a great re-purpose

I love this! The whole space is pretty great, but I really think the use of the old bed spring here is fantastic. I also love that chair and the table. Awesome.

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dairy free, gluten free, good eats

I know I have been remiss about posting lately, as I mentioned in my one and only post last week, things have been very busy. However, I am going to try to get back on task this week!

For the month of January, Bret and I decided to cut out alcohol, caffeine, cheese, milk, sugar (including sugar from fruit), soy and refined carbohydrates. We did a week of nothing but raw or steamed veggies, and following that, we could cook anything as long as it did not include the above list.

One of our favorite eats is fish tacos - we generally use halibut because it's often in our freezer. Usually we use corn tortillas and I use all purpose flower in the mix for seasoning the fish...This time, we used Napa Cabbage as the "tortilla" and I used buckwheat flower as the binder. I also made the salsa instead of using salsa verde because we are only supposed to be having the raw apple cider vinegar for this month as well and there is a lot of vinegar in that canned salsa. It was fresh and delicious. Try it!

You need:

- a fillet or two of white fish
- 2-3 tablespoons chipotle powder (or chile powder if you don't have that)
- 3-4 tablespoons buckwheat flower
- olive oil
- an avocado
- two limes
- two tomatoes
- a small clove of garlic
- a quarter of an onion
- a small bunch of cilantro
- a head of napa cabbage

In a shallow bowl, such as a pasta bowl, mix the buckwheat flower and the chipotle powder. Add more or less chipotle depending on how spicy you want it.

Cut up the fish in cubes and put in a separate bowl.

Mash the avocado and add some salt to taste. Cut up the tomatoes, garlic, onions and cilantro and put in a bowl together. Squeeze in lots of lime (to taste) and a sprinkle of salt. Mix together.

Put enough extra virgin olive oil in a pan to have about a quarter of an inch to fry the fish in. Heat it up on medium or a little hotter depending on your stove. While the oil is heating, roll the fish in the mix of chipotle mix a handful of pieces at a time. Then fry the little morsels in the olive oil. They should be small pieces, so they'll cook quick. Don't leave them and walk away - you want to be turning them around and making sure to remove as soon as they are no longer opaque. I like to remove them into a wooden bowl lined with a paper towel to soak up the extra olive oil.

Once the fish is cooked, you're all set. Take a piece of the cabbage, spread a thick helping of avocado inside the leaf, add some fish and a large helping of the salsa fresca you made. Then squeeze some lime over the entire thing and enjoy. YUM!

kitchen update

I am sorry I have not posted in over a week! Things have been very busy. We re-did our kitchen and we adopted a new dog into our family. So, I have been focused on getting Arlo, a two and a half year old Miniature Pinscher, settled in and making sure Rosie Mae is ok with this massive life change. More on that in another post...

Back to the kitchen... Someday we would love to remodel our funky kitchen, but that is financially out of the question at this point. So instead we have finally taken the time to paint it. It's a small kitchen and the only window is on the back wall (not pictured) which is north facing. So, after thinking about lots of different color options, I decided that white would be best to open the space up and give it a clean fresh feel (I know, you're shocked). I also replaced all the hardware on the cabinets with ceramic knobs I bought on sale from Anthropologie nearly a year ago. I wasn't sure at the time what color we would paint things, but I loved them and I knew they would be the right ones.

We did some other little things to update the room. We spray painted all the hinge hardware black as well as the base of the sconce above the kitchen sink. At some point when we re-do the lighting in that room, we will replace it, but until then, it's much nicer black. I also swapped out the art work for some art made by friends and spray painted some letters from the craft store for EAT.

In the end, I am much happier with the kitchen in this state and think the boring gray counter tops even look better. Small progress, but it's a good change, especially during this dark time of year.

Before...

After...

Photos via tidbits

you say tomato, i say shut up

This fall I read a very funny book by Anabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn, called You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up. A love story. This book made me laugh until I cried. It is the true story of the marriage of the authors, and it is written in a he said she said format. I loved hearing both sides, and it was a good reminder to laugh at things that may seem like a big deal in the moment. Marriage is not easy. Anyone who is married knows this (and if they tell you otherwise, they are either totally out of touch or they are lying), but hard does not mean it isn't fun and often very funny. Read this book, it will make you laugh and remind you that being different people from each other is, after all, why you love each other. If you're single, it will remind you that getting married or committing to a serious long term relationship is not something to take lightly. A worthy and very funny read no matter what your relationship status.

yippee, a fancy new light

My sweet husband recently rewired the bedroom so we have a working overhead light with two light switches! Very exciting stuff in our house. However, we have been having a really hard time finding the right light for the room. I was in love with a Capiz shell chandelier from West Elm, but it was too long to fit the space. So, we kept looking and through the wonders of google, we were eventually lead to - and I do realize how ridiculous and shameful this is - Pottery Barn Teen, where we found this awesome chandelier that was affordable, and the right size. Bret just put it up, and I am totally in love with it! Our house will be years and years worth of projects, but the one's you can see are especially fun. Happy Monday!

happy weekend

The holidays have passed. Obligations have slowed. The new year is here. It's dark out, but the light is slowly coming back. Take time to focus on the little things. Take a deep breath and have a wonderful and relaxing weekend my dears. xo

photo via tidbits

a beautiful table

I love this dining room. The table is especially fantastic! Love the super rustic look of the reclaimed wood.

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a chalk board calendar

Oooo! I love this idea! Another fantastic use for chalk board paint. Since it is the start of a new year, it seems the proper time to share. Check it out. Awesome!

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lovely wood storage

Just discovered photographer Thrine Thorsen's blog. Lovely. One thing she and her partner have started doing, is building furniture. They built these two beautiful wood storage systems and Thrine photographed them. I love the wheels on the tall one. You could pull it far enough away from the wall to make any wood fit. Assuming the other one has no back, I guess you could do the same with that one. Making it more realistic to have the split wood fit so perfectly in there. I love the fact that the smaller shelf can be used as a display shelf and for wood storage, I also suspect there is less mess with this one, as it is probably more contained. And of course, the look of the wood in both of them is so beautiful in and of itself.

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