Today: My Kitchen Utensils Get Some TLC

Noooooooo!!!!!!!

Yes!

Oh, yes!

My boyfriend jokes that our kitchen drawer was like the "NO" picture in some infomercial advertising a better way to store your cooking utensils. We had two "organizers", but they were big and had amorphous shapes that did nothing to inspire us to relegate certain utensils to specific spots. Instead, everything was sort of swimming about haphazardly. As a result, we had to dig through the entire drawer to find the measuring spoon, vegetable peeler, or any tool we desired,. Another annoying thing is, more often than not, it was a hassle to get the drawer to open or close.

Determined to correct this, I set out to find something huge to toss all my larger utensils in. At Fishs Eddy, I found this really cute Brooklyn Crock. Fortunately, an exceptionally helpful salesperson intercepted when I told her what I would be using the crock for. She suggested I use wide mouthed Ball jars of various sizes. This would help me better organize the utensils by size and possibly even by color and material (steel, black plastic, wood). I was so grateful for her help because 3 jars were a faction of the price of the crock and seemed to be the perfect way to avoid bringing the chaos that existed in the drawer up to my counter.

I ended up needing only two of the jars (pint and quart sized) because I had so many other suitable containers at home: A large vintage green glass vase and a smaller vintage purple vase (both from Salvation Army), three adorable Moroccan themed glasses from a dollar store in Queens, and two cup sized Ball jars. All this stuff has been just hanging around my various apartments for years awaiting their destiny beyond holding the occasional flower or breakfast juice. I now feel like I could stare at my counter forever. Everything on it is beautiful and orderly. It feels almost just as good to open my utensil drawer and look my knives and backup cutlery who, if they could speak, would surely say how happy they are to have some breathing room.

I can't clean or organize without it being a party so I let Pandora play DJ. I heard Erykah Badu's The Healer for the first time. She is so fantastic! Watch this video to hear the song performed live, and to see her fantastic afro! I need to find that wig!!!!!

Crow Hill Community Association Mural Project

This weekend, I participated in a mural project organized by the Crow Hill Community Association. I was one of over 30 community artists chosen to paint a panel on an 8 foot high board that had been bordering a vacant lot on Franklin Ave and Eastern Parkway for a couple years. The project was a superblast for my self-esteem as both an artist and as a community member. I am grateful to have been part of this.

Me, at my mural.

 I will post more photos of the project soon. Lots of folks were taking photos, so it's just a matter of time before they are shared.