The Powder (Blue) Room

Our bathroom has been "remodeled" for awhile now. However, I wanted to share it with you. It is hard to look at this picture and not laugh! The lacy curtains, blue and white wallpaper, blue and white tiles, and the white cabinets. Plus, the person to got this room ready "to show" for selling added a touch a orange! It is all a bit scary!

This room is definitely not our style! We would like to gut the whole room but we didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on that yet for a couple of reasons:
1- we don't have that kind of money right now
2- this bathroom has the only shower in the house
3- also at the time we were having plumbing problems and ever so often it was a question which bathroom "worked" the best. (no longer a prob though)

We figured that we could live with this room for awhile if we gave it some "updates". New to us, but mid-century style.

We started by taking down the blue wall tile and back splash and painting the wall white. Then, we painted the cabinet underneath the sink a dark gray color.
Both white and gray paint was scored at the ReStore. A gallon of white paint is $5 and color paint gallons are $3!! We threw out the little brass vanity chair and stored our wastebasket and 50's step stool underneath the counter.

Here is an after picture:



We also got an awesome pair of Crane sinks (model Diana) from the ReStore. My husband absolutely fell in love with the fixtures that are built-in the sink. We got a pair of them set in a small amount of countertop for $50 at the ReStore! That was a good day!

Next came installing those sinks and well, Jeff can tell you that it was no picnic. The sinks are attached to the counter top by that chrome band going around the sink. It was not very easy to set them in there and get them level because they are awkward and very heavy! However, considering the sinks that came out of there were just a bit smaller and fit basically the same way, maybe it turned out to be a little easier.




More pics later!

Figuring out Freezer Cooking

I have been thinking for awhile now about trying some freezer cooking. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook but sometimes during the work week, I just want to come home and have my dinner waiting on me and no thinking/work needed.

What is freezer cooking? It is preparing meals to store in the freezer to have ready to eat.


www.30daygourmet.com

Because of my limited freezer space, I am going to start small and see how it goes. I have froze fruit (blueberries, raspberries, bananas) and I have froze stewed tomatoes from the garden before. I have froze the occasional leftover, pork roast, ham, chicken, or turkey because we wouldn't finish it all in time. And my all time favorite, I have also made an extra sweet potato casserole and froze it for those dire emergencies. I think this is what it is all about. Making extra and storing it in the freezer. Right? However, this seems to be more daunting or overwhelming to me.

Here are some websites that I have been looking at to understand what is involved:

http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking/guide-once-a-month-cooking

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2011/05/how-to-save-money-on-groceries-without-coupons/

http://www.30daygourmet.com/Default.aspx

I am realizing that this takes a lot of planning. However, once I get the hang of it, I think it will go faster.

Here's the idea and some of my questions:

I need to figure out recipes. Some cooked vegetables in the freezer such as green peppers, onions, etc make me cringe. They are lifeless. How can I know what is going to hold up? I need more information. What is going to taste good? I don't expect to keep meals for months and months at a time without eating them but it needs to be good. I feel like I am working for NASA on their ready-to-eat meals or something.

What about side dishes? Are those made ahead as well? Such as, if I make meatloaf with tomato sauce. Do I make a separate container of mashed potatoes?

I need to figure out portion sizes. Am I making this recipe for lunches or dinner? Should I double wrap, use Tupperware, bags, etc??

I need to do all of my shopping before the cooking.

I need to be able to tailor the recipe to what is on sale at the grocery.

I need to make room in the freezer (Ha!) and keep it better organized (and figure out some labels that will work in the freezer).

I need to remember what is in the freezer and use it up!

Apparently, I need to do some more research. However, It would be so awesome to cook for a few hours and then, not have to cook for 2 weeks! Ah, dare to dream!

The Leftover Veggie Tray

Well, we are finally through the holidays and into the new year! Happy 2012 Everybody!!

Last night, we hosted my husband's family for a late Christmas celebration. We had tons of food and treats and of course, gifts. We are very lucky to be able to spend the time all together even if it is some days after Christmas.

Every party, I tend to serve a vegetable tray. One reason it is easy and a healthy dish! The second reason is I love the leftovers. There is always leftovers. What can I do with a veggie tray leftovers?? This is so easy!

1. Soup
2. Stir Fry
3. Salad ( DUH !!)
4. More veggies and dip (haha)
5. Veggie pizza
6. Omelet
7. Quiche
8. Muffins (carrot, etc.)
9. Sautéed vegetables with a cheese sauce or savory sauce
10. Steamed Vegetables
11. Pickled Vegetables

It is nice because everything is already cleaned, peeled, and pretty much chopped! Lookout 30 minute meals! Maybe we will work on a 28 minutes meals show!! haha

Catching Up.

WOW!!! It has been a long time since I blogged. Holidays! It all seems to come at you all at once. I have finally caught up with the decorating, shopping and the wrapping of the gifts. Now, I want to catch up on the laundry, etc around the house. It seems like there is one thing after another around here and work has gotten to be crazy. I wanted to post something since I haven't posted in so long so I will tell you about my 5th anniversary present.

The 5th anniversary present is wood and we try to stick to the traditional gifts. I guess it makes it a little easier. Our anniversary was back in August and things have been too hectic to get myself together to tell you about our gifts.

My gift to my husband was this :


This is Piet Mondrian's Red Tree. I bought a print on canvas and it is very nice. However, since it is not framed or stretched yet, it is not on the wall as of yet. Any opinions if a canvas has to be stretched? I don't think that it does but my husband thinks so. It is his gift and I should see if I can get that done so we could both enjoy it.


My gift from my husband was this:


This is a wood shelf that he made for me to display my pottery. It is so cool because it comes apart in sections. When we were exchanging gifts, we were up at a cabin in the western part of Virginia. He only had a coat of stain on the shelves at that time but no polyurethane. I recently asked him if he could hang the shelf for me and he reminded me that he needed to finish the shelf. I felt really bad because we were super duper busy at the time getting the house clean for guests. However, he put those things aside for a while so he could finish it up and get it on the wall. It is located in the large hallway upstairs. It really turned out great! I had such a hard time picking out what I wanted to display. Also, I had troubles because the really good looking pottery is being given as gifts this year....

Fun and Affordable Artwork for Our Home

Artwork for your home can be from a variety of sources and it doesn't have to be expensive. (such as this) We had tons of posters, pictures, prints, etc from the college and apartment renting days. However, we didn't really have much for a "formal" living room.

When we purchased this house, we were not rich and we still are not rich. Therefore, we kind of decided to go with the flow. We had more patience to find the right thing to fit our budget rather than just going out and spending a lot of money. Also, in the end, I think we had more fun finding these pieces. Certainly, the stories are better!

This first is a print of Roy Lichtenstein's Ball of Twine. We paid $12 for the print on ebay. The ornate frame came from this yard sale. It was damaged and falling apart and needed some work. We paid $5 for the frame and Jeff spent maybe 20 minutes getting put back together. It cracks us up to look at this Lichtenstein print (who is known as this American Pop Art Artist) in this really frilly frame.



This framed print came from Kohl's. Yes, they have art too. This print is an x-ray of a flower (by Steven Meyer) and I fell in love with it. It was normally $80 and I spent $40 on it due to a Kohl's 50% off sale of framed prints. By the way, I am still trying to figure out what flower this is. I cannot find an example in any of Meyer's work as of yet.



This painting from an unknown artist named Clark came from an antique store here in town. We paid $125 for the huge painting. It might be too large for this actual space (see it barely fits in between the crown molding and the mantle) but trying it out in other spaces did not do it justice. It is a focal point of the room. It colors look as if it is from the 70's but it fits well with our color scheme. I love the huge pop of flowers. It is what I think of this living room- you turn the corner and pop! you are hit with our version of a mid-century modern room. Like the Lichtenstein, this painting makes me smile. Also, see the black and green glass hedgehog beside the painting? $4 at a yard sale. Still smiling...



More to come....

The Scrap Toolbelt

My nephew loves tools because it is being like daddy or Papa or even Handy Manny. HAHA He is three years old. So, for Christmas, I thought why not get some of those plastic tools and make him a tool belt?

I almost went to the fabric store with coupons in hand to buy some denim and some green corduroy but I stopped myself. I waited and stewed over it because I really wanted to get this project out of the way. Finally, we were able to get to some yard sales and the first one I found a LONG green corduroy skirt and a pair of jeans for 50 cents each.

I cut a long rectangle from the denim jeans and put a green corduroy border around the belt and also attached the top for the waist strap. Then, I cut out the jean pockets and glued them in place with fabric glue. I cut out a denim belt loop and glued that in place for a hammer and also included another pocket from the skirt and glued that in place.

One of these days, I will take step by step pics! This is a simple cheap project and it turned out so cute! er, I mean, manly! In addition, the skirt was so long that I had a lot of fabric left over for a skirt for myself!

What to do with leftovers continued....

I am getting hungry just thinking of this post. BEWARE- you might too!

Rotisserie Chicken.

Do I have your attention? I thought so.

It is a working girl's dream come true. What can you do with an already cooked chicken? Better yet, what can you not do with an already cooked chicken?

Soup, fajitas, Fettuccine Alfredo, salad, pasta salad!!

Plus, if you use some of the chicken and then have some leftover, bag it up and put it in the freezer for another day. There are just some days that I need a mindless meal for dinner or I will just stare in the cupboards and wonder what can I do with wheat thins and rice?