Evolution of a kitchen

When we first moved into our house, I went theme-crazy.  We turned the dining room into a study and adorned it with sunflowers (we all know how that turned out), threw up grapes in the kitchen, put all the Amish/country stuff in the living room, etc.  Now that I have grown to know what I really like and don't like, I'm running away from themes.  Quickly.  Why limit my ability to surround myself with things I love just because it has pears on it instead of grapes?  Themed rooms can get out of hand quickly!

Now that the book room is devoid of a theme, if I see a sundial at an antique shop for $6, I can buy it without being annoyed that it isn't sunflower-related.  It's just cool, and I want it, so I should have a space where it will fit in.  And we've made that happen.  The sundial is awesome, by the way - check it out by the tripod lamp:

Also, we've removed most of the grapes from the kitchen, an exception being our awesome wall hanging, and the kitchen has been neutralized and updated with fresh paint and new window treatments.  Now, I don't have to worry when I buy an item that I love, like my new sweet pepper dish towel, because I know it will fit in with the rest of the room!  And when I decide to go funky and buy a purple spice jar to sit on the stove, full of an Italian seasoning blend, I can do it!  It's the little things in life that please me...can you tell?

Crate and Barrel is awesome - when I bought my butter dish online , I perused the dish towel selection and purchased the Cucina Verde towel, and when I went to the store the other day with a gift card burning a hole in my pocket, I picked up some more.  Someone really needs to ban me from buying towels, but they're so darn cute and functional!  It could be worse, I could be collecting Dooney or LV purses, right?  The towels are only $3-$6 each.

Love.