Landscape & Living Room Update

I've had so many people ask for updates and pictures of the house so here's a few! And we still have a long way to go!  We really wanted to save and pay cash for our projects as we go so it's going to take some time, but we are okay with that! 

Let's start with the yard. yikes! We had our work cut out for us.  Here's the yard when we moved in in May... It looks as though the hubs did a few wheelies on the lawn mower! Ooops!

We really weren't sure if we wanted to try to salvage some of the bushes or get rid of everything and start with a clean slate...

We decided that everything must go.  We ripped everything out and currently have black plastic, similar to heavy duty garbage bags, that we have put down over the entire bed that probably won't come up until next spring. Hopefully the weeds will be dead and the soil will be ready for us!

And then there's the living room.  Here's the room when we took possession of the house in May.

After a few coats of paint, carpet pulled up and the hardwood refinished, here's where we were at.

 

 

And here's where we are at today.  It's still not finished but we are closer.  I'm still in search of the perfect rug, something to put up along the back wall and can lighting put in the ceiling. It works for now though!

In a perfect world I would love some pretty chairs and a small loveseat but in reality, we have a lot of people over and for now this is our only entertaining space.  It didn't make sense to only be able to seat 4-5 people in this room so we went for a BIG sectional.  I have to say I LOVE this sectional.  It sits quite a few people, it is super easy to clean, the cushions have kept their shape and the reviews were GREAT.  The reviews were actually what convinced us to buy this sectional.  It's from Macy's and we got a great deal on it during one of their big sales. 

 

We also got an entertainment center form Ikea that we love.  We are still waiting on the bridge that goes across the top.  I love that it has so much storage and it was really affordable!    

 

  

Please ignore the random items behind the glass.  I have yet to put everything in its place.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm actually STILL unpacking boxes. 

 I'm really happy with the way the space is coming together! Thanks for stopping by and to friends and family in the area, our home is always open and we would love to have you as our guest!  I can have dinner on the table in a matter of minutes! :)

Avocado Chicken Salad

I know some people might really be turned off by green chicken but holy guacamole! This stuff is GOOD! AND healthy! And EASY! It's a winner all the way around!

This is a recipe I saw someone share on Facebook.  I usually just pass over them but my sister in law had recently mentioned she wanted to use avocados more and so I thought this might be a perfect fit. 

You only need a few minutes and a couple ingredients! 

Here we go! 

2-3 chicken breast (boneless skinless OR bone in, skin on, it IS cheaper!)

1 avocado

1/2 yellow, white or purple onion, whatever you prefer 

juice of 1/2 of a lime

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

pinch of salt

Cook the chicken breast.  I boiled mine but you can cook it however you like.  The original directions I had said to let it cool but I just threw it in some cool water with ice after I boiled it. Then I used 2 forks to shred it. In a separate bowl mash the avocado and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.  Add the chicken and you're done! 

I really enjoyed my chicken salad on a toasted piece of artisan bread but it would also be yummy topped with pico, in a tortilla, with tortilla chips or even by itself!

Yum! Enjoy!

The Perfect Pie Crust

Pie crusts can be a tricky thing.  If you search online you'll find all kinds of different recipes and it's hard to know which ones are worth making.  Luckily, the lovely Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, did some pie crust testing to find what is truly THE BEST pie crust, and it's pretty easy too! 

Here's what you need-

1  1//2  Vegetable Shortening, like Crisco

NO BUTTER NO BUTTER NO BUTTER

3 cups AP Flour

1 egg

5 Tbsp cold water

1 Tbsp White Vinegar

1 tsp salt

With a pastry cutter work the vegetable shortening into the flour.  I was at my mom's house when I made this and she didn't have a pastry cutter so I used a fork.  It takes a lot longer but you can do it.  This was about half way through.  When it's ready it will looks like a "course meal", according to Ree. 

Once it's ready add the beaten egg, vinegar, water and salt. GENTLY stir this together until it's just incorporated. Divide the dough into three balls and put each into a gallon size baggie.  Gentle roll it out just a little and freeze 15-20 minutes to firm up. When it comes time to roll it out don't forget to flour your surface and rolling pin! Roll out to about 1/4 inch to make your pie crust! 

 Strawberry Pastry

Strawberry Breakfast Pastries

 

This past weekend my husband and a few of his buddies went camping as a bachelor trip for one of our friends who's getting married.   I thought I'd throw in a few breakfast pastries for them to eat on Saturday morning.  This is a pretty awesome group of guys but when it comes to preparing for these occasions...well.... they tend to forget a few things.  And I didn't want them to starve!

I started out with my Perfect Pie Crust.  You could definitely use a store bought crust (I have before!) and it would be a-okay! 

 Roll it out to about a 1/4 inch thick.  Then I used the top of a drinking glass to cut out the size circles I wanted.  You could do bigger ones or you could do rectangles, hearts, stars, or anything you have a cookie cutter for!

Then I plopped a dollop of strawberry jam onto each circle. 

Once each one had some jam I put another circle of dough on top of them.  One thing I do want to mention is don't get TOO crazy with the jam.  As tempting as it is to fill 'er up with the strawberry goodness, be careful not to add too much or the dough won't seal well when you close it up in the next step!  And it will leak out while baking and make a big sticky mess of your pastries.

Take a fork and create a seal around the edges. 

Still using the fork make a few small holes in the top of the pastry.  This will allow the steam to escape which is muy importante! 

The final step is to brush an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water or milk) over each pastry and pop it in the oven.  Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.  Make sure to keep an eye on them as baking times will vary depending on your pie crust!

 While they were baking I whipped up the glaze which is simply 1 cup powered sugar and 3 Tbsp. milk.  I made a thin glaze but if you'd like yours thicker, like on a Pop Tart, knock the milk down to 1.5-2 Tbsp of milk!

Set them out and watch them disappear! These never last long and they can be eaten anytime, not just at breakfast!

Enjoy!