Rearranging My House

I had a very busy but productive weekend.

Saturday, I decided to go yard saling (that can be a verb, right?). I have a wish list a mile long and a decorating/furnishing budget an inch short, so I decided that yard sales, thrift stores, and Walmart will have to be my shopping destinations for the time being. I didn't find too much on Saturday, though, so it was kind of disappointing. Maybe it was the neighborhood that the block sale was in, or maybe I'm out of the loop with yard sale pricing, but I don't remember ever paying $3 for a paperback book at a yard sale. Sorry. Not gonna do it. However, I did find 3 really good quality frames for $2 total and a stack of really good cloth napkins and a couple of tablecloths for $1, so I guess that made the trip worth it!

Then, on Sunday, my husband decided that we were going to move his office downstairs. His office has been upstairs in a spare bedroom since we moved into our home. But the temperatures got unbearable in that room this summer, so we moved him downstairs temporarily (so I thought). However, once we got the computer down there, he liked the temperature and was actually more productive downstairs than upstairs (he works from home, so productivity is important!). And I figured out that I liked him downstairs too; when he's working in the evenings I can see him from the living room and kitchen, so it feels like we're spending time together more so than when he's sequestered upstairs.

What made the decision easier was the fact that my sitting room had no furniture in it, which sounds strange, but let me explain. A couple of months ago, I came home to discover my sitting room carpet in my driveway. That particular carpet had been a source of nasty smells since we moved in (having to do with the previous owner's incontinent dog and then our cats' assumptions that, since the dog went there, so could they. Argh!!). We laid down a laminate floor during our pre-fourth of July home-fixing-up extravaganza. But, for some reason, the furniture never made it back to the sitting room. I'm not sure why, it just didn't.

So, I spent my Sunday carting furniture and electronic equipment and office supplies from my second floor to my first floor. It actually doesn't look too bad, though like the rest of my house, I hope in the future to replace our during and post-college laminate/particle board furniture with what I am calling "grown up" furniture. Once we get everything set up, I'll post some pics.

After all that hard work, we ended our weekend with some Olive Garden (L-O-V-E me some Zuppa Tuscana!). And what could be better than that?

There's Serious Funniness Involved Here

Earlier this week Thrifty Decor Chick posted about a blog called Catalog Living. The blogger describes the life of fictitious couple Gary and Elaine using pictures from Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, etc. Seriously funny!! Go get your Friday Funnies on at Catalog Living!

And the Harvest is Here!

For the past couple of summers Mr. 31 has planted a small vegetable and herb garden in our backyard. I say Mr. 31 because, as you may recall, I = plant death.

This week, we have our first harvest of vegetables - a ton of yellow squash! And I mean a ton - we gave some away, we ate some, we're saving a couple for seeds...and as of yesterday afternoon I still had a stack of it on my counter.

Soooo...I'm now freezing yellow squash.

See that stack to the left? That's after giving away four, eating two, chopping three, and I still have 3 left on another counter to eat later this week.

I'm also making a contribution to our compost bin - the ends of the squash are all in the white bowl awaiting transfer to the great outdoors.

I ended up with seven bags of yellow squash - which I'm sure we'll be happy for this fall and winter.

I had to move it all to our freezer downstairs, so I had made a handy dandy (not fancy, mind you) list to hang on my refrigerator upstairs so I don't forget what I have down there.

(And, no I'm not advertising for National City Bank - National City doesn't exist anymore, so my dad's wife who worked there gave me some of these handy clip magnets. Hi Pam!!).

From the looks of things, it's good my husband bought the Sam's Club pack of freezer bags. We could be eating yellow squash for a long time!

Husband Organizing

Maybe I'm the only one who has this problem.

But I think not.

The problem I speak of occurs when Mr. 31 gets ready to leave the house: "Where are my keys?"

Two minutes later: "Have you seen my glasses?"

30 seconds later: Mr. 31 still wandering around the house opening drawers and sticking his hand between couch cushions. Me: "What are you looking for?" Mr. 31: "My wallet."

For example, earlier in the week I walked around the house and looked for the things he would need to leave the house, snapping pictures with my iPhone as I went (so sorry for the quality of the pictures):

That would be (clockwise from top left): his glasses, wedding ring, and earbuds for his phone in the office; his watch in the living room; his wallet in the dining room; and his keys in the kitchen. At least they're all on the first floor.

We've tried various tactics to keep his things in one place. Obviously unsuccessfully.

So, I've decided to tackle the problem head on AGAIN. This time I'm attacking the problem with the tactic of "if the place where the things are to go is RIGHT BY the door, then it will be really easy for Mr. 31 to just dump the stuff right there." Seems logical.

There are two drawers in the kitchen right by the main door that we go in and out of that I decided to appropriate. They were holding tablecloths, cloth napkins, and a box holding fancy serveware. So all of those things needed a place to go.

For that, I decided to empty a drawer in a hutch in my dining room, which was the last spot that I tried getting my husband to corral all his stuff. It has since become a true junk drawer, holding all sorts of goodies and, to be honest, trash. It was really kind of frightening.

After emptying and cleaning the drawers, I decided to line them. I didn't have contact paper or equivalent, so I decided to go with leftover wallpaper from my dining room. It works, right?

I attempted to pull the old lining out of the kitchen drawers, but evidently the liner is integral to the structural integrity of the drawers. Not wanting to rebuild drawers, I left it underneath the wallpaper.

Then I loaded the dining room drawer up with all my tablecloths, runners, and napkins.

In the kitchen, I kept the serveware and an apron in one drawer and used the other for Mr. 31's stuff.

Look how neat it is!

I also want to show you the proximity of the drawer to the door, so you can see that he literally has to take one step into the door, open the drawer, and dump his stuff in.

Here's hoping we've got the solution!!

I'll be linking up to the usual suspects!

Praline Stuffed Yam

As promised yesterday, here is the recipe that I made to use up a lingering yam. As I only had 1 (large) yam, I adapted the recipe to fit. Hence the odd measurements.

Praline Stuffed Yams
Adapted from The New Holly Clegg Trim & Terrific Cookbook (Trim and Terrific)

1 large yam, unpeeled
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon, divided
1/8 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
1 1/2 tbs. butter, melted
1/6 cup flour
1/8 cup light brown sugar
1/8 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Poke yam with a fork a few times. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour.

2. Cut yam in half (You'll probably have to hold it with a towel or pot holder while you do it. It will be HOT). Spoon out contents into a bowl. Mash together with sugar, milk, half the cinnamon, and half the vanilla. Spoon mixture back into the yam skin halves.

3. Mix together butter, flour, brown sugar, pecans, and remaining cinnamon and vanilla. Crumble on top of the yam halves.

4. Turn oven down to 350. Bake yams for 15 minutes or until topping is browned.

It was yummy and I didn't have to add the yam to the compost bin!

Please check my link party page for all the wonderful blogs I'll be linking up to!

The Problem with Produce

Making the switch to eating healthier is posing some interesting problems.

Take fresh produce for instance. I've always known I should eat more fruits and vegetables (in a form other than the Hostess fried cherry pies from convenience stores). The lesson was hammered home in Michael Pollan's book Food Rules: An Eater's Manual (a great book - I really recommend it!). His basic rules: Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.

Probably good ideas.

However, with only two of us eating at our house for the most part, produce is sometimes difficult to stay ahead of. We buy it and eat it....except for that last banana that ends up going bad...or that last handful of lettuce that neither of us manage to eat before it wilts...or those last few blueberries that went moldy.

You know, you don't have this problem with Hamburger Helper. Which also explains why I shouldn't eat it.

I've been working on figuring out ways to save those last bits of produce so they don't go bad, like making apple muffins out of the lingering apples, cutting up and freezing berries, etc. In the interest of being honest, we've also been making some contributions to our compost bin.

Tomorrow I will share a recipe I came across that helped me use up a yam that was on the verge of being not so fresh.

Scripture Saturday - Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. - Philippians 4:8

I've decided to take a break from Proverbs 31 to look at this verse from Philippians.

There are occasionally times in life when, for whatever reason, it seems like we are surrounded by negative circumstances. There's bad news all around and difficult situations to tackle. It's extremely easy to get down in the dumps or pessimistic when faced with such times.

That's why I love this scripture. What a great solution that the Lord has given us! Instead of continuously dwelling on the terrible things, think on the things that are lovely, pure, of good report. Doing so will not necessarily make the difficult circumstances disappear, but you will have the peace of the Lord as you go through them.

So the next time things start bringing you down, change the things you are focusing on. Focus on the good things, the pure things, the lovely things, the just things. There are always plenty of those around us - we just need to make the choice to dwell on them.