le apartment // kitchen

i cannot wait to own (or even rent) an older home in a historic neighborhood. fingers crossed, this dream will happen sometime this year. until then, i'm stuck in my (extremely full) 710-square foot apartment.

i'm a huge fan of color and pattern, but i've opted not to paint (so i won't have to re-paint later); however, i think i've done a pretty okay job with interjecting my personality into this small white box i call le apartment. 

i've been wanting to document the place i've called home for almost four (!!) years before i move out and i thought i'd share it with you. exciting stuff! i've already shared my organized office space, so let's begin in the kitchen, shall we?

my kitchen is sooo small, it's kind of ridiculous. i literally have five half-cabinets and one full cabinet for storage, so i have to have a lot of things "sitting out." my rachael ray dutch oven stays on top of the stove, as does my rolling pin (recognize the melamine coffee cup candles?). i love the pop of color from the cute apple hand towel (from urban outfitters a few years ago).

i store my larger utensils in a canister from anthropologie (from several years ago) and my nigella lawson salt pigs make me so happy! i usually keep my garlic (and sometimes ginger) in the larger salt pig and, of course, pepper usually goes in the other small salt pig (i need to get to the store!). i also own the matching measuring cups.

i'm a bit of an anthropologie sale fiend. i can only really afford items when they're on sale and i've been lucky so far. these oven mitts were a steal at only $4.99 each! i love the red and purple tones and the patterns are so cheerful.

i love my cheese plate! it was my parents' from when they got married (a long time ago) and i use it to store my pens, pencils, scissors, and a small notebook, which i picked up in washington, d.c., at crafty bastards a few years ago. my favorite ever tea (i'm a bit of an iced tea fanatic)? stash brand peach tea. it's so tasty!

on top of my cabinets above the stove and microwave is probably my favorite bit of the kitchen: my vintage thermos collection.

i've been picking these beauties up whenever i see them at thrift stores or estate sales. i just love their graphic appeal and retro colors.

the daisy pyrex bowls (it's a set of nesting bowls) came from my mother's kitchen. i asked her if i could have them when i saw they were just gathering dust in one of her cabinets. to add some height to the vignette, i put one of my (many, many, many) beloved thrifted needlepoint scenes.

i've even tried to add color to my refrigerator. whenever i go on vacation, i send myself a postcard. up on the fridge are the ones from london (2004), london (2007), and paris (2009). i've had that the office postcard for so long, but i can't bring myself to get rid of it (notice the ricky gervais magnet). i thrifted a lot of vintage fruit magnets and stuck them all up here and i've never moved them (or used them, for that matter).

this needlepoint was originally in my etsy shop, but i loved it so much, i kept it. that's bad, yeah? don't tell.

this small corner is all the prep space i have (boo!), but make do and mend, right?

colorful cups are colorful! these were picked up at an estate sale and i'm still not sure if i'm keeping them or re-selling them. for now, they add some brightness to my workspace.

when i first moved into my apartment, i was equipped with all sorts of storage devices, including a silverware tray. then i discovered i only had three half-drawers and nowhere to store my eating utensils. i've loved having them out and ready to use in glass jars. the floral canister was another estate sale score ($0.50 and chock full of decades-old hard candies) and i use it to store coffee beans.

my only full cabinet! woo hoo! i have lots and lots of plates and bowls for a single gal, but what can i say? anthropologie calls me. a lot.

i have a small ledge overlooking my dining table (on the other side) and i go back and forth about which way my canisters should face. for now, they face toward the kitchen.

more anthropologie canisters (i must have had a gift certificate) and an ikea tray (put a bird on it!). the ceramic measuring spoons (um, anthropologie) are my ideal color combination. everything in my apartment gets tested against them. does this match one of the colors in the measuring spoon set? yes, okay, it stays. i'm not making that up.

this amazing 1950s pink plastic bread box is a recent thrift store find and i couldn't be more thrilled! $1.99 does buy a small amount of happiness.

more vintage candles! this little corner is kind of a clutter magnet. i like to keep cute glass jars and fill them with essentials like wine corks and bread bag twists. who doesn't?

how cute is that owl bookend? i got the donated set at my library's quarterly book sale years ago for $0.50.

i use these thrifted mismatched canisters for lola's treats and bones. does anybody else love jamie oliver? i used to have a poster of him and i'm not ashamed to admit it. and i need to use my julia child cookbook more, too. i haven't made anything from it since my mastering the art of friendship and french cooking party.

my culinary heart really belongs to nigella, though. <3

underneath my cookbooks is a sweet print i found in illinois a few years ago. i really need to get it professionally framed because i love the colors and illustration style.

i always have to add a touch of whimsy. i got this sweet planter at an estate sale and it's a bit chipped here and there, but her face is too cute to get rid of.

this green frame was actually one of my first buys at an estate sale. i made it into a french bulletin board and, sadly, i think it's days are numbered. the style seems so far from where i am now (a bit too french country), but i love having a place to display favorite vintage illustrations, concert tickets, and old postcards.

so, that's my kitchen. there's quite a bit crammed into that small space. can you imagine the rest of le apartment? yep, there's a lot of stuff to get through.

thanks for indulging me!