O' Christmas Tree

This year we went with a table top tree. It is about four and half feet tall, which meant we could put it on a table. We wanted to be able to get the tree off the floor to keep the dog's tail away from the tree and ornaments. This is Indy's first tee and we really didn't know how he would react to the whole thing.

I have a small obsession with putting lights on our Christmas tree. This years tree has 1,600 lights on it.

Next came ribbon and ornaments, and then the tree was done.

All of this happened while Matt and Indy did this.



Finally, one last picture of the dog with the tree, because it really really cute.

julie

porky goodness

Baked Pork Chops and Apples

2 bone in pork chops at least 1" thick

2 red delicious apples sliced into 1/2" thick rings (core removed)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1-1/2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoons cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Place pork chops on rimmed baking sheet. Pour on soy sauce making sure to coat both sides. Top with apple slices, each pork chop should have at least two apple slices. In a small bowl mix together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake for 40 minutes. Apples should be tender but shouldn't fall apart and pork chops should be cooked through.

Serving Suggestions: We really like this with Kraft Mac and Cheese. I'm kind of embarrassed to say that, but that's how my mom always served this dish and they pair very well, and I can't come close to making a homemade mac and cheese for anywhere near the price of the blue box.

This recipe come from my mom, I have no idea who she got it from. I just know she has been making for it as long as I can remember. Hope you enjoy.

julie

anniversary day

Yesterday was Matt and my second anniversary. I managed to get Matt to take the day off. Not an easy feat. This is only the second time he has taken vacation time. The first time was for our wedding and honeymoon.

We started the day by sleeping in, and then playing with Mr. Indy a little.
 

matt and indy

Then we went to Le Peep for breakfast. They have the best eggs benedict in town (at least that I've tried). After breakfast we went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where we had our wedding reception in the Cullen Gems and Mineral Hall. They currently have an exhibit on the Silk Road (no pictures please). They have some gorgeous textiles, cool carvings, and a pretty awesome mummy; you can even see her eyelashes. We then looked through the fossils and gems and minerals.

   

the brontosaurus (i know it has a different name now but i haven't bothered to learn what it is)

And now pretty rocks. I love gems and minerals which is why we had our wedding reception here. I hate to say it but this love most likely came from my mom. She has a bachelor's degree in geology, and while she didn't use her degree for her career she still loves rocks. On every family vacation she would explain how the rock formation we were passing formed and what types of minerals were found in the area. It doesn't hurt that rocks have the potential to be really pretty.

Sorry the picture quality isn't great on those pictures. I needed to use a tripod, which I didn't have. But the formations and colors are so beautiful I wanted to share them.

After the museum we went to an eye doctor appointment for Matt, then went to get some ice cream. Yummy. We headed home, and after a couple of hours we took Indy to his advanced puppy class. It was graduation night. Indy passed his test with flying colors. He even let me do this.

Now we just need to get him to follow the commands every time, instead of just when he wants to do them.

I love you Matt. I had a great day. It has been a wonderful two years, and I look forward to a lifetime of great days to come.

Love,

julie

pumpkin seeds

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

1.5 Tablespoons Melted Butter

3/4 Teaspoons Salt

1/8 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 Cups Raw Pumpkin Seeds (Cleaned)

Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients together. Place seeds on a baking sheet in a single layer bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown stirring half way through. The seed should be crunchy. Enjoy.

I also tried adding a 1/8 of a teaspoon of both cayenne and chili powder, but it didn't give the heat that I hoped for. I might try more spices or hot sauce next year. We like things spicy around here.
(This recipe was introduced to me by a friend and can be found at allrecipes.com. It has been modified to work with the items that are currently in my kitchen.)

julie

to the letter

This year I decided to make monogram pumpkins for each member of the family. I started by searching google images for interesting letters to correspond to each of our names. I then modified what I found to work for what I wanted.

I picked up some pumpkins at the grocery store. My 12 year old self would have been very disappointed with the lack of care I took in selecting my pumpkins. I mean they had flat sides, dirt, and scratches on them. These pumpkins in no way rivaled the perfect pumpkins of my childhood. None the less, they worked, and I didn't want to spend hours searching.

I went to Hobby Lobby to pick-up some not so traditional pumpkin carving tools. The first being a linoleum cutter, and the other being a pottery tool set. I also used the hole saw that we already own.

I cut a circular hole in the top of each of the pumpkins with the hole saw. The nice thing about the hole saw is that it makes cutting circles much easier than a standard knife. It does however take out more material, so if you cut straight down the "lid" will fall into the pumpkin, so you will need cut at an angle if you want to be able to put the top back on.

Clean out the insides, being sure to save the seeds. Roasted seed recipes coming soon. I used the scraping toll from the pottery kit, but a large kitchen spoon will work just as well.
Next, draw on the design with a sharpie, or if you aren't confident free handing your design you can scale your drawing to the size of the pumpkin. The use a pin tool or an awl to poke holes a long your pattern.

Use your linoleum cutter to trace along the lines that you have drawn. Mine came with 5 different tips of varying widths. The wider and deeper your cut is the more visible your image will be when you illuminate your pumpkin.

Finished pumpkins. I for Indy with bones. He is a dog after all.

M for Matt

J for Julie

And all three together.

Happy Halloween!

Julie





unseamly

A friend is redecorating her house and wanted to get rid of some furniture that she no longer needed. Knowing that Matt and I have a house in need of quite a bit of everything she offered us her gently used furniture and we were extremely happy to take it off of her hands. The only item that had any easily visible wear was the ottoman, she told me the ottoman has a hole on the top, but we just cover it with a throw so nobody notices. That seemed like a reasonable solution. However, when we went to pick up the furniture I was excited to discover that it wasn't a hole in the fabric; it was a ripped seam, an easy and quick problem to fix.

 Start by finding a thread that matches the major color in the fabric. I used a navy blue. Thread you needle and tie the two ends of the thread in a knot so that you have a double thread. I knot the thread twice to give me a little larger knot so that it will catch in the fabric better. Start sewing about an inch and half before the start of the rip.

Make you stitches small (about an 1/8 of inch), pulling the two pieces of fabric together as you go. On a piece of furniture it is likely that you fabric will need to be taught and so it may be helpful to use your non sewing hand to help pull the fabric together so all of the tension isn't on the thread, which could cause it to break, I know because it happened to me and I had to restart.

This particular ottoman has a button in the center. When it was originally produced the button was probably put on after the rest of the ottoman had been upholstered, but I don't have the big long needle that is needed to sew on a button so I needed to sew around the button. For the first half of the rip I sewed over the button until I got to the middle. Then I lifted the button over the stitches I had just made and pulled them taught once they were under the button. This meant that I only had to work under the button for about an inch and half.

Sew past the end of the rip about an inch and a half, and then sew back up the seam you just made about an inch and then back down an inch. This will give the end of your new seam a little more strength so it is less likely to rip again. When you get to the end make a loop with your thread through the fabric.

Run your needle through the loop twice and then pull taught to make a knot. I usually do this twice just for extra security.

Cut any excess thread, and you’re done.

Maybe one day I will get really adventurous by reupholstering the whole ottoman. I've already selected a fabric.

Calico Corners - Stanley Slate $37.99/yd.

 

The color doesn't translate very well on their website but it is steely navy on a golden tan background with a nice woven texture. I just need to work up the nerve and save up the money to be able to tackle the project.

julie

and so it begins: the day zero project

The Challenge

Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.


The Criteria

Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).


Started

16 October 2010


Finish

13 July 2010

For the house

1.       Finish the kitchen remodel

2.       Have a guest bedroom that I'm not embarrassed to let someone use

3.       Remodel the living and dining room.

4.       Improve curb appeal

5.       Fence in the back and side yard

6.       Go through all of the boxes in storage rooms 1,2, & 3 and find a home for everything

7.       Clean off the back patio

8.       Finish Matt's Christmas stocking by this Christmas

9.       Start and finish my Christmas stocking by next Christmas

10.   Host a party at our house

11.   Decorate our walls

12.   Decorate for Christmas

13.   Do at least one house project a week (0/143)

14.   Flowers once a month (0/32)

15.   Buy an original piece of art

16.   Build a piece of furniture

17.   Organize all of the closets in our house (0/9)

For food and drink

18.   Grow a vegetable garden every year (0/3)

19.   Make dinner 18 days a month (0/32)

20.   Make dinner every day for a month

21.   Try a new restaurant at least once a quarter  (0/11)

22.   Organize my recipes

23.   Buy a 1/4 of a grass fed cow

24.   Start a wine and beer journal

25.   Try one new recipe a month (0/32)

26.   Make a real breakfast at least once a month (0/32)

27.   Plan meals for the week and shop for them on the weekend for a month

28.   Find a local farmers market and shop there once a month (0/32)

29.   Start seeds  from scratch for the garden

30.   Cook a Thanksgiving dinner

31.   Go to 5 breweries (0/5)

32.   Go to 5 wineries  (0/5)

33.   Take a cooking class

34.   Eat clean for a month

For us

35.   Go on at least one date with the hubby a month (0/32)

36.   Go on one big vacation a year (0/3)

37.   Go to a museum at least twice a year  (0/6)

38.   Become a member at a museum

39.   Go on a weekend  getaway once  every 6 months (0/5)

40.   Have professional family photos taken once a year (0/3)

41.   Go camping

42.   Go to the Smithsonian again

43.   Go to 5 festivals (0/5)

For me

44.   Start a blog

45.   Learn to shoot a handgun

46.   Get my CHL

47.   Take at least a picture a day for a month

48.   Post to the blog at least three times a week

49.   Make myself knowledgeable on the issues and vote in every election

50.   Learn to accept the compliments of others

51.   Get my passport updated with my married name

52.   Buy a DSLR camera

53.   Be on time to work every day for a month

54.   Walk 100 miles in a month

55.   See a movie alone

56.   Get a massage and get one for my mom

57.   Put away $5 for each completed task and buy something just for me at the end of the 1001 days

58.   Learn to drive a stick shift

For business

59.   Start or partner in an interior design business

For my mind

60.   Read 101 books (0/101)

61.   Watch all of the movies on AFI's top 100 list (0/100)

62.   Go to 5 art gallery openings (0/5)

63.   Read Atlas Shrugged

For my soul

64.   Go to church at least three times a month (0/32)

65.   Get involved with a group or committee at church

66.   Pray

For inspiration

67.   Read the magazines I subscribe to the month I get them (0/32)

68.   Start and maintain an inspiration file

For looks

69.   Lose 10 lbs. before getting pregnant

70.   Wear my hair down for a week  (0/7)

71.   Find a skin care routine that works for me

For the dog

72.   Take Indy on a walk 4 times a week for 3 months (0/3)

73.   Teach Indy some manners

74.   Get Indy a puppy brother or sister

For a baby

75.   Have a baby

76.   Design a nursery

77.   Deliver a baby with no pain meds

78.   Finish the baby's stocking by their first Christmas

79.   Cloth diaper

For finances

80.   Pay off my car

81.   Buy Matt a new truck

82.   Pay off my credit cards

83.   Save at least 10% of what we take home

84.   Buy life insurance for the hubby and I

85.   Make a will

For cleanliness

86.   Do the dishes after dinner every day for a month (0/31)

87.   Hang up my clothes when the dryer finishes for three months

88.   Vacuum the entire house at least every two weeks (0/71)

89.   Clean the bathrooms at least every two weeks (0/71)

For others

90.   Write down my friends’ and families’ birthdays

91.   Send birthday cards to family and friends

92.   Make handmade cards for friends and family at least 10 times a year (0/30)

93.   Compliment someone once a week

94.   Write thank you notes for all gifts I receive

95.   Write at least 10 thank you notes to people because they done something nice for me (0/10)

96.   Write a 5 companies to let them know I enjoy their product or service (0/5)

97.   Buy flower for someone

98.   Perform 5 random acts of kindness (0/5)

99.   Try to donate blood again

100.   Take my parents out to dinner

101.   Take Matt's parents out to dinner

julie