Just to remind you of where we began... It was called, a catch-all!
Sure, I needed a place to park my tote bag collection but...
My over-flowing baking supply drawers won over tote bag parking!
Seriously... I needed saving!
So thanks to my darling husband...
A pantry dedicated solely to my baking and cookie decorating supplies was born!
With hardly a labor pain between us!
Last night, after I stocked the shelves and went to bed, this
is what my amazing new baking pantry looked like. However...
Today it got even better after the new doors were installed!
I love them! And, I'm so happy I over-bought on the knobs and bin pulls
at Pottery Barn when we remodeled the kitchen the second time,
because I had exactly what I needed for the new pantry and coat closet!
Spacious, organized and concealed... Everything a girl wants in a pantry!
So what does a girl do to thank the man with the vision and ability to build it?
She cooks one of his favorite meals!
She cooks one of his favorite meals!
Pork roast cooked low and slow...
In one of my LeCreuset dutch ovens, of course!
And, in the beautiful new KitchenAid gas range I
still cannot believe I won at last year's Mixed Con!
Needless to say...
He was as happy with dinner as I am with my new baking pantry!
Before I close I have to tell you about a little bonus I discovered while
unpacking the storage bench... You see that little California license plate?
I found it in this box of love-letters we exchanged just after we met. We met on a
Thursday night in Kansas. We had our first date the following evening and by very
early Saturday morning, my family was on its way to Monterey, California! After he
phoned, (four days later) to ask if I would be his wife, we began corresponding via
letters. This lasted almost exactly three months until we eloped to Reno to marry!
No internet, no cell phones. Only expensive long distance calls and lots of
letter writing... Gosh! I haven't looked through this box in a million years...
As I began digging through the box, I discovered lots of long-forgotten treasures...
Like this one that my mom brought back to me after my beloved
Oma passed away in 1990. It's the last letter I wrote to her, which
arrived only two days before she died. Mom found it on the table in
her apartment. Mom also brought back this comb, compact and pill
box set I sent my Oma for Christmas just a few short weeks before...
I also found the booklet for the first television we purchased together,
along with one of my high school graduation announcements, the receipt
for my senior prom dress and, this funny saved from my 1986 calendar!
Here's the birth certificate for my 1983 cabbage patch doll and, the
prescription for my first pair of glasses when I was twelve years old!
Written by an Army doctor in Frankfurt Germany,
which is the map on the back of the prescription!
Here is one of my early class (charting) assignments from dental assisting school!
Great letters. Great memories!
All discovered again because he decided to build me a baking pantry!
This whole post was so fun. Thanks for posting about those little mementos of your life :) Aaand... Your pantry looks AMAZING and so professional! I don't have anything close to that at MY house!
ReplyDeleteWow - what a great pantry!!!! Looks like the Sugar Shoppe in miniature in Chattanooga. :D
ReplyDeleteLove love love the walk through your past!!!
Looks fabulous! Such a sweet story :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Janet; it's just perfect! So happy for you~
ReplyDeleteAnd, the trip down memory lane was so sweet. Thanks for sharing. :)
I was captivated from beginning to end with the bonus of a box of precious memories. Sigh what a happy ending to the bonus pantry job. P. S. That roast looked divine and has me going to find lunch.
ReplyDeleteYour collection of sugars and sprinkles makes me feel way way better about mine. I have maybe 1/10. The weird thing is I feel like I never see people really use too many!!! but we alllll have them lol...
ReplyDeleteJanet, I love knowing your beloved Oma had the joy of reading your letter before she passed ..... what a gift!
ReplyDeleteYour "love story" is the best! Eloping to Reno......what a blast!
The new doors on the already awesome pantry are the perfect finishing touch! I see another business idea brewing!
What a great find ... the letter stash!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your baking pantry. That is an amazing, amazing space! We are working on a storage space for Brian's food supplies too but it won't near as nice as that! Enjoy the new space!
Hi Janet, your baking pantry is fantastic! What a well thought out project. You may not remember but a few months back I contacted you to see if you would share you cookie recipe with me. You were so kind to send me not only the recipe but pages full of instructions. I was finally brave enough to bake some myself to send to my son at college. The cookies came out great. I wrote about them in my new blog @ thebashfulnest.blogspot.com. I hope you get a chance to see them. Thank you for your kindness and enjoy your new pantry! Michelle
ReplyDeleteAnother fabulous post. I so enjoy reading your blog. :) I must say that I am absolutely coveting your new baking pantry. So much space...and so WELL ORGANIZED!! Awesome. Enjoy it. And have fun going through all those little treasures. Keep smiling!
ReplyDeleteThe pantry is beautiful, the dinner looks delicious but the best part about this post was the box of treasures long forgotten that you discovered. What a collection of priceless memories!
ReplyDeleteWould you be so kind to share your recipe for the Pork Roast? It looks delicious! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for replying to my email and for sharing your special memories specially meeting and corresponding with your husband and marrying in Reno. I love your pantry , and I hope you share the pork roast recipe looks delish!
ReplyDeleteSo glad I found your blog
That pantry! oh my word! I need it! haha. It looks great! I loved looking through these pictures! ooo what a sweet box of letter to find!
ReplyDeleteLove the baking pantry. How does the lighting work? Do the lights come on when the door opens? What type of lights are they. I've only seen ones like that where you have to tap it to turn it on. I'd like to do something similar in my linen closet.
ReplyDeleteThanks - Kathy
kmcourter@yahoo.com
Wow! I don't even bake but now I want a baking pantry. It's fabulous.
ReplyDeleteTwo questions, please:
1) Where did you get the little shelf lights in your baking pantry? I've tried a dozen pantry lights and hated them all but those look PERFECT.
2) A recipe would be much appreciated! :)