Valentine Decor

I couldn't help but do a little Valentine decorating. I don't have any specific "Valentine's Day" decorations, except for a couple of dishtowels, because between our Christmas and Halloween decorations, there isn't an inch of holiday storage space to spare.

So, I shopped our house and came up with a couple of suitable Valentine vignettes, I think. First, the mantle...


With the candles lit...


There hasn't been anything on our mantle since I took down the Christmas decorations, because I'm still not sure what should live there between seasons. So first I started with a couple of framed photos from our wedding. Then I added a couple of cute vintage-y looking Valentine's cards...


Some mercury glass candle holders on either side and flowers in egg cups and a milk glass vase...

I also hung a garland I made out of felt circles...



All together again...



Then I focused the rest of my energy on our entryway table. As much as I love decluttering and constantly purging "stuff", one thing I never get rid of is letters and cards. I have a box full of letters and passed notes from jr. high and high school. Half of them don't make sense anymore and some are just embarrassing, but I'll never throw them out. While decorating, I remembered that in that box were also a bunch of valentines I received in grade school. Jack pot!

So I borrowed a mirror from our guest room and stuck the little cards in the sides...

How creepy is this one?

I also gathered books with either red or pink spines for the bottom shelf, and put some roses in a little vase...

And hydrangeas in a pink candy dish...

That's it. The only thing left to decorate is our dining table for the day itself. Then it will all come down so I can decorate for Mark's birthday party at the end of the month.

I hope you all have a sweet Valentine's Day! I'm linking to

and

Valentine Pretties

Mark and I have discussed it and we've decided to do the same thing for Valentine's Day this year that we did last year. He's making me the same yummy dinner and I'm in charge of dessert. I'm leaning toward cupcakes because they're his favorite.

But I'm only eating one, and I told him not to buy me candy this year in honor of my get healthier resolution...which has been hit and miss so far. The average person would keel over and die just by looking at what I ate yesterday during the Super Bowl (yay Saints!). Two steps forward, a hop, skip, and a five-mile jog back.

Valentine's Day is not a big holiday for us, but that hasn't stopped me from looking at inspiration pictures. And I did a tiny amount of decorating, which I'll post tomorrow. Martha always kills it...

BHG...

Flickr...

via


via

Do you have any surprises planned for your significant other? Give me some ideas!

New Recipe Wednesday

The first recipe of my plan to try a new recipe every week comes to you courtesy of my blog friend Rachel from Life, amok. She was one of the first people, if not the first person who I don't know in real life to read and comment on my blog. And she's generous with the comments. What blogger doesn't live for comments? She's also funny, a cat lover, lives in Texas (Mark's dream state), and she's extremely active with her husband. They do all kinds of fun, crazy things, and she was one of my inspirations to have more fun and try new things this year.

Anyway, she took pity on me that my dessert recipes outnumbered any other recipe category 90 to 1, so last week she emailed me a recipe for Texas Style Chicken and Cream Cheese Enchiladas. They are incredible. I could forget the tortillas and just eat the filling, it's so good. And I may have done quite a bit of sampling of the filling while I was assembling them, but I'll never tell.

The ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts (I used 2 because that's what came in the package, and it was plenty)


• 8 oz. cream cheese


• small can of chopped green chiles


• medium onion, diced


• package of flour tortillas (I used corn because we happened to have 12,000 left over from another meal)


• shredded cheese (as much as you want to use to top the enchiladas)


• small container of heavy whipping cream (I used less than half of the container pictured above)

The instructions:

• Boil the chicken breasts. I've never boiled chicken breasts before (I've only recently worked up the nerve to touch slimy, creepy raw chicken), so I had a small moment of panic here. How do you know when they're done? Turns out you just have to check them. Here they are, boiling away:

• Shred chicken, leaving the water in the pot.


• In a pan, saute the onion in a little butter. When they start to brown, add the chicken, chiles, and cream cheese.

• Stir until the cream cheese melts. Mmmmm....

• Take a tortilla, dip it in the chicken broth from earlier, fill with the chicken mixture and roll. Continue until your baking dish is filled.


• Pour the heavy cream over the top and top with shredded cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

This one is a winner. We loved it, and it's going in my recipe file. Thanks Rach!

New header

A few of you have made mention of my new blog header, so I wanted to share how I did it.

I'm a complete moron when it comes to computers. They just never really interested me, and until I started this blog, I would go days, maybe weeks without touching the computer.

Then in making my blog rounds, I found this tutorial on A Foothill Home Companion, followed the directions and, miracle of miracles, it worked. She makes it so simple. FYI...the directions are specifically for Blogger blogs. The only thing I did differently was to make a photo collage in Photoshop instead of using a single photo.

This was a temporary change, as I have some ideas for the future of this little blog, but I'm sure it will be a while before I can make it happen. So this was a great DIY fix. Try it if you're looking for a change!

Entryway Before & After

I've gotten some requests to see more before and afters of the parts of the house we've finished. But, even the "finished" rooms aren't really finished. There are little things in each of those rooms that still need to be done, so I'll be showing more "before and durings."

So since we're still very much a work in progress over here, I'll start with the one area of the house that is actually done...the entryway.

Here are a couple of before pics...

We replaced the hideous light fixture (why are they still even making ones that look like that?) with a recessed light, changed all the doors in the house from standard white to solid mahogany, installed new molding everywhere, and painted of course. Here's the after (taken in November, hence the Christmas tree)...


Inside the entry closet we keep the shoes we wear most often, coats and sweaters, etc.

Pretty Anthro hooks...

And a basket for miscellaneous stuff like tote bags and extra purses...

That's it. Our only completely finished space. Next week I'll show you the before and during of the living room.

I'm linking this post to

and

and

Little Tip

One small organizational thing I did last weekend was to put a basket by our front door. In it I will be putting all of the things that need to be returned to other people. So when I'm headed out the door, I can take a quick glance and if anything in the basket belongs to someone I'm about to see, take it with me.

(Recognize that reusable bag, Isabell? I'll have it with me next time I see you!)

It's a little thing, but I think it will go a long way in helping to keep our house organized and to return things to people promptly.

One of these things is not like the others...

How insanely disproportionate is the Desserts file compared to the other recipe categories!? Send help.

Labeling lunacy

Like everyone else this time of year, I feel the need to declutter and organize. So I started this weekend with the task I've been dreading the most - organizing our home files. We had half done it over a year ago, but never finished and what was finished got out of control. I've put it off because it's overwhelming. There are categories and sub-categories and sub-sub-categories and AAAAHHHHHHH, I need a nap.

So I made a serious date with my label-maker. And I went bananas. I did the files for our properties.

I did our everyday personal files. I'm serious about fun this year. It's got its own file! I put info and magazine clippings about restaurants we want to try or places we'd like to visit in there.

I put all of our appliance and electronics manuals in an accordion file labeled by room...

I also better organized my home inspiration tear sheets. When I'm going through magazines and see a room or house idea I like, I rip it out and save it. I finally corralled them all into a file box labeled by room.
I also did this with my recipe tear sheets, using categories like Soups, Veggies, Desserts, etc. And I've decided I'm going to make one new recipe every week and share them with you.

Too much time on my hands? Maybe, but it feels fantastic to have finally tackled the scary files. Now the goal is to keep it organized and not let it get chaotic again by filing things immediately instead of letting piles build up, and purging info that is no longer relevant regularly.

How do you keep important information organized?

The weekend

The rain finally stopped on Friday night (where are my violins, right...I'm sure you were feeling very sorry for me), and this was the snowy view from our front yard on Saturday...

So we decided to go up (fun resolution rules!). It was only about a 25 minute drive from our house til we hit snow. Everyone else had the same idea, because it was crazy crowded, but so fun.

Snowmen were everywhere we looked, including on this car...

We worked up quite an appetite playing in the snow, so we checked out a new (to us) Peruvian restaurant near us. Excellent food. We'll definitely go back.

There was also lots of organizing this weekend. More on that tomorrow!

What day is it?

Was it me that was just talking about our beautiful weather last week?


It has been raining here non-stop for days. Torrential rain. Thunder and lightening. There's a river running down our street and I'd bet money that our pool is going to overflow despite our attempts to pump it out. One of the weathermen actually called it "epic rain." LOL! We Southern Californians do go into a tizzy when it rains. But there was a tornado in Orange County, so that's serious.

I've barely been outside of my pajamas let alone the house, so I should have tons of projects to show you, but I got nothin. Mostly I've been reading, drinking tea, watching Tivo'd shows, trying to figure out my new Droid phone with little success, and taking way too many pictures of Bean.

I have a bunch of half started things around the house, so my plan is to finish a couple today to post tomorrow. I've got on my trusty pjs, I'm putting on my music, and I'm getting to work!

P.S. This Golden Globes fashion recap is hilarious!

For Moi?

The very sweet Kristen at Miss Prissy Paige gave me a blog award! Her blog is one of my daily reads, so thank you Kristen! So now, I'm supposed to share some things about myself. She did 25 things, but I'd be writing this post in 2011 if I had to think of 25 things, so I'll do 10.

1. I'm obsessed with real car chases on tv, and we get a lot of them here. If the news starts showing one, I will sit there with my mouth open and watch it until it's over...hours sometimes. I'm riveted.
2. When I'm looking at magazines somewhere I always grab one from the back because I don't like it when they've been touched a lot. It has nothing at all to do with germs, I just prefer a "fresh" magazine.
3. I really only like American Idol for the bad singers, but then I end up covering my eyes and ears in embarassment for them.
4. I have phone phobia. I hate talking on the phone. I'm filled with a sense of dread when it rings.
5. I'll only write with black pens if I have a choice.
6. My favorite seasons have always been Fall and Winter because I like cooler temperatures, but now that we have a pool, I'm really looking forward to Summer.
7. I really wish ice cream was a health food.
8. I don't get the Twilight thing. I just don't. And don't even get me started on Kristen Stewart. Ick.
9. I failed my driving test the first time, but I'll swear I'm the best driver ever.
10. Call me un-American, but I really dislike the Olympics, especially the Winter ones. I think it's boring and it dominates the tv for months.
11. I guarantee I'll think of 10 better things the second I hit "Publish" on this post.

I'm not tagging anyone this time, because I'm fairly certain all the blogs I read daily have done it before. But if you're reading this, share something about yourself in the comments! I love learning more about blog (and real-life!) friends!

For your listening pleasure (or not)

Songs in heavy rotation on my iPod right now:







And I can't help myself. I just love her...

Just beachy

I know much of the country is up to its ears in snow, but here, the weather has been in the 70s all week. So yesterday, in the spirit of putting fun first, we postponed house work to go to the beach.

The tide was extremely low, so we got to see some things we don't always see when we're there.

Mark despises mussels, so this was really creeping him out.

I'm thinking this resolution to have more fun is really gonna stick.

2010 House Goals

If you follow this blog at all, you know we bought a new house in '09. We took possession in September and moved in in October.

When we first saw the house, we knew immediately it was the one. We had looked at a lot of houses, and we both finally had the feeling like this was our house. However, as much as we loved it, there wasn't a surface we weren't going to have to touch. And by touch I mean paint, stain, tear out, blow up, etc.

So we got to work on the front half of the house and stained the light wood floors darker, overhauled the living room, dining room, and the three bedrooms other than the master, one of which we made our office/crafty space for me. More on the finished parts in upcoming posts.

What we haven't touched yet is the bathroom in the front half of the house, which isn't that bad and will actually be the very last thing we reno in this house, and the whole back part of the house. Oh dear God, the back half. This includes the kitchen, laundry area, second bath, master bedroom, rec room, and backyard.

It's too big and expensive a job to do it all this year, but we've chosen a few areas to hopefully tackle in 2010. I'm going to show you some terrifying pictures now.

1. High on the list of priorities is the laundry area off the kitchen. It also currently serves as the hallway to the second bathroom. Standing in the kitchen, this is what you see:

What the hell is going on here with the two doorways? Here's the view showing the whole laundry space and doorway into the second bath:

The plan for this area is to wall off the second doorway from the kitchen (seen in the first picture), wall off the doorway into the bathroom (more on that in a minute), relocate the water heater which is in the cabinet on the right just before the bathroom door, move the washer and dryer to the back wall that will be created from losing the bathroom door, ditch the laminate floor and lay stone, and install tons of shelving to make this a walk-in pantry/laundry room.

This will be a big job, mostly due to the moving of pipes. But it shouldn't be a huge expense since Mark can do it all.

2. This is the current state of the little second bathroom (shudder):

The plan is to make this our master bath. Even though it's tiny, it's only separated from the master by a wall. So, we'll be creating a new door into the room right where the shower is, thus having to relocate the shower to another wall and of course changing every surface in there. Basically, it's a total gut job.

3. Now we're taking things out back. Let's start with the spa (jacuzzi, whatever):

Inviting, no? I know I wanna put my half-naked ass on that grody bench. Thankfully the pool isn't like this, so resurfacing/painting/tiling that will wait for another year. But this baby's getting a face lift. It will be a trial run in deciding what we want to do to the pool, on a much smaller scale and for a fraction of the price.

4. Speaking of the pool, it takes up about 70% of our backyard. It's truly enormous. But there are a couple of parts that aren't pool. Here's one:

I think we can agree this needs work. The concrete patio is in direct sun almost all day, so we need to construct a pergola of some sort. Still debating what if anything to do with the concrete. Beyond that will be lawn where there is currently a weedy dirt patch. Then we'll tame the unruly trees, do a little planting, and furnish the patio.

5. This is the other patio on the other side of the pool, off the kitchen:

The plan is to lay Plexiglass over the pergola to keep the patio safe from rain so we can use it like an outdoor room, while still allowing light to come through. Eventually (not this year probably) we'll replace our BBQ with a built-in one. And of course there will be furniture and potted plants.

6. Also, we'll plant a few citrus trees and our veggie garden in the front yard this Spring.

Whew! I'm exhausted already, and who are we kidding, Mark will be doing most of it with me freaking out in the background. But, if we can get at least most of these items done this year, it will make me happy as a clam and bring the house so much closer to the condition we imagine it in.

Any major undertakings at your house this year? Or any advice for us?

Goals for Twenty-Ten

Mark and I decided together sometime in early December, as we were running around like headless chickens trying to get things done and gorging ourselves on junk food to the point of nausea, that 2010 would be the year of "Fun and Health."


We definitely have our fun, but we often put off fun things to do more practical things. Fun was put on the back burner for most of 2009 for many different reasons, so this year we're making it a priority, hopefully with both the spontaneous and planned-ahead variety. We already have a few things planned, and of course there will be posts to take you along for the ride.


And is there anyone not interested in better health? With my family history it's high time I start taking mine more seriously. And Mark, though skinny as can be (we look like the number 10 standing next to each other), has high cholesterol. I'm not imposing any specific pound loss goal on myself. I just want to be more fit to keep up with Mark in some of the active things we do. Like when he wants to go on a hike, I want to be walking next to him instead of yards behind him, panting like a buffalo.


So, specifically, here are some of my personal goals for this year:

• Take a multivitamin daily (6 for 6!)
• Less meat and dairy, more fruit, veggies and grains
• Less sugar
• Less tv, more activity
• More weekend trips
• Improve my photography skills
• Read more
• Learn how to use a sewing machine

Nothing groundbreaking here, but I'm hoping to stay focused on these key areas, and I'll be sure to share the failures and successes.

Tomorrow: House goals, 'cause that's a whole other can of worms.

Dear Mama

Last year was a rough one for you, but you're so strong and brave. We love you to infinity.

Happy Birthday!

Coming up for air

The holidays were seriously a whirlwind for me this year. They always go by in a flash, but having a seasonal job in retail made it extra difficult to stop and smell the Christmas tree. (Only two more shifts, and I'm so ready to get back to normal!)

And please tell me how going from one Christmas tree to two exponentially increases the amount of time and storage needed. I took down the trees and most of the other decorations last night, and I have to say, I'm re-thinking my idea to have a tree in every room. It took FOREVER and I was so overwhelmed by the chaos at one point that I debated just throwing it all in garbage bags rather than spend one more second figuring out the best way to organize it for next year. Ten points if you can spot Bean in this picture...

Despite all that, there were many great times. Christmas day...

A weekend visit from our friends Jackie and Scott who moved to Seattle earlier this year...

And a New Year's Eve that went better than planned, because our friends Vic and Kerri had their sweet baby girl a few days early. They were supposed to come to our house for NYE festivities, but we came to them in the hospital first, then back to our house with the rest of the gang. We all took turns holding her. Even Mark, who thinks babies are made of glass, or dynamite. I took about a thousand pictures of it just to prove it happened.

The only bad thing was that their hospital is in Pasadena, and you cannot imagine the hoards of people there for the Rose Parade. We managed to avoid them on the way there, but by the time we left, they had shut down the nearest freeway entrance to hold all the horses that were going to be in the parade overnight, so we had to drive right through the mania. I wish I had taken a picture. But look at this face...totally worth it...

Happy New Year, everyone!

Is it 2010 yet?

I'm so behind. I have so much to post, but I've been so busy and exhausted and just barely keeping a cold at bay. Today is my last shift at my seasonal job for this week, then we're having friends over tomorrow night for New Year's Eve, so I'll be back with new posts either Friday or Monday. But, I've been enjoying reading all your blogs!

I'm looking forward to a very quiet, empty-scheduled start to the new year.

We have a winner...

Once again, I used my very scientific method of choosing a winner by writing everyone's name on a scrap of paper (Followers got two), folding and shaking them up, and picking one. I don't generate the number of entries that would require me to use Random.org yet, so my Stone Age method works.

And the winner is...

Kim from NewlyWoodwards! And I swear to Baby Jesus it's not because she highlighted me on her blog today, but she did, so check it out! It was purely a coinkydink, and just meant to be.

So Kim, email me a mailing address and I'll get your votives out asap!

And thank you everyone who entered! There will be more.

The trees and other decor

I don't know why it's taken me so long to get around to posting our holiday decor, considering half of it was up long before Thanksgiving, but here goes the tour...

I kept it simplish this year, because we are still so disorganized from our move in October. I can't even find one whole Christmas bin.

Here's our artificial 6ft. tree. I decided to keep it decorated in colors that match our living room, so blues, brown, cream, white, silver.



I did buy some new ornaments this year, since I didn't have enough in that color scheme to cover this tree. This is one of my favorite new ones:



And we were given some beautiful bird ornaments by our friends Karin and Sam that went perfectly on this tree. I think someday I'll do an entire tree of bird ornaments.



Under this tree is where you'll find Bean hanging out and causing trouble. The tree skirt is just a tablecloth wrapped around the bottom, cause I can't even thread a needle let alone sew anything.

Our advent calendar hanging on the entry closet door:

Entry table decor:

Balls, balls everywhere...

Also on the dining table:

Mini tree on the makeshift dining room sideboard:

Part of the mantle:

Pretty beaded garland on the bookshelves:

The main tree, where we put our ornaments that we've collected over the years. Some have been given to us, some we've picked up on our travels, and we also collect Hallmark ornaments...

First married Christmas ornament from last year:

And this is my all-time favorite ornament. I don't know why, it just is. I can't wait to dig this one out every year when we're decorating my parents' tree, and this year my mom insisted I take it home. My little walnut boy...

So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed it. I haven't been able to get enough of seeing everyone's tours. I'm linking to

and

And if you haven't entered my giveaway from yesterday, why the heck not? Click here to enter. Winner will be chosen on Friday morning and posted Friday.

My second ever giveaway!

So after several days of rain, we had a clear beautiful day, and Mark and I headed out to do a little Christmas shopping. We went to the big outdoor mall where I have my seasonal job at Crate and Barrel (gotta use that employee discount!).

This is why I haven't made any money at that job:

I'm in Crate all day, and then I come out to have Anthro staring me in the face. I never had a chance.

While the incessant rain lately has made it difficult to get things done, it has brought snow to the local mountains, which is pretty.

We had fun shopping. Maybe too much fun, as we bought more for ourselves than others :/ One of the things we bought for ourselves is a pair of these pretty white stone votive holders from West Elm.

I loved them so much I bought a second pair to share with one of you!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. Followers get an extra entry! I will choose a winner randomly on Friday. Happy holidays!

Dare to Deck the Halls!

I can't believe it's the second to last week of the Dare to DIY blog party already! For this week, we were to make something decorative for the holidays.

Ripped straight from the pages of the now defunct and sorely missed Domino magazine, I made a card tree thingy. I searched and searched for the inspiration picture online and in my files where I keep magazine tear sheets, but I couldn't find it. If someone knows what I'm talking about, please send me a link. The Domino version was pink, white and black. Anyway, here's mine:


I used a piece of plywood, which we always have laying around from various projects and improvements. It's about 4 feet tall. Stapled on batting and an old linen table cloth that had a few yellow stains on it, which were going to be covered by the cards. Then Mark and I started nailing on holiday cards in a tree shape. Some were cards from this year, some were saved from years passed (past?) because I liked the front of it or it had special messages written inside.

Add a little garland and some small balls at the end, and voila! Christmas card tree that can be brought out year after year and added to. I think I may do something similar with all the photo Christmas cards we get, since I don't usually throw them away, but never know what to do with them after Christmas. I'll incorporate them into the yearly decor!

I also made a few little vintage card ornaments. I printed some images I found online, taped them to cardstock, added glitter (GLITTER!), and hung 'em on the tree. Couldn't be easier.

Cost for both projects: $0. Gotta love that. Now stop by NewlyWoodwards to be inspired by other homemade holiday decor!

Also linking to Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts

and The DIY Show Off

The weekend was...

Decorating the house...

our Christmas party (so fun!)...

freezing rain...


and a cozy fire...

I love this time of year.

Dare to Make Homemade Gifts

After completely missing Week 3 of the DIY challenge because I suck at time management, I'm back for Week 4 which is to make a gift for the holidays.

I chose something I had made over a year ago after seeing them on various blogs and Etsy, so again, this is not a new idea, but still adorable. Then I just made a few more for the challenge. It's cakestands!

Go to thrift stores or yard sales and buy (extremely cheaply) candlesticks or vases or egg cups or anything you think is pretty and would make a suitable base, and glue (I find Gorilla Glue works best) a plate on top. Easy squeasy.

It would be cute to give to someone with an actual cake on it, or cookies, or little soaps or anything the recipient might like. Or just as is.

I also made ornaments inspired by (or completely ripped off from) one from Target this year. I bought a set of 9 clear glass ball ornaments from Target, dropped in a sprig of faux greenery and some white iridescent glitter, and tied a little ribbon knot for hanging.

Cute to tie onto packages. I always like including a little extra something on the outside of a gift.

Don't forget to go to NewlyWoodwards and see what all the other ladies have made!

You must make these

I thought I might want to make these for Thanksgiving, so I did a test batch, and Mark and I ate them so fast I didn't even get a picture of them. Trust me, they are delicious! They only take 5 minutes to assemble and 30 minutes in the oven.

Scallion and Cheddar Popovers (makes 8)

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 scallions, chopped

1. Coat 8 cups of a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. In bowl, whisk together flour and salt. In second bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Fold in cheese and scallions.

3. Fill prepared cups about 3/4 full. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes. Keep oven closed for full baking time or popovers will deflate.

4. Remove from oven and immediately remove from pan. Serve warm.

5. Attempt to eat all 8 until your husband comes in and demands you share.

Recipe via Family Circle.