A FRESH New Start

Photo of the new kitchen, pre-move-in, taken from the Dining/Living room. (A. Mayberry)

Photo of the new kitchen space (pre-move-in), from the edge of the kitchen, facing our stove, oven and cabinet space. (A. Mayberry)

For those of you who haven't already heard, my husband and I just moved from a one-bedroom apartment into our very first home. Along with all the responsibility of being an adult (in general) we now have taken on the tasks that homeowners have in caring for and maintaining a home that will become not only a sanctuary for us, but also a place that is warm and welcoming to our friends, family and guests.

New House = New Kitchen. All of the pots, pans, plates, glasses and cooking utensils have all been unpacked as have my cookbooks. A little grocery shopping done over the weekend means our refrigerator and our pantry are fully stocked with the necessary ingredients needed to make meals from scratch. (No more Mac N Cheese, Top Ramen or take-out to tide us over!)

What will make this week even more exciting is the menu for this week. After all of the packing, unpacking and the work and family obligations that have crunched the schedule (and my usual daily cooking routine), I am HAPPY to get back in to the kitchen ... and COOKING. I'm pulling out the stops! I'm going gourmet this week to make up for all of the restaurant food and boxed or frozen stuff that we've resorted to in order to accommodate the things that were packed away and the need to focus on our transition to our new home.

I crave chopping onions and garlic ... sauteéing red peppers ... tossing in a dash of the necessary seasonings ... the steaming and grilling ... the aromas ... and that sense of accomplishment I get when my husband and I take our first bites of the culinary creations. I hope to have lots to blog about ... and lots of pictures to post!

So I raise a glass (or, at present, my travel mug of coffee) to a FRESH new start .... to a new home, a new kitchen, new meals .... and to new adventures. Cheers! and Buon Appetito!