Happy Spring

Well, it's the first day of spring and it's a balmy 17. But it feels like 2.

Delightful.

This is classic Chicago weather.  Everyone knows spring doesn't really arrive in Chicago until nearly May. But every year we hold out hope that we won't need winter coats over our spring skirts and dresses at Easter.

The "pending spring" has us thinking about yardwork, spring cleaning and home improvement. Home Depot has increased the amount of emails they send to me...and they are tempting me in with patio furniture and manicured lawns.

This is our year to get the outside in order. When we moved in last year, we cut down a few dead trees and branches and watered the grass. That was pretty much it. We focused on the inside for most of last summer and accomplished a lot. We have big plans this year. We're installing a patio and clearing our back lawn from the overgrown brush, boulders and dead trees. We're going to create a backyard oasis. I can't wait to be enjoying grilled fare with a chilled wine in my hand. And, I'm going to dream about that all day today to get me through the cold.

Happy first day of spring!

Top Secret Brownie Recipe

I was craving chocolate so I thought up a good reason to mix up a batch of brownies. I easily came up with two! Steph and I were headed up to see family in Wisconsin so we'd take some along. And, Scott was going to a friend's to watch a b-ball game. Done and done.

So, I pulled out my cookbooks and began making my top secret brownie recipe from scratch. I measured the flour, the cocoa, the salt... WAIT! Who are we kidding?! I use a mix! And, the best brownie mix in the whole world is BY FAR Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix.

Love you, Ghirardelli, even though you are very hard to pronounce.

 I buy the 7.5 pounds (yes, pounds) box from Costco which makes 6 batches. It's such a great deal! And, did I mention it's the best mix in the world.

I wanted to get a little creative so I picked up some Valentine's Day M&Ms to top the brownies. Because triple chocolate isn't enough. We need quadruple chocolate.

I was torn on when to add the M&Ms. Do I add right when they go in the oven, do I add during, do I add when they are cooling? I turned to google, obviously, but got conflicting results! So, I did my own little test.  And, the winner is... DURING!

Added before baking...poor M&Ms got swallowed up!

Ooooh pretty! For the IU vs. Michigan game.

I popped the M&M's on with about 10 minutes left to go. You have to sort of press them into the brownies. Those Hoosier colors look delightful and show up better than the Valentine's mix which was added before.

Happy baking!

Clean Pup

We took Rocco to the dog park on Saturday to deal with some of his crazy 8 month old puppy energy. It was super muddy and since he loves rolling and laying, he came home covered in mud. We had to carry him in straight to the shower. We used our glassed in shower this time so he couldn't escape.

Here's a cute pic of him drying out with a bone reward. He is deathly afraid of the blow dryer so he just has to air it out for several hours. The life of a dog!

Spout It Out

This post is about faucets. :-) I got a little creative with that title.

Much like many home projects, our kitchen is a work in progress. When we moved in, we transformed our totally 90s cabinets into a brighter and more modern look with paint and new hardware. We replaced the floors too - from a beat-up light engineered wood to a medium brown real wood. These changes alone made a huge difference.
 

Kitchen before. Hello oak wood.

Sorry for the dark pics - these are from my iphone!

Ahh so much better. Even with the old appliances.

Phase 2 of the kitchen involves a new sink and faucet. Our shallow, grody white sink is out. As is its best pal - a leaky, dirty, cracked faucet. Thanks to my sister's wonderful BF, we have a new, shiny, deep stainless steel sink to install! We are trying to decide on a faucet. We want something that

1. Fits our modern taste
2. Is sleek with clean lines
3. Will last - we are looking at quality brands since the sink gets the most use out of anything in your entire kitchen

We've narrowed it down to three options. Which do you like best? Have you owned any of these brands?

Kohler Simplice

Delta Trinsic

Moen Reflex

 
Phase 3 will be new appliances (praise stainless steel!), paint, under cabinet lighting and a tiled backsplash which we'll attempt to DIY!

Who's The Boss?

Things get real tense in our house when we have to hang stuff. Nothing makes us more frustrated than this seemingly simple household task. Something about the measuring tape and drill gets us stressed and we always end up snapping at each other. I think it's because we want the project to turn out perfectly and not have to spackle and paint giant holes in the wall.

Well, we took on our most daunting hanging task to date on Sunday afternoon - six vertical hanging wine racks from Crate & Barrel. And we lived to tell the tale!! I credit this miraculous fact to two things: our love of wine and THE BOSS.

THE BOSS (see below) is a giant, contractor grade level that my dad was smart enough to make me take home for this project. I tried to decline the boss not one but twice...but Dad insisted so I took THE BOSS mostly to get home. Oh but THE BOSS was wonderful. It allowed us to mark straight lines all the way up the wall and all the way across. So thankful for Dad's collection of every tool imaginable 5 minutes away.

 

We are so proud of ourselves! Every time we got one rack up and the level showed we did it right, we jumped up and down and high fived! Yes, hanging things sucks this much at our house. Haha.

Now on to the beauty shots...the wine racks are on an empty wall in our dining room. We couldn't put a piece of furniture here because the room is a little bit narrow to fit a table, hutch and a sideboard or something similar on this wall. We think it turned out great and matches our style.

I painted the art piece on the wall too! After some serious Pinterest searching, this blog inspired me and I attempted the project. It feels cool to have something hanging that I painted - feels a little more unique than my usual HomeGoods art prints.

Now we just need to fill up those racks with some vino! Who wants to go to Napa? ;-)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We had a fantastic time celebrating at home with friends and family. It was such a nice change from the bars and the impossible task of catching a cab home in the city.

We decided to do wine and game night and it was a blast. I would like to introduce you all to one of the most hilarious and ridiculous adult party games I've ever played (introduced to us via friends L & N.)

Cards Against Humanity

This is an adult version of Apples to Apples for people with wicked senses of humor. Highly recommend accompanying this game with alcohol. You will get to know new friends pretty quickly and you'll love how much you know your existing friends' twisted senses of humor! It's currently sold out online (unless you want to pay $70 for it) but you can print off the cards and make your own set here.

So wrong but so right.

Happy 2013 to you and good luck remembering to write this in dates. It typically takes me three months of the previous year before I actually get in this habit, ha!

The Value of Vacation

By now, you might be sick of me talking about the vacation we took. Sorry about that. Before I bring that topic to a close, I wanted to share some thoughts about the true value of a vacation.

Plane tickets. Hotel rooms. Dining out. New swimsuit. Attraction tickets. These are all the hard costs of a vacation that can be found, often, on sale. Travel companies, hotels and airlines slash prices and draw us in with limited time deals and pictures of sun and sand in the middle of December. No matter if your vacation costs $500 or $5,000, there is an inherent value to vacation that cannot be measured in dollars.

It's the priceless experience of seeing something amazing for the first time, like a sunset over the Indian Ocean. It's sharing a moment in a place that you could previously only imagine, like stargazing in the Middle Eastern desert. It's holding hands with your husband as you walk through the streets of London knowing the rest of the world is so far away from you in that moment.

To me, vacation is essential for so many reasons. The relaxation and the escape it brings are well worth the money. But on our latest trip, I felt so connected to Scott in a way that I haven't in previous vacations. I think it was the sense of adventure; the two of us together in foreign lands and places. I love all the memories I have with him and I'm thankful we were able to add a few more unforgettable moments.