February To-Do List Item #4

Item #4 - Clean out the kitchen cabinets.  Check!

I've never been one to work a list from top to bottom.  I tend to prefer jumping around from item to item and typically cross the easy items off the list first (this is especially true at work).  So, it would be any different for my monthly To-Do lists.  This month, item #4 was completely crossed of the list first (although we did put a dent in item #3 this weekend).

Thanks to my lovely husband, we got all of our kitchen cabinets cleaned out and re-organized today.  Things had just gotten stashed wherever they would fit, utensils were spread across two different drawers, one cabinet had so much stuff in it that it was sort of like doing a jigsaw puzzle every time we put dishes away, and our food cabinets were just a disheveled mess.

So, after church today we got started unloading the cabinets.  I unloaded, vacuumed (yes, I vacuumed the cabinets) and wiped down the cabinets, while Brandon was in charge of adjusting shelves, switching the way a couple of cabinets open, and helping me figure out how to best utilize the space when we put everything back.  Side note: If you want your husband to help you clean out cabinets, let him use his power tools!

While Brandon was doing his thing, I decided to combine my spices and get rid of empty bottles, creating a little more room in one of the cabinets (the spice rack in this picture only holds about half of my spices).  Once the shelves were in place, we began loading the cabinets once again.  I wish I had before and after pictures because the difference we made in just a short time is pretty amazing!  And, it just feels good to have an organized kitchen again. 

February To-Do List

I can't believe the month of January is already behind us and we're on the downhill side of the first week of February!  Crazy!  Anyways, a new month means a new To-Do list.  We have most of our weekends this month free, which is awesome, but it also means we have no excuse to not complete this month's list!

So, here it goes:

1. Find fabric for the curtains in our bedroom and complete item #6 on our January list (painting our bedroom).
2. Make fun Valentines for friends and make a really yummy Valentine's dinner for two!
3. Join a friend as we test the waters with a new business idea (more on this later).
4. Clean out our kitchen cabinets.
5. Commit to exercising at least 4 days per week.
6. Sketch out a design for built-ins in our basement.  Here are a few inspirational photos:

{Photo courtesy of Young House Love - I love the different shelving shapes and unique accessories}

{I really want to include drawers similar to the drawers in this picture.  And can I just say, I love Candice Olson!}

 

{Not a great pic, but I like the upper cabinets.  Again, photo courtesy of Candice Olson}

 

{Totally love these shelves, but not sure how practical they would be.  Photo courtesy of HGTV.}

 

{These shelves are probably more practical.  Photo courtesy of HGTV.}

So, there you have it - our February To-Do list.  This month, there are probably more items for me to do than for Brandon, but he will reap the benefits of all of them!

January To-Do List Recap

As you might recall, I created a January To-Do list at the beginning of the month and even gave a brief update at one point, and now I'm here to recap the whole month and update the status as we begin a new month today:

1. Celebrate Brandon's birthday - we had the great birthday smoke-out!
2. Clean out the garage and create a work bench area (also occurred on the b-day weekend)
3. Have a dinner party with my college friends - We had to cancel so one of our friends could attend a KSU bball game :(
4. Write thank-you notes - crickets.....we never got to this one.
5. Research storage sheds (do you see a theme here?!?) Plans have been drawn up and the building phase should begin in March
6. Paint our bedroom - I went and got paint samples and then this got put on hold since I decided I would like new curtains (see item #5) for our bedroom. 

So as you can see, we had a 50% completion rate.  It would have been more like 83%  had we not cancelled our dinner and had I not found the curtain tutorial, but hey, at least we accomplished something!

Our February list will be up soon!

P.S. This is happening outside my office window right now.  What you can't see in this pic is the snow that is blowing all around at 40 mph!!!

 



Friday Five

This is going to be a short, shallow post.  Consider yourself warned!

1. We have a half-day staff retreat today.  Enough said.
2. I mentioned on Twitter and Facebook towards the end of the day on Friday of last week that I was tired of seeing old men peeing outside my window at work. Sadly, this really is a reality and one that I think might have scarred me for life!
3. The temperature today is going to be 70 degrees!  Yes, it is the end of January and we're experiencing spring/summer like weather.  Maybe there is some truth to that ozone thing...at least I am wearing cute flats today without socks :)
4. I think I might be missing out on a good season of American Idol (sidenote: I have not watched AI in many many years.).  For the past two weeks there has been a lot of chatter on Twitter and online about how good this season is with the new judges.  But, for some reason, I really can't justify another reality show between The Bachelor, Real Housewives (INSERT CITY HERE) (which by the way the NY Housewives will be back on the air in Februrary along with Bethenny!), The Kardashians and my regular shows that Brandon considers "okay to watch", I just don't think I can committ to watching AI.  So, I will live vicariously through the tweets I read.
5. And for a recipe...I made these muffins for small group this week and they were so yummy! 

That's all I've got this week.  We have a busy weekend (well Brandon has a busy weekend) but I'll be back next week with the details!

 

Anything to Make the Job Easier

I remember I once said that I loved going grocery shopping.  I'm not sure what I was thinking then.  Maybe I was still dripping in newlywed bliss and didn't know any better.  But that so-called "love" has turned into a huge chore.  While I do love to cook, I wish I didn't have to go fetch all of the ingredients to do the cooking.  But, since that is part of the deal, I have tried to make my menu-planning, list-making and grocery shopping as easy as possible. 

I've tried keeping a list of the meals we like, but after a while I kept forgetting to update it.  Then, I tried making a seperate menu and grocery list, but flipping back and forth between the two spreadsheets got annoying and I always seemed to foget to add something to the list.  This method did, however, help me keep track of meals I had made in the past and which meals we liked. 

So, as I was browsing through my Real Simple magazine over Christmas break, I came across a downloadable menu and grocery planner (I can't find it on the website right now or else I would link to it).  It was only a pdf that I would have to fill out by hand, but it gave me a good idea of how to create a menu and a list all on one sheet.  So, I did just that:


{I don't know how to make this spreadsheet downloadable so if you would like a copy, I'd be happy to email it to you.}


Now, this may not seem like rocket science to some of you, but for me it was a genius idea!  Now, instead of flipping back and forth, I can just look at the recipe for the meal that day and add all of the ingredients needed in the adjacent columns and I'm set. 

Now, if I could just figure out a way to make the actual grocery shopping trip more enjoyable....

 



News Flash

In an effort to expand our horizons, this was consumed on Friday night:

 

 

 

Thanks to our friends Matt and Ali, we got out of our comfort zones and tried (and liked) sushi!  Now, I had tried sushi in the past with my brother and sister and couldn't quite get past having to eat the whole roll at once and maybe gagged a time or two, so I was a bit scarred.  But Brandon had never tried it in his whole life, so it was definitely a new experience for him. 

 

As we pondered on what to order, we decided to just jump right in and order two different rolls and not even consider the traditional oriental fare on the menu.  As our meals were brought out, Ali was on the edge of her seat as Brandon took his first bite.  I think he felt a little pressure because he couldn't quit laughing, which made Ali laugh even more, but the first bite was a success.  And so was the second, and the third, and before we knew it, we had eaten our entire meal!  Needless to say we enjoyed our meal, but more importantly we enjoyed hanging out and laughing with our good friends!

 

In other weekend news....oh wait...there isn't any other weekend news because we were pretty lazy all weekend!  I did a little shopping with mom on Saturday and we had lunch together and then the rest of the weekend was spent lounging around.  It was lovely!

 

 

 

 

 



The Season of Love

That's right friends, Valentine's Day is just around the corner!  I've always been perplexed by people who do not like to celebrate Valentine's Day because it is the season of love and everyone is loved by someone.  In my opinion, you should not have to obstain from the holiday if you aren't in a romantic relationship.  After all, everyone is loved by their parents or grandparents or best friends or aunts and uncles.  And, who does not want to partake in a holiday where chocolate is the main attraction?!?!

This year, I find myself wanting to decorate for Valentine's Day.  Probably because I've been browsing Etsy a lot and probably because I go to Target at least once a week and see their seasonal displays full of cute Valentines Day decor.  And, after decorating for Christmas this year, I realized I've really been neglecting our buffet, which is practically the focal point of our house.  So, this year I've found some really fun things that I think would be fun and not too over-the-top, dripping in all things hearts and flowers. 

I think this banner would look adorable and fun hanging from the mirror above our buffet.  It is simple and understated, but also a little whimsical.  I could put a couple of red and pink heart candy dishes on the buffet, keep my pink vases where they are and call it good.

I also found this cute picture that could be used all year round.  Again, it is understated but still fun and it adds a splash of color not typically found in the V-Day color scheme.  Not sure where I would put this in my house, but I think it is cute!

Last but not least, I saw these pillows and absolutely fell in love!  Maybe it is our new found love for Scrabble (thanks to the iPod app Words With Friends), but I really want to buy these!!!  It would even be fun to have our initials or our last name (if it wasn't so long!).  And, they might even look cute on our bed when during the "off season" of love!  Honey, if you're reading this, these pillows would be a great Valentine's Day gift...hint hint :)

So, these are a few of my favorite Valentine's Day decor items right now.  If I actually follow through and do some decorating, I'll be sure to post pics!

 

Friday Five

1.  Did you see this vidoe of the girl who fell in the mall fountain while she was sending a text message?

Apparently she is contemplating suing the mall security for posting the video to YouTube and for laughing at her and making fun of her.  What ever happened to not taking life too seriously?  I mean come on, I was pooped on by a cow when I was little and I lived through it and can laugh about it!

2.   As of this week, Wildcat basketball isn't looking so good.  Okay, who am I kidding...it hasn't looked good for several weeks now.

3.  I won the hearts of several of my co-workers this week by bringing in these treats.  I even had people coming to my office the next day asking if I had any left :) 

4.  Did you all see Modern Family this week?  I absolutely LOVE that show!!  They really got the shaft at the Golden Globes on Sunday.  While I love GLEE, I think Modern Family deserved the award.

5.  Speaking of the Golden Globes, this was my pick for best dressed of the night:

I'm not a fashion expert by any means, but I just thought this dress was tasteful, sophisticated and sparkly.  I also liked her glamourous hair-do and her not-so-in-your-face jewels.  I also really like her character on Glee, so maybe I'm naturally drawn to her.

Hope you have a great weekend!  We're attempting sushi tonight with some friends and hoping for good outcomes!!

 

Weekend Wrap-Up

With nothing on our schedule going in to the weekend, you can definitely say we were thrilled!  After such a busy Fall and an even busier month of December, we are definitely taking advantage of our free weekends this month.

Friday night I picked up my parents from the airport and sent Tucker on his way.  It sounds like my parents had a great vacation and I think Tuck enjoyed his vacation too!  Koby was quite sad to see Tucker leave; I think he likes having company during the day.  We also had an impromptu pizza party with friends after my parents left and then we hit the hay after a long week.

Saturday morning, I got out early to meet my girlfriends (Emily, Christy and Ali) for breakfast at Panera.  It is always so nice to get together with these girls.  I could have sat there with them all day, but alas, we all had other things we had to get done.  While I was at breakfast, Brandon took Koby up to his office so he could get some work done (Brandon that is, not Koby).  Koby has fun running around Brandon's big office and in and out of all of the cubes.  After I returned home, I did a little bit of cleaning and then Brandon and I grabbed lunch at Five Guys and ran a few errands.  Brandon has Christmas and birthday money burning a hole in his pocket so he wanted to stop by the golf store, but he didn't find anything.  We also ran to Penny's to buy new pillows for our bed and much to our surprise, they were running sale, buy one get one for $1!

We spent the rest of the day stretched out on the couch, watching football, catching up on Modern Family Season 1 (Thanks to Netflix), taking naps, and making our grocery list.  Once we gathered our motivation, we headed to the store.  On a Saturday night.  As we pulled into the parking lot, we made the comment that we were probably the only people under 45 in the store.  But, shortly after we walked in the doors, we ran into our friends Matt and Ali!!  LOL!

After a little breakfast for dinner, we watched another episode of Modern Family, I fell asleep on the couch, and Brandon was busy sketching plans for some shelves in our basement.  Finally, we pulled ourselves off the couch and headed back upstairs to go to bed and try out our new pillows.  And, I must say I was very pleased with our purchase :)

Today was our typical Sunday...church, lunch, laundry, etc. etc.  I did do a little cooking for the week.  I'm trying to make what I can ahead so I don't have to do so much prep during the week.  I made muffins for a grab-and-go breakfast, soup for work lunches, and meatballs (baked them and then froze them) for spaghetti and meatballs later in the week.  While I was cooking, I was able to watch the Golden Globes red carpet.  I've decided I'm not sure how some of the women move in their dresses or walk in their heels!

Now, it's that time where we wish Sunday would last just a little longer and Monday would hold off on its arrival.  I'm especially jealous of those who don't have to work tomorrow due to MLK day.  Boo!!!

Friday Five

I'm stealing an idea from our friend Kevin, who writes a Friday Five every week.  However, I don't think I will even try to compare my Friday Five to Kevin's because he is a much better writer, always finds funny/interesting/unique videos to share, and always makes me think.  I can't promise any of that!!


But, here goes my attempt (plus, by Friday I am just ready to ramble and this gives me an excuse to do so):

1.  My heart has been hurting for all of the people who have suffered through a tragedy this week.  From the shootings in Arizona, to the floods in Australia, to the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti and the needs that still exist, and just this morning I heard a part of Brazil was flooding. 

2.  I received an email containing the 2011 Consumer Trends.  Not so sure what I think about some of them...like #4.  Makes me a little worried for our country's direction.

3.  I got beat by a co-worker in Words With Friends on my iPod this week.  And I got beat bad.  502 - 235.  And to think I was proud of my word-making abilities.  I definitely ate some humble pie that day.

4.  We've been keeping my parents dog this week and re-living this scene all day, every day:

{Sorry about the poor picture quality.  I stole this pic from my old post.}

5.  With nothing on the agenda for the weekend, I'm sort of itching to try my hand at some homemade curtains!  And don't think I'm getting all fancy...it is a no-sew pattern!





Bucket List

Last night we had our weekly small group get together.  We are currently in between studies, so we played a Jenga game that Brandon and I made up a couple of years ago.  Basically, its the usual Jenga game, but we wrote questions on each block, so when each person pulled a block from the tower they had to answer that particular question.  The questions ranged from favorite vacation to most embarassing moment to biggest fear.  One question that I had forgotten about was to list one item on your bucket list.  As we got to talking, we found out that one guy in our group has a goals sheet that he keeps in his wallet.  This goals sheet is quite worn and has several things crossed off and a few left to be crossed off.  I thought it was so sweet that he had even written "Marry Christy", which was obviously crossed off now.  Another friend in our group said she was cleaning out her storage room yesterday and found her bucket list that she had made several years ago and she was able to cross a few things off that she had forgotten about. 

After all of this discussion, I realized that I've never really made a "bucket list". I mean, I have set goals for myself, but never physically written them out and kept track of them.  So, starting today, I'm going to begin writing down items for my bucket list from this point on in my life.  Some may be obvious and some may be lofty, but that is the purpose of the list, right?

So, here it goes:

1. Have a family
2. Move to a bigger house
3. Visit Europe with Brandon
4. Own (or partially own) a flower shop

I'd be intersted to know what other people have on their lists.  I think you can learn a lot about a person by their lists!

The Birthday Boy

Today, my sweet husband turns 31!  Of course he wouldn't want me to draw attention to the fact that it is his birthday, but this is my blog so I can do whatever I want to :)

Since it is his 31st birthday, I have listed 31 things I love about him.

I love...

1. His sense of humor
2. His determination
3. His soft spot for Koby
4. His handyman skills 
5. His willingness to use those skills to help anyone who asks
6. When he laughs out loud while watching a TV show, even if he's the only one in the room
7. The way he compromises with me
8. His passion
9. His work ethic
10. The pride in his face when he has accomplished something great
11. The way he supports me
12. His sense of adventure
13. The way he challenges me
14. His faith and the ways he has helped me grow in mine
15. His fun-loving spirit
16. His willingness to try new things
17. His love for the Wildcats
18. His loyalty (he has been a Royals fan all his life)
19. His understanding
20. That he does the majority of our laundry :)
21. When he's patient with me
22. That he could live life very simply and be perfectly happy
23. His leadership
24. That he loves kids and will make an awesome dad some day
25. His sensitive side
26. That he isn't afraid to cut loose and have a good time
27. That he reminds me not to take things too seriously
28. That he isn't afraid to make tough decisions
29. That he has quirks - like wearing his church socks all day on Sunday because he doesn't think it is necessary to wear two pairs of socks in one day or that he craves milk after he works out
30. That he can't keep secrets
31. That he chose me as his wife

Happy Birthday, honey!  I can't imagine a day without you in my life!

In other birthday related news, we celebrated big over the weekend, completing item #1 on our January To-Do List.  On Friday night, we went out to dinner, just the two of us.  We had a gift card that we had been given for Christmas and intended to put it to use.  As we were waiting for our table, one of Brandon's sub-contractors saw us and came to chat with us for a bit.  Once our name was called, we headed our table and he headed back to his.  Since we had a gift card to this particular restaurant and were celebrating Brandon's birthday, we didn't skimp on our dinner.  After an appetizer, salads, and our entrees, we were stuffed and happy!  As soon as the waiter cleared our table, he informed us that we had an "admirer" that had taken care of our ticket.  We couldn't believe it, but knew that it had to be Brandon's sub-contractor.  He is a super nice guy anyway, but we just couldn't believe he would pick up our whole ticket, and we hadn't even mentioned that it was Brandon's birthday!  So, after we composed ourselves, we found his table and thanked him profusely for his kind gesture.  And, now we get to go back to the restaurant again to use our gift card!

On Saturday, we decided we needed to get some things done around the house and then I had a full day of cooking for his family birthday dinner that night.  Brandon got another crazy idea to finish insulating our garage and then he bought a few more sheets of sheet rock to install, completing item #2 on our list.  I think the garage has become his new playground since he can't do anything in the yard.  A while back he told me that guys tend to enjoy mowing the lawn because they can escape from their wives...I'm beginning to wonder if the garage is becoming his winter "escape".  Here are a few pics of the new digs:

{New cabinets and counter tops}

{New insulation and sheet rock}

While he was messing around in the garage, I cleaned house, ran a few errands, and then baked his birthday cake.  I used this recipe for the cake and the frosting and I have to say, I think it turned out pretty good! 

Obviously, if you looked at the recipe, this isn't a cake I would make on a regular basis, given the crazy amount of butter in the cake and frosting, but for a special occasion it is certainly delicious!

Brandon, of course, wanted to smoke some meat for dinner, so he decided on a pork tenderloin and a rump roast.  He got them all rubbed down the night before and after he finished his garage project, he fired up the smoker and got the meat cooking!  

 

Everyone who came to dinner raved about the meat, which made Brandon proud!  I think he has learned something new each time he has smoked and is finding ways to perfect his methods.  I envision a lot of smoked meat in our future!

After dinner, he got to open his gifts.  He got LOTS of smoking-related gifts including rubs, sauces, and chips.

He also spoiled part of my gift, which was a gift card to get his golf clubs re-gripped.  I was struggling with what to get him because he can't even decide what to do with his Christmas money, let alone his birthday money.  When he mentioned that he wanted to get his clubs re-gripped I thought that would be a perfect gift from me.  Well, I got him the gift card and then on Saturday afternoon, hours before he was going to open the gift card, he decided he wanted to go take his clubs right then to be re-gripped.  Trying not to blow the surprise, I told him he didn't need to do that and maybe he should wait until later in the week since we had so much to get done.  Well, after a little communication problem, we were headed out to pick up a few things at the store and I thought we were also going to the golf shop to look at the grips.  I knew the guy at the golf shop would recognize me and would probably think we were coming in to use the gift card, so as we were driving down the street I felt like I had to tell him that I already got him the gift card and we might as well just take his clubs in.  Well, he didn't think we were going to the golf shop since I had thrown a little fit so he says I ruined the surprise.  Either way, he's very happy he is getting new grips!





After he opened his gifts it was time to blow out the candles on his cake.  Unfortunately, as he blew out his candles (since there were soooo many) he also blew sprinkles all over the table.  Next time I need to remember to add the sprinkles right after I frost the cake so the sprinkles will stick to the frosting!

Sunday was a pretty lazy day for us.  We went to church, ran a few errands, Brandon spent some Christmas money, and we came home and lounged around the rest of the day.  We even got in a traditional Sunday nap!

I'd say it was a great weekend celebrating the birthday boy!! 

Shhh...Don't Tell My Dad

As I mentioned earlier today, Brandon broke out his Christmas smoker tonight for a test run before his b-day smoke-out on Saturday.  The first culprit was a whole chicken.  Brandon has spent the past few nights researching recipes, methods, and techniques.  And, I have to say it all paid off!  But, don't tell my dad because in his world, you can make dead chicken taste good.  Ever.

Here is the chicken, all rubbed down and ready to go, right as he put it in the smoker.

And here is a good shot of the setup.  See that cast iron skillet?  We searched long and hard for the perfect skillet for this venture.  And to think, I've been wanting a cast iron skillet for some time now and I'm forbidden to use this one...the nerve!

After about four hours, the bird was smoked to a crisp and ready to eat (no fear, the smoking started around 3:45)!  

I bet you wish you had stopped by our house for dinner, huh?  The meat was so moist and tender and had excellent flavor!  Brandon did a kick-butt job for his first attempt if you ask me.  I now  feel much more confident that we can whip up an excellent meal for his birthday this weekend. 

But Dad, if you're reading this, I want you to know that I used BBQ sauce on my meat.  You know, kind of like when Brandon puts A-1 on your steaks?!? 

Today...

...I'm feeling really sleepy (I slept in and took too many naps last week)
...I will have only had one caffeinated drink in three days (woo hoo!)
...I wore my new "texting" gloves that I got for Christmas
...I am thankful for a wonderful husband who has been doing such nice things lately, like putting away the dishes in the dishwasher at 5:30 a.m. (I think one of his resolutions must have been to wake up eariler because he's been up by 5:30 every morning this week!)
...I have a list of "To-Do's" sitting on my desk, staring me in the face
...Brandon is going to use his Christmas smoker for the first time to cook a chicken for dinner.  I'm sure this will deserve a post all of it's own.
...I am thankful I got "Shellaced" last week - my nails still look awesome!
...I am listening to Pandora on my iPod thanks to a few Facebook station suggestions (Pandora might be one of my favorite things about my iPod now)
...I clearly have nothing else to blog about :)  Hope you are making the after-Christmas transition better than me!

Clicking Right Along

We had a fun and easy-going New Years weekend in GC with Brandon's parents.  We played games, watched movies, watched A LOT of football, and visited with family.  It was a nice way to end the Christmas season and kick-off 2011!!

We also got a head start on our January To-Do List:

1. Celebrate Brandon's birthday
2. Clean out the garage and create a work bench area (in process, pics to come soon) 
3. Have a dinner party with my college friends
4. Write thank-you notes (we should be writing these this week...)
5. Research storage sheds (do you see a theme here?!?)
6. Paint our bedroom

We went out to Home Depot while we were in GC so the guys could browse (Brandon has Christmas money burning a hole in his pocket).  While we were there, Brandon and his dad looked at sheds and decided they could probably build a shed for less than the kits that are for sale, so they started scheming on what kind of design and what materials they might need and how much it might cost.  It looks as if we could have a shed sometime this Spring!

Looking Back and Looking Forward

I usually make New Years resolutions, but as most people, I don't always follow through with them like I plan to do.  Just like last year, I plan to build upon my resolutions of getting/staying organized and eating healthy and exercising (I really have to focus on this one) because I let these things slide as the year went on.

This year, I'm also going to add a goal; I want to use my time more efficiently.  I have a problem of putting chores off during the week only to feel overwhelmed on the weekends by all of the things that need to be done.  I want to try my hardest to use my time in the evenings during the week to accomplish small tasks that seem to pile up.  I'm also going to try to spend 10 minutes each night picking up the house so we can start fresh the next day, and I'm not going to let the dishes pile up in the kitchen sink (this became a big problem towards the end of this year).  Laundry will always be a weekend chore, as well as a few other things, but I don't want to spend all weekend catching up on chores when we could be doing fun things.

I'm also going to make a "To Do" list for each month so we can plan our projects, outings, activities, etc.  accordingly and not try to cram them all in to one week.  For instance, our January "To Do" list might look a little like this:

1. Celebrate Brandon's birthday
2. Clean out the garage and create a work bench area
3. Have a dinner party with my college friends
4. Write thank-you notes (we should be writing these this week...)
5. Research storage sheds (do you see a theme here?!?)
6. Paint our bedroom

I really believe it is good to have goals and to write them down.  I really like to cross things off lists (I always have a running list on my desk at work) so if I write this down and post it on the refrigerator, it is sure to be seen everyday which in turn will prompt us to complete the tasks.

So, as I look towards 2011, it helps me to look back at 2010, figure out what got accomplished, what didn't and why, and look for ways to improve.  I will keep you posted!

The After Christmas Void

I always love putting up our Christmas decorations and I always dread taking them down.  But, I'm always itching to take them down because I dread it so much...does that make sense?  So, on the first day of my week off (I know, I'm lucky right?!?) I decided I was going to tackle the Christmas decorations.  Now, I really don't have that many decorations because I don't have the space for much, but it is still a chore to take it all down, wrap it up, and get it into the storage room.

Before I show you the after, I thought I better show you the before.

Here is my lovely and simple Nativity set, prominently displayed on our coffee table:

Side note -- that snow was a MESS!  It had glittery confetti-like particles in it that went everywhere!!

Here is the mantle.  I tried a new look this year with the beads and over-sized ornaments hanging down, forgoing our stockings (which don't match the new look anyway...):

And the crown jewel of every house during the Christmas season, our Christmas tree:

Obviously I went with an all green and silver look this year to blend with our green and purple house decor and  I really loved it!  We also got a new tree this year that fit perfectly between our couch and love seat and created a very cozy space.

This is a shot of my Christmas table centerpiece (the table was set for our girls dinner).  I used things I already had like the tray, vases, and green balls and just added the mums.  I loved this look because it was casual, with a little sparkle and the flowers lasted FOREVER!

So, as you can see I really didn't have all that much to put up or take down, but after it was all down, our living room felt very empty!  So, I got to thinking about what I could do to warm up the space a little bit.  One way was the addition of a really cool lamp I got for Christmas (more on that later).  But another way was to change out the flowers in the centerpiece and move it to the coffee table. 

Every time I am at the grocery store, I always take a peek at the fresh flowers and on Monday, I saw a bunch agapanthus that I just couldn't resist.  I thought they would be a perfect addition to the centerpiece.  What do you think?!?

The little purple blooms will open up and fill out and just be so pretty.  When I worked in the flower shop, we used to call these firework flowers because they look like an exploding firework. 

After we took the tree down, it seemed like there was a huge void between the couch and love seat.  I've always thought that we needed to add something to that space, but it didn't really become too obvious until the tree was gone.  So, when we were at Lowe's last night looking for a few things, I saw this plant for only $15 and convince Brandon to buy it (I don't have a very good track record of keeping plants alive, but this one was clearly marked "Tolerant").  While I think the plant needs to relax a little bit, I think it is a good addition to the space.  Now if I can only keep it alive....

Along with these touches, I also rearranged a few vases and have a few more thoughts of things I could add to help spruce up the place as we begin the new year!

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

One of the gifts I received for Christmas was this cookbook:

 

I have heard good reviews of this book, so I thought I would add it to my Christmas list this year.  Let me tell you, I've already tried two of the recipes and I have been extremely pleased with both. Most of the recipes are relatively quick and easy and pretty much use basic ingredients.  Plus, it has a whole seciton devoted solely to side dishes, which is one category I always struggle with. The book also contains several yummy looking fish recipes, which is another category I'm a little scared of.  I know we need to eat more fish, but I'm always nervous to try new recipes because I'm not used to cooking fish.  

So, after flipping through the cookbook, I decided to try three recipes this week, one of which was this recipe for Asian Salmon Patties.  I don't particularly like salmon, but I thought the ingredients in this recipe sounded good so I decided to try it and believe it or not, I loved it (and so did Brandon)!  If you are wanting to incorporate more fish into your diet, you should definitely give this one a try!

Asian Salmon Patties

1 1/2 pounds skinless salmon fillet, finely chopped

2 shallots, minced

2 T. finely grated peeled ginger 

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sesame Mayo (see recipe below)

In a large bowl, gently combine salmon, shallots, ginger, egg, red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper. Form mixture into eight patties, about one inch thick, packing each firmly; transfer to a plate.  Freeze until just firm, about 20 minutes.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook salmon patties (working in batches) until browned on both sides and just opaque throughout.  Serve with sesame mayo.

Sesame Mayo

1/3 cup mayonaise

2 scallions, trimmed and sliced thinly

2 T. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Stir together all ingredients.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.

I also served this dish with the recommended side dish of Chinese Noodles with Sesame Dressing and it was a perfect combo!

Chinese Noodles with Sesame Dressing
8 oz. Chinese noodles (I used whole wheat spaghetti)
1 T. vegetable oil
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
2 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3 T. cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Cook noodles until tender, according to package directions.  Drain; rinse under cold water until completely cool  Transfer to a large bowl and toss with vegetable oil. 

In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.  Pour over noodles and toss to coat.

See, this is the gift that keeps on giving.  It was given to me and now I'm sharing it with you!!