Happy Birthday Natasha!

After nearly a year of planning and working in secret, last Saturday was finally the day for Natasha's 34th birthday party and the unveiling of her kitchen room box!  

When she arrived at the house she was greeted with this gigantic gift wrapped box. I was so happy to have found actual blue chevron wrapping paper! I made it a lift off gift box with the room box and two wrapped accessory boxes hidden beneath. She had to keep looking at it for hours until it was time to open gifts!

When I asked Tasha a few weeks ago what kind of birthday dinner she wanted, of course she said she wanted to cook! She loves to cook and to explore cuisines from all over the world. When her and Brent went to the Philippines after college graduation, she even tried Balut!

Luckily, what she wanted to cook together this time was a little less exotic, though very spicy! We made Sheet Pan Pork Chops with Tapenade from Matty Matheson's Homestyle Cookery cookbook. It was so delicious, and for the folks in the family that like things hot - scrumptious!

Sheet Pan Pork Chops and Veggies, Tapenade and bread for mouth cooling.

Lex, Ande, Tasha (chopping herbs) and Brent.

Last summer I found a neat charcuterie set for Tasha. I asked her to bring it so that we could set up hors d'oeuvres. Little did she know that soon, she would be opening a perfect 1/12th scale charcuterie board made by Erzsebet Bodzas of Hungarian Miniatures!

We were all having such a great time together, by the time we got around to opening gifts it was VERY LATE! I had only set up a replica bottle of Tasha and Brent's homemade wine, two real blown glass wine glasses and a corkscrew in the kitchen. I wanted Tasha to see the kitchen for the first time without my decorating influence, if possible. She opened the big box and the two smaller gift boxes containing everything a kitchen needs for a real good start. There were no tears, Birgit, just a lot of excitement and a good bit of overwhelm!!! With Brent having to be up early for work the next morning, we agreed to have her come back to play the next day. 

Looking through the sliding "Glass" front wall.

Before she arrived the next morning, I had set up the charcuterie and a couple other small things. I gave her a better tour and some ideas about how to arrange the items on the open shelves and in the opening door/drawers of the island. She was still a bit overwhelmed about where to begin!

I suppose to a new miniaturist, it really is a lot to take in! She was excited that I included the octopus cornices and the art work!

Tons of artisan vegetables and fun, mass produced accessories.

Artisan fruits. She loved the split avocado, fuzzy coconut, cut lime and the peeled oranges!

Bags packed full of kitchen essentials!

Remember Phyl the orchid? She loved him!

She was fascinated by the tiny herbs!

She loved the octopus accessories!

Extra aprons are a must have!

Cookbooks in a kitchen? YES!

3D printed paper towel holders in a variety of colors.

A few essentials and décor items to add a splash of color.

Framed octopus art in various sizes.

Tasha loved the vintage linen patterns.

I introduced her to Roxanne and showed her what it would feel like to be a 5-1/2" person in the kitchen. The visual was really helpful!

I shared the blog links so that she could go back and look at the building and planning process from the start. Since Tasha had to drive all the way home with it, we didn't want to get it all set up and risk breaking anything. That means I'll get to go to Tasha's house soon for a mini play date! I can show her how to use the Museum Wax. long tweezers and the tricks to placing tiny things. She's got a crazy travel schedule for work the next few weeks, but I'll post update photos with the kitchen all set up when we finally get together.

Here is a photo of Natasha's Kitchen in it's new home. It will be displayed in Tasha's home office where she can take stress breaks to play.

I can't believe my baby girl is 34 years old, and that making a dollhouse for her 23 years ago is what ignited this miniatures passion and incredible journey for me! I am so grateful to be able to share this with her once again!

And so grateful to share it all with you! Thank you all for coming along on this mini kitchen journey with me! 

xo xo,

Jodi