Wednesday, September 19, 2007

It's the Little Things

I have been appreciating the little and simple pleasures that surround me! I love trying to make my life more beautiful and enjoyable and these are just a few of the things I have done around the Kitchen:
My nearly-free cereal looks so fun in this cute jar! I also love to put milk in a pitcher!

Dish washing detergent in a fun jar with a stainless scoop!

Add little touches to your menu and shopping list to make this more fun!

A glass refrigerator dish (from Martha Stewart at K-Mart collection) makes a great butter dish. I never liked putting the plastic one on the table and so I just store it in here and feel good putting this on the table with any meal!

Emily's baby cup makes a great perch for a piece of fruit that needs to ripen!

These are truly little things. And, yes, they take a little bit of time. But, I receive so much more back in enjoyment of appreciating them that it is worth it to me! So, now I'd love to hear about some of the little things you do to make life more beautiful and enjoyable around your home!

18 comments:

CDMOM said...

I have been trying to add glass containers to my kitchen as I find them at thrift stores and garage sales. I love the butter dish and the dishwashing powder ideas!

Wendi said...

I also think the little bit of effort this takes is worth it.

I store things like Goldfish, M&M's etc in Mason jars. I leave my butter in the tub while in the frig, but I have a dish that I use to serve the butter. I use my small cookie scoop the make the desired butter rounds and put them in my glass dish. I also have a large basket on top of my frig for chips. Looks so much better then having the chip bags setting out.

I like the idea of the milk in a pitcher. I will have to be on the look out for one.

Anonymous said...

Good Morning! I keep cotton balls and Q-Tips in ceramic canisters (the canisters actually match my dishes) in my bathroom. I love the way they look in the bathroom - you would never know they were meant for flour and/or sugar. I also have the Martha Stewart butter dish (thank you). I love it! :) Melisa

AmyG said...

I have antique refrigerator dishes for different things. I use glass custard dishes to put out ketchup, jelly etc, I try to always use a pitcher instead of a jug of milk or juice, and I love to use cloth napkins.

These little touches let my husband and guests know the are special.

Mary Ann said...

I need to make more of an effort at this but some small things that I already do are: storing dry beans and such in glass jars, using baskets or fabric-covered boxes for storage on open shelves instead of plastic boxes, setting the table for every meal, using cloth napkins, putting ready-to-eat cut up fruit in a ceramic bowl in the fridge instead of always using Tupperware!

I really like the idea of dish washing soap in a jar-I'm off to do that right now!!!

MamaBirdEmma said...

I love doing things like this to our home! Your ideas were great! I think that I'm going to type up our menu and shopping lists, too!

*carrie* said...

Nice touches, Monica--thank you for sharing!

Amy said...

These look absolutely beautiful and I love all of the touches yo u have added! I am a big fan of the glass jars and am always looking for these when I go thrifting. The little touches make things so special!

Oh, and THANK YOU for sending those directions for my Pampered Chef tube. You are so thoughtful and sweet. I am so glad to have you for my friend!

Anonymous said...

Cute stuff! I have those same containers - the ones that you put your laundry detergent in. Except I put them on my kitchen counter with flour, sugar and brown sugar. It takes up a little space, but I don't mind.
God bless :)

Unknown said...

i love your ideas! i'm not very good at this type of thing so you've given me some ideas and inspired me, especially as the fall and holidays come around. i will say that one thing i love to do is always have a candle lit. for me it brings a great smell and a heartwarming touch.

Hopewell said...

I used to have a set of those fridge dishes!! They were wonderful. Sadly, they've long since been broken by moves, kids or me!

I, too, hate cereal boxes!!! Right now I have a slighly-less-attractive -than-the-box Tupperware-type cereal canister. Looking for something nicer some day--not those big honking dispensers though. Talk about ugly!

Your blog is GREAT! Keep at it!

nannykim said...

Simple pleasures are some of the best. Very Nice.

Susan P. said...

Ah, the simple pleasures are by far the best!

Jthemilker said...

All great ideas Monica. I use old blue Ball Mason jars for all sorts of things... like storing tealights, or as a candy jar, or whatever else I think of. I also know a lady that makes the most scrumptious candles that I almost always have burning in our house. They burn to nothing and the residue washes out with hot water easy. I'm slowly becoming a big fan of baskets... to hide things, to store things, and to display other things.

nannykim said...
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Rachel R. said...

Wow; I wish I were so creative! I don't even *think* of these things. Where do you find those huge glass jars? And do you ever have to worry about not knowing what the expiration date is on the milk if you decant it into a prettier container?

Monica Wilkinson said...

A2JC4life - thanks for your comment! I got the dishwashing detergent jar at KMart I think - Wal-Mart, Target and lots of stores have neat jars! The one with the red lid came from Target after Christmas last year. I've also found similar ones at thrift stores!

As for the milk - I put it right back in the jug or carton as soon as breakfast is over. So it is only out for about 30 minutes. I've never had any problem with this making the milk spoil and I do not mix cartons of milk - if one finishes and I have to start a new one, I do mix it in the pitcher and then put it back in the old container and use that first next time.

Hope that helps!
Monica

Rachel R. said...

"As for the milk - I put it right back in the jug or carton as soon as breakfast is over. So it is only out for about 30 minutes."

This makes sense. :) I was picturing you *storing* the milk in the pitcher, and wondering how you knew if/when you'd had it for too long.
-Rachel