Repair Renew Restore

I love taking advantage of produce that is in season. This recipe requires the ripest red tomatoes, which I just happened to have on hand. And what could be better then some yummy Summer tomatoes. These stuffed tomatoes are great served with a salad or even with a side of rice.

To make them you will need:

4 medium-sized riped tomatoes

2 tablespoons of finely chopped scallions

2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley

1/2 cup of finely crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup of bread crumbs

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tops off the tomatoes (carefully). I use a melon baller to scoop out the pulp and seeds. Don’t throw it away, you will need it later.

Coarsely chop up the tomato pulp.

In a small bowl, combine the tomato pulp, scallions, parsley, feta cheese, bread crumbs, and olive oil.

Spoon the mixture into the hollowed tomatoes. Place tomatoes right side up in a baking pan and bake them for 15 minutes.

They are best served steaming hot.

What Summer meals have you been making?

The first lesson I learned about living small is to decide what your priorities are.

Think about how your family lives and how they spend most of their time.

Is your family huge movie buffs or gamers?

Are you crafters or readers

When we moved into our 1300 square foot home we were faced with these question.

We had a tiny bonus room and with space scarce this was like a little gift.

At first it was used as a formal dining room.

I say the room used,but I should have said set up like a dining room.

We are not really formal dining room kind of people, so I think it only got used twice a year.

That just wouldn't do.

Next, we made it a small TV room, but my family doesn't watch a ton of TV.

Then, it became my husbands office.

Again with space at a premium it seemed like a bit of a waste.

He really didn't use the office much.

Now, we call this tiny little room our library.

We are all avid readers and it is a great place to read.

You can shut the door and block out everyone.

It is a place to search the net and a place to listen to music.

My husband can play his guitar or just sit and reflect the day.

It has become quite a popular spot for intimate conversations as well.

My husband and I will often sit in there after a long day and unwind with a drink.

This room is basically a tiny 10 x 10 square.

So, there is not a lot of space to work with.

We bought three inexpensive Billy Bookcases from Ikea.

We shoved the three together and my husband finished them off with molding.

This gave them a much more substantial presence in the room.

For under $300 they give a lot of bang for your buck and provide a lot of storage.

There are other accents in the room that give it a warm cozy feel.

The wall color is Westport Tan by Martha Stewart.

The chairs were inexpensive ones from Ikea.

The scale is small and they fit into our tiny little room well.

We really couldn't be happier with this space.

We use it more as a library then we ever used it as an office or dining room.

Today, I thought I would give you a look at our kitchen.

It is a work in progress.

Someday, I will get around to busting up that old tile and redoing the floor, but until now it suits us fine.

It is small, but functions quite well.

Everything has a place.

My pantry.

These cabinets are original to the house.

My husband and I removed them, painted and restored them.

We tweaked them a bit and rehung them higher.

My husband built the cabinet next to the stove.

before there was just awkward dead space.

He also extended the cabinet to the right of the stove.

We store all of our baking trays there.

On top of the pantry was the perfect spot for our coffee maker.

It freed up precious counter space.

Above the window my husband added a shelf.

It is a perfect spot for displaying my Yelloware collection.

An old tool caddy stores oils and vinegars close at hand and

Stoneware crocks hold utensils within reach.

On top of the fridge an old market basket holds over sized platters.

One of my biggest complaints in this room
is that it is a pretty dark room.

In the future we plan on adding new floors and new lighting.

I will be sure to update you guys when we get around to it.
For now,unfortunately, dark room = dark pictures.

To be continued....

Saying I have banquettes on the brain would be a

bit of an understatement.

It seems to be all I can think about.

I really want to add this kind of seating to my breakfast room, but I am still a bit indecisive as to what style I want to go with.

I love the built in shelving here.

This one has it's charms.

So does this one.

Pinterest actually has a ton of inspiration when it

comes to this kind of seating.

That is where I found all of these beautys.

I love this one with the built in cabinets.

Oh my!

Too many choices.

What to do.

To be continued......

I recently had a pair of lamps given to me by my mother.

They were a lovely shade of brass just like these ones below from the Frugal Homemaker.

The right kind of brass can be beautiful,

but these were not it.

They were in desperate

need of a makeover.

I truly believe anything can be transformed with paint and here is my proof.

These lamps were sprayed with flat

white spray paint.

After I allowed them to dry I wiped them with some old stain I had lying around.

I layered the stain until I achieved

my desired finish.

Wiping some on, then taking a little off.

When I got it the way I wanted it.

I allowed it to dry for 24 hours or until not tacky to touch.

The end result looks like a brand new lamp.

I may never pass up a Goodwill lamp again.

It has been raining everyday for almost 2 weeks and there seems to be no end in sight.

So, I thought what better inspiration today than this sunny kitchen.

This bright, fun space was designed by Tobi Fairley a long favorite designer of mine.

Who wouldn't be happy spending time in this space?

I am constantly pinning recipes on Pinterest.
There they sit. It seems I never get around to trying them.

I am sure some of you know what I mean.

So, this Summer I decided I would start trying some of these recipes.

Here is one of those recipes.

I found this one for Chicken Artichoke Lasagna here.
Mine wasn't nearly as pretty as theirs was, but it was super yummy!

This is a great alternative to the traditional Lasagna.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups boneless,skinless chicken breast cooked and shredded*
-1 (14oz) can of artichoke hearts, chopped
-1/2 cup of sundried tomatoe,s chopped
-1(8oz) package Kraft shredded Mozerella Cheese with a touch of Philadelphia,divided
-1/2 cup Kraft grated Parmesan Cheese
-2(8oz) packages Philadelphia Cream Cheese,softened
-1 cup of milk
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
-12 lasagna noodles, cooked

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine chicken, artichokes, tomatoes, 1 cup mozzarella and Parmesan. Beat cream cheese, milk, and garlic powder with mixer until well blended; stir in 2 tablespoons basil. Mix half with the chicken mixture.
Spread half of the remaining cream cheese sauce onto bottom of a baking dish; cover with 3 noodles and 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Repeat layers of noodles and chicken mixture twice. Top with remaining cheese sauce and mozzarella; cover.
Bake 25 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining basil. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.

I did make a couple of substitutions.

I swapped marinated artichoke hearts in a jar for the canned ones.

Well, because that is what I had on hand.

I just rinsed them before cutting them up.

I also substituted sun dried tomato bruschetta in place of the sun dried tomatoes.

I am all about using up what you have already in the pantry.

My kids even gobbled this up.

It was great reheated for lunch as well.

A big thumbs up for this recipe.

Let me know what you think.

*To make shredded chicken I simply throw in 3 or 4 chicken breast into a crock pot. I add salt and pepper, then I cook them on low for about 5 to 6 hours. No need to add liquid. This makes the perfect shredded chicken for your favorite recipes.

The one thing about a tiny house is that

there is never enough storage space,

there are never enough cabinets, and the closets are always too small. When you are a young twenty something couple with a young family this may not such a big deal. You are just starting out and chances are you have yet to accumulate all those gadgets and things.

Fast forward sixteen years and your little

house seemingly becomes smaller and smaller.

Bread makers, panini presses, blenders, crock pots, and food processors take up a lot of space.

Apparently pantries weren't big in the 50's or maybe it's just that our little house is lacking.

Our kitchen is not huge and we do not have a lot of cabinet space,which leaves us with

our first dilemma. Where do we put all
those groceries?

The only empty wall in our kitchen happened to be right in the doorway of our kitchen, so regular kitchen base cabinets would block the doorway.

After using a pie safe for years we were ready for a more permanent built in look.

After a lot of looking we found the Ivar cabinet from Ikea.

Two of these cabinets would fit perfectly in our narrow space and the price was right.

So off to Ikea we went. We grabbed a couple shelf brackets as well and of course a hot dog and some frozen yogurt.

Shopping is hard work and hubs is a

sucker for the frozen stuff!

Next, I put these two together. Yes you heard right I did it all by my lonesome. They were super easy to assemble. My only tip or should I say my husband's tip is, always add glue. The instructions for build it yourself furniture never actually called for glue, but you won't regret it.

A couple drops of glue in those screw holes will ensure a sturdier end result.

Then, came the fun part.

Off to Lowe's for some lumber.

My husband built a base for the two cabinets to sit on. He made the base smaller than the cabinets so that it would match our existing kitchen cabinets. The base raised them up a bit and made them

look more built in. Then he cut shelves to fit those brackets I bought at Ikea.

You may have noticed I painted the cabinets white.

We were not finished yet though.

Next, my husband built a top for the cabinet.

Here is a peak at it.

We built it using pine lumber and I stained it using a mix of strong coffee and stain
to get the right shade.
I simply add a little bit of super strong coffee to the stain to add depth to the finished project.

Next the doors went back on and the other shelves were added.

I accessorized my newly made shelves and filled my new cabinets.

Then of course because I am crazy, I felt the need to paint the walls a lighter color.

Here is the before and after.

The entire project was under $250 including the shelves.

We are thrilled with the end result.

Here is a peak at the inside.

She is a little messy. What can I say it's Summer.

So why the Ivar?

Well for one our cabinets in our kitchen are flat front and a lot of the other cabinets I had looked at had raised panels and other trim that did not really match our cabinets.

We also liked the fact that the Ivar is solid pine, not MDF.

The narrow profile sealed the deal for us.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about this project.

Just leave a comment and I will get back to you.

A bit of recycling at it's best for you.

Instead of throwing these little jars out when I finished using their contents, I have been saving them.

The first one I couldn't bare to throw out because it was just too cute. Who doesn't love a baby mason jar?

Before long, however I had 9 jars.

I gave them a good scrubbing with Goo Gone to remove the labels, then ran them through the dishwasher.

They cleaned up beautifully.

I sprayed the outside of the lids with some trusty spray paint.

And then I dressed them up with some labels I found in

the dollar isle at Target.

I placed labels on the front of the jars as well as the top.

This way whether they are in a drawer or on a shelf you can easily see what you have.

I have to tell you I am so pleased at how they turned out.

No more messy spice drawer.

This by far has to be my favorite pasta salad recipe.

It is definitely a crowd pleaser.
It is the perfect amount of sweet and spicy.

I found the recipe here a couple of years ago and have been making it every since.

Ingredients:

3 c uncooked orzo pasta
1 each yellow, red and green bell peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno chili, de-seeded and de-veined to reduce heat, chopped
1 Serrano chili, de-seeded and de-veined to reduce heat, chopped
1/2 c golden raisins
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 small red onion, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Vinaigrette:
1/3 c red wine vinegar
1/2 c chopped cilantro
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbs brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2/3 c olive oil

Cook the orzo following the package instructions. While the orzo is cooking I prepare the other ingredients. I make sure to cut up all of the peppers uniformly. Once I have tossed all of the ingredients together, I prepare the vinaigrette. After mixing the pasta salad with the vinaigrette I put the entire mixture in a container with a lid and I put it in the fridge for a couple hours.

This pasta salad is perfect for picnics and cookouts. You do not have to worry about it spoiling because there is no mayo. It is perfect for making a day or two in advance as well. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

When we first moved into our home our backyard was dark and shaded. There was a giant Oak tree that spanned over the entire length of our backyard. I loved the shady yard and have to admit it was definitely a selling point when we bought it. We live in the South and the heat can sometimes be miserable.

I enjoyed researching plants that grew in the shade and planted lush fern beds around the base of our tree. We had a tree swing for the kids and enjoyed many an afternoon out back.

Our shady yard was not without it's flaws, though.

It was impossible to grow grass for all the large oak tree roots, and don't even get me started on raking leaves and the acorns.

Oh the acorns! How can there be so many!

If you have an Oak tree you know what I mean.

If those things were worth money we could have been billionaires.

Fast forward a couple of years and a couple Hurricanes later and our beautiful tree became a bit of a headache for us.

Not only did we worry that it would topple and take out our house, but because of the shear size of it we worried it would take out our neighbors house as well. One year it was even the culprit for knocking out power for our entire street for 2 days.

A fallen limb from our tree took a power line down with it.

So, after a lot of deliberation we decided it had to go.

So, cut down the tree we did. Well not us personally, we hired someone, though I think at times my husband considered climbing it with a chain saw to save money. What can I say we are cheap and removing a huge hundred year old oak tree is expensive!

After the removal of the tree, we were left with a sudden realization.

What now? Our once shady yard was now a blindingly bright space with zero shade.

We rushed to put up a privacy fence to hide our our embarrassment of a yard from our neighbors.

In an attempt to make it more livable we built a pergola off of our workshop/garage to give us a little shade.

It did not fix the problem at all.

We completely stopped going in our back yard for a while.

When you live in a small home outdoor space is a must. So, in order to take back our backyard, we decided we needed to go tropical. Rather than fight the heat and the sun we decided to work with it. In came the pool and the tropical plants. Palms and hibiscus took over for the ferns.

(2010)

The pool allowed us to beat the heat of the Summers in the South and got us back outside.

That is my daughter splashing around when she was little.

Today, we have added 2 decks and our landscaping has changed a bit. The little work shop with the pergola has become a pool house complete with bathroom and kitchen. A door was moved to add better access. My kids don't splash around much any more, but my husband and I consider it our tropical paradise.

We live out side most weekends.