DIY -Installation of the Front Door

July 21, 2014July 22, 2014 / Winnie / Leave a comment

It’s in. It’s done! I love it so. Oh….wait a minute…let me back up and give you some back ground.

Many moons ago, in a land called Montana….there was this girl who bought a front door and wanted it installed. The front door that was on the house was a good front door….just not the right one. So after many internet searches, the perfect one was found and purchased……in March.

Old Door:

The new front door has been impatiently waiting to be placed in its rightful place…(ok – the impatiently waiting part was all me)

Dave was super awesome about the whole thing. He had to do all of the work to get the hinges cut in and the holes cut for the deadbolt and door handle.

There was only one mis-step…..the door was up -but we needed to take it down and shave off a little bit from the side to ensure a good fit.

Isn’t it wonderful?? The slammer screen door kind of takes away from the overall affect. But that slammer door is staying, at least for the summer.

Transform: Indoor table to Outdoor table

July 18, 2014 / Winnie / Leave a comment

When Dave and I moved into this house, I purchased a pub table for the downstairs…..sadly it got little to no use. Recently, I decided to try and re-purpose it as an outdoor table. I did quite a bit of research to find the right way to do the transformation. The pub table is all fake pressed wood and totally meant for indoor use. There are so many tutorials out there and each one is a little different in what they think is imperative. I have the Valspar paint left over from painting (still not put up) but I needed some supplies from our local Lowe’s…..mainly the primer…..and while I was there, I found the Rust-oleum NeverWet…….Can’t wait to see if it works out.

I started with a quick sand to rough up the surface of the fake wood that is the pub table and then put a layer of the Zinsser primer on.

I put 3 coats of the Valspar exterior paint over the primer (and I actually followed the directions on timing). The Rust-oleum is a 2-parter, base coat and top coat. It is a little rough as a top coat, but if it helps repel water, I am all for it.

Yup – can’t wait to have a get together and use this baby.

PARTY AT MY HOUSE.

Easy Chicken Tikka Masala

June 4, 2014 / Winnie / Leave a comment

My cousin made this for me years ago, and I begged her to find the recipe so I could make it for Dave and the girls. She pulled through for me and searched through her plethora of recipes and found it!! Click here for an electronic expanded (original) version. (jamieoliver.com)

I adjusted the electronic version for ease and for my family’s taste.

1 lb. chicken breast sliced into strips – or shredded chicken thighs

1 onion – sliced

1 serrano chile – seeded and chopped finely

fresh ginger (I used a piece 1 inch long and 1 inch thick) – peeled and thinly sliced

oil and butter

14 oz’s diced tomatos

14 oz’s coconut milk

1 jar (12 oz) tikka masala sauce – I used Seeds of Change (this is a time saver)

4 oz’s of sliced fresh mushrooms

handful of bean sprouts – use based on how much your family likes them

rice and/or Naan (I purchased pre-made in the interest of time as well)

lemon – if you like it

rice vinegar to taste

I placed a pat of butter and a glug of vegetable oil into a pot and started sauteing the sliced onions, serrano chile and sliced ginger. Man does this part smell amazing.

Not kidding….this part smells so good.

Once the onions are translucent – add in your sliced or shredded chicken and the tikka masala sauce. Toss that around for awhile, then add in the diced tomatos and coconut milk. I simmer this for roughly 20 minutes – ensuring that it never gets dry (you can add water if needed).This is when I taste test……I tend to do it often….just to make sure the sauce is yummy. Here is where I season to satisfy the family. I added some salt, pepper AND rice vinegar……that is a specific taste and my kids love it…so in it went. While this is simmering and between tastings – I made some rice and I pulled my small cast iron skillet out to saute the mushrooms and bean sprouts.

annnnnnnddddddddd. Done.

I layered rice first, then the chicken tikka masala, and then the sprouts/mushrooms. Naan to the side and a slice of lemon to squeeze if I so desired….and I so desired.

Dirt, gravel and a Bobcat – the making of a new front exterior

June 2, 2014 / Winnie / Leave a comment

This weekend was supposed to be easy, this weekend was supposed to be a walk in the park…..alas, Dave and I don’t roll that way. 1 1/2″ gravel was delivered on Friday for the front garden, with the idea to load up the front garden and be done. Here is a before pic:

Dave and I got to work on the front garden fairly early on Saturday as there was a potential storm rolling through our area in the late afternoon. The Bobcat made quick work of the heavy gravel. Dave was able to sneak in through the plants and sprinklers – making it super easy for me to rake out the rock.

Above – you can see Janey relegated to the porch.

We were able to complete the front garden before noon. That was a positive and a negative all at the same time. I asked Dave if we would be able to expand the parking space that we had already planned on. He agreed and we made so much more work for ourselves!!! The initial gravel expansion would have been a 1 1/2 day deal. That one small ask tripled, quadrupled our work load.

We were going to leave the grass in from end of the cement pad to the house….but we went all in and took it out all the way from the road to the house. In doing that we needed to take out 3 sprinklers, which lead to adding back in a spigot (that’s the white PVC pipe coming up left of center), which led to an incident with the sprinkler system and digging out the control center in the middle of the side yard. Arg. Saturday ended in rain so we wrapped up early in the day. Sunday was also a bit on the rainy side, so we had just enough time to put in the french drain for our gutters and called it for the day.