Found Some Treasure

We scored this, along with a matching dining room set yesterday. Mid century, made in Portland, and has stayed in the same family since the day they bought it new. It comes with glass doors, but they're not attached right now.


Our plan is the refinish this, the table, and the chairs, and to reupholster the chairs as well.

Super stoked.

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11 Step Program For People Thinking of Having Kids

SO True!

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.


3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

*And people wonder why I want only one kid....

Estate Sale, Antique Shopping, and The Guest Bedroom

So, yesterday I dropped into an Estate Sale that was going on a street south of us... just to see what they had. I spotted a few things I wanted, but didn't have any cash. So I asked the lady to hold onto the items until I returned with John and some mula. Upon our return, we discovered a ton of other stuff we wanted. We walked out of there with a whole bedroom set for our guest room, three suits for John (in perfect condition), two ladders, two dining room chairs, a hose, and a neato mirror... for $135.

We spent today in downtown Vancouver rumagging through all the antique stores for treasures. I did manage to find this guy

AND it works!

We stopped by this place called Pop Culture. Their gimmick is an extremely wide variety of bottled soda. It's actually a really cool place. It's very laid back, and very kid/teenager friendly. I think it's cool, because it gives kids a place to hang out. It has a stage for bands to play at as well. These were the sodas we enjoyed

I stopped in to another antique store by myself to quickly check it out. I was really happy to see that this was still there

An owl cookie jar! I want him! I spotted him a few months ago, but haven't been able to convince myself to spend $68 for it... hopefully he'll hang around for a while longer.

I also saw these! I should have bought them. Salt and pepper shakers. They were cheap too.


I had mixed feelings about this. John and I keep running into these types of end tables... and we keep contemplating getting one for the living room.

I really wanted to buy this...

So ANYWAY- HERE is the bedroom set we got from the estate sale! In SUCH good condition, and straight from the 60's!!!

So here's a weird view of the guest room. I couldn't get that great of a picture with everything in it. I'm so excited to have a furnished guest room! We have big plans to refinish the furniture, repaint the walls, and decorate everything to look totally awesome.

Dining Room

So, our house is no where near what we'd like it to look like- furniture wise. It will be a work in progress. I've delayed putting up pictures because I have these dreams of how I want the rooms to look, and they don't look like that. I somehow kept thinking I would wait to post pictures of the house after they were complete. Yeah right... That won't be for a little while.

Any way, to continue on from the living room, here us the dining room...



I'm still not sure that the mirror will be hung there.




This one is taken from the wall that the mirror is leaning on. The door to the right leads to the back yard.




SO- this is kinda sorta what I want my dining room to look like someday...


Check it out! My dining room is exactly like that one!


Just need to find the right stuff to put in it...

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New Washer & Dryer!

Sorry for the weird picture... I was having photography app issues.


I was very excited to see the washer and dryer we picked out displayed on this poster at Home Depot.


We picked out the top loading, high efficiency, energy star Maytag Bravos washer and standard front loading dryer. I LOVE THEM! I was able to wash 10 days of laundry, including all of Daphnes bed sheets, all of our towels and bath mats, and all of our kitchen towels and napkins in just 5 loads. And I did it all in one day. I am amazed. Everything was clean and smelled amazing!

So, there are a few reasons why we picked this set.

1) Cost. I was not convinced that I had to spend $1,500+ on a washer or dryer to get good quality appliances. And who has that kind of money??? After doing lots of research, I found that I could get great appliances for a third of that cost. With parts, taxes, discounts, coupons, searching for the best price, etc, taken into account- we spent just about $1,000 for the set.

2) Functionality. I was also not convinced that I needed to have the trendiest front loader washer dryer set. I don't even see the point of a front loading washer. After hearing/reading comments about front loaders stinking, breaking, etc, and not being able to add clothes to the cycle after it starts... I decided a top loader was for me.

3) Reviews. It really amused me to see washers and dryers selling for $1,500 and only getting 3 out of 5 stars on reviews (or less)! The Bravos set continuously got great online reviews.

SO- I don't care that's they're not silver or red... Or that I have to (gasp) load it from the top. I love my washer and dryer!

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Chilaquiles

Ok, first let me start with sharing this awesome method for pulled chicken. I like to make this mainly for Mexican food (enchiladas, tacos, etc.) I sorta just made it up.

In a slow cooker put in like.... 3 frozen chicken breasts. Today I actually dumped in a bunch of those frozen chicken tenders.

Place two cans of broth, 1 or 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 can of seasoned (or not!) diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook on low all day, or on high for a few hours.

It will look like this when it's done.


Place in a bowl



And mush it up. Viola! Tasty shredded chicken perfect for tacos!




So I used mine to add to these Chilaquiles (chee-la-kee-lays), from my Almost Meatless cookbook. Kinda funny that I'm adding meat to it right?


These are SO good. This meal is one of Johns favorites, and actually can be done a million different ways. Especially down in Mexico.



Here's how mine turned out.

So, here's what you do...

First make the red sauce:

1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes (peeled, diced, chopped...etc
1 jalepeno, seeded and chopped
1 small shallot, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 can black beans, rinsed

Place everything except the butter and beans in a blender. Blend until smooth. Heat butter in a pot until melted. Add sauce and beans. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Fry corn tortillas in a little olive oil until crisp. Layer a tortilla with a spoonful of the red sauce, then some of the shredded chicken, and then some cheese and sour cream. Repeat. Top with one sunny side up egg. I messed my egg up tonight, but oh well.

Enjoy!

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Watch Cat

Unfortunately for Kat, most of our windows don't have window sills wide enough for her to sit on. SO- I decided to place one of her perches in front of this huge window in the living room. I would say that she now spends approximately 22 hours a day sitting in this exact position. The other two hours are spent eating, using the litter box, and begging for treats.

And for those anxiously awaiting pictures of the house, here is our empty living room




(taken from the dining room)


(taken from the hallway)


(taken from the entry way)


(taken in the corner where the two windows meet)

And here's the entry way



Is it weird that this is one of my favorite parts of the house? I just love how much space is dedicated to the entry. I live the big coat closet, the octagon shaped window, the front door, the space for a shoe bench...


I'm planning on changing that yellow paint though. It's just the wrong shade.

Oh!!! And today is dryer delivery day!!! We already got our washer last Tuesday. So, the last time I did laundry was.... 10 days ago. And since John needs the car today, and Home Depot gave us a tine frame of 11:30-3:30, I'm staying home today taking care of business.

I will post pictures of the washer/dryer set after the dryer comes!

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It's only Tuesday?

Busy.

Made turkey burgers for dinner tonight (which I just call "cheeseburgers" in front of Daphne). Funniest thing, she gobbled them up on Saturday, but tonight I could barely get two bites in her. Had to send her to bed hungry, which makes me feel sad for her :(

John and I spent the rest of the night moving these built in shelves from the guest room to Daphne's room. Once again, a project that I anticipated to be quick but ended taking about two hours longer than planned. Oh well, it turned out great and Daphne loves it.

So tired. 'Nite.


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Best Ever Pancakes

So one of our little family rituals is to have pancakes on the weekends. For months now I have been in search for the best homemade pancake recipe. And I found it. And let me tell you, you just can't beat using real buttermilk. Milk, milk with vinegar, milk with lemon- it's just not the same.

Here's the recipe from How To Cook Everything

2 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tbsp melted butter

Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl. Mix wet ingredients together in another bowl. Mix everything together. Pour batter onto skillet using 1/4 measuring cup.




(I had to take a bite first to make sure they were good)

This is the best pancake recipe I have ever tasted.

3 day weekend, 3 home projects

So tired... So this will be quick. There were 3 things about the house that seriously disrupted our functionality.

1) kitchen cabinet hardware. As you can see, the previous owner installed the handles so that the doors couldn't open all the way. Easy fix.




Turn them vertically. So much better. And didn't cost anything.







2) Our closet in the master bedroom only had one rod that slopped.




Add a hook, and also add a rod underneath some shelves to the left in the picture. So simple... I don't know why the previous owner didn't do that... This is the first time in our entire marriage with this much closet space. And this picture doesn't even capture the whole closet.





3) NO STORAGE IN MASTER BATH! WTF? Who designs a bathroom like this? Also, the lights are pointing down right in your face and onto the mirror. Too much light.




John took that mirror out!



Viola! We turned the lights around, creating a much softer glow, and actually illuminates the room with light. We also ripped off the mirror that was glued to the wall and replaced it with a sleek mirrored medicine cabinet.




More pictures of the rest of the house coming soon!

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A little update

I'm sitting here sipping my coffee this morning, looking out the window in the dining room. I love this big gigantic north facing window looking into our backyard...




As of now, everything is moved. There's just some unpacking left, and putting everything in it's place.



I love life's simple pleasures. I found this mug on clearance for one dollar at Target. I'm a little obsessed with yellow right now. Every room I look at, I think "we should paint it yellow..."

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The Finish Line

We didn't close on our house before Christmas so we could spend the Holiday in our new home.

We didn't close on our house before the end of the year to get the tax break.

We didn't close on our house before I went back to school to help with moving ease.

We didn't close on our house when we had a week of no rain.

And we didn't get our keys at the end of last week to be able to spend the weekend moving in.

But we ARE getting the keys today.... The day with a great possibility of snow. In the end, it doesn't matter, because we finally are getting our home.


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Sharing

I do not have the time or effort these days to delve into political topics as much as I would like. Especially since we are getting our keys tomorrow (!!!) and will most likely be trying to be moving in as soon as possible- and not only because THE WATER HEATER IS LEAKING FROM UNDERNEATH causing a big pool of water to develop under the carpet. This place is such a dump. ANYWAY- I just can't help but to share a link regarding the AZ shooting a couple days ago. So many people can sum it up far better than myself. Here is one of them.

http://blurbomat.com/2011/01/09/upset-sad-shocked-and-only-a-little-surprised/

Decorative Pondering

We just might need this for our living room...




Which color would you choose???

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Resolution

So one day last week, I think it was the 3rd of January, I was waiting in the car to pick up John from work and I managed to type out a whole post about New Years Resolutions on my iPhone. Well, that also happened the be the little period of time where blogpress was being retarded... and it was deleted. It's probably floating around somewhere in cyberland. I will try to recreate it to the best of my ability...

Personally, I feel that anytime of the year is a good time to reflect on your goals, be determined to accomplish something, and better your life. In June last year when I turned 27, I took that as an opportunity to sit down and write down some things I would like to accomplish over the next year. At the start of the fall quarter, I took that as an opportunity to think about what I would like to accomplish for that term (getting straight A's was one, and to get back into the routine of going to the gym was another).

Growing up, my dad would always tell me that I could do ANYTHING I set my mind to. I truly believe that. It's something I've always been told, but never really put a lot of action to, unfortunately. But then- a couple weeks ago, John and I were watching Lost (we started watching it on Netflix in July because we had never seen it, and just finished a couple days ago). One of the characters on the TV show said something along the lines of: "You can do anything you put your mind to, you just have to do it". That is SO true! I think that anyone of us can put our thoughts into action if we just do it. And it doesn't have to be on January 1st, it can be any time of the year! When I heard them say that on the TV show, I felt totally inspired.

So, for me, my New Years Resolutions boils down to just that: If you think you want to do something, accomplish something, set a goal... JUST DO IT! No matter how big, small, or seemingly unattainable it might be. Another reason why this is such a good resolution for me is because the goals I set out to do on my birthday were a little different than the goals I set for the fall term, and all those goals are a little different than what I would like to accomplish now. As of now, I do have a couple things I my "to do" list that I can put down to give a little more concreteness to my "New Year's Resolution" post...

1) Lower my inhibitions about creating stuff. This is important to me, and especially right now because we're moving into our house this week. There is a LOT of stuff that needs to be decorated, painted, remodeled, and I would like to be able to be the one who creates it. The problem is that for the last couple (possibly several) years I get a lot of anxiety when it comes to creating something because I get worried that it's not going to turn out perfectly. So then, I just never do it. I need to let my creative juices flow. A huge advantage I will have is that our new house has a few extra rooms, leaving me a room for projects. I'm NOT going to call it a craft room- it's a project room.

2) School related stuff: Continue to strive for straight A's and decide what I want to major in.

3) Participate in one or two fitness competitions. Now, I would like to just simply say "Participate in a 5k", but I have retarded legs. Whenever I run, I am extremely prone to shin splints, sprained ankles, and sore knees. I love to run but after a couple weeks or so I start to incur all kinds of leg injuries. SO- maybe I can compete in some cycling or something like that.

3b) Achieve my weight goal. Yes, I am putting a weight goal on my New Year's Resolution list. I feel that a few different factors over the past year or so have contributed to me gaining a few pounds that I would like to lose. And this is coordinated with #3 because I feel they're closely enough related.

4) Grow and can my own food. Have I mentioned that my new house has SIX HUGE RAISED GARDEN BEDS??? I can grow EVERYTHING! I really really want to grow as much of our produce as possible. And with that being said, the vastness of the garden space will allow for a lot of excess, which I can can (kind of confusing play on words, but did you get that?). I have experimented with gardening the past two years, but that was in small homes with no yard. I finally feel that I can completely delve into this hobby.

5) Travel... to Japan. Oh yes, it WILL happen.

I think that's pretty much it... But that doesn't stop me from adding anything to the list as time goes on. Because like I said, I re-evaluate my goals very frequently. Almost on a weekly basis. I love to think about how I can be happier. I feel that this life is just too short to be sitting around thinking what I would like to do, only to never do it.

Weekend Mornings

I absolutely love weekend mornings. Usually spent sleeping in for a good amount of time and making a delicious breakfast... But best of all, sitting there and sipping coffee with John while we chat about stuff. Sometimes for up to an hour.

By far the best part of the weekend :)

OMFG! LMAO!

Just Bought A House

Signed our closing documents today, but we don't get our keys til Tuesday.




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Belated Post from Monday

Here's another one with pics from Monday...

We walked out to a frozen car



The clear skys made for a FREEZING day, but also a pretty sunrise.



By the end of the day all I could think about was cuddling up in some blankets with a nice warm drink. My friend told me about this hazelnut liquor, so I just HAD to try it.



DE-LIC-OUS!



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Belated Post From Sunday

These are all pics from Sunday, but my blogpress wouldn't post it for sone reason.

Watching Gullivers Travels



Sundried Tomatoe Hummus.



Used my new pot for Baked Potato Soup!



Finished my gloves...



And snuggling at the end of the day.



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