Spice up your Spice Rack

Em and I have a friend named Taryn [name not changed to protect the innocent, because Taryn is wonderful]. A few years ago her husband hit the ripe old age of 30. Thirty is a significant birthday. It’s officially the age when you become an adult. I know, 21 is the official government recognized age of adulthood, but most folks in their 20’s are still in college, single, and blissfully unaware of coming responsibilities. But something happens at 30. I can’t really explain it. You feel like it is time to move into a new phase of your life. To shrug off the things of your youth and step into the life of adulthood.

From comic Poorly Drawn Lines

Taryn, being a wonderful wife, threw her husband a great 30^th birthday party. She rented out a cozy little place, secretly invited all of his friends, and whipped up the delicious food for the evening. It was a wonderful moment for him. Here he is, surrounded by close friends and family celebrating a significant day in his life.

What does this have to do with spice racks you ask?  Stick with me for a few more sentences and all will become clear.

Last year Emily turned 30. You'd hope that I would have followed in our friend's shoes and properly celebrate Em's day. But I didn't. I dropped the ball. I was the complete opposite of Taryn. I didn't do anything special. I didn't make a big deal of her big day. In fact, I don’t even think I gave her a gift until the day after her birthday. And that gift was something I spent 10 minutes on [a quick trip to World Market to pick out a necklace. It was a cool necklace…but still…] Emily was, how can I put this delicately, none-too-pleased. I mean I blew it. I totally muffed. I was a very bad husband.

Clearly this year I had some making up to do. SIGNIFICANT MAKING UP. It was the Mount Everest of making up.

Everest, smaller than the trouble I caused myself.

I couldn't erase the disappointment I caused last year. But I knew if I put some thought, heart, and soul into her birthday this year, I would be able to at least create a memory that will hopefully be longer lasting than the sad and disappointing memory I gave her for her 30^th birthday.

To make up for my sad showing I employed a three pronged strategy. Friends, Food, Function. Guys pay attention.

Friends: I wanted Em to have a day where she felt special. Where she felt the love she sends out into the world come back to her.

One of the things I admire about Emily is her ability to make friends easily. She can meet a perfect stranger in the park and before you know it they are lifelong friends. She has an amazing quality to connect with people. She does this so effortlessly because she's a great listener and genuinely cares about others.

We have lived in Connecticut, New Jersey, Oregon, and Utah, so Em has friends all over the country.  Thanks to an awesome little website named Facebook, I was able to send messages out to scores of her lifelong friends, asking if they would send Em a meaningful happy birthday text. I wanted Em's phone buzzing all day long with special little happy birthday messages.  

And ya know what? Those friends pulled through. On her birthday, all day long, texts were buzzing in left and right. Some made her laugh. Some made her cry. But all of them were dear. I think she ended up getting well over 50 texts that day from meaningful people in her life. If you were one of those people, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You helped to make her day wonderful.  

Food: The second thing I wanted to do was make sure she had a special night out. To accomplish this, I needed some significant help. The first person I turned to was my mother-in-law, Sherrie. We have two young kids, and while they are the love of our life we need a little time away from them now and again. So about a month before her birthday I spoke with Sherrie, and arranged for the kids to spend the night at her house. The kids love their Grandma.

Next I contacted two of her dearest friends here in Utah to see if they and their husbands would be able to join us for a birthday dinner. Emily adores these two gals, and she never feels like she gets enough time with them, so a birthday dinner was the perfect opportunity. I asked the friends to keep the plans quiet, and they were awesome. Em didn't know they were joining us for dinner until they showed up [p.s. we went to this great little place called Blue Lemon. If you live in SLC or are ever in SLC check them out. Delicious, fresh, and healthy]. 

But wait, the night was not yet over. I have a friend who works for a nearby hotel. He was able to hook us up with a nice little get-a-way suite. 

In the end it was a wonderful night. And much thanks goes out to my mother-in-law who by watching the kids helped me pull the night off.

Function: Normally for Em’s birthday I give her a necklace or a cute blouse or something. This year, for obvious reasons, I wanted to give her something a little more meaningful. Something with a little thought behind it. 

Em is an organizer. She likes to have things in order. Which is great for me, because I’m not. One look in my dresser would horrify most people. She also likes to cook. So this year I thought I would snazz up her spice rack. 

See I told you if you stuck with me, we’d finally get to the spice rack.

It turned out so well that we wanted to share it with you all. So here are 4 simple steps for how you can spice up your spice rack.

Step 1: New Spice Bottles – the easiest way to spice up your spice rack is to switch out the boring plastic store spice bottles with something a little fancier. I found these great little bottles at World Market for only 99 cents each. Score!

I also got 3 of these bottles because I wanted to have something bigger for larger spices such as bay leaves. 

The great thing about the jars is they have different color tops, which Em loves, because she can color code the spices. If you don’t have a World Market close by, Amazon has a great assortment of spice bottles.

Step 2: Labels – I was a little worried about this at first. How could I label the jars? The first idea was to use chalkboard paint. Tape off a square and apply the paint directly to the jar. A good idea right? She could then use a chalk marker to label the jars. I then realized it was going to be a ton of work taping off 20+ jars. And trying to keep them all even and pretty was a chore I didn't really want to take on. 

And then came the epiphany. Don’t you love epiphanies? They are little moments where you get to say to yourself: I’m brilliant or at least clever. Mailing Labels. I could paint them with the chalkboard paint, peal them off, and stick them on. And you know what? They look great.

Just paint, peal, & stick.

Step 3: Make a Box – I made a very simple box out of left over wood from prior projects. It is nothing to write home to mom about, but it works. I think we will saucy it up a bit in the future. Maybe add a cool Spice Rack font on the front. 

Step 4: Chalk Marker – These things are cool. I hope the person who invented them received an award. Basically, it’s a marker that works on a chalkboard. I know, awesome huh? You don’t have to worry about chalk dust or having your handiwork accidentally wiped away.  I found these exact markers at Michaels Craft. But you can find them in all different colors and prices on Amazon. 

And that’s it. Now you have a wonderfully adorable, functional, and pretty snazzy spice rack.  Plus you can buy your spices in bulk, which will save you a little money at the grocery store.

A lot prettier

Em loves it, which is the best part.

And that is how I attempted to correct my sad birthday showing last year. I don't know if I have fully redeemed myself, but I know I am on my way back. 

I am curious about special birthdays you've had in the past. We would love to hear what made them special. Let us know in the comments below.