "wow, a wooden bowl?". I was pretty unsure about it. Little did I know how much I would love it, how often I would use it, and how much it would cost me now to replace it if something happened to it- which would be Seriously Heartbreaking! It was made by a local craftsman in what looks like Ovid, NY in 1997. It's hard to read the bottom but it looks like it's made from cherry and artists name is Carol Joos? It's so hard to read but I'm going to have to Google them.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure it was from my great Uncle Jim, who lives in NY. Uncle Jim if there is any chance you are reading this, thank you so much. I wasn't quite sure about it at first but you have such great wisdom, I love it now and have for years!

UPDATE-

Sometimes you just have to love the internet.   After a few minutes of searching I found Carol Joos!  Check her out here.  Love your bowl Carol!

Some of My Favorite Things

A friend of mine came over to visit with her children yesterday and she liked some of my favorite go to kitchen utensils so I thought I would post them here.
They are from this wonderful store that I can only shop from online called Palumba. 
Here are a few of my favorite things from them.
 Cherry Breakfast Board
 Mini Cherry Platter
Fine Ladle- is my go to item in the kitchen for so many things.  Can be used on any cooking surface without damaging the surface.  I use it for soups, rice, gravies, you name it.  I wish I could go back and leave another comment on their site about how it has held up and that I just absolutly ADORE it!
Childrens Bowls have held up through several children and are wonderful for snacks like apples or dried fruits and crackers.  Great for oatmeal too.
Children's Baking Set - while I don't have this whole set I do have that flat spatula and I dont see where you can get it alone anymore ;(.  Next to my Fine Ladle it is my next most used item in my kitchen.  I love that these tools are not big and clumsy but just perfect!

I have blocks, trucks, dolls, wool clothing, and many other items from this store and I highly recommend them all.  And no, they have no idea I'm writing this, I just wanted to share cause I just love their products.  I will try and post some pictures later but remember you can just click on the links to see the items.

I Love Glass Jars

I love Glass Jars and I love to store things in them so I thought I would share a few picts of what and how I use them.

We use them for drinks for our children instead of sippy cups but I wouldn't recommend this on ceramic tiled floors.




I also use them for storage in the fridge for yeast, oatmeal, flax seed, ect.




Dog food



Flour, sugar and cookies




and storage of metal measuring cups and tea balls




I also have old cheese boxes on my wall for storage of oatmeal packets and they also fit other items like boxes of flavored teas for easy access



Another thing I do in my small kitchen to save space is I hang things on little hooks everywhere I can find space. Here are my measuring spoons-



And child size brooms and dustpan on hooks above our large crock we use as a trash can




So there are a few examples of how I try and make more room and things more easily accessible in my home. And yes if you are wondering we are still waiting for our new little blessing to arrive!