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Thursday, August 5, 2021

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

40 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday, Natasha. What a wonderful celebration you had with so much love and joy. Surely the after glow will last all year long. The kitchen is so delightful with all of its detail and so many items and accessories to make it a special treasure. We watched your mom build the kitchen from the floor up, and while she gave great detailed explanations, nothing prepared us for the exquisite miniature kitchen. You will have so much fun with it.

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  2. They’re such lovely photos Jodi, you all look so happy! I’m so glad you had a great time together and Natasha loved her gifts. You will both get so much joy from the kitchen for years to come.

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  3. Happy Birthday Natasha!

    She's going to have so much fun with this Jodi. Can't wait to see what she chooses to use and how she'll set it up.

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  4. I’m surprised and amazed that you all made it through the evening without opening that beautiful box. Natasha looks just delighted with her new kitchen, and no wonder, it is stunning and comes with so many fun accessories. Happy Birthday Natasha!

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    1. Thanks Sherrill! It was a FULL and wonderful day! There just never seems to be enough time to fill our tanks when we get together!

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  5. The kitchen is such an incredible gift - no wonder Natasha was happy, overwhelmed and excited all at the same time. I can only imagine the hours of fun the two of you will be having together.
    Happy Birthday, Natasha.
    Anna

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    1. Thanks Anna! I am looking forward to our play date!

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  6. Happy Birthday, Natasha! Congratulations for your stunningly beautiful gift!
    It was a special experience for us, followers of your mom's blog, to watch the gift being created from start to finish. No doubt, dear Natasha, that you'll have endless hours of fun with this treasure of a gift.
    Dear Jodi, I wish you lots of happy family meetings like this one.
    Hugs, Drora

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    1. Thanks Drora! Family and friends are truly the joy in life!

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  7. Happy birthday Natasha!
    Beautiful and original gift from Jodi.

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  8. Qué bonita fiesta de cumpleaños y que regalo tan hermoso.
    Thasa estará realmente felíz. Muchas felicidades !!!

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  9. Es un regalo muy, muy especial. ¡Así se ve la cara de felicidad de Natasha!. Colocar todas las piezas tiene que ser una gran diversión.
    Que paséis un maravilloso cumpleaños las dos.

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    1. ¡Gracias Isabel! ¡Fue un día muy esperado para celebrarlo juntos y todos estábamos muy felices!

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  10. ¡Transmite mis felicitaciones a Natasha por su cumpleaños y por ese magnifico regalo! También a ti por tu gran trabajo y por mostrarnos paso a paso como lo has hecho y felicidades por esa preciosa hija.
    Una gran fiesta, feliz fin de semana. Besos

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    1. ¡Gracias Rosa María! Como sabes, ¡hacer minis pensando en otra persona es muy gratificante! ¡Estoy muy agradecida de haber tenido la oportunidad de construir esta cocina para una persona tan especial! ¡Y celebrar otro año juntos también es una bendición para celebrar!

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  11. Belated best wishes to Natasha. The kitchen is absolutely gorgeous Jodi, what a lovely, lovely gift. The last photo says it all, it's beautiful.

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    1. Thanks Polly! Tasha is grateful to have your birthday wishes! I am grateful to have had the privilege to work on such a fun project for such a special girl!

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  12. Dear Jodi, What a lovely party and what a lovely Family!!! Of Course Tasha was overwhelmed! Anybody with eyes would be totally overwhelmed at seeing this Incredible mini kitchen, let alone getting to take it all home to play!!!! I would want instructions too... how to plug, open and close, which things are "movable" and which are not! Clearly she has good sense and wants to get to know it carefully! And clearly she loves her Mom! :):):) I can imagine the kitchen will call to her in quiet moments and she will find her way into "playing" with the pieces. And I have no doubt that it will remind her of your love every time she sees it! And I hope you have many fun opportunities for "playdates" together! (Our youngsters get so busy just when we finally have some "time to spare"!)

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    1. Thanks Betsy! I hope once we get the chance to set up her "cook space", she'll find it as fun and relaxing as we miniaturists do! Getting to see how busy life is for young people trying to establish their life and careers has made me a better daughter to my mom, and a more understanding one to my kids!

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  13. The mini kitchen is absolutely perfect!

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  14. How wonderful that she is so happy with her gift. but let us be honest, how could she not be, with such a stunning mini kitchen! It is made with so much love and eye for detail by you, Jodi.

    It must have been a great day for both of you. The pictures show us a happy birthdaygirl! :-)

    Huibrecht

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    1. Thanks Huibrecht! I am glad she loves her kitchen and hope she gets a lot of fun out of it! But maybe, next year, she'd like another gift from Tiffany's? I think at this point she still likes jewelry much more than minis, lol!

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  15. Happy birthday Natasha, I can see you had the most wonderful birthday celebration and an amazing mother. I loved following the progress of this gorgeous and thoughtful gift. I am sure you will have loads of wonderful playtime with this ooak amazing kitchen. Dear Jodi, you are ooak too, xxx

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  16. Happy belated birthday wishes to Natasha aka the owner of the most wonderful birthday gift a daughter has ever received for a 34th birthday from a loving mother. The both of you looked so lovely in the last picture and seeing Tasha beem with joy at all the pictures I have no doubt it was a birthday party as it should be. However, I'm a bit confused now... no tissues needed??? *LOL*

    I bet Natasha will have loads of fun discovering all the clever gadgets and beautiful pieces you've added for her. And even more when you're coming over to show her some options.

    Thanks for inviting us to the party - and for taking us along on this journey of making one of the most stunning and touching birthday gifts I've ever seen.

    Hugs
    Birgit

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    1. Thanks Birgit! I wish that you could be here to help me teach Tasha how to properly play minis!

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  17. I not only Adore the Amazing finished kitchen you've built for your daughter, but I'm also blown away that you've left it un-accessorised so that she can arrange all of those adorable teeny tiny items you've supplied her with, herself- FUN TIMES AHEAD!
    To be able to share your skills and passion with the next generation isn't always the case, so here's wishing your beautiful daughter Natasha, many, many creative years of wonder shared together with you, and on a personal note,
    I think you're a Great Mom, Jodi! ❤️

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  18. Thank you, Elizabeth! 💗💗💗

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  19. Felicidades a Natasha.
    La cocina esta preciosa, es una maravilla.
    Tienes una hija preciosa con una sonrisa muy contagiosa.
    Ha sido un placer disfrutar de tu trabajo en este proyecto siendo tan especial.
    Un saludo

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    1. ¡Muchas gracias Marian! ¡Me alegra que fueras ella para compartirlo con nosotros!

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  20. What a lovely gift to create and to have all the wonderful little accessories ready to play with (including the Tacky Wax) is the icing on the cake. You're definitely going to enjoy your "play date" together and it'll be nice to see again when all the lovely items are in place.

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    1. Thanks Irene! At this rate, we're both so busy that we'll have to take it with us on our trip in October, lol!

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