My House Monday: Thank You, Ikea!

Yes, Ikea got me again. I've been SO wanting these grundtal shelves for the kitchen, but couldn't convince Austin to drill holes in the tile backsplash (fair enough). So I had moved on. That is, until Stacy and I went to Ikea last week and she noticed that one of the displays had it mounted under the cabinet rather than on to the tile. Of course, it didn't come with screws, but after a trip to Home Depot we were ready to go! (and by 'we' I mean Austin as I truly did nothing to install it). Here are some pics:

To the right of the stove! :)

close up!

Far away!

LOVE IT - the area between the sink and the stove is pretty much my cooking area. So having the knives and food processor out right by the cutting board, and then those drawers are filled with silverware, measuring spoons and measuring cups, while the cabinets below are all pyrex dishes, smaller cutting boards and strainers. It's my perfect little corner and having this hanging gave me even more counter space by the stove. LOVE.

Q: Anything new going on at your casa?


Other than doing the above, the weekend was pretty chill - just hanging out, going to the chiropractor, cooking and chilling with the pups. I also got addicted to Once Upon a Time. I just love it! No workouts, but I did start Turbofire this morning and it was kind of insane. I also posted this:

I'd been meaning to do it, had it on my goal list, and got to it!

Q: What's your favorite 20 minutes or less recipe?!


Q: Any experiences with Turbofire?!

Brownie Recipe, Spinning, Home Tips

Thanks you guys! I really like doing 'menus' for friend and family events - it's fun to host and I like using those pans/sternos so I can put it all out on heat and be DONE! To answer Jenny, I got the stands, pans and sternos at Costco with Stacy/her card. The stands and 'big pans' are reusable, each event I have done so far has used 6 sternos (2 for each stand) and you buy them in a big pack for pretty cheap, and the smaller pans that fit in the bigger pans are tossed, but again, cheap to replace. You can also get them at Party City but it's much more expensive. And for you girls who mentioned you hadn't done this yet i'm telling you - I had NEVER done this - then it was like all of a sudden I hit an age (probably 26, 27?) when it just kept happening/coming up and I love it! :) Then again, I also loved being able to open a bag of corn chips and a jar of salsa and be done with it! On another note, but somewhat related to party-planning, I TOTALLY forgot to post the recipe I used for mint chocolate brownies with green frosting for St. Patty's! Sorry, friends. I posted the cookies, but here are the brownies I used.

Mint Chocolate Brownies
Makes 24 brownies

Not the prettiest things on the block, but they were pretty darn tasty! You could probably make them cuter but cutting them smaller, sticking flags in them, etc. - but for a beer fest this was good enough for me! LOL Here is the recipe on Healthified Kitchen.

So yesterday was fairly uneventful. Just work, 3.5 mile walk during lunch, more work, then a 1/2-mile walk + 1-hour spin class after work. I didn't wear HRM during lunch, but after work the half mile + class, HRM said: 453 calories in 62 minutes; 49 fitness minutes and 13 fat-burning minutes; average HR of 144 and maximum HR of 176. Then it was home to my puppers - Austin had a work thing. I just cooked up a few meals and had a chill night watching crap TV and reading Losing You. I also perused home sites - SO in the spring cleaning/redecorating mode! Here are a few cute, simple tips I found on Real Simple that I love.

Use empty glass vases filled with filler as book ends. You could do sand + candle, little wicker balls, river rocks, fake fruit - anything!

And while the picture below is not my style - I like the idea of what Real Simple calls "color without commitment." Don't like painting? Like neutral walls? Want to keep the house neutral for resale? Whatever the reason - it's no reason to not have color - just it in window treatments, wall art, pillows, knick knacks, etc. (P.S. I do this simply because it's easy to change out a room with all of the furniture/walls are neutral - just pick up the "little stuff" and move it around the house or replace it!)

Q: Any spring cleaning or home decor tips you want to share as we enter the season?!

Q: Is your casa all one color or multiple colors? Ours is two shades of brown - one light, one darker, and then white trim!

St. Patty's Dessert Recipe, 2 Home Tips

My Friday was pretty blah! I just worked, ran errands through lunch, worked more, then headed home to do party stuff with Austin! We got a lot done, hung out, then I read some and called it a night, hoping to get up early to go to body pump and spin.

Today I woke up in time to attend, but I had a massive head ache. I took an advil thinking i'd nap for 15 minute minutes.... then I woke up at 10 a.m. After the classes. I guess it wasn't in the cards for me to attend! Now i'm getting ready to have some of our best friends over to celebrate St. Patricks Day! The actual St. Patrick's Day is my sister's due date to my first nephew. It's also my brother-in-law's birthday - he'll be 19. CRAZY. I met him when he was 9. Oy.

Everyone is going to be here soon, but I wanted to share this St. Patrick's day event dish. No, it's not healthified. But it is fun and festive so I thought i'd share!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens
Makes 36 cookies

Review: Wow. It's like a chocolate thin mint. Move over girl scouts - i've met your match. I had a half of one of these and was pretty dang impressed with myself (j/k - it's a super easy recipe). I'll definitely make this again and could see this recipe being used again for sure! Probably a fun one for kids, too. :)

Check out the recipe on Healthified Kitchen!

K, off to go enjoy a beer fest in my backyard! I will leave you with these two home tips I LOVE.

Have a vase? Need a place to put toilet paper? Real Simple says go for it. I think it's awesome. I plan to bring a roll of TP to Home Goods and pick up a $7 vase for our guest room and master bath. This way Remy can't take them out of the basket and make them her chew toys. Double oy.

I have SO many of these organizer things for paper and they're CHEAP. So smart to stack in pans, cutting boards, etc. Granted, it only works if you have deep/high cabinets, but it's worth a shot if you do. (another tip found on Real Simple)

Q: What do you think about green cookies? At first I was like that's kinda gross. But, now i'm more like it's yummy, it's festive, let's do the damn thing!

Q: Are you already doing either of the tips above? What's your favorite thing to repurpose?

Giveaway!!!!!, Book Review, 4 Miles, Home Tip

Thank you for the sweet congratulations comments on our third anniversary, and of course for pupper-related comments. Who doesn't love when people say sweet things about their babies?! We had a chill night in, both sniffly and asleep by 10:15. Lamers! haha I do have some non-lame news though: My first giveaway with CSN Stores – AWESOME! I had checked out their site before and they have everything! I mean really –cookware, fitness equipment, swingsets, outdoor furniture – you name it, they have it. I have my eye on an outdoor rug. :) They generously offered to give one of you a gift certificate for $15. To enter the giveaway, just visit CSN Stores and come back here to leave a comment saying what you would like to get! I’ll close it out and choose a winner through random number generator at 5 p.m. EST Thursday,February 24.

K, back to normal programming, today I woke up early, hit the Kroger by my house for items I couldn't find at Publix yesterday, and tried to make a new breakfast recipe. I'm not going to say FAIL, but I definitely won't post - it needs to be reworked before sharing. Sigh. After my blah breakfast I just worked, and then during lunch I walked 4 miles while finishing up Gillian Flynn's Dark Places.

Book Review: So at first I was all into it, so excited to read another book by the author of Sharp Objects. But I really didn't like the main character. I did like the back and forth (different perspectives and different time periods), but I don't know - I just found myself annoyed with everyone. Annoyed with the boy for being so easily peer pressured, annoyed with the mom for not being a mom - just letting things go and being almost scared of her children - it was just kind of like watching a train wreck - one that could have been avoided at SO many points had someone stepped up. I guess that's how I felt. The mystery was good, and it was definitely a great ending, but it just didn't make up for the rest and it took too long to get there. I hate when I find myself skimming because the description is so random it distracts from the plot. I give it a 3/5. I think it would have been a 4/5 if it had been edited down a good bit - this was the worst part to me. :(

K - i'm off to dinner with Austin but I leave you with a home tip I got from Real Simple that I thought was clever: Instead of folding towels, roll them. It takes up less space and looks better! :)

Q: What would you order from CSN? Respond in the comments to enter the giveaway!

Q: Do you fold your towels, or are you already rolling? I converted based on this article - I like it better and it really looks so cute to me!