Getting on the ball

So summer is over for us. Phew. What a crazy couple of months! How was your summer? Kids back in school yet? Is that a relief for you or are you lonely and bored now? Maybe a little of both? I'm not judging.

We moved this summer and with that came a lot of projects  and busy-ness. I had no idea. Truly. But. I learned some new skills, tried my hand at landscaping, and practiced deep breathing.

To start off... I bought these pantries for our last place. They are simple and plain. We have moved and our house doesn't have a pantry... go figure. BUT! As luck would have it our two pantries fit purr-fectly into our kitchen. But. They are plain. And we can't have that!

 I had, at one time, painted these door handles black. With spray paint. I was hoping it'd give the pantries something. But. The paint chipped after a week and made a big ol' mess. But we lived with it.

 Then I went to Hobby Lobby. And guess what I found. But they only had one. So I bought it and ordered three more. They never called. The day of ourhousewarming party we called and they had some more. Order must have gotten lost. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt.

And voila. Minus the baby proof locks... aren't they so much better. Still plain, simple, etc. but for the small-ness of our kitchen... perfect.

Makeover Monday

A little late, but technically it is still Monday! And that is good enough for me.

I will apologize in advance, bloggy friends for the disaster in the background. I dumped my craft tub looking for just the right embellishments. Another word for embelishments: additives. Isn't it funny that we really are quite against additives in our food as a general rule, but additives in crafts just make everything... more yummy?! They make food more yummy, but we know the down side to putting them  in our bodies. I don't think there is a down side to additives in our crafts! But I digress.

So. I found this cute sign and in reality was pretty fine on its own.

But we aren't satisfied with fine, are we ladies?!

So makeover Monday this Monday is making something new even better and more delicious with additives. We'll veer away from my traditional course of taking something old and making it better. We're going to personalize one of those cute, but run-of-the-mill signs we see everywhere so that it really is something special.

Using various sizes and textures of rick-rack and cloth ribbon I added some framing to the sign.

I used MIGHTYMENDIT! and glued the ribbons to the back of the sign on the top and bottom with a dot of MIGHTYMENDIT! in the middle too. I liked the contrast of the black and cream and I felt it really stood out from the dark  with dark lettering.

Then even though the sign came with hangers on the back I felt like it was just one more opportunity to add somet extra special. I found some cute cream with blak dots ribbon and tied it to the hangers. Then I tied little bows to the bottoms of each side to a.cover up the little tail of ribbon that hung off when I tied the ribbon to the sign and b. I thought it looked really cute.

Voila. You probably won't have the same sign as me, but I hope this inspires you to take something that was cute but generic and really make it your own. Happy Monday!

Simple Decorating at its... simplest?

Like me you probably have either nothing on your washer and dryer because it would fall off and break or every thing piled on it (i.e. detergent, towels, cleaners, &c.). Well... what if I told you this whole bit cost me about $7 and it TOTalLy re-invented my washing area?!

Vinyl placemats from Target. They were already coordinated and everything! about $2 each on sale

Plastic drink tub form Target $2.50 in the dollar section

A few sheets of tissue paper on sale at Target $.50

Mod Podge (had on hand)

Now. You need to know. PLacemats aren't just for your dining table anymore. I have a placemat (but no picture since it is messy) on my bedside table that a. protects it from cups of water and b. dresses it up, makes it cute, acts as a table cloth so-to-speak without covering up my cute table. Love it!

As you can see in the picture my washer and dryer are low enough that you can totally see the tops of them. These placemats will be easy to clean in the event that I spill detergent (likely) or they make a nice folding surface. I don't have any cupboards near my washing machine so I bought that tub and decoupaged it to match the room. You can't see it but I found this fab chindi rug at Target for like $5 and it is various shades of blue, white, and teal. That's where the teal comes in!

The tub was originally a strange blue color that wouldn't work so I tore strips of tissue paper and Mod Podge them on. I wanted it to be crinkled so I wasn't super careful. I plan to add some embellishments later once I figure out where I am going with it...

I have another SUPER great idea just for the laundry area but I have to track down a wire wreath form first. Any ideas?

In the words of Rachel Ray, "What's for dinner tonight?"

In our case: Pork medallions with roasted asparagus and Kale.

Does that sound daunting? I just made it up and I like to sound elegant. Really this was like five steps.

I took a pork picnic roast that I got on sale and sliced it into about 1/2-1 inch medallions. You could very easily do this with a pork tenderloin or with just plain pork chops.
I sprayed them with cooking spray and sprinkled on paprika (KILLER with pork), seasoned salt,crushed red pepper flakes (hubby likes the heat), pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. I did the same with the veggies.

Stick on your roasting pan, indoor (or outdoor) grill, or George Foreman.

If you're doing it in the oven like I did set it to broil!

Your asparagus will be ready before the meat. Remove it and tent with foil to keep it warm. Just cook them until fork tender (I never pay attention to cooking times. For shame.)

Replace asparagus with seasoned Kale. Cook that until wilty. Your pork should be done at the same time. The best way to tell if any meat is done without cutting into it: pick the fattest piece of meat and stab it with a fork. Press on it if need be to get juices to run out. If they run clear not red you are good to go!

Plate and serve!

A note about Kale: I love cabbage so I really liked kale. I had never cooked with it before but was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. If you do not like brussel sprouts or cabbage kale will not be for you.

CHALLENGE: Pick out a vegetable or leafy green that you have never tried before and cook it up. You will easily change up your routine (you know how you kind of cook the same 14 dinners over and over again?), you will add SUPER many good nutrients to your meal, you'll impress whoever you are cooking for, and you may even find a new favorite veggie.

Some of my favorites that came about this way:

Asparagus, brussel sprouts, Chard (very good on paninis), and Kale.