Cabana Stripe Gray & White Envelope Pillow Tutorial

July 18, 2019 By Linda 5 Comments

Cabana Stripe Gray & White Envelope Pillow Tutorial – How To Sew A Pillow Cover

I love me a Cabana Stripe.

Doesn’t it just scream summer?

And not just any old summer. The cabana stripe is so not the Seaside-Heights-Atlantic-City-of-Jersey-Shore-fame summer. It’s more like a Saint-Tropez summer. Or a Cannes summer. Or a Martha’s Vineyard summer …

in my mind’s eye, I envision lots of cabana stripes on the Kennedy compound, back in the day.

Cabana stripes can even be a Spring Lake, NJ summer.

In fact, I’m pretty sure I spotted a few of those distinctive wide stripes on an awning or two back when I was a Jersey shore beach bum.

I haven’t yet found the Midwest equivalent of the cabana stripe summer. But I’m pretty sure I could find some cabana stripes along the North Shore (just north of Chicago where our many of our local high society folks call home). I can’t confirm since I’m still awaiting my invite to a summer soiree at one of the many mansions dotting the lakefront. 😉

And Lake Geneva in Wisconsin seems ripe for a wide cabana stripe or ten.

All this talk of cabana stripes has me thinking about how different stripes can conjure different emotions.

Take pin stripes. They can either go buttoned-up corporate business suit …

or a carefree day at the ballpark cheering on your favorite team with a hot dog in one hand and a beer in the other.

Candy stripes remind me of my sister’s Candy Striping days.

And zebra stripes are … well … a whole different kind of New Jersey summer. One you would definitely experience in Seaside Heights and Atlantic City! 😉

But back to cabana stripes. I typically think of them in nautical colors (like the navy and white my screen porch sported last year) or summer yellow and white. But I think my new gray and white cabana striped pillows offer a similar summery vibe …

Cabana Stripe Gray & White Envelope Pillow Tutorial

The fabric used in this tutorial is Premier Prints Indoor/Outdoor vertical stripe in gray and white, with 3″ wide stripes for a 6″ repeat. You can find the fabric at this affiliate link ….

Let’s just start this envelope pillow tutorial with a disclaimer: When it comes to making pillow covers, I just wing it. No patterns used. Just me, my tape measure, my scissors, my pins, and my sewing machine. Oh, and thread too!

I start by measuring the length and width of my pillow form. I’m using a 20 x 20 Ikea down pillow inseert (click here for Ikea pillow insert found on Amazon).

So I cut a piece of fabric 21″ wide x at least 50″ long.

Now fold the fabric around the pillow insert (with right sides of fabric touching the pillow) and pull tight(ish) for a snug fit. On the back side of the insert, overlap the fabric at least 5″ and then fold back a layer to create a clean seam. Pin in place.

Carefully remove fabric from pillow form, keeping it folded in thirds. Lie flat, right sides together.

With right sides of fabric together, adjust your folds until the center piece of the fabric measures 19 1/2″ in total length. (I like a tight fit slip cover when using a down pillow insert, so I sew the seams a 1/2″ smaller than the pillow insert dimensions).

With right sides together, iron flat.

Iron center overlap seam (where the pocket insert for the pillow form will be) flat too.

Trim off excess fabric from center seam pocket.

Now refold fabric along the center seam, so the finished ironed edge is on the inside.

This will make sure when you sew the side seams together, the clean finished edge will be on the outside of the envelope pocket.

Pin right sides together.

Sew side seams together. I used a 3/4″ seam allowance on both sides for a finished 19 1/2″ width.

Turn right sides out and press. Here’s a shot of the envelope opening.

And now my back porch feels just like Saint-Tropez.

Okay, that’s a stretch. Maybe more like Lake Geneva.

Or, better yet, one of those North Shore lakefront masons I’m still awaiting my party invite to! 😉

Pin It!

Cabana Stripe Fabric - Gray and White Cabana Striped Fabric - Pillow Cover Tutorial - How To Make and Envelope Pillow Cover

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Mediterranean Vegetarian Quinoa & Hummus Buddha Bowl

July 16, 2019 By Linda Leave a Comment

Mediterranean Vegetarian Quinoa & Hummus Buddha Bowl – Weight Watchers 6 Point Buddha Bowl Recipe

I’m done with dieting.

Done. Done. And Done.

I’m done with counting calories. Counting points.

I’m done with measuring. Done with weighing. Done.

I’m done with restricting. I’m done with grazing.

Now, this doesn’t mean I’m going to eat a Big Mac everyday. In fact, quite the opposite.

I’m going vegan. Ish.

My daughter calls me a fake vegan. Which, I suppose, is true.

Because I’m not exactly adopting the whole vegan mindset. I’m just co-opting the food.

It comes down to me liking to eat. A lot. And, with a vegan lifestyle you can eat. A lot. Of food.

I guess technically you could call my new “diet” (which isn’t a diet in the sense of the whole counting/measuring/restricting version) is plant-based.
99% of the time. With the Buddha bowl making up a large portion of my daily food intake.

And now, I digress ….

After my whole no more measuring, counting, weighing rant, I’m going to give you a recipe that not only includes measurements … but also includes Weight Watchers points.

I know, I know.

If we were on Twitter I’d say don’t @ me.

But, technically, Weight Watchers isn’t really a diet. Right? They call it a lifestyle plan.

But mostly I’m giving the Weight Watchers points for this Mediterranean Vegetarian Quinoa & Hummus Buddha Bowl because I’ve already built up … over the years … a pretty extensive library of assorted Weight Watchers recipes. They’re some of my most visited posts, so I don’t want to disappoint.

And let’s face it: just because I’m no loner counting and measuring and weighing and restricting, it doesn’t mean everyone else is. So for those counting and measuring etc. etc., I’ll offer some counting and measuring … and Weight Watchers points … for this Buddha bowl recipe.

Print Recipe

Mediterranean Quinoa & Hummus Buddha Bowl

Weight Watchers 6 Point Salad Recipe

Servings: 1

Ingredients

2 cups shredded lettuce
1-2 cups cherry tomatoes, halves
1 small carrot
1/2 medium cucumber
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp hummus (link for homemade hummus recipe below)
1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
paprika

Instructions

Add shredded lettuce to bottom of large bowl. Mix with 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice.
Add cooked quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, carrot. Sprinkle with second tbsp of fresh lemon juice.
Top with homemade hummus (recipe link below) or store bought.

Here’s the link to the homemade hummus recipe (click here). And, if I must say so myself, it’s the most delicious and creamy hummus. Ever.

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White Poppy Painted Mason Jar

June 13, 2019 By Linda 9 Comments

White Poppy Painted Mason Jar – Painted Flowers on Mason Jars DIY

White Poppy Painted Mason Jar - Painted Mason Jar Craft Ideas - Easy How To Paint Poppies - Easy Mason Jar Crafts - Painting Flowers on Mason Jars

My husband is frustrated with the weather.

In Chicago, of all places.

And he’s lived here all his life! He wants it warm and dry …

and Chicago is just not cooperating.

How to paint poppies - Marimekko poppies - white poppies - Mason Jar crafts - White Poppy Painted Mason Jar

Sure we get a throwaway gorgeous day peppered in here and there. A casual reminder of what we’re missing by not living in one of those warm climate states.

And, admittedly, he’s hankering for summer weather when, technically, it’s not actually summer.

But my biggest fears about his demands for warm and dry means my retirement dream of a downtown Chicago condo with spectacular city views from every room will remain just that …

a dream.

Sigh.

I do have one teeny tiny hold out sign of hope. And it’s called Uber.

We had a meeting with the IRS last week at their downtown Chicago offices (no, we’re not being audited; in fact, the IRS owes us quite a sum of money and we had to prove our identity).

But I digress …

Anyhoo, we took Ubers to and from our appointment. At off-peak travel times. And it was a very pleasant experience.

And during that very pleasant drive, my husband did admit that while he’s not the biggest of downtown Chicago fans, he would be up for exploring the Chicago Riverwalk area.

Hey, it’s a small sliver of hope!

So maybe on a warm and dry summer evening in mid-July, he’ll become as intoxicated as I with downtown Chicago as the sun sets and the skyline lights up … 😉

So, now you may be asking, Linda what do white poppy painted mason jars have to do with the weather in Chicago and my dreams of living downtown? Not much, really. Except despite the wet and temperatures vacillating from high 50’s to high 60’s, the flowers are a blooming! So I thought I’d get in on that blooming flower action with some painted flowers on mason jars of my very own …

and share with you all the tutorial on how easy it is to paint poppies!

White Poppy Painted Mason Jar Tutorial – How To Paint White Poppies on Mason Jars

How to Paint Poppies - Easy Tutorial DIY painted Poppy - White Poppy Painted Mason Jar - Painted Mason Jar Craft Ideas - Easy How To Paint Poppies - Easy Mason Jar Crafts - Painting Flowers on Mason Jars

Materials*

Aged Gray Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint

Linen White Rust-Oleum White Paint

Raw Umber Americana Acrylic Paint

Pint Size (16 oz) Ball Mason Jars

80 Grit Sandpaper

Paint Brushes

Clear Matte Spray Sealant

*affiliate links included.

Rustoleum Chalk Paint in gray - How to Paint White Poppies on Mason Jars - Easy Poppy Painting Tutorial

Start with two coats of Aged Gray Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint. Let dry thoroughly between coats (I tend to give them overnight, but chalk paint dries quickly so if in a rush you can add the second coat in a few hours).

Rustoleum Aged Gray chalk paint - White Poppy Painted Mason Jar - Easy Tutorial on How To Paint Poppies on Mason Jars

Once dry, use 80 grit sandpaper on raised lettering, numbers, areas to distress.

White Chalk Painted Mason Jars with Painted Poppy

Use Linen White Rust-Oleum Chalked paint to add poppies using a medium tipped brush.

White Poppy Flowers Painted on Mason Jars

Use paint brush to create six connected dots to form the base of the poppy.

Let dry before proceeding to next step.

Using Aged Gray Rust-Oleum Chalked paint and your medium tipped brush, add dots to the middle of the poppies.

Let dry before proceeding to next step.

Using Raw Umber Americana acrylic paint and a fine tipped brush, ad dots to the middle of the poppies, like so.

Using the same Raw Umber acrylic paint and fine tipped paint brush, add small stems to each poppy, like so.

Let dry completely before proceeding to next step (I typically give this an overnight dry before sealing with a clear coat – see below).

Finish with a coat of clear finish matte spray (this is my go to brand that doesn’t cause the white paint to yellow).

I also made a second jar using Rust-Oleum Country Gray Chalked Paint (which I refer to as greige)

And I made a third jar with a white base and gray and greige painted poppies …

Pin It!

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You can find all my mason jar projects at this link …

Neutral and Gray Living Room Makeover

June 6, 2019 By Linda 12 Comments

Neutral and Gray Living Room Makeover – Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray

Back in November I volunteered to host Thanksgiving dinner. We were a smaller(ish) crowd than usual. Now grown nieces and nephews were traveling out of state to spend the holiday with their own extended families.

It had been years since I’ve hosted any formal gathering at our space-challenged home.

Needless to say, I was a bit rusty.

But in the middle of it all, I decided to add a little mayhem to the madness …

and completely redecorate our living and dining rooms before that Thanksgiving feast.

That’s something a sane person does. Right?

But to be honest, I’ve been threatening a makeover of these spaces for months.

Okay, more like a year.

I actually bought this fabric in February 2018 from this Etsy shop. And then I just waited and waited and waited for …

I’m not sure.

I definitely needed a push.

To be honest, I work best with a deadline. And hosting Thanksgiving seemed a very logical deadline. And much-need push.

My husband and kids, on the other hand, thought it was completely illogical. And perhaps a bit insane … 😉

And these prints? These black and white botanical prints from this Etsy shop?

Yeah, I had been hanging to to them for close to a year as well.

The big question, though, was wall color.

I had paint chips of grays that I shuffled and reshuffled for a year.

I wanted something not to dark … not too light. Not too blue. Not too green. Not too purple.

Gray is tough!

And I was working with a self-imposed ridiculously short deadline, so there was no time for a do over.

In the end, I picked Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray.

Which is actually a lighter shade and a bit warmer than in the picture above. (See the first picture on this post for a more accurate shade).

It’s definitely more of a greige gray with warmer undertones.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the walls were previously painted a very dark navy (Sherwin Williams Naval) …

You can see more of my navy & white living room at this link …

Remember?

So before I even opened up my can of Agreeable Gray, I had to reach for the primer.

Followed by two coats of gray.

Sigh.

It was done in the nick of time.

And, as much as I loved my foray into the dark side with navy …

I’m really happy with how much lighter and brighter the living and dining rooms are!

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Radiator Cover Simple Spring Fantel

May 28, 2019 By Linda 17 Comments

Radiator Cover Simple Fantel – Neutral Mantel with Lanterns

Simple mantel with lanterns and eucalyptus

So a few thoughts on this rainy, thunder-stormy, seriously flooding (with occasional tornado warnings) end of May Memorial Day (well, here in Chicago at least):

#1 – I miss you guys. Well, it’s probably more gals than guys reading this but you get the point. But truly, deeply, I miss hearing from you. I miss sharing my life and my home and my crafts and my many ups … and my downs … with you.

The thing is, once I step away from the blog I find it that much harder to jump back in again. But here I am. Jumping ….

and hoping you’ll catch me!

#2 – Can I really call this a Spring mantel fantel? Technically it’s still Spring. So I guess technically I’m squeaking this one in under the wire. 😉

#3 – It feels really great to be behind the lens of my camera again. Seriously. I was having a really hard, depressing few weeks until I pulled out the camera. And just like that, everything felt right again.

#4 – My son graduated college on Mother’s Day weekend. We traveled down to Terre Haute to attend the event. It was long. The keynote speaker was meh. We were in the nose bleed seats.

On the day of the ceremony, my son had yet to get his final grades. So we crossed our fingers that this was really for real as we tried desperately to hear his name called out over various outbursts of cheers and screams that reverberated around stadium.

We are some seriously proud parents! Great job Sam! 🙂

Faux mantel with lanterns and Eucalyptus stems - Simple mantel

#5 – Sorry for that college-graduating-cliffhanger thing, but my son truly did graduate. Officially. The diploma and transcripts arrived last week. Again, so very proud!

#6 – My daughter graduates high school next week. And then it’s off to Colorado for college in August.

I’m already stressing about the logistics of moving her out there without having to make a 15+ hour drive (with + being multiple restroom stops because tiny bladder).

I suppose I’ll UPS some stuff. Buy some stuff there. Get a really big suitcase for her clothes and stuff …

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

#7 – Thank you for sticking around. And coming back when I finally, finally showed up in your in-box.

And now I fear I’ve left some of your comments and messages hanging for months. Thirty-three to be exact. Though some of those may be spam. After I finish working on my next blog post today, I promise I’ll finally get back to you all!

#8 – Last (and least, for now), during the time I stepped away, WordPress (the platform I blog on) decided to change up how I create a blog post. Which seems unnecessary. Downright confusing, in fact.

Perhaps it’s just me getting old, but I’m definitely in the if it ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it camp. You know the one. It’s across the lake from the you-can’t-build-a-better-mouse-trap camp and down the street from let’s-face-it-nothing-is-really-better-than-slice bread spa & resort. 😉

Hitting Pause.

March 1, 2019 By Linda 24 Comments

I’ve always found it hard to blog post-holiday season.

I mean, how can I top trees and mini wreaths and twinkle lights?

And then there’s all that cold and gray and early darkness that follows … for what feels like months and months on end.

I spent last weekend working up motivation to turn my back on that gray and cold and get back to the business of blogging.

But then tragedy struck on Monday night. Technically, Tuesday morning.

Don’t worry, my family is fine. But my friend who happens to live next door is not.

I won’t get into any details. I’ll just say it was a terrible, horrible, devastating sudden loss. And I was there as it all unfolded.

Nothing criminal, but it was traumatic. The emotions were raw — primal — as a friend lost her husband, and her children lost their father.

My heart breaks for this wonderful family. The best next door neighbors you could ask for …

And with that broken heart, I just can’t find any inspiration to blog. For now. So I’m hitting pause. For a week. Probably more like two. Perhaps three?

I don’t know.

All I can do it take it one day at a time.

The Mudroom. Ish.

February 7, 2019 By Linda 3 Comments

I never play the lottery.

Okay, I’ll amend that. I don’t play daily. Or weekly. Or monthly. I only play when it hits crazy super high jackpots.

You could say I’m a fair weather lottery fan. 😉

And as I play the lottery (usually online with a mix of hand-picked numbers and auto selected numbers) I immediately start house hunting.

Is that wrong?

Am I the only one?

And … most importantly … am I jinxing myself by “counting my winnings” before numbers are even drawn?

Because as I’m picking those lottery numbers, I’m toggling back and forth with Zillow and Trulia and realtor.com

My focus (these days) of those Zillow and Trulia and realtor.com house searches are on downtown Chicago (shhhhh, don’t tell my husband). Fabulous million dollar condos with must-have amazing views. Must-have spectacular kitchens and bathrooms. Must-have floor to ceiling windows so I can lie in bed at night and look out at Chicago’s amazing, twinkling skyline …

And … a little further down on that must-have list … a mudroom.

Oh how I dream of a mudroom. With hooks and cubbies and a place for everything …

Now, in our current house we have a mudroom. Ish.

Before we adding on a family room on the back of our house, this was the back door area. When we moved in, there were a few hooks on one wall and we had an egg crate to capture our shoes and boots.

During my crazed board and batten obsession, I gave this mudroom-ish area it’s own treatment. And, in doing so, was able to add even more hooks for the kids coats.

A few months back I gave this area a little spruce. Some gray paint on the walls (Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray). And the sconces got a coat of Rustoleum chalk paint in Charcoal.

Oh, and a few fabric wrapped cork tiles help to keep us organized. Ish. 😉

Oh my God, I just had a revelation!

Perhaps my furnace dying on the coldest day of the year (twice now) karma is because I keep dissing my house? I mean, hopping on Zillow as I purchase lottery tickets is a serious house diss. And I do frequently talk about how I’ll be selling her as a tear down …

Perhaps this is the ultimate punishment … or, more likely, revenge? Forcing us to keep investing $$$ in her that we’ll never recoup!

I think my head just exploded! 🙂

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Home Office in Gray and White

February 5, 2019 By Linda 9 Comments

Home Office in Gray and White – Gray White Home Office.

Welcome to my home office.

Where the magic happens. 😉

I know, I know. You’re thinking, “really Linda?” Really? Because that looks an awful lot like your living room.”

To which I respond, “Yes, yes, my eagle-eyed friends. You are correct. This is, in fact, a corner of my living room.”

Now there’s a logical reason I’m claiming this corner of the living room as my office space. You do remember how my home is spatially challenged, right? Which means there is no magical spare room in which I can make the magic happen. So my living room has to pull double duty …

This is where you’ll find me most days for most of the day. Tucked behind this laptop table, all dressed up in my yoga pants and over-sized hoodie with my hair pulled back in a pony tail and reading glasses firmly affixed to my face.

And this is where I edit pictures and write blog posts and answer your questions.

You know, all that magic making stuff. 🙂

The best part of this laptop table is this open cubby. Now I can keep this home office corner of my living room organized and clutter free by tucking away all my pens and notepads and notebooks filled with “to do’s” and future project and post ideas.

But my office isn’t just relegated to that one corner by the window. I’ve extended my reach over here …

This side table is not just a side table. It pulls double duty by housing all my blog and household files …

Clever, right?

I’m all about the hidden storage ideas. And the pulling of double-duty furniture and spaces.

So while I return to the magic making, I thought I’d share all of my home office shopping resources …

Home Office Shopping Resources:

Greige & White Striped Armchair from Wayfair

Jute Rug from Wayfair

Laptop Computer Table/Desk from World Market

Filing Drawer Side Table from Better Homes & Gardens Collection at Walmart

Drum Table from a long, long time ago from a distant relative (and here’s a link to how I painted the base & and here’s a link to how I stripped and whitewashed the top)

Painted & Distressed Mason Jars from My Etsy Shop

Pin It!

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Fabric Wrapped Cork Board DIY

January 31, 2019 By Linda 14 Comments

Fabric Wrapped Cork Board DIY – How To Make Cork Board with Fabric.

In case you were wondering ….

yes, it really was that cold in Chicago yesterday.

When I woke up my Weather App told me the air temperature was a brisk -21 degrees.

-21 degrees!

Yeah, that’s normal. Not. Just like the Chicago river filled with blocks of ice is normal. Not.

I supposed I shouldn’t complain. Great Forks, North Dakota supposedly reached -38 degrees last night.

I honestly had zero expectations of actually experiencing the cold yesterday. I honestly had zero expectations that I would set foot out the front … or back … doors. I honestly had zero expectations of even getting within a few feet of said doors (especially the front door which is super drafty!).

And in preparation for honestly not experiencing the cold yesterday, on Tuesday I did a big shop. Five-filled-to-the-brim-shopping-bags-and-a-12-pack-of-diet-Coke big shop …

but then …

karma kicked us in the butt.

Though, is it really karma when all I did was prepare to not go outside in polar vortex sub-zero temperatures? I always thought karma was some kind of cosmic payback for doing something … well … bad?

So what happened, you’re probably asking (or, perhaps pleading?) me to tell you instead of rambling on about what karma is or is not.

Well …

the furnace died.

Dead. Nada. Nothing. We flipped the switch and …

silence.

No humming motor sound of the furnace turning on. No booming metal sound as the furnace kicked in and started blowing warm air out.

So here we all are … Mike home from work; Molly home from school; Ernie the beagle home because, well, he’s a dog and he’s always home … shivering in our home.

Now, on the plus side-ish: We have two furnaces. And the one that decided to kick the bucket heats the new addition. So the bedrooms upstairs are still warm.

But the main first floor living spaces — living and dining rooms and kitchen — can’t get above 60 degrees. Not exactly cold enough to drive us out of our home to a warming station. But just cold enough to be uncomfortable.

Luckily the heating guy showed up relatively quickly. And luckily it wasn’t a full furnace replacement (phew).

But why does this always happen on the coldest day of the year? Or, at least happen to us on the coldest day of the year? The last time we had to replace the furnace (the one that heats the main living spaces and bedrooms) happened on …

you guessed it …

the coldest day of that year!

So now I’m trying to figure out what horrible things I may have done to inflict this cold karma on me and my family! 🙂

So today, in honor of sub-zero temperatures, I thought I’d share a project worthy of a polar vortex kind of day …

How To Make Fabric Wrapped Cork Board DIY

Materials

Cork Board (I used 12 x 12 cork tiles)

Fabric (I used this gray/beige/white paisley fabric, purchased from an Etsy shop)

Glue Gun

Scissors

Cut the fabric, leaving a 1-2 inch border around all sides.

Add a dot of glue at the corner.

Fold down the corner piece onto hot glue. Hold for a few seconds until dry.

Add a bead of glue along one length of the cork board.

Press fabric down and hold for a few seconds until dry.

Add an extra dot of glue at corner. Fold over and hold until dry.

Okay, now I’m suppose to show you more pictures of how I folded over the other edge of fabric to finish off the corner … but I must’ve gotten distracted or something. Because I simply cannot find any more photos.

So instead I’ll just leave you with the finished fabric wrapped cork board diy project …

Oh, and in case you were wondering, it really is that cold in Chicago again today. Woke up to be greeted with a -16 on my phone’s weather app …

brrrrrrr …

but at least the heat is working today! 🙂

I’ll just leave you with a shot of the Chicago polar vortex from @online.chicago on Instagram …

Pin It!

The Painted Sink: Where Is It Now?

January 15, 2019 By Linda 4 Comments

The Painted Sink: Where Is It Now? – How To Paint a Sink.

You may recall I painted a couple of bathroom sinks in my home over the years …

here in 2013 …

and here in the powder room in early 2011.

I’m often asked how the sink has held up over the years.

And let me tell you: Here in the powder room, it’s held up pretty well. Especially since I painted this sink close to eight years ago, and I’m 99.99% sure the paint-the-sink product box stressed this should not be intended as a long term solution.

I’m 99.99% sure the shelf life should be closer to five years or so.

You know, temporary. A temporary solution to mask the ugly until you get around to a permanent solution.

But guess what? There will be no permanent solution. In our Chicago neighborhood, our home is considered a tear down. Which leaves me with 00.00% motivation to invest in anything that I can’t take with me. So my only option is to live with some nicks and knacks.

That’s okay. I can live with that. 🙂

Shall we take a closer look?

You can see some scuffing along the edges.

Here’s a closer look. You can see how the paint is being peeled back, exposing the ugly fiber glass underneath.

The drain has taken a bit of a beating too …

And finally, there are a few nicks here and there …

Oh, and the color has yellowed a bit over the years.

And with all that …

at the end of the day it’s still a whole lot better than the faux fiber glass biege/orangy builder grade sink that was all the rage in the 90’s.

Just kidding.

Faux fiber glass beige/orangy builder grade sinks were never a rage. At any time in the history of the U.S. Or the history of the world, for that matter. Just a cheap option in the world of builder grade flipping.

Which has me thinking: exactly who are these builder grade designers that thought a faux fiber glass beige/orangy sink is just what a homeowner would want?

Maybe it’s not an upgrade in builder grade materials we need. More like an upgrade in builder grade designers. 😉

Best Hummus Recipe Ever.

January 10, 2019 By Linda 1 Comment

Best Hummus Recipe Ever. – Easy Homemade Hummus Recipe – 2 Weight Watchers Points Per Serving

There are very few things I make without pulling out the recipe. And when I say very few, I mean zero. Nada. Nunca. Nothing.

Nothing is made in this kitchen without a recipe.

With a caveat.

There are a few simple 2-to-4 ingredient meals I eat just about every week I can whip up blindfolded. Grilled chicken with veggies. Wok peppers & onions with teriyaki sauce and chicken. Pasta with jar sauce.

You get the idea. Super simple.

But when it comes to multiple ingredient recipes that include spices and liquids and teaspoons and tablespoons and cups and actual precise measurements? Yeah, not so much. That’s when I turn to my recipe file.

Until now.

Now I can honestly say I have one tried-and-true-recipe I can make with a blindfold on and my hands tied behind my back.

Which makes zero sense because how could one even prepare something with their hands bound? And blindfolded would be pretty messy!

But when I whip up this best hummus recipe ever I feel like a contestant on Top Chef.

Recipe? Schmecipe! I got this … 🙂

Now some of you may be thinking hummus is only for special events. Special occasions. An appetizer at a party.

Stop that. Right now.

I make this best hummus recipe ever at least twice a week. And I use it in vegetarian Mediterranean Buddha Bowls (I’ll share some combinations as the year goes on).

And now my daughter is a huge hummus fan. She likes it as a side with grilled chicken and carrots or sweet potato fries.

By the way, my stomach is growling like crazy just typing this up …

Oh, and this recipe is sooooooo good that I literally lick the bowl (okay, not exactly a bowl; but the blender and blades) when I’m making it.

Don’t want to waste a single drop!

It has some bite from the garlic, tang from the lemon, and zing from the cumin.

Seriously. This is my favorite thing to eat this year …

Print Recipe

Best Homemade Hummus. Ever.

2 Weight Watchers Points Per Serving

Course: Appetizer

Servings: 8

Ingredients

15 oz chickpeas/garbanzo beans
2 tbsp tahini
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp aquafaba (chickpea packing water)
paprika

Instructions

1. Save 1/4 cup of chickpea packing water (aquafaba).
2. Rinse and drain chickpeas with cold water.
3. Combine ingredients (excluding paprika) in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
4. Chill in refrigerator. Sprinkle paprika on top when serving.

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You can find my complete category of recipes at this link …

Gray White Bathroom Makeover

January 8, 2019 By Linda 2 Comments

Gray White Bathroom Makeover – Sherwin Williams Repose Gray Paint.

As I was editing these photos, I got to thinking …

actually, I got to thinking while in t,he shower (my favorite thinking space) between photos edits. Which is probably too much information. Or TMI as the cool kids say.

Now, ironically, TMI is exactly what I was thinking about while I was thinking about this blog post in the shower.

So TMI brings me full circle to my thinking.

You still following me here?

Good. Can you explain it to me then? 😉

You see, I started wondering if this whole blog thing is weird for my family.

I mean, beyond seeing … and reading … the ramblings of the inner workings of their mother’s brain (for the kids).

Even beyond the whole putting up pictures of the living room or dining room or kitchen.

The TMI question that popped into my head while taking my TMI shower is: When exactly do we home bloggers hit the TMI wall?

Could this be it. The bathroom? Am I at the wall?

Is it weird that pictures of our family’s bathroom somehow makes it on to the blog?

And …. by extension … Pinterest.

And …. by extension … Instragram.

And …. by extension … Facebook.

And … by extension … Google images?

Is this the equivalent of taking their hypothetical purses and dumping the contents onto the counter for everyone to rummage through?

Is my family wondering, what’s next mom?

What TMI will you be sharing next week with your readers? Interiors of messy closets? Close ups of the contents of underwear drawers?

Well, I want to assure them this is the TMI wall.

Pinky swear. 🙂

P.S. The bathroom wall color is Repose Gray from Sherwin-Williams

P.P.S. Here’s a link to the bathroom “before” (complete with cringy photos! I’ve certainly come a long way!)

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