Happy Thanksgiving...

Just a little peek at the table that inspired our love for Robbin's tables...

Food at the Fliet's is always awesome and Thanksgiving dinner was no different...hopefully my mom's cooking skills will rub off one of these days!

It is possible that Robbin's tables are magical...my dad willingly (after giving in to family pressure) ate a bite of Mom's new squash recipe...seriously, this was an event for the history books. 

 

Apparently, he has some texture "issues" with cooked squash...bwahahaha.

 

A place to hang your hat...

A place to hang your hat...and coat...and scarf...and large ring of faux keys. As the weather gets colder making bulky winter coats and scarfs more and more necessary, the need for a place to put these items also became more and more necessary. We received this rack with hooks as a bridal shower gift and it fit perfectly into the space next to the back porch entrance. Must have been meant to be.

Curtains...Take two...

Drum roll please........Tada. Curtains. Ten curtains. Ten freshly-pressed green 95" long curtains. 

Before: Dining area bay window

After: Dining area bay window

Before: Living area 

After: Living area

 

Curtains...Take one...

After taking the advice of some very wise women, I armed myself with a strong cup of coffee, popped in the fabulously dysfunctional Christmas movie, "The Family Stone," and plugged in the iron. Ten curtain panels at 95 inches...is a lot of curtain! It took about 2 hours ("The Family Stone" plus 1 episode of the Big Bang Theory show). 

In the middle of "The Family Stone," Chris sits straight up, grabs the remote and rewinds the movie to the kitchen scene where Meredith ends up wearing her uncooked strata. He quizzes me "Isn't that the same vinyl flooring we have in our kitchen?" Sure enough... minus the gooey eggy mess. It kind of makes me like the floor a bit more now...at least it makes me chuckle when I notice it. 

Coming soon...

So I had to special order our new curtains for the living room and after waiting a week and a half they showed up on the front porch. Yesterday. I brought them inside, which is where they have sat..and still are sitting...in the box. I am tired. I am unmotivated to iron 10 curtain panels on "low" (which takes an eternity to de-wrinkle anything). But I am slightly motivated to have privacy. Hmmm. Wonder what's that like, not being an exhibitionist?

This blog has been a good motivator to get things done (for the most part) so I figured if I posted that we got the curtains, people will start harassing me for pictures... then I'll put them up out of sheer peer pressure...and then take pictures...and then post them. If there's enough harassment, we might have curtains up tomorrow night...you never know. Right now though, it's off for a mug of spiced wine (from MI of course) and then to bed. Ahhh...I can taste the procrastination. Delicious.

Mother Hubbard's Cupboard...

It has been Mother Hubbard's cupboard since we moved in...which has meant a lot of fast food and other quickie foods. Blah. Blah. And more blah. So after being inspired to cook my own healthier, tastier, foods with known ingredients (no mystery meat), a trip to Aldi was in order. I pushed my slightly-overflowing cart of canned goods, essentials and, of course, an Iced Mocha imitation frappucino (my personal "good-for-you-for-grocery-shopping" treat) up to the checkout. Full cart of groceries and household products for $110. Seriously? I love Aldi. Getting regular groceries for unbeatable prices... fabulous. 

There is a reason I have not been motivated to cook lately. My oven/stove. It was gross. Was. Past tense. I gloved up and got down to business this afternoon. Have you ever really looked down the gap between your cupboard and the side of your oven/stove? I recommend it. If you want to gag and experience nightmares, that is. What's even worse? It was not MY cooking crusted in the gap. Eeeeewwwwww. (Note: I'm not a complete slacker. I was avoiding this job until now because we didn't know if the oven part was going to be able to be fixed or if we were going to get a new one. Well, it looks as though it IS going to be fixed...if I can get a hold of the appliance guy again). Elbow grease, paper towel and Clorox Bleach spray did the trick and the oven/stove is sparkling...I found that it is more motivating to cook on a clean appliance. Imagine that. Huh. 

No before picture. Too gross to capture on camera, let alone show anybody else. Here's the after, cleaner, de-crusted version:

And, here is the Hearty Winter Vegetable Soup that I cooked, all by myself, on my really, really clean stove top:

Now off to eat the soup. Hopefully it tastes good. If not...

Constant Comment...

Thank you for all the comments! I love to read everyone's thoughts on our postings so please feel free to share! The blog has become a huge motivator to keep working on the house so I have something to write about and it's exciting to hear what you guys think! 

P.S. To all the Kathys...I don't know who is who! Aunt, Friend or OT Friend? So thanks to whoever has posted!