Pineapple Salsa

Photo courtesy of Dole.

Made Pineapple Salsa for the first time last week. It was a big hit and I wanted to archive it here on the blog.

Pineapple Salsa

2 cups chunk pineapple (drained)

¼ cup pineapple juice

½ cup finely chopped Red Bell Pepper

¼ cup finely chopped Green Bell Pepper

1 Tablespoon finely chopped green onion

2 Tablespoons cilantro or parsley

2 Tablespoons chopped jalapeno chilies

Custom Medicine Cabinets {The Final Product}

So, I don’t even want to think about how long it took us to wrap up this project, but I AM relieved and excited to say they are finished and we LOVE them! The staining portion of the project was a nightmare. Trying to stain wood an espresso color is impossible for a novice (me) and so being the smart woman that I am, after multiple layers of stain attempts, I begged Steven to take them to a professional. In the end, “Fine Touch Refinishing” in Beaumont, Texas provided us with a beautiful, sealed, espresso finish on both cabinets. A huge relief and a lesson learned. There are some things that should be left to the experts!

Once the cabinets were returned, we had glass shelves cut and ordered these Glass retainers and glass retainer clips from Rockler to mount the mirrors. The antique knobs and hinges that we saved from the old cabinets were installed and Steven mounted the cabinets and lights to the wall.

Our custom cabinets turned out beautifully and I think this seemingly small project embodies how we approach The Old House.  We want to preserve antique elements in our home, but also see the advantages to new things. Thus we saved the hinges, knobs and mirrors from the old cabinet and based the new cabinet design on old dimensions and design. Goodbye lead pained cabinet. Hello espresso stained cabinet. We invested time in cleaning and refurbishing the hinges which many called us crazy for doing. We often try to do most of the work ourselves, but we also know when we’ve given the project our best shot and we aren’t afraid to call on professionals. We have expensive taste and are willing to wait to have what we really want. We could have run down to Lowes and bought a standard vanity light for the cabinets, but we/I have an appreciation for old and refurbished light fixtures so, we saved our money and waited to buy these Rufus light fixtures from Rejuventation. We are never sad when we save and wait. It’s not easy and it takes longer, but the end result always makes us happier. That’s why a medicine cabinet project that could have taken just a few months took many months. And on a grander scheme that’s why this project of remodeling our old house takes so long. We’re picky, we prefer to pre serve within reason and we’re patient (well, that part is a work in progress). Maybe I should have said we’re learning to have patience. Next up? Trimming out the bathroom. You guessed it…custom trim!

Featured! {Karo's Fun Land}

Special thank you to Karolina for the feature on her blog Karo's Fun Land. Adalyn's first birthday party is getting some great coverage in the blogosphere!

Snakes, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails {The Party}

Remember the set of baby shower designs I created for the "Snakes Snails and Puppy Dog Tails" shower? Well, my friend Melinda sent me photos from the shower and so I thought I'd share a few here so that you could see the party elements in use. She did such a great job with the color scheme and coming up with a display that says "baby boy." Enjoy!

 
 

Woodstock Brown

What color are we painting the outside you ask? James Hardie Woodstock brown with Cobblestone trim and black accents. Coming to this confident decision was a long time coming and NOT and easy one to make. In February of last year when I went to visit Tasha in Virginia I spotted this house and fell in love with the color.

Tasha and I tracked down their mailing address and when I got home I composed a letter to the home owner asking if they would divulge the color of their home. Well, the letter came back as "undeliverable." So, I held on to the note and when Tasha came to visit Texas in October, I asked if she would just drop it in their mail box. Then one year later in March of 2011 the home owner responded and shared with us that it was a James Hardie siding color called Woodstock Brown! Thrilled that we had solved the mystery I requested samples of the siding from James Hardie. Lucky us, the paint our contractor is using (PPG) had code numbers on file for this color. After a color match to be sure it was what we liked a decision was made!
Here is the same house in the summer. Note the color changes depending on the lighting.

And finally the drawing I did of the outside of our house so that we could play with color combinations and accent color ideas. Do you approve? Hope so, cause we ain't changin it! What if I hate it?! Yipes...

Exterior Paint {End of Day 9}

Brace yourself for the UGLY (wonderful) progress! Nine working days into the project they are STILL scraping and grinding. The dentil has been added to the gable ends and Steven has finished 90% of the exterior washing. Plus he's removed all the ornamental brick from around the base of the house to help with ventilation. The custom lattice work we ordered from Acurio Latticeworks will ship on Thursday and arrive next week.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Senior Portraits {All Boys}

I rarely take photos of boys. Most often it's families, pregnant women or my little ladies. So when I had three male, senior photo shoots and my brother's nursing school graduation shots I was out of my comfort zone. All that said, I think the photos turned out pretty good and I had a lot of fun with these crazy, creative seniors. A few of my favorites below.