Doors Come Down, Floors Come Up

I took down the upper cabinet doors and began painting. I cleaned everything with a deglosser. I removed all the hinges, patched all the holes with wood putty, and then sanded everything.

These are the primed cabinets. I did not work on the pantry or the lower cabinets since they are going to have be pulled out to lay the new floor. I didn't want to worry about scratching a new paint job. They will get done after the new floors are laid.

I laid all the doors out in the garage propped up on wood blocks and used a space heater while painting. I learned from painting the test cabinet that the temperature made a big difference in drying/curing time for the latex/oil paint. I have only done the first two coats on the backsides of the doors. I am letting the doors set overnight before I flip them and give the fronts of the cabinets 2 coats.

Andrew pulled up the carpet that runs down the hall by they bathroom and laundry room and then started pulling up the dining room area floor.

Andrew is leaving the flooring in the kitchen area for later since he'll have to move the lower cabinets and undo plumbing.

A Frisco Melt on the Lighter Side

We love Frisco Melts from Steak N' Shake in Indiana! Unfortunately not only do we not have Steak N' Shake's on the west coast, but Frisco Melts wouldn't exactly fit into our meal plan right now. So instead, I made my own guiltless version at home.
 
Ingredients:

• 8 Slices 45 Calorie Whole Grain Bread (Sara Lee)
• 4 Extra Lean Beef Patties (Trader Joe's)
• 4 T. Ketchup (Heinz Organic)
• 4 T. Free Thousand Island Dressing (Kraft)
• 4 Cheese Slices (Kraft Fat Free Singles)

I cook the patties on my griddle, flip them and add a cheese slice to each a minute before they're done.

Mix the ketchup and thousand island dressing together.

Toast the bread, add a patty and divide the sauce onto each sandwich.

Yum Yum!

Makes 4 Servings, Serving Size: 1 sandwich, Calories: 312, Fat: 6, Carbs: 30, Protein: 36, Sugar: 5

Andrew usually goes for a double patty version :)

Serving Size: 1 sandwich (with 2 patties and extra cheese), Calories: 492, Fat: 11, Carbs: 32, Protein: 66, Sugar: 6

Something Borrowed, Something Blue

As I begin thinking about our upcoming floor (which snowballs into kitchen) overhaul and Andrew's parents coming in just about a month, I realize I need a plan for this space. We've already decide we're going to paint our existing cabinets white and of course, my first thought is a green a kitchen would be great, right?! But Andrew quickly pointed out that we already have a green bedroom, laundry room and powder room. He makes a good point. So with a little research and Pinterest inspiration, I think we're going with blue. It's easy to go crazy on things like Pinterest and Etsy and dream of all the new things that would work in your new space. So instead I'm trying to include things I already have that could work well in my new kitchen.

Blue Jars from our wedding and a garage sale.

My blue pyrex bowls from an antique shop in Oscoda, Michigan. My granny bought these for our wedding. After I'd spotted them in the shop she went back the next day and got them secretly. She's so good!

Blue cups found at Goodwill, perfect for espressos :)

Goodwill dishes... with lids! That's always a good find.

Coffee mugs from our wedding

A clearance serving platter I got for $4

As I mention my office is closing and I got this light fixture for free. I did have to buy a replacement glass shade because one was broken. This will probably hang above our dining table.

Speaking of, this is the dining room table we invested in less than a year ago. We ate off a card table for several years before breaking down and getting a "real" table.

This is also another find from our warehouse that I got for $20. It may or may not get hung above the kitchen sink. I've thought about mounting an open shelf above the kitchen sink and if I do that a mini pendant probably won't work. I'm still deciding.

 So, these are some of my own inspiration that I'm trying to keep in mind as I plan.

It Begins Again

I thought I would make it longer without starting a new house project and I'm sure Andrew wishes I made it longer. We bought new wood flooring to lay throughout the living room and kitchen in November and Andrew's dad is coming to help us lay it in March. Of course, these types of project always snowball. If were laying new floors and we have to move the cabinets we might as well as decide what we want to do with the kitchen, right? So, it begins again. I spent the weekend refinishing one cabinet in our kitchen to decide if we liked the result or if we needed to think about new cabinets. With inspiration from Young House Love and great knowledge from our local paint store I began.

I took down the cabinet doors and used wood putty to patch any holes. Then I cleaned/deglossed, sanded, wiped-down, primed and finally painted two coats of Glidden's latex/oil based paint "White on White" onto the frame and doors of one cabinet in our kitchen above the microwave.

We were thrilled with the result! As a convenient bonus... my office is closing their warehouse and selling everything at super discounts. I was lucky enough to find matching, brushed nickel, Amerock knobs and hinges for the entire kitchen! I'll post more details of the painting process now that I know the result is well worth it.

Cookie Dough Dip

I tried Chocolate Covered Katie's Cookie Dough Dip and was pretty happy with the result. I followed here recommendation and didn't dip anything in it, just ate it with a spoon. It definitely satisfied the craving! I put all the ingredients in my little 3 cup food processor (minus the chocolate chips).

I blended it, added the chocolate chips and voila!

I used agave only and about 1/2 the amount of peanut butter she lists in her recipe.

Snowboarding with the Speca's

Oddly enough, I didn't take any pictures of the Speca's when we went snowboarding except for this one of Emily. She's the one in the green coat (I promise).

Here's Andrew at the top of the mountain. It was a gorgeous, clear day.

Pigs in a Blanket - 20/20 Style!

Since September, we've been following the 20/20 plan through our gym and I've tried to come up with some creative ways to have something that feels like comfort food but doesn't throw us completely off track. One of these successes was Pigs in a Blanket. You only need 3 ingredients and the hardest part is rolling out a little pizza dough (that's already whole wheat and made for you). Win!

Ingredients:
4 Chicken Hot Dogs (Trader Joe's)
2 Slices Provolone Cheese (cut in half)
2 Servings (4 oz) Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450.
2. Roll out the pizza dough per the instructions on the package
3. Use a pizza cutter to slice the pizza dough in fourths

4. Take 1/2 a provolone slice, 1 chicken hot dog and roll it up with the pizza dough.


5. Do this will the remaining three hot dogs and place on a baking sheet.

6. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12

We eat them with a mound of vegetables and some spicy mustard. Yum!

Makes 2 Servings, Serving Size: 2 hot dogs, Calories: 350, Fat: 14.5, Carbs: 23, Protein: 22, Fiber: 4, Sugar: 0.5