Bathroom Redo - Part 1

Two years ago, I redid my master bathroom. I put in a new sink and vanity, took out the old vinyl flooring, put down ceramic tile, and installed new baseboards and trim. It was a fun project and it turned out great. There were a few surprises, but overall, it went pretty much as planned so ever since I finished it, I've been wanting to redo my powder room downstairs. I figured this would be a snap - tiny room and the only real upgrade was to the vanity and sink. (I initially thought about redoing the floors, but they were in good shape, I liked the color, and wasn't up for removing and then replacing all the woodwork which a new floor would require.)  Here's the bathroom before the remodel:

 

Not hideous by any stretch, but the vanity really bugged me because it was the same as my kitchen cabinets. I had the same situation in my master bath when I moved in. Basically, the builder used the same stuff in the kitchen and both baths. Nice 1980s formica with wood trim. The vanity and sink were in good shape but they were definitely due for an upgrade. And I hated the dirt-cheap faucet. Seriously, it looked like something from a cheap motel.

I sort of started the project on a whim one Friday night. I hadn't planned the project completely but went into the bathroom and started to remove the backsplash and the woodwork that surrounded the vanity. Then one thing led to another and suddenly I was here:



So a few surprises...

1) No tile under the vanity - just bare concrete
2) A trough/borderline hole behind the old backsplash
3) Unpainted drywall behind the vanity
4) Mold leftover from an old leak (I checked to be sure the leak wasn't current and, thankfully, it wasn't)

Already I knew this would be far more work than I'd anticipated but I still couldn't know the full extent.

The first thing I had to do was cut out the old moldy drywall and replace it. I'd never done this before but I'd taped and spackled before so I understood the process. Of course, I didn't have the right tools to cut drywall but I was able to sweet talk a guy at Home Depot into cutting me the relatively small pieces I needed. (This may actually be a service HD offers - I'm not sure. All I know is I told the guy my sob story and he cut away.)

Once I got the drywall in place and everything had dried, I patched up the other holes, spackled, sanded, primed, and - at long last - painted the new area + about 6" all around. I also took the opportunity to touch up a few other places since I had the painting supplies out.

Last of the patching...


I was so excited Saturday night when I finished the last of the patching, sanding, and painting. Sunday morning I would put in the new trim (which was already purchased and cut to size) and then I'd go vanity shopping. Installing it would be cake so I felt like the hardest part - and the surprises - were behind me.

Not so. I walked into the bathroom Sunday morning and discovered that the new paint was a noticeably different hue from the old paint. Even though it was the same color from the same can of paint. I guess the paint had darkened over the last 5+ years because the new paint was definitely lighter. So I set about repainting the entire bathroom, and then touching up the trim and ceiling where I got green paint on white.

Once I repainted everything and it was dry, I began installing the new trim. It was time consuming but relatively painless - once I recut the pieces, of course. I had measured before going out to buy the trim. I don't have a saw other than a hack saw and figured it would be easier to cut the trim to the right size at HD since they have a whole workbench/measuring tape/saw station set up. Somehow I mismeasured pretty significantly, though, and had to break out the ol' hacksaw at home to trim the trim. What a nightmare.

Trim installed - waiting for putty to dry


This picture also shows the ace job I did on finding suitable tile to go over the bare concrete. Since my new vanity was going to be slightly smaller than the (irregularly sized) old one, I knew I had to put something underneath so you wouldn't see bare concrete. The floor in the powder room is original to the house (1984) and there was no way I'd find an exact match. But this vinyl stick-on tile worked out pretty well.

Once I got all the woodwork painted, I was excited to bring home the vanity! But in keeping with the theme of this project, it wasn't quite as simple as I'd imagined...

[Stay tuned for part 2!]

Lazy Dinner

I got home from TRX at the gym tonight at about 8:15, hungry, and completely uninterested in cooking. I really need to grocery shop so my options were pretty limited but I ended up with a yummy (if not necessarily the most nutritionally sound) dinner.

I discovered I had a bunch of small purple potatoes in my crisper drawer. (Totally forgot that I'd bought them!) They're about the size of red potatoes but they're purple! I decided to cut 2 of them up and bake them into purple potato fries. I spread them out on a cookie sheet that I'd sprayed with olive oil, and then sprinkled salt, pepper, and garlic powder on them. I baked them for about 20 minutes at 350. I knew I couldn't have just the potatoes so I added some grape tomatoes to my plate and there was dinner:

I should have had a protein with this but really didn't have anything suitable and I figure I could have done a lot worse! The potatoes had a sweet flavor and the tomatoes were a great complement. I will definitely buy the little purple guys again if I see them at Whole Foods. I'd also probably add in a chipotle sausage (vegan, of course). I also buy these at Whole Foods; they're near the eggs and butter and tofu and they're made by Field Roast. Super good!

Pantry Re-do (featuring Chalkboards!)

As part of Declutter and Reorganize 2012, I tackled my pantry last week. I got rid of a few things that were suspect (hello, basil-flavored oil from 2008!) but mostly just organized the shelves and made things easier to find and retrieve. I used some plastic bins that I had once used for craft storage but were currently unused, and even incorporated a few baskets. Here's the new and improved pantry:

I'm thrilled with the results, but my favorite thing is on the top shelf, in the middle. I cleaned out some old jars, ran them through the dishwasher, and then painted chalkboard paint on the front and lids. Then I took several of the bulk foods I had that were in plastic bags (and hard to organize), poured them into the jars, labeled them and - voila - organized and totally adorable storage!

I'm looking forward to adding a few more jars once I have some more empties.

I also turned an old wine bottle into a cool dish soap dispenser.  I put a wine pourer in the top (which works better than a shot pourer because the mouth is wider and the soap flows more quickly) and painted a chalkboard label on the front:

I love the idea of repurposing things that would otherwise end up in the recycling bin, and the addition of the chalkboard panels makes the jars not only cute but also really flexible since you can change the label at any time.

Saturday Morning Run through Town

I had another lovely run on Saturday morning with the "Next Steps" 10K training group I'm mentoring.  It was a picture perfect morning in Annapolis and I was reminded, once again, what a beautiful city I live in.

The Easiest, Cutest Gift

I made these adorable coasters for a friend for Christmas last year:

They were so easy to make and I think they turned out really well!

To make a set, you'll need:

• 4 ceramic tiles (I went to Home Depot and bought plain white 4" x 4" bathroom tiles. I think they were around 16 cents a piece.)
• Scrapbook paper (I used 4 coordinating pieces but you could do all one pattern/color or any other combination that tickles your fancy!)
• Scissors or paper cutter
• Mod Podge
• Foam brush
• Felt sheets (I used white but you can choose any color that coordinates with the tiles and paper.)
• Fabric glue
• Spray sealer

Here's how you make the coasters:

1. Use your scissors or paper cutter to cut the paper to fit the tiles.  I cut the paper about 3" square, leaving about 1/4" around the edge of each tile.
2. Position the paper on the tiles and use the foam brush to paint Mod Podge to adhere the paper.  Let dry and then apply a couple more coats. (Check the Mod Podge jar for guidance on dry times.)  I think I used 4 coats altogether on these.
3. Let the Mod Podge set completely.  Ideally, I'd suggest letting them 'cure' overnight.
4. Cut the felt to fit on the underside of your tiles. Again, I cut the felt into 3" squares.  You can use the little felt "buttons" on the back instead of covering the entire back. I decided to go with the full cover, though, because the back of the tile wasn't especially pretty.
5. Use fabric glue to glue the felt to the underside of your tiles. I actually found sheets of adhesive felt that I used. So I cut the felt to the right side, peeled off the backing and stuck it onto the tile.  I think I found the felt at Joann's, but Michael's, AC Moore and Hobby Lobby probably carry it too. There were limited colors, though, so if you want something special you may have to go with the old school felt and glue!
6. Once the felt is dry, turn your coasters over and spray the acrylic sealer over top. Let the sealer dry (read instructions on the spray can for guidance on dry times) and then seal again. As with the Mod Podge, I used 4 coats of sealer.
7. Let the sealer dry and you have some adorable coasters! Stack them up, tie a pretty ribbon around them and you've got yourself a super cute gift. I paired these coasters with pretty green mugs, some fancy tea, and nice chocolates.

Springtime Run

Pretty daffodils in bloom!

I take a strength training class at the gym on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Usually, I go to the gym and do a half hour of cardio before the class. But yesterday--the third day of Daylight Saving Time--was way too nice (and light!) out to go for a run or bike ride at the gym. So I went out for my first it's-still-light-out evening run of the year! The weather was amazing and there were so many people out in my neighborhood running, walking (alone and with dogs), biking, scootering, and just generally enjoying the beautiful weather. Even though I'm uncertain whether it's actually good (in an environmental sense) to have such warm weather so early in the year, I am loving it.

(On a less pleasant note, I am sore today! Most of my outdoor runs the last few months have been with my training group and I typically run those at a fairly slow pace. Last night's run was hilly and fast [comparatively speaking] and I really pushed myself. That + my TRX class = soreness today.)

Vegan Nachos

I got home from work later than I'd planned on Monday night, was starving, and had no idea what I would make for dinner. I'm a big fan of Mexican food and if I've got the ingredients, that is almost always my go-to cuisine. I discovered I had tortillas, some left over black beans, as well as other fixin's so I decided to make vegan nachos.

I've taken to making my own tortilla chips rather than keep a bag on hand. I find that if I have chips in the house, I will almost always start snacking on them when I come home hungry (which is most nights) and end up either spoiling my dinner or eating the chips AND dinner, thus eating way too much. As long as you have tortillas, it's easy to make chips - but time consuming enough that you don't just make them to snack on!

Here are the ingredients I use to make homemade chips:

Tortillas, pizza cutter, salt, pepper, spray olive oil, lime

I buy Whole Foods tortillas that they make right in the store. I think they have 4 ingredients + spices so not a super processed food.  I like flour or whole wheat tortillas for chips, but you can use corn tortillas too.  I think they have less flavor, though, and tend more toward tasting like cardboard. (Isn't that a ringing endorsement?!)

The first thing you do is cut your tortilla(s) into triangles:



Then spray a cookie sheet with the olive oil, dump the tortilla slices on the sheet, spray the pieces with a little more oil, and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper.  (You can also use chili powder or chipotle powder if you want a litle more spice.)

Bake the chips in the oven at 350.  After about 10 minutes, flip the chips over.  Bake another 10 minutes and check the chips.  You want them crispy and slightly brown.  In my oven, it takes about 22-25 minutes to bake them just right. 

When the chips were baking, I got the toppings ready.  I took the left over black beans I had a seasoned them with salt, pepper, chipotle powder, and garlic and pureed them with a hand blender. This makes almost a refried bean consistency but it's a little soupier.  My beans were pretty well drained, but if yours have a lot of liquid in them (and are too soupy for nachos), you can just add some bread crumbs or nutritional yeast to thicken them.

I also prepared some veggies to go on the nachos: grape tomatoes, some red onion I had left over from another recipe, and some jalapenos.  If I'd had fresh peppers I definitely would have preferred them, but I always keep a jar of sliced jalapenos in the fridge for nights like this.

When the chips were done, I squeezed the juice of half a lime over them. Then I added the bean paste and the toppings and put them back in the oven for 5 or 6 minutes to heat everything through. (If you want to add cheese - either real or a vegan substitute - you could do that now, but I prefer mine sans cheese.)

While the nachos were heating, I whipped up some guacamole. My recipe is very simple: I mash up the avocado and mix in garlic, salt, pepper, and chipotle powder. That's it. I like to preserve the taste of the avocado and think that too many recipes out there add so much stuff that you can't taste the avocado. I ended up using a whole avocado because much of it was bruised and couldn't be used. But normally I use just half of one and keep the other half for the next day. If you want to keep half, take the half with the pit still in it and wrap it REALLY tightly in Saran wrap or Press 'n Seal and refrigerate it. You have to use it the next day but it should keep until then.  Here's my yummy guac:



And here is my dinner ready to be eaten! (It was too much food but it was SO GOOD.)

Refrigerator Re-do

I love keeping photos on the front of my refrigerator. My family all lives far away from me, so I like the everyday reminder of their faces on my fridge. The photos inevitably become a conversation piece, too, whenever I have friends over and I love sharing stories and memories about my family.  Here's a photo of the front of my fridge, pre-re-do.

I tend to use the side of my fridge for more practical things - an envelope with coupons, a shopping list, a gym schedule, to do lists, etc.  It looked like this:

The refrigerator certainly didn't look terrible but I wanted a better way to display the photos and keep everything organized.  I had a jumble of different magnets - some of which worked really well and some of which didn't - and I wanted a more cohesive (and reliable) system.  I was browsing through CraftGawker, by far my favorite source for DIY/crafty inspiration, and came across this simple project that uses clothespins affixed with magnets and super cute themed tags to hold items. 

First, I printed the (free) printables sheet with all the tags.  I chose a cream colored card stock and it worked great.  Then I assembled my supplies - clothes pins, paint in 3 different colors, foam paint brush, magnets, and a good pair of scissors to cut out the tags.  I did 12 clothes pins in all and painted 4 each in yellow, red, and green.  I printed 2 sets of the printables.  I cut them all out, but ended up choosing the 12 I thought I'd most use.  (I'm keeping the others for another yet-to-be-identified project.)  The project was super easy to do, though the clothes pins took longer than I anticipated to paint.  They're little, but with lots of nooks and crannies so it took several coats!

The biggest challenge was finding magnets that were strong enough to hold the clothes pin and whatever it needed to hold. I bought some magnetic tape (as the project sheet suggested) but it didn't work at all.  Then I tried some button magnets and they were only slightly more 'sticky.' Finally, I had the brainstorm to repurpose some magnetic poetry magnets I'd gotten as a gift years ago and which I no longer really used.  I used 2-sided tape to stick the magnet to the back of the clothes pin and - voila - it worked!  (It doesn't look so pretty from the back, but I figure no one's going to see the back anyway.  If I were going to make these for a gift, I would definitely do something a little neater.)

So here's the fridge post-project:

 And a close up:

And here's the side of the fridge:

With a close up of the coupons envelope (of which I am very proud! - I just love the way it looks):

The tags I ended up using included Happy Memories, Things The Inspire, I Heart (several of each of those), along with one each of Birthdays, Shopping List, My Recipes, and Please Remember To.  I love, love, love the way this turned out! 

I kept all my old magnets and have another project in mind for them.  Stay tuned...

Winner, winner vegan dinner!

(Full disclosure: I stole the title for this post from the friend who gave me this recipe, but it so perfectly describes the meal that I had to use it!)

I've been a vegetarian for 23 years now and have toyed with a vegan diet off and on for the past 15 years or so.  I was a full-on vegan for about 5 years in the mid- to late-1990s.  Then I got a new job, started traveling a lot, and between not having as much time to cook due to a long commute and being on the road in places that were not vegan-friendly (think Peoria), I reverted to my lacto-ovo diet. I've been wanting to get back to eating vegan, though, because when I truly commit to it, I feel great, lose weight, and have more energy.

So at the start of this year, I decided to give the plant-based diet thing another go. I allow myself to eat a bit of eggs and cheese when I'm out or at a friend's house for a meal, but I try to stick to plant foods as much as possible. I've actually been really successful with it and I'm enjoying cooking more and trying out new recipes. One of my favorite finds is the Happy Herbivore cookbook. It has a ton of yummy vegan - and low-fat! - recipes that are pretty easy to make and, for the most part, use ingredients I already have at home.  I'm sure I'll post some photos of HH recipes soon, but today's recipe came from Vegan Planet: Creamy Picatta Orecchiette over Roasted Cauliflower Steaks.

This is the second time I've made this and I made some tweaks this time around that I think really improved it.  In addition to the cauliflower, scallions, and grape tomatoes that the recipe calls for, I also threw in aspargus to roast.  Yum!  I didn't use olive oil for roasting as the recipe suggests.  Instead, I just sprayed the pan and the veggies with an olive oil spray (like Pam). Less fat and it worked just as well.

The sauce also required a bit of adjusting.  I used less lemon than it called for, but added more garlic and cayenne.  The recipe also calls for adding basil right at the end before serving, but I pureed it with the rest of the sauce and think it was better that way.  I also left out the capers since I am not a fan.  Instead of orecchiette, I used tiny star-shaped pasta.  I think any pasta will work but I really liked the look of the stars!

Here's a photo of the veggies after roasting:

And here's a plate of the final meal:

(Sorry for the crazy color.  The plate is a mustardy yellow and I think it's to blame for the weird light.)

Pounding the...Treadmill

Yesterday was a gorgeous day and I so wanted to get out for a run. But it was windy and I was pretty tired from Saturday's workout. I wasn't sure how I'd feel on the 'open road' so I went to the gym instead. I managed just 2 miles on the treadmill before I called it quits and switched to the elliptical. Some days, you just don't feel it - as evidenced by this photo. I had to stop for water and a little walk at one mile and struggled to make it to 2!

Getting Organized

A couple of weeks ago, I launched Declutter and Reorganize 2012. I got the idea from a friend who suggested this as a project for Lent: Make a list of 40 areas of your home and each day during Lent, concentrate on cleaning out and organizing that area. The idea was to think about all the 'stuff' we accumulate and figure out what we really need - and hopefully donate some of the items we don't keep. (The original idea came from August Fields.)

I love cleaning and organizing and I love structure so this seemed like the perfect project for me! So I made my list of 40 areas - some small like cleaning out a nightstand and others pretty big like tackling my pantry. I've been really good about keeping up with it every day and I am amazed by a) how much stuff I have that I don't need/use and b) how organized I am getting! I am pretty organized by nature so I wasn't sure how this project would really go for me. Would I really have enough stuff to get rid of? Would I have anything worth donating?

The answer to both questions? A resounding YES! I'm about halfway through the project now and I have a bag of clothes and a (growing) pile of household itens that I'll give to Purple Heart (a great charity if you're looking to donate - and they pick up right from your house). I donated a large bag of towels and sheets to the SPCA yesterday, and I've Freecycled a few things that I just wanted gone. I've also tossed two large garbage bags of, well, garbage.

The project has also inspired me to look for other ways to organize my home (in cute ways, of course). One of those areas that needed help was my entryway. I don't really have an entry hall - it's just a tiny area where I had a small rack for keys, the dog's collar and leash, and a few other things. The rack was pulling away from the wall, and the whole thing just never looked neat to me. So two weekends ago I decided to come up with a different solution. I definitely needed hooks of some sort to hang everything near the door, but I wanted something a little more stylish and more substantial.

I saw this easy, fun project over on CraftGawker where someone had taken a picture frame and screwed cup hooks into it and - voila - created a stylish key rack! (Here's the original project.)  I had two 16x20 frames left over from my bathroom renovation (more on that project to come) and decided I would repurpose one of those. I decided to attach the hooks to the bottom of the frame but needed something in the center (where the picture used to be).  I went to Home Depot and bought Rustoleum chalkboard paint and painted the backing of the frame. I also sanded and painted the frame, turning it from a light wood stain into an antiqued/rustic red.  (I painted the frame red, put on a darker red wash and then lightly sanded it to give it a weathered feel.)

Once the chalkboard was dry, I put the frame together and it was cute...but missing something. I had had a Welcome sign hanging above the old rack and still wanted to use it somehow since it was stitched by a close friend. Then I got the idea to attach the Welcome sign to the top of the frame and it was just what it needed! I'm so pleased with the results and think it's super functional (even more than before) and much neater.  Behold the before and after pics!



Before...

...and After!

 Much improved, no?

Reboot

OK, it's been a really long time since I posted. I actually signed in to delete the blog since I've been so inactive, but then I reread my entries and I really liked what I'd written and the photos I'd included. So I'm back.


The biggest reason it's been so long since I've posted is that I was pretty seriously injured last fall into the winter. I struggled for about a year with pain and numbness in my right foot and when I was nearing the end of my marathon training for an October race last year, it got so bad I basically couldn't run. I ended up bailing on the marathon (though did take a leg in a relay for the race so it wasn't a total loss) and feeling really, really discouraged and burned out on running.


Then about a month after the marathon (relay), I got an e-newsletter from a local running shop. They were looking for volunteers to mentor a team of new runners in a Couch to 5K program. I signed up thinking it would keep me running in the cold weather (short distances, anyway) and hoping it would re-inspire my love of running. It did both of those things! I got out 2-3 times a week with the group and they were amazing. Everyone was super nice and committed and really receptive to my encouragement and advice. It was so great to think about someone else's running instead of my own! - and feel like I was helping these people reach a goal. (My trainer says I was "changing lives." I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it did feel good.) The group completed its first 5K in February and now many of them are training with a 10K group I'm mentoring. Truly incredible.

As a side benefit, though, the people who own the store that sponsors the training programs really know shoes. And they helped me figure out that the problem with my foot was that I was wearing the wrong shoes...in the wrong size. And had been for YEARS. Basically my entire running career. No wonder I was in pain! I've been in my new shoes for about 3 months now and I am pain free. It is awesome! I'm still not running big distances (today I did 6 and that was my longest since October), but it's so refreshing to feel good and to feel like I want to run again.

I hope to post more regularly now. Until next time, I leave you with this photo taken on a run through the US Naval Academy. Whenever I run there, I am struck by how peaceful and beautiful it is. At least until some young mid goes sprinting past and leaves me in his dust.