Bargains

 I try not to buy to much on sale, because I tend to buy things I don't actually need or want that much.  Every once in a while I find things I have been looking for or found and loved, but didn't want to pay full price, on sale.  Williams-Sonoma has the greatest after Christmas Sales I've ever seem.  Mostly on their linens, they are marked down like 75%  The past three years I have gotten something. 

This is one of the table clothes, of 5 that my mom and I got between us.  I also got a serving tray, 12 napkins, a kids apron for E and some new dish clothes.

They also had some copper ice and champagne buckets that were on sale, but still a lot of money.  I am thinking about them.  One of them would look amazing with those roses in them on the table.  Make sure you go to you local store because there doesn't seem to be much online.  Happy bargain hunting.

Our new, older place.

Another new years intention is to post more....not to hard to accomplish if I manage to post just twice a week.

I've been working on my house quite a bit over the last 7 months that we have been here.  Here are the before pics on the two hall bedrooms.

 This was the baby's room for the previous owner.  I hate it.  The color combo isn't that bad, but it is overwhelming and someone else's design.  There were even wall words...the worst.  I took them down before I could even get a photo.  Over the built in it said "Heir to the Throne"  and on the other side of the room, over the crib it said "The Prince Sleeps here"...barf.  And yes that is a  paper crown sconce with glued on glass beads.  Every time I close the door to this room another one falls off.  It's a pain in my ass, and yes it's still on the wall 6 months in. This bedroom is our current "spare room"  Eventually, it will probs be a baby room, but for now all it has is a twin mattress on the floor where my mom sleeps when she comes.  It has been painted, I did it in the first two months we were in.  I'll post pics soon.   

That's right, that is a shield with the little boys name on it.  It's Radley if you can't see it.   

This is my son's room.  It had Ralph Lauren suede paint on just one wall.  It wasn't really our style or the look I'm going for in his room.  Forgot to take a pic before I started priming the brown, oh well you set the point.  Also, take a peak of the ebony stained wood floor.  Ebony is the darkest you can go.  Not that bad, but we just moved back in after sanding a staining it again.  It's totally different.  I'm all done painting this as well.  Pics later.

New and Old

I was getting ready to post some pics of our house and the projects I have been working on, but I thought I might share pics of our old tiny house/apartment.

We were very fortunate to have a contract on our house within a week of listing and to have made a decent profit.  We loved our first home, it's were the first addition to our family, our dog violet came home. Were we lived when we got married, and the home where we welcomed our baby.  It was a very unique funky place and we love loved it.  We were here until E was 1 1/2.  It was a little too long, but it worked out cause we found the perfect house to move to.

That's right, this house was all one room.  Imagine, where this dining table is...there is a drape hanging and a crib and glider in the corner.  That table has two sides that fold down, so it is very compact.  It fit right up against the outside of the drape.  This was the only pic I could find.  E was a couple of weeks old here.  You can also see that the dining table doubled as our changing table.  Not sure how sanitary it is to eat on top of a changing table...oh well. 

Yup, our bed was up this steep stair case in the peak of the roof.  It was cozy up there, but I am so thankful for a real bedroom now.

Obviously I jumped on the chocolate brown band wagon.  I painted this in 2006/07, and it was so hot then.  I love that green still, but not sure if it will be making an appearance in our new house.  You can see in a couple of the photos were there are paneled doors and slab doors.  I made that choice.  Oops.  In my defense I was 7 1/2 months pregs and the handyman thought it was best.  I couldn't make a decision to save my life at the end of my pregnancy.  Oh well, you live, you learn.

This was an old house, built in 1898? or abouts.  It was divided up into 4 units.  Ours was the smallest and in the peak of the roof.  It had a bunch of funky windows and slopes.

Resolutions

Every year it is nice to set intentions.  Sometimes they pan out, sometimes they don't.  I don't do one every year, four years ago I decided not to slouch anymore.  Here I am four years later slouching as I write this. 

I have many things I would like to start accomplishing on a daily weekly and monthly basis...doesn't everyone.  But the new years seems like such a wonderful time to start.

So here are my intentions for the year and I'll just have to wait and see how it works.

In this month's Sunset there was an article about a family in N. CA that throw almost ZERO trash away.  I know that we are a far cry from that, but it made me hyper aware of our disposable lifestyle.  Case in point, I bought a whole bunch of disposable cleaning supplies the other day, when I already had reusable stuff at home!  I bought the disposable because we were just moving back in after refinishing our floors and had to clean every surface in the house.  I thought the disposable would work better...nope.  They worked worse.  Stupid stupid.  and of course I got the Sam's size, so I'm gonna have them forever. 

And of course there were boxes inside these boxes.  The only thing I really do use a lot is the magic eraser.  I cleans awesome and I don't have to use any chemicals.  But it's not for every surface, so be careful.  And the swiffer dusters

So that is my big thing to focus on in the next few weeks...months.  Try to buy reusable, minimally packaged items that I really need.  Cause I don't want o clutter up my house. 

The cleaning supplies I usually use and love are.

Dust mop with a microfiber head

Steam mop...doesn't need any chemicals, only water!!! and it disinfects with only water

Method toilet cleanser

Clorox Green cleaner

J RWhatkins counter cleaner

Method laundry soap, it is super concentrated and in a pump that lasts forever. 

Bon Ami

Windex, shot spot and shout or about the only thing I don't use that isn't "GREEN"

Happy Thanksgiving Ina!

  I've watched two Thanksgiving episodes of Barefoot Contessa this week and her meals come out so beautifully.  My mom is making the turkey and stuffing, my mother-in-laws is making a few veggie dishes.  I will be making riced potatoes, mac&cheese, since my husband and I don't eat turkey, but I am thinking about it, and for the cousins, rice crispy treats and polenta cake.  And for today's Ina recipe, roasted vegetables, her whole meal looks amazing, but I'm only doing the veggies this year.  I'm excited to decorate my table, I just got my parents wedding china (they're divorced) so I'm excited to do a fancier table than I'm use to.

Thanksgiving Oven-Roasted Vegetables


Ingredients
2 small fennel bulbs, tops removed

1 pound fingerling or small potatoes

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half

Good olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the fennel bulbs into 6 wedges each, cutting through the core to keep the wedges intact. Place on a sheet pan. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and place them on the pan with the fennel. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the fennel and potatoes and then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss with your hands.

Place the Brussels sprouts on a separate sheet pan and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and toss with your hands.

Roast the vegetables in the same oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, tossing once while cooking.

Combine the vegetables in a large serving bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve hot.


Has anyone gotten her newest cookbook?  I flipped through it at Costco and I seemed like a lot of meat dishes, which isn't ideal for me.  I thought I might ask for it for Christmas.

Pecan Squares

Can't decide what to make for dessert on Thanksgiving, but these are one the maybe list.  They look so

much better than pie.  Maybe it's the chololate.

Ingredients

Crust:

nocoupons

1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 extra-large eggs

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt



Topping:
1 pound unsalted butter

1 cup good honey

3 cups light brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18 by 12 by 1-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.


For the topping, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.

Sent back

I ended up send the French Linen bedspread back.  It wasn't quite what I wanted.  I was so bummed.  It was a little dark, or dirty in color and it was very rough.  And then I realized that it was dry clean only.  So the search for a new bedspread continues.  Also, I think we might have found a bed. 

  I love that it doesn't need box springs.  For a bed right now, we have a futon base, that is about one and a half feel off the ground.  It works fine, but we're looking for a permanent bed.  The futon doesn't need a box spring either, because it has slates built into the base.  It is from canvas and the only down side is you can't return it and we can't look at it in person until we buy it.  But it looks exactly what we were imagining.  So we'll see.

I have a tone of pictures of projects and painting I have done.  So stay tuned.