Category Archives: Around the house

RIP fall TV

Posted in Around the house by
Good bye, Royal Pains!

Good bye, Royal Pains!

I lost several dear friends last week: Hank, Divya, and even Evan.

With very little fanfare, Royal Pains said goodbye. A couple of months ago, Castle and Nashville ended their final season. Sadly, my endorsement of a show or product is usually the final nail in the coffin. Even if it’s expected, it’s still sad.

I want to take a few minutes to mourn my favorite shows that have recently faded into oblivion or are on their way out:

Some long-time favorites:
  • Castle — Thankfully, Castle will live on in syndication.
  • Nashville — I’m still catching up, so don’t spoil it for me. I’m hoping it ended exactly as it should.
  • Royal Pains — It ended exactly as it should have. All sunshines and lollipops. Makes me want to visit the Hamptons post haste!
  • Pretty Little Liars — There have been 15+ “A’s” and it’s probably time for the Liars to finally grow up, but I’m still going to miss this show!
  • Downton Abbey — I’m still a season behind, but I hope to binge watch soon and I’ll miss it!
  • The Soup — To be honest, I haven’t watched the Soup in years and since my DVR stopped recording it, I thought it had been cancelled a long time ago.
 New “I thought you were going to work out!” shows:
  • Grinder — This show is so stupid that it’s perfect and is perfectly cast. With Parks & Rec and now Grinder canceled, where will I got my Rob Lowe fix from?
  • The Catch — I had really high hopes for this show, but it fizzled. The characters and the plot weren’t believable anymore; I get it.
  • Telenovela — Another fun watch, but not fun enough apparently. I’ve missed seeing Eva Longoria on the small screen and I hope she lands on her feet with another show soon!
  • Sleepy Hollow killed off one of their show leads (Abbie Mills), so maybe Sleepy Hollow is on it’s way out too?
To end this on a positive note, I’d love to hear what you’re watching or looking forward to this fall season?

House of Cards is BACK!

Posted in Around the house, Drinky drinky by

Teaser

Oh yeah! Today is a big day: House of Cards is back on Netflix! (Technically, I believe it was available this morning at midnight, so maybe you stayed up all night watching? More power to you, if yes!)

We’ve got our canned Underwood wine, so we’re ready to go.

Underwood canned wine

To refresh your memory, here is the latest on what’s going on:

Backstabbing

I found a couple of drinking games that we may or may not play. I wanted to share them with you though, just in case you want to play:

Drinkinggame2

Drinkinggame

And if you’re not into drinking and want to make a healthy game of it, or if you’re binge watching and need to try and stay awake, here is a House of Cards workout game:

Workout

Happy watching and cheers!

Fall 2015 TV viewing update

Posted in Around the house by

As some of my shows wrap up for their holiday hiatus, I thought I would give you an update as to what made the cut for my 2015 TV viewing pleasure. Here is my post on the new 2015 season.

2015-9 TV Line Premiere

The usuals:

  • Castle. Can’t Beckett and Castle just be happy together already!?
  • The Goldbergs. Love this show (especially Beverly!!) but what happened to Adam’s voice?! The actor is 16 years old in real life, so is his voice an act? I hate it.
  • Modern Family. Love the show but one thing still weighs on me: why didn’t they do a Halloween episode?! It’s Claire’s favorite holiday!
  • Nashville. Love this show!
  • Scandal. Slightly over-dramatic this season, but I’m still enjoying it!
  • How to Get Away With Murder. Interesting story line this season, but really? These poor law students. They get into so much trouble!
  • Sleepy Hollow. Love this show!
  • Jane the Virgin. Over the top, but great. And I totally identify with Jane as a new mom. (Literally all of the baby references are true and things that I have recently experienced. Except for the baby blinking thing. I didn’t realize that was a big milestone. Oops.)
  • Grimm. Love this show too, but I wish Juliette wasn’t “killed off” last season. (I know she’s still filming since I follow her on Instagram, so hopefully it’s a fake out.)

And the newbies:

  • Blindspot. This show intrigues me. We’re a couple of episodes behind, but I like it. I think there is potential here.
  • Grinder. I love Rob Lowe and this show is a lot of fun. I’d recommend it and will keep watching!
  • Quantico. I wasn’t going to tune in to this show but a friend told me that she was going to watch, so I did too. Boy am I glad! Both Brandon and I love this show and look forward to watching it each week!
  • Wicked City. I love Chuck from Gossip Girl and this new show is eerie. It’s all sorts of effed up and I kind of love it. Plus now I have Phantom of the Opera tunes floating through my head.

And those not worthy:

  • Bastard Executioner. Not even Vampire Bill (from True Blood) could make this series worth watching. I couldn’t – and didn’t – make it through the first 30 minutes of the pilot!
  • Z Nation. We finally pulled the plug on this show. It got too weird.
  • Gotham. I still record this show, but it’s usually the show I put on to doze to. Sorry, Gotham. You’re too weird too.
  • Scream Queens. This looked funny and campy, but it’s just annoying and stupid. I can’t keep the characters or the storyline straight.
  • The Player. Thought I’d like this show, but didn’t realize what it was truly about. I watched the trailer and just deleted the subsequent eight episodes saved on my DVR. Thanks but no thanks.
  • The Blacklist. This show also got weird. I’m torn on whether or not to keep watching.

What do you think about the new shows this season? Any shows you’d recommend? Do you agree with my commentary? Happy watching!

Fall 2015 TV premieres

Posted in Around the house by

Along with football season, it’s TV premiere season! (One of my favorite times of the year!)

First and foremost, here is the printable calendar. I’d recommend you print this immediately and highlight the shows you’ll be watching. (I’ve already printed, highlighted, AND confirmed the first several listings in my DVR.)

2015-9 TV Line Premiere

I’m most excited for the returning shows, in chronological order of return:

Last year I tried watching the new shows Z Nation, Gotham, and The Flash, but I think only Gotham will make it’s way back onto my DVR this season.

We’re going to be tuning in sporadically to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (On now!, 11:35 p.m., CBS) and The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (9/28, 11 p.m., Comedy Central) and will try out the following new shows:

We found Forever to be a really good show last year, and I’m bummed that it was cancelled. Stupid ABC.

My mid-season favorites will be returning toward the end of the year, including: Pretty Little Liars, Young & Hungry, Downtown Abbey (final season!), Game of Thrones, Orange Is the New Black, and my new favorites House of Cards, Ballers and The Brink, among others.

Read last year’s fall TV premiere post here and happy watching!

When will Baby Michael join us?

Posted in Adventures, Around the house, Baby Michael by

I’ve officially started my four-month “baby vacation,” having wrapped up my last day of work on Friday.

This is the view from my office now. Not too shabby!

My new "office" view (from the deck and living room)

My new “office” view (from the deck and living room)

We hit the 39th week of pregnancy today and now I’m wondering… when will Baby Michael join us?!

Here's last week's photo. He's been dropping!

Here’s last week’s photo. He’s been dropping!

I had friends and family place their best guess as to when he’ll make his debut and so far, five guesses are out of contention. I originally guessed today — I mean, laboring on labor day is so fitting, right? I also have a lot of holiday birthdays in my family, so this would work well — and then I thought for sure it was going to happen last weekend — which it obviously didn’t. Who would have guessed that the predictions of a full moon (yes, I’m having a werewolf), changes in the barometric pressure (from hot and sunny to stormy in a day!), combined with two days of Indian food including eggplant and dancing at a wedding, would be wrong? Apparently little Michael.

Guesses?

Guesses?

According to this article, it’s possible that I’ll be right? Of course, anything is possible. There are too many variables to know for sure. We’ll see where the day and week take us! We’ll welcome Michael whenever he decides to grace us with his presence!

2015-9 Birth bell curve

This could be telling us something…

So, now I ask you. What do you think? I’d love to hear your guesses. Whoever guesses correctly will get something… not naming rights, but maybe something else? Tell me what you’d like to win too!

Three cheers for Michael giving me a bit of a staycation and then making his timely debut!

 

 

Big John’s PFI (Pacific Food Importers)

Posted in Around the house, Exploring Seattle, Food by

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now, but Big John’s recent obituary made me want to tell you all about one of my favorite stores in Seattle: Big John’s PFI (1001 6th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134, 206-682-2022).

PFI's non-descript entrance

PFI’s non-descript entrance

PFI is a unique store, one that you don’t have to visit weekly, but one that any respectable Seattle-area foodie should visit monthly. We have our favorites and occasionally we’ll expand beyond our standard list: spices, pasta, special flour for the pizza oven, crushed tomatoes, candy, and sometimes meats, cheeses and wines.

Allow me to walk your through the store, and highlight our favorites:

Spices for days!

Spices for days!

About 1 million varieties of bulk salts, including truffle salt, my favorite!

About 1 million varieties of bulk salts, including truffle salt, my favorite!

More spices and grains

More spices and grains

So. Many. Flours. We've tried most of them!

So. Many. Flours. We’ve tried most of them!

Pizza flours. (Brandon's go-to combination is 60% Caputo, 40% Nero)

Pizza flours. (Brandon’s go-to combination is 60% Caputo, 40% Nera)

Bulk sweets: chocolate-covered everything (I'd highly recommend the milk chocolate-covered pecans...So would Brandon's Grandpa!)

Bulk sweets: chocolate-covered everything (I’d highly recommend the milk chocolate-covered pecans!)

From woodland creatures to chocolate-covered berries, they'll have something you'll love!

From woodland creatures to chocolate-covered berries, they’ll have something you’ll love!

Need large quantities of chocolate? You're in the right place

Need large quantities of chocolate? You’re in the right place

Even more sweets at PFI!

Even more sweets at PFI!

Dried pasta section, part one

Dried pasta section, part one

The other side of the dried pasta section

The other side of the dried pasta section

There are a lot of canned goods, vinegars, olive oils, wines, meats and cheeses available that I didn’t include here. Check out the Big John’s website (they have unexpected hours) to make sure they’re open before you head down.

If I’m not busy giving birth, maybe I’ll see you there this weekend? (Saturday… they’re closed on Sundays)

Michael’s ombre dresser

Posted in Around the house, Baby Michael, Crafts by

I recently posted an update on our soon-to-be-out-of-the-womb-baby Michael’s nursery and his new ombre dresser was definitely the star. (Just wait until you see the whale mobile! It’s even better!)

Here's the ombre dresser and changing table area.

Here’s the ombre dresser and changing table area.

I thought I’d share a quick tutorial, since this was one of the easiest transformations that I’ve done.

First, take before photos. I don’t take enough before photos.

We're thinking crib on this wall!

We’re thinking crib on this wall!

It looked good before but it looks better now!

It looked good before but it looks better now!

Before photo of the dresser

Before photo of the dresser

Find your color. I spent a lot of time in the paint sections at Lowe’s, Home Depot, and McLendon’s inspecting swatches. I finally found one that I really liked from Dutch Boy, swatch E19, with:

Ombre dresser paint swatch

Ombre dresser paint swatch

Moonlit Sky (E19-1), Twilight Navy (E19-2), Highland Mist (E19-3), and Well-worn Denim (E19-4)

Get your paint. I only painted the face of the dresser drawers, so I didn’t need much. In fact, all I needed was a sample size. I found these particular samples at Lowe’s. Sample sizes are 8 ounces and I used far less than half of each. I wanted to get the samples in “glossy,” but they only have them in eggshell. Eggshell turned out just fine for the $2.99 price tag. {McLendon’s had Dutch Boy paint samples but they were $8.99 for the same size. WAY too much for the little amount of paint that I needed!}

Paint samples

Paint samples

Prep. I labeled all of my shelves in the order that they sat into the dresser, so I didn’t get them mixed up or have to repaint over and over again. I unfolded a plastic sheet in my spray painting area outside and set up shop. I used sponge crafting brushes and painted right from the container. I used four brushes and threw them all out when I was finished.

Drawers, drawers, drawers!

Drawers, drawers, drawers!

Paint. Paint and paint and paint. My dresser was already “primed” (painted white), so we just needed one coat and some minor touch ups. It was a warm day and we let the drawers dry overnight.

Painted dresser drawers!

Painted dresser drawers!

Finish. After the paint was dry, we took the drawers back in the house and screwed in the new hardware, these pulls from Target. You’ll note that this is a six-pack and we have eight drawers. I was able to find a near perfect match with pulls from Home Depot, thankfully.

Let’s look at this beauty one more time. Ah: I love it! And, in case you were wondering, it’s completely full of diapers, wipes, blankets, outfits, and accessories for Baby Michael. Just four more weeks until his due date!

Here's the ombre dresser and changing table area.

Here’s the ombre dresser and changing table area.

50 days to go!

Posted in Around the house, Baby Michael, Crafts, DIY, Homemade, Photos, Uncategorized by

About 50 days ago I blogged my master to-do list for the baby’s room.

Well, time has flown by and over the weekend we hit the 50 days until D-day mark. We also spent a lot of time wrapping up some of the nursery projects.

Here’s a update of where we are, and what we still have left to do before the little guy comes in just about seven weeks. (Or sooner?!)

UPDATED master to do list: 

  • Remove the mattress and bed frame. Wrap for transport to the cabin. Transported to the cabin over the Fourth, where I won an award for my quinoa salad!
  • Apologize to Maddie for stealing her favorite napping spot. She still sleeps in there, and has made do with the bassinet. She’s in for a rude awakening when that bassinet is full with an infant!
  • Wash sheets, take comforter to dry cleaners.
  • Remove ball lights.
  • Clean out and remove the bookshelf side table.
  • Vacuum and dust thoroughly!
  • Buy paint and paint the room. We’re debating between Behr’s Sparrow and Anonymous. Which one is your favorite? We went with Sparrow. It’s very pretty and so serene!
  • Secure baseboards. Touch up with paint if necessary.
  • Hang curtain rods and curtains.
  • Place the art on the shelves and think about where wall art will be placed We still have some art to frame, but it’s we’re running out of space!
  • Empty Brandon’s clothes from the dresser. He’s all moved into the master bedroom! It only took 5 years…
  • Replant and move Brandon’s terrarium. It looks so good! I realized that I never posted about it. I’ll add that to the list of blogs to work on!
  • Assemble new rocking chair. Assembled! And we’ve used it several times. We have this pouf on order to complete the look!
  • Grab crib from home-home and set it up. It’s grabbed, but it turns out my sister busted one of the rungs when she was a kid. It’s in Dad’s shop now, getting repaired. We’ve got the mattress and lots of sheets for it!
  • Finish whale mobile. It’s almost ready. I just need to find the embroidery floss in my rather cluttered craft room. Maybe this weekend I’ll finish it!
  • Finish painting ceramic fish and lampshade. Painted. Now I just have to find a spot for the fish and put the lampshade on the lamp.
  • Measure dresser, cut whitewood (or other kind of cheap wood) to create a top. (We’re making something like this, but only the top.) We a went a different direction; one that I’m really pleased with the direction we went! See the photo of Michael’s new ombre dresser below!
  • Sand and paint dresser, replace drawer pulls. Painted. Pulls replaced! See photo and let me know what you think!
  • Sand and stain dresser top, elephant rocker, side table, trophy bases and book boxes. Rocker and side table sanding/staining are still on the to do list, but the trophy bases and book boxes are done and look great.
  • Spray paint the ceramic animal heads, adhere them to the wood trophy bases. They’re painted and now they need to be adhered. I’m debating between using super glue and hot glue. Anyone have any recommendations?
  • Make rope basket “zoo” for stuffed animals. It’s a great idea and project, but I could not find the rope anywhere. Then I went to Homegoods and found an adorable bin for far less than it would’ve been to make the rope basket.

Some new to do’s, in addition to the ones not crossed out above:

  • Get sun from home-home, hang in the corner of the room. Michael and I will grow up with the sun in our rooms, made by my Aunt Peggy!
  • Buy laundry hamper.
  • Clean out ‘candle drawer’ in the kitchen, so we have a place for all of his bottles and supplies. (Yes, we have a candle drawer.)
  • Clean out the bathroom a bit, making room for all of Michael’s new stuff.

And what you really came here for… updated photos!

Here's our super-sized rocker and the photo area. I imagine I'll be spending some quality time here soon!

Here’s our super-sized rocker and the photo area. I’ll be spending some quality time here soon!

Here's the ombre dresser and changing table area.

Here’s the ombre dresser and changing table area.

A close up of the "zoo" bin for Michael's stuffed animals.

A close up of the “zoo” bin for Michael’s stuffed animals.

Here is one of our rolling apple crates for books. Brandon did such a great job sanding and staining them! We both did a good job on the wheels.

Here is one of our rolling apple crates for books. Brandon did such a great job sanding and staining them! We both did a good job on the wheels.

Here's the latest on the whale mobile. It's looking great and will be finished soon!

Here’s the latest on the whale mobile. It’s looking great and will be finished soon!

I hope you enjoyed our nursery update. There will be more photos as we keep finishing projects in the next (less than!!) 50 days!

Urban farming update: Out with the old {lettuce}

Posted in Around the house, Garden by

It’s been two months since our last urban farming update and a lot has happened in that time!

This is where we started:

Our new planter boxes/raised beds

Our new planter boxes/raised beds

And this is where we were at in the end of April.

Fast forward to the end of June: Our lettuce went crazy! I’m pretty particular about my lettuce (romaine heads, please) and with the abundance of kale we’ve grown, we decided the lettuce was taking up valuable raised bed real estate, so we harvested it all.

Our lettuce, pre-harvest (6-2015)

Our lettuce, pre-harvest (6-2015)

So many greens!!

So many greens!!

We made made great use of the harvest with lots and lots of salads!

The romaine part of our harvest. (Bibb lettuce portion not pictured.)

The romaine part of our harvest. (Bibb lettuce portion not pictured.)

We tilled our soil and planted two tomato plants and a pepper plant. And now our beets can see the light of day and continue to grow big and juicy!

Our new and improved crop: tomatoes and peppers

Our new and improved crop: tomatoes and peppers

Such a beautiful garden! So healthy and pretty!

Such a beautiful garden! So healthy and pretty!

Nutella Chocolate Chip cookies

Posted in Around the house, Baby Michael, Food by

Nutella chocolate chip cookies

Nutella chocolate chip cookies

Normally, I’m all about the savory treats since Brandon has a big enough sweet tooth for the two of us combined. However, this little guy inside of me has an even bigger sweet tooth than Brandon does and suddenly now I do too.

My pregnancy has been relatively craving-free EXCEPT for my new cookie-a-day habit. Chocolate chip cookies have always been my favorite, and we recently discovered a recipe for cookies that is my new favorite: Nutella chocolate chip cookies.

I found these on Pinterest (of course) while researching a dish to bring my friend Stephanie after she delivered her son. On a whim I made a double batch.  We’ve enjoyed our portion so much that I’ve made them three times since!

I hope that you enjoy these as mush as I do!

Ooey, gooey dough!

Ooey, gooey dough!

Soft & Chewy Nutella White Chocolate Chip Cookies from Averie Cooks

YIELD: 11 large cookies

PREP TIME: 15 minutes

COOK TIME: about 13 minutes

TOTAL TIME: about 3 hours, for dough chilling

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
  • heaping 1/3 cup Nutella (stir well before adding)
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 bag white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS: (My version. Her version is here.)

  1. Mix the ingredients up until flour until creamed and well combined.
  2. Add flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Blend until mixed.
  3. Add chocolate chips and still until combined.
  4. Scoop your cookies and strategically place a few chocolate chips right on top of each mound of dough by taking chips from the underside and adding them on top.
  5. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days. (I’m often tempted to not chill the dough because when I want cookies, I want them right then! I’ll try making these without chilling sometime soon and report back!)
  6. Preheat oven to 350F and bake for about 11 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool.
  7. Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. We really enjoy making a large batch of cookie dough and freezing them, so we can make just a few at a time.
Delicious Nutella cookies!

Delicious Nutella cookies!