A Baker and a Candlestick Maker

Every two weeks Bloggers unite for a day to write about a communal topic. This week LetsBlogOff is all about Cookies! 

                                                     

My mom was not a great cook or even a good cook though she tried.   I didn’t know vegetables could taste good until I moved into my own apartment & started learning how to cook.  What my mom could do well was bake!  She didn’t bake often mostly for church & school bake sales and Christmas.  She also made candlesticks and you can see them here.

I grew up in a house with a wonderful kitchen.  It was long with two large corner windows at the end with table & chairs tucked in.  The stove was a drop in and the oven was a separate wall unit located near the garage door.  There was also a long counter on the sink side of the space.  Keep in mind these are my memories, my mom may have hated the fact that there was no counters directly next to the stove or the ovenJ  I knew good smells were on the horizon when I saw the mixer pulled out and set up on the counter.

 

www.mexicanwedding.org

The three very distinct cookies I remember my mom baking were: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Drop Cookies & Gingerbread Men.  I am sure she made others I just can’t recall.  I probably remember these three because I was allowed to “help”.  I rolled the Mexican Wedding Cookies in the powdered sugar (I can’t imagine the mess I made) and set them out on the cookies sheets.  For the Drop Cookies I unrolled the Hersey Kisses and “dropped” them onto the cookie.  I think I ate as many as I dropped.  The gingerbread men were fun because I always was handed the leftover dough to make whatever I wanted!

www.bakerella.com

www.starkinsider.com

My sister-in-law has carried on the tradition and has my mom’s recipe cards.  Anytime I visit, cookies from my mom’s recipes are always on the counter! 

Set me straight…

My neighborhood’s Home Tour was this past weekend and I volunteered to be a docent at a house and afterwards took the tour.  I admire the homeowners who chose to have hundreds of strangers walk through their homes.  There were 9 bungalows built in the 1920’s and 1 four square home.  All the homes had recently been remodeled and there is my dilemma.

The kitchens were beautifully remodeled.  Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances the latest in lighting, all straight out of HGTV.  It is just, that in my opinion, it doesn’t fit the house, at all.  I personally think a bungalow kitchen is timeless and I don’t understand why homeowners, who purchased a bungalow, get seduced by these DIY shows all showing the same materials show after show after show.  A classic kitchen saves money in that it is always in style and you won’t be taking the sledge hammer too it in three years.  Can we say avocado green refrigerators anyone?

My favorite house on the tour belongs to an architect and it, by far, melded classic design with some more modern counterparts.  It was gorgeous but not over the top ie. subway tile in the kitchen and bathrooms.  I loved each room and tried to nonchalantly settle into the library but they did eventually notice and said it was time for me to move on.  Even the garden potting area was beautiful.

My house was built in 1948 so no classic bungalow kitchen for me but I will take some hints.  The first has been when an appliance died the replacement was white NOT stainless steel, though each salesperson tried their best. Friends that got the latest stainless steel appliances have mentioned the “R” word.  As in rust, which in Florida is not unusual.   I haven’t decided on a countertop material but I will keep reading Paul Anater’s blog http://www.kitchenandresidentialdesign.com/  and Nick’s at Cupboards http://www.cupboardsonline.com/ and I know eventually I will find the right material. 



http://www.forbo.flooring.us



My year of house had linoleum flooring.  I know this because when my new white refrigerator leaked I ended up with two holes in the very cheap square tiles through which I can see the green (at least it isn’t avocado green) original flooring.  I love Marmoleum because it offers tons of designs.  I am a basic person so a two color square pattern works for me but you could get really creative.  I am sure there is other flooring that is also appropriate so speak up in the comments section. 





There isn’t a good segue but I just have to show you the picture of the three different wall coverings that I found when I took some heavy vinyl off a wall in the kitchen. 

Of course a new kitchen for me is quite a ways on the horizon and by then who knows what new materials will be available. I am sure with a good designer and architect one could use these materials effectively in an old classic home.  So designers and architects set me straight!