Kitchen Update

The kitchen projects are coming along slower than I would have liked, even though no major work is being done LOL.  My dad came over and helped us fix our dishwasher a couple weeks ago, so I'm glad that is done.  However, in order to pull the dishwasher out from the cupboards, we had to remove trim that was in front of the dishwasher (the people we bought the house from installed the trim in front of the dishwasher for some reason).  So now that is one more project we need to take care of.

One of the things I've wanted to do is figure out some additional storage.  We have a small kitchen, so storage is key.  A couple weekends ago we went to Lowe's and picked up some shelves that we ended up putting in the basement.  I'm able to store all of my big appliances that I don't use all the time--crock pots, waffle maker, juicer, food processor, etc.  I also have a shelf I plan to use as an extra little pantry area.  I love having all of these big items out of the kitchen (and we even had some things in the front closet).  It gave me a little more space in our kitchen cabinets.

I decided to keep our Kitchen Aid mixer on the counter, because I use it quite a bit, and it's pretty heavy to be carting up and down the stairs all the time.  But now I need to decide what to do with our knives.  There just isn't a spot for the knife block any more.  I was thinking I could just put the knives in the silverware drawer, or I thought about getting a magnetic knife strip.  Thoughts/suggestions?

This past weekend I cleaned all of the trim/baseboards in the kitchen (and hallway).  The difference is amazing.  I'm almost embarrassed to show you the before pictures, but hey, I'm keeping it real.  These pictures are taken in a high traffic area of our kitchen.  It's where we enter the house from the breezeway, so it gets a lot of foot traffic.  We also used to watch my mother-in-laws two dogs three days a week for several months, and when you have that many dirty paws running to the door to greet you, it can make a mess quickly.

To clean them, I just mixed Mr. Clean All Purpose Cleaner and water and used a scrub sponge.  Then I used a clean towel/rag to dry it up right after.  I even used a toothbrush to get in the tiny areas.

The trim looks a million times better just being cleaned, but when I look at it close up, I can tell that there are areas that need to be sanded, wood filler used, repainted, and caulked.  I know this might be tedious and not seem necessary, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

Needs some repainting and major caulking.

may need some repainting...and caulking.

Those are just some of the small things I've been slowly working on.  We're going to Chicago this weekend, but hopefully no plans for the next few weekends means more progress in the kitchen!

Weekend Recap

Another weekend in the books.  We didn't have any big plans, but still did a lot.  Friday night we ate dinner at home and then went out for a couple drinks with friends.  I had to work on Saturday and then we went to dinner with some of Kevin's family that night.

Sunday we went to church and then headed to Lowe's to pick up a few things I needed for the kitchen projects I'm working on.  I'm hoping to do any update on the kitchen progress this week.  I worked a little in the kitchen Sunday afternoon.  We caught up on the DVR and watched the Olympics to cap off the night.

I also used my juicer for the first time on Sunday night.  I was amazed at how the juicer worked, but I was not impressed with the juice I made.  I drank about 60% of it and dumped the rest.  I think I need it to be more fruity, so I've already found some other recipes I'm going to try.

1/2 cucumber, 1/2 lemon (peeled), 2 stalks celery, 1 pear, 2 handfuls kale

Hope you had a good weekend, and happy Monday!

Linking up with Lisa and Bella.

The Intentional Life Project

Today I'm linking up with Bre and Ginny for The Intentional Life Project.

You can read all of the details of The Intentional Life Project here, but basically each month, there is a different "theme" and you create a personal goal within that theme.  February's theme is Staying Healthy.  My goal for February is to drink two healthy smoothies and/or juices (that I make at home) per week.

So far, I'm hitting my goal for week one.  I've made some smoothies, but have yet to try out the juicer that we received as a wedding gift.  I love that smoothies/juices are a healthy snack or breakfast option, and a way for me to get some much needed fruits and veggies in to my diet.

Scoop of ice, 1/4 cup almond milk, handful of spinach, spoonful of peanut butter, 5 strawberries, & 1 banana.

I'm headed to the grocery store tonight and plan on picking up some fresh produce so I can try out my juicer.  I found some great juicing recipes here that I can't wait to try!

Do you make smoothies or use a juicer regularly?  Any tips or great recipes you want to share?

Cookies & Cream Cake Recipe

Over the past month or two, I have been going through my stack of magazines.  When I got to the bottom of the stack, I found a Food Network Magazine that had a bunch of cake recipes in it.  I knew Kevin would love the Cookies-and-Cream Cake recipe, so I ripped it out so I could make it for him for his birthday.

You can find the recipe on the Food Network site HERE, and I've also included it in this post.  This cake did NOT disappoint.  And it was actually really easy to make.  I'm not a good baker by any means, so if I say it's easy, it really is.  I'll be the first to admit that nothing about this cake is healthy, but it tastes soooo good.  It's worth a little "cheat" to have a piece or two.

Ingredients:

For the Frosting

6 ounces white choclate, finely chopped (I used vanilla candy coating)

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners' sugar

pinch of salt

For the Cake

Basic Vanilla Cake (boxed mix), baked and cooled

15 chocolate sandwich cookies, chopped

1.  Bake the cake as directed on the box (I used two round cake pans) and allow to fully cool.

2.  Make the frosting:  Microwave the white chocolate as directed.  Beat butter, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Add the melted white chocolate and beat until combined.  Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until smooth.

3.  Assemble the cake:  Place 1 cake layer on a platter; spread 1 cup frosting on top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup chopped cookies.  Top with the second cake layer.  Cover the whole cake with the remaining frosting, then press the remaining cookies on to the sides.

4.  Let the frosting set for a little bit, and then enjoy!!

Even though this cake tastes amazing, I'd do a couple things differently next time.  First, I had a ton of frosting left over, so I'd layer the frosting on thicker next time for sure.  Also, I would crush the cookies that go on top of the bottom cake (so they are in the middle of the finished cake) so that they are much smaller.  The top cake didn't sit very evenly, which I think was because I had such large cookies chunks.  

If you check out the pic on the Food Network site, it's much prettier than mine.  But don't let that fool you.  This cake tastes like heaven.

What do you think?  Would you try making this cake?  

Weekend Recap

My parents came over on Friday and my dad helped us fix our dishwasher!  Yayy!!  It is working like new again, and all we had to do was take it apart and clean some parts that were super dirty and full of gunk (it was gross, but totally worth getting it fixed).

We got about 5-6 more inches of snow on Saturday, but during a break in the weather, Kevin and I headed to Lowe's to pick up some shelves to help with my kitchen organization (more details coming later).  We went for shelves and came home with two shelving units, a freezer, a Costco membership, and groceries!  It ended up being a productive day putting together the shelves, setting up the freezer, and doing a little work in the kitchen.

Since we got so much snow on Saturday, we got up early on Sunday to shovel the driveway before heading to church.  After church I did a little more work in the kitchen and then I made Kevin a belated birthday cake.  I can't lie, I had a little piece, and it was delicious!  Recipe coming this week :)

I made a couple of dips for us to eat while watching the Super Bowl.  And what a game (or maybe not so much) it was.  I was cheering for Seattle, but deep down I really thought Denver was going to win.  It's too bad it wasn't a better game, but Seattle's defense was on fire and they definitely played better than Denver.  I just felt kind of bad for Peyton Manning.  I thought the commercials were lacking this year.  Although, I will admit, the Budweiser commercial with the puppy and the horse made me tear up!  And I am soooo excited that 24 is coming back in May!  #jackisback

Overall, we had a great weekend, and I hope you did too!

Five on Friday!

It's that time again...linking up with Christina, Darci, April, and Natasha for 5 on Friday and you should too!

ONE.  My parents are coming over tonight (weather permitting) so my Dad can help us try to fix our dishwasher.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get it fixed so I don't have to pay someone to come fix it, and so I can quit hand washing the dishes...it's one of the "chores" I hate the most!

I totally let the dishes pile up because I dread washing them.

TWO.  I can't believe it, but we have ZERO plans for Saturday and I'm so happy.  We are supposed to get more snow, so I think we'll be staying home all day.  Which is good because I need to get going on my kitchen projects, and Saturday sounds like the perfect time to get started!

THREE.  The Superbowl is this Sunday already!  Who are you cheering for?  I think I'll be cheering for Seattle, although I'm just hoping to see a good game.  And some good commercials.  I'm also looking forward to seeing Bruno Mars perform at half-time.

FOUR.  I was going to attempt to make Kevin a birthday cake for his birthday on Wednesday, but we already leftover cake from his mom and cookies and chocolate covered pretzel rods from my mom, so I decided I would make the cake this weekend for him, after some of the other sweets are gone.  It's a Cookies & Cream cake that I saw in a magazine.  If it turns out, I'll be sure to share the details!

FIVE.  This week has been DRAGGING.  I am beyond excited that it is finally Friday.  TGIF!

source

A Photo an Hour (Kevin's Birthday Celebration)

Today I'm linking up with Stephanie from Southern Mess and Meg from Meg O. on the Go for A Photo An Hour.  I thought this was a fun little "challenge" where you take a photo every hour for one day (I did it over 10 hours).  I decided to take a photo an hour on Saturday, when we went to celebrate Kevin's birthday with our families.  I thought it'd be more fun than a work day when I just sit at my computer for the majority of the day.

These are all taken on my iPhone because of course, I forgot my camera.  And you'll see that I might be slightly obsessed with my dog.

8 a.m.  Cuddles with Admiral...we do NOT want to get out of bed.

9 a.m.  Dreading shoveling all of the 8 inches of snow we got over night.

10 a.m.  Took Admiral out to play in the snow for a little bit before I help Kevin shovel.

11 a.m.  Time to pick up all the toys and get ready to drive to our parents'.

12 p.m.  On the road to Muskegon to see our families.  The snow is falling blowing.  Makes downtown Grand Rapids look foggy, but really it's just blowing snow!

1 p.m.  Kevin opening his birthday presents from my family.

2 p.m.  Playing the wii.

3 p.m.  Time to head to Kevin's mom's.  The snow banks are almost up to the stop sign!

4 p.m.  Admiral (front) and Diego (back) enjoy some play time.

5 p.m.  Kevin opens his presents from his mom.

 6 p.m.  Time for cake for the birthday boy!

The rest of the night was spent playing cribbage.  We headed to Kevin's Dad's on Sunday to celebrate with him before heading home to Grand Rapids Sunday afternoon.

Now go stalk other blogs who are sharing their "A Photo An Hour" posts today--that's I'm going to be doing :)