Basement Update: Fireplace

Remember in my last post the awkward fireplace? Finished in oak, it now clashed with our beautiful white trim. So, one beautiful Sunday afternoon, J and I spent a couple hours DIY (minds out of the gutter!).

Here's the back of the fireplace once we took the electric box out.

Whoops, didn't see J back there - free looks, ladies!

Here's the front - I'm not ashamed to admit that it was totally J's idea to tape up the rubbed bronze border.

J isn't a camera guy, so there's no evidence of all the hard work I put into it. I sanded this baby down three times - and very well, I might add. Once we wiped it down and used the compressor to blow all the dust away, J began priming it with spray paint primer. We chose this route only because of all the nooks and crannies at the top, but I fully expect that we will have to do touch ups with a brush and/or roller down the road. J just wanted it to be easy :)

Between the two coats of primer, I very lightly sanded the surface down again. J was in charge of the white paint and put two coats on of that. We let it dry and finished it off with a clear protective coat and let it sit overnight.

Will you "ooh" and "ahh" with me?! It's so beautiful! I think I literally jumped up and down clapping and squealing once it was in! Up close, you can see the wood grain from the oak which at first I couldn't decide how to feel about it, but all the new doors we put in are white with wood grain texture so it actually looks like it was meant to be down there!

I just LOVE how polished it looks! Now that J and I have our hands dirty, we've come up with a few more projects that we'd like to tackle together. The couple that DIY together, stays together, right? No more innuendos - Happy Sunday!

Basement Update: White Trim

Yep. It's up - the beautiful the fresh, WHITE trim! I absolutely love it with all my heart! Check it out - we had it installed by two different people (one was a pro who does it for a living and helped get some of the tighter parts to fit properly...like the doors that were odd sizes, thank you previous owners for that little gift...)

This is the doorway to the laundry/utility room.

(Please ignore all the junk...it was from my craft room while the installation was taking place.)

My little eyelet windows...

More craft room mess...and a fireplace that's screaming, "HELP ME!"

Yes, I still need to paint that small lip around the trim - apparently the previous owners installed the trim improperly because it went all the way to the edge so the pro did it the right way. I have the paint...just need to get to it.

AHH my beautiful stripes!

Our basement is currently better looking than this, and I will work this week to upload those pictures as soon as we get the finishing touches (we're still missing a piece of furniture and LOTS of decor!). I'm just glad that after our fiasco in April we came out better than we were before - and it's something we have both fallen in love with and absolutely enjoy spending time in! And let me say that the color has grown on me. When we first painted it I was so upset that it was a "taupe" color yet again, but in certain lights it actually appears to be a very pretty grey/taupe, so it's the best of both worlds for me and J.

Can't wait to share the other updates we've made!

Oreo Truffles

I'm not a baker. Nope. I think I am a good cook - not great, not worth bragging about or anything - but baking desserts? I ruin everything.

So when I came across this amazing little fancy dessert that required ZERO baking, I was absolutely tickled pink! I am sure many of you have had or made these yourselves, but my new "go to" treat is Oreo Truffles!

First, take a package of Oreos (any kind) and crush them down in a food processor. Takes a couple rounds for a smaller one like mine.

Dump in a large bowl....

And have your cute assistant help you mix in 1 package of cream cheese (softened).

Once thoroughly mixed, take a small spoonfull and begin to roll between palms into a bowl.

Line 'em up on wax paper and freeze for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, melt baking chocolate (I use white chocolate) per instructions in the microwave.

Mix well...

And add food coloring if you choose! (I had to start in a new bowl because apparently red didn't work out...you can see it in the pics below...)

Next, take a fork and submerse the Oreo ball into the chocolate to cover fully.

Let it drip a bit...

Replace on wax paper. Top with sprinkles, more chocolate...

or leftover crushed Oreos :)

Easy, fancy, and DELICIOUS!

November Challenge

Don't worry, I'm still alive! As you know if you've been following my patchy blog, the last 5 months have really taken a toll on me. Heck, the last 7 months have been crazy since becoming homeowners!

But, for those of you who really missed me, I will be challenging myself to post once a day for all of November. There have been many updates to our home over the last few months and I'm excited to share them with you! Along with home updates, organization, and general "fun facts", I will be sharing my experience with cooking freezer meals. A group of friends and I have been doing this since September and I started back in August. It's evolved and gotten to the point where I can share that it's been a success! 

So today, consider this my "re-introduction" to the month. I'm headed down to put away all my scrapbooking gear from this last weekend's retreat and will then share all my progress with it! Stay tuned!

Tuesday's Tid Bits

1. In August we started buying groceries two weeks at a time, but I felt it would be more effective to plan for the whole month and make freezer meals. September we spent less than $500, and for October we are less than $450! A few girlfriends and I have been getting together (twice now) and making freezer meals, buying the meat and cheese and produce (whatever we can find at Sams for the recipes we voted on) in bulk and splitting the cost which has helped tremendously! In December we will have enough freezer meals stocked up that I'm hoping we will spend $150 or less. My goal is to have dinners for every 4th month in the freezer so we can "skip" that month's dinner bill. So far so good!
2. Wedding scrapbook is FINISHED (a while ago but I think I forgot to share)! I am so excited! I've been working on 2011 now and got through April and May already!
3. Work has been slower now that I'm in transition but I know it will be picking up soon.
4. A couple weekends ago, B had a friend sleepover (her first friend one!) and it was so much fun for her! They get along great and it was such a relief for me that B was such a good hostess...she offered her guest something to drink, snacks, got her silverware for her, even served her breakfast! And all without me telling her bahaha!
5. Another little friend of hers had a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese and B was so excited to meet Chuck-E...well as soon as he came out she got completely freaked out. I had to let her in on the secret that it was really a guy in a costume because she was near panic mode. I told her that the real Chuck-E had so many parties to go to that day that he couldn't make it to all of them so hired some helpers (works for more than one thing, apparently). She was less freaked out but still didn't want to go by him. Ah well.
6. I bought lighting for my craft room and was super excited about it...but it turned out to be a bust. It's 10 times darker than before (there's no natural lighting) and I was pretty bummed. But, hubby said we can put it in our closet and I can get another one so it works out!
7. Cattails is coming up here in a couple weeks and I can hardly wait! I'm already packed for the most part and am hoping my plan will be effective this time around.
8. I need to vent...so I came into work a couple weeks ago and sat down right away realizing that the chair was different...the height wasn't right and neither were the arms. I foolishly assumed someone had sat in it for training at another desk and made the adjustments without thinking...but today I started wiping it down and realized that it's not even the same stinkin chair! WHO DOES THAT?! I can see switching with an empty desk before someone starts, but my ass has been established in that chair for a year and I just don't understand what prompts somebody to do that. Funny thing is, I KNOW who it was and I'm looking at it right now... the chair I am parked in was filthy and the NEW person who had it was complaining how gross it was, so she brought in a rag to wipe it down and likely wasn't satisfied with it so switched chairs. Unless that was her plan from the beginning...looking at the chair I used to have I can see my "territory" (I eat lunch at my desk so I recognize the "whoops" marks). What am I supposed to do, call her out on it? UGH. I don't want it back either because this person smells horribly from all her smoke breaks throughout the day so it's pointless to try and switch again. Plus she's crazy...she told me she ran an ex down with her car back in the day. UMMMM no thanks I'm not going to mess with trying to get my chair back...I will just complain about it!
9. Age old question: a baby or a puppy?
10. Hubby's birthday is this weekend! Old man...

Weekly Bliss

So what if I'm a few weeks behind? I've been busy :)

Dressing baby Sophie and Lovey puppy up as fairies. Gotta love the hippie headband with the flower clip (she even did that herself bahah! BOHO!)

Seriously, this kid cracks me up. I love those fake fangs and the light was hitting her eyes perfectly, plus she had covered her face in green and blue makeup so she was definitely scary looking!

A little DIY banner - with many more decor items to add tonight!

Playing at the park at dusk...can you see them at the top? Playing pirates or something.

Costume shopping

YES! My two little monkeys! E hung on so well I was so proud of her!

New reclining couches!

Me and pee-wee

Oh, so her first trip to the library with her Kindergarten class and girl friend comes home with an Aaron Rodgers book. Makes for a proud Mama and Daddy!!! GO PACK, GO! (And no, I do not want to talk about that asinine call last week, thank you.)

Balla balla! She was really good and got a lot of tickets from this game without my help!

Just cruising.

Wee!

My favorite girls in the whole world.

Bahaha told them to be silly!

She crossed the monkey bars on the side closest to where I'm standing then turned herself around and went down the other side! Way to go!

B, "Come on down, I'll catch you!" E, "Nope."

Sleepy girl - why is it I love taking pics of my kids sleeping? Oh yeah. Because they're so darn cute 24/7.

LOVE this picture.

I even joined in on the fun!

Had a sleepover with a BFF and went to a baby shower (hence the nametags...Hannah couldn't be left out either haha!)

Weekly Bliss (a few...)

Ballons around her doorway to surprise her - "Mommy & Breanna's Day of Fun!"

AAAAND she's awake!

"What's going on? I thought you got me a puppy..."

Sleepy Princess.

Arctic Blasts

First treat from an ice cream truck - childhood staple.

Making pierogis - which turned out fantastic :)

Oh yeah, and ice cream.

Oh look, another sleepy Princess!

Modeling her new school clothes.

No longer a "Monica Closet"!

(that's a cold lunch station for Breanna - snacks, juice, napkins, spoons, fruit cups, and a place for her lunchbox.)

Princess Day at daycare.

Playing LIFE with Mama.

Motivation.

Snuggles.

Cupcakes and Fudge Brownies.

Pictures of Auntie Lulu.

Oh, a close up with her rings...she insisted.

My GIANT mug I scored for $1.09 at Michaels to serve as a pencil cup - only it's more like a bucket...but I love it.

B tried to freak out passing cars.

E tried to spot passing airplanes.

DQ - her current favorite.

Me and J <3

Glowsticks in the bathtub.

Fashionista.

Cutie-patootie!