Every time that I paint a room, I am surprised all over again how drastically it changes how the room looks and thus how I feel about my living space.

This past week, I set out to paint our kitchen and breakfast nook. I’ve had the paint in our shed since August, but never got around to actually slap it up on the walls. I wish that I hadn’t waited so long!

Our kitchen before (when we bought the house):

kitchen from living room before

sink and counter before

Our kitchen now:

kitchen from living room today

kitchen from breakfast nook

I’m going to tell myself that you find it endearingly charming that I didn’t bother to stage or style these photographs. Or even clean up at all. That’s charming, right? Not just extremely lazy?

handmade curtains over the sink

These handmade curtains (made from Heather Bailey fabric) set the color palette for the entire kitchen. I am head over heels in love with that fabric. Matthew and I are considering painting our pantry tomato red.

print from The Black Apple

Here is a close-up of that Black Apple print. This is much simpler than most of the work that’s in Emily’s store now, but that’s what I like about it: a girl in an apron, some mugs, a black kitten. What more do you need?

Jen Oaks calendar!

My Jen Oaks calendar up on the wall! We love it, Jen. It fits in here perfectly and makes me grin every time that I pass it on the way to the bedroom.

prints from Abby Try Again

I love these prints from local photographer Abby. I have a few more of her photographs; I’m just looking for the right place for them.

I’m so excited to be able to finally tell you that the second issue of Potluck Mania is here and available for purchase! Yay!

I asked you a week ago which format you would prefer: physical or digital, and boy, you guys came out of the woodwork to voice your opinion about it. I’m so glad that you did, because I had been debating it back and forth for weeks.

I listened to all of your comments and ultimately decided: I should offer both formats. Why not? Those of you who really like to have a professionally-published zine still have that option, and those of you who prefer to spend a little less and keep the zine on your hard drives or print out the recipes as you need them now may do that.

Let me tell you how you can get both formats of both issues of the zine!

• Issue #1: Baby, It’s Cold Outside professionally-printed zine
• Issue #1: Baby, It’s Cold Outside PDF
• Issue #2: Summer Dress Separates You from the Rest professionally-printed zine
• Issue #2: Summer Dress Separates You from the Rest PDF

You might notice that the price of the second issue of the zine is a little lower than the first. Although there are actually 2 more recipes in the second issue, I tried to bring the cost down for you by condensing the zine a little bit more and fitting more recipes per page—the second issue has 16 pages rather than 24 pages.

Speaking of my Etsy store, keep your eyes peeled there over the next couple of weeks. I’m going to be adding listings for (autographed and dedicated) copies of my cookbook, more Yellow Rose gift sets, and possibly even some grab bags.

Thanks again to my testers