Back in the Kitchen!

If you saw my last post, you may have noticed the comment about my back hurting. Wow did that turn out to be an understatement! After a few days of battling a strained back muscle (and thanks to many friends and, most of all, my sweet husband), I made it back to work today and actually felt like cooking dinner afterwards! So now that I'm back, I thought I'd share the new recipe we tried this evening, and a few others that are on my list.

Because we weren't sure what I'd feel like after work, it was already determined that the crock pot would be doing the heavy lifting. I had been planning to try Black Bean Soup with Chipotle Chiles from Bon Appétit for a while, so I decided it was time. It takes a little prep work (the veggies need to be chopped and sautéed first to bring out their yumminess), but it is cheap and yummy! I made a few modifications to the recipe:

•  soaked the beans overnight (the recipe doesn't say to, but I did. Let me know if you try it without doing so)
• less bell pepper (I didn't have that much on hand)
• less onion (Have I mentioned my husband hates onion? I think I have found a solution, though. Cut the pieces huge [quarter the onion, toss the small inside pieces]; then you get all the flavor but can easily spot them and dispose of them before he finds out!)
• replaced some of the water with beef broth  (1 carton of beef broth = 4 cups + 3 cups water = 7 cups. Makes for a more robust taste)
• replaced yogurt with light sour cream and didn't bother with the tomatoes or cilantro (hubs isn't a fan of those, either...shame)

Anyway, give it a whirl.  I think you'll be pleased. And don't forget to wash your hands very well if you touch the chipotle peppers. I failed to do so this morning before putting my contacts in - ouch!

Here's a few more recipes on my must try list:

King Arthur Flour's Guaranteed Fudge Brownies

KAF's Honey Oat Bread

Simple Clam Chowder from Southern Living

More to come later, but that's all for now! Let me know if you try any of them, or if there are any recipes on your must try list.

UPDATE: My words last night on feeling better may have been a bit overstated based on how the night actually went. Apparently I'm still not "well," but I pray I continue to improve. Thanks for your prayers!

And We're Back!

Wow, been a while since my last post. No worries, everyone. We did not drown in the new tub! But we have been enjoying the new bathroom. It is truly like a little retreat in our own home.

Lots of things to report. Last weekend was our first anniversary!! We can hardly believe it had already been a year. We spent our anniversary relaxing. We said "no!" to the usual chores and granted ourselves permission to take it easy. Our day included sleeping in, lunch at Ocean Zen, an afternoon nap (ridiculous, I know), and at late night run through the McDonald's drive-thru for cheeseburgers, in memory of our visit there after the wedding. So fun! On top of that, Barron surprised me with planning a trip to St. Louis this summer to see Wicked! How thoughtful is he? I've been wanting to see it for a while and have heard great things about it, so we will go see it sometime when it is at the Fabulous Fox Theater.

The next big news is one of my best friends Courtney Goings finally had her baby! Callie Lelia Goings. How cute!! Can't wait to meet you sweet girl.

I think there's more, but it appears that I have pulled my right latissimus dorsus (lat muscle in back) so I'm not thinking very straight as it hurts to even breath. I'll be ok, but please pray if you think about it! Thank you. I'm thankful for Barron who really steps up to take care of me however he can.

Until next time!

The Big Reveal

Today our bathroom was declared "finished!" Hooray! We can't actually use it until tomorrow night (caulk and grout are still drying), but we were able to take pictures! We are very pleased. The mirrors really finished it off, the shower looks great and the closet - wow. Ok, so it's not that pretty necessarily, but it sure is practical! Enjoy!

The Saga Continues

 I got home after Barron tonight. When I arrived he excitedly began telling me about the bathroom progress today. As we walked back to look he says "there is just one thing..." as I flip on the light. Here is what I saw:

I was a little surprised, but no big deal. There's a little spot out of the picture to the right that is open that allows access to the bed, so we're good. And frankly, I'm thankful they put that up - the bed is dirty enough with it! (Click the picture to really appreciate the fan blades and bed posts poking through the sheet.)

Moving on, here is the vanity again, this time with sinks and faucets.

Here's a crazy one - doors!! In case you didn't realize, we did not have a door to the bathroom or closet before, so we see this as quite the luxury.

And window trim! It looks much more finished already!

Last but certainly not least, the new toilet! We had (well, still have one) really old toilets. I flushed this one for the first time and thought it must be clogged because it sounded like it didn't flush. Nope, it just flushed that fast.

Speaking of toilets, the old toilet in the other bathroom had a small problem: it rocked. My dad fondly referred to it as the "rocking lifesaver" - "lifesaver" coming from the fact that it's an old, small, round toilet. We had put shims in before, but nothing seemed to quite work. Good news: the plumber fixed it while it was here! No more rock in the lifesaver!

Ok, that's all for now! Tomorrow is more trim work and...not sure what else. We like to be surprised.

Progress

The marble is up and it's looking more and more like a bathroom again. Hooray! While the walls and sides are in, they did forget to pour the vanity top and the end of the half wall wasn't done right, so they'll be back with that next week. But overall, we are pleased. We were watching TV and during commercials we would run back and look at it again because we can hardly believe that's our bathroom!

If you're wondering why the wall is mismatched, it's because the former shower wall went further over, so that wood was torn out and new pieces were stolen from other areas in the room - behind the vanity and the support beam. Thankfully there was enough!

Walls!

Don't worry, this is not in the bathroom, but I wanted to show off one of Barron's projects from the week - "Command Central" as he calls it. And he got to use his new drill!

Vanity...it's all vanity.

Today the vanity arrived! Sorry the pictures aren't great - it gets dark early and there's no lights in the bathroom right now. But isn't it awesome!?! I love the cute little feet. You can also sort of see the towel and mat color, although it's probably not true due to the lighting.

We decided to get a "John cabinet" as well for a little extra storage and to carry the black to the other side of the room. This will be over the toilet. Yes, it looks a little off-center, but remember the trim isn't on the window yet.

That's all for now!

More Firsts

We've had quite the year of firsts and Christmas was no different. It was not only our first Christmas being married, but also my first Christmas waking up at home. My family has always spent Christmas at my Mamaw and Papaw's in Mississippi, but this year Barron and I were slated to be with Barron's family on Christmas Day, so it was a new thing to wake up in my own bed. We slept in, read Luke 2, made breakfast, and then opened presents! Santa even came while I was sleeping! Here's a few pics from the day (nothing fancy).

Our first tree, complete with gifts.

Barron with his new drill.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas!

More updates

Today the bathroom began to look like a bathroom again. *Happy sigh* As you can see, we have a bathtub and at least the outline of a shower. Woohoo!!

Today was also filled with picking out bathroom mats, paint color, closet configurations, and shower doors! It was a busy day, but we were successful. Sorry I didn't take a pic of the bath mats. You'll just have to wait for the big reveal. Stay tuned!

Farewell Pink Tub

Farewell pink tub; hello new windows! Here's just some of what happened while we were away for Christmas.

Major Demo

Some of you probably thought yesterday's "demo" was a sham. You were right. Check out what happened today.

Loving that white mold by the window. Goodbye, sneaky leaky window.

Vanity area

That's the bathtub. See its pinky goodness under there?



Bonus: the original wallpaper, we presume*

*Note: We have always assumed the back living area and bedroom were add-ons. However, we have now found a couple indications that we were wrong.

    1) when pulling back the carpet we discovered hardwood matching the rest of the house. Crazy.

    2) The picture above shows the layers of the walls - wallpaper (which I honestly think is cool), tongue and groove (just like the back room), and Sheetrock. If we went back to the original, we'd have another few inches n the room!

 

It's amazing - and scary - what you find when ripping apart an old house. Stay tuned for more updates.

Bathroom Pics: Before and After Demo

Well, here's some before and after pics of the demo. Please forgive the messiness - it's amazing how much junk you can collect in such a small space. We're soooo excited! I'm hoping to post updates throughout the process...but we'll see.

And after Barron ripped everything down. My job was pretty much packing up stuff and moving it into our other bathroom. Getting ready for work tomorrow will be weird; we'll actually have to think where things are!

Closet

All We Want For Christmas Is...A New Bathroom!

Quick update: We've been planning to have our master bathroom remodeled for a while now, but never did we guess that would come over Christmas break. That's right - remodel begins Friday. We've heard remodels are pretty stressful normally; we decided to up the ante. "Before" pictures have been taken, but I haven't had time to put them on the computer due to all of the things that need to be done before the work begins. So, all that said, say a prayer for us and stay tuned. It's going to get crazy!!

A White Christmas - Dreams Do Come True!

In honor of our first Christmas together (and a basement filled with wedding decorations), we decided to get a new Christmas tree this year. I have three Christmas trees, but they're quite sparse and woodsy looking - I don't decorate them with anything but lights. And because our decorations were black, silver, and pewter, I decided to go crazy and get a white tree. I debated for a while but Barron was a fan and we had decorations, so hey, why not?

 This is as good as it gets this year. My grandmother is storing yet more decorations at her house, so next year expect bigger and badder!

I've also always wanted to decorate my dining room table with the pink glasses my mom had, silver chargers, etc, but never wanted to make the investment that I thought it would take. Then I remember the white dishes left downstairs by an old roommate and voila, it all came together! The green curtains don't really help anything, but it is what it is.

Sorry the pics aren't great - I should use a real camera!

 

Gotta love those pink glasses!! Arrangement from our wedding, created by my grandmother. She's so talented.

McDonald Nuggets

Our main reason for visiting Texas this November was not the Riverwalk, but rather our sweet friends, the McDonald's. Scott and Lori came to Springfield when Caleb was just six months old and we have enjoyed being a part of their lives as the kids grow up. Scott performed our wedding back in February, Anna was the flower girl, and Caleb handed out wedding favors. Lori, of course, coordinated all of them. It's amazing to see how much the kids have grown since then. Caleb is playing soccer for the second year and obsessed with all things Lego. Anna love animals (in this case her plastic ones) and is looking less like a baby and more like a little girl. I guess that's a good thing, since they have had a new addition to the family, Abby. It was fun to meet her, although she won't remember it. Guess we'll have to go back!

We had a blast catching up, eating some local favorites (I don't want to remember how many tortilla chips I ate), and playing with the kids. It was a nice reminder of how much work kids are!! Lori and Scott do a great job juggling everything and are great examples of godly parents.

Caleb, Anna and I at Joe Cotton's BBQ - yum!

Anna, Lori, Abby, and me. Abby modeling a bib embroidered by Lori - so fun!

We visited Snoopy's on the water for fresh seafood. And of course we had to get a picture of the Red Barron there!

Scott and Abby...awwww.

Barron reading to Anna. She has finally decided she likes him. No, she loves him.

San Antone

Barron and I took a little mini-vacation last week to visit some friends in Corpus Christi. On the way we thought we'd check out San Antonio, the Riverwalk, and visit some other friends, Karen and Gerry. It was quite an adventure just driving around San Antonio. Barron was sweet enough to take me to two grocery stores while there - Whole Foods and H.E.B.'s Central Market. Fun! The selection was amazing at Central Market and both had huge selections of bulk foods. Why
doesn't Springfield have anything like that?

Riverwalk

Anyway, back to the Riverwalk. We explored all afternoon, admiring the architecture and enjoying the lovely weather, had some dinner, and then headed out of downtown to meet our friends at The Shops and La Cantera. It's a beautiful outdoor mall and to top it off we discovered it had a recenly opened Paciugo's Gelato so yeah, you can bet we partook of that wonderfulness. My favorite flavor was Mediterranean Sea Salt Caramel. A little salty, a little sweet. Yum. So sad I didn't get pictures of the gelato...or our friends!

The next morning held a trip to Market Square, home to Mi Tierra, a 24-hour Mexican restaurant/bakery that has been around forever. It wasn't the greatest food I've ever had, but it was definitely good and a fun experience. The atmosphere is really what it's all about. We then spent some time exploring the Mexican market. Every vendor pretty much had all the same stuff.

Barron at Mi Tierra

Token Alamo pic

After the Mexican market we headed to the Alamo and then for an afternoon snack over 600 feet in the air at the Tower of the Americas. It was nice to sit, relax, and enjoy the view of the city.

From the top of the Tower of the Americas

Next we headed to Corpus Christi to see The McDonalds...but we'll have to save that for another post.