Guest Post - Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie

I would like to welcome Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie as a guest blogger today.  You should stop by her blog to see some places around the Canadian prairies and for some amazing recipes and yummy looking food.  She recently renovated her kitchen from stem to gudgeon and is sharing a bit of it here in her post.  It is simply a gorgeous kitchen and I know I can't get enough of it.  Thanks for doing a guest post Sarah!

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Thank you, Grace, for inviting me to guest post while you are on your humanitarian trip to Bangladesh. I am honoured. I hope you are having a great experience this summer and look forward to all the stories upon your return.

The challenge, should I take it, is to answer the following three questions:

1. What is the oldest item in my house?

2. What is my favourite thing I have made, or made over?

3. What is my favourite room in my house and why?

I have a soft spot for 'old things'. They seem to lend me the sense of history that makes me feel connected to the past. I have a few antiques but do not exactly know their age. It could be my little table from England. I found this on sale in a quaint shop in Calgary. It is the perfect piece for my small foyer. I like flowers or an objet d'arte at the front entry. The little drawer is handy for keys.

Or it might be this piece from a Ukranian church in Alberta. It was hand made with materials readily available - a bottom of a barrel, a newel, some wood. This is such a simple and beautiful piece with such history.

But I kept looking and found this duplicate certificate of title from 1870. The date is on it and I am sure it is the oldest thing in my house. I was a realtor for 30 years and this was a Christmas gift. It is hand written in ink with official seals and I added a pretty little red and gray feather that just seemed to fit. The piece was written on the same scroll as the original certificate of title and they were cut apart in a particular pattern. When the two pieces are placed together, the cut edges match and this proves the authenticity of the duplicate. Ingenious.

2. I completely renovated my 1960's bungalow last winter. I did save all the original mahogany doors and trim to maintain some of the integrity of the house. I did not want my home to feel like it was brand new but just an update of a classic. However, I did take out one closet so I could put that space into my tiny bathroom. It was a smart move. My bathroom feels so much larger now with that space added.

Rather than throw away the closet doors and trim, I used one to make a table for my studio. It is such a nice reminder of the original floor plan and a very useful way to use the beautiful mahogany. IKEA sells trestles that are just meant for making tables out of doors.


I gave the other door and trim to a carpenter who uses reclaimed mahogany. He was thrilled. I was delighted.



3. My favourite room is always my kitchen. I had such a beautiful kitchen in my last home. Now after my renovation in this bungalow, I have another wonderful kitchen. It turned out even better than I had envisioned. There is so much counter space and a ton of storage. The sink and stove are nice and close to each other without being too congested. My dishwasher is so quiet. And my gas stove is pure joy.

There is a lot of natural light and it overlooks my back yard.