The Fan Fiasco

When Cameron & I first moved in to our circa 1980s home, we made a ton of improvements.  One of these days I'll get around to posting the before & afters.  But after a while, we hit a wall with the renovations.  This weekend we decided to tackle a few more things on our very long to-do list - changing out light fixtures.  First up were the lights in the upstairs & downstairs hallways.  We went from the typical 80's gold globes to the standard of today - flushmount "boob" lights.  Not particularly my favorite, but cheap and they fit the space.  Cameron actually purchased these and had them installed before I got home from work on Saturday.

Next on the agenda was the ceiling fan in our bedroom.  Here's the before in all its gold glory:

We opted for a slightly smaller fan with an oil-rubbed bronze flushmount.  The original fan was 48" and most fans at Lowe's were either 52" or 44."  Our master isn't particularly large so I felt the 52" would overpower the room.  I really liked this fan and for once, I picked out the cheap option!  Cameron has installed light fixtures and ceiling fans before - piece of cake right??  Think again.  After about 5 or 6 re-installations and calling in reinforcements (our friend Lance, who works for a contractor), it was determined the fan motor was bad.  The light would turn on, but the fan wouldn't run.  By this point we have spent the entire afternoon on the project and were determined to finish so back I went to exchange the fan for another one.  The second worked like a charm and this girl is very happy!

The last project is what happens when I spend too much time in Lowes.  I have never liked our foyer light fixture.  No, it's not particularly awful, just not me and has a silver finish when we have primarily converted the rest of the house to bronze.

So while wandering through the lighting department in Lowes, I happened to see this light fixture by allen + roth:

It was just what I wanted - something with interest and flush-mounted so it doesn't hang too low.  But it was pewter.  At first I walked away from it, but then came the idea of spray paint.  Yes, I purchased a brand new fixture, took it home and spray painted it with this:

 

My amazing husband even installed it Saturday night after the fan fiasco.  And Lance was there to hold since my little arms were tired from the numerous installations previously in the day.

 Now I have this in my foyer:

While our projects look a little longer than expected, I'm so glad to have them completed and crossed off the list.  I wonder what I can convince Cameron to work on next weekend...

Foodie Friday

So I just realized that my last blog post was last Friday.  Sorry for the absence.  Between being sick and drastically decreasing my internet time for Lent, the blog has been a little neglected.  In all honesty, there hasn't been a whole lot going on.  My amazing husband showed up with some get-well flowers on Sunday. 

And Tuesday night we took pizza & beer to our friends, Mary & Poe, for dinner at their new house and helped them move the last of their things.  The house is amazing, but has a lot of work to update it.  I foresee some wallpaper stripping parties in my future!  And pool parties as well! :)  I (and Cameron) did manage to make a few recipes this week.  The first was a knock-off of the Cheesecake Factory's Louisiana Chicken Pasta.  I found the recipe here via Pinterest.  The blogger lightened it up a little by not frying the chicken, which I also did, as much as it pained me to do so!  We both enjoyed it, so I think this one will stick around.

This next recipe is all Cameron, but I thought I would share.  Cameron and our friend Harry both love the way a local trendy Mexican restaurant, Fuego, makes their steak.  It's topped with salsa and cheese.  Cameron has imitated the steak before, but decided to try it with chicken this time.  Cameron is not a recipe kind of guy.  He just throws it together, so sorry, there are no exact measurements.  He pounded the chicken breasts, then seasoned them with a mixture of chili powder, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, & paprika.  He then grilled the chicken and at the end poured salsa on top and added slices of colby jack cheese.  The side was a can of corn + a can of black beans cooked together with a little of the same seasoning and some cilantro.  Definitely good, although I requested a little less seasoning next time.

I also tried out a dijon sauce on pork chops that I found on Pinterest, go figure!  Pretty basic but good.  I did get a little carried away with the reducing.  The fresh herb selection was pretty pitiful at the grocery store this week so I used dried rosemary.  I am contemplating starting a mini garden this spring, but we will see if it ranks high enough on the to-do list!

So that's about it for this week.  I'm finally feeling better and I think a good cookie recipe is just what I need...

~Heather

Foodie Friday

So Foodie Friday this week is a little pitiful.  I have had a cold all week that started Monday night, left me without a voice completely on Wednesday, and is still sticking around.  Needless to say, I haven't been up for a whole lot of cooking. 

Monday night, I tried out Mario Batali's Eggplant Parmigiana.  Definitely good for a vegetarian dish, but I can't say we are dying to have it again.  There's something about the sogginess that eggplant, zucchini, & squash tend to get when baked.  Worth a shot if you are a big eggplant fan.

I have pinned multiple recipes for making homemade apple chips on Pinterest, so I decided to try them out to take a healthy snack with us downtown for Fat Tuesday.  All the recipes are generally the same - core the apples and slice thin.  I used a mandoline.  Some I did 1/4" and some were 1/8"  I like the thinner ones better.  Then sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar, or leave plain.  The recipes vary on what temperature to bake the apples at.  The first batch I tried at 350 for an hour.  Let's just say they were crispy, but not edible.  The next batch I tried at 275 for almost 2 hours.  They are so close but not quite there.  They turned out chewy.  So not a success this go round, but I'm willing to try again.  I think on a low temperature for a longer period of time might be the key.  If you have a mandoline, it takes no time at all to prep the apples.  Stay tuned for Take #3!

 That's about it for recipes this week.  We did, however, make use of some Groupons and tried out a couple of restaurants.  The first was Taste of Vietnam.  I've mentioned before that Cameron loves Asian food, but especially loves Vietnamese.  We got some spring rolls for appetizers - Yum!  Cameron got the Pho (pronounced "fa") which is a traditional soup with noodles, vegetables, and beef or chicken.  If you're really brave you get the one with beef tendon and tripe in it!  I got Vermicelli with pork.  I have to say, I'm a fan!  My chopstick abilities could use some work though.  I can get by eating sushi, but noodles are a whole other story!

We also tried out Jamaican Vibes.  It's one of those strip mall type restaurants in an odd area that you always wonder if it's any good, but you're a little scared to find out.  Thanks to Living Social, we gave it a try and we were not disappointed.  Cameron and I both got jerk chicken with rice & beans and fried plantains.  I have never been to Jamaica, but Cameron has and he has talked about how much he wanted the jerk chicken again for as long as I have known him.  I think he finally found it.  I will admit that it was delicious, but about half way through the meal, I stopped tasting anything because my mouth was on fire!  But I could have eaten an entire plate of the plantains.  I love fried plantains!  Everytime I have been to the Caribbean/Central America, I think I eat them with every meal.  Maybe I should add them to my list of recipes to try out...

~Heather

Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

The last few days of Mardi Gras were a whirlwind.  Friday night we headed down to the Crewe of Columbus parade.  Our friends, Harry & Lance, knew someone on one of the floats which meant we had tons of stuff flying our direction.  We are talking entire bags of beads!  I was just ducking for cover!  Harry was holding a drink in a Styrofoam cup but this is all that was left after the float passed by... 

We met up with our friends Mary & Poe and caught the parade a second time farther down the parade route.  We repeated the scenario previously described.  It was a great parade and a fun night.  Thankfully there were no injuries!

The weather on Saturday was awful, which meant the parades were postponed until Sunday.  We did, of course, brave the rain for the Mystics of Time (MOT) ball.  We had a great time dancing the night away with friends. 

 callouts

 with my cousin Courtney and Sean

 with Mary

On Sunday, also known as Joe Cain Day in Mobile, we had planned to spend the day watching parades, especially my favorite - the MOT dragons that breathe smoke.  However, our very late night on Saturday took a lot out of us so we opted to stay in.  A sure sign you are getting old!

Fat Tuesday started bright and early.  We headed downtown to claim our spot in the parking garage on royal street, then had breakfast at spot of tea.  Several parades roll on the last day of Mardi Gras.  The Knights of Revelry were recently featured on the show Dirty Jobs.  I learned that those big silver things the "Folly" is banging around are actually cow bladders that are blown up and spray painted.  Who knew?

The Folly

 The Excelsior Band

King Felix

 Cameron pretending to be the Situation from Jersey Shore

the fattest thing Harry has ever done (it's payback, Harry!)

 After the King & Queen of Mardi Gras, come the Comic Cowboys.  Now the Comic Cowboys are always fun.  They feature a man dressed up as their queen and the floats are far from impressive, but each float features some witty comment about local & national news, politics, etc.  Always good for a laugh.  Here are a few of my favorites: 

 I didn't get a picture of this one quick enough.  It says, "Welcome to Alabama the Beautiful.  No habla espanol."

Mardi Gras is so much fun, and I love to live in a town that really celebrates it.  But to be honest, its always a little bit of a relief when it draws to a close.  Today, Ash Wednesday, officially starts the 40 days of Lent.  I did not grow up in a home or church that observed Lent, but having married into an Episcopalian family I have learned more about this religious holiday.  It's a time to focus on Christ's sacrifice and committing to making a sacrifice in your life helps serve as a daily reminder of that.  Cameron has chosen to give up fast food.  I have decided to give up playing on the internet at night.  Now I know that sounds weird.  Why not the internet completely?  Quite frankly I don't know that it's possible in this day and time.  However, I find that I spend a lot of my spare time at night and on the weekends playing on the internet - shopping, playing on Facebook or Pinterest, or reading blogs.  I want to spend that time with my husband, exercising, being productive, rather than wasting the time on something so un-fulfilling.  So what are you giving up for Lent?

~Heather

Foodie Friday

For this week's Meatless Monday, we tried out some Black Bean Burgers.  I got the recipe from Food Network, of course.  I have to say they were really good, and even Cameron said they're a keeper.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly and opted to use the food processor instead of mashing everything by hand.  Maybe not the best choice.  The bean mixture was a little to fine and I had trouble getting the bean mixture to stick together in patties.  Next time, I think I'll do what the expert says to do!

I also made some Roasted Sweet Potatoes to go with our "burgers."  I found them via Pinterest.  Cameron and I love sweet potatoes.  We eat them like baked potatoes, as fries (love the Alexia brand frozen ones), and occasionally we make chips.  I thought I'd try this out to give us one more way to eat our favorite vegetable (so maybe it's not really a true vegetable, but in my book it counts!)  We really liked them of course.  We cooked them a little too long, but otherwise they were great!

For our low-key Valentine's dinner, I tried out a Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli recipe.  Cameron didn't think it sounded appetizing until I told him it had cumin in it.  The man loves some cumin!  So easy & so good.  I recommend cutting back on the salt though.

This next dish is something so simple, I don't know that you really would call it a recipe!  It's not new to us, but so easy and good I wanted to share.  There are a million recipes out there for fish tacos and we've tried several.  If you are ever in the Gulf Shores area, try the fish tacos at Lulu's.  They rank pretty high on our list.  But we needed a good recipe for at home.  One day Cameron thought this one up and we haven't looked back since.  The key ingredient is Tiger Sauce.

We were first introduced to this at Tacky Jack's, another Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area restaurant.  It's like a sweet hot sauce.  We mix this with sour cream and prepackaged coleslaw.  Fry up some fish and serve it in tortillas with a little cilantro. Yum!

That's it for this week!
~Heather

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day yesterday!  As I mentioned earlier, Cameron & I usually keep Valentine's Day pretty low key.  We had a dinner date last weekend and cooked dinner at home last night.  I tried a new recipe that was delicious, but you'll have to wait until Friday for that!  Cameron did surprise me with cake bites from a local cupcake bakery, Twist Cupcakes.

WOW!  If you haven't gotten on board with the new cake bite trend, I suggest you do so now.  Those things are incredible!  Oh and if you notice that empty spot - I couldn't resist a taste before I snapped a picture.  Of course, Cameron has been sampling them as well.  Hmm, I wonder who he really bought them for?   :)

And what Valentine's Day would be complete without a chick flick?  We watched "I Don't Know How She Does It" with Sarah Jessica Parker.  I liked it.  Good movie with a good point.  Makes you realize how hard it can be for all the working moms out there!  That about sums up our V-Day.  Maybe not the most exciting, but a perfect evening in my mind!

~Heather