Day 4|Finding Inspiration {at Julie’s}
Day 5|Finding Inspiration {online}
Day 12|Design Book Inspiration
Day 22 Screen Porch, Stevie, and Siri
Day 23 Chipotle Pumpkin Barley Soup
Blog (OLD)
31 Tips for Rebuilding Your Home and Heart | Day 1
I’m a joiner. That’s just all there is to it.
And I fly by the seat of my pants so I decided THIS MORNING to do this.
I love a good party and I really want to make time to tell you about all the details of my house before they are lost in the oblivion of my head.
So, since we’re moving in next week anyways, I thought I’d make a ‘loose’ commitment to tell you something everyday about this process.
I’m great at starting things but not such a strong finisher so you’ll have to keep me motivated.
And perhaps I can’t do it in 31 days per se. But then again, maybe I can.
Nester can talk me into anything. Not that she was talking to me specifically but she’s persuasive, that one.
I’m also almost finished with Emily’s book and I’ll tell you about it soon too because it’s been great for the ‘rebuilding’ process.
And all those questions you’ve been emailing me?! If I haven’t answered yet, ask again in the comments section of this series and I’ll try my best to set the record straight.
Today’s tip for rebuilding:
Talk your sweetie pie into building you a fire on the back porch BEFORE you move in. To make sure the evening goes smoothly, have the DirectTv guy there to hook up the tv the same day so that your children can watch Brady Bunch in the warm house. As we sat by the fire listening to white caps crashing on the shore, we reminisced about the last 9 months. We can hardly believe that we are a week away from moving back home. He even listened to my dreams about decorating the house and then he said, and I quote, “Toilets and sinks are all the decorations we need. Let’s move in this place.” He’s easy to please.
So, who else is on the ’31 DAYS’ bandwagon? Pick something and join us!
Project Restoration:: lighting and anxious hearts
1. I’m a mess.
2. A big anxious weepy mess.
3. We have a tentative move-in date of October 7th.
4. That’s two weeks from today.
5. Did I mention weepy and anxious and unable to sleep and having chest pain?
6. I spend several very early mornings a week at the lakehouse drinking my coffee and praying for the jitters to leave and staring at the beautiful lighting.
7. This is what it looks like in the wee hours of the morning. {of course I brought a pumpkin, who could blame me?)
8. I cannot even fathom that we get to move into this house in two weeks.
9. We would never ever have built a house like this under any other circumstance.
10. It’s too nice. There’s eye candy everywhere you turn. But it’s also relaxing and cozy. Not too pretentious.
11. I am nearly heartsick with gratitude for how far we’ve come.
12. Hence the weepy hot mess.
13. I love to stare at this beauty in the master bath.
14. It’s so pretty from the outside too.
15. This may be the longest two weeks of our lives.
16. I’m so ready to be there but so NOT ready to move.
17. I can’t wait to build our first fire on the back porch.
18. In a way, that seems odd but the irony of it is perfect.
19. The brick on our hearth is brick that I saved from the original house.
20. I love that it will be at the heart of our home.
21. A reminder to say thank you, even for the suffering.
22. I brought the honeycomb mirror to help me decide if I wanted to paint the brick.
23. I do.
24. I’m sure that surprises no one.
25. I could stare at this all day.
25. I love to sit in the kitchen and stare at these beauties!
26. They are huge and I was worried they were gonna actually touch each other once they were hung.
27. They don’t.
28. This room will have 3 different counter tops, 3 different cabinet colors and 3 different metal colors.
29. I don’t like things to match too much apparently.
30. I love the look but I’m sure it’s quirky.
31. It reminds me of a kitchen from the 50’s only with schwankier lighting.
32. That big pile of fabric? It’s making my head spin and my chest ache.
33. I think I need help with it.
34. But then someone’s gonna tell me I’m crazy and that I can’t use that many patterns/colors.
35. Maybe my house warming party will be a window treatment party. Y’all come over and bring fabrics and trim and sewing machines and we’ll decorate my windows right up. And you won’t tell me I’m crazy for loving color and pattern. And I’ll make you cookies and lattes while you work.
36.. If you think of it in the next two weeks, say a little prayer for us.
37. We are completely humbled and thankful to be here but overwhelmed and overflowing and praying for moments of peace in the chaos.
38. ten-seven-eleven–that’s two weeks ya know?!!!!!!!!
Project Restoration:: Someone pinch me!
I’m all pics and no words today but I figured you’d rather have that than nothing. I’m off to watch them measure for counter tops!
Won’t be long now……..
what my frig taught me about myself
I learned a few things today from the contents of my frig.
the good:
-my crispers are full of good veggies
-we eat real butter (unlike some of my other very dear Lutheran friends who dare to cook with/eat margarine)
-we have plenty of left-overs, which adds to the lunch variety at home
-there’s a variety of good cheese: gruyere, parmegianno regianno, sharp cheddar, maytag blue, stilton, and real mozzarella
-we have plums picked from Jeff and Vicki’s plum tree that I must use soon (jelly? tart?)
-i’ve switched to unsweet tea, which is not easy or normal for a Southern girl
-there’s homeade salsa (made by me) and homeade strawberry jam (made by my sister)
the bad:
-there’s 12 visible sticks of butter and plenty more that you don’t see—don’t be scared
-there are 2 pints of heavy cream
-and 2 quarts of half and half
-don’t judge me
-there are five different containers/kinds of mayo
-repeat the don’t judge me part
-there’s two Jethro- sized half used ketchup bottles that make me wanna vow never to shop at Sam’s again (there’s something about the xl ketchup bottles that makes me lose respect for myself)
the ugly:
-there’s a bowl of something that makes me afraid
-there’s mocha protein milk from sometime in the winter
-there’s a pack of petrified bulk sausage that i just discovered way in the back behind the mexican pasta
-there’s full calorie mike’s lemonade which may mean i’ve given up
When my new BFF Adraine issued this request to see inside our frig’s, I did not tidy up or otherwise move things around (as if that weren’t abundantly clear). I think you should go right now and take a pic of the inside of your frig and post it on your blog and tell us all your dirty secrets. Tell us in the comments if you do it. I think this is big fun.
I vow to clean mine out.
Tomorrow.
You can peruse a host of frig’s here. Some of them are very funny. Maybe pantries should be next!
Rocky Top Chili Recipe aka {Best Chili Recipe Ever}
We’re having chili tonight because 1) we take our football seriously around here and 2) it’s my husbands’ love language. I call it Rocky Top chili because we live in Volunteer Country and who doesn’t love to to hear Rocky Top play 20 twenty times on a continuous loop?! I rest my case. There are a few hard and fast rules for this chili and one of them involves playing/singing/clogging to Rocky Top while you stir. All three gets you extra points. If I ever become famous, it’ll be because of this chili. This is my best chili recipe ever. Except that I make it different everytime, depending on whether there’s any smoked meat to throw in or not. People may love you for your money or good looks—-they love me for chili. And I’m okay with that.
Amen.
Ingredients:
- 2-2 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
- 1/2 pound pork sausage
- 1 large onion
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
- 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
- 3 T. cumin
- 3 T. chili powder
- 1 T. hot mexican chili powder
- 1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 – 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 3-4 cans 15 oz cans of various beans ( I use black, pinto, chili, cannelini) all in their sauces, no draining
- 1/2 jar chili sauce (12 oz jar)
- 2 T. Country Bob’s steak sauce
- 2 T. worcestershire sauce
- 3 T. honey or a 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 T. balsamic vinegar
- 1 12 oz beer or chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
I was gonna go all Pioneer Woman on you and blog every step of this chili recipe.
And though I love her like a sister (though we’ve never met—and did you know she now has a show on the food network?!), I honestly don’t have the patience to upload/edit every step of this 8 billion ingredient recipe.
Don’t be scared by the list. I’m laid back with my chili. I throw in what I have and if I don’t have it on hand, I find a willing and able substitute.
That being said, you’re gonna email me and ask me about Country Bob’s steak sauce. If you’re lucky enough to live in a city where you can get it, you make us all green with envy.
I bought mine whilst in Minnesota this summer and then blogged the event on Facebook thanking Issues for introducing me to it. That’s how good it is.
But if you don’t have Country Bob’s, use something else or just omit that step.
Here’s what you must not, under any circumstances, monkey around with—-
I like to call these “tomatoes that will change your life.” At any given time, I have 10 cans of these on hand. I never want to be caught unawares. It’s all very apocalyptic sounding but trust me on this one.
I put them in EVERY soup, EVERY sauce, EVERY tomato-requiring dish. They are pricey, I’ll give you that. So if you need more than one can of tomatoes, only use one of these.
But don’t scimp here.
What to do:
- Brown the meats
- Remove the meats and add a few swirls of olive oil and the onions and garlic
- Saute those til translucent, add back the meat and add the rest of the ingredients
- Simmer it as long as you have. I usually cook mine a couple hours in the am and then turn it back on the afternoon.
- You will need to re-season!!!! If you taste it in the afternoon and it needs more salt, add salt. More heat, add Sriracha, more sweet, add honey, more umpffff, add chili powder and cumin.
- If you don’t know what it needs, add a little salt and a strip or two of bacon. That always set the world aright. Don’t be scared. I always add more stuff and usually multiple things. That’s why they call me the chili queen. I’m not scared. I throw things in until it brings a tear to the eye.
Serve with fritos and sour cream and salsa and green onions and cheddar cheese.
Or better yet, serve with my Holy Guacamole!
It’s so easy to make and so tasty. Don’t be scared.
Here’s all you need:
- 2 avocados
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T. chopped onion
- Juice of one lime and one orange (I use orange if I have it but it’s not required. Lime is required)
- 1 fresh jalapeno or a few pickled jalapeños as desired for heat, chopped fine
- Salt and pepper to taste
And then dance a little Rocky Top jig!
Rocky Top Chili Recipe aka {Best Chili Recipe Ever}
Ingredients
- 2-2 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
- 1/2 pound pork sausage
- 1 large onion
- 5 cloves garlic chopped fine
- 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
- 3 T. cumin
- 3 T. chili powder
- 1 T. hot mexican chili powder
- 1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 - 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 3-4 cans 15 oz cans of various beans I use black, pinto, chili, cannelini all in their sauces)
- 1/2 jar chili sauce 12 oz jar
- 2 T. Country Bob's steak sauce
- 2 T. worcestershire sauce
- 3 T. honey or a 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 T. balsamic vinegar
- 1 12 oz beer or chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown the meats
- Remove the meats and add a few swirls of olive oil and the onions and garlic
- Saute those til translucent, add back the meat and add the rest of the ingredients
- Simmer it as long as you have. I usually cook mine a couple hours in the am and then turn it back on the afternoon.
- You will need to re-season!!!!
- If you taste it in the afternoon and it needs more salt, add salt.
- More heat? Add Sriracha, more sweet, add honey, more umpffff, add chili powder and cumin.
- If you don't know what it needs, add a little salt and a strip or two of bacon. That always set the world aright.
- Don't be scared. I always add more stuff and usually multiple things.
- Serve with fritos and sour cream and salsa and green onions and cheddar cheese.