Green = Green: Valentine Flowers

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Ahh Valentine’s day.  The day to buy and send flowers to a loved one.  Rather than cut flowers, why not send (or buy for yourself like I did) a potted plant?  Let me explain.  I’m not talking about a potted fern.  No, no, no.  Flowers are still better.  And, you’ll probably save some money in the process.

Take this mini rose bush I bought at the grocery store for five bucks.  It’s cute, and at least $20 cheaper than cut roses.

It will most likely live longer than cut flowers, too.  Even under my care, it should last longer.

But you know what I really liked about this little plant?  Come spring, I can dig a hole in our rose bed and pop it in to enjoy for years to come.

Thus adding more green to our environment and saving some dough.  And that makes for a very happy Valentine’s day.

You know what else makes Valentine’s day better?  Heart-shaped pancakes, hand-made Valentines, and two cute little boys.

What are your Valentine plans?  Going somewhere special?  Making dinner?  Do you exchange Valentine gifts?

New Glasses

Published on by Our Humble Abode15 Comments

A more appropriate title would be “Random Kitchen Stuff we Finished Over the Weekend.”

First up, we got glass in those cabinet doors.  Wednesday morning, I removed the doors from the cabinet frames, leaving the hinges and knobs on the door.

The boys and I hauled the glass-less frames to a local glass shop.  While holding E and keeping my eye on V, I carefully started unloading the boxes from the trunk.  Luckily, the man working there saw I had my hands full and took the doors out of my hands.

Once inside, E pointed out the taxidermy elk and deer (so Montanan) while the kind man and I discussed the doors.  Yep, I want plain clear glass in each of these.  He told me about their process and the precautions the take to prevent damaging the furniture.  That made me happy.  After giving me my total, only $30.60 for the glass and installation, I asked when the doors would be ready.  His response: well, we open at 8:00 tomorrow, so come in any time after that.  What?!  That’s quicker than I thought it would be.  Wahoo!

Sure enough, on Thursday afternoon, I picked up the ready and waiting doors.  And they looked wonderful.  Driving slower than a 90-year-old lady, we finally made it home.  Shortly after hauling the doors in the house, I decided I couldn’t wait to get them back up.  Four screws later, the cabinets were officially done.

Sorry for the glare, too.

On Sunday, Ben finished up some lighting.  Specifically, rope lights inside the glass-fronted cabinets.  He started with two packages of rope light and several strips of rope light channel.

After cutting, peeling, and sticking the channel, it was simple enough to push the lights in.  The lights were a little long for the cabinets, so we coiled the extra length at the top of the cabinets.

During the day, the lights barely highlight the dishes.  At night, the real magic happens.

I think our dishes now look like a jewelry display at a department store.  And I love anything shiny or sparkly.  The soft glow is pretty kick butt, too.

Update:  We’ve had questions on the lighting placement.  Our cabinet face frames overhang the cabinet by 3/4 inch, so we stuck the channel to the back side of that face frame.

Then the lights run up the side, and coil around the top front (to stay out of sight), and back down the other side.

Remember this ugly stove leg situation we have because our cabinets are taller than your average bear cabinet?

Well, it was finally time to take those legs from frumpy to fabulous.  After discussing our options (painted PVC pipe, wooden legs, adjustable bolts, etc.) we decided to buy blots and 1 1/2 stainless steel pipe for a slip cover effect.  Ben called from the hardware store to tell me they didn’t have brushed stainless pipe, only polished.  I told him to get it because a. we didn’t have a better option and b. fine sand paper should fix that.

When he got home with the pipe, he pointed out it was stainless plated brass.  I started sanding with 400 grit paper, being careful not to sand through the plating.  Happily, it worked like a charm.  See the difference?

While Handy Sammy held the stove front up, Ben screwed in the bolts, adjusted for height, and slipped the pipes over the bolts.

Oh, and I added a small strip of left over rope channel to secure the loose end of the rope lights.

For only a few bucks, we made matching stainless legs.  With the height adjustment, the top of the stove sits nicely against the counter tops, too.  While none of these projects will make a dramatic impression, it certainly helps the kitchen feel more polished and finished.

Just a little more sanding (the ceiling) and this small patch by the dining room, a few more trim pieces, some paint and we’re finally done with the kitchen.

What have you been working on this weekend?  Any sanding?  Installing lights?

 

Gimme a Giveaway Winner: E-Mealz & Carrot Soup

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When we teamed up with E-Mealz for a food related giveaway, I had to ask what your favorite easy meal or appetizer is to make.

E-MEALZ EASY AND DELICIOUS DINNER RECIPES

Personally, I love delicious bread, roasted garlic (takes a while, but really easy), and a wheel of Brie cheese.  Lightly toast the bread, squeeze the garlic out, spread on the bread, and top with warm Brie.  Delicious and it seems fancier than it really is.  Our winner, number 27, Liz, planned to make a chili cheese dog dip for the Super Bowl.  Liz, how was it?

I also knew this was the perfect time to share a recipe, as a few of you requested.  So, here it is, my version of Gordon Ramsay’s carrot soup.

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons butter {or 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil}

1 large onion, chopped

3 or 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped {substitute 1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons garlic powder for fresh garlic}

5 cups carrots, peeled and chopped

3 fourteen ounce cans chicken or vegetable stock

1 Tablespoon parsley {fresh or dried}

3 Tablespoons orange juice (fresh or concentrate}

5 to 8 ounces sour cream {or get fancy and use crème fraîche}

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper {more or less to taste}

pinch of nutmeg

Instructions:

1.  In a large pan, heat the butter and sautee the onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add carrots and stir to coat with butter.

2.  Add stock, parsley, and cayenne to the carrot mixture.  Let it simmer for an hour.  Remove from heat and blend in small batches.  Or, get fancy with an immersion blender.

3.  Add the orange juice.  Ladel into serving bowls and garnish with a scoop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cayenne, nutmeg, and parsley.

Tips:  If you’re in a hurry, cut the carrots into 1/2 wide pieces for faster cooking.

Don’t worry about the size of the onion or how uniform it is.  Everything goes in the blender.

If you want to make this in a crock pot, follow the instructions, leaving on low for 4 or more hours.  You can probably skip sautéed the onion, but I’ve never tried.  Though I have successfully made this in the crock pot.

Even if you’re not carrot’s biggest fan, you might like this.  What do you think, worth a try?  Still interested in seeing our recipes?  Haha.

I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues

Published on by Our Humble Abode31 Comments

Elton’s feeling blue.  I was feeling blue.  And now our kitchen is, too.  Yep, we’ve got color on those spackle speckled walls.  Well, I sanded the spackle before painting.  If you remember, here’s the before.

Yeah, the three-toned wall color wasn’t working for me.  So, I busted out my sanding skills to smooth out the walls.  I know, this should have been done months ago, but Ben and I both hate sheet rock work.  So we procrastinated.  The time had come though.  After sanding the walls, filling the small imperfections, and sanding again, I was ready to get started.

I prefer to paint trim first, working the paint into the crack by the wall.  Once that dries, I get started on the color.  Knowing that, I painted the trim Vermont Cream, color-matched to a Glidden satin latex paint.  Why Glidden?  Ben uses it in the apartments and loves it.  I didn’t like the work-ability (or lack of) the Behr.  Either I’m a slow painter or Behr dries especially fast.  But I also hate the durability (again, the lack of) of Wal-Mart’s paint.  Glidden seemed to bridge the gap.

Anyway, two coats of paint on the trim and about 24 hours of dry time later, I was ready for some color.

The same mis-tinted paint used in the dining room and theater room to be exact.  I bought another gallon at Wal-Mart (their paints are fine for areas with less traffic and/or use).  Rather than hauling the old can to the store, I took a picture of the label.  To say the paint gal was confused by this is an understatement.  Seriously, she was perplexed that I would do something so strange.  Finally, I explained to her what I was looking for and we got the paint mixed.

After spending an hour taping off the trim, I got painting supplies together.  Brush?  Check.  Paint tray?  Check.  Paint?  Check.  Roller and cover.  Oops.  I ran out of roller covers.  Gah!  Off to the hardware store the boys and I went.  We got the foam rollers, did our grocery shopping, and headed home.  After unpacking the groceries, I realized the covers were the right length, but the hole for the roller cage was too big.  Boo.  Luckily, I used the same color for the insides of the upper cabinets, so I searched for my used roller cover.  Found it…in the trash, still in the bag.  I cleaned the paint boogers off and used it.  Yes, I was desperate to start painting without going to the hardware store again.

I started painting, cutting in around the top of the casement.  It didn’t have to be perfect because anyone under seven feet tall wouldn’t see it.

Painting a flat wall was a breeze compared to the detailed trim.  Rosettes are the most difficult trim to paint.

Shortly after the first coat dried, I started with the second.  When I finished the second coat throughout the entire kitchen, I peeled off the tape.

Frog Tape prevented the majority of the paint seepage, but I did have a few peeling issues.  I think this was because I didn’t peel the tape off as I was painting, so it was starting to dry.

Touch ups are in my future.  Good thing I’ll have the same color out when we repaint the dining room.  I had to hold off painting the blue in the dining room because we’ve got to repaint the lower part white.

Here’s where we’re at now.  You can see we chose to paint the vent hood like the rest of the walls and door frames.  No special treatment.

Crown, casement, and door frames are white.

For better flow, I painted around the back door, too.  Now the color wraps from the stairs, around the kitchen, and into the dining room.

Now I need art to fill this blank wall.  I like what we had before, but I’d like something larger with more color.  Pinterest, here I come!

Up next, another layer of mud on the ceiling.  Then sanding, priming, and painting.  Again, we’re aware this should have been done long ago.

In addition to the ceiling, Ben has to install a few more trim pieces in the dining room, then more painting.  But we are getting another thing crossed off our list as I type this.  We took the cabinet doors to a local glass company.

Hopefully you’ll get to read and see more about that on Monday!

Have you been painting any rooms recently?  What color(s) did you choose?  Do you prefer to paint trim first?  Like Ben, do you hate sheet rock work?  Who’s excited that we’re almost done with the kitchen?  (Quickly raises hand).

Valentine’s Folding Cards

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Want another Valentine’s free printable?  Sure you do!  This time, we’re sharing fold over cards.  If your kids have a Valentine’s party to attend, we’ve got you covered with a few cute (though I’m biased) tag printables.

If you’re looking to dish out candy, Nuts About You! tags are perfect.

Click the link, print, cut along the tick marks, and fold along the dotted line.  Grab a bag of cellophane bags from the craft store (mine are 3 1/4 inches square when closed).  Fill with peanut M&Ms (or another nutty treat), close, and staple the card over.  There’s plenty of room for your little one to write a message to their friends.

If you don’t want your kids hopped up on sugar, give stickers instead.  If your kids are anything like mine, they love three simple things: balloons, bubbles, and stickers.  Any stickers.

Here’s Sticking With You, the girly version:

Or, we’ve got blue for a more boyish look.

Same routine.  Print, cut, fold, staple to the package.

I couldn’t find stickers I liked, so I designed and printed my own.

But I had a problem.  I printed the stickers on full label sheets.  So I cut the designs out.  Now I had to package them.  A piece of wax paper cut to fit inside the same cellophane bags became a perfect backing for the home-made stickers.  Just peel the label backing off, stick and seal.

I happened to have a mini stapler with orange staples, so I used that.  Seriously, mini + office supplies = adorably irresistible.

You can make your own stickers to go with, too.

Print on full label sheets, then use a ruler and utility knife to cut apart, keeping centered between designs.  Or, buy a big package at the store and divide up on wax paper sheets for a quick and sugar-free gift.

What Valentine’s cards have you given?  Store bought?  Hand made?  Candyless?

P.S.  This is the last Valentine’s project we’ll share.  Pinkie swear.