Holiday Home Tour 2015

Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying the month of December so far. It's only day six, and I already feel like it's passing by too quickly. This is the time of year that I look forward to all year long. I'm sad when it ends, and then summer comes and melts us all away with the heat. It's actually warmer today, about 80 degrees, but it should be back to the mid-sixties in a few days which to me is the best weather possible!

I'm lacking on recipes because we've still been eating a lot of random meals. The other night I fixed my spaghetti and meatball recipe (found here) and the night before we had chicken pot pie soup, I also have a recipe for that. I've been working on Christmas decor around the house, so I thought I would share a little home tour with you. I'm not completely finished with the house, but this post will focus on my family room and dining room. Nothing too fancy really! I follow so many talented bloggers on Instagram, and honestly sometimes the beauty of their posts gets me down. I feel inadequate knowing my home will never look as beautiful as theirs. I don't have the money to buy all the decor items, and I don't have the skills of an interior stylist. But I'm here to show you that you can still decorate your home on a budget, and you don't have to go overboard. Comparison can be a horrible thing. Instead I want to focus on how cozy and beautiful I've made my house for my family to enjoy, and I hope it brings you some enjoyment as well!

Kallax Unit for Hidden Storage

I have the Ikea Ektorp sectional in my living room, and end tables would be great except my toddler loves to climb. She loves to climb so much I can't leave the room for long or I'm afraid I'll hear a big thud. She's only 1-1/2, so she's still learning about boundaries. And gravity.

But I digress, the point of this post is to show you how we've turned our sofa table into functional storage. Because the Ektorp is fairly tall, a standard size sofa table would have been pretty short. My husband and I wanted a table that would come up as high as the back of the sectional, and fit the length as well. Looking at furniture on Ikea's website, with the sectionals measurements in mind, I realized the Kallax (formerly Expedit, which we have three of) are nice and tall but also thin. It would be the perfect "table" for behind our couch, the only downside was the 8-unit Kallax wasn't long enough. But if we took the 8-unit piece and combined it with the 4-unit Kallax the length fit the couch perfectly. We did this months ago, and it's worked great since. I don't know why it took me a few months to realize that we had 12 cubbies of storage, completely empty, sitting behind the couch. We have hardwood floor, and the bottom of the Kallax units have felt pads which makes them easy to slide in and out from behind the couch.

Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

This is the easiest recipe to follow and it doesn't require heavy cream or corn syrup. This caramel sauce is great for dipping, stirred into coffee, in pies, on top of ice cream, eaten with a spoon right out of the bowl, or you can even bathe in it. I'm not here to judge. It's delicious and versatile. You can cut the salt in half and it will just be regular old caramel sauce. This is seriously good; buttery and rich, sweet and slightly salty. It's easy and can be doubled, tripled, etc. I love how many ways you can use this. Enjoy!

DIY Farmhouse Tabletop

I am so proud of how our new dining room table turned out. I love all things farmhouse decor, and I wanted a farmhouse table for our dining room. The downside was definitely the cost. Instead of buying a farmhouse table I thought why not build a top for an existing table that would make it look farmhouse inspired. I've seen it all over Pinterest so it was really easy to get inspiration. I do plan on sharing as many steps as I can to help you build your table top. A lot of what I saw weren't actually tutorials. Some blogs had a couple of progress pictures but most didn't specify the size or type of wood used, what screws they used, and how to assemble the table top. This project took a lot of time because we had to do most of it in stages, but it's completely worth the time. My husband and I really love our table and it's such a great focal point in our dining room.

Using Up Leftover Green Juice Pulp

My husband and I recently bought a juicer and the three of us have really been enjoying green juice. Especially Isla, she keeps begging for more until it's gone. I love having the juice instead of a smoothie because I don't feel like I'm choking it down. The downside is missing out on the fiber and having a bunch of leftover pulp. After doing a search on how to use it up, I saw several websites that suggested cooking with it. You can stir it into mac and cheese, make crackers out of it, and even incorporate it into breads and baked goods. I wanted to make a pasta dish because I had a chicken breast that needed to be cooked and a bag of mini shell pasta. This recipe is pretty simple depending on how many ingredients you have on hand, plus it can be made so many different ways. I loved the flavor from the sun-dried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts combined with salty parmesan cheese.

*Warning* This isn't a low calorie meal, but it's extremely filling. Isla had some, I had a bowl of it then went back for seconds and there was still enough left for lunch the next day. So I'd call this 3-4 servings, but definitely serve it up with a big side of steamed vegetables.

DIY Maternity Photos Using your iPhone

My husband and I are both awful at taking pictures. Since I've been pregnant, the only pictures I had of myself were the once a week bump shots. We've been to parties, gone to happy hours, and socialized with our friends. But we have no pictures to prove it. I wanted to snap a few pictures in order to do a name reveal for our little sweet pea on Facebook, for our not so immediate family and friends who didn't already know her name. I didn't necessarily need to involve my hubby in this, but we were both home and the weather was so nice it turned into a mini photo shoot. 

I had some friends asking who took the pictures, who the photographer was, how they were edited, etc. I thought it was easiest to explain it all in a blog post. Hopefully you will find this helpful, and if you're camera shy it might entice you to take some pictures to remember your pregnancy. I took my maternity pictures pretty early on, I'm just now in my third trimester and I was 26 weeks in these photos. My bump is small, but that's okay. I would rather take these pictures while I can see my feet and haven't entered full-waddle-mode quite yet. 

Apartment Redesign: Updating the Bathroom

The longer my husband and I have lived in our current apartment, three years now, the more things I notice that really need fixing. It's hard living in an apartment with ugly doorknobs, bad paint, or hideous carpet. Luckily being a renter doesn't mean you can't make some changes of your own.

Doorknobs can certainly be swapped out, just not the front door! We went and bought a new doorknob with a lock for our bedroom door when we moved in. I'm home alone 3-4 days a week, and it makes me feel safer. When we move out, we'll just swap it with the original knob. There are also little cosmetic things you can change like the knobs on cabinets, the paint (if your complex allows it), new light switch covers, and putting down a rug to cover ugly carpet. The closer we get to baby's arrival, the more I want to change. 

Throwing a Casual Tea Party, Part 3 of 3: The Food

  This is the most delicious part of the tea party series, food! Luckily when throwing a casual tea party for friends, you can make the food as simple as you'd like. I recently co-hosted a tea party for a few close friends; M and I decided to keep the food pretty casual and simple. I made chicken salad on croissants, and she made delicious BLT's with avocado on white bread; no crusts, of course.

Throwing a Casual Tea Party, Part 2 of 3: High Tea

  Welcome back for part two of how to throw a tea party. Today I will discuss how to host high tea. Many Americans associate high tea with something very fancy and regal; however, in other countries it's thought of as meat tea, or simply: dinner. 

Throwing a Casual Tea Party, Part 1 of 3: The Buffet

 Hello all! Life has been crazy lately. I was sick three times in the first three months of this year, and one of those illnesses was the flu. Yuck. My husband started a new job, I was in the process of being interviewed and thankfully also started a new job! We have been busy bees, and cooking has been on the back burner. Our meals have consisted of pre-made salads, quesadillas, and crock pot meals. Something that has been a constant in my day to day is tea. 

DIY: How to Hide a Thermostat

Normally thermostats aren't a big concern, in our apartment the thermostat was awkwardly placed off center to the middle of the wall. To top it off, it's crooked. We only have a gas heater, no air conditioning, which means we only use the heat a few months out of the year. The rest of the year we have a crooked off white thermostat in the middle of the couch distracting from any art. Originally I had hung this poster from Ikea off center of the couch because I couldn't hang it over the thermostat.

How To: Spruce Up Your Leftovers!

If you're like me, then you most likely come home from a restaurant with a doggy bag. The only problem is whatever is left over never looks as good or fresh as it did in the restaurant. Most likely your sides have already been eaten, and you're left with something like this:

Last Minute Gift Idea!

Merry Christmas Eve fellow bloggers. I'm missing the hubby since he'll be gone until the 27th, but I'm very thankful to have my dad and sister back in town for the holidays! This is going to be a great Christmas ^_^

For those of you who didn't get all of your shopping finished in time, or maybe you're looking for a cute stocking stuffer, here's a quick and easy homemade gift that is sure to please! Homemade sugar shower scrub! My sister gave me the idea to make my own when I started talking about how great all the St. Ives products look. After playing around with different ingredients and amounts I think I found an easy formula using ingredients you're sure to have on hand:

How To: Pizza in a Hurry, On a Budget

Two weeks ago was most definitely the worst work week of my life; every day I would come home and have a glass of wine, and put my feet in the hot tub just to relax. Cooking sounded awful, but unfortunately I have a husband to feed. Enter: biscuit dough pizza! I did not think this was possible, or that it would taste good; I quite enjoyed it, and the mister drooled over every piece. The coolest part about this dough was making it on the grill pan. I got those awesome grill marks without taking a step outside my apartment door. Sigh, I'm going to miss having grills on the roof. I fear when we make the move to live in the cheap we'll be giving up a lot of amenities. Alright, enough whining.

How To: Cinnamon Rolls from Canned Biscuits

My mother made a delicious batch of cinnamon rolls the other day. I went over to her house and left with baggie with two cinnamon rolls. I must admit, with my husband sitting right next to me, that I ate both of them. One was supposed to be for him, but I just couldn't resist! I felt really guilty about the cinnamon rolls; my poor husband had missed out on a treat, a treat we had been craving for weeks. I decided I would make a batch to ease my guilt, this is where I encountered a slight problem. I had never actually made cinnamon rolls before; not Pillsbury and definitely not from scratch. Enter: Store brand 50 cent can of biscuit dough. How do you spell lifesaver? BISCUIT DOUGH.

  

How To: Spruce Up Your Leftovers

Remember that amazing chicken, lemon, and basil dish I made a couple days ago? Well, the next day I needed something hearty and delicious for brunch but I didn't want to eat the same thing twice in such a short time. If you're like my mother, then you loathe eating the same thing two days in a row. She'll make a giant casserole, enchiladas, chicken, you name it; then the next day she'll be making another ridiculously large meal so that she, my dad, and my little brother don't have to eat the same thing two days in a row. My mom does leftovers the smart way, instead of getting sick of your food you give it a break in between meals but you have enough to last you all week ^_^

Back to brunch. I had a few red bell peppers that were just screaming "pick me, pick me!!" from the crisper drawer. I chopped up and froze most of them, but I saved half of one so I could use it for breakfast. I had only grilled half of one chicken breast to go with my pasta for dinner because it was just me; what I did do with the rest of the chicken breast and another whole breast I had was butterfly them so they'd be thin, and then popped them in the oven to bake with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Standing in front of my fridge I searched for all the ingredients that would work with the peppers. I saw: noodles from the night before, chicken, eggs, and my lovely balsamic glaze. Shizzam!! There it was, a simple and quick skillet breakfast. Not only is this a great way to use up leftovers, it's also a smart way to really stretch a buck.

How To: Roasting Garlic

I love garlic. Garlic and I are having a love affair that I keep secret from my husband. Shh, don't tell him!

If you're like me and love (LOVE) garlic then you should definitely know how to roast it! Roasted garlic will turn your butter into something they would serve slathered on a steak at a 5 star restaurant; roasted garlic will also turn simple vinaigrettes and dressings in culinary masterpieces. I had an extra head that I wanted to use up before it went bad, so when I made my BBQ thin crust pizza I sprinkled it with garlic. Yum! Roasted garlic is definitely a great solution for all the heads of garlic you might have bought on sale that you suddenly don't have time to use up. Once it's roasted you can store it in the fridge for at least a week, but it won't last that long ;-)