Weekend projects

This weekend we did a very fun project. We installed a new closet organizer in our bedroom closet. The stuff that was in there before as you will see in the pictures, soon to be posted, was all scraps of particle board and wooden rods that had obviously been repurposed for the closet. There was shelving behind all of the clothing rods so that you really couldn't get to it, even if you are tall. So being that it was so inconvenient we ended up not using a lot of the storage space and piling our clothes up outside the closet. This was very frustrating because we are both pretty neat&tidy kind of people.

So I had enough. I asked Josh if our next project could be fixing the closet. I originally had it all planned out and then we got to the store and they had even more options than I envisioned so it was kind of experimental but in the end we are really happy with it! We didn't create a lot more space but we created a more useable space that makes a lot more sense to us than what was there before.

And, today marks my fourth day of not eating chocolate and only having minimal (1 or 2 per day) sweets. I am trying to cut some addictions unhealthy things out of my diet. Honestly you would not believe the amount of sweets I was consuming in a day. And I have started running (foREAL) again. This makes me feel very good and I actually sleep through the night and wake up energized! I also got some new shoes because my old ones had a big hole in the toe and rocks were jumping under my toes while running. Also my old shoes were letting me get some horrible hip pain and the new shoes have helped to reduce that quite a bit. We ran the St. Patty's Day 5K here and that was kind of my "get up and go" race so now I am ready to get moving and get back in shape again. Eventually little miss Charlie will be my running partner but seeing as how she can barely walk a straight line on the leash it's going to be a while before she can run next to me.

Have a good day! Spring is coming! Which means, Summer is coming!! Yay for wearing Chaco's again.

ae

coupons

Lately I have really enjoyed using coupons. It feels so good to save money that way. I want to say thank you to those of you who go through the grocery store and leave coupons on all the items that I like to buy. Seriously, last night I was at Albertson's and just needed a few things. It turns out some random person had a coupon for some things that they weren't going to use so they just left the coupon on the shelf next to the box. Wouldn't you know, that same item was what I was buying and now I had a coupon. So please keep it up you random coupon droppers!
And I need to get the Sunday paper to get even more coupons.

A few new pictures of Charlie have been posted. Josh was blowing bubbles and she was chasing them. Then I got her to pose for a few shots in the backyard.

bakeware

So for Christmas, Josh's parents got us many things for our kitchen. All of which we have used except for the Lodge Cast Iron skillet and Belgian waffle maker. Now the skillet I have not used mainly because it is so heavy and I can barely lift it out of the cupboard. The waffle maker I have not used because it is stored so high above me that I tend to a.) forget we even have it or b.) want to use it when Josh is not there to get it down for me. I do have a fabulous step stool for getting those things that are out of my reach but the cupboard that fit the waffle maker...just TOO high.
So last night I was preparing some cornbread to take to a little c-group dinner and the recipe called to make it in a cast iron skillet. I decided to improvise and use a good-old 9x13 casserole because I didn't own a skillet. Then I remembered why the cupboard shelf is about to collapse...the Lodge Casserole/Skillet!!
I had doubled the recipe due to making it for a larger group and in a 9x13 and the thought did not even cross my mind until I turned on the oven light to check the progress and saw that the cornbread had expanded all the way to the top of the pan. I said a quick prayer and alas, the bread did not rise beyond its borders. I measured the lid and it was almost 12 inches across. The recipe called for a 10-inch skillet so I think that extra 2 inches saved my life, and my oven.

Anyway, I absolutely loved using my new skillet and can't wait to make something else in it. The only problem, it really is the heaviest cooking item I own, the website says it weighs 16 lbs!!! Oh, and the cornbread was delicious. If you want to try it yourself, here is the single recipe, double it for a large group or if you want a really thick cornbread and own the Lodge Enamel Casserole Skillet!

Cornbread

In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients:

1 cup flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2-3 Tbsp sugar (use 3 if you like a sweeter cornbread)

Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl:

1 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil or melted butter

Heat oven to 400F, once preheated, put 1 Tbsp butter in 10-inch cast-iron skillet and place in oven to melt butter, about 3 minutes. When butter is melted, swirl around in pan to coat bottom and edges. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stir until all combined. Pour into hot skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes or it passes the toothpick test.

Enjoy...I tried to remember this recipe off the cuff so there may be corrections posted. ;) I'll have a picture later today if I get home before Josh and can snap a shot of that last piece in the pan!

ae

genius

Imagine my delight when this arrived in the mail yesterday. I felt so good about myself. =)


ae

valentine's day

This is totally overdue but I wanted to share it anyways. For Valentine's Day I had made a ton of cookies for Josh and I was going to decorate them all cute and pink. When it came down to it I felt bad for forcing him to eat 3 plates full of cookies so I decided to take them to him at work and let all the guys enjoy them.
Here are a few pictures, I even had a firetruck cutter so I made one of those! I made sure the driver ate that one. Sorry the color got kind of funny...I'm not a professional by any means!

Josh got me a little rosemary tree and that was really cute. :) Then I think I figured out that I am allergic to rosemary!

princess

Some of you know how much I enjoy our dog. Some of you didn't know but now you do. I must confess I never was really into dogs but then Josh really wanted a dog and I finally gave in and I decided I wanted a black dog even though he wanted a yellow dog. For real. I like black more than yellow.

So I won out because when we finally decided it was the right time to get a pup and found the right one, the only one left from the litter was this beautiful black lab! Now, I can't believe I never wanted a dog before! I actually want another one when she gets a little older.

This past weekend Charlie got a bath. We re-installed the sprayer showerhead just for her. Actually it made our lives MUCH easier. After we got her all blow-dried I put on her little bandana and asked her if she wanted to get her picture taken. (Yes, I think it is totally fine to talk to dogs because sometimes they seem to understand you.) These are a few pictures from her photo shoot. I am not kidding you, I asked about the picture and then she sat like this. She did a couple other poses around the living room but I was too blasted shaky to capture them all in a decent manner.

ae