Our Kitchen Tour

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a great day.

I know you have seen snippets of my kitchen before but today I thought I would give you the full tour. I've been putting off posting pictures of the kitchen because I had hoped to have some changes made first. My first project was going to be adding trim, corbels and painting the island a soft cream with glaze. Beams were to be added to the morning room ceiling. I would like to move the microwave to the island, have a custom hood made and change the light fixtures. My plans keep getting delayed so we will just call these pictures before and the after will come along eventually.

I am lucky to have a very large kitchen with lots of cabinet space. Actually fifty four cabinets and drawers! There is also a large walk-in pantry. No one can believe that all these cabinets are full...especially my husband. Take a look but you'll have to use your imagination on the upcoming changes. Beware, there are a lot of pictures.

This is the main cooking area

Our home has a very open concept. This wall of cabinets separate the kitchen and family

The two doors lead to the pantry and laundry room.

The morning room is separated from the kitchen by a bar.

Bar between kitchen and morning room

Above is the room I want to add ceiling beams.

View from Morning room.

View from family room

Thanks for visiting and I would love to hear any suggestions and comments on the changes I propose. Honestly, what do you think?

This week I'll be partying at :

French Country Cottage

My Romantic Home

Be Colorful

A Stroll Thru Life

Between Naps On The Porch

Chic On A Shoestring

xoxo,

Sherry

Fall Food, Win & Giveaway

If you haven't entered my giveaway for a $200 gift certificate to Modern Bird Studios you can still enter HERE.

There is just something about cooler weather and turning leaves that makes me want to cook something. Yesterday I made a large pot of homemade beef and vegetable soup. This is such comfort food and great for this time of year.

I don't bake often mainly because we don't need the extra calories. I decided yesterday in the spirit of Fall to make pumpkin bread. Of course I had to put a little vignette together with my blue and white transferware!

See the gorgeous French damask napkins? I was the lucky winner of Laura's giveaway at Decor To Adore and Metis Linens . Thank you so much Laura!

I am joining the parties at:

Colorado Lady

Between Naps On The Porch

Common Ground

Color Outside The Lines

Thanks for your visit!

xoxo,

Sherry

Thank You CSN

Hello everyone! CSN Stores recently gave me the opportunity to do a review of one of their many products. With over 1,000,000 products to choose from it was a difficult decision but I chose the Oster Six Slice Toaster Oven.

We are empty nesters and this toaster oven is perfect for us. No more having to turn on my big oven for small meals. It is not only a toaster oven but also broils, bakes and is a convection oven. We just received it and have already cooked biscuits and pumpkin bread. Both turned out beautifully!

The customer service at CSN Stores is one of the best in the industry. I sent an inquiry about another product I was in interested in that appeared to be out of stock. Within thirty minutes I received an email from customer service answering my question! Also, I received the toaster oven just three days after placing my order.

With over 200 stores CSN sells just about everything you can imagine. Thank you CSN for the opportunity to review the Oster toaster oven. I am very happy with my selection and would recommend this product to anyone looking for a toaster oven.

Disclaimer: CSN Stores gave me the above product however my review is based solely on my experience and not influenced by CSN.

Changes In The Dining Room + Giveaway

If you haven't entered my giveaway for a $200 gift certificate to Modern Bird Studios you can still enter here. The giveaway ends on 11/1/10.

I really don't have much art on my walls. I tend to like hanging plates, mirrors and decorative items instead. My hubby always says I have the strangest taste in art work. I happen to love this piece but he said it was just weird. I want to hear what you think.

The piece is a signed and dated Chromolithograph. For those not familiar with this type of artwork it is basically a copy of an original work that has been hand colored. The process was developed by F. Tugh Farber around 1895 and each piece could take up to a year to complete. The price of oil paintings were so expensive during this time only the wealthy could afford them. Farber invented this process to make art more affordable. Normally the company would make anywhere between one to one hundred copies.

The painting and frame are originals but the mat has been changed. The frame is not perfect but I have never been one to run away from a little damage or shabbiness! The colors are fabulous and this photo does not show how strong and clear the colors actually are.

The painting is signed by F. Tugh Farber co. 1896.

I haven't been able to find much info on this specific art piece other than the same painting sold at Sotheby's in 2007. No price was given.

I purchased this cutie at an antique shop that was going out of business. I saw the painting several days before and really liked it but the price of $399 was more than I wanted to pay. I went back to the shop on the last day of business and bought several things and the owner sold it to me for $65.00!

All I know is that NOTHING sells at Sotheby's for $65.00. It would be great to know the value so if there are any art experts out there I would love to hear from you.

What do you think...cute or just weird?

I'll be joining the following parties. Thanks ladies for hosting!

Common Ground

Colorado Lady

French Country Cottage

Tales From Bloggeritaville

Shabby Nest

Thanks for visiting and I love to read your comments.

xoxo

Sherry

A Win & A $200 GC Giveaway!

I recently won a giveaway from the beautiful and talented Melaine at My Sweet Savannah . My gift was a custom art piece from Modern Bird Studios. I submitted a photo taken in front of our hotel in Venice. Venice will always have a special place in my heart because Hubby and I were married there. You can read about our wedding here.

Modern Bird Studios took my photo and turned it into a wonderful personalized art piece, hand painted on wood. When I opened the package I could not believe how beautiful it was! The shadows in the painting are amazing and they seem to change in different light. The photos here can not capture how stunning this painting really is.

Thank you so much Melaine and Modern Bird Studio for this fabulous gift! I will cherish this always.

Now for the Giveaway...

I love my gift so much that I asked Megan and Gregg if they would do a personalized art piece for one of my readers. They have generously offered a $200 gift certificate to Modern Bird Studios as a giveaway! Thank you both.

To enter :

Visit Modern Bird Studios and come back here and leave me a comment.

For extra entries:

1. FOLLOW Modern Bird Studios on Twitter for 1 extra entry

2. LIKE Modern Bird Studios on Facebook for an additional entry.

There are three chances to win so please leave a separate comment for each entry. This giveaway is open to the continental US and ends at midnight 11/1/10. Winner will be drawn randomly and announced the following day.

You do not have to be a follower of No Minimalist Here to win. I do really appreciate my following friends and those that take time out of their busy lives to visit me. Thank You!

If you don't want to wait to see if you are a winner Modern Bird Studios is also offering a 15% discount to my readers. The discount is available for up to one week after the giveaway ends. Use the code NOMINIMALIST.

Thank you so much for entering and good luck to everyone.

I will be attending the following parties:

My Backyard Eden

A Stroll Thru Life

Between Naps On The Porch

Southern In My Heart

My Romantic Home

Color Outside The Lines

xoxo,

Sherry

Disclaimer: I received no product nor compensation from Modern Bird Studios for hosting this giveaway.

Please Don't Hate Me!

I was over by our Goodwill Outlet store on Friday and decided to venture in and buy some books to rip the covers off. All hardback books are 50 cents and they normally have quite a few old books. If you have never been in a Goodwill Outlet store it is quite an experience...one that I don't repeat often! The good news is that all household items are 59 cents per pound. The bad news is the bins are full of broken glass and trash that you have to dig through. Not my idea of a fun time!

As soon as I walked into the outlet I saw five Delft tiles laying on one of the tables. If you have read my blog, even for two seconds, you know how much I love anything blue and white. I grabbed the tiles and started walking to the book section.

That's when I saw it! My heart

started racing. I knew I had to grab

it before anyone else did. What was

something like this doing in GW?

Were my eyes deceiving me?

I ran frantically to the other side of the warehouse, grabbed my treasure and headed immediately to the cashier. I was so afraid someone would tell me it wasn't for sale or that it was already spoken for. I laid the delft tiles on the scale and all five tiles cost a grand total of 90 cents. Then the cashier looked at my large treasure and said she didn't need to weigh it and ... how about $2.00?

I almost peed in my pants!!

So you want to see what I got for $2.90?

Yes, a gorgeous hand blown demijohn in perfect condition for $2.00!! Wahoo!

Hey, maybe I need to frequent the outlet more often.

A few days ago I showed you pictures of Antiquing On The Gulf Coast with all the glorious demijohns for sale. I have a very large one I bought years ago at Smith's Antiques before they became so expensive. I have also collected others at various places and I would have loved to take one of these home from this trip but not at $125 and up. Now I am so glad I didn't buy one.

Here is my new 29" bottle with a couple others from my collection.

Please don't hate me. I inherited the gene of finding great bargains from my dad. He was an antique dealer and as a child we always went to flea markets, estate sales and garage sales where dad would bring home all these fabulous treasures. Thanks Dad!

I will be showing ~~off~~ my latest find at the following parties:

Bargain Hunting With laurie

French Country Cottage

Thanks for visiting and I love to read your comments.

xoxo

Sherry

Antiques On The Gulf Coast

We had a wonderful week in Florida but all good things must come to an end. The weather was perfect, the food delicious and the shopping fabulous. You knew I couldn't go on vacation without doing some antique shopping!

My favorite antique mall in Destin is Smith's Antiques. Actually the mall carries antiques as well as new home decor. A lot of the booths are leased by interior designers so it is always fun to see how everything is displayed. Prior to our move from Destin I leased two spaces in Smiths as well as two other antique malls. If you love French or beach decor this is the place to shop! I hope you enjoy browsing with me today. I must warn you that this is a very long post!!