The Heart of the Home is Finished!

(except for a few "little" details!)

Here is a little reminder of the "Before"

Yes, we had our work cut out for us!

 AND.......Here she is After!

Yes, I am in love :)

I promise it's the same house....walls removed, wood ceiling installed, new cabinets, appliances, windows flooring, lighting, plank back splash, paint....worth. it. all!

Another "Before"  shot looking from the small doorway that separated the dining and kitchen....the bi-fold doors lead into the laundry room...

 The left side of the kitchen is where the door for the master bedroom originally opened up to....we "rearranged" a little bit....

Here is the After of the left side of the kitchen...

Behind this wall....

is a "little nook" that we made into my desk area.....My Dad gave me this table a few years ago and Grant refinished it for me. It is the perfect addition to the kitchen area and it makes a great spot for my morning coffee, reading, emailing, grocery list making....and everything else!

One of the "little details" left to do is a free standing island...I was hesitant to commit to something with our cabinet builder until I was sure that it would not be too congested but, there is plenty of room! I have some plans for it and hopefully it won't be too long until I can share that with you, but for now I am enjoying every minute in my "cottage kitchen" just as it is. 

I loved designing, planning and making the choices for the renovation...and thankfully, my husband is an AMAZING guy who was able to make it all happen!  Would we do it again?....ask us in a few months. :)

I have LOTS more to share...it's just been a little busy getting settled and starting school, but I can't wait to show you my "barn door!"  Let me know what you think.

Off to fix dinner...

Rhiannon 

Luke's birthday

We celebrated Luke's 5th birthday last week. It's hard to believe that we have a 5 year old. He's  very hands on type of kid. His favorite thing to do is take apart stuff. My Dad gave he and Mac tool belts with hammers the last time he was up. Needless to say, he wears them all the time. He loves building things and is always looking for a" job" to do.  He likes to figure out how things work. I went out the other day and he was taking apart the lawnmower. When I ask him what he could have possibly been thinking, his answer, he just wanted to see what was in the engine. He thought it would be okay because he knew how to put it back. It took him awhile but he got it and it still worked. He is turning into quite the little gentlemen. He opens the door for me getting into the car, and always runs to open doors for us going into places. He even steps into the aisle at church if I need to get out. Most importantly though he has a tender heart for the Lord and the things of the Lord.

Luke, we love you and pray that you always follow the Lord's will for your life.

 

 He finally got his .22. He was beyond excited.

 

Jax had to get in on the action.

 

Luke was one happy birthday boy that night.

 

Christine

 

sweet and sour chicken { homemade }

I love good chinese food. There are few place around here that have it though, unfortunately, so I suppose it is just as well that we rarely eat out. When I saw this recipe over at The Recipe Critic I just had to try it. Good chinese food at home? Yes, please!!

It was so simple and easy to make. I had it ready in about 45 minutes.....I changed a few things. Imagine that!!

I used my large cast iron skillet and cooked it on top of the stove because I didn't want to wait for it to bake in the oven. I used butter and basically fried it and it was easier to make sure all the chicken was coated in the sauce, which is the best part!

( by the way, if you don't have a cast iron skillet you need to get one! I don't know what I would do without my cast iron skillets and pots...you can check some out here. They are very inexpensive and if you take care of them right they last forever!! )

I served the chicken with rice. I almost always cook my rice with more chicken broth than water. It gives it so much more flavor! This was so, so good. Better than any sweet and sour chicken I have had at a restaurant!

sweet and sour chicken
recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil ( I used butter )
1 cup sugar
4 tbls ketchup
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbls soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 325. Cut chicken breast into bite sized pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Whisk the eggs together and then in a separate bowl place the cornstarch. Coat chicken in cornstarch and then in the eggs. ( I did dipped it back into the cornstarch again after the egg before placing in the skillet ).

Heat oil ( or butter ) in large skillet and brown chicken. Place into a 9x13 pan.

In a medium bowl mix together the sugar, ketchup, both vinegar's, soy sauce and garlic salt. Pour over chicken and bake for 1 hour. Stir chicken every 15 minutes to evenly coat in sauce.


Note: After browning the chicken in the cast iron skillet I just left it in there and poured the sauce over it. Turned the chicken every few minutes to keep it coated in the sauce. It only took about 15 minutes to cook on top of the stove.


Enjoy,

Mary Elizabeth

August Desktop Wallpaper

I saw this at Sarah Hearts this morning and thought I would share it. It's a really cute desktop wallpaper for August. There also downloads for the iPhone. I put it on our laptop. Will see how long it last. My husband isn't really into the "cute" wallpapers.



If you like it here's the link. Check her blog out Sarah has some other cute downloads.

Have a great week. We are off to Valdez for a couple if days. Here are some pictures if your not from here and want to see how beautiful it is.

Christine

Friday's Treat ~ Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I cannot believe how long it has been since my last post!! A lot has happened that has been keeping me busy. A new baby being the biggest news!! I will post later to tell you about her, such a doll, and probably the best newborn sleeper that has ever been! At least at night which is the most important to me. 

Now, on to these cookies....

These are really good! Very moist and chewy with just a few chocolate chips in them. I first told you about these cookies here. I just made them into plain cookies, although there is nothing plain about the flavor of these cookies. They really are so good! I think these will be my basis for monster cookies as well the next time those are on the menu.

Try them! I know you will love them as much as we do!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Butter, Softened

1/4 cup Shortening, ( I used all butter )

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Baking Powder

3 tbls Boiling Water

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 1/2 cups Flour

2 cups Quick Oats

1 cup Chocolate Chips

Recipe adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the brown sugar, butter and shortening. Add eggs and mix. Add salt, cinnamon and baking powder and mix. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and then add to the bowl and mix. Add flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips and then mix well.

Scoop dough onto baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Notes :  Use Homemade Brown Sugar.  I do and it makes everything better!

Mary Elizabeth

So, it has only been a little over 4 months.......

I feel like I have been out of touch for a long, long time and it isn't just the RENOVATION....life is busy with a husband, family business, church and did I mention 3 kids 5 and under!?!  Enough complaining...moving on....When I read a new design blog I always want to see the kitchen first so I thought that I would start there....the kitchen...the heart of the home and by far THE MOST EXPENSIVE PART OF RENOVATING!  I thought y'all might enjoy a sneak peak at the progress. I am excited about how it has turned out and CAN NOT WAIT to have it all finished....so, here are some before, progress and not quite "after" shots....

Here she is in all her glory the day we closed...(notice that there isn't a dishwasher!!)

  

This is a shot standing in the doorway from the dining room and looking towards the laundry room...

 I was excited to see this wall come down that separated the kitchen and dining room!...

All the tile came out and it was basically gutted...wow, that seems like a long time ago...this next one is looking from the kitchen back into the dining and front entry area..the wall to the right has also been removed making the entire living area open and seem so much bigger!

It has been an ugly process...here are some pics of the beadboard ceiling installation and recessed lighting....

 

 This next picture was taken after the ceiling was stained white....long story short...we are not happy with the way the stain turned out so this week our "new" painter will be glazing the ceiling....I am a little nervous about all that but if you saw it in person you would agree that it needs to be done..(Grant is installing the new kitchen window in this picture...)

ahhh.....exciting day!  New cabinets installed...I could not be happier with my cabinets! For the cabinets we used a client of ours whose pool we built a few years ago...and they are amazing....stained a cherry color, painted BM Bone White and distressed back to the cherry...I love them!

Grant installed planks as a back splash, all through the desk area and laundry room...pictures really don't do it justice! He did a fabulous job! (notice where the fridge area is?? well, that was where the master bedroom door opened before we moved it!)

Counter tops are granite and look great....(this was a difficult decision for me to make, not sure why, but thankfully I couldn't be happier with them!)

 Big improvement!

So, this is where we are right now....a little ways to go before I can do an official before/after shot but a long ways from where we started!

Maybe, just Maybe...we will be moved in by Christmas!! :)

Thanks for reading,

Rhiannon