Our New Home

Well, as you know, we sold our "forever" (not) home in August and had ten days to find a new place to live, pack, and get moved.  That is NOT enough time to buy a new house, so we decided we would rent for a little while.  We found a cute little (with the key word being "little") house and signed a six month lease - with an option to renew.

I thought that I would share the "before we moved in" pictures.

 Master Bedroom Closet

The other side of the master closet

Master bathroom

Master bathroom looking back toward bedroom

Master Bedroom

(really the largest room in the whole house)

Another shot of master bedroom

Living Room/Dining Room/Kitchen

(yep, you read that right - this is the whole sha-bang)

A different view of the kitchen 

(and Mountain Man writing down measurements)

Another view of the kitchen

 Guest bathroom

Another shot of guest bath

Guest Bedroom

(10 X 10)

Guest bedroom closet

/

Third bedroom/nursery

(also 10 X 10)

Another shot of the nursery

So, now you see the "little bitty" house that we are attempting to make into our new home.  The largest most challenging problem that we have is we are renting!

We haven't rented anything for about 30 years and it is quite an issue for me.  I really have all these ideas but Mountain Man keeps telling me
"This isn't our house"!

I am trying to figure out how to give this house our "stamp" - but I can't paint, I can't change the kitchen cabinets (and boy does the kitchen need a complete overhaul), I can't do anything to the floor.  All the things that I have always been able to do to make a "house" our "home" I can't do!  

Boy, is this frustrating!

However, I will do this - and I'll start showing some of the changes that we have made next week.

Hope you'll come back and see what we're doing.

Hugs -

Carol

Monday Menu

Hello everyone - I hope you had a fabulous week.  I know that I was AWOL last week - but Mountain Man and I had a chance to take a mini-vacation since my daughter had to go to training in Tallahassee and her husband took his vacation time to take care of the "wee one".  It was nice to get away and spend some time with our friends in North Florida but we are home now and I don't see anything in the near future that will take me away - so, I think I will be back on task.

Now, I had a question on my last Monday Menu post.  I was asked if I posted recipes with my menus.  Well, I have been thinking about that.  I know that I usually do a recipe on another day of the week - but what if I pick one recipe every week and post it at the end of the Monday Menu post?  Then, the next week do a review of that recipe - do you think that would work?  You guys could even come back and let me know how the recipe turned out for you.  What do you think?  I'll post one this week and you guys can let me know what you think of this new idea.

Okay - so let's get with the program and post this week's Monday Menu!

Menu Plan

Monday, September 10 - Shepherd's Pie, Biscuits

Tuesday, September 11 - Southwest Taco Pie

Wednesday, September 12 - Chicken w/mushroom gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Corn

Thursday, September 13 - Baked Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread

Friday, September 14 -  Homemade Pizza

Saturday, September 15 - Country Ribs, Potato Salad, Baked Beans

Sunday, September 16 - Home style Turkey w/stuffing, squash & zucchini casserole

Recipe for this week

Okay, for the first recipe with the menu plan, I thought I would give you a Crock Pot recipe - something simple and easy (that is my mantra).  So, let's go with Wednesday's recipe for 

Chicken w/mushroom gravy

(this recipe came from Gooseberry Cookbook - "Super Fast Slow Cooking")

**I should also note that I have never made this recipe before - so it will something new for all of us.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c. chicken broth

10-3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup

4-oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained

Place chicken in a slow cooker: sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Mix together broth and soup; pour over chicken.  Stir in mushrooms.  Cover and cook on low setting for 7 to 9 hours, or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours.  Serves 4.

Okay, guys, I'm looking for you to give me some feedback this week.  Let me know what you think of this new format - or if you would rather I keep the recipes on Wednesday.

Thanks!

Hugs -

Carol

Out of Town

We are out of town this week visiting friends in North Florida (Melissa and the baby - along with dad- are at a training for Melissa's new job, so we had the week "off").  I'll be back to my regular posts next week.  Hope you have a wonderful week.

Hugs -

Carol

Breakfast "Muffins"

Okay, I'll admit it - I'm a Pinterest addict.  I can spend hours (and hours) looking at things on Pinterest.  IF I ever do one half of the projects and recipes that I have 'pinned' it will be a bloody miracle.

However, I have actually prepared one of the recipes and wanted to share it with you today.

You all know that I love to prepare large batches of things for breakfast then put them in the freezer.  Then, when Mountain Man wants something and I don't want to fix it (or when Mountain Man doesn't feel like fixing it) all we have to do is pull something out of the freezer and pop it in the microwave.  One of my go to recipes for this are my Breakfast Burritos - if you would like to check out the post for them here it is:

http://cdm-arewethereyet.blogspot.com/2012/04/breakfast-burritos.html

I don't want to brag, but they are pretty good.

While I love the burritos, I wanted something else that we could actually choose from and there are so many great sounding recipes on Pinterest.  I found this recipe and decided to try it with a little changes.

If you would like to see the original 'pin' here is the link:

http://pinterest.com/source/brittanybohnet.com/

(but when I tried to go back to the pin it didn't work anymore - insert a sad face.)

So here is my version.

Ingredients:

9 Eggs

Chopped Ham

Green Onions 

Shredded Cheese

(I used Fiesta blend, but you can use the flavor of your choice)

Milk (about 1/3 cup)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Chop ham (I didn't measure - just 'eye ball it')

Chop onions

(once again I just guesstimated)

Salt and Pepper your nine eggs, add milk, 

then scramble

Line your muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Fill liners about 2/3 full.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until set.

 Remove from oven and let cool.

They look really pretty and tasted good right out of the oven.

However, I took the leftovers, wrapped them in plastic wrap, and popped them in the freezer.

When we took them out a few days later and warmed them up in the microwave they were a little "rubbery" - you know what I mean?  We could eat them, but they sure didn't taste like the day I made them.

So, what is my verdict?

This is a quick and easy way to fix some egg muffins if you are ready to eat them all the day they are fixed - but I would not recommend freezing. 

Oh well, you live and learn.

Maybe next time.

But they sure look pretty don't they?

Have a great weekend and I'll "see" you Monday for "Menu Monday".

Hugs -

Carol

Finally the Guest Bathroom Reveal

Well, it has been quite a break for me, some planned - a vacation in the mountains - some unplanned - my first grand baby spending ten long days in the NICU and selling our house rather quickly.  However, Lorelai is doing great and growing like a weed and we have settled (somewhat) into our new 'home'.  Now, before I can move on to the new challenges of the new home, I have to finish with what I started.  

When I left waaaaaay back in June I had planned on doing my usual weekly posting - you know, my Monday Menu plan, then the Guest Bathroom Reveal, then I would introduce you to baby Lorelai.  Well, she decided to show us who was the boss from the very beginning and put my all my fabulous plans out the window.  Since it has taken a while -  before I show you the "After" let me remind you of the "Before" -----------------

.

I know these pictures are awful, but this was an awful space.  I really did not want to spend any time in here - literally there were palm tree roots growing out of the base of the toilet when we bought the house!  Seriously!!!  

And to think that we lived with this for about six months.  Well, not exactly.  We had to get rid of the palm tree roots to make the bathroom usable and then we replaced the toilet.  Also, we could not stand the paint job (can you call that a paint job?).  This was something that we could "fix" in a hurry.  So, Mountain Man got in there and got rid of those glued on maps and blobs of whatever that was.  That made a big difference.   But we still had to contend with those gray fixtures, pink tile, and pink vanity (which, by the way, were the same cabinets that were in the 'old' kitchen).  

I don't know which bathroom was the worse - the master or this one.  I don't guess it really matters - they were both horrible!


Let's fast forward to August, 2011.  The remodeling is finally done and we have a fully functional bathroom - wanna see????  Well, okay, I guess you have waited long enough.

Let's start the tour with the whirlpool tub.  

Believe it or not, we did not replace the tub - it would have cost a fortune to find one that would fit in the space - so we had the tub refinished.  Much more reasonable in price and it looked great.

A close up showing the new tile and the new finish on the tub.

One of the things that we wanted in here was a chandelier over the tub, but we didn't want something "fancy-dancy" since we were using a fish/lake theme in here.  So, on one of our many trips looking for furniture and accessories, I found this.........

A little rustic - 

but for $70.00 a good find for the look we were going for.

New vanity, new sink, new toilet, new light fixture, new tile on the floor.

Just a little different, don't ya think?

One of the things that I wanted to 'tweak' was to add a frame around the mirror, but because of the placement of the receptacle we couldn't.

Imagine me crying - :-(.

Oh well.

A different view of the vanity area - but I wanted you to see the new door going out to the pool (and you can see the new shower in the mirror).

Originally, the door was one of those solid doors with one of those little windows in the top section - you know, a "70's" door (okay, maybe an 80's door, but it was still U G L Y).  Well, I 'fought' with Mountain Man for the new door, and I am so glad I won the 'battle' (I think Mountain Man was too, but he won't admit it).

Finally, the shower area.

It was so dark before and had those terrible pink tiles.  Actually we stripped the entire bathroom down to the studs and replaced all the drywall and green wall.  We also added the light in the shower and the glass doors.

(Excuse the squeegee - I keep it real around here)

So, that is the guest bathroom.

Was it worth the wait??

I hope so.

Just one more tour of the 'before' and after'.

Before

After

Before

  

After

This is the last room in the foreclosed house tour.  I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures of all the changes that we made to this house.  It was definitely an adventure that I wouldn't have traded for anything.  While I thought that this was going to be our 'forever' home and there were things that I still wanted to "tweak", that was not what was written in the cards.  

I am going to enjoy the next phase of our life and will be excited to see where the good Lord will lead us next.  I hope that you will continue to follow along as we try and make the house that we have rented into a "home".

Until then.....

Hugs -

Carol

I'll be linking up to some of these great parties:

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Meet Me Monday at You Are Talking Too Much

Your Cozy Home Party on Monday at Cozy Home Scenes

Motivated Monday at Be Colorful
Beautify It Monday at http://bringingbeauty.blogspot.com/
Show it Off Mondays at http://www.getouttamyheadplease.com/
Make it Great Monday at http://etcetorize.blogspot.com/
Just a Party with my Peeps on Monday at http://howtonestforless.com/
Monday Marketplace at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/
What's in the Gunny Sack on Monday at http://www.thegunnysack.com/
Cowgirl Up on Monday at http://www.theivycottageblog.blogspot.com/

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie

Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z
Terrific Tuesday at http://adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com/
Swing into Spring on Tuesday at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/
Tuesday To Do at http://blackberryvine.blogspot.com/
From Dream to Reality on Tuesday at http://thediydreamer.blogspot.com/
Uncommonly Yours on Tuesday at http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

DIY by Design on Wednesday

Uncommonly Yours on Wednesday at Uncommon Designs

Show and Share on Wednesday at Southern Lovely
It's a Party on Wednesday at http://acreativeprincess.blogspot.com/
Hooking up with HoH on Wednesday at http://www.houseofhepworths.com/
Catch as Catch Can at http://www.myrepurposedlife.net/
Time for a Party on Wednesday at http://www.finecraftguild.com/
Open House Party on Thursday at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/
Thursdays Favorite Things Blog Hop at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
Link It Up Thursday at http://kadie-sevenalive.blogspot.com/

Show Me Extroidinary on Thursday at The 36th Avenue

Grace at Home on Thursday at Imparting Grace

It's A Party on Thursday at A Creative Princess

Open House Party Thursday at No Minimalist Here

Share Your Creations on Thursday at Kristen's Creations
Grace at Home on Thursday at http://www.impartinggrace.com/
Transformation Thursday at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/
Time Travel Thursdays at http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/
Super Sweet Thursdays at http://sofabulouslyflawed.blogspot.com/
Thursdays Favorite Things at http://katherinescorner.com/

Tickled Pink Fridays at 504 Main

Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Feature Friday Free for All at Five Days...5 Ways

Addicts (not so) Anonymous on Friday at Addicted 2 Decorating

Inspiration Friday at At the Picket Fence
Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
Friday's Unfolded at http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/
Friday's Features at http://www.redouxinteriors.com/
Freedom Friday Blog Hop at http://myturn-evelyn.blogspot.com/

Weekly Top Shot on Saturday at The View From Right Here

Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors
A Pinteresting Party on Saturday at http://herestohandyandy.blogspot.com/
Say G'Day on Saturday at http://www.natashainoz.com/

Overflowing with Creativity on Sunday at It's Overflowing

Sew Darn Crafty Sunday at Sew Many Ways

Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming

Simply Klassic Sunday at A Simply Klassic Home
Sunday Round Up at http://www.arosiesweethome.com/
It's Party Time on Sunday at http://itssoverycheri.com/
Nifty Thrifty Sunday at http://www.niftythriftythings.com/

I'm Back - and our Monday Menu

Good morning everyone!  I know that it has been a long time since you have heard from me and I really appreciate that you have stayed with me while my whole life has been turned upside down.

I'll give just a quick review of the last two months -

Lorelai - July 3, 2012

1.  Baby Lorelai was born on June 7th.  Due to some breathing issues she spent the first ten days of her life in the NICU at Florida Hospital in Orlando. Her parents and I spent those LONG ten days between the hospital and the Ronald McDonald house close to the hospital where we were fortunate enough to be provided a room (side note - IF you are looking for a worthy institution to donate time, money, or supplies - the Ronald McDonald House is FABULOUS! - but I'll talk more about that on a later post.)  She is doing so much better now and she is her Nana's "little monkey girl". You will see much more of her in future posts.

2.  After we got Lorelai back home and things somewhat settled, Mountain Man and I decided that we needed a much needed break and hooked up our camper for ten days in the mountains of North Georgia and Western North Carolina.  We had a wonderful restful time and it was a good thing we got plenty of rest - because the next thing that happened took A LOT of energy!

3.  In February, Mountain Man and I decided to put our house on the market (so much for it being my "forever" home).  Anyway, before we left for our little vacation absolutely NO interest had been shown in the house.  Since we had not had any activity we had decided to take it off the market once we got home from our vacation.  However, while on vacation, we got an offer on the house, low-ball, but an offer.  We turned it down and continued to enjoy our vacation.  Well, to make a long story somewhat short, after a couple of days the buyer came back with another offer - we countered - he countered - we accepted.  My issue was -  after the contingency on the contract (closing on the buyers house in Ohio) we had ten days to find a new place to live, pack the entire house, and move.  YIKES!!!!  Well, we did it - and we are now settled into our new "home".   It is a HUGE change for us as we are RENTING instead of buying.  I'll explain the reason for that later also - but it is certainly a different feeling.




So, as you can see, we have been a little busy for the last couple of months - but now that things are settling down I finally have time to devote to the blog again.  Once again, I appreciate all of your patience while we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off (believe me - there were days when you really WOULD NOT have wanted to be near me!). But, I'm back to "normal" - what ever that is - and I look forward to sharing our adventures with you.

So, now that all this has been settled lets get back with the program - 

MONDAY MENU PLAN.

I am making some changes with the menu - since there are more things happening during the week (since I'm keeping my little "monkey girl")  I am making some changes to the plan - I used to try and have Mexican on Tuesday, and Italian on Thursday and Grill on Saturday.  Well, I thought that I might need some extra time during the week so I am going to be utilizing my Crock Pot more.  In fact, at least for August/September, I have designated Sunday and Wednesday as Crock Pot days.  Why Sunday?  Well, that is a silly question - IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON!  Finally -  Yahoo!!!  Let's see how it goes.

Now, on to the weekly plan.

Monday, August 27 - Pork Chops and Rice, Carrots

Tuesday, August 28 - Beef Enchilada Casserole

Wednesday, August 29 - Bacon-Swiss Cheese BBQ Chicken, Tator Tots

Thursday, August 30 - Baked Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread

Friday, August 31 - MOVIE NIGHT, Homemade Pizza

Saturday, September 1 - Salsa Chicken, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans

Sunday, September 2 - Lorelai's Christening (dinner out) 

Well, that's it for today!

I hope you guys are, in fact, still there.  I know that I will have to work at getting some of my "followers" back, but I'm ready to put in the time.  Hope you'll spread the word with all your followers that I'm back!

I'll see you Wednesday with my last post of the "old" house - 

that Guest Bathroom.  Just in case you forgot what it looked like here is a reminder

Pretty bad huh?

Come on back Wednesday to see the transformation.

Until then!

Hugs

Carol

One of the MANY Reasons I haven't posted lately.

Yep - you read that right!

We have two weeks

to pack everything

and move!

YIKES!!!!

Think I'm going to be just a little preoccupied for a couple more weeks.

You'll have to come back to get all the gory details - 

See you in a couple of weeks!

Hugs -

Carol