Our tipsy planter!

 

 

This week, one of my Pinterest pins came true! The process is depicted below and easily got done in one day. I feel that the part that took the most time was just dreaming up a color scheme between the pots and the flowers.

 

 

We have a lot of projects going on around our place right now that are definitely a higher priority than a planter, so I'm quite thankful that Joe (and Cece!) took the time to help me do this. I had intended on filling and stacking the pots myself, but the two of them strongly prefer participating over spectating. So, I essentially got kicked off of my own project. Oh, well. I'm still thrilled with the result!

 

Flower picking

 

 

 

 

There is a flower shop just down the street from us where we stopped in frequently last summer during our walks. Now that spring has arrived, we are officially sprucing up our yard and flower picking. One little project we wanted to do was to create our own hanging basket (instead of buying a prearranged one like we usually do).

 

So, shopping was a little chaotic. I was trying to take pictures of flowers, Cece was trying to escape her stroller, the dogs wanted to sniff everything, and Joe was educating himself on "thrillers, fillers, and spillers." The walk home was equally chaotic as we had to kick Cece out of her stroller to transport the plants.

 

In addition to our self-made hanging basket, we also got a tomato plant to add to our garden and I got a little cacti and succulent garden for our house (which means I am also officially turning into my mother).

 

I'm realizing it's a little lame to be writing about a hanging basket, but I will say that it's a good feeling to be digging in the dirt again. I am also now realizing that Joe was probably purposely flexing while he transplanted our flowers because he knew I was taking pictures... Yowza!

Holiday House Tour

Below are the four festive spots in our house. Photos were taken with my phone and I made sure to modify them with the cheesiest effects I could manage with Instagram.

 

 

 

 

Pardon my recent absence from the blogging world. I was in Chicago spending some very necessary time with family (being fed some serious meals and getting some serious hugs). During our stay, I was also thrilled to wake up on the day of the "Apocalypse" only to find the cutest dusting of snow on the ground. Whew, we dodged that bullet.

 

 However, it's good to be home and it was so sweet to come home to a massive stack of Christmas cards that Joe left for me to open. Hope you are getting your share of hugs, hearty meals, and holiday well-wishes!

Bathroom Facelift

 

Before & After

 

 

One of the things on our seemingly endless to-do list was to update our bathroom. We may not be the trendiest of folks, but we didn't feel that sponge-painted walls and a dinged-up vanity with a broken drawer was very representative of us. Or very classy.

So last weekend, something sparked and Joe ripped out the vanity. And there was no going back. Over this past week, we continued to repaint, replace and rearrange various elements.

We're not entirely done yet. It would be nice to get a new towel rack, a clock, and maybe a decorative art print or two. But we are both pleased with how improved it is already. So, if you happen to swing by and need to use the restroom, I will no longer cringe in embarrassment.

P.S. I assembled that storage unit. ALL. BY. MYSELF. And it hasn't even collapsed yet.

Sorry, had to add one more photo. I'm obsessed. It's just that it's my new favorite room in the house now!

Before and After: Toys

Our living room toy situation was not a cute or functional one for anybody. It was hard for Cece to access all of her toys without falling into the toy box. And it was hard for us to clean around it and keep things organized.

This week, I decided enough was enough. I hauled this shelf unit from Target into our house and then assembled it myself while Cece napped. Yes, toys are still oozing out of it, but oh, how much better. Of course, now she likes to dump the toys out of the baskets and wear the baskets on her head. Which is cool too. That's all. Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Pasta Three Ways

I've been on a huge pasta kick, not just lately, but probably my whole life. I love sauce and noodles. There's not much more to explain. Last week, we had pasta three times, mixing up old and new recipes:

Spaghetti with garlic shrimp, Alfredo sauce (jarred), Roma tomatoes and a teeny bit of Parmesan.

 

Farfalle with sauteed mushrooms, chicken, and homemade pesto sauce.

Whole-grain angel hair with shrimp, cabbage, carrots, and shredded broccoli in a honey-sesame sauce. The sauce was good, I just wish I had made more of it.

Lastly, I totally believe that this is the secret ingredient to any kind of Italian-inspired pasta dish (which the top two dishes are):

No, not a sandwich! Garlic bread! My favorite thing to do as of late is pick up the $.50 day-old bread from Jimmy John's to make it with. Cut into slices, butter and garlic-ify each piece. Reassemble the loaf, wrap in tinfoil, pop in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes, or until warm. Happy eatings!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

I don't fancy myself a seasoned cook by any means, BUT I'm really proud of this dish!

So, it seems that every time I make lasagna I have a bunch of leftover ricotta cheese that almost always ends up getting thrown away. And throwing away cheese kind of breaks my heart. It goes against everything I stand for.

I found this easy recipe to utilize the leftover ricotta from my last lasagna-making and I already had most of the other ingredients.

Here's how super easy it was:

Make spinach/ricotta/mozzarella filling. Butterfly and stuff chicken. Pour sauce over everything. Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. While it bakes, prepare sides. This time we did fresh green beens cooked in browned butter and homemade garlic bread. (Refer to link for exact measurements, additional ingredients, and seasonings)

Husband was so impressed and loved it which made me feel awesome. And Cece even liked the filling. We'll definitely do this one again!

Spicing things up... in the kitchen

There's no getting around it. Joe and I have been in a meal rut. One more dinner consisting of pasta and/or chicken and cheese was not going to do it. So last week, I made a conscious effort to depart from my comfort foods (aka, foods I am comfortable making) and switch up the dinner menu. Here's what happened!

Monday: Venison chops with potatoes cooked in butter and rosemary. And steamed garlicky broccoli.

Tuesday: Chicken fajitas. Not earth shattering, but a nice departure from our usual ground beef tacos.

Wednesday: Jimmy John's ; )

Thursday: Wild rice soup, garlic toast, and a side salad.

Friday: Polish Kielbasa, cheesy spuds, and baked beans. Although it doesn't appear appetizing, it was rather tasty, if a bit heavy.

Saturday: Leftovers.

Sunday: Tomato Parmesan soup with souped-up grilled cheese (made with mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, and chicken)

There you have it! Not one frozen pizza. Amazing, right?



Our Wedding Wall

Printing and framing some of our wedding photos is something I've been meaning to do for about a year and a half. It's just one of those projects that kept getting put on the back burner, especially with moving. But today, I made it happen. It's nice to finally view them somewhere besides a computer screen. So if you enter our home, we have tangible proof that we are, like official grown-ups or something. (As if that weren't apparent already by the baby toys everywhere and the two large, bored canines.) Although this isn't major domestic goddess work, I still think it's worth mentioning.

The language art in the middle was purchased at The Afternoon, one of my favorite stores. I love buying gifts for others there, so it was really fun to treat myself to something last year. Swoon.