Still in Transition... Studio Transformation Update!

The upstairs office space is ready for move in! We haven't painted and the weather is no longer conducive to painting... waaayyy too cold. But the other stall is that we are constantly changing the layout... wait did I say we... I mean JOHN keeps changing the layout. The desk we are putting up there is large and isn't sure what he wants. He wanted my desk, then didn't want it upstairs and now he isn't really into sharing the space at all because the desk is so large.

By the way, this is fine with me. He suggested during one of our planning sessions that I claim "purgatory" as my office space. We call it purgatory because it is where everything goes for a little while before we find it a home. I guess it is sort of a parlor space, but it isn't located anywhere that you would receive guests. Which is why it is our purgatory space. It also however has a wall of cupboards! Right now it houses all of my books like a library. I really like it. The dog will have to find a new place though. And so will the treadmill... and the total gym... and the goofy leather chair. And more green paneling... and fuzzy wallpaper. Sigh. I have faith it will come together!

Here is the upstairs disaster... And honestly this BEFORE is almost 2/3 cleaned OUT!

      And here are the AFTER shots. All of the cupboards are empty as well. The fan is in the window because of the amount of bleach we had to spray to get the cupboards sanitized after finding mouse nesting materials and their "evidence" at the bottom of the cupboards... YUK.

 

The carpet is a weird felt like material. Almost like it was a padding. But we aren't ready to tear it up yet. Financially and project wise, just doing the floors in this house will be a massive undertaking. And they ALL need done. Then there are the walls... Don't get me started on those yet. You can see they lovely green paneling... Yeah. You know where I'm going! I need stock in bonding primer for the amount I need to buy.

Hopefully I can make a dent in moving things upstairs next weekend... John is making a trip out to Colorado to empty our storage space!! Where are we going to put our things?? I have NO idea... Stay tuned for the remodeling progress!!

Oh and here is a cute picture of Xan... He will be 16 months this week!!

Getting it Sorted Part II & Menu Planned!

Waking up at 5am requires my first cup of coffee to be really hot. Every other cup for some reason I can do warm... but the first cup... go figure.

Office Organization Redux

So, the office organization thing... stalled a bit. The help that I was getting had some troubles and I didn't get finished. sigh. However! This Saturday everyone has recommitted their assistance and hoping that we can get everything in order. I've also hired a "nanny"/ baby-sitter to come into our home and help me two days a week. I will let you know how that increases all of the organization and work load on the architectural end of my life... well, that is the plan anyway!

For another delay, we discovered a large nest of a former rodent tenant. YIK YUK YAK!!! So that needed taking care of for good. Oddly, we have cleaned up a lot of mouse crap and nesty materials but only one time. It makes me a bit nervous. Kind of on edge. Do we have mice? Did they move out after the year that there was no food in the house? We aren't sure what to think.

Anywho, we are moving forward with the cleaning up and painting on Saturday! I also took some advice from my friend Jenifer and posted a bunch of my Christmas jewelry on Ebay... happy to report... it is SELLING!! Woo Hoo!! Thanks J!! I am going to be putting a bunch of other things on Ebay now as well with the success I've been having.

Menu Planning

I also wanted to share a really cool menu organizing idea with all of you. I am trying it out right now with a lot of success. I ran across it on Pinterest (duh) and forgot to pin it!!! Who does that?? So I apologize for not giving credit to the original thought maker of this menu plan. I'm a bit naive with a few things in life so forgive me if this is common place for all of you but a stroke of genius to me!

First, I don't want my menu plan to be complicated... If you look at some past menu plans I've tried to work with a grocery list and had to write up the pantry items and keep track of things on hand etc... to sum up NOT WORKING. I need simple. Beyond simple actually... I need zero. So, this meal plan is by type of meal as opposed to what the meal actually is!! Get it??

For example... Your week of dinner could be broken out like this:

Monday - Soup and Sandwiches
Tuesday - Casserole/ one dish meal
Wednesday - Stir Fry
Thursday - International (Mexican, Italian, Middle Eastern... etc.)
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Leftovers!! or our one night to eat out/ order in...
Sunday - Brinner ( Breakfast for dinner!) because we love brunch.

Whew! That seriously made this week tolerable. Instead of thinking what to do... I have a "heading" for the day to work from. My little brain can think... "WHAT kind of soup and sandwich will I make tonight..." I grab my iPad and go to my Pinterest board now labeled with the above headings... and pick out something yummy!! WOO HOO!!

To spice things up next month I might shift some things around as I get comfortable and make Friday International food... Sunday is soup and sandwich... bla bla bla you get what I mean. I'm doing my menu by month because again... I need SIMPLE. But if you have the need or want for flexibility you can happily change this menu and do this by the week. My husband and I are both creatures of habit and do not mind the routine. And this keeps me from having to worry about the grocery shopping as well. Ever been grocery shopping with a 15 month old? It isn't too bad... but, you have a time limit. (insert smile here)

Other headings could be:
Vegetarian, Tapas, Noodles, Something with Cheese, Crockpot, Grilled, Burgers, Salad, Poultry, Seafood, etc.

You could also label by cuisine type, region, or :

Italian, French, Irish, Chinese, Greek, Lebanese, Tex-Mex, etc.

You get me right?? I'm still trying to get my little templates attached so bear with me... But I've included one here!! Maybe you can print it out. I hope you can print it out if you'd like. If not, email me... and I will email it to you if you'd like. I've started this one with November. But the one I email to you, you can write in the week or month for your own organization!

And let me give you a little more love here... So when I say it is Pizza night... That could be flatbread, bagel, calzone, tortilla, cauliflower crust, crustless, Chicago style... the sky is the limit... SEE... 

brilliant.

Well. at least I thought so. ;) I hope you will too. I am putting together a vegetarian Thanksgiving and Christmas menu at the moment. I've been experimenting with different dishes to see if I like them. I will share soon so if you are thinking of some veggie options off the traditional route! 

11/4 Weekly Menu and Grocery List

This week was great for budget and menu. I came in at just $128 and some change for about 2 weeks of meals and even some yummy desserts and snacks! Yes, some of these recipes will be frozen for next week... That's just a huge time saver. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yeah... I'm a little proud I have to say. But recipe research goes a long way. If ya can do it... it pays off. So, I've done it for you! Check this out and see what ya think...

If Chicken Were a Vegetable... OH, and Turkey too...

John and I eat vegetarian a couple times a week. I go back to my veg roots and whip up some of my old favorites. But damn... chicken keeps getting in the way of going full time vegetarian for John. I've tried introducing the fake stuff into some recipes. It works in a couple of my comfort food recipes but not when you just want a nice juicy piece of grilled chicken and veggies. Or a good turkey burger.

We have cut out all red meat, and we don't eat pork either. Just keeping low fat and low cholesterol keeps us pretty fit without even trying. I've noticed that when you make a burger or a steak... fried potatoes and other unhealthy sides come into play pretty naturally. And even if ya do just steam some veggies, take a look at a label for what a quarter pound burger contains. Yikes...

Plus, I've mentioned before that we live near hog and cattle farms... uh, yeah. All you need is a little window into the soul of that industry to make you run the other way. I'm thinking that maybe if we moved near a chicken operation we'd be completely done with eating animals. I've watched what some chicken processors do to their animals via Food Inc. and other documentaries. I do not buy from them (I will not mention names). I only buy organic, period. Someday I may even raise my own! Until that day, we will probably continue to eat as healthy as possible. So, I have been looking up some great healthy chicken recipes that I will share with you!

The Budget & Life: Catching Up!

Motherhood is phenomenal. I can't say enough about the reward of caring for Xan and having him in our life. He's redefined everything in the most incredible way. I will speak honestly. It isn't at all the burden that I thought would scare me away from having children at any point. I was terrified in my 20's and into my 30's. Meeting John changed all the rules. And when we started talking about having kids I was honest about my fears. But knowing that we were doing this together finally sunk in. I wasn't doing this alone. And we dove in. Fact is... It's liberated me.

Let me explain. Before Xan I was a planner. Scheduled, organized and knew exactly where and what I was doing. When anything upset those plans (getting laid off, mistakes I made, or any proverbial wrench) I would sometimes tail-spin. It would really upset me as I tried so hard to get back on track. That 'track' is what I've learned, with Xan and John's help... doesn't mean jack. Not without them.

The Simple & Convenient Kitchen

Don't we all wish we had a simple and convenient kitchen? They look like the ones in Better Homes and Gardens right? They have massive amounts of cupboards and pantry space. Everything is so organized! And I bet they own every appliance and gadget that you've drooled over at Williams & Sonoma as well. Sigh. If only my kitchen looked like that I'd BEG to stay home and cook. Isn't that what we think?

Okay, back to earth.

I have a theory that the cupboards, except the ones that have glass doors are empty. Or, if you can afford a kitchen like that surely you can afford a personal chef. I thought of becoming a chef last year to do just that. I wanted to be the vegan/ vegetarian version of Giada de Laurentis. Sigh. Not in my cards yet. I just saw those kitchens and thought... that is like an amusement park to me! I could have so much fun!

Grocery Shopping & Meal Planning

I'm not going to kid you, the meal planning thing is hard. I've looked up other meal plans and that alone can keep you occupied for hours! I know I'm being particular, but people eat a lot of CRAP!! I can't just download a bunch of other menus... they aren't very good. If they aren't loaded with junk, they are trying to impress me with their Martha Stewart like recipes. Ugh. I couldn't find half of the ingredients where I live. And again... In a few weeks I am not going to have hours to do this. I don't expect I will have ANY time to do this.

I need to get this streamlined a little quicker. I've downloaded a pretty nice grocery shopping app called "Grocery IQ". I like that it has brand named items and gives you coupons too. It also allows you to scan everything into your cart so you know how much you're spending. My dedicated shopping day is Sunday so tomorrow we will see how this works out! I think this week, I will use a little of my "free" time and I will try to come up with two more weeks of menus (with all our staples) and I'm done. We will be a little boring for a bit... but it will be yummy!!

The Budget Marathon

I’ve called this a marathon because I know it takes training to run one. You can’t just jump in the crowd and run a marathon. Not without serious injury anyway. And I have never successfully followed a budget. Not without serious injury anyway. I usually end up overspending because I feel denied or restricted. Just like a dieter may feel if denied sweets too long and then go binging like crazy on ice cream. So, John and I are in training right now. While I still have paychecks coming in from teaching school last year, we are pretending that money doesn’t exist. We are doing this because, John and I have decided that I will stay home with Xan after he is born for at least one year (longer if I can). This means living on a salary of less than $28,000 for the three of us.