Updating Fireplace Tile

The bland, red-ish, dirty tiles in front of the fireplace had been bothering me for some time. We had already updated the brick with paint, which helped A LOT! But, the tile in front still looked pretty crappy. So finally, over the last few days, we had some extra time. Justin started the process by ripping up the old tile. Then we went to Lowes to get some tile. We got some tile for .58 cents for 6x6 pieces. The 3x12 was around $3. All together, we spent about $30 on the tile and $25 on the grouting materials.

That morning, I had played around with the tile pattern by cutting out paper patterns. While this wasn't exact, it really helped me know how many tiles I needed and how we needed to cut it.

After Justin mixed up the adhesive, I had to try to level out the surface because it definitely slanted down from the fireplace. Placing the tiles was a little tricky, because I had more spacing on the outside border than on the inside diagonal pattern. (Maybe we should have gotten the spacers). I went and cleaned up in the kitchen while it dried for a a little time. Next, I used a large sponge to start wiping off the excess grout and clean up. After the first round, it dries and then I was able to just use a towel to wipe off the final layer. I must say, I'm pretty proud of myself with this tile job. I think it looks pretty darn good!

Kitchen: Before and After

Finally, I am starting to feel like things are coming together. The kitchen isn't all decorated yet, but it's getting there. Here's a quick recap of the process- when we first toured the house, there was weeks-old litter boxes and feces around the floor. It smelled of dung too... A horrible blue-checkered pattern was on the damaged linoleum floor, and the cabinets were probably the originals. The kitchen had an arch in the middle, but it couldn't be seen because it was coved in the cabinets. A awkward layout was also an issue from the placement of the appliances, half-bathroom door, and many entrances.

To remedy this, we had family come help us tear out the cabinets. What a task! Some were completely unscrewed but still on the wall from the layers of paint!! They were heavy too, once we actually yanked them off. This left a lot of patchwork, which I did, and Justin sanded. We also cut a door into the master bedroom, and closed the door to the bath off the kitchen. Justin ripped up the old floor. We painted the walls with White Raisin from the Rustic Refined selection at Sherwin-Williams. Then, we stepped back and Brentwood Builders did the rest. Yay!!

Brentwood put down the new vinyl flooring, which looks like tile even though it's not. They installed the cabinets, which was quite a task since the floor sloped. Evening it out was a pain, I'm sure. They dropped the sink in, put in the electric and new gas line, and finished.

At this point, in mid-November, my kitchen already looked loads better, and I unpacked my kitchen stuff, went grocery shopping, and settled in. But I will wanted some open shelves, so our neighbor Bert (who is amazing!!) made some custom shelves that fit perfectly with the style. We showed him pictures, bought the wood, and then he made them for us. And they look great. We got these in just a week or so ago, and that's why I've been waiting to post, though many people have been asking for pictures. We still have more decorating to do, but this is where we are at now. I'm so pleased!!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Mini Sausage-Cheese Biscuits

Once again, Justin's having a carry-in, and I'm the one cooking. Not that I mind; I love to cook! But I needed to come up with some kind of easy appetizer. I poured through The Appetizer Bible, which I picked up at a garage sale this summer. I really thought that I had seen a recipe for a cheesy-sausage biscuit, but I coudn't find one. So I decided to adapt my standard biscuit recipe from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Grandma M. gave me that cookbook a few years ago, and it has tons of good, standard recipes for reference. So followed their recipe, but adapted it for the cheese and sausage. And instead of cutting round biscuits, I cut them into 1 1/2 inch squares. It's a much better appetizer size and a fun shape for a biscuit!

Mini-Sausage Cheese Biscuits
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar or mozzerella)
1/2 pound sausage, cooked and drained
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup milk

In large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Then add cheese and sausage and mix thorougly with a fork. Add vegetable oil and cut in until evenly distributed (mixture will be lumpy and coarse though). Then add milk and stir just until dough forms a ball around the fork. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead 14 times. Pat to 1/2 inch thick, creating a rectangle. Cut into 1 1/2 inche squares, and transfer to baking sheet without the sides of the biscuit touching. Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Installing a Tile Backsplash

A few weeks ago we undertook another small project on the house: installing tile back splashes in the kitchen and bathroom. We found those too-easy-looking tiles with mesh on the back for quick installation. The kitchen tiles were various shades of brown in a rectangle shape, and the bathroom tiles were a one-inch square blue assortment. We had to buy two of each, but that still only came to $20 total. A steal, I would say. Of course we still needed to buy the grout, sealer, and caulking…. which was probably around another $20 altogether. But for the visual improvement, I’m pretty happy.

To install it, I taped off in the shape of the tiles. In both the bathroom and kitchen, I cut the 12 by 12 inch tile mesh in half, for a six-inch tall back splash. This was just enough to fit under the outlet in the bathroom, and the pass-through above the sink in the kitchen. After taping off, I smeared a layer of grout on the wall. (Looking back, I should have put it on a little thicker, and then pushed down enough for it to come through the cracks. This would have let me get off easier when it came time to finish the grout work between each tile. Essentially, I wish I could have avoided that step! What a pain!)

 

I pushed the tile into the grout, and them wiped off excess grout. After waiting the day or two to dry, I went back and made sure grout was between each tile. This was by far the most annoying part, because trying to get it evenly between each tile, but still wiping so that the tile isn’t too cloudy is a hard balance to strike. Luckily, the grout was pretty each to wipe off with a sponge the next day, after between the tiles had dried.

Justin put on the layer of sealer, but he still needs to caulk around the bottom. Unless you look close, you don’t notice much, but we do need to get it finish soon. There are just too many little unfinished things around the house lately, like the shoe molding or painting the inside of the front door or laying the vinyl in the utility room.  While it never ends, I truly love having a house of our own to work on and be proud of! We’ve started to have people over, even though it’s still messy… I hope they don’t mind too much. It won’t ever be perfect though, so if I waited for that day, I’d never have company!

Christmas Candy Tradition

Gosh, I know I post about food a lot, but you know the saying, "Live to eat, eat to live!"

Last weekend mom and I got together to make Christmas candy. The past fives years I always made candy with my grandma, but since I have moved back to Ohio, I can do that anymore. (Sad face) However, it was great to get together with mom again, since we really haven't made candy together since I was in high school. Maybe once in college, but regardless, it's been half a decade or more!

We made several types:

• Holiday-shaped dipped chocolate pretzels
• Haystacks (butterscotch with crunchy chow mien noodles and marshmallows)
• Peppermint oreo's half-dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes
• Chex Muddy Buddies
• Mini peanut butter Ritz dipped in white chocolate
• Peppermint Bark
• Pretzel buttons (small round pretzels with chocolate in the center and an M & M)
• Buckeyes
• Orange Marbled Fudge
• Hard Candy (lime; watermelon)

It was perhaps slightly out of control. I like a few recipes similar to the ones we used if you want to join in the mayhem.

But I always make a lot and then give a lot away. I love using it for gifts for all my colleagues at school. Everybody loves a homemade treat, so why not? It's just fun because people walk up to me or email me saying, "I ate the whole box today!" That brings me joy!! Food just seems to do that to us.

If that weren't enough, I dipped pretzel rods later on too. It's getting out of control, but it's so fun. I haven't looked at the scale recently, and I don't want to either!!

 

Thanksgiving 2012 Review

So here's the truth: I would have posted sooner, but Google told me I had reached my storage limit. Now their charging me $2.49 a month so that I can have more photo space. So you better be thankful, people! I really contemplated just opening a new blog, but that's a pain. I guess they can just have their $2.49 a month....

 

On happier news, we traveled to NC for Thanksgiving the visit Justin's parents and extended family. It was a good trip, but before we went I dipped some pretzels to take along. Don't they look yummy? (On a side note, I totally heated the caramel too long and it was a little too chewy. But, hey, it was still decent.) The pretzels were gobbled up pretty quickly.

For the meal, we had, of course, deep-fried turkey. SOOOOOOO good. It is just really moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is! Another southern staple is collard greens.(I dont' like them though..sorry...) Justin's favorite is sweet potato casserole. His mom makes it by chunking the sweet potatoes into quarters, then adding butter and brown sugar. It cooks till the potatoes are tender, then in the last few minutes you toss the marshmallows on top to brown slightly. I don't normally like sweet potatoes, but these were exceptional! Since we had a big meal both Thursday and Friday, the former with his mom's side, the latter with his dad's side, I was pretty much rolling along... But it was definitely worth it, and it only comes once a year! :)