Kitchen Love

Gosh it's been a week since my last post..time does fly.
To kick off this gloomy winter Monday in my neck of the woods I'm sharing photos of my kitchen. Those of you who've been following this blog since the early days (a year this August!) will know my family commenced a major renovation on our little piece of paradise set in the trees. A few of my blog friends have suggested I show more of my home and so here we are, the kitchen was a major exercise and I think it deserves to make an appearance on this little blog.
I was intending to share before pics then realised they're stored on the desktop and if I shut down the laptop to start again etc etc this post will never get up darlinks, so you will just have to use your imaginations.
So imagine an original 1990 kitchen in varying shades of blue with a servery bench top the size of a airport runway. We totally gutted the space in February 2011. The result is a design which Mr red roses and I conjured up. We'd renovated the kitchen in our last house using white cupboards and black bench tops and found that aesthetic suited us brilliantly so it was a no brainer to run with that scheme again. I can't see myself ever getting tired of black and white contrast. Clean, clutter free surfaces in my kitchen make my heart sing..
All in all I am beyond happy with the design and functionality. I hope you enjoy taking a wander through these photos I took on the iPhone soon after we moved in after the renovations.

I am very proud of my house because Mr red roses and I toiled extremely hard and extraordinary effort was poured into transforming this house.
You've surely heard the saying..'Blood Sweat and Tears', well it applied to us!

Entertaining is figuring in our lives once more since the dust has settled (figuratively speaking).
There's still a laundry to build and exciting plans for the outside entertaining area. All the fun and joy of major works (fingers crossed) are to commence in the not too distant future and the testament to our optimism is the cement mixer has been uncovered and hauled out to be press ganged into earning it's keep once again.

Wishing you happy tidings this week and stay safe.

Annie xx

Memories

Last weekend I unpacked this box. We moved three months ago. Slowly but surely getting there.

This box held keepsakes from my children's early years. Royal Doulton & Royal Albert crockery were popular gifts 20+ years ago and my babies were indulged by their relatives. 

Now awaiting grand-children. I'm not holding my breath.

Precious little bunny and teddies hand crafted by elderly relatives
My son's antique rattle. A Baptism gift from his Godparents

Can you see my pinkie above? This is my shiny kitchen bench top. Would you like to know how many times a day I need to wipe this service over? I surely have the cleanest benches this side of the black stump because the jet black shows every crumb!
But I love it to bits.

My daughter's Baptism candle. February is wretchedly hot and her candle kind of keeled over 20yrs ago. We made the decision to relegate it to candle heaven

 
My comb and brush from baby hood. This precious set is Very Old.

Now totally off topic...the latest acquisition to the redroses hacienda. A laundry basket. I'm obsessively particular about laundry hampers and it's taken me yonks to find a suitable style for the main bath. I love this  weathered look. The man of the house asked if I realised it looks like it's been lying on the beach.

Bless him... that's the idea.

Our en suite still requires a new laundry hamper and let me tell you I'm having a devil of a time tracking down the style I want and not paying a small fortune for the privilege.

Annie
xx