The Good Days and The Bad

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

One down... A zillion to go

Waaayyyyy back in... OMG was it really April? So back in April I mentioned I was working on a corner cabinet for the dining room. The cabinet used to live in my mothers kitchen, but she tore a wall out during their recent remodel and it no longer fit so I brought it home. I finally finished it! Praise the gods! Something is done, at long last!

BEFORE


It had drawers, but apparently I forgot to take a real Before shot.

AFTER


Yay! It's still missing the right top knob because I bought it and then promptly lost it. I am sure the house will vomit it up at some point in the future, so I refuse to buy a replacement.

It is currently housing my paternal grandmothers china.

I just love the little detail on the lid.

The colors are perfect for our space!

The top shelf holds some of my etsy finds:

Asirons


Trixie Delicious

I love unexpected pieces. I also love how you don't notice the "twisted" detail until you take a closer look.

The serving dish on the far right belongs to my maternal grandmothers china set, which I also have. The small cordial glasses have etched detail and came as freebies in the Vanilla Royale gift sets around Christmas. It's Misters favorite winter time drink, so my dad kept buying the sets...

I'm linking up to CSI's Roadkill Rescue and Thrifty Chick Decor's Before & After Party. For other fantastic transformations, be sure to click on the buttons!

Quick Fix: The Clear Choice

Sorry I've been M.I.A. for the past 10 days. Hopefully with no big family events in sight, I'll be able to keep up with the rest of my life.

When my mom and I were in Kentucky for my cousin's grad party we managed to make a slight detour to the IKEA in West Chester, Ohio. Yay! I have been drooling over the Stockholm Rand rug for well over a year now and everytime we were in Chicago both area stores were sold out of the larger size! We initially decided to detour on the way to Kentucky to maximize family time once we got there, but alas, they were out of the f*@&ing rug! The superduperrockin'awesome pixie girl that told us that was all "I've got great news! We are expecting the shipment of the rugs in 2 to 6 days"! She was so excited to tell us I almost felt bad telling her we didn't live in town. *sniffle* We decided to stop on our way out of town on Sunday, just in case. Well low and behold, they had the rug! Hallelujah! Stayed tuned to see where I decide to put it.

While we were there we couldn't help but pick up a few more odds and ends. One of the things I bought was the IKEA 365+ 3-tiered serving platter.

And let me just say, every kitchen needs one of these bad boys. Check out the difference it made in my countertop fruit and vegetable storage.

The bowl on the shelf held apples and everything else got piled into the bowl on the counter. Obviously not a brilliant solution, but I couldn't find an alternate option I liked that I was willing to spend money on. Ironically, these bowls are also from IKEA. Here's what our produce looks like in it's new home.

Doesn't it all look happier now? It only cost $14.99 and I think the glass and stainless complements the kitchen well. Plus, it actually has smaller footprint than the bowl so it takes up less counter space in my minuscule kitchen since I only have about five feet of counter space, total.
It's difficult to tell from the photo, but that apple on the shelf is ceramic. It has a lime green twin and a bronze pear brother. I purchased them at an art fair a few years back.

What do you think? I just love it when a simple, quick solution presents itself, don't you?

Monday, July 19, 2010

Menu for the Week of July 18th - 24th

Making a menu for the week really seemed to help me not buy too many perishables at the grocery store. I have been throwing away a lot less and, in turn, saving money. Always a plus, right? More money to spend on all the crap I want for the house! AND thanks to Jordan's comment about keeping the bread in the fridge, I haven't had to throw away any bread either! Awesome.

Sunday

The Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast w/baked potatoes
(This pot roast has become a weekly recipe. Mister LOVES it!)

Monday
Parmesan breaded Chicken breast w/ cauliflower and macaroni & cheese
(I buy the Kraft Whole Wheat macaroni and cheese and I think it's even better than the original.)

Tuesday
Leftover pot roast with rotini noodles

Wednesday
Bucatini with Shrimp

Thursday

Maple-Soy Glazed Salmon w/ asparagas and roasted red potatoes

Friday
My little cousin graduated from college and we are headed to Kentucky for the weekend to celebrate!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Quick Change Operation

Way back in March, I spray painted the handles on our media cabinet silver. I wasn't super-happy with it and Sara admitted she didn't like the look either (I love an honest opinion).

Original

After

After After

Sorry the last detail pic is so fuzzy. I didn't want to use the flash and I apparently cannot hold still long enough for the camera to shoot without it. Meh. And they actually still look silvertoned in the close-up photo, but they're not. I sprayed them with everybody's favorite metal tone fix-all: Oil-Rubbed Bronze. I wasn't crazy about the spray paint itself and the way it sprayed, but the finish is nice and the tone is much more complementary to the wood finish. I had planned on painting this piece, but at the rate I work I don't expect to get to it until next year sometime. LOL

So what do we think? An improvement?

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Lemon-Lime Shrimp Recipe

This is my mother's recipe and it's fairly subjective, so the "recipe" is really just a ballpark guesstimation for a jumping off point. It's also doctored to feed a butt-load of people, so feel free to cut it by about a quarter. The actual directions are fairly hazy as well, so it may not be the best recipe for a beginner cook. You will have a ton of "sauce" left over, my family sops it up with crusty French bread. The also eat the excess roasted garlic on bread. This is, by far, the best shrimp recipe I have ever encountered (I may be biased, of course). We always make it on the grill, but she said you could make it in the oven as well. There are no times or temps for anything, you just have to know when things are ready. Like I said, it's hazy, but delicious!

Lemon-Lime Shrimp

Yields approx. 16 servings

8 lbs. unpeeled, tail-on fresh shrimp

12 lemons

12 limes

2 cups olive oil

2 cups garlic (!)

1/2 cup vermouth

1. Cook the garlic in the olive oil on stovetop until fragrant and soft.

2. Mix all ingredients EXCEPT vermouth in a grill or oven safe pan, cover with tin foil.

3. Grill/bake/broil until shrimp is cooked through.

4. Add vermouth 1 minute before you remove from the grill/oven.

Serve straight from the grill/oven family-style with plenty of crusty bread and whatever sides tickle your fancy.

Feel free to ask me any questions and I relay them and get answers!

I am linking up to Tasty Tuesdays at:

Friday, July 9, 2010

Fashion Friday

I focused on shoes from Modcloth at the beginning of June, but really, they are so much more than shoes! I was inspired by a new blog, BillieMonster, to show you all my picks from ModCloth! Oh, if only they offered Free Shipping! I'd go broke.

TOPS