http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=730086&pid=730085&uts=1268420085
http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf
The Sweet Life
Cooking, homework, sewing, art projects -- this table was built to last. With one extension leaf that hardly gets used, it can accommodate most tasks and activities. Though Laura's grandmother served dinner on it nightly, Laura recalls her using three tablecloths to protect the surface. Laura jokes, "Now the mountain of school work and piles of mail act as a protective cover."
Chris Edwards for AOL
The Sweet Life
This family of four convenes here everyday. Jeremy, works by day in sales and is also an elected county official, holds 4-year-old Peyton, a preschooler, while Emma, her 8-year-old third-grade sister, sits with their chocolate-making mom. For Laura, the two words which best describe her kitchen are "comfort" and "home." Although she laughs, "Pretty messy also comes to mind."
The Sweet Life
The Godwins moved into the house 12 years ago and tackled other projects around the house save for the kitchen. Before Emma was born, Laura and Jeremy ate on TV trays in the living room. With kids came the desire to create a family table. And for Laura there was no greater symbol of connectedness, than her grandmother's vintage 1940's red and chrome dinette set which became the focal point of the kitchen. Above the vintage Pennsylvania Hex sign is a sentimental acquisition, a plate that Laura picked up in Gubbio, Italy where she lived off and on through college. Prior to full-time parenting and chocolate-making, Laura practiced her fluency in Italian by working for Italian furniture companies.
The Sweet Life
"A place for everything and everything in its place" – said the astute Benjamin Franklin. While a busy family with young kids may not always be able to observe this divine organizational strategy, aspiring to it is pretty darn good. "Ironically we are very good at hanging the keys up, provided that we remember to get them out of the door when we unlock it," Laura says, adding, "If the keys were to go in a drawer, we would never see them ever again." The "I Love You" tie keychain was a Father's Day present from Emma.
The Sweet Life
When the business moved out of the kitchen, Laura didn't want to commit to any major redesign and she has yet to make up her mind as to what she wants to do. But for now, the Godwins made a few easy changes. They dismantled a breakfast nook and removed an island, then brought in the cherished dinette set and antique hoosier cabinet. They also replaced the old sliding glass doors with new French ones.
The Sweet Life
Laura loves filling her kitchen with items, like her mother's antique Hoosier, that brought her happiness as a child. The addition of this cabinet increased the storage capacity in the kitchen and her ability to display some of the objects she particularly likes such as the delft-patterned tin in which she stores tea bags and The "Café Godwin" custom-made painting, a gift from Jeremy to honor his wife's coffee addiction. As for the red vase, holding fabulous fake florals (Laura confesses to having a brown thumb, however, isn't that appropriate for a chocolatier?) Laura says, "I play up my love of red with bright pops around the kitchen."
The Sweet Life
All sorts of reminders go up on the refrigerator, including this poem by an anonymous writer. The general gist of the thing is that being a mom and sitting down with your kids takes precedence over obsessively cleaning up after them and trying to hide all the clues of childhood. While Barbie dolls may lurk in cupboards, Laura says, "The house will always be a mess, but my babies won't be babies forever."
The Sweet Life
A modest collection of cobalt blue glass adds a patriotic note to all the red. There are two explanations for how this collection came to be. Laura offers both: the romantic version and the matter of fact one. The version that gets the "ahhhh" would be that the vibrant blue color is a symbol for Duke University, where Laura and Jeremy met as undergrads. The other explanation? "I just like it." And speaking of romance... "The Young and The Restless" is Laura's guilty pleasure.
The Sweet Life
In a passageway to the laundry room, Laura fit a vintage gossip bench that she acquired when her mother downsized her home. Not only does it offer a semi-private perch from which Laura can conveniently check emails during early evening crunch time, but there's some under-seat storage for shoes.
The Sweet Life
The shop is closed on Mondays, so Laura spends all day around the house except for a few errands and such. Peyton and Emma come home after school rather than settling in at the shop as is the norm the other four days of the week. In between school and evening activities, homework is done and snacks are doled out.
The Sweet Life
By day the kitchen is infused with great natural light. In the evenings, Laura refuses to turn on the behemoth overhead fluorescent fixture. "I despise it with everyone of my fibers," she reacts, choosing the warm glow of several little lamps placed around the room.
The Sweet Life
Williams Sonoma Thief Stole More Than 200K
Is This The End For Bachelor Pads?
