Decorating Dallas

I've got a long way to go before becoming the designer of my dreams but I sure have fun practicing each time I move.  Some of the key words I wanted to incorporate in our Dallas apartment were: modern, open, functional, industrial, clean, and comfortable.  I wanted the home to say, "for adults but kids live here." The motto for our stuff has been, if there is no place for it, it can't stay.  And finally, I wanted to include my husband in our decorating.  I have dreams of more bling and glam in my design but that doesn't really fit Jesus so we agreed on most things together (minus the cow pillow in the living room...I think the thought of living in Texas made me buy that!).  I'm not saying I accomplished all of my key words like a pro but I do like what we have come up with.  

Want to see?!

The main living area is where I really imagined some of my key words from above.  I'm particularly happy with the children's book/toy storage from Ikea because of the modern, shiny white shelving and those baskets! My couch pillows just came today from Amazon and that makes me happy too (even...no, I mean especially, the cow!)

The dining area:  I needed something above that pass through window so I found that cute little "love more" sign matching the arrow pattern of my couch pillows.  I love the industrial, steel looking dining chairs from Target. And I'm pleased with the photos on the wall of our family and the Santo Domingo, LDS Temple.

Bedroom: Right now it looks straight out of a furniture store but I think some accent pillows on the bed and maybe some art above the headboard will perk it right up one day.  The design blogs and Pinterest say all the rage is to get pieces that aren't matchy matchy but with moving so much, I ain't got time for that and just wanted something done! For now, I love how masculine this room looks as this was one of the rooms I especially paid attention to Jesus's ideas and not just mine.  Also, our kids are all up in our life 24/7 so I wanted the bedroom to be a reminder of just Jesus and I so when you notice the pictures, notice the no kids allowed.

The kid's room could use some design but for now it's white, simple, has space to play, and includes the drawings of each of child at one month. Remember before Joaquin was born, I designed that awesome nursery, painted the crib blue, re-finished the dresser etc. etc. (with the help of my friends)?  Well, after moving so much, I just didn't have time for that this time around. Khaleesi got the shaft in decorating but I like this simple apartment room she shares with her brother with matching beds...again I say one day, for when I go all out on a kid's room again!

Bathroom: Double vanities and some pics on the wall from Dominican Republic, what more could I want?!  A modern tile walk in shower? Sure but that's beside the point.  Our apartment is pretty old but they've done a nice job updating it with granite counters and faux wood floors.

Those are indeed Texas stars holding up that shower curtain,

Kitchen: I didn't do any decorating in here but don't the white cupboards and granite counters pretty the place up?

I'm 32!

It's funny to think I'm 32 because while that does sound a little old...it doesn't seem to affect me like 30 or 31 did.  Maybe I'm just over it and ready to be in my 30s!  Basically I'm saying this birthday didn't have a milestone feeling and it just felt normal which I'm ok with.  I want to thank everyone who took the time to tell me happy birthday in all the many different ways whether by technology, phone or in person!  It's a special feeling to feel loved on your birthday.  My kind husband even bought me Sigma makeup brushes and a bag of jelly beans from his work that I'm addicted to.

Still practicing with my Sigma brushes but so far I am favoring the kabukis with the rounded heads.  The  f84 works great for contouring with bronzer and the f82 is a great buffing/blending brush for me.

Here's how the day unfolded: My little family rolled our of bed at 8am and hit the ground runnin'!  Jesus set off for work and Joaquin and I had a bright and early dermatologist appointment.  No, my son does not have Michael Jackson disease, in case you've noticed and have been wondering.  But yes, he has been losing pigmentation.  Turns out it's eczema and not permanent!  Hallelujah on the not permanent part.  His tan skin is just too beautiful to lose!  He tends to break out in red eczema spots and then when the redness fades, so does his pigment.  We've tried many creams and a prescription shampoo and it was nice to finally get a prescription from the dermatologist who should have more knowledge in this area than all the other family doctors we've seen.  The cream should take away the redness and lessen the loss of pigmentation.  Turns out only the sun can bring the pigmentation back but it will come back.  It may take years but it will come back!  Then we ran some errands at Target, went to the mall to replace my iPhone screen protector and stopped at Sephora to get my present from my mom.  We got the Urban Decay Electric palette and all you have to do is google or Pinterest it to see how amazing it is!  I've wanted it for months but had to gain some confidence in my makeup artistry before branching out and I'm finally ready!  Then of course, we finished our time at the mall in the play place.  Here's my first colorful and relatively basic look with the electric palette but there are so many more looks to come!

Then in the evening, I took my husband on a surprise date!  I signed us up for a grilling class/BBQ party at Kitchen Window in Uptown.  We learned how to use a charcoal and gas grill as well as a smoker.  We made several delicious recipes using all the different cooking methods and got to eat every bit of it!  It was a really fun and new experience for us.  Something Jesus said we should even do more often...if it wasn't so expensive, I definitely would!  But perfect for a b-day celebration.  Here's what we made in photos...all delicious!

Prepping a marinade

Steaks fresh off the grill

Steak slider with sun dried tomato aioli

Chicken wings going in the smoker

Marinating the lamb chops

Smoked and grilled chicken wings with parmesan herb marinade

Grilled lamb chops with tzatziki sauce

Grilled white bean, feta, red onion and yogurt sauce flatbread

And now it's finally time for bed!  Happy Birthday to me, thanks to all of you!

How to have an inviting fridge - Part 1

This week my husband and I realized there was nothing to eat!  Nothing to cook for dinner, nothing to snack on, just nothing yummy.  But we looked in the refrigerator and found this! This photo is after I started cleaning it out.

Piles upon piles of tupperware and leftovers that we had no idea how long they had even been in the fridge.  Let's remember my husband and I are living with my mother right now so this is between all of us. Luckily today I made a lovely trip to Sam's Club and then cleaned out the refrigerator!  Here is what it looks like now.  

I realize there is an overwhelming amount of coke but the fridge as a whole is much more inviting.  I can see that we have pita bread and hummus, eggs, english muffins, a hunk of brie cheese, fresh cut berries and mangos and I know apples are in the produce drawer and cheese is in the side drawer.  I feel like if I'm hungry, I can simply open my fridge and find something to eat!  It's a miracle! Oh...this shouldn't be a miracle you say?  You already have an inviting fridge and there's always something good to eat?  You don't despise grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking like I do?  Well then this blog IS for you!  I am looking for help!  

What are your suggestions for how to have an inviting fridge?  How do you ensure leftovers get eaten?  How do you avoid tupperware piling up?  Does your fridge look nice and organized?  Have you ever gone to a friend's house and opened their fridge and just wanted to eat everything because it looked so much more inviting than your own fridge?  Maybe that's just me!  Together let's make a list of problems and solutions and then I will write part 2 of this blog and the world will know how to always have an inviting fridge based on our combined knowledge.  Thanks in advance!

Problems:

• Produce goes bad before it gets eaten
• Tupperware from who knows when piles up
• Sometimes there is literally no food in the fridge

Solutions:

• Wash and cut produce as soon as you return from the grocery store before you put it away. Then it will be ready to eat and much more inviting. 
• Put dates on tupperware with masking tap and don't cook several large meals in the same week that are not going to get finished
• Keep up on grocery shopping once a week or whatever is your family's frequency (question: how do keep a running list of necessities or is all just memorized now?)

Bloglovin'

Sometimes I'm a little late on the trends.  For instance, I just started using Instagram and still haven't found a groove with using it regularly.  There's another great trend going on for blog writers/readers like me and it's called Bloglovin'!  I'm sure I'm late finding this site too but today I want to share it with you.  It's a place where you can scroll through and read blogs that you follow.  It looks similar to a Pinterest page but rather than pins, it's all the latest blog posts from your favorite blogs to keep you up to date.  It even suggests other blogs to read based on what you are currently reading.  So check it out.  Click this link and join the Bloglovin' revolution.  Have fun reading blogs you love and finding new ones.  There's even an app for your smart phone.  And while I am plugging them, I'll plug myself.  Just click the "follow me on bloglovin' link" on my blog's sidebar and start following me on the site.  Hope you like this new find as much as I do!

I'm 30 and I can finally cook!

If you want to read about my New Years resolution click here:
http://ournewjag.blogspot.com/2014/01/its-cooking-time-new-goal.html

According to Sid Savara (whoever that is), "25% of New Year’s resolutions are broken in the first week alone. Within 6 months, over half of New Year Resolvers will have given up."
Well it's February 11 and I'm still going strong!  That's more than I can say for any gym membership I've tried in the past...this year I'm working my way through Michael Symon's five in five cookbook.  Each week I use the handy grocery list generator that's part of his ebook on the iPad and plan my family's menu.  I just click the meals I want to try and the iPad puts it into a organized grocery list for me.  I have been very impressed with how quick the meals are...while they are more than five minutes, I'm always out of the kitchen in under 30.  They also have been quite delicious.  Many of the recipes use fresh herbs and spices to help me feel like I'm cooking restaurant quality food because we know that's what we'd rather be eating...from a restaurant.  There have been a couple that have lacked a little flavor but I blame those on not having a grill and me improvising.  My favorites have surprisingly been the sandwiches!  You can't go wrong when you buy good quality bread and new flavors of cheese.  With that said, here are some photos of my cooking endeavors...if only I brought out the SLR to do blog quality work...Sorry...I guess focusing on cooking has been a big enough goal and photography will have to come a little later.

Portabella, arugula and blue cheese sandwich

Want to see how easy the recipes are to follow?  Here's an example for the above sandwich...remember all credit goes to Michael Symon's five in five so that if the world goes nuts and I become famous, I don't want to get in trouble for copyright.

Prosciutto, tomato and basil fritatta (fritattas are so easy and now a great way for me to use up any leftover veggies from the week)

Garlic chicken and mushrroms (was supposed to be asparagus but we used mushrooms)

Sausage, zucchini and almond foil packet using an oven instead of a grill :(

The next exciting thing has nothing to do with my resolution is I decided to try flavored water thanks to Pinterest!  I hate drinking water but I know that I need to, we all need to.  Once I made this concoction I downed several water bottles in the same day and yes that's a feat for me.  My first go was cucumber, mint and lime.  I'm so excited to buy fruit every time I go shopping now to make more flavors...I am determined to find one my husband will even like.  He's currently on a break from his precious Coca cola so I have a better chance of slipping one of these new drinks in.  Oh and even Joaquin was obsessed!

It's cooking time! A new goal.

In my church there is a program for all of the young women to complete called Personal Progress.  It helps teenage girls come closer to Christ in their life through scripture study, prayer, living Christlike attributes and life skills.  Since I am a youth leader and never completed this program when I was a youth, I am now doing it  and only have one project of my choice left in addition to finishing reading the Book of Mormon again.  So what have I chosen for my final project?!  It’s cooking time!  This could even be a New Years Resolution I suppose.

I have completed several cooking challenges in my life from taking cooking classes to finding several new recipes online and while that has all been fun, nothing has turned me into a home cook that enjoys cooking and stops eating out/ordering in.  Today I have a new idea!  Instead of trying various recipes online only to not save and forget about, I’m going to work my way through a cookbook!  I’m not saying I’ll try every recipe in the book but I’m saying I’ll try and stick to just one book to keep myself focused and not forget the things that actually turn out good!  I researched specifically cookbooks that are good for beginners or that are quick and easy.  The one I’ve decided to try is Michael Symon’s 5 in 5.  He claims to have meals you can prepare in five minutes with five ingredients.  I plan to get the ebook on our new Christmas present IPad. I'll be able to prop my Ipad on the kitchen counter and he includes a grocery list generator I can simply email to myself.  After reading reviews, I realize there may be prep work in addition to the five mintues and pantry ingredients in addition to the five fresh ingredients but all in all it still sounds like one of the easier books I found…let’s hope!

Image taken from: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kkAmAk-vL._SX258_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
You won't see me getting in trouble for copyright.
This doesn't even have to be in MLA, APA, XYZ format 'cause it's MY blog.  Take that University of Minnesota! ;)

So here’s to a new goal!  To be honest, I really stink at finishing my goals, which doesn’t typically bother me, but I always have fun starting so I can’t wait to see how I do!  This goal is for myself to finally enjoy cooking at home and for my family to eat healthier and save money. With all the cooking challenges I’ve tried, I’m just crossing my fingers this can be the one that works!  C’mon 5 in 5!

***Check in on the last goal I documented***

Do you remember the thirty minutes thirty days no electronics challenge back in September?  You can view it at: http://ournewjag.blogspot.com/2013/09/30-minutes-30-days-no-electronics.html

Well that only lasted a couple weeks (perfect example of me starting and not finishing).  However the goal was to spend uninterrupted time together as a couple and while we didn’t stay consistent with the exact plan, it still helped us to realize the problem and helped us to remember to focus solely on each other without texting, video games, open computers, etc. in general. We still remember this today and I think the goal created an overall change of consciousness so I am happy with that.

Decorating

I'm getting somewhere with decorating this place.

Today I found a store that resembles Home Depot and it was like my dreams came true!  I found a pinterest project to paint some baskets to add some color into my space and I was really hoping to find a store to meet my project needs...and I did.

I was using two stacked and turned over baskets as an end table but I realized it was more important for these baskets to be used as storage.  They reside in my living room and one holds Joaquin's toys and the other holds his diapers and wipes.  This is so his lazy parents never have to leave the living room! And the even more exciting news is that I found an actual basket end table (not just a pretend one) to fill that gap!  Well as my decorating progressed I noticed too much brown tones in the room so I decided to paint the storage baskets.  I'm happy with the color they add to the space however not so happy with the actual color.  I knew I should have brought the pillow from the room with me to the store but I didn't and I failed to match the color I needed.  I would have just gone home to get the pillow when I realized there were too many paint choices but I taxi everywhere and I my impatience trumps my perfectionism.

So here's what I did:

First I taped off the baskets where I wanted to paint.  I chose stripes.  I tried using a tape measure to get both baskets the same but it was easier for me to just count how many weavings (stripes in the actual basket) I wanted to paint above.

Next I painted.  I used a brush for the blue as they didn't have a close enough color in spray paint.  I spray painted the white stripe because spray paint is both faster and cheaper.

Then I let it dry (kind of...I really have a problem with patience when it comes to DIY which is why I typically don't do it) and applied a second coat.

Then I removed the tape and waalaa!





















Here is a photo of them in the space.  Although the blue is not the same as the turquoise in the pillow, it does look good with the blue vase on the table, my new blueish dining room curtains and my rug in the adjacent living area so it will have to suffice...let's hope.  This room really isn't my best work but it was rushed and it's still not complete.  I'm not a fan of so much brown and I never like red but I thought the pillow was so cool (and more of a burnt orange) that I ran with it!

Here are some other photos of what's been going on with decorating this place.  We clearly still need a TV stand and a dining room table but those aren't priority.  Especially the table as we eat in front of the TV...yeah when Joaquin is bigger I'll teach him to eat at the table...right?

Here you can just barely see the teal curtains in the dining space.

This room is my fave!  Love that rug and the windows!