reality check
House & Home April 13th, 2010
One of the things I’ve learned about blogging in all the years I’ve been doing it, is that it’s easy to think people are perfect. Sometimes you get the impression that a writer just has it all together because let’s face it — as writers we pick and choose what we write about. It’s not difficult to sculpt a personality that resembles your true self, but is maybe just a little bit more organized and together. So. Lest anyone think that of me, allow me to present you with the current state of my kitchen. Take a deep breath and don’t let the little ones around. It ain’t pretty:
My husband has been working on painting the kitchen at night after the kids are in bed, so everything has been pulled off the counters and the tops of the cabinets. As you can see, I’ve started putting a few things back up. But naturally, I decided to switch things around and quite a few of the tchotkes up there used to be in other parts of the house. I’m taking this opportunity to do some rearranging, as well. Until now we’d kept the chips on top of the refrigerator (and I’ve always hated it; while convenient, it’s very ugly). So I’ve put my canisters up there and I’m going to find room in a cabinet for the Doritos you see on the kitchen table.
I really do love this coffee color, though. It sure beats the “builder’s beige” we’ve been living with for six years. (We’re not convinced it was even paint — I think it was just primer.) At any rate, I’m pulling out my blue, white, and yellow decor for the spring and summer. Maybe in the fall and winter I’ll go back to the gold, dark green, and burgundy. But for now I want to freshen things up. The curtains will be going. I found a couple fabrics that I like and I just want a second opinion before I make a purchase. And as much as I’d love to get the TV off the bar, that’s a battle that I’ll never win. I hate having the TV on while we eat dinner but… sometimes bribing the kids with a movie is the only way they’ll eat what I’ve made. It’s a small price to pay. At least we’re all still at the table, right?
I just hope that a certain baby will cooperate and let me continue putting stuff away. I’d forgotten how little you get done with a 10 month old (especially one who doesn’t like to nap). Wish me luck!
shiny happy washcloths
House & Home, Knitting & Crochet, This & That February 6th, 2010
Hi. My name is Carol and I have an addiction to dishcloth cotton yarn. There, I’ve said it. I’ve come clean. But tell me — how can you resist picking up one of the wonderfully yummy, colorful, and cheap skeins of Sugar ‘n Cream yarn? Perhaps you’re a stronger woman that I am. But when I saw that Melissa was suggesting a washcloth create-along, I was pleased as punch to have a nice selection of yarn to work with! Washcloths are my go-to project. They’re quick. They’re as easy or challenging as you want them to be. And they don’t require expensive yarn or lots of concentration (necessarily). And wouldn’t you know? I need to replenish my stack! So for the next two weeks I’ll be working up these babies as well as finishing up Colonnade.
In fact, last night I started and nearly completed a washcloth while watching a couple episodes of Weeds. (We’re getting Season 5 via Netflix). See?
This is the pattern I’m writing up for you. It’s easy and it’s probably out there somewhere already because basically it’s just a crochet stitch, but that’s okay. Here’s a closer peek:
The yellow is a wee bit bright, but it’s very cheerful too. I think paired up with some blue cloths it’ll look great in my newly-painted kitchen. No, it’s not painted yet, but within a month it will be. And I think I’ll be switching the color scheme of all my accessories from burgundy/gold/dark green to blue and yellow. I’m going for more of a French country feel. I have a few things that we bought on our honeymoon in Bordeaux and they’ll all blue and yellow so I’ll be taking those off the shelves. And a while back my mother-in-law gave me some blue glasses she no longer wanted. Those will be perfect along with my white dishes. Voila! Instant kitchen makeover!
it’s up!
Family, Holidays & Entertaining, House & Home November 29th, 2009
Although our tree has technically been up for about a week, we didn’t decorate it until today. It’s such fun unwrapping all the ornaments, isn’t it? We don’t have a specific theme for our tree; we just have lots and lots of different ornaments that we’ve collected through the years, a few going back to the 1970s. (Drew’s mom gave him an ornament every year!) Whenever we go someplace on vacation or on any kind of special trip we like to purchase something to use as an ornament for the tree. Also, I admit to hitting the Hallmark Keepsake ornaments hard after Christmas every year when they go on clearance for 50% off!
This year we had popcorn garland, but we forgot to put it on until we were halfway-through decorating. So, it’ll just have to wait until next year. (Have you ever tried to put garland on a tree that’s already been decorated? If you can do it, then you are much more skilled than I am — of course I’m pretty klutzy all around so it’s probably that most people would have no trouble!)
Here’s a peek at the finished tree:
Yes, we do even have the train going around! A few years ago the boys received this Lionel train as a gift from Drew’s aunt. We’ll probably have to box it up for a year or two once this season is over, though. It’s quite fragile and once Laura is mobile, well… I’m not going to risk her damaging it. She’s already grabbing and going after things! Have you put up your tree yet? Be sure to post a photo when you do and let me know. I just love looking at everyone’s trees!
Our lights are also up outside. I will have to take a photo of the house later. Drew has these neat mounts that snap onto the gutters so he can put them up from the ground — no need to stand on a ladder. It makes it so much easier for him and I since he’s not 10 feet up, I don’t need to worry (or be outside spotting the ladder). I still have a little decorating I’d like to do, but it’s plenty early. I’m glad the big stuff is all set, though!
Kid’s Nightlight Review
House & Home, Reviews August 5th, 2009
When Jake and Noah got their own rooms, Noah suddenly decided he wanted a nightlight. Yes, there was one in the room the boys shared, but when Jake was sleeping over at one of his grandmothers’ houses, Noah never wanted the nightlight on. So that was kind of a surprise. I’ve found it hard to find kids nightlights that aren’t terribly bright. I mean — the child is supposed to be sleeping. I don’t want his room lit up like a runway!
I was offered the chance to review a night light from Lights in the Night by Seasons of Cannon Falls. I was sent this funny monkey face night light. It looks great against the red walls in Noah’s room! At first I thought the night light was a little big, but when I plugged it in I thought it looked just fine. I love that it’s not terribly bright, but I noticed that the bulb got really hot really fast. I might switch it out with another night light bulb and see if it makes a difference. The on/off switch is sturdy, which is good. I’ve bought nightlights with flimsy switches in the past. This one seems like it will hold up well. It also has a swivel base that should fit any plug.
The monkey face is made of glass and does not seem like it would break easily, but obviously you don’t want to drop it on a tile floor or anything. The nightlight retails for around $16 and it has Noah’s seal of approval 
The days just fly…
Food & Wine, House & Home, Knitting & Crochet, This & That July 15th, 2009
I keep meaning to be a better blogger, and I honestly don’t know what happens, but it seems I just never quite get around to it. Summer is just flying by, as it often does. July has been beautiful here weather-wise. Cool nights (sometimes dipping into the 40s!) and days that reach the high 70’s or low 80’s. I think I could live with a year of this! Of course, I’m sure we’ll be in for the dreaded heat and humidity eventually. Let’s see, what’s been going on? The house is nearly all stained! I am just in love with the color. Here’s a shot I took this morning:
And here’s one just of two of the dormers. You can see how faded the siding was! Granted, the new stain is a redder shade than the old one, but still… the house was never that light!
My dining room is nearly back in order. There still are some things to put away, but at least it’s not jam-packed anymore. I think I might even be able to see a little bit of the surface of the dining room table! The boys’ rooms are all decorated and basically finished. Laura’s room is getting there, and our room will just have to wait. Although I am very excited about my new sewing desk in our room! It’s actually the desk that used to be in the kitchen, but we’ve been rearranging furniture and found it a new home. I hated having the sewing machine on the dining room table, yet I hated putting it in the box every night, too. This should be great!
I’m still working on this crochet bag from Attic24. I haven’t had tons of craft time lately (understandably, I would think!), but it’s working up nicely. I’m excited to do a little more on it. Other than that, it’s just business as usual here! Diapers and dishes, LOL. I’ll leave you with a recipe I tried last week for Indian Spiced Kale & Chick Peas. While I like kale well enough, I don’t love it. If we didn’t get it from our CSA I probably would not go out of my way to buy it, but this recipe was a good use for it. I used less kale than the recipe called for and should have cut down on the broth accordingly. It made for a more soupy dish. I’m not sure if I’d make it again, but if you enjoy kale and Indian flavors, chances are you will love this!
Indian Spiced Kale & Chick Peas
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound kale, ribs removed, coarsely chopped
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. garam masala
1/4 tsp. salt
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add kale and cook, tossing with two large spoons, until bright green, about 1 minute. Add broth, coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in chickpeas; cover and cook until the chickpeas are heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
No Rain, No Rainbows
House & Home July 7th, 2009
Just like the commercial says, right? The day started out gorgeous, then got all rainy and cold, and now it’s sunny again. What an odd summer. Anyway… I’m so tired today. After dropping Jake off at library camp, Drew, Noah and I went to run some errands at Target and Walmart (needed to get a curtain rod for Laura’s room as well as curtains for the bedrooms, and then some groceries). It was way more walking around than I’ve done in a while! I feel like a big baby, but it really did tire me out. I also didn’t get the greatest sleep last night, so I am sure that contributed a bit.
We got cute tan and red striped valances for Noah’s room and pretty brown valances with embroidered flowers for our room. For Laura’s room, which has the double window, we have two tiers — white sheers and then dark brown panels. I think they’re going to look so nice! We still have a bunch of stuff to put away, but we’re waiting for the plumber to finish up a couple things on the baseboards. I’d like to finalize all of the furniture placement, but we just have to wait. Drew remarked that he thought a plasma mount might be good on one of our walls, but I like the TV currently up there. (We have a small plasma TV in the kitchen — trust me, nothing fancy!) And it’s really not big enough to necessitate a mount, LOL.
The guys got a little bit of the siding put up on the dormer this morning, but then like I said, it started raining. Let’s hope for a couple dry days this week to get it finished up!
Well, well, well
House & Home July 2nd, 2009
One of the things about living in the country is having well water. In some ways this is a good thing because you get a lot of extra minerals that town water supplies usually don’t have. Also, it almost always tastes better because there are no added flouride or chlorine or other chemicals. However, it’s not without its problems. Although our house was built in 2004, the builder for some reason never put a filter on the tank that holds the well water. Over the past five years, we’ve noticed more and more sediment in our water glasses, and especially in the tub after a bath. The problem became really pronounced after our house was powerwashed.
However, since we are having all this work done anyway, we figured we’d ask the plumber about a new tank (because the old one would be gunked up with years’ worth of sediment) and a filter. We really had to do something. Laundry takes forever because I’d either have to fill up pots with water to help the washer fill up or else clean out the hose between cycles. The bathroom faucet upstairs was running at a trickle and we originally thought it was a problem with water pressure until Drew cleaned out the screen. Sure enough, it was fine after that.
Well, I am so thrilled because today the plumber is here taking care of all this. You have no idea how hard it’s been to keep our tubs clean (let’s not even talk about the state of the jets in the Jacuzzi tub). And since I’ve not been able to get down on my hands and knees and scrub for the past few weeks, it’s gotten really bad. I can’t wait to clean out the tub really well after the work is done and run myself a nice bath! It’s going to make such a huge difference.
The rest of the upstairs is, for the most part, complete. There are a few areas of paint that need touching up, but that’s it. Yesterday the guys started staining the siding for the dormer and I just love the color. I think it’s a bit more red than when we originally bought the house, I’m not sure. But it looks great. I’ll be sad when everything’s done and Joe and Bob leave. We’ve enjoyed having them around the house! Maybe we’ll just have to think of another project. You know, a front porch could be nice 
