Coffee Bar, Yes or No?

Do you have a coffee bar in your house or want one? I never really thought about it before, but ever since I found out about them, I've wanted my own, so I created a space for it. I've found myself enjoying coffee a lot more and I've started getting up early every morning to make my husband and I a cup. First I started with my twelve cup coffee pot. I found a glass cutting board that I wasn't using and laid it in the middle of my coffee bar. On the cutting board, I put my cannister's and other items. In the left corner, I put an antique coffee pitcher, with a handmade cotton decoration and hung my coffee cups on the wall to the left. This is what it looked like.

After a while, I decided it just wasn't functional enough for what I wanted, so I went back to the drawing board. I kept some elements and added others. I stopped by the Dollar Tree and bought a few more items just for this project. I also got a one cup pot from my mother, that she wasn't using.

We use it more than we do the twelve cup pot. I'm still going to keep the big pot just in case we have visitors. The items I bought were two office items, a couple of black baskets like this. 

I use the pen basket for trash, such as used sugar packets.

I use the long basket for the sweetener packets and the lids to my travel mugs. I also got two small cannister's with a flip down latch and a friend gave me another jar that was also a Dollar Tree item. In the two cannister's I bought, I keep sugar and creamer. In the one my friend gave me, I keep stevia, just in case I run out of packets. 

I should also tell you, the coffee mugs came from Dollar Tree also. My husband bought them with plates and bowls, for my Christmas present. Also for Christmas, I got four metal travel cups with lids while playing Dirty Santa. I incorporated them into the project as well, for those days when we're on the go. My husband uses them on those mornings he works. 

I bought the cow creamer at Walmart. It's one of the Pioneer Woman dishes. I use it to keep my stirring spoon in for now. I have thought of buying those small coffee straws and putting them in it, but I kind of feel like for us, that would be a waste of money, so I will just keep using the baby spoon, I'm currently using. I always just wash it after the morning rush and put it back. I also keep a set of coasters out and available, so that my tables don't get that coffee ring on them. I keep my tea boiler and my tea bags here too, because of how convenient it is to just grab the pot, toss a couple of bags in it and fill it up at the sink. We're Southern, so sweet tea is a must in our household, though, I've really cut the sugar down a lot, to save us from being diabetics someday. I do think once we're moved into our new house, the tea boiler will go somewhere else. I want the coffee bar to be just that, a coffee bar.  

Here's a picture of the final project. 

I admit it's a little busy. My husband says it's too much turquoise, but I like it. I would love to be able to stack items, but I don't have much room under the cabinet. I hope that once we get moved, I can set it up on a table with no cabinets above it. I want one of those two tiered galvanized trays I see everyone else using. 

Since doing this, I find it easier to get up in the morning because I don't have to wait long to get my caffeine fix. I get up at four thirty, put myself a cup of coffee on then clean up any mess left in the kitchen from the night before, while I drink my coffee. I then put my husband a cup on around five, because he gets up a little after that for work. While it's making, I will get his lunch box ready for the day, then go back and fix his coffee the way he likes it. At five thirty, he gets his coffee and lunch, walks out the door, and heads to work. I then wake my daughter for school. She likes her coffee a little weak, so I just reuse my husbands coffee grounds to make hers. I'm sure all of this would be easier with a K-cup machine, but mine isn't made for those, and to be honest, I like that about it because I can buy my coffee in bulk and fix it as strong or as weak as I need to, depending on the person. 

After my daughter leaves for school, I sit down and relax until my son wakes up, then it's breakfast time. I've thought about the idea of a breakfast bar, as well. Maybe if my kitchen wasn't so small, this would be a good idea. Then again, I'm a stay at home mom, I can just fix breakfast. Oh well, maybe that's something for all of you working moms on the go.  

     

HEALTHY PEANUT BUTTER BANANA KNOCKOFF

With me being on a strict diet and my three year old being lactose intolerant we can't have ice cream. So today I got a little creative. I cut up a large banana and froze it, then this evening I put it in my food processor with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a little bit of lactose free milk. I didn't measure the milk but it was probably a quarter of a cup or less. Surprisingly, it tasted like icecream and everyone loved it. My family is a bit picky when I try knew things. I knew you could freeze banana and do this because I'd seen it on pinterest. I've tried frozen peaches before but they hated it, saying it tasted too much like yogurt. My mom loves frozen yogurt and is a diabetic so I gave that to her but they all enjoyed this quick easy little snack. it was healthy, quick and hit the spot. My craving for something sweet has been satisfied and my son finally got to taste something similar to icecream. He loves it, but lactose free ice cream is so hard to find around here. Often I feel guilty when we get ice cream and he doesn't. Now I can fix him something special that he can eat when everyone else is eating ice cream and he won't even know the difference

Kitchen Appliance Update

Hey y'all,
I wanted to show y'all my new and improved small appliances. All it took was a couple can's of spray paint and about fifteen minutes of my time. Then I just let it dry.

I absolutely love how the crockpot turned out. 

The Food Saver needs another coat of paint, but I ran out of black before I could get a second coat on. Also, I think I'm going to go back over it where I left it white. I originally wanted to see the food saver label, but now I just think it turned out tacky. The mixer turned out great, as did the crock pot. I love the crock pot. Now let me tell you why I didn't paint it black. Our color scheme for our new house is going to be turquoise and terracotta. Now the crockpot isn't turquoise but it was as close as I could find at Walmart. The reason I went with this color though was because of the inside pot. I just didn't think it would look good with black paint and a splash of color right in the middle of the table just looks so pretty to me. This is not the original lid that came with the crock pot. The one that came with it was old, warped and plastic, so I threw it away. I had a couple of old metal lids that I lost the pot's, years ago, so I picked the one with the plastic knob and painted it to go on top. It looked so good, my husband asked me why I didn't paint them all the same color. It looks like a brand spanking new pot instead of the old vintage one, I bought for a dollar at a yard sale. What do y'all think? Should I paint them all the turquoise or leave them black to match my large appliances? I may have to go back with some different paint later and redo the plastic pieces of the stand mixer, such as the top and bottom of the blender. I didn't realize it but I bought the wrong can of spray paint. This one didn't specify that it could be used on plastic, so fingers crossed that I won't have to fix it later, but if I do that's alright. If y'all decide to do this project, make sure the paint you buy is made for all surfaces like the turquoise paint is.

Anyway, I made a video of the process, and I have posted the link below.

Be sure to check it out.

https://youtu.be/bdt3fWXI-1w

Catch ya later!