DIY Window Blinds and Weekending

I'm exhausted from my three-day weekend - it appears that "relaxation" is not something I've included on my long "Furlough Friday" to-do list. M. and I scurried around and knocked out some tasks around the house like a boss (or, I suppose, bosses). On Friday, I jogged (sort of - the insane heat forced me to walk now and then), and spent a good three hours refreshing the trim paint in our kitchen. Then Saturday, I set to work creating some new blinds for our kitchen windows, to complement the new backsplash/paint/countertops we have going on (full reveal post to come soon, I promise!). This was an idea I got from a Young House Love blog post. They called it a "15 minute window shade" project, but it took me over 3 hours and required some assistance from M. Then again, I don't DIY for a living the way they do. And either way, I am so, so thrilled with how it all turned out:

Here is an old "before" photo, where you can kind of see the curtains we used to have - cheap, shabby chic-ish curtains from Target that were now more grey than white.

 

Here is where we were starting yesterday - the old curtains had been thrown away, the curtain rods removed/holes patched, and the walls painted with Benjamin Moore's Nimbus Grey. Oh, and also lovely fresh trim in Behr's Creamy White.

M. was working on his own project while I got going with the shades, but more on that another day - it's not quite done yet.

I measured my windows carefully, then added 2 inches to the width and 4 inches to the length to account for hemming my fabric and mounting the shade at the top to a piece of 1 X 2. So, for example, I wanted my shade to cover an area of 30 inches wide (from inside frame to inside frame) and 25 inches long for the larger window on the left. So I cut my fabric to 32 inches by 29 inches. The other two were the same length, but only 22.25 inches wide, so I cut that fabric to width of 24.25 inches.

Here is one piece of fabric, ready to go. Note the iron at the ready? That's because no sewing needles were harmed in the making of these shades. Instead, I used Heat and Bond for iron-on hems:

 

 

I applied the tape along each side of the fabric (paper side up), ran the iron over it fairly quickly (directions say 2 seconds), and allowed it to cool a little. Then I peeled the paper off the adhesive, folded the fabric over, and applied the iron again, for longer this time (8 seconds). As you can see, Cinderella was helping me.

 

Then I repeated the process on the ends of the fabric.

And voila! A nice, neat panel of fabric, ready for hanging (that's a Finn hiding under there).

Once all three panels of fabric were hemmed, I cut a 1 X 2 down into three pieces the same width as the panels, and mounted the fabric over it using a staple gun.

 

Then it was time to hang the panels, but I immediately ran into a problem. In holding up the shades, I realized they wouldn't fit - there were small tabs sticking out of the window frame up at the top that I hadn't accounted for when I was measuring:

 

Just as M. was gathering up his jig saw to try to come to the rescue, I realized that I could just pop the plastic tabs out:

Ah, much better. Not sure what those tabs are actually for, but I hope they aren't important!

 

To mount the shades, we pre-drilled holes into the 1 X 2, and in the process, realized that we needed to do something about the fabric. Because of the way the shade is mounted, the fabric runs between the 1 X 2 and the window frame, and we were worried that it would rip or bunch up when we screwed the wood in (this happened a little with the first hole that we pre-drilled). So once our holes were pre-drilled (making sure the fabric was out of the way), we made small holes in the fabric over the screw holes. Then I dabbed a little clear nail polish around the holes to make sure the fabric wouldn't fray or run down the line:

Trust me, there's a hole there.

Then the entire thing was screwed into the top of the window frame - two screws for the smaller windows, and three for the larger one. Beware - because the screws need to go through the thick part of the 1 X 2 (so, 2 inches) and into the window frame, long screws are needed for this. This was something I hadn't prepared for, but luckily we had enough spare screws of the right size on hand.

 

And this is what we ended up with:

I'm still in shock that somehow, all three shades are the same length. I was SURE that somehow things would get uneven during the whole process, even though I spent about an hour of my three + hour project carefully measuring.

I love how they turned out - I think they add a great little flash of color when you look from the living room into the kitchen, and they coordinate nicely with our new backsplash (which, I swear, I will show you one day!). And the cost couldn't be beat:

Fabric (2 yards, on sale for 50% off): $23.50
1 X 2: $1.15
Heat and Bond: $4

Three shades for under $30!!

A few other things I can't resist sharing from the weekend:

Finn went to see Turbo in 3-D with a friend on Friday - I can't even begin to tell you how excited he was about this! I picked him up from camp before 1 p.m. - oh, the thrill of leaving early! And for a play date with his best friend?! He was bouncing off the walls. Anyway, the movie was a hit, as was the play date, and Finn has spent most of the last 48 hours wearing his 3-D glasses.

I made these blueberry muffins. If they taste half as good as they look, I will be in heaven. I had to fight M. and Lucy off with a stick, so determined were they in sneaking one before dinner (and yes, that is a peek at the new backsplash!).

I took all this (crazy) squash...

chopped it up...

and turned it into this Zucchini Gratin from Our Best Bites.

It was fabulous - M. and I scarfed it up. I made the kids each try a bite. Finn gagged. Lucy actually threw up. So... mixed results. But a win for the grown-up crowd, and I highly recommend it.

While I cooked, the kids tore apart the house and piled many toys, blankets, and themselves in the middle of the living room:

Whew, I'm exhausted just typing this! And I didn't even mention the kitchen shelves M. is refinishing, or the loads of trim we painted (once you start, it's so hard to stop!), the pool time, the grocery shopping, the laundry...

Thank god it's almost Monday?

Day 2

No working out for me today - in fact, my FitBit shows that I've only walked a paltry 3446 steps - but I'm feeling better. Maybe the jog helped, lead-like legs, goopy cement and all. Maybe it was the heavenly bowl of rice and beans I ate tonight:

Or the bastardized cosmopolitan I'm drinking right now:

Maybe it was the cute new shirt I wore today (this one, in crystal violet):

Side note: I can't believe I actually found the shirt I was looking for in Target's sucky website. LOVE the store. Hate the website.

Anyway, I'll take the better mood.

A couple of photos from our weekend, while I'm here.  M.'s parents were visiting, and we had a very nice time - fireworks, sightseeing, pool time.

 

4th of July - on the menu: White sangria, corn on the cob, watermelon, shrimp salad sandwiches

 

M.'s dad got one of the coveted star-shaped pineapple pieces

 

(wonderful dessert, from this recipe, called "Berried Treasure" - how cute is that?!)

 

At the World War II memorial in D.C., near the Wisconsin sign, naturally. Such an impressive monument!

 

 

 

 

 

While visiting the Pres's house is awe-inspiring, we opted to not to muscle through the crowds to stand a wee bit closer.

 

This is what 8 hours of sightseeing in 90+ degree weather looks like

The Good and the Stinky

I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled "too long between blog posts" mojo to provide you with some retail information that may or may not aid you one day.

First, the good. Which WAS preceded by some bad news, at least for me. M. and I are faithful coffee drinkers, and each morning we brew a pot of coffee, fill up our travel coffee mugs, and trot off to work with them. We always try to have a couple sets of travel mugs on hand because M. NEVER washes his coffee mug at work (I USUALLY do, but not always), and it's good to have some back ups if we haven't run the dishwasher or one of us left a mug at work. Long ago we purchased some Thermos brand coffee mugs that have served us oh-so-well. They fit in our cup holders, they have an easy lid to use (though they aren't leak proof if you tip them over), and they keep coffee warm for a ridiculous amount of time (read: three-ish hours). We LOVE these mugs. Love. And we haven't been able to find more of them. We've purchased several cheap travel mugs over the years to supplement the Thermos mugs, and they all universally suck. The coffee gets cold nearly immediately, they break easily, and the lids leak a ridiculous amount - one was so difficult to drink from that I ended up spilling all over myself (from tipping the cup up too high) at least a half dozen times. Not fun during a work meeting. But it was OK, because at least we had our trusty Thermos mugs to fall back on.

Well. During M.'s last work trip, the one where he was gone from Thursday through Monday during a three-day weekend? And the kids woke me up multiple times each night? And I MAY have stayed up a bit too late one night watching the Downtown Abbey finale? Needless to say, I was feeling a bit wiped out that weekend. And so I brought my ration of caffeine with me to the 10 a.m. birthday party Finn was invited to, in my beloved, paint-peeling, dinged-up Thermos mug.

Which I promptly left behind at the party venue when I bundled us back home.

Woe and sadness!!

I immediately hopped online, resolved with myself that I wouldn't "cheap out" (this was before Austerity!), and scoured Amazon for the best mug possible that could be delivered to my house within 2 business days. And I did it, I finally did it - I found the perfect travel mug!

Behold, a thing of beauty, the Thermos Stainless King 16-ounce Leak-Proof Travel Mug!:



At just over $20, these are not cheap (for a mug). But trust me, it has been money well spent! I bought two, one with a handle (for M. - he prefers a handle he can clutch while he runs to catch the train - quite literally, often) and one without (for moi). We've been using these mugs for about three weeks now, and I can honestly say that I haven't missed my old mug once. This Thermos mug keeps my coffee even hotter than the old one (five hours! The coffee is warm five hours later!), and better yet, it's leak proof (well, as long as it is "closed", which didn't help me when I rattled through the parking lot with the open mug in the front basket of a grocery cart and it tipped over and spilled coffee all over a bag of groceries. But when it's closed, it's leak proof!).

That is a story that has a happy ending. This next one, not so much.

As part of our "Austerity!" effort, I made a bunch of food about a week and a half ago, and froze the extra to save for later. I made refried beans (with this recipe) that are SO GOOD! And marinara sauce (from this recipe) which is also SO GOOD! And I was psyched to have all this awesome, frugal, yummy food waiting for me to use in the freezer, neatly labeled and stored away in ziploc freezer bags.

Yesterday I thawed a bag of the marinara to use on top of calzones. And discovered that my awesome marinara sauce? Now tastes like dryer sheets. The freezer bags we had (and that I unknowingly bought) were Ziploc "Fresh Shield" freezer bags. I guess the "fresh shield" is supposed to keep food from getting a freezer funk smell, maybe? I don't know, but what I do know is that it tasted BAD. Why would you ever store food in something that smells like dryer sheets? Apparently it's supposed to (according to Walmart) lock in freshness and help food retain nutrients. I refuse to link to the product because I canNOT recommend that you buy it.

And now I have several bags of food in the freezer destined to turn whatever meal I pair them with into the scent of fresh laundry. Which is great on laundry, don't get me wrong. Just not so great with food. I'm currently trying to "off gas" the refried beans I'm goint to use to make burritoes tonight in an open container in the fridge to see if that helps.

Just some friendly shopping tips, from me to you :-).

An Early Spring, Badger Brew, and Buffalo Cauliflower

Now that I've paused from stuffing my face with fun Super Bowl food (Go Ravens. Except Ray Lewis, who can suck it), I will recap our weekend festivities.

First, we took time out from our weekly Saturday morning scramble to check in with the Groundhog. Did you know there are TWO official groundhogs? I did not, until yesterday. But there are, apparently, and both Punxsutawny Phil and Staten Island Chuck seem to agree that there will NOT be 6 more weeks of winter. Do we attribute that to lack of a shadow, or global warming? Don't know, don't care - it's been cold enough around here that I'm happy either way! Though I must say that I'm probably not the only one who would welcome an early spring - my poor daffodils have been quite confused by the whole oscillation between ridiculously warm and ridiculously cold, and I think I can see the new green shoots they recently put up actually shivering. It's sad.

Saturday we readied ourselves for a party in honor of the Grand Opening of the Badger Brewery, aka the inaguaral showing off of M.'s home brew skills, aka an excuse to have friends over and drink beer. I made lots of food, we tidied up the house, and Lucy put on a party dress. I went a wee bit overboard with some of the smaller details - sort of ran with a whole "theme," as you'll see in a moment. I got sucked into the Pinterest-inspired madness of Baker's Twine (it's just so damn cute), and tried my hand at DIY cake stands with near disastrous results. Let's just say that I very nearly spray painted a significant portion of our dining room and outside deck with red spray paint. I ended up with two functional, cheap, and cute (if you don't look to closely) cake stands, but I'm not sure the trade-offs were worth it. DIY projects are much easier when it's not 16 degrees and dark outside... Anyway, on to the photos:

The moniker "Badger Brewery" is inspired by M.'s alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, and the school colors are red and white. Home brewed beer is bottled into plain brown bottles, so to dress them up a little and give us the option of keeping track of the type of beer in a given bottle once we have more than one made, I ordered some custom hang tags from My Own Labels:

The tags (tied on with red and white baker's twine) say "EST. 2013" on the first line and "BADGER" below. Kind of cute, right? Plus, they are reusable, so I think of this as more of an investment than a frivolous party detail ;-) (I don't, really).

Then I got even more rididulous, and ordered matching napkins and coasters from For Your Party:

I covered the tables with brown Kraft paper and decorated with red, white, and yellow flowers in mason jars and beer bottles:

Again with the baker's twine. I'm hooked.

For drinks, we had M.'s beer (of course), some wine that went pretty much untouched, sparkling water, and juice boxes for the kids. The party began at around 5, so we had a pretty hearty spread - Crockpot BBQ chicken with rolls and coleslaw, mini hot dogs in mini buns for the kids, spinach balls (Nat! I used your recipe!), little spinach and artichoke tortilla crisp appetizers from Wegmans, cream cheese and hot pepper jelly (Stonewall Kitchens) with crackers, homemade soft pretzels, and fruit.

And finally, hiding in the back there on the fateful cake stands, were two types of cupcakes: Chocolate Guinness cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and Blue Moon cupcakes. Yes - beer flavored cupcakes. I changed the recipes a little bit by leaving out the beer that was called for in the frosting - even though it was only a small amount, it seemed unwise to feed that to kids :-). I didn't worry about the beer in the cake mix, since the alcohol gets cooked out. They were awesome. I've eaten too many:

 

The party was lots of fun, and I got a chance to catch up with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. The kids (there were 10 including ours) all got along pretty well, and happily made a mess of our basement level. Which was MORE than fine with me, as it meant they were relatively occupied. M. and I crashed soon after the last guests left, as Lucy had deemed it necessary to wake us up about 6 times the night before.  She then repeated the feat on Saturday night, too, so M. and I spent a lot of today absolutely exhausted. Turns out she has a cold, and as of tonight, possibly an ear infection, too. We may be making a trip to the doctor's office tomorrow...

Exhaustion aside, we rallied enough to follow the American tradition of eating food and watching the Super Bowl tonight. I fed the kids leftovers from last night's party, and M. and I scarfed an entire plate of something I've been wanting to try - Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites. I'm a fan of the buffalo flavor, something I discovered long after I stopped eating meat when I happened to try the delight that is Buffalo Shrimp on a vacation in Florida. M. is a wing fan, but rarely orders any since he's always the only one that eats them. I've been seeing various recipes for Buffalo Cauliflower on the web, and finally got around to trying one. I used the one from Skinnytaste, and it was fan-freaking-tastic. I ate so much of it that I'm going to poop fire tomorrow. You've been warned.

M. already has a second beer fermenting as we speak - I'll need to think of some way to top myself when we crack in to that one. Whatever I do, I'm sure there will be baker's twine involved.

Birthday #37. And Pasta. But Not Much Snow.

Though I always (always!) complain about the inconvenient timing of M's birthday (still burned out from the Christmas shopping season), I must say that I managed to pull off a pretty good celebration this year. Admittedly, I probably couldn't have pulled it off if it weren't for some excellent shipping services, but I'll take credit where I can get it.

I was a wee bit worried about the "significant snow" we were slated to receive on Friday, as that was the estimated date of the arrival of M.'s birthday present (and also the date of M.'s birthday itself). Fanning the flames of this worry, I started receiving e-mails and phone calls by around 10 in the morning letting me know that pretty much all of Maryland would be shutting down by mid-afternoon, including the schools. Even though nary a snowflake had been spotted yet.

Luckily, I was already working from home, so it was not a problem to pick Finn up early. Also luckily, the "significant snow" was really more of a dusting. But the warning was enough to get M. home from D.C. early, which meant that we had a little extra family time. There was (barely) enough snow for a little late afternoon sledding, but not enough to hinder the delivery of M.'s present or the delicious Thai food we ordered for the birthday dinner (we've had a bit of an obsession with Tom Yum soup lately).

While we waited for dinner to arrive, the kids helped M. open his presents.

 In keeping with his new hobby, I got him a glass carboy secondary fermentor, and a new beer kit to brew, Northern Brewer's La Petite Orange Limited Edition kit (sounds so good!!). He seemed pretty happy with his present, and we are both plotting when the next brew will occur (maybe tomorrow!).

After stuffing ourselves with Thai food, we moved on to cake. The kids requested a repeat of the Wisconsin "W" cake I made last year, but I did change it up a little by going with a vanilla cake instead of a chocolate cake this time. I used this recipe for the cake (I cannot rave enough about this cake - even though it's from scratch, it is so moist and SO GOOD), and the buttercream frosting recipe on the box of the Dominos confectioner's sugar box. I ended up having to make a second batch of frosting for a second layer, because the first layer had a lot of crumbs showing. Does this make me anal? Maybe. Also, the cake recipe makes a three-layer cake, so 3 layers + 2 coatings of frosting = a ridiculous amount of powdered sugar. But let's not think about that, right? :-)

The rest of the night was less thrilling, as once the kids were in bed I discovered I was exhausted, and not good for much but bed. This morning started off with our usual busy Saturday schedule - swim lessons for Finn, ballet/tap class for Lucy, and then a trip to Wegman's for grocery shopping (a bit out of our way, but we were scoping out food options for the "beer party" we are hosting next weekend). We were home by 1 o'clock - plenty of time with nothing to do and nowhere to be, so I? Took a nap. It was great. And while I napped, M. creatively found a purpose for the 6 egg yolks I had leftover from making his cake (it called for 6 egg whites). He dug out our pasta maker, a wedding gift that was used several times just after we were married, and has been gathering dust since ever since kids came on the scene. And he and his helpers turned those egg yolks into a fabulous pasta dough (and made me think of the wonderful friends who gifted us with the pasta maker, and how we invited them over to try out the results with us not long after the wedding, and I served them pasta with LOTS of GRITTY parsely that I decided "didn't really need to be washed" before I chopped it. Oh how wrong I was!) :

The result? Well, Lucy ate two helpings of the pasta WITH SAUCE (jarred, not homemade - what? you didn't think I was THAT Martha Stewart-y, did you?), which is a miracle, as Lucy typically eats her pasta plain. Finn was a bit weirded out by how it was "different" than the usual boxed pasta, though we did manage to get him to eat a few bites. It was a fun dinner and a nice way to involve the kids in cooking. Here is the yummy result:

This girl kills me with her expressions

Finally, I leave you with a couple of impromptu post-dinner videos, where Finn explains what "legs" are for wine, and then does his best to imitate them. I will also note that I didn't know about wine "legs" until I was in my mid-twenties.