Home Inspiration - Mr. Man's Room

Once we found out that we would be expecting our 1st human child, I went to work searching for the perfect bedding.  I found girl bedding right away.  It was green with touches of pink.  It had a bird and leaf pattern, leaving it girly without being in your face.  Finding boy bedding was another issue.  I searched and searched and searched.  Everything was trucks, planes or jungle themed.  None of them struck a cord with me.  Until...

Why yes, that IS Dr. Seuss bedding, courtesy of Pottery Barn.  It warmed the cockles of my cold, educational heart.  Cheery and whimsical, every bit of it screamed BUY me.  So I did.

The sheets are sprinkled with all of my favorite characters.  The bumper bold in color.

However such bold bedding left a big question mark when it came to the walls.  While I liked the idea in the main nursery picture, it wouldn't last beyond his early years.  I wanted a color that will grow with him.  Enter...

I consider this to be a bold neutral.  In person, it looks more khaki.  Then again, I am not sure what 'Warm Caramel' would look like on a wall.  I prefer to keep caramel in my mouth.


My palette inspiration is more 'man' than 'little boy.'  I feel like this will balance the whimsy of the bedding.

I start painting tomorrow!!!  Wish me luck!

Weekend #1 DOWN!

Dirty Old House: 0
Overly, Confident DIYers: 7!

This weekend revolved around our new house.  Shocking.  I know.

Aut was pessimistic about what we would accomplish.  I was somehow not.  Maybe this is because I am mainly filling the role of Project Manager.  Aut got to play day laborer/hired help.  He was wary that we would be able to prime the entire interior of the house by the weekend's end.  I told him that we had to do it to stay on schedule.  It was the most important step in moving forward.  We needed to prime before any colors could go on the walls.  We need color on the walls before we rip out the carpet.  We need to rip out the carpet before we can deal with our flooring issues.  You see the dilemma.  As the Project Manager, I insisted that we would get it done.  

My Laborer

I was also wearing a mask.  You can see all of the paint particles being refracted by the flash.

I got to say a big fat "I TOLD YOU SO" when the entire house was primed by Saturday night.  He was happily eating his former worries and accepted defeat with grace.  As part of his reward, he was able to sleep in on Sunday morning.  This may mean more to him than any paycheck. 


In other non-related news, I had my first 'awkward' tummy encounter.  And it came from a family member.  Yesterday was Aut's Grammy's birthday.  Aut's mother is one of six and everyone still lives in the area.  This means that family gatherings are far from small events.  One of Aut's aunts is...  a little loopy.  Immediately after our arrival, she had her hands on my belly.  She, then, bent down to kiss it.  She kept muttering something about being excited for us and how huge I have gotten.  The gathering continued.  Kids playing the backyard.  Adults drinking adult beverages.  Family mingling and catching up.  Every time she saw me, she HAD to touch my belly.  I could be passing by on one of my many trips to the bathroom and she would have to touch my belly.  I could be mid conversation with someone else and she would just rest her hand on my belly.

What made this even more awkward is that she was not doing this to my sister-in-law, who is also very pregnant.  I was the target for all of the belly touching.  Um, okay.

As she was saying good-bye to me, she started rubbing my belly again and asked "This isn't weird, is it?  Me touching your belly."  NOW YOU ASK?  And what am I supposed to say?  "Yes, it is incredibly awkward that you must do it every time I so much as breath."

Margaritas

I wish!  Sigh.  Sadly, no margaritas for me this summer.  No refreshing, citrus drink on the rocks with a salt rimmed glass.  No instant vacation in a cup. 

Instead, this past week has taken me to another Margarita-ville.  It started with a recipe that was passed on to me as a suggestion for BBQ fare.  Margarita Cake.  *LIGHT BULB* I can merge my love of margaritas AND cake into one tasty delicacy.  And I can even partake in its deliciousness.  Sign me up for one slice, or maybe five.

Here the recipe as it was provided to me:
Cake
1 box lemon cake mix
1 package instant lemon pudding
1/3 cup oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup margarita mix

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup margarita mix

1. Preheat oven at 325 and grease and flour a 9x13 pan
2. Mix all ingredients until well blended
3. Pour batter into pan and bake for 40-45 minutes
4. Whisk together sifted powdered sugar and margarita mix
5. After baking, let cake cool for 10 minutes
6. Pour glaze over the top of cake

I changed it up a little bit.  I used two 9" rounds.  This changed the baking time to about 30 minutes.  I also iced the bottom layer with buttercream and then sprinkled a layer of green sugar crystals.  After putting the top layer on, I dirty iced the entire cake with buttercream.  I let the cake set in the fridge for 2 hours.  Finally, I poured the glaze on top. 

A couple of crumbs and some glaze is all that was left at the end of the BBQ.  I guess that means it was a hit.  I'm thinking I might try making a strawberry daiquiri cake next.  

Later in the week, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner and saw the margarita mix taunting me in the fridge.  Why hello, K.  How are you?  Don't you wish you could have me with the Patron that is in the freeze?  Wouldn't it feel fabulous to sit out on your porch with me in a salt-rimmed glass?  
This got me thinking.  What other food items could I join with my margarita mix?  I looked in the fresh drawer.  Red peppers? Check.  Lettuce?  Check.  Garlic?  Check.  Ground beef? Check.

Welcome to the birth of Margarita beef tacos.  

Ingredients for Beef Filling
1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
2 tbsp minced garlic
3/4 c margarita mix
1 shot Patron Tequila
Taco seasoning

Taco Toppings
Sliced red peppers
Chopped lettuce
Shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

1. Saute garlic in large skillet.
2. Add ground beef.  Cook until half-way browned.
3. Pour in 1/2 cup margarita mix and 1 shot tequila.
4. Continue to cook until beef is browned.
5. Add taco seasoning to taste.  I only sprinkled a little bit.
6. Let simmer until all of the liquid has cooked off.  Then, add last 1/4 cup margarita mix.
7. Continue to simmer until all of the liquid has cooked off.  Remove from heat.

We are a flour tortilla household, so I warmed those in the oven towards the end.  (Well, Aut likes hard shell tacos, but I never think to buy them.  Plus I like whole wheat tortillas.)  While the beef was cooking, I prepped our toppings.

It turned out to be a fairly good experiment.  The meat was very moist and had a bit of a tang to it.  The tacos seemed more like 'summer' because they weren't as overpowering as regular taco meat.  I even topped off dinner with a faux-margarita - OJ and margarita mix poured over ice in a salt-rimmed glass.  Summer drink, I may have found you yet. 
 

Mutley Joy

The Mutleys are over the moon with their new backyard.

Our current house has a HUGE backyard.  However, it is not fenced in.  We fenced in a small area for them, but it is not very hospitable to grass.  They also have free range of the screen porch.  This is not enough.  While Klaus enjoys digging in the dirt and rolling around, Zoe is a designer-mutt princess.  She spent the 1st year of her life living in Los Angeles.  Then, I adopted her and we lived in an apartment.  While she got at least 3 miles of walks every day, she was still an indoor dog.  From there, we moved to a townhouse (and gained a man.)  She had a small backyard, but there was no grass.  She has always spent a ton of time indoors, and now turns her nose up at being outside.  (Yet, if you let her go at the lake, she couldn't be happier.  She runs up and down canyons like a pro.  She wades through water and dirt like it is in her blood.)  She will whine and whine and whine.  I am sure our neighbors think that she is being tortured every time she is put outside for more than 30 minutes. 

Today, we brought the Mutleys with us to our new house.  Neither one of them made a peep the entire 9 hours we were there.  At one point it was so quiet that we thought that they might have escaped.  Nope.  They were happily lounging in the shade.  Klaus has already claimed the back stoop as his spot.  Forcing you to push him out of the way to even walk outside.  Zoe roamed through the overgrown ivy.  Klaus rolled in the grass.  They both wore happy, doggy smiles.  

Because they are just too cute when they cuddle with me on the couch.

Wow!

We took possession of our new house last night.  We got the keys at 6:30pm.  By 7:00pm Aut had already started taking apart the kitchen.

Good riddance drop ceiling!

By close of today, all of the rooms are prepped for the white base coat.  All windows have been cleaned.  All window hardwear removed.  All plate covers are in the trash, along with all of the doorknobs.  All closets are wiped down.  Every ceiling has been dusted and washed.

The kitchen is...    I'll just let the before and current pictures speak for themselves.

The previous owners/occupants were definitely 'creative' in wiring.  They had installed 4 outdoor overhead lights in the drop ceiling.  These lights were wired to outlets.  See those GIANT white cables?  Yes, they used those to wire the outlets.  And they all went to different spots around the kitchen.  Oh, the unknown joys of a fixer-upper. 

All of this in only 5 working hours.  It will probably be the last time we are ahead of schedule in this whole process, but we are feeling damn good!

Tummy Thursday!

I just now had Aut take my picture because we didn't settle in until late tonight  We were a little busy PICKING UP THE KEYS TO OUR NEW HOUSE!  Then, we went out for dinner to celebrate.

But here I am:
26 weeks and 5 days pregnant
13 weeks and 2 days until I am due
And very, very tired (I think that morning pictures might leave me looking a little more refreshed.)

Creaky Joints

I knew that pregnancy would make my already creaky joints worse.  But...  damn.

I had ACL reconstruction 11 years ago, following a soccer injury.  Then, I re-injured it 2 years later.  This was followed by several inconclusive MRIs.  I've known for some time that I will need to have arthroscopic surgery to detect what is wrong.  And I've been delaying it because I didn't have the time or the right insurance.  All of that procrastinating is biting me in the ass.  My knee likes to randomly swell up these days.  It likes to get stiff and refuse to bend without excruciating pain.  Today is one of those days.  I shake my fist at you, knee.  *Grrrrr!*

To add to my joint issues, I have 'multidirectional instability.'  In layman's terms, this means that I can dislocate my shoulder without pain.  Normally, I get into the gym enough to keep my shoulder in check.  Lately, not so much.  I've been having nightmares that my shoulder dislocates while carrying Mr. Man.  I gently shake my fist at you, shoulder.  *Grrrrr!*

Related to my 'MDI,' supposedly the ratio of elastin to collagen is off in my ligaments.  I have more elastin and less collagen than the normal person.  When I am not pregnant, my hips randomly pop out of joint while I am walking.  My thumbs can bend to lay flat on my wrists.  My knees and elbows hyperextend.  Let's add in the wonderful, pregnancy hormone relaxin.  This equals tons of fun for me.  My already loose joints are a free for all.  I shake my loose fist at you, joints.  *Grrrrr!*

Now, you may be thinking 'How did this old, wimpy lady even get pregnant?'
Currently, I am thinking 'How am I going to get through these last 3 months with the fewest amount of injuries?'

June Challenge

I have decided that I need to blog more.  And to do so, I need to be accountable.  What better way than challenging myself to blog EVERY DAY in June!  Plus now that I have written it, now that it is out there, I have to do it.  Darn it.  Why did I write that?  What was I thinking?  Grrrr to self.   

In order to meet this challenge, I have decided to try to organize my imperfect blog by the days of the week.

• Mondays will be Weekend Recaps, where I will hopefully entertain you with some random story from my weekend or bore you with the mundane details.
• Tuesdays will be Home Inspiration, where I will share the inspirations for our remodeling projects.
• Wednesdays will be Wednesday Ramblings, where I will let my mind take you where it wants.  
• Thursdays will be Tummy Thursdays (and then later, Mr. Man Modeling.)
• Fridays will be Project Progression, where I will track our remodeling progress.    
• Saturdays will be Mutley Madness, where I will gush, or rant, about our hairy children. 
• Sundays will be for New Recipes.  (Do I really need to explain this one?)

Here's to hoping this doesn't crash and burn.  And if it does, then that's too bad.  Don't say I didn't warn you.