Menu for the month Monday...

Y'all ready fo dis?!

Our food/grocery budget started over on Saturday.

I realize that I didn't share one other thing with you in my last post about our budget. And that was this: the Sunday paper and coupon clipping has not proven to be work it. Unless you need a new tooth brush for the kids, in which case you can probably find that coupon on line. It is nice to know when things are on sale, but it makes me want to spend more money, not save and the coupons are all for processed crap or skin care products with chemicals in them. That's not how we roll.

Here is the food we have planned for the month!

8/25 out to eat tacos
8/26 (turkey)BLTs with salad- we actually use cabbage in place of lettuce in these and in our tacos etc.
8/27 Lentil Burritos
8/28 Grilled chicken with veggies and mashed potatoes
8/29 Quinoa and Blackbeans- we use trader joes roasted corn and add kale
8/30 Mexican Pile - I'll have to explain this one later...
8/31 Pile! - again, I'll have to explain it later. It's delicious.
9/1 Tostadas- baked
9/2 veggie night- all vegetables all night ;)
9/3 Turkey Lettuce Wraps- I use this recipe for inspiration
9/4 Tuna salad stuffed portobellos topped with cheddar and side salad
9/5 Crock Pot Marinara for a simple pasta bake
9/6 Crock Pot Black beans for black bean burgers
9/7 Pile!- it really never gets old, never
9/8 Crock pot chicken divan
9/9 Homemade Pizza and Salad
9/10 Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans served over rice or quinoa
9/11 Tostadas baked
9/12 Crock Pot chicken tacos- There are a million recipes on the www for this
9/13 Mexican Lasagna- no chicken only beans
9/14 Veggie Night
9/15 Turkey Burgers with salad and potato wedges
9/16 Preston's Birthday! = Party food
9/17 Chicken Parm
9/18 Ouinoa, Black beans and avocado
9/19 Curried Chicken and vegetables
9/20 Pile! and salad
9/21 out of town
9/22 out of town
9/23 (get home) Tostadas are easy :)
9/24 Vegetarian Chili and GF corn bread with salad
9/25 NEW BUDGET!

See, that wasn't too bad!

As you probably noticed, we make things in big batches and use them for all different meals- for example - mexican pile has mashed potatoes and we are also having mashed potatoes with our chicken. Black beans made in a big batch and portioned out for different meals etc.

As you see, we repeat some things and it's ok. :)

We also have some kind of salad with almost every meal for example; spinach salad, kale salad , romaine lettuce salad or even home made cole slaw on occasion. For our all veggie dinners, we hit the farmer's market, it is truly amazing!

When we go out of town at the end of the month, we will still take some of our food with us, for example; I'll make bread and probably some quinoa salad or pasta salad etc. We are going to my in-laws and with Preston's food allergies it's just easier that way.

Did I miss anything?

What are you eating this month?!

Dining light update

Here is a quick DIY fix to recover your lampshades!

It's no secret that I have a thing for black and white...

It is classy and it is always in style... and browns/beiges remind me of dirt and poop.  But that's my opinion. Just saying'.

I don't think I have ever shown you my little intimate dining area right off of the kitchen. 

Well, here she is!

The folks who owned the house before us had the weirdest light up there above the table... It was a little Ikea strip light that you'd expect to sees showcasing artwork. So we went to Ikea and my lovely mother purchased this chandelier for us shortly after we moved in. I thought the top of the light (where it meets the ceiling) looked kinda weird so we affixed a light medallion that I have had for years just waiting to use.

These lampshades are perfect for the space, but they were starting to look too plain, and even a little dingy so every time I walked by them they started to bug me. And considering all of the time that I spend in the downstairs of our home, I was basically bugged by these lights all of the time.

Time for an update! Bye-bye plain looking shades, you're getting a face lift!

One more before shot with the lights on:

 I found this Black and white fabric at Ikea, I loved the big writing and thought it was cool that it was numbers. Since we do constantly walk through this area and see these lights, I feel they should inspire me. I feel everything should inspire me really. 

The numbers on those shades will remind me of the number of ways we are blessed and the multitude of things that we have to be grateful for.

Since I didn't want the number words to be diagonal, I laid the fabric over my shade with the word straight and then basically cut around the fabric leaving excess around the edges for tucking...

Here is what it looked like: 

I used this first one as a template and cut out the rest.

(BTW: I can think of a million other projects I'd like to do with this black and white fabric!)

The wrapping was pretty tough. I sat there with my iron to make crisp & clean seams that lined up with the seams already on the shades. 

I used fabritac glue (my favorite fabric glue) only on the seam and the part of the fabric that tucks under/over the shade since I know that it can show through the fabric. I recommend playing with this glue and some fabric beforehand to test it out and get comfortable with it. 

There is a little lip on the inside of these shades that I was able to use my fingernail and tuck the edges of this fabric into. No need to cover raw edges!!

The frustration factor of this project was a solid 9 out of 10, but it only took about 2.5 hours total. 

And once it was done our light looks amazing, so I really can't complain!

After shot!

And with the lights on!

I love our little dining area.

The table (has 2 leaf inserts, only one installed) is from Craigslist $25, the buffet/desk from Craigslist $free, and the chairs from Goodwill $8/each painted and recovered by yours truly! 

Life happens one project at a time!

I Scored! Pyrex Story

I thought the possibility of finding vintage pyrex at Goodwill was slim-to-none. Seriously, I thought that was the first thing everyone looked for when they went thrifting...

I wasn't even looking for Pyrex, I was looking at plates and mugs. We don't really need either but I sort of have an obsession with dishes... especially old ones with lotsa character!

Out of habit, I went down the isle in Goodwill where there *might* be Pyrex...

And look what I found!!!!!

Disclaimer:

They did not look this amazing when I found them. 

The orange bowl with yellow flowers looked peach with white flowers...

yeah, it that bad.

I Started cleaning with soapy water. That didn't work at all. 

You really don't want to use an abrasive on this stuff since it can mess up the finish, but in order to get them clean I had to use Bar Keepers' friend as a last resort. It took quite a bit of the shine off of the orange bowl, it looks pretty matte now. Although, it was so grungy in the first place, it may have already had the shine scrubbed out! I was able to clean my pink dish with a sponge and magic eraser in only some parts. Since that too is an abrasive, I wanted to clean as much as I could with out ruining the finish.

Here they sit atop our room divider... Right next to buddha!

I'm pretty thrilled by this find!

$6.99/piece, can't beat that with a stick!

If I were a domestic fairy, this would be my magic wand...

My life is so much easier with a bottle brush in the kitchen :)

I just had to share this with ya'll. 

I use it to wash:

Sigg water bottle 

Wine Glasses

Travel coffee mugs

Sippy Cups

Empty baby food/condiment jars

Even the humidifier!!

I'm feeling some real love for my bottle brush today and then I realized that a lot of people probably don't know how amazing and useful these little guys can be. AND they are very inexpensive! You can get them in the baby section of Target/Walmart/Fred Meyer for about $2.

Hope this makes your life a little easier!

What is one household item that you love and are grateful for that makes your life easier?

Loads of love, 

Lauren D.

How I store my flours

I have been gluten free since 2009. 

I finally learned how to mix gluten free flours and bake gluten free in 2011.

We have a teeny tiny kitchen. Seriously, the two of us and the dog can't even fit in the kitchen all at the same time. We both love to be in the kitchen and we prepare most of our meals at home, so we have a lot of kitchen devices and food. 

Most of it is now stored out in the open and we have turned it into art/decoration. 

Happy Hubby made these outstanding corner shelves for me to store my flours and baking supplies on. He made these amazing brackets (he's great at steel work and design) and the labels on our flour jars are simply from left over clear address labels from our (DIY) wedding invitations. 

Happy Hubby collects pepper mills and this little yellow number is actually a salt mill that was a Christmas gift this year. 

My vintage Pyrex measuring cup also usually sits on this shelf, but it was in use at the time of this photo!

And I got a vintage rolling pin for Christmas 2011, so now I don't have to use a wine bottle anymore to roll out my dough! ;)

Beneath my window and shelves is an old desk (free from craigslist!) that I have redone and set up as my baking station. But that is a whole other post in the making!

If you are interested in my gluten free mix you cant find it here. 

There is no xanthan gum added, I add it per recipe, depending on what I'm making. For the most part, it is 1/4 tsp per 1 C of flour mix.

Whether you are Gluten free or not, I hope this inspires your kitchen space one way or another!

What is something you have used in your home as art or decor that is useful in your kitchen?

big hugs, and happy baking!

Lauren D.

I linked up! 

Tuesday:

Homework

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Creatively Living

DIY Weekly dry erase meal planner board and broken computer

So, my computer broke. A very sad time right now, we have been together for 8 years, she made the move with me to Portland. I was very attached to my little PowerBook g4! So here I am, back from hiding and posting crappy photos (from my iPad) of a cute project! Lol This will just have to do until I either get a new computer or the camera adaptor for my iPad.

I went to The Rebuilding Center on Mississippi and scoured the old windows. I found this one and decided it was "the one" - I figured that a black frame would be a little too dramatic for this piece since the paper in the back has so much black in it.

(Step 1) So using packaging paper to cover the glass and painters' tape my dear husband covered the front of the glass and one a day when it actually wasn't raining here in Portland, I spray painted the frame with a matte metallic silver.

(Step 2) I cut my decorative paper to size by inserting it behind the glass and using and exacto knife around the edges of the paper for precision.

(Step 3) I punched 7 circles out from a complimentary paper using my Fiskars circle hole punch, then spread Mod Podge on the back of each circle and evenly spaced them out on my decorative paper- using a ruler.

(Step 4) I could have stamped my letters in to the circles or even cut them out with the Cricut, but I found these stickers last week in my scrapbook stash and decided that a. I was feeling lazy and b. These would be really cute with the design of the decorative paper that I chose. So I chose the lowercase letters, peeled them off and stuck them in the middle of the circles. In our house the week starts with Monday and ends on Sunday, so I ran with that.

(Step 5) I cleaned the glass really well with my homemade glass cleaner and used a microfiber towel to remove all excess lint.

(Step 6) I slathered Mod Podge on the back (unpainted frame) side of my window glass and very carefully and slowly adhered my decorative paper face down in the Mod Podge. I let it dry and...

(Step 7) I applied Mod Podge on the back of the decorative paper to protect the paper. If you wanted, after the Mod Podge dries you could seal it with clear acrylic sealer, but I didn't feel it was necessary.

(Step 8) We attached 2 sawtooth picture hangers on the back to hang it and balance it out when we write on/erase it!

What I'd do differently next time:

Less or lighter color pattern on the decorative paper so we could read the meals better.

Overall, I LOVE how it turned out. I am an instant gratification crafter and this met all of my expectations and time constraints!!

Happy crafting! If you make one, please send me a picture, I'd love to see what you come up with!!

 What is your meal planning process, tips or tricks?

Gluten free pumpkin scones

Ok, let's face it. Being gluten free gets easier... Then it gets hard again this time of year. Every. Single. Year.
So last year I found a Starbucks pumpkin scone recipe online and adapted it to be gluten free. YES! You heard, um , read that correctly- proceeding is a recipe for the gluten free version of Starbucks pumpkin scone recipe! I adapted this recipe from a gluten full one and I'm feeling pretty proud about it! ;)

1.5 C Basic gluten free pastry flour mix
1/2 C gluten free oat flour (I make mine from GF oats in a coffee grinder sometimes)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
7 TBS sugar
1 TBS baking powder
Mix well.
Cut in 6 TBS butter or shortening (I use spectrum palm oil shortening)
Mix it into your dry ingredients until it is crumbly with no huge chunks. Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix:

1/2 C (heaping) canned pumpkin
1/2 C milk (I use rice milk)
1 egg (or equivalent replacer)

Whisk wet ingredients together then mix them with your dry ingredients. Pour into a greased 9" round cake pan and bake for 17 minutes at 350 degrees.
When finished, take the round pan out of the oven and cut your scones into triangles then place them on a greased cookie sheet and bake them the rest of the way for 8-10 minutes (or until done) at 450 degrees. ( I like to eat scones that actually look like scones!)

**My little twist is to drizzle melted white chocolate on top and place a pecan half in the center when they have finished baking and are cooled.  Or melt white chocolate and add in a pinch or nutmeg and cinnamon!
The picture shows this, but we are out of pecans this go round. They're still so delicious. And gluten free is suddenly not hard anymore :)