pinterest is still working its magic on me. i am trying new projects and recipes left and right thanks to the awesome spur of motivation that this sight brings. i thought i'd start a regular little bloggy feature on the outcomes of things that i've pinned and then tried in real life. here was my first one.
this week i took on a recipe and 2 cheap and easy DIY home improvements.
first i tried a yummy looking crock pot recipe from my food board. this one appealed to me because it looked like more than your typical crock pot cheesy-chicken-rice mash up (which i also happen to love). i went my own way with the mushrooms since the kinds the recipe called for were too expensive. we just used baby portobellas.
but i am SO glad i unearthed an unopened bottle of white wine that someone had given us and used it like the recipe called for instead of using some kind of substitute. it made the flavor amazing. if i hadnt found it, i would have bought one of those little 4 packs of miniature wine bottles that i've seen in the grocery store. they seem like a good option to have on hand for cooking, if you're not the kind to finish a bottle after using a 1/2 cup for the recipe. i only drink the classiest, pinkest of wines (i find a 2011 reunite has the subtle undertones of a cherry blowpop dipped in sprite, without being pretentious about it), so the rest of our too-nice-for-me white is turning to vinegar in my fridge right now as i tell myself i will find another use for it.
i literally burned my face several times while this was cooking because i HAD to open the lid and inhale the essence of goodness that was permeating my house as this simmered all day.
angel chicken, by cleverly inspired
what you end up with is really yummy chicken and a TON of the shroomy sauce. serving this NOT over something really isnt an option. we served ours with jasmine rice (she also suggested angel hair pasta) and it was so so so good. there was enough of the sauce liquid/nectar of the gods to totally permeate every bite. two hearty thumbs up for this one!
i LOVE pinterest for consolidating all the handy organization and life-hack ideas that are out there on the web. seriously, there are some smartie-smarts out there solving everyday problems with DOY! solutions that i never could have gotten to on my own.
this is an example. my awful bathroom linen closet. my former method of medicinal organization--more like SNORGINIZATION! (...mmm too far?)--was two baskets fill to brimming with stuff. any time i wanted to find a benadryl or pop a stool softener (childbirth, yallz) i had to guess which basket it was in, get it out on the counter and DIG like one of hagrid's nifflers to unearth my prize. and then i just piled everything back in and pitied the next person who needed to find a single pill or tube in a pinch (ew, stool softener pun not intended). not cool.
SOLUTION:
LAZY SUSAN! girl gets a bad rap as a slacker, but i've never caught her sleeping on the job.
all but the biggest of my pill bottles, droppers, and tubes fit on this lil' gal that i found at wal-mart for $6. i love how it maximizes shelf depth for a large quantity of small items without having to pull everything out of rifle through them all to get to the back. one spin and i can medicate a world of hurts!
i also put one of these in the kitchen cabinets for my extra spices that arent represented in the good-looking official family spice rack (really, bed, bath and beyond? yall got coriander and fennel seed in the big leagues, but no love for chili powder and ground mustard?)
and then the smaller little blister packages of pills, bandaids and tubes that couldn't stand without assistance went into one of 3 shallow bins (they were like $2 for a 3-pack) that are easily accessible but totally reach-overable to get to the stuff in the back.
loud and proud with the 'roid cream (pregnancy, yallz)
it's really insane how much improved this makes things. it's like you don't realize there was a white noise machine on until someone turns it off and it's like, "hey, that WAS loud. this silence is impeccable!" well, i am starting to see that disorganization and clutter is like white noise for my eyes and stress level. i dont really consciously acknowledge what a headache it is, but it's taking its minute toll, day after day, and when it's finally gone, she-bowz: it's like i've pulled a few leeches off of me that i couldn't even feel slowly sucking the life out of me. and hey, accessible tampons finally, am i right?
NEXT! i spotted this and immediately pinned it to my upcycling board. and like all good DIY pins, i kicked myself for not thinking of it first!
krylon "oil rubbed bronze" spray paint. it might look "black," but it's so much more. it's like antique-y off-black with a yummy bronze sparkle undertone. yes i want to make out with this paint.
nasty old gold door hardware that came with the house
BLAMMO- one awesome before and after. do you KNOW how much new all doorknobs would have cost? this whole project cost $14 (2 can s of primer and 2 of the paint)
i cant even tell you the difference this project makes. the overall impression of our entire house seems so much more high quality and more modern with these "new" fixtures.
we have only done half of the doors so far, but one can of primer and paint ($7 total) did 6 or 7 doors worth of handles, plates, screws and hinges (you need to do it ALL if you want it to look right. make a note of all the pieces that show on a finished door and then paint each one). i am excited to speed through the second half of our house with these now that we both have power drills to speed through the hardware removal and re-installation.
a few friendly tips:
1. figure out a system for spraying and drying your hardware that doesn't involve your bare hand. you can wear gloves or rig up some device for keeping your hardware upright and accessible that doesnt involve to touching it. why, you ask?
dont mind me, just been out destroying some mad horcruxes.
2. spraying the heads of dozens of tiny screws can get messy and wastes paint. i rigged this up in the front yard to avoid both (after dousing my hand a few times first before learning my lesson) i laid out newspaper in the grass and stuck the screws through. then i could spray and let them dry in bulk without having to hold them one at a time.
much better. more fun; less cadaver-handsy.
that's it, peeps. have a great weekend! it's my last one as a 28 year old. gonna do it so right.
p.s. judah is doing so much better. he still looks appalling, but we got an oral steroid from the doctor for the swelling and redness and all the venom is out. now we are just treating the wounds and keeping them clean.
great lazy susan idea. i want the name of the pink sprite wine you drink-sounds up my alley. glad to hear the bug is better...hess
ReplyDeleteLOVE this post...keep doing them. It might motivate me to action instead of just pinning :) Love how the doors turned out...the thought of taking them all down and hardware off makes me cry a little though...one day...
ReplyDeleteokay - i think i am convinced that i should check out pinterest! do i need an invite?
ReplyDeletewe have fall plans to replace all of our upstairs trim, doors and hardware. so i have question for you... do the knobs feel sticky like paint and do they turn well still? i think that is a fabulous idea!
lacey: they turn great. we let them dry really well and i took care not to shoot paint down in the door lock/clicky mechanism. good luck, its so worth it!
ReplyDeleteBlammo whammo - ten thousand points for those sexy looking doorknobs! Yay!
ReplyDeleteKeight + Pinterest = Awesomesauce!
Great ideas! I totally need to log back in to pinterest to see what all everyone is pinning. So glad the bug is feeling better, poor fella!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw those black fingers I secretly prayed there would be a Dumbledore joke in the caption. I scrolled and much to my delight, there it was! Watch out for Draco & Snape....
ReplyDeletedo the little bottles not fall down/off when you spin the lazy susan?
ReplyDeletesiad chicken is currently in my crockpot and methinks my family will be singing your praises for finding this :)
ReplyDelete@amy not at all, but i also exercise self control and dont spin just for fun: only in need of medical emergencies. it's more of a rotate than a true SPIN (i dont say "wheeeeee" and let her rip).
ReplyDelete@everychapter yum! i am kind of jealous. let me know how you like it!