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?