Bathroom Re-Model

So, we're not quite finished with our bathroom, but I am so excited about it that I have to post now! We still have some grouting to do, and caulking, placing a trim tile, painting the ceiling, putting on all the shower fixings, light fixtures, mirror, and we plan to stain the vanity and mirror cabinet, and possibly paint the counter top or replace it. So I guess there is still a lot, but we're nearly there! We weren't planning on starting this project until Spring, but unfortunately we had a leak before Christmas that needed to be fixed, and we might as well just do it all in one shot. Even if that shot takes a whole month. :)

So this is how our bathroom looked when we bought the house.

PINK! Yuck! This color of pink is such a depressing color, and having it everywhere is worse! Pink tub, pink tile, pink toilet, pink walls, pink sink, pink vanity, pink counter tops, pink linoleum, and there was even a pink towel hanging on the rack that the family left there. Yuck. Not a big fan of pink.

So we took a 5 lb. sledge hammer to it! Well, to the tub anyway.

This is a cast iron tub that got a leak (that is why we had to start this project earlier than we expected). Cast iron is way too heavy! There is no way that 2 people were going to get this tub out of the bathroom in one piece. Partly because it was so heavy, and partly because it wouldn't have fit through the door! So we broke it into pieces and later we'll take it to a metal place where they will hopefully give us some money for the scrap metal (we happen to have a lot of it lying around the yard, and now we have a lot from the tub and pipes we removed). 

This was about half way through. Trevor busted it up into about 5 pieces.

Cleaning up the tile. We removed the tile from the wall with a crowbar and hammer. We also had to cut out some of the dry wall because it was just too damaged and not smooth.

We changed the piping so we will only have one nob for turning on the water instead of 2, plus a knob for turning on the shower. Trevor's mom helped us with all of this. She knows a lot about plumbing, and placing tile. We were lucky to have her! Saved us a lot of mistakes and money. 

The vanity is gone! And as you can see we already replaced the pink toilet (about 3 weeks before starting this project). Since Trevor's family is in the construction/re-model business we got this toilet for free. I guess someone was just getting rid of it? I don't care. It flushes good and it isn't pink. :)

The tub is gone! And as you can see, we discovered during this project that none of our exterior walls have insulation. Which I suppose is pretty common with houses like ours. It was built in the 60's and is brick. Brick provides some insulation, but here in Utah, I would like a little more. 

So we put some in! I really like this Styrofoam insulation much better than the itchy pink stuff. 

Our tub is set. Trevor and I are bargain shoppers. We got our house for a good deal, we didn't spend tons on our wedding (but it was nice), didn't spend tons on our honeymoon (but it was sufficient for us), we yard sale like crazy when it's summer, we visit Big Lots and the DI regularly, and we are avid KSL-ers. KSL is the Craigslist of Utah. We picked up this lovely jetted tub for free! We had to spend $0.12 on a tube that fixed it and that is all. After setting the tub we realized that this tub also has never been used since it still had the warning stickers inside the tub. :) We feel awesome about our deal. 

We didn't expect to have to make the room more pink when we were trying to get rid of it, but unfortunately a shower requires RedGuard, which is a sealant to protect from moisture. 

We laid the tile where the vanity and toilet were to be placed so that if we didn't finish we could still use our bathroom at least. Which was good we did, since it is two weeks later and we just barely finished laying tile. And as you can see, we have painted the walls already a nice light gray. Thanks to Trevor's mom, we didn't have to pay for paint. She had a 5 gallon bucket left over from her house that she wasn't going to use. Pink is hard to cover up though, so we used a white primer, then the gray. We have one coat on, but will put a second coat on later. 

The shower is mostly tiled! We used the cheapest 16x16 tile, and the cheapest accent. Still looks good though, right? Who ever said cheap didn't look good?

The vanity is now set. The counter top doesn't look terrible, but we still might replace it. As well as the faucet. It sprays you a little. But who cares? We got the whole thing on KSL for $50. 

The lighting in this picture is terrible, but it is to show you my wonderful grout job. It's amazing how much a difference grout can make. Looks much better I'd say. 

Here we are! Everything is tiled, and it looks great! Of course, it's not completely finished, but when it is I will either be posting again, or adding to this post. We'll see. Doesn't this bathroom look so much better than the pink one? Not a speck of pink in this bathroom. Yay! I can't wait till it's ready for us to decorate. :)

Homemade Pizza Pockets (with bacon!)

Ok, since this is long over due (I was supposed to post in Oct) and I am already blogging, here we go! I just posted about homemade pizza (which also had bacon), and I used the same dough recipe for these pizza pockets (although I think a thin crust pizza dough would be better). I'll re-post the recipe though.

Here it is:

Dough:

1 1/4 C warm water

1 T. yeast

1 tsp. sugar

-Mix together and let sit for 5 minutes (unless you use quick yeast)

1 T. olive oil (or any oil)

1 tsp. salt

3 C flour

-Mix together for 2 minutes in blender, or longer if you knead by hand.

-I mixed by hand and it took me a while, plus I added about 3/4 C more flour, and probably could have used even more than that. 

-Let dough set for 10 minutes, then it will be ready to use.

I just used small amounts of dough rolled out for the pockets. Filled one side and folded the other over and pressed to two sides together. Here are some of the combinations I did.

Mozzarella, tomato, basil, ranch

Ranch, mozzarella, bacon, avocado

I believe I put these in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Just check them probably at 10 minutes and bake as long as you like!

I also made a desert one with apples softened in butter and a little brown sugar.

I added more brown sugar to the pocket and cinnamon as well.

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of these after they were baked, but I'll say this. I liked the dessert ones better than I liked the pizza ones. :) At least with this dough recipe anyways.

Homemade Pizza

PIZZA! Who doesn't love pizza? Or at least, who doesn't enjoy having some from time to time? Trevor and I enjoy pizza every now and then, but my absolute favorite is homemade. :) Partly because it's cheaper, and partly because you get to make it up however you want, and it is truly a personal pizza. 

Can you guess which pizza is mine and which is Trevor's?

Last night we decided to make homemade pizzas since we had some tomatoes that needed to be used. They turned out delicious! We used the pizza dough recipe my mom uses, and just made up our own toppings. Since we planned this ahead I was able to go to the store and pick up the things that I wanted for my pizza. It's not normally stuff we have on hand.

Here is the dough recipe:

1 1/4 C warm water

1 T. yeast

1 tsp. sugar

-Mix together and let sit 5 minutes (unless you use quick yeast)

1 T. olive oil (or whatever oil you like, but I like olive oil)

1 tsp. salt

3 C flour

-Mix in oil, salt, and flour for 2 minutes in a blender, or longer by hand.

-I mixed by hand and it took me a while, plus I added about 3/4 cup extra of flour and probably could have added more. 

-Let dough set for 10 minutes, then it is ready to use.

Here is what we put on each pizza!

Trevor's pizza: 

-pizza sauce (or in our case, tomato sauce with some Italian Seasoning - same thing)

-cheese - lots of it

-tomatoes diced fresh

-chicken pre-cooked

-bacon pre-cooked - lots of bacon

-elk salami pre-cooked (he got some from his boss and we have no idea what to use it for)

-a little more cheese on top

My pizza:

-Ranch

-cheese

-chicken pre-cooked

-bacon pre-cooked

-artichoke hearts (I used the marinated ones)

-fresh diced tomatoes

-baby spinach sliced

-more cheese

We baked these pizzas in a 400 degree oven for just over 15 minutes, and they turned out perfect! I could tell they were cooked all the way through and not doughy because the crust split on each pizza just in one place.

I didn't try any of Trevor's pizza yet, but I'm pretty sure that mine is the best. :) These turned out so yummy! And they look good too, don't you think?

Shredded Chicken & Black Bean Tortillas

I really need to keep up with this blog! I have too many pictures on my camera that I planned to put on here, and then just never have. I'll try to catch up. :)

This past week I made these Chicken and Black Bean Tortillas and totally got the thumbs up from my husband! He really loved them! Good thing I made so much. We ate left overs for a couple days. Trevor didn't mind however. :)  I got this recipe from my Mom quite a while ago, and I absolutely love it. :) It's my kind of recipe. Very flexible, and I normally have everything on hand. Yay!

Yum!

Here is the basic recipe:

Shredded Chicken & Black Bean Tortillas

Dice and fry chicken - 4 breasts  (fry in a couple tablespoons of oil)

Add to chicken:
2 medium onions sliced
1 green pepper
2 cloves of garlic
3-4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt

Allow onions to soften and then add:
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can drained black beans
1 can green chiles

I followed the recipe above for the most part, but here is what I did differently:
-Substitute half amount of chicken for chunked squash (I used banana squash) and add along with onions.
-I left out the green pepper because I didn't have any
-I added half a can of white shoe peg corn
-I also added an extra clove of garlic

Notes:
-The squash I used was some that I had baked in the oven slightly and frozen a few weeks before then thawed. So it was partially cooked and didn't take as long to cook all the way through, so I added it a few minutes after the onions, but before the black beans and it was still a little more soft than I would prefer. If you're using fresh squash you'll probably want to add it with the onions, or possibly toss it in the oven for 5-10 minutes while your chicken cooks.
-If you want your chicken shreddier you can add 1/2 cup water, put on a lid, and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- You can also add: rice, tomatoes, sourcream, cheese, corn, mushrooms (sauteed separately and added with beans), or anything else you can think of!
-And one last thing, we had these with tortillas the first night, but the second night we tried it with tostadas (basically large tortilla chips, you can find them by the tortillas in the store) and we loved it! I probably prefer this dish with tostadas. It seemed to be less messy and I like the crunch. :)

Hope you enjoy!

Ok last note: If you want  a recipe for homemade tortillas, my mom has one for Whole Wheat Tortillas posted on her blog along with her Shredded Chicken & Black Bean Tortillas. She also has a white flour tortilla recipe, but not posted. I'm sure if you requested it she would post it!
Here is the link: http://joy-inthekitchen.blogspot.com/2009/11/shredded-chicken-and-black-bean-stuffed.html

Feel free to look through her blog! She has lots of yummy recipes and tips for the kitchen.

Crafty Pumpkins

I decided to make pumpkins for fall, and after surfing Pinterest a while, I found a blog which is where I got my pattern for the pumpkins. Here is the link:

http://www.goinghometoroost.com/2009/handmade/weekend-diy-fabric-pumpkins/

The only thing I changed was how to do the stems. I only used ribbon. One I sewed on, but the other two I just stuck on with a pushpin. Because who doesn't have an extra pushpin or two? It was much much easier, and where I was putting my pumpkins, no one would be able to see my cheating method. :)

To be honest, I wish I had just pinned this one too. It is EXTREMELY easier. :)

Bacon Week!

This week is the 2nd Annual Bacon Week. This new found tradition was started by my brother and a buddy of his. Starting on the first Sunday in October through Saturday, bacon should be incorporated in every meal in some way. My brother created this week in honor of bacon and all of its goodness. As much as I love bacon, I have a hard time incorporating it into every meal. But I am trying to do every dinner at least. 

Sunday we were visiting my family and had bacon with breakfast. 

Monday we had bits of bacon in our breakfast burritos (which we ate for dinner). 

Tuesday we had bacon burgers. But not just bacon burgers, we had them Carl's Jr. style. Like the Western Burger. I mixed in some milk, barbecue sauce, and seasonings with the meat before I made patties. I only just barely learned that adding milk to the meat helps the patties to not fall apart. We cooked up some bacon and fried some onion rings (ordered from Alison's Pantry). And that's basically all you put on your burger! Mayo, barbecue sauce, hamburger patty, bacon, and onion rings. Very yummy. 

Tonight for dinner we are going to have homemade pizza. Something with bacon of course. Probably chicken bacon ranch. We'll see what we end up with. 

Just as a side note, when cutting uncooked bacon into smaller pieces to cook, using a knife is not the best way. Either cut the bacon after it's cooked, or use scissors. I wish I had thought of this before. At least I get to use this tonight and the rest of the week though!

I'll post some pictures of our pizza, and hopefully of some of our other meals. Which I am so excited for.  I love bacon! Bacon in anything would pretty much just be yummy. :)

Updated Spider's Web

I finished my door hanging project! I would have liked to use wooden letters, but I already had felt on hand. And googly eyes for the spider. I used spray on Tacky glue ($6.99 at JoAnn's). It took hardly any glue at all,  and I got a good sized bottle. I'm excited to see what else I can use it on!