Curious readers wanted to know what John and I exchanged for Valentine’s Day, so here’s the story. I found a charming vintage metal card catalog at a local thrift shop for $5 (it was marked $6, but I’m a notorious negotiator) and immediately fell for the gray-green finish and sturdy steel drawer pulls. Since John is our household chef—and because he once worked at a library (and his mother still does)—I knew a repurposed card catalog would be both useful and sentimental in our kitchen.
The moody sea-green tone harmonized perfectly with our green-blue-gray kitchen, so I started imagining a few ways to use it on the drive home. I considered rewriting John’s favorite recipes onto index cards and organizing them by ingredient or meal. It could also function as a compact bread box—each drawer fits a loaf—or as a tidy utensil caddy for our array of spoons and spatulas.
Once I set it on the counter, the perfect solution revealed itself: a spice drawer. I placed our spice jars into one drawer, added simple labels to the tops so names are visible when the drawer is opened, and it worked beautifully. The drawers are deep enough that I could fit all our spices into a single drawer, which freed the other drawer for storing spoons and spatulas.
John was delighted with the gift. He appreciates the added storage and the vintage-industrial character it brings to the kitchen. One detail he especially loves is an old-fashioned label indicating the catalog came from New York—a meaningful touch since that’s where we met and fell in love.
What did you give or receive for Valentine’s Day? I’d love to hear. And stay tuned—John has a surprise for me later today.
Interested in more spice storage ideas? Door Sixteen has a helpful suggestion that inspired me.