through the viewfinder: operation kitchen soulification

I mentioned a while back that one of my goals for 2009 was to make my kitchen more soulful.  I don't know if I'm achieving it, but I'm slowly making changes.  I finally couldn't stand it anymore:  this weekend we got rid of the cheap IKEA table that we've been using for the past two years (the one that I hated, because even though it was big enough for us to sit and eat from our plates, it wasn't big enough for the dishes of food to remain on the table while we did so ... so ridiculous), and we went out and bought an equally inexpensive (but bigger) kitchen table at Cost Plus World Market (an aside:  I am convinced that our family keeps that place in business.  I've spent so much money at that joint, our house is beginning to look one of their stores).

I rearranged some of the art and furniture in our house (including moving the soul window into the space, made by the lovely Trinidadian artist, Elspeth), and the result is a rather eccentric, psychedelic, somewhat-off-kilter-looking kitchen; however, damn it, it's one that feels more like us (which, I suppose, says tons about our family).  Anyway, that's progress, right?

Song: 32 Flavors, as performed by Alana Davis.  When I was thinking about the featured song for this post, I tried to imagine what song might be playing in our home if you dropped by unexpectedly to share a cup of tea and some banana bread in the kitchen.  Based on experience (and one well-worn iPod playlist), this one felt right.