Farmhouse Table Reveal

Nate built us a farmhouse table.  He’s so handy.  I think I’ll keep him around.  To build me more tables…

Nate used the Big Ur tutorial from Ana White.  We’ll share tomorrow the adjustments we made, the stain and poly used, things we’d do differently, etc. (Feel free to leave questions and we’ll address those as well!)

We are going to purchase two more chairs this week. The new table is a little longer than our previous table.  This extra length will allow for six chairs…which is a definite bonus!  The chairs are short…but extremely comfortable.

We ended up purchasing a new rug also because our old one did not look right.  (I really liked that rug so I’m trying to dream up a home for it.)  The new rug is from Lowe’s.  It was marked down to $59 from $75.  Sold.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our free lights from Barn Light Electric (Read about that awesomeness here.)  The lights will really help tie the kitchen and breakfast area together.  Not to mention that the whole place will go even more country, y’all.

And because we all love a good before and after….

It’s crazy how different a room can look just by switching out a table and rug. 

I’m in love with the table.  I love that Nate built it and we finished it together.  The wood makes the area seem warmer…and who doesn’t love extra seating?

What do you think?  Too country?  Just right?  Any questions that you want addressed tomorrow?  Who hates us for decorating for Christmas already?

Dare to Entertain

It’s Dare to DIY time over at NewlyWoodwards…

This week’s challenge was to set the table for the holidays. 

I would normally cop out on this kind of party.  I usually make fun of bloggers who set their tables for imaginary parties.  But Kim and I had our first date on Wednesday.  Now that we are real life friends, I didn’t think I could drop the ball on this one. 

So I did it.  I set a table for my imaginary dinner party.  Nate made a private call after this one.  I’m assuming he’s setting up my stay at nice mental health establishment.  I hope they serve ice cream…

I decided to go with a Christmas theme beings that we have our house almost all decked out for the holidays.  We really wanted to get the decorating done so we can enjoy all of the festivities.  Like real dinner parties….

The stemware is from a wedding gift.  The dinnerware is Pottery Barn.  I love these feisty reindeer.  Oh, Vixen.

The center piece consists of 3 candles that live on this table all year long.  A glass jar filled with ornaments.  And a silver deer I found at the Salvation Army.

There are no napkins.  I can grab you a square of Bounty if you’d like.

I’m too lazy to bust out the silverware.  Imaginary party, imaginary silverware.

Did you notice the lack of name cards?  I set the table for 4.  If you are one of the four and can’t decide where to sit, I’m not sure we should be dining together.

As much as I joke, it was a little fun.  A little.

Anyone else having an imaginary dinner party tonight?  Who would you invite if you were to host a fancy shin dig like mine?  Be sure to head over to NewlyWoodwards.  Kim will teach you how to set a table like a grown-up….

DIY Network (Website) Stars

Do you all remember the cottage headboard that we built for my parents a couple of months ago? (If not, you can read about it here!)

The DIY Network contacted us back in August wanting to know if we were interested in building a headboard to be featured on their website.  We didn’t have a need for another headboard. My parents, however, did…so we took them up on their offer!

The experience was a fun one!   It was fun to work with my parents on transforming their room.  Nate enjoys building and designing furniture.  (He just doesn’t like when I mention it.  Oops.)  Putting the tutorial together was pretty easy.  The only hard part was not telling you all for a few months while we waited for the contract to go through.  I’m not good with secrets but I didn’t want to jinx anything.  Superstitious much?

Be sure to head over and check out the tutorial! Let us know what you think!  My mom is pretty excited that her headboard is now famous.  I’m with her on this one!

Muffin Top

I love the phrase muffin top.  It just one of those phrases that never fails to make me smile.

Today is our Thanksgiving Potluck at work.  I decided to bring breakfast so last night I whipped up two types of muffins (and their tops).

Top row: 3 ingredient Muffins

• 1 package chocolate chip cake mix, 1 can pumpkin, 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice. (Okay, 4 ingredient…powdered sugar on top.  Powdered sugar makes everything look and taste better.) (Thanks, Cait!)

Bottom row: Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins from Baked Perfection

Nate and I taste tested both.  They are both delicious and super easy to make.  I think I baked both in under an hour.

Ike is usually impartial to human food on the counter but he would not leave the Donut Muffins alone.  Always good to get the dog’s approval!

What’s your favorite muffin recipe?  What phrase makes you smile every time you hear it?

And for all of you wondering, the farmhouse table will be revealed on Monday!! Woo hoo!!

Easy Sew Baby “Quilt”

If your name is Lisa and you are Nate’s sister and you are expecting your second child in a few weeks….look away.

Everyone else……read on!

Hey, guess what?  We’re expecting our 3rd niece in a few weeks.  I’m that crazy aunt that makes something for the wee ones.  My skills are slowly improving.  This may be my favorite “quilt” so far.

I used a tutorial from The Purl Bee . I liked this tutorial because there wasn’t any actual quilting and it didn’t have ties.  I have made a few blankets with ties and they never turn out the way I want.  This tutorial uses a couple of stitches every few inches in place of the ties.  These stitches bind the quilt together but aren’t super noticeable.

I don’t know the baby’s name yet (darn secrets).  I used the first letter of their last name instead.  I cut out a “T” and pinned it on and then used a zig zag stitch around it.  I was super scared to do this because I was afraid to ruin my pretty blanket…but it turned out cute.

This is the end of sewing projects……for this week.  I’m getting crazy with the sewing machine.  I’m trying to forget the first blanket I attempted for this child and then had to trash because it was not pretty.  I’m going to stick with easy. Easy is better on the self-esteem.

Do you give handmade gifts?  I’m always slightly nervous about them but family can’t complain…too much.  Any other great easy blanket tutorials out there?

Models

We took our Christmas card photo this week-end.  That’s always an adventure.  A self-timer plus a dog plus two humans equals chaos.

I won’t show you our family photo yet but I will show you that our lovely fuzz ball isn’t always so cooperative.  We just take a lot of pictures to get the good ones.

Here’s what happens when Nate takes photos of just Ike and I. I’m too lazy to edit these so enjoy some straight outta the camera goodness…

Chelle blinks.

We both blink.

Chelle, your ear smells funny.

I love you, human.

Why are the neighbors chopping down their trees?

Chelle is angry.  The dog is hot.

And finally (plus about 15 more of these type of photos), we get something decent...



I love how annoyed he looks. You may also notice a red mark on the center of my neck that occurred after he tried to paw me away.  He's not the fuzzy angel he appears to be.  Okay, yes he is.  He just grows horns on occasion.

Who has their holiday card photos taken already? (We usually wait until about Dec. 13th so this is not normal.)  Do you include the pets?  Do you include yourself? 

Dare to DIY- Apron

The lovely Kim over at NewlyWoodwards is hosting a Dare to DIY Blog Party. 

Being the party animal that I am, I decided to join in. (Cue laughter.  That was a joke. I’m a hermit.)

This week’s challenge was “Dare to Be Thankful.”  A challenge to make your own DIY Thanksgiving Project to share what you are thankful for.

I am thankful for…time in the kitchen with family.

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is bonding with family in the kitchen either preparing the meal…or watching others prepare it.  I also love the warmth of the oven and those wonderful smells. Is it Thanksgiving yet?

I am, however, one messy lady in the kitchen so I decided to try my hand at sewing an apron to assist me in holiday food preparation. Or washing dishes.  That’s usually my job.  Who couldn’t use a cute dish washing apron?

I used this tutorial from Stitches in Play.  The tutorial was very easy to follow.  I finished the apron in 1 1/2 hours.  I think I could make the next one in an hour because I will magically learn to cut straight by then. I’m a bad blogger and I don’t know the name of the fabrics I used.  I purchased them both at Joann's.

I hope you appreciate the fact that I put jeans and a sweater on to model this apron.  I failed to wash my hair and put on make-up though.  Sorry.  It’s Sunday.  This is the only head shot you get.

What are you thankful for?  Are you an apron fan?  Who are my fellow dishwashers?

Head on over to NewlyWoodwards and check out all of the other DIY projects!

South Dakota Lovin’

A few weeks ago while I was bargain hunting in Naperville, Nate was pheasant hunting in South Dakota.  Both of Nate’s parents are originally from South Dakota.  The boys make an annual trip there to go hunting.

Nate left the pheasants in South Dakota but brought back some lovely photos…

I want to kiss that fuzzy head.  Oh gosh.

These photos make me want a farm.  Ike and I will have cows, lambs, and elephants.  Nate is not on board with any of the above.

I guess I will settle for my farm house table.  Oh yes, it is being built…

House Building Progress

Where did October go?  I forgot to show you our house building progress from 3 years ago. 

Here’s what happened..circa 2008…

We installed the floor of the deck.  We used the Ultra Deck system.  We have been very happy with this decking system.  The only maintenance needed is a good power washing once a year.

The walls got paint and trim! (Please see our House Tour page for paint colors!)  This was such an exciting time.  The house came to life. 

We enlisted the help of some family and got to work.  We think it took about 2 full week-ends to finish all of the painting.  We don’t remember for sure though.  We try to block out this part of our lives.

I’m not sure why we didn’t keep the tub in the middle of the bedroom floor. 

We also had to rig up some fancy contraptions to paint the high areas of the house…

Please excuse my husband’s rear.  This stair assistant still freaks me out.  It lives in our basement and haunts me. 

Cabinets were installed in the office at the end of the month..

As were the kitchen pendant lights.  That will soon be replaced…

We also had tile installed.  We didn’t do the tile ourselves.  It is the one DIY project that we could have tackled but we were running short on time.  It was either spend the next 4 week-ends tiling or have the flooring company do it in 2 days.  We went with 2 days.  We do not regret this decision.

Phew.  We were busy in October. 

It’s so weird looking back.  It seems like yesterday but 10 years ago at the same time. 

Be sure to check the rest of our building process here!

White Chicken Chili

I’m not a huge fan of this cold weather thing.  I hate shivering.  I don’t regulate temperature very well.  I’m like a reptile.  Reptiles live in warm places.  I should take note.

I do, however, love the wonderful comfort food that fall brings to our table.  I also love my crock pot.  And those Reynold’s Slow Cooker liners.  Have you used them?  They’re amazing.  No clean up!

Where am I going with this one?

This past week-end I whipped up some white chicken chili.  And when I type “I”, I really mean “I” and not Nate.  I spent a lot of time in the kitchen on Sunday. It was weird.  I don’t think I liked it.

This recipe is courtesy of a friend from pharmacy school.  She brought this for a chili cook-off.  I don’t remember if she won but she totally should have.

White Chicken Chili

• 4 chicken breasts (plus garlic)
• 2 stalks celery (We use 1 because we’re picky eaters.)
• 4 green onions
• 2 (15oz) white kidney beans (aka Cannellini beans), drained and rinsed
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 T dried cilantro
• 1 can white shoepeg corn, drained
• 2 tsp. garlic
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
• Flour to thicken

Sprinkle some garlic on chicken and cook until no longer pink.  Chop into bite size pieces.

Combine all ingredients except wild rice, corn, beans, and flour in crock pot.  Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on low or until celery is tender.

While mixture is cooking, mix 1/2 cup wild rice (according to package).  Add rice, corn, and beans to mixture.

Add flour to achieve desired consistency (~1/4 to 3/4 cup).  I ladle out some of the liquid and mix flour into this small quantity to prevent clumping.

Cover and cook until chili is hot.

We enjoy this with shredded cheese and soup crackers.

Who has a favorite soup/chili recipe to share?  Leave a link in the comments.  Anyone have any good recommendations on long underwear?  Or cheap tickets to Florida?

Linking up to: Peas and Crayons