Butter Bell

I saw a butter bell for the first time last Saturday. Never seen or heard of one before.


You take softened butter and press it into the bell. Put cool water in the dish and upend the bell into the water creating a seal that keeps air out of the crock. This allows you to keep your butter on the counter so it stays soft. Interesting idea.



I got on Amazon and found varying prices averaging between $9 to $20. I love the idea of having the soft butter always available but I wanted to try it "on the cheap". So I came up with my own idea. I bought a small herbal size flower pot for $1and a flat bottomed bowl for $ .50 at a thrift store. So, for $1.50 I had a homemade butter bell. I started using it Monday and it's working great!

More Photos of Our Kitchen

Here are some more photos of our kitchen.









Our coffee bar

Decorating In My Kitchen

This is our kitchen. It's on the front of our house with a "fish bowl" window. I love it. I watch the neighborhood while I'm in the kitchen. This big bay window gives us an eating area. The kitchen cabinets are the original 1984 cabinets and they are still in wonderful condition to be 26 years old! I wanted a bright, cheerful kitchen so I chose a bright blue with bright white trim and I use bright yellow as accents.

How To Store Potatoes And Onions

Potatoes and onions need to be stored separately and in a cool, dark place with plenty of air ciculation. They should not be stored together as the onions can put off a gas that affects the potatoes.

I did a look on the Internet for ideas on how to store potatoes and onions. A lot are baskets. I have used baskets in the past and there was a problem. When a potato or onion goes bad, it's really hard to clean a basket. A rotten potato really stinks and you have to be able to clean up the container. Wood and baskets are a little hard to clean. It will discolor them both too. If you use your root vegetables quickly then you won't have that problem. Root vegetables leave dirt and onion skins which can filter through a basket. I only buy a 5 lb bag of potatoes or a small bag of onions at a time but there is just the 2 of us. Here are the ideas I found.


These wooden boxes should have pegboard backs for air circulation.





I like the idea of getting the oldest potatoes (on the bottom) out first.

Ideas For Storing Baking Sheets

Someone asked me for ideas on storing cookie sheets, muffin tins, roasting pans. They can be ungainly but cookie sheet storage can be done. Here are some ideas that I found on a Google search.

What a great way to gain some unexpected space by having these toe board drawers!























So I challenge you to go organize your baking pans!