I heart my Honda

200,000 miles, and still going strong. I have always liked my little CRV, but I never expected it to be running this long. You would be shocked too if you knew my record with cars. I was just telling D today that I cannot believe I have had it for over 8 years.... especially given my history. It seems fitting that I hit the mile marker today as we were out car shopping for a new set of wheels for him. I am pushing him towards a Honda Pilot, but don't think he is totally convinced quite yet.

oven roasted asparagus

I have always liked asparagus, but this recipe I love! I cannot remember the last time I actually craved it the next day because it was so good! I couldn't wait to get the grocery store to buy more. Thank you Pioneer Woman!

Oven Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch Asparagus (or as much as you would like)
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Wash asparagus thoroughly, and lop off the tough/thick bottom an inch or so. Pay dry as much as possible.
  
• Lay the asparagus in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Generously drizzle olive oil all over the asparagus; then sprinkle generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Roast the asparagus for about 10 minutes.

The secret to it's delicious crunch is to put it in a very hot oven. This way it will brown on the outside without getting flimsy and wilty.

white & brite fireplace

Exactly 8 years ago we officially began the transformation of our home. I can say this with confidence as it was during the 2002 Winter Olympics that we first painted the Family Room a butter yellow color... covering the awful wood paneling. Well, it has taken about that long to convince D that we should paint the fireplace. It is a bland red-orange brick that I have never been fond of.

I did get him to agree to paint the cabinets several years ago. And by agree, I mean I started painting it one Saturday morning while he was still in bed. Once he got out of bed there was no going back. Frankly, this idea came from my mom saying "men cannot visualize, they just have to see it". I decided once he saw paint, he would know it was a great idea... and I was right. I will say this is the first time I did something this devious, but in the end he loved it. I think that is when he learned to trust me, and my crazy ideas.

I actually gave up on the painting idea a couple years ago, so I was shocked when D mentioned a few months ago that we should do it. We toyed with building a facade, or even ripping out the old brick and building a new fireplace, but, in the effort of saving time and money, we decided to paint. I was convinced it would work when reading the post on Young House Love.

We used Behr's Paint and Primer in Camembert and it worked great! Only 2 coats needed for full coverage. This sure beats 4-5 coats of separate prime and paint it would have been. We also repainted the mantle and went from this....(recently decorated for xmas)



to this....



Now I have still have some decorating to do, and we are looking to give a little style to the mantel, but you get the idea. I just hope we don't have wait until the 2014 Olympics to paint the wall a new color. I am a little tired of the yellow walls, but shhhhh..... don't tell D yet ;)

I also wish I had a true before picture with the faux wood paneling, dark mantle and brass FP screen (which was spray painted black 8 years ago), then you could really see what a transformation it has been.

old cabinet, new look

I realized yesterday that perhaps I should have named my blog "I Hate Oak". I think it mostly stems from having a house filled with ugly, dark oak. Every cabinet, shelf, door, bit of woodwork, and even two rooms with paneling, were covered with it. Our house was virtually a cave with few windows and everything dark and dank. I think this is why we immediately knew we would have painted white cabinets in our new kitchen. Luckily the only bit we have left is our yet-to-be-done laundry room. Here is the current sample of the gloriousness that is was our cabinets throughout the house.


With all of the redecorating in our living room I had another little piece I wanted to include. It is a cabinet/table that D made in High School. Unfortunately it was oak... with its heavy grain, bland color and all. So I decided to restain it. I had gotten a gel stain from Home Depot to test on the drawer front. I grabbed my favorite little palm sander and sanded it down to remove the original stain. I started with the new color and realized there was no difference in color. Fail. I went back to Home Depot and got another, darker color. After 3 coats of the new color there was still hardly a change in color. Another fail.

Then last week, while reading a post from another blogger that had a similar dilemma, I realized that mixing some leftover paint with clear glaze paint would be the perfect covering. It brings a nice rich color and, unlike stain, covers the heavy grain.

So off I went with a new plan...As you can see in the before picture, I had already removed the knob and tried the gel stain attempts.


I had hoped to get it similar in color to our game cabinet. I took the darkest paint we had - Chocolate Coco by Behr. It had been used in our powder room and there was plenty left for this project. I also bought a quart of clear glaze from my local Ace. Using a 4:1 ratio of glaze to paint, I mixed it up in an old glass pasta jar. Perfect!

Then using a sponge brush I put on 2 coats of the glaze mix, being sure to sand lightly between coats. Afterward, I sprayed with 2 coats of satin polyurethane. Using some leftover gloss black spray paint, I gave new life to some old hardware we already had (although I am not sure I love the black hardware on this piece). The only cost was the $7 quart of glaze!

Here it is in its new home.... but I am seriously considering making it my new bedside table.

sausage penne & creamed spinach

We had a week-long house guest, so I have been cooking like a madwoman. It's nice to have someone other than D to cook for.

I adapted the Penne recipe from one I found in Cooking Light and the Creamed Spinach is from Pioneer Woman

Sausage & Tomato Penne

8 ounces uncooked penne
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage (casings removed)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup vertically sliced onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 large roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves (optional)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.
  
• Add sausage and onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring to crumble sausage.
  
• Add garlic; cook 2 minutes.
  
• Stir in tomatoes; cook 2 minutes.
  
• Remove from heat; stir in pasta, 2 tablespoons cheese, salt, pepper and red pepper.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and basil.

(photo from cookinglight.com)

This PW Creamed Spinach recipe is great. D loved it and our house guest, who is not a big fan of spinach, also said it was very good (but she might have just been being nice). I halved the recipe to feed 3-4.
Tip: Our Costco has 1lb of spinach for about $3.

PW Creamed Spinach

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup whole milk
salt and pepper, to taste
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
12 ounces baby spinach

• Melt 1 stick of butter in a pot; sprinkle in flour and whisk together. Cook over medium heat for five minutes or until light golden brown.
  
• Add onion and garlic and stir together, cooking for another minute.
  
• Pour in milk, whisking constantly, and cook for another five minutes while you cook the spinach.

• To cook spinach, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a separate pot.
• Add spinach in increments until it is all fits in pot; cook until wilted but not soggy, about 4 to 5 minutes.

• Season the cream sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
  
• Add spinach to the cream sauce, stirring gently to combine. Serve immediately.

pancetta-wrapped pork roast

With a foot of snow in the forecast, it was a great day for some home-cooking. Today's menu is Giada's Pancetta-Wrapped Pork Roast, Crushed Potatoes & Bourbon Pecan Pie.

Pancetta-Wrapped Pork Roast

8 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) tied boneless pork loin roast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups dry white wine

• Blend the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and oil in a small food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until the garlic is minced.
• Arrange the pancetta slices on a work surface, overlapping slightly and forming a rectangle.
• Sprinkle the pork roast generously with salt and pepper. Spread half of the garlic mixture over 1 side of the pork and between the 2 loins that meet in the center of the tied pork roast.
  
• Place the pork, garlic mixture side down, in the center of the pancetta rectangle. Spread the remaining garlic mixture over the remaining pork. Wrap the pancetta slices around the pork.
  
• Place the pork in a roasting pan. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

• Pour 1/2 cup of broth and 1/2 cup of wine into the roasting pan. Add more broth and wine to the pan juices every 20 minutes.
  
• Roast the pork until a meat thermometer inserted into the center registers 145 degrees F for medium-rare, about 1 hour.
  
• Transfer the pork to a cutting board. Tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Pour the pan drippings into a glass measuring cup and spoon off any fat that rises to the top.
• Using a large sharp carving knife, cut the pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve with the pan juices.

details photo wall

For less than $100, we have a whole new wall of art!
A few hours of time cutting mats and framing + the price of the frames, mat board and prints = a large wall with one-of-kind artwork.
All the photos are pictures we have taken on a various travels... sort of. Since we could not decide on an 8th picture for the "details" wall, we put in a photo from our wedding that will be replaced after our next vacation....which is still yet TBD. We had been planning on Africa in June, but the World Cup is causing some spendy issues for us.

(please ignore the ugly oak table color, I am working on a new color for that soon)







We still need to decide where our "sunsets over the six continents" will be hung. It would be seven, but a trip to Antarctica is not looking too likely.

peanut butter cheerios bars

I had my first taste of this delicious goodness over 15 years ago when I was working at a before-and-after-school program in college. One of the instructors had brought them for the kids, and I have been hooked every since. I don't know what it is about the salty-sweet combo, but I leave peanut butter in just about any dessert. Honestly, I only make these every couple years (probably because I can down a pan myself in one sitting), but I think they are much better than rice krispie treats.

Since I had all the ingredients, I decided to make them for our Super Bowl gathering today.

Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars

1/2 cup butter (one stick)
6 cups marshmallows (one bag)
1 cup peanut butter
6-8 cups Cheerios

• In a large saucepan, melt the margarine and marshmallows together; add peanut butter and keep stirring until smooth.
  
• Add cereal and coat thoroughly with peanut butter mixture.
• Spread mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish and cool.

You may also half the recipe to use in a 9" square. For an added treat, top with melted chocolate.

milkglass

I am so frustrated that I have not been able to able to paint any of my recent furniture finds. It is just too cold outside to paint and we don't have any well ventilated areas in the house where I can use my sprayer. So, I have been obsessing about the details and found some uses for some of my milk glass. While at the grocery store yesterday they had some "clearance" flowers and lemons & limes on sale... cheap! The perfect pick-me-ups I needed. So for only $8, I was able to fill three of the pieces with some Spring bloom.

friday's finds

I will be honest, my trip to Chicago was fairly unsuccessful. At least when it comes to finding deals. I guess even the thrift stores have the big city mark-up. But, I was thinking we could have quite a prosperous business by buying in WI and selling in Chicago.

However, the trip was very successful in being to catch up with friends. To say we ate well would be an understatement -- Ethiopian, Greek, dessert cafe with the most incredible bread pudding. I honestly don't know how I didn't gain weight.

In spite of the disappointment in Chicago, I really scored in Sheboygan last weekend. D and I went to Kohler for their Winterfest activities; so I, of course, had to stop at a couple Estate Sales. I was really excited because they were both on their 2nd weekend, and everything was 75%. The downside is the original prices were so overinflated that I cannot believe anyone paid full price.

I found a couple more pieces of milk glass, an apothecary jar and the Robin Hood book. Dave also had some success by finding some $.50 poker chips. (He may be unwilling to admit he likes these sales, but he always finds something he cannot leave without) Everything we bought was $.25-$1. My crystal decanter was a bit more at $8 from a local consignment shop.


Here is some more milk glass and a Fenton plate from another Estate.


Okay, so is it possible to have too much of one thing? I think I might need to go to milk glass anonymous. I found these pieces and the antique blocks at my local thrift store, for less than $2 each. I was SO excited to find a hand blown glass cheese dome for $4. I don't really care about the wood plate and may just re-donate. I also love the twin plates I found in Chicago for $1 each. Too bad those were my only finds in the big city.


Lastly, I also found a little present for the hubs. I was thrilled to have spotted this at the Goodwill near mom's house. All the pieces, and only $2!

chicken corn chowder

This recipe was originally posted in Cooking Light. I was not impressed with their original version, so after a few modifications and additions, we thought it was great! And best of all, it's a snap to make.

Chicken & Corn Chowder

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups 2% milk
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 3/4 lb)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears)
2 (14 3/4-ounce) cans cream-style corn
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 bunch chopped cilantro

• Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
  
• Add onion, celery, and jalapeno; cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.
• Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  
• Stir in milk and remaining ingredients.
  
• Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 5 minutes).

(photo from cookinglight.com)

free dream wedding

Crate&Barrel is giving away a dream wedding. One lucky couple will receive $100,000, and A-list wedding planner, Jo Gartin, for their big day.


Honestly, I cannot imagine what I would do with that kind of money for a wedding. Our entire wedding (reception, dress, flowers, invites, etc) was only $5000. What could we possibly do for a wedding with that much money. Perhaps a destination wedding in Africa with 10 others?