Pinterest Pledge {recipe}

Technically I made this still in the month of February so I actually met my goal last month! First time in a long time. For my second recipe I went with a crockpot dish which is always a nice solution when you're busy. I made white chili using this recipe. I can't believe I've never made white chili before because I've loved any version I've ever tried. This one was also delicious and beyond easy.

I didn't have onion powder (odd) so I just chopped up a large onion and threw that in the crockpot. Cooked onions are delicious in almost anything. I did go with only 3 chicken breasts and the recipe calls for 3-4, and 3 almost seemed like too much. Since when did chicken breasts become the size of softball mitts? 

I hate how old my bowl looks in this picture--all cracked and worn. The silverware is brand new though! I did add some shredded cheese and chopped tomato. The tomato was Jeff's idea and it was mighty tasty. The avocado pieces tasted like creamy pieces of cheese. This was a very simple, comforting, and delicious dish that Jeff demanded I put on the regular meal rotation. 

Pinterest Pledge {recipe & craft}

It's been a really long time since I've posted anything. There are two things to blame. The first is Instagram. It's so much faster than blogging. The second is my new job. I'm super busy all day long, plus, I feel guilty about doing personal, frivolous stuff while at work. I will try to post more often but I'm just not motivated when I'm home. Anyway, I made a pie and a picture this past 3-day weekend. The pie (and crust) came from this Butter Crumble Apple Pie recipe.

I have never made homemade pie before, at least not on my own, and I've certainly never made pie crust. It always seemed so time consuming and complicated. This pie crust, called Wham Bam Pie Crust, seemed easy and fast. That should have been my first clue.

Here's the pre-bake photo. The crust bakes and then you add the filling and then sprinkle on the topping. This was a messy pie because it had too many apples. I think 4 or at the most 5 apples would have been plenty. Six was causing me problems--sugar/cinnamon coated apple slices were falling all over the place. Adding crumbly topping was even worse. Chunks of sugar butter spilled onto the counter and floor.

 

The pie came out looking pretty darn yummy. I let it cool a little and then added a slice and too much vanilla ice cream to a bowl. The pie crust was bad. Very crumbling and bland. It had no butter or sugar so I shouldn't have been surprised. The pie part had too much butter. The apples were perfectly cooked but as a whole this recipe was a waste of time and money. I won't be making this again. The next day, instead of cleaning the dining room, I made some art. I bought a larger punch after seeing this on Pinterest:

I liked the geometric shape and how easy it seemed to put together. I never could figure out where to put such a large art piece like this one in my house. I like geometric art but I'm not into mid-century modern crap. So I bought the same shape in a smaller punch and used the same craft paper I'd already bought for the larger project. 

The paper colors reflect the color scheme of the room: navy, taupe, white, cream, and some shimmery bronze mixed in for fun. This project took about two hours. I really like it and none of these pictures look as good as it does in person. 

It was a pain to glue each piece together but at least I didn't hand cut anything! The collage (clockwise from top left): Waterlogue app photo of our puppies, a wedding photo (the only one I like of the two of us), the rocks/twigs Pinterest piece I did a while back, photo of my grandpas playing Scrabble, the new geometric art, and a fencing chart I purchased from Etsy.

West Elm Love

I've admired the decor at West Elm for many, many months. When my couch search began last year I started by looking at their website. I don't think I could buy a couch I didn't sit in first but West Elm has such sophisticated, yet casual things that I could have made an exception. If it weren't for the prices. I've never been to a West Elm store but maybe I can work it in over the holidays this year. I have several items in my wish list.

This love seat (the Everett love seat), in luscious velvet navy fabric, is one of my favorites. I hope the navy fabric I purchased last year to cover a Craigslist swivel chair will be just as cozy and fancy looking.

Look at this lovely coffee table. It's called the library coffee table. How could I not love it? Oh, except for the price.

This Emmerson bed is so cool. I love the rustic yet tailored look.

This is the reclaimed wood shelf. I don't swoon at the word "reclaimed" like some people but I do love the tone of the wood and the branch-like brackets. Now lets talk about what I did splurge on from West Elm. Our master bedroom wall color is dark and I wanted a light rug and light bedspread to brighten the space without losing the cozy vibe. I looked for weeks for a rug for the master and the living room. I needed at least a 8 x 10 for each room and rugs that size don't come cheap. I was looking at this one from West Elm.

But I decided on the eucalyptus rug.

The blue-green color of the flower matched really well with our blue-green-grey color on the walls. It wasn't cheap but I love, love, love it. I've never "loved" a rug before but I love this one.

When we finally got it rolled out I loved it immediately and it feels soooo soft.

I've since moved it a little farther out from under the bed but this is pretty much how it looks in the room. Once the rug was in place our duvet looked really out of place--and the fact that we didn't have a dust ruffle. I got a cheap, white dust ruffle from Target and ordered a new duvet from West Elm.

I think it's a fun and bright pattern and the color scheme matched with what I already had in the master. I also bought new sheets from Target that matched the wall color.

The dogs haven't really messed it up yet. We did have rain recently so the bed may look totally different soon. Next, my focus was the living room rug. I cannot believe how much Jeff and I desperately needed a rug in the master and the living room. This was my top rug choice from Crate & Barrel.

This is the masota rug. I know it looks a little strange but I'm going for a "cozy lodge" feel in the living room and the picture below really has that look.

I think it's gorgeous. It's also $1200 (for a 9 x 12) and only available in the store so I'd have to drive to Atlanta in something other than my car to pick it up. I browsed Wayfair and Joss and Main multiple times but I went back to West Elm in the end.

This is the same rug I was considering for the master but in a darker color scheme. It arrived last Wednesday and I rolled it out last Thursday after work, all by myself because I couldn't wait for Jeff to get home. This rug is also soft, not as soft as the eucalyptus rug, and both shed like you wouldn't believe. They fill up my vacuum almost instantly. And then this happened.

I tried to empty the dust bucket part, lost my grip and it all spilled onto the rug. I cleaned it up but the daily shedding still happens. I'm trying to keep the house clean and it's aggravating when little dust balls are all over the place but I have my Dyson Digital slim to save the day.

The dogs especially love both rugs and play on them for hours. The decor is slowly coming together. No idea where I want to put any of the wall art but I'm hoping inspiration will strike soon.

Big Fan

I'm a fan of Taylor Swift and I have been for years...there, I said it. Her songs are fun and easy to sing along with and her latest album, 1989, is fantastic. I even follow her on Instagram.

I've heard 4 different songs on Sirius XM in the past week--which is strange because radio stations usually only play one song at a time over several months from one artist but I guess Sirius XM has it's own rules. Anyway, I purchased the entire album on iTunes. I think the last album I purchased was Florence + the Machine (CD format) about 4 our 5 years ago. Swift's album has a throw-back vibe that makes me happy. I hope she makes fun videos for ALL the songs.

Pinterest Pledge {recipe}

Our new stove, and counter-top oven, is working and I've been in 7th heaven cooking to my heart's desire. I tried a new recipe this week and it occurred to me that it's been forever since I've done anything with my Pinterest pledge. I followed this recipe after a trip to the grocery store to buy some of the ingredients. However, I'd say a lot of the ingredients are things people already have on hand.

I love a good cheeseburger and it was cold earlier this week so I thought it was the perfect recipe to try. The only thing(s) I didn't do was follow the exact measurements for the veggies--I added more of each. I kept the carrots at 3/4 cup but I should have added more.

I also did not stir in any sour cream at the end. I bought the sour cream at the grocery store knowing I wasn't going to add it. Jeff might have wanted to try it but I didn't tell him it was an option. This was my bowl--I actually had 2 bowls!

It was delicious! Jeff loved it too. The recipe is super simple but it did take a while to chop and cook everything. To save time and effort I did not peel the potatoes but red potatoes don't really need to be peeled. I used Velveeta and not shredded cheddar cheese but I might add some on top next time for a yummy garnish. I'll make this dish again and again. 

Indoor House Jewelry

There are many small ways to gussy-up a home. We've all heard that changing up kitchen cabinet hardware is an inexpensive way to add jewelry and change the look of a kitchen. I already considered that when I bought our new house. What I didn't consider were wall plates and vent registers. I didn't consider them because I've never lived anywhere where every single wall plate and vent register was DISGUSTING. They are caked in grime, goop, rust, dust, cobwebs, and unknown substances. The registers absolutely have to be replaced but I'm going to try and salvage the wall plates. I want to find all that I can (they've been removed as we paint each room and I'm not sure where all of them are) and wash them in steaming hot, soapy water, clean them with Comet or something else abrasive, and then spray paint them white. Our trim will be white so I hope the elbow grease and cost of a couple cans of premium spray paint will do the trick. If not, I'll need to shop. Here's what I've been looking at so far for cabinet knobs, registers, and wall plates.

I actually just ordered these for the kitchen drawers. There are eight drawers and they're on the small-side, nothing very deep. The pulls are on sale right now for $2.39 each and even better, they already fit the holes in the drawers. I used wood putty to fill the cabinet doors already.

I'm 99.9% sure I just want knobs and not pulls for the doors so one hole is all that's needed. Plus it will be easier to make one hole rather than measuring to make sure two are perfectly lined up. You see what happened with Jeff's night stand, the top two pulls are totally crooked.

Anyway, this is what I might go with for the door knobs.

They are the same finish, satin nickle, and are also on sale. I'll need way more of these than the drawer pulls so I'll have to make sure I count today and place my order. I've ordered them from myknobs.com which Barbara recommended. I went to Lowe's yesterday to look at their drawer pulls and the ones I wanted, satin nickle cups, were 2 1/2 inches and I needed 3 inches, plus they were a $1 more each. Even with shipping I saved $10 and time having to putty fill and re-drill new holes. As for the registers, the options are pretty limited.

This is a standard design and it's $7.47 each. I need at least two for each room. This one, however, is unique and interesting and even pretty.

This is an allen + roth design from Lowe's and it's $21 each. BIG difference. I'll need to take a piece of flooring with me when I shop. I want them to blend in as far as the color but home ownership certainly makes you aware of the expenses of every single detail. Next we have wall plates. These are uber pretty but they also scream, "I'm a pretty wall plate, look at me!"

They're also by allen + roth and are $5.97 each, meaning $5.97 for one freaking wall plate. Each room needs at least two switch plates and four plug plates. There's always this option.

These are $16.99 for 6 equaling about $2.80 each. Much better but a little boring. I know, I can't make up my mind--do I want ostentatious or boring? It's good to know I can buy the screws seperate if I need to.

$.58 for a two pack. Do you see how everything is adding up?!?!?

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

Ah, the joys of renovation. I've been a homeowner since May 30th and I still don't live in my house. We are working as often as we can while still making time for work and sleep. My folks have helped, Jeff's folks have helped, friends have helped, and a couple hired contractor-type people have helped. With all these helpers things get misplaced, lost, and broken.

Tools are moved, paint cans and supplies are all over the place, and none of it is where you left it or where you need it. We have about four different areas designated as tool zones and the kitchen counter rotates as an extra one occasionally. My mom and I have tried to clean a few areas only to find them covered in new junk a few days later. The bathrooms also have various tools and are an absolute mess. The whole house is a mess. I'm considering a professional cleaning service before moving in. I don't want to move into a filthy house, I'd rather it be clean and just maintain the cleanliness. 

Prepping for Floors

The countdown began over a week ago. There's a lot of prep work that goes into floor installation. First, you buy and deliver the floors.

My parents delivered the majority of this haul and Jeff helped with the rest. They opened a window in the dining room and just slid the boxes in rather than using the front porch steps. Next is our big to-do list that included replacing the nasty sub-floor boards.

We also needed to finish painting all the rooms that will have new flooring (this excludes the kitchen, laundry/pantry, and dining room--but the dining room has already been painted). New flooring also includes all bedroom closets and our coat closet. I've been working on that and it's a tough job. The paint stinks something awful and the closets are small, tight quarters. Ceiling fans need to be installed because this will help with comfort while the flooring goes in. My dad has done 1 1/2 fans--we're on the hunt for the parts for the the 1/2 fan. We have not turned on our A/C to keep dust and debris to a minimum.

This is the master bedroom fan and I love everything about it. Kelly and I painted the master. Twice! This is just the first coat. The back deck also needed to be either removed or some gutters or diverters needed to be installed to avoid this happening to the new floors every time it rains.

Jeff opted to remove the deck. It was rotting anyway and there are fungal issues that need to be addressed.

Now we have a rather large hole in the master leading out to the removed deck.

Kelly said this is an open invitation to critters like raccoons and gerbils. Personally, I'd love to wall that door closed. Don't care for it. Maybe I can convince Jeff one day but not now. You'll notice the floor is now black. That's tar paper. Jeff wanted this nailed down as an extra vapor barrier. I have two more closets to paint, the sunroom paint needs to be touched up, the back bedroom ceiling fan needs to be installed (once we get the parts, otherwise I have to go shopping again), and the flooring for my new closet needs to be replaced. Other than that I think we're ready for new floors, the single biggest impact of any changes made so far!!