Matryoshka Measuring Cups

Happy Saturday! This weekend I am spending some quality time with my little ones, squeezing in a little cooking and baking during nap times and their allotted Sesame Street viewing time.

I think I'll use the adorable Matryoshka measuring cups I picked up with the birthday money my sweet Grandma sent me. 

I've had my eye on these for a while, but they keep selling out before I can get my hands on them.  Modeled after the traditional Russian nesting doll, this set comes with three dolls that fit inside each other, and the tops and bottoms double as measuring cups from 1/4 to a full cup.  I actually got them at a boutique in Chicago, but they are in stock and available now at Urban Outfitters. 

Thanks for the gift, Grandma! 

Kitchen Inspiration

This is not my kitchen.  But I have decided to pretend that it is.

image via House Beautiful

For three years, I've been giving my kitchen light fixtures the evil eye, while simultaneously doing absolutely nothing to correct the fact that they are hideous.  And now, all of the sudden, I can no longer look at them unless I am in the company of a licensed electrian armed with tools and ready to fix the ugly that hangs from the kitchen ceiling.

The previous owners of our home (who thankfully, do not read this blog) made some, well, hasty decorating decisions when trying to sell the house in a buyer's market.  They decided to "redo" the kitchen, which roughly translates to hanging as many mismatched light fixtures in one medium sized room as the ceiling would support.

Which brings me to my elusive search for the perfect fixtures.  After trolling the internet, digging through years and years of design magazines, and visiting every home improvement warehouse and lighting showroom in a 50 mile radius, it seems that the key to kitchen lighting is to look like you have none at all. 

And while we're at it, is it an unwritten rule that when you start one home improvement project, you unearth a dozen more?  Sigh.