Master Bedroom Update

I fell in love with this duvet set from Dwell Studio:

But the wallet was not exactly pleased with the $280 price tag.

So I hunted around and asked some fabulous ladies on a message board if they had seen anything like the striped bedding and lo & behold... I got a link to this set on Amazon
:

And I loved the price tag MUCH more. $30? Why yes, my budget can definitely handle that.

I think the stripes are supposed to go vertical on the bed but I'm going to switch it so they go horizontal. I just need to find a sheet set - I think I'm going to go with a solid color but I don't know what yet. Maybe just a nice set of white sheets for now and then I can take my time to decide.

Honestly. House. Honestly.

Previous owners got a new furnace.

New furnace was installed blocking a doorway.

Washing machine broke.

New washing machine purchased.

Old washing machine hauled out of house.

New washing machine doesn't fit BETWEEN THE FURNACE AND THE DOOR.

WTF. Really, now. Who installs a furnace that blocks a doorway? Seriously!?!

So three hours later, I've demolished one door frame and I'm now doing laundry again. We're back to normal.

Sort of.

Oh, and by the way... sorry... I've been freaking out about no washing machine so I haven't posted.

Happy Thursday-Almost-Friday!

Bedroom Redo Preview

So this past week I've been painting. And painting and painting. Sorry, took the photos with my iPhone - I'll get better ones up tomorrow after everything has been put back together.



It's still not quite together.



But it's getting there.



The color is Benjamin Moore's Ashley Grey.

- Posted from my iPhone

The Morning Phone Call

Last week the phone rang at 8:30 am. I was in the shower and getting ready for work. I had just shampooed my hair and had moved onto the conditioner when it rang. I ignored it.

See, now when people call in the morning it's Bimmer Man saying that his mom needs me to let the dogs out or it's his mom asking to let her dogs out. No biggie... I'd just finish up in the shower and call her when I was done to confirm that I would let the dogs out.

Or it would be my mom. And she would call to say, "Pattymctatty, the roads are bad, don't go into work today." And then we'd have a 20 minute conversation.

But then I was rinsing out the conditioner and then phone rang again.

Uh, oh.

Two phone calls in a row doesn't sound very good.

CRAP. I sort of started panicking, I hadn't even washed my face, and I knew that mascara would probably be running down my face. Crap. Crap. Crap. White towels and mascara don't mix. Crap.

I got out of the shower and ran to the phone and looked. Uh, oh.

It was Shirley, the next door neighbor. Now, Shirley only calls for about two things: she's going out of town and needs me to water plants OR she was wondering something else.

So not good.

I missed the call and called her right back.

"Hi, Shirley!"

"Pattymctatty, did you know that Rusty got out of the fence?"

What? Rusty did what? OMG. I looked around the upstairs. No Rusty.

"Um," I started. "I did not know that, I thought I let him inside. I guess he must've let himself out."

Oh, crap. Now I would need to rig something up so he wouldn't let himself out. Ugh. This was not going to be a good afternoon AND I was just wearing a towel. I was going to have to go outside JUST WEARING A TOWEL TO GET MY DOG BACK.

FUCK.

"I just wanted to let you know that I put Rusty back in your yard," Shirley said.

So I went downstairs to look into the backyard. The dog in my yard was not Rusty.

"Hey, Shirley?"

"Yes?"

"So, um, that's not Rusty that's outside."

And my panic started to recede just a bit. I looked into the living room. Rusty was in his dog bed, sleeping soundly with his mouth on a chew toy.

So back to the dog in the backyard...

Saba. The dog behind us that can jump 6 foot fences. Who happens to jump into our yard at least twice a week. Sometimes twice a day.

"Rusty is on his dog bed, Shirley," I said. "I bet that's Saba."

"I thought it was a little strange," Shirley started laughing. "I thought Rusty was a little darker but you never know!"

Pseudo Shrimp Scampi

Shallots, no onions, just chop until you feel like it.

Butter, shrimp, chicken broth (or white wine), salt and pepper.

Boil the peas in the last few minutes with the pasta. Combine all into a bowl with some fresh grated parmesan and there you go.

Doesn't this look similar to a recipe I made earlier? Well, it is... I kind of took the pea-cooking suggestion a bit too far and now that's all I can think about. Peas. Peas. Peas with pasta. YUM.

Coming up this week:

1. My seedlings are growing like weeds
2. The painting in the bedroom is well, I'm slacking on it
3. Some more recipes

Hilarious.

For those of you that read The Pioneer Woman, I have a little something for you. You know, she has a book, and then probably a movie, a cook book, blah, blah, blah... the list sort of goes on and on.

And now for the hilarious part: CLICK HERE AND SCROLL DOWN. I just added this blog to my Google Reader but I won't be able to read it at work I've been laughing so hard.

Happy Tuesday reading!

Plain & Simple: Guacamole

I like smooth guacamole. I don't like chunky guacamole (now, don't get me wrong, I will eat it if necessary), I don't like brown guacamole (please, put some lemon in it) and mostly, I like it with chips. The big tortilla chips with extra salt on them. YUM.

Here's my go to recipe:

2 avacados
1/2 small red onion
Salt & pepper
3 - 4 tbsp lemon juice
1 jalepeno
Cilantro - a good handful

Throw everything into a food processor and process until smooth (or chunky if you like it chunky, whatever). Sprinkle some extra salt on top, two or three extra drops of lemon juice and you're good to go!

10 Things: Too Much To-Do

In Honor of My 10 Random Facts posts that I do when I'm bored, I've decided instead to post a to-do post. If you have a to-do list, feel free to link to it! I need to make myself feel better knowing that other people have stuff to do too.

1. Buy the awesome paint for the bedroom this afternoon

2. Buy more white paint for trim

3. Buy paint two shades (oops, I mean tints, heck, I was an ART MAJOR) lighter than Martha Stewart's Rainfall for the master bathroom

4. Make a set of napkins.

5. Well, buy fabric for one more napkin to make a set of four (they're going to be double sided with some edging stuff... forgot the name of the whatever-it's-called, rick rack??)

6. Clean the toilets

7. Give the dog a bath

8. Try not to pull my hair out (it's in that in between stage, so one half of my head is flat and the other side is curly, not really the type of hair you show yourself to the public with)

9. Rake and clean up the backyard

10. Maybe sit down and watch television. Oh, wait, no, sorry... don't have time for that today!

11. (I added this in, sorry) Charge cell phone.

Cooking For 1: Mushroom Quesadilla

Due to popular demand, Bimmer Man has been away for dinner for the past week or two (see earlier car racing post, plus they have to swap 3, yes, three engines) and I've had to make dinner for myself. They've mostly consisted of:

1. Cheese and crackers
2. Quesadillas
3. Pizza
4. Scrambled eggs

So sorry, my readers, I just haven't made anything worth blogging about.

But my original thought was this: cooking for 1. What do you make? How do you make your favorites without having leftovers for the next three or four meals? Do you re-package meat individually so that you only have to make one chicken breast at a time? GAH. I hate cooking for one.

But I do like quesadillas and I really like mushrooms. Bimmer Man has never been a fan of mushrooms and I've been craving them a bit lately so I bought some. And then needed to use them up.

Black beans.

Chili powder, cumin, coriander (my staple spices when making anything "Mexican" or southwestern)

Oh, and the quesadilla!

Yum. Ooey, goey, cheesy goodness.

Basics:

2 tortillas
Mushrooms - more than you think
Black beans - 1/2 can or 1 can if you want leftovers to make lunch the next day
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
3 tbsp water or chicken broth if you have an open package in the fridge
Salt & pepper to taste
Cheese - a good handful of shredded cheese

Saute the mushrooms in a small pan with some olive oil or Pam. Whatever floats your boat. Wait until they are nicely shrunken and then add in the salt and pepper. Add in the black beans and the spices. Stir around until mixed together. Add in the water. Cook for 5 - 6 minutes until the water has been absorbed and it's cooked away a bit. You don't want a soupy quesadilla.

Put together the quesadilla. Heat up another pan. Throw in one tortilla. Put half the cheese on the bottom. Spread out the mushroom mix and top with the rest of the cheese. Put the other tortilla on top.

Watch the bottom tortilla - when brown, flip over. Watch the other side carefully, the second half tends to burn faster. When nice and crispy, turn out onto a cutting board and cut into four with a pizza cutter. Serve with guacamole, lettuce, salsa, whatever.

Enjoy!

Master Bedroom Color

Remember my inspiration bedroom photo?

And this one:

(From my Pinterest)
Ugh, and here's another one:

Well, I think I found a paint sample that I just might have to try out:

I think I'm off to Home Depot to get a small sample.

But I'm awful too because I haven't even finished painting the master bathroom yet. GAH. I need to learn to FINISH projects before I start another one!

Ok, goal planning:

1. Finish the trim in the master bathroom.
2. Paint the master bathroom a lighter blue than the "Rainfall" by Martha Stewart in the hallway.
3. Buy paint sample for master bedroom
4. Paint master bedroom
5. FINISH PROJECTS

Recent Inspiration - From my Pinterest

Pinned by me - via Apartment Therapy

Repinned by me - via prepfection.tumblr.com

Image from Elle Decor

Via Love, Maegan

 Eep. I have so many inspiration pins on Pinterest... If you want to follow me, click here. And if you want an invite, just let me know! It's super addicting once you get the "Pin it" link. I.can't.stop.looking.at.Anthropologie. Darnit.

So Excited For June!

Ahh... Melissa Palomo might be coming to the Twin Cities! YIPPEE!!! She's one of my FAVORITE pet photographers in the country. Yes, yes... in the COUNTRY!!!!

And so I heard from a little bird that she might make a stop in the Twin Cities. I've got my Frye boots all set, Rusty needs a new collar (I was thinking this one...) and my hair needs to grow about 4 more inches (Hello, Biotin...) Bimmer Man needs a new picture for his office and I need to stock our future photo wall with awesome pictures.

So if you're interested in doing photos with Melissa, I can get you in! Yep, just comment with your e-mail address and I'll get you info! She's coming in June (the later part of June) and I just can't wait. I'm so flippin' excited.

Can you tell I'm jumping for joy?

Check Out. My Ride

It's just for the weekend while Roberta gets repaired. I kinda like it. A lot!

Have a great weekend!

- Posted from my iPhone

What To Cook This Week?

Meh, I have no idea.

What sounds good? What do I have in my fridge? Leftovers? I have to keep in mind that I'm picking up turkey necks, bison liver and something else for the dog tomorrow that needs to go in the freezer...

I guess I'm going grocery shopping this afternoon.

Maple Glazed Pork Chops?
Shrimp with Gnocchi and some sort of veggie?
I think I might have pork ribs hidden from the dog in the basement fridge...
Salad with grilled chicken with a balsamic glaze?
Salad with the champagne dressing (oops, infusion) from the local olive oil shop?

Please, someone, knock me over the head with a 2x4 to knock some sense into me so I can actually meal plan for once and I don't make my life harder on myself.

So what is everyone else having for dinner this week? Anything that I can try?

Honey Glazed Carrots

Thank you, Sunny. They were fantastic!

Honey Glazed Carrots from Sunny Anderson

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound baby carrots
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add salt and then carrots and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the carrots and add back to pan with butter, honey and lemon juice. Cook until a glaze coats the carrots, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.

Easy Tote Bag To Sew

I think its' s already been established that I can be crafty and I've had this bag on my to-do list for quite awhile. Bimmer was gone so I needed something to do. This took me 4 hours, with plenty of breaks so I think maybe only 3 total? Not too bad for doing something the first time.



Cutting isn't too bad as long as you do it right the first time. I didn't read the directions and only cut the exterior half the size of what it was supposed to be. Oops. And then I cut two straps. I'm trying to find a way to get the two patterns on the handles (one on each side) with them still being sturdy and 1 inch thick.



You can see the lining better here. Tomorrow I'm going to do a second bag with the lining fabric as the exterior. I should just set up an assembly line. I think I have enough fabric to make three bags total.

Et voila!!




 I think next time, I'm going to try and find some fabric that has fruits and veggies on it - something totally retro and mod. I found the directions in my new book, One Yard Wonders. Totally worth it to buy if you sew! There are so many fantastic ideas - I just want to make them all!

Oh - and don't forget to check out Fingerprints on the Fridge Feature Yourself Friday post!

- Posted from my iPhone

Chocolate Chip Cookies. Wait, I lied.

Ok, so I ran out of chocolate chip cookies and used white chocolate chips, chocolate chips and Toffee chips. Now I feel better about lying to you because there are SOME chocolate chips in these.

I have this bad habit about forgetting that I have a laptop and it can be moved from the office. So instead I just write down the ingredients and go from there. Recipe? Pshaw! Just give me the ingredients, please! As Tim would say, "Make it work!"

The BEAST comes out for occasions. And lately my baking habit has been a bit regular so the BEAST has it's own spot at the dining room table until I have time to spring clean the cabinets.

Oh, yum. Please. Don't tell anyone that sometimes I just bake cookies for the dough. I'm a cookie dough addict. Actually, I think there were times that I did just make dough. Where's that embarrassed smiley face when you need it?

Last fall for some weird reason I bought the baking bars of Crisco and never used them. I don't know what I was thinking. At all. But honestly, I had never made cookies with Crisco before and let me tell you - THEY STAYED SOFT.

Like, seriously soft. More so than than even store bought cookies. Can you believe it? I also accidentally left them out on the counter for a bit longer than I normally do. But that's ok. THEY WERE SOFT TWO DAYS LATER.

So I'm sharing my recipe. Because it's not my recipe and I had NO IDEA WHAT TO MAKE WITH CRISCO. And no, Crisco is not paying me for this (Hey, Crisco - send me some samples...) but I just had to share because I'm a huge fan of soft cookies.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 3/4 stick Crisco® Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
• OR 3/4 cup Crisco® Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 (6 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

PREPARATION DIRECTIONS:

1. HEAT oven to 375ºF.
2. COMBINE shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat in egg. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Mix into shortening mixture until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
3. DROP by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.
4. BAKE 8 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies, or 11 to 13 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet on a cooling rack. Remove cookies to rack to cool completely.

Macy's 2011 Flower Show

For being free, I would say it was pretty good. But really... it didn't take up as much space of the auditorium as I thought it would. There was a lot of empty space and I thought there would be more. Oh, well. Lesson learned...

There was a program as well that listed all the flowers. Some of the flowers had little asterisks by them - those ones could be grown in Minnesota and unfortunately for me... Cherry blossoms were not listed. Boo. I don't even know where I'd put one in the yard either so maybe it's a good thing I don't have the option!