Grace Notes

I've been reading through the lovely book "Living A Beautiful Life".  Alexandra shares her thoughts about each room of the home and how to live a beautiful life in each room.  At the end of each section, she shares her grace notes about the room, and how to enhance it, in a nutshell.   I thought I would share a few of her "Grace Notes" from the kitchen with you today...

• Hang a string of garlic on the wall, and use it.
• Put eggs in an old wire basket.
• Use an old Welsh dresser, English baker's cabinet, or French armoire in the kitchen to store dishes and silverware.
• Marinate a chicken cut in quarters in freshly squeezed orange juice and fresh sliced ginger root, then bake slowly for two hours at 250 degrees. 
• On a cold afternoon, bake chocolate chip cookies and leave them out on cookie racks.  Nothing says "home" faster than this smell.  or you can give some of the cookies away to an elderly neighbor, or your neighbor's children. 
• Add a pinch of cinnamon and ground cloves to your ground coffee.  Brew, and drink out of your favorite mug. 
• Keep a food inspiration notebook in the kitchen.  Cover with pretty paper and use for menu and recipe clippings, and to jot down ideas.  This way everything will be in one place, and you will have inspiration handy for new ideas when you plan your meals. 
• Save perfume bottles to use as individual bud vases.  Select a variety of shapes and sizes for different blossoms and buds. 
• Treat yourself to new colorful pot holders; make it a seasonal purchase - they get a lot of use and can look tired. 
• Spread a pretty tablecloth over your coffee table and serve tea to a friend in front of the fire. 
• Buy charming aprons and "dress up" chores that give you pleasure.  Wearing an apron that adds color and cheer puts a smile on your face.  
• Retrieve a set of those pretty plates you have hidden away in a kitchen cabinet and hang them on the wall for all to see.  A good hardware store will have plate holders in several sizes, designed for hanging. 
• Serve chicken salad in scooped out vegetables, such as acorn squash, bringing more of your garden to the luncheon table.  Use the pulp for delicious squash soup. 

There are many more wonderful ideas that she shares about the kitchen, too many to copy here, but I thought as I picked out my favorites, how joyful and timeless this lovely book is.  Just thinking about doing some of the lovely inspirational ideas she has to spruce up your home brings joy to my heart.  

Today the weather has turned rainy and drippy.  We do so need the rain, and the lovely weather for a duck just makes me want to feather and fluff our warm cozy little space inside.  I took a walk with Annie in the rain, and we enjoyed the walk immensely.  

Walking in the rain has its own special joy! Have you ever walked in the rain?  It was just a drippy rain, so enjoyable to slosh along.  {smiles} 

As we returned to the house, a lovely cup of steaming hot tea warmed my hands and there was joy in my heart at being home.  A cozy inside day with this lovely book... grace notes so beautiful indeed.  

Here are a few of mine that I would add: 

• Put a loaf of homemade bread on for dinner.  There is nothing like the smell of fresh warm bread to welcome the family as they walk in the door.  

• My family has been requesting no-bake chocolate cookies recently... they are so easy to make. Just melt 1 pkg of Ghirardelli chocolate, 1 cup of chocolate chips and 2 Tbsp coconut oil together, then add 1 cup oatmeal,  1 cup chopped pecans, and 1/4 cup chopped dried cherries (or raisins).  Mix together well, drop onto parchment paper and pop in the refrigerator.  A tasty healthy treat! (You can also add trail mix instead of the nuts/cherries/raisins as well!) 

• Arrange fresh fruit and vegetables in a pretty bowl and place the bowl where your family can see the beauty of the bowl, and enjoy a healthy treat. 

• Our family loves beautiful music, and the piano or guitar are always encouraged to be played and we sit around as a family and enjoy the music, and each other's company.  

• Fresh flowers!  If I don't have blooming flowers in my home, I will either buy a little bouquet if flowers aren't in season, or gather them from our yard if they are in season.  Lovely fresh color in the home always adds so much joy! 

• Candles are a grace note in the home... especially a sweet candle as this one that was gifted to me by a precious friend.  Often I just light a candle or two to brighten up the home for no special reason.  Lighting candles just seems to radiate joy in the home. 

These are just a few "grace notes" I've found that add such joy to our home.  

Do you have grace notes of your own to add?  I'd love to hear them :)

I may be sharing this post with: 

Strangers & Pilgrims

Home Matters
Roses of Inspiration
Mosaic Monday
Darling Downs Mondays
No Place Like Home
What Joy Is Mine

So Much At Home

A Tray of Bliss

A Wise Woman