Sharon, I agree, I like the appetizers better than the meals, sometimes. It gives me a chance to have a bite of this and that, a little bit of everything and still have room for a sweet! Love appetizers.... I make these and fill them with hot pepper jelly, but a dab of herb flavored cream cheese is nice with a dab of fig jelly too. I use the small end of a melon baller to make the indentations, but a spoon works too. My mother likes them with no filling at all, just left as cheese crackers. It's a little fancier version of the block of cream cheese with hot pepper jelly over top. Savory Cheddar and Jalapeno Jelly Cookies from Rick Rodgers Makes about 4 1/2 dozen 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 1/2 cups) 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup jalapeno jelly, or sub apple butter or chutney Place cheese and butter in a food processor (could be creamed by hand or mixer); add flour and process until the mixture forms a soft dough. Gather up the dough and divide into two flat disks. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until chilled, about 45 minutes. Position two racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 400°. Line to baking sheets with parchment or use nonstick sheets. Using 1 teaspoon dough for each, roll the dough into small balls and place 1 inch apart on the sheets. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from the oven. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or 1/2-inch-thick dowel, poke an indentation in each cookie. Place the jelly in a small plastic bag and force it down into one corner. Snip off the corner of the bag to make a small hole. Pipe the jelly into the indentations. Return to the oven and bake, switching the positions of the sheets from top to bottom halfway through baking, until the tops are very lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Palmiers made with puff pastry are nice too, and can be filled with cheese, herbs, meat, whatever. Tiny puffs made of pate choux are nice filled with seafood salad or tiny shrimp, and Sharon's gougere are always welcomed here. I'm making pimento cheese and hummus, as well as pickles, olives, sausages and a selection of crackers. Annie

Thank you so much mammagoose and herbflavor! you've given me so much more to think about. It was my Jan post that finally lead to me coming the the conclusion I needed to open the wall between the dining room and kitchen. I have never, ever considered moving the peninsula 90 degrees, or having a - gasp -island! Maybe when you have lived in a tiny kitchen for 16 yrs it is hard to imagine actually having space. We are having a beam installed, so there isn't a need structurally to have that funny piece of wall next to the fridge in my first drawing. That was just my attempt to try to keep definition between the kitchen and the dining room, kind of like this. We have similar original crown molding (minus the leaves) and trim. My thought with removing the wall was to keep a similar strip all around. It is a 1920s house and I want to keep that feel while still having a space for today's lives. The N wall cant be moved at all or have windows as it is interior. The fridge and range are your standard sizes and just purchased (at a great sale!) so those are fixed. I had considered your idea for sink on the S wall, but I felt like E made a bit more sense to get garbage, sink and dishwasher more in a row. I envision the peninsula as more of a space for sitting and interacting with me while I work in the kitchen than prep space. But again, maybe I can't imagine anything different because I am too constrained by today's realities. I am really going to think about that 90 degree option. There is no "kitchen designer" on this project so I really appreciate all of the feedback I am getting from this community.

I’d be sorry to see you lose the angled pantry in the kitchen, and I like the direct connection from the kitchen to the dining room. Have you considered putting a door of some sort on the back of the pantry that could operate as a pass through from the garage to the kitchen? Honestly though, it doesn’t look too far to carry groceries from the garage and set them on the peninsula. (It’s certainly a much shorter jaunt than what we do from our driveway, along the walkway across the front lawn, up the porch, through the entryway, across the kitchen and onto our kitchen island!) Putting a pantry in the former doorway to the dining room would make it feel quite crowded while working at the stove. I think you will appreciate that straight run of counter next to the stove much more. You will need that left hand run as a landing zone for hot dishes, as chances are good that to the right of the stove will be full of prep stuff as you cook. Personally, I think it can be a good thing to have what you’re calling a “junk area” somewhere in the kitchen. It’s helpful to have a “command center” (you can google those words and find images as examples) where a calendar, schedules, school papers, phone chargers, the iPad, etc. can all be housed where they’re convenient to access, but out of the way of the busyness of the food prep. That MW spot looks good for that. (Otherwise, that stuff might clutter up the peninsula, which I’m sure you’d rather keep clear for eating.) Nobody says you can’t put food items in drawers below the MW, though! It’s the perfect spot for boxes of cereal, snacks, and so forth. Maybe the top drawer could be outfitted with outlets for chargers where the electronics could dock, middle drawer for cereals, bottom one for snacks. I agree with you that the trash and dw will conflict if they open directly across from each other. Your aisle is just a little too narrow for that. I know you said you wanted to put pots and pans in the island cabinet facing the stove in an earlier thread, but I still maintain that this is the best spot for trash in your layout. I’d like to suggest that you consider putting the pots and pans in the base cabinets to the left of the stove instead. This would allow the trash to pull out toward the range.

The first photo the floor tiles look too beige with the walls on my monitor. The second photo I do not like the black diamond pieces with your wall tile. The third photo I do not like the dark grey tiles. I am sorry, I know what it is like to be under the gun time wise. I think a white tile that matches your wall is best (like Sina originally suggested is best). Definitely NOT anything marble - ask me how I know :( You have to get the right tile or you will always be unhappy. The tiler can come back another day and you can live without the shower a little longer. If it is the tiler pressuring you then pay him a little extra for an additional trip after you have the right tile. You will always be happy you did.