Nice rack!

I have spent the last two days making an early Christmas present for the Sous Chef and myself:

Don't know what it is yet?  Okay, here's another picture:

Note the coffee maker and knife set at the bottom right...

That's right, I have officially overhauled our spice rack!  Before, it was a messy conglomeration of clashing bottles and plastic containers.  Now, it is organized, uniform, and beautiful!:

I have wanted to redo our spice rack for years.  The idea of having matching, nicely labeled, easy to access spices was one of those ideas that was constantly on the back-burner of my mind.  Every small bottle I saw in a store was a potential spice receptacle.  Every narrow shelf, a potential spice supporter.  There were lots of "almost rights", but nothing was ever quite there.

And then I discovered Pinterest.

Thanks to a few specific searches on Pinterest, I was inundated with images of how others have organized their own spices.  I carried this cloud of imagery with me in my psyche as I traveled to IKEA and Hobby Lobby to brainstorm and find inspiration.  I found the perfect shelving and bottles at IKEA.  Hobby Lobby supplied the rest (after two and a half hours of searching, thinking, opinion-polling of strangers, and considering-reconsidering-considering once againing).

I spread out my supplies on the table: paper punch, stamp and ink pad, bottles, paper cutter, card stock, double-sided tape, glue gun, marker, magnet tape, ribbon.  Within seconds of my paper cutter starting its familiar battle cry - squeak, chop, squeak, chop - I was visited by a very familiar face:

Dolce, a.k.a. Arts and Crafts Kitty.  Whenever I get out my paper cutter, my thread, my fabric, or my scissors, Dolce is following closely behind.  She watches me like an eagle and "helps", usually by sitting directly on top of whatever it is that I'm working on.  She's also an excellent paper pusher.  But I digress.

I spent the next eight hours or so in a frenzy of DIY dementia: paper punching, stamping, ribbon cutting, ribbon taping, magnet gluing, magnet cutting, paper taping, paper labeling...

I was on a roll.  The Sous Chef was happy working out in the real world, and I was completely engrossed in my project, fueled by the happiness that accompanies knowing that what you are working on is going to turn out amazingly.

Then it came time to dismantle the current spice rack.  This involved unscrewing the rack from the wall and removing it.  I was disappointed to see that the rack had left black paint on several portions of our white wall.  My progress was temporarily delayed as I ventured out to get the extra paint and applied a few coats to cover up the black, then dried it with a hair dryer.  I measured and marked where the holes would have to be drilled.

Drilled.  I don't usually drill.  That's the Sous Chef's manly job.  But the Sous Chef was at work.  And I was on a roll.  So I got out the drill.  And I drilled.  And I saw smoke.  And I freaked out.  And I quietly put down the drill and walked out of the kitchen, logged back on to Pinterest and began brainstorming a new organizational system for my sewing fabric. The Sous Chef would be home in a couple of hours anyway.

Eventually my knight in drilling armor did come home, and I quickly told him that I had saved the drilling for him so that when people complimented us on our new spice system, he would be able to say that he helped out too.  Plus, I added, I know how much he likes having an opportunity to use his power tools.  Really, my reasoning was completely selfless.  The epitome of altruism.

I conveniently forgot to tell him about the smokey freak-out session.

A few loud and squeaky electric-tool driven moments later, and the shelves were in place.  They looked good.  The excitement continued to bubble up inside of me as I placed each of the jars above its designated spot.  A spot which, by the way, is marked by a magnetic label which can be easily moved along the magnetic front strip of the shelf to make room for any additions to or subtractions from our spice family.  I'm not bragging; I'm just passing along information.  As any good altruist would do.

Oh who the heck am I kidding...I am so happy with myself right now!  I mean, check out this before and after shot, and try to tell me you're not impressed:

Now what should I cook first with my "new" spices?

Eat (and season) well.