Updated Entryway

Yay, here's a little peak at our updated entryway! As a reminder, it used to look like this: 

I always have a really tough visualizing things when other people share stuff that involves new walls going up, so this might not help too much, but basically a wall was added where the linoleum meets the carpet in the picture above. The window next to the door was covered up (the siding on the whole front section of our house was replaced because of all the changing windows!). Now there's a closet there instead!

The wall with the mirror on it above is the bump-out for the new closet, which I love, love, love. We painted this room Benjamin Moore glade green - the same as the small half bath. It looks a lot more minty in the bathroom since there's no natural light, but I love it both ways. Edith Wharton had this theory that the best color for entryways was green since it helps people transition to or from the outdoors, and I like to heed Edith's decorating advice when possible :)

You can also see a little peak of my new red front door in the mirror! I'll try to snap some picks of the outside to show you how that's changed, too, but there's still so much to do out there. Maybe in the spring, ha ha.

One quick story about the art above the table. It's a painting of Le Petit Zinc, which is a restaurant I went to with my parents on my first trip to Europe when I was 13 years old. The whole vacation was magical; I felt so grown up, and I know it helped me develop my passion for travel.

Years after the trip, my mom and I found that painting in Bombay Company on clearance, and she snapped it up. It was in her home for years, and I always loved it. A few years after that (are you still with me? this is beginning to feel a bit like recounting a dream that's only interesting to the person who experienced it...), my mom was cleaning out the basement, and in a pile of pamphlets and maps from our Paris trip, she found the receipt from our dinner at Le Petit Zinc! It's in francs and everything. She gave me the painting a while ago for my house, and the receipt is still taped to the back of it. I've always thought it would be fun to get that matted and framed on it's own. One of these days...

Chase Woodlands + Peters Reservation

A couple weekends ago, we went out to Chase Woodlands for a walk in the woods. It was such a great afternoon that we tacked on Peters Reservation, too, which is right across the street. The parking lot for both only fits about six cars, so it's very quiet and peaceful along the paths. Great mile to two mile loops with pretty views of the Charles on the Peters side.

That night, Peter put this together. I'd been wanting breaded pork tenderloin from The Fort so badly, and luckily, Peter's version was an amazing substitute. In case you're inspired to make your own:

• Pork schnitzel 
• German-style homefries
• Braised red cabbage

Happy almost weekend to all! 

Feast for a Reader

This is perhaps one of the stranger things I've revealed on the blog, but I am really into betting. Not in a dangerous way - don't worry, you won't find me sneaking off to Mohegan Sun at 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday to spend away our mortgage payment. But I love little, frequent bets - who can guess what time we'll arrive, or who will show up last at the party. These almost never involve actual dollars changing hands; that would stress me out. The prizes are more like, I'll make you a fun dinner if you're right!

Last fall, I was in Connecticut visiting my family, and a frequently repeated conversation came up again. This is going to sound mean, but we regularly made fun of my dad for not being much of a reader. He reads newspapers - I think at one point, there were three delivered to their house. But books - not so much. He'd do maybe one a year, and he'd read it over the course of the entire year, but just on vacations. We'd jokingly refer to his "book of 2011" or "the San Diego-Italy" book.

Somehow, on this particular day, the conversation morphed into betting territory. An official, signed agreement was drawn up betting that he couldn't read ten new books in the next year. If he won, I'd have to cook him a five-course dinner (and - I'm about to reveal something else weird about myself - I would have to switch my toilet paper from over to under for an entire year. I am PASSIONATE about toilet paper that comes down over the roll, and he is equally passionate that it should be under. If he had lost, he would have had to do it the right way my way for a year, womp womp.)

Well, guys, he blew the bet out of the water. I think he finished his tenth book sometime over the summer, and he has truly, officially, become a person who loves to read books! I sent him a few options for his five-course feast, and we held it at my parents house a few weeks ago. The dinner was an absolutely joy to make, and it was wonderful to celebrate his new-found love of books. The toilet paper, on the other hand, will continue to plague me for many months...

Feast for a Reader Menu

1st course: Figs on Parmesan Toasts

2nd course: Kale Salad with Apples and Hazelnuts

3rd course: Roasted Fennel and White Beans

4th course: Chard and Mushroom Stuffed Breast of Veal

5th course: Crack Pie

If you're curious about his book selections, they were a very eclectic mix! He read the Hunger Games series (loved), a Harlin Coben novel or two (loved), The Paris Wife (we told him he wouldn't like, and he didn't!), Outcasts United (loved), The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (loved), and a handful of others. And now - post bet - he's reading a WWII book about fighter pilots.

Sets in the West

There have been some amazing sunsets in Boston this week! I think I snapped this on Tuesday night? One of the best things about the new house is the view from our back deck, which faces west. We're up on a little hill, and there's this great view of the sky peaking through the roofs and trees.

This weekend I'm going to finish painting our front door red - it currently has one coat of paint on so it looks hot pink. Hopefully our neighbors aren't too worried! And I'll maybe tackle the treads of the stairs, too; we'll see how motivated I am :) The past few weeks, we've been furiously painting and cleaning and setting up, and I think it's time to take a bit of a step back. So tomorrow night we're also planning a fun dinner here, and something else good for Sunday, too. If the weather cooperates, a hike, and if not, a museum.

Happy weekend to all! Here's to not painting too much.

Half Bath Mini-Makeover

Yay, a completed mini-makeover to share! Over the weekend we painted the entryway (still being set up, but pictures coming soon!). There was half a gallon of that pretty green paint left, so I couldn't help but add the half bath to the list, too.

I did have grand plans to go with a cute stripe in here, but laziness won out. Maybe in a few years when everything else in the house is done / adorable (HA!), I'll have the motivation to tackle more creative things. But for now, this feels like a big victory - one (itty bitty) room in our house is now looking a-okay.

The before shots above are actually better than what I was starting out with because there were two truly horrible bathroom cabinets over the toilet and sink. You can see the creepy shadows on the walls where they once were. Since we have a full bath upstairs with storage aplenty, I was fine with getting rid of those cabinets down here, and there's still some storage under the sink for my blow dryer and cleaning supplies. 

This room was clearly a blank slate, and we certainly won't be don't anything major to it in terms of renovations. But if I had been the one designing this bath, I would have gone with pedestal sink to free up some real estate - it's a very narrow room. And for the love of Nancy, I would have centered the toilet on the wall (!!!).

I've tried to counteract that left-leaning toilet by centering the art work above it (obviously), but also adding a free-standing toilet paper thingy-majig and putting the tissues in the middle, too. It helps a little? If anyone has any additional brilliant ideas, I would love to hear!

Happy Candy Eating Day!

On the agenda for tonight:

• Watching Psycho (I've never seen it all the way through!)
• Making this for dinner (though I'm equally tempted by this)
• Fantasizing  about having this (!!!) for dessert, but I think all the kidlets in our new neighborhood will probably take all the candy first / I'll just eat any left-overs in their "natural" form 

Happy Halloween to all!

Overdue Renovation Check-in

I am so overdue for a renovation check-in! Last time I provided an update, this is what things looked like (just over a month ago!). Oy! In the last few weeks, we've gotten our beautiful new dry wall up, trim, and the electrical work was finished. I'll spare you pictures of this, but our horrible "third bathroom" in the basement with the scary toilet was also capped off, and now I feel a lot less afraid to go down there and do the laundry.

In the entryway, our tile went down and our new hall closet got finished. The door is still missing in this picture, but it's there now in all it's unpainted glory :) Also, last weekend while we still had our dumpster in the driveway, I decided to take out the horrible green carpet on our stairway (which you can see here). I want to paint them black and white and add a runner - that's on my long to-do list.

I'm sharing the horrid pictures above for posterity's sake. Since we moved in at the end of August, we've been using the back porch room as our living room/storage area because the living room was out of commission. Shield your eyes from the painful paneling and top of the line cooling unit built into the wall. While I'm thrilled that we had a space to set up our couch and TV while this work was being done, I am extremely happy that those days are behind us (and that the room is now freed up so that we can prime and paint that atrocious paneling!).

Over the weekend, we painted like mad in the living room so that we could finally move in. I still have lots of setting up and arranging to do, but I couldn't resist sharing this little sneak peek of the new space.

Yay!!! This cute little lamp is one of the first things I dragged out of storage to set up in the space. I was so happy to receive it right before our move, courtesy of Lamps.com, and have been waiting (very impatiently) to see it in its new home every since. So pretty, right?

I can't wait to show you guys the rest!


Disclosure: The product mentioned in this post was provided to me by the stated brand for review purposes only. I was not paid to promote or endorse this product and all thoughts and ideas are truthful and reflect my opinion alone.

Block Island Redux

Last time we were on Block Island, it was way off season. When we recently returned, the island was quiet and calm; many of the restaurants and bars were closing up shop after the weekend (and were consequently running out of strange things, like sour cream and salad dressing!).

But we were there for a big wedding with two of the most loving families who brought such warmth to the festivities. An example: at the end of the reception, the bride's brother and brother-in-law sang an amazing version of this Boss classic with new lyrics that were completely personalized for the happy couple (the bride is a HUGE Bruce fan). Each time the chorus came, all 200 guests sang along. It probably sounds cheesy, but it was pure wedding magic.

I remember feeling like it was a bright, sunny day on their wedding, but looking back at these photos, I realize it was a bit overcast. All the love in the air was giving me rose colored glasses!

Enjoy the Remainder

I have almost no patience for people who complain of busyness, but lo, I have been too busy lately. This is mostly a result of traveling lots and lots (for wonderful occasions - we've spent many weekends away this fall for weddings, plus some great family visits squeezed in) but with class and work and our house, I'm more than ready to tone it down a bit.

Thankfully, we'll mostly be home through Thanksgiving. Things are being kept afloat at work, but lots of good stuff - the fun stuff - of daily life has dropped away. Our contractors are actually finishing up today (!!!) with phase one of our house projects, so we have lots of painting and cleaning in our future. But I also want to get back to having people over for dinner, buying flowers, stopping at the farmers market, making soup, playing golf, watching Drop Dead Diva - you know, the really important stuff.

I snapped this picture when Peter and I went golfing on Columbus Day. This fall has been absolute perfection in Boston (and you know I'm an autumn hater), so I want to enjoy the remainder as much as possible.

Cheers to the rest of October, and to finding room for all the good stuff.

Polenta and Peas with Pork Sausage

Do you sometimes wish you could hear what everyone's planning to make for dinner that night around 3:30 p.m.? That's when I get a twitchy feeling, trying to weigh what I'm in the mood for against what I actually have in the house. This dinner sharing fantasy involves a Twitter hashtag, maybe with a quick link to a recipe. Reminders about all those good dinners you sometimes forget about - pasta with cauliflower and breadcrumbs, scalloped potatoes and ham, tacos with black beans and kale. Wouldn't that be great?

Anyways, I'm giving you a loose recipe below, but you could certainly come up with something good based on the title alone. I've had this in my "to make" cue for more than six months, and I finally got around to creating a lazy weeknight version of it. To adapt it for a much speedier cooking time, you obviously need to skip the homemade sausage. I used a few sweet Italian sausages that I just removed from their casing.

I made real polenta - as opposed to instant, which would certainly speed this up further - but I always use the oven baked method. To do that, you combine 1 cup cornmeal with 4 cups of water, plus a big pinch of salt. Sometimes I add dried rosemary if I'm feeling fancy/have some on hand. Bake that at 325 for an hour, topping it with a few pats of butter at the end. Very creamy, very easy polenta every time, without the arm workout.

Polenta and Peas with Pork Sausage
Adapted from Food52

You will need: 

Polenta (see above)
3-4 sweet Italian sausages, casing removed
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
2 carrots, small dice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock, or water
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Chopped parsley

Get your polenta going right away (if not using instant) because that takes about an hour. About 40 minutes into cooking the polenta, heat a cast iron skillet to medium and add a glug of olive oil. Brown the sausage pieces then remove from pan. Turn down the heat slightly then add the onions, garlic, and carrots and gently cook until soft. Pour in the wine and then add the stock or water once the wine has reduced by half. Add the sausage and peas to the pan, and heat until the peas are cooked. Grate in the Parmesan cheese, and serve over polenta. Sprinkle parsley on top.