The final piece of the puzzle

I asked for it and we found it :-) Chuck and I decided to go check out television stands to get an idea of how we wanted to build ours!! Well instead of getting ideas, we found the one for us!!

We bought it and it was deliverd 4 days later!!

Here it is the first night was here!
Here it is in front of our old tv stand! Notice the DVD Holder in the left hand corner!

TA DA!! The next morning we mounted the televison on the wall, took away the DVD Holder and then centered the stand more in the center of the wall. Added a few pictures and some candles!!

Just another side view. We couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. Now just to paint the wires to match the wall and then we will paint the fireplace wall a darker shade. We've also looked at getting different candle holders and frames for the TV Stand. I want to add a little pizazz!! and bright colors!!

The only thing now to make this PERFECT...We need to take the coffee table out to the garage so that it doesn't clash with the espresso. Hopefully we can get that done soon, but until Chuck can put pressure on his leg it's staying put!!

I am so in love with our new and refinished living room furniture! The house is slowly but surely coming along!!

Brand New End Tables

Well not quite brand new...Awhile back we found 2 end tables on craiglist.com for $25.00 (http://abitofthisadashofthat.blogspot.com/2009/09/craiglist-steal-of-deal.html) And I finally got done sanding them (http://abitofthisadashofthat.blogspot.com/2010/01/exciting-day.html).

I was so excited to finally get them spray painted and moved into our Living Room!!

Here is the paint:

I highly recommend this paint when refinishing any furniture. It sprained on evenly with just one coat, and it dried within a few hours!!

All sanded down, wiped off and ready to be transformed!!! Honestly it looked so great to me as just bare wood but of course not good enough for the living room!!

After painting the bookcase outside the garage and getting spray paint on the front of our garage sidewalk I figured it was time to actually be smart about it. I took a couple old pillow cases and a sheet that was going to goodwill and put them under the tables!

And started spraying away :-)

At first I wasn't going to paint the inside and all around the drawers but after having leftover spray paint I thought why not do it the right way!!

Just waiting to dry now!!

AHHHHH It was so great to get the new knobs put on them. They were the perfect silver for the espresso color!

And the other one!!

Chuck was so happy to see these finished. And I was extremely proud of how well they turned out! Now it was time to find a TV Stand......

Happy Late Love Day!!

I can't believe I have not blogged since the beginning of the month!!

Let's start with Love Day!!! For the 2nd year in a row now Chuck and I went to Louie's Restaurant for a yummy breakfast! I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day as a huge day to be romantical but we decided it'd be fun to go to breakfast as our big Valentine's outing :)

Not the best picture, but this is us before we went in for breakfast!

Chuck's yummy breakfast! Bacon, eggs, and breakfast potatoes!! My breakfast: Linguica with eggs, and hash browns!! It was amazingly good and I could eat half of it!!

Afterwards we just went to Safeway and did some grocery shopping!! Hope Everyone had a great Valentine's Day!!

Disgusted....

I am so disgusted by the book Lo's Diary and really should I be surpised? Lolita was hard enough to stomach but I thought why not read it from the other perspective? Great reason why...the main character is such a disturbed, disgusting child even before the evil man comes into her life.

I got as far as I could but when she tortures an innocent little hamster I slammed the book shut and threw it in my purse....I will be throwing the book away....go ahead and shame me for it but I can't see how anyone would want to read this trash....

*BIG SIGH* I am sadden to have to put down a book I spent money on and never read it but it's not like I don't have plenty more to read....

I will be reading The Hopeless Romantics Handbook next...Soon I'll have to start reserving the other books on my list from the library. I'm almost done with all the ones I own :)

Another one I'm not sure that I'll make it through is Wicked! But I'll give it go, maybe on a weekend we go camping this summer....

And a side update on Chuck...saw the Orthopedic today...he's out another 4 weeks! Poor guy! But there are definite signs of improvement...the doctor was able to move his foot in all directions without pain...but because of the special circumstances he doesn't want any weight or pressure put on it for at least another 4 weeks!!! Maybe Chuck should start a blog...I'll have to talk to him about that :)

Now I'm off to start a fire to go with this rainy evening...hopefully this headache will go away....

Brand New Bookcase!!!

Remember this post? Bookcase!

If not here are some pictures of the awesome bookshelf I got off craiglist for $10.

I finished sanding it on Saturday...here is a picture with the other end tables that I also finished up sanding!

After I finished sanding on saturday I took a quick shower and we headed off to Home Depot to pick up paint! I thought we were going to have to go with regular semi gloss paint but we decided to check out the Spray Paint! I am so happy we did...not only did we find quick drying spray paint in a satin finish...we found one that was exactly espresso...the color we want our furniture to be...it couldn't have been better...

Not only was I amazed at the deal we scored on the paint matching...it was really quick dry and only required one coat! BTW four cans of the spray paint cost us only $15!!!

After it was completely dried I moved it inside and realized I had to make a quick trip up to Beverly's to get some decorations for it.... I picked up the two candle holders, candles and the clear sand rocks inside the holders. I had the mirrors already and the picture frame is one we had up on another shelf.

Here is a close up shot of the candle holders that I put together. Originally I was going to do flowers but I love candles!

We even still have room for more cookbooks. One of the best parts is that this bookshelf is pretty deep so none of the books come close to sticking out! It makes it less of an eye sore.

I was suprised with how well this turned out. It is better than I had expectated all the way around. I wasn't sure that all the cookbooks would fit or that I'd like the paint but I was pleased!

This bookcase is absolutely perfect. Not only did we save money all around but it was so easy!!! And I must give thanks to my Paps...if I hadn't grown up around a handy man I never would have been able to see the potential that older pieces of furniture would have with a little TLC. I can't wait to paint the end tables and get them moved back into the house!!

Side Note: dining room table fell through...still on a lookout but no rush here. Just want to make sure it's exactly what we are looking for!! Hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl!! I watched the Puppy Bowl for a bit while eating lunch! Other than that I was busy all day!

It's Finally Here!!

I was so ecstatic to get off work on Friday!! Three wonderful packages awaited my arrival home to be opened!! I couldn't open them fast enough!!

My new camera had arrived...one week later...Thanks for the great shipping Best Buy!! I got the camera, the case, the tripod and rechargeable battery! The mini tripod is so cute!

Here is a shot of the camera before I opened the box!

And here is the BEAUTIFUL camera!!

Of course I had to put it on the tripod to test it ou! How cute is that!!

I was so happy to finally get my new camera but I soon realized I should have also bought a memory card! I need to sit down and read the manual but I have not had a chance...then when I opened the Sunday ads Best Buy had their camera memory cards on sale! Could it be any better? I got a 8 GB memory card for $24.99!! I love Best Buy!

They've ARRIVED

Today in the mail I got the most wonderful surprise. After getting soaking wet because of some unexpected showers!! I opened the mail box and noticed two envelopes addressed to me that I assumed were more offers to refinance our mortgage....

I dropped all the mail on the breakfast bar, opening every other piece of mail first....

But those two envelopes held inside them the items that made me forget about being cold and wet and I felt like it was beautiful sunny 70 degree weather with a hot dog and a beer :)

You fans know what I am talking about!!!

Oh yes Tickets.com you are AMAZING with your shipping
TICKETS TO THE OAKLAND A'S that I ordered last saturday!! I was so shocked they came so soon!!

I CANNOT wait for April 17th to get here! I love baseball season and I love being able to go to the games instead of watching them on tv all the time. I don't know how people do it when they don't live close to a baseball field!! Its like the beach I couldn't live without them!!

Today was a GREAT DAY!!!

Another Craigslist Steal!!

With Chuck and I planning a bunch of projects on the house I am always on the lookout for AMAZING deals!! And as I was cruising Craigslist yesterday I found an ad for a bookshelf...exact height that we were looking...excited I sent off an email to the person asking to purchase it and pick it up this afternoon.

I was so happy and so suprised to find out that it was EXACTLY what we were looking for. Sure it needs a little TLC but I've got plenty of that to give.

This is the bookshelf and where it will sit. It will hold our cookbooks that are currently residing upstairs in the mancave closet and the few that we use on a regular basis sit on top of the cupboards!!

How much did we pay for this sturdy perfect height perfect shelves you may ask??? oh a mere $10.00!!! I know it's a great deal right? We couldn't even get the cheap bookcase that Walmart sells for $10.00.

Needless to say I cannot wait to move this little beauty out to the garage and sand it down and paint it!! I am thrilled with all the deals we have been discovering!

Currently we are awaiting an email back from a girl who is selling her dining room table...it looks like it's in amazing condition and it's got seating for 6...it will be so great if she emails us back and says we can pick it up this weekend!! We will figure out how to get it home once we are able to purchase...

Keep your fingers crossed for us!!! And stay tuned for the bookshelf remodel!!

SO....

Wow how many blog posts can I start out with the word SO?? Don't even try and count...I was just looking through my blog...taking a stroll down memory lane....and my vocabulary needs a serious upgrade....

Now I know you shouldn't point out your flaws and mistakes. These are just inexcusible...I am okay with how many times I used the word but...although I am determined to cut those out as well....

I have a new resolution this year....yes starting a little late...but better late than never...I am officially taking the word "SO" out of my blogging vocabulary and apparently I need to remove it from my texts as well.

Wish me luck, hopefully all this reading will improve my vocabulary!!

So have a great night....HAHA Just kidding!! :-)

Another Book Down

I finished my third book for this year....I read "The Next Thing on My List" by Jill Smolinski and it was cute. I really liked the main character and the story was not something I usually pick up to read. Granted it's Chick Lit but it was a little bit deeper than most. I highly recommend it as a light read or even a summer read! It's cute and some what motivating! I am actually amending my original reading list and adding another book by Jill Smolinski called Flip Flopped. :-)

Now off to the next book....I think I'll read.............

Lo's Diary...I read Lolita last year and while it was weird and disturbing it was actual a good book. I wouldn't recommend it necessarily because I think it's one of those books you have to find on your own and decide on what topics you are okay with reading. But right after I read Lolita I also watched the movie and then researched a little more about the author. Turns out a book was written afterwards that was trying to be the point of view from Lo herself...not written by the same author but thought...hey why not give it shot...

Stay tuned...

Another Home Improvement....New Curtains!!

I finally had it with our stupid blinds that cover the back sliding door! The individual blinds keep breaking off and with the dogs it wasn't worth going out and buying replacements...

My Mom came over and we headed off on a Shopping Adventure to some discount stores....Tuesday Mornings and Big Lots....and we were SUCCESSFUL in our mission for new curtains!!!

Tuesday Mornings = $45.00, the actual curtains (2 panels) and a BEAUTIFUL curtain rod!
Big Lots = $10.00 for 2 panels of Ivory Sheer Curtains!
And one stop at KMART to get the seperate rod for the sheer curtains!

With Chuck down and out he couldn't help much but his best friend Nick was at the house and they helped me remove the disgusting blinds and put up these new curtains!


The beautiful curtain rod end!

Here they are closed!

And open

We definitely needed something to block out the window so we had the idea of sheer curtains so people cannot just peer into our dining room and kitchen! And they work great! You can still see into the house but not enough to bother me!

And these curtains now make that wall seem huge!! I cannot wait to continue working on the new home renovations and get the dining room and living room completely done!

Wish us luck in our home renovation adventure and stay tuned for more updates!

A's Tickets and Sanders...Could It Get Any Better?

Last night before I slipped into bed I set the alarm!! I double checked it before I fell asleep because there was something I just couldn't be late for!! No I didn't forget it was Saturday!!!

Today at 9AM Oakland A's tickets went on sale...I just had to get the best tickets possible!! AND I DID!!!

My Paps and I are going to see a game (we have started a new tradition, this will be 3 years now) of going to see a game just the two of us!!! And I am so happy that we get to see the A's play the Orioles (his favorite team)...And I got us tickets 18 rows from the Oriole's dugout...I was pretty excited as this is my birthday present to him!!

I also got 2 tickets to see the A's play the Giants, Chuck's favorite team!!

Needless to say I was buzzing without any coffee this morning!

After a quick shower I finally opened up a Christmas gift I got: This little Beauty:



And I have two of these end tables to refinish for our new living room plans:


Does this table look familiar? It should: Craigslist Steal of a Deal


Let the Sanding Begin!!

It took me 15 minutes with this little power mouse to sand the top and edges of the end table! I was ECSTATIC!!! Needless to say I sanded one of the end tables...only thing left is to manually sand some of the little crevices....I might need to go over the bottom again but we shall see when I have more light!

I could not believe how well this sander worked! It is now the BEST GIFT I got at Christmas!! Well it's a tie cause after a day of being on my feet the current foot massager gift that I got is heaven :-)

I cannot wait to finish getting this one prepped and then I'll sand the other...and then we will stain or paint. We need to decide on a color first haha...but I am excited to say we are finally making some headway on the home improvements we've been planning since last year....

Another Book Bites the Dust

So I finished "Little White Lies" by Gemma Townley last night. And I am sad to report that it was a flop!! Not that others might not enjoy...but to be honest the book was unrealistic in a trying to be realistic way....along with the predictable ending.

Now predictable endings don't bother me most of the time....the satstifcation of knowing that everything will be just the way you want it is comforting....but when the story feels rushed and not well put together and lets face it...this book's tale would probably never happen in real life.

And I'm a little nervous about reading another book from this author...but it's one I've bought so it must be read!! I will not however be reading it next.

The next book I am starting will be....................

"The Next Thing On My List" by Jill Smolinksi

M.I.A

So I've been MIA for a GREAT reason!! I've been busy reading the first book off my list :-)

I finished Harry Potter last night. The very last book of the series and it was AMAZING!

I'll admit the first half I had a hard time sticking it through...but once I hit the middle things picked up and I started to like the characters again! I couldn't put the book down! I was so excited to finish (won't give away any spoilers just in case) but then after a few minutes of being so happy with finishing it...sadness started to sink in.....no more Harry Potter to read!

Although I was a little sad I feel that the author did a wonderful job of closing out the series! And I'm actually excited to see the movie...unlike all the others I didn't care for the movies...I am looking forward to this one :-)

Hope everyone is having a great week! I already started another book last night. It's going to be a quick read as I'm already halfway through...the book is:

Little White Lies by Gemma Townley. It's a typical Brit Chick Lit...but it's a short one and my brain needed the break after reading the 700 page Harry Potter :-)

Fingers crossed that I'll have some thrilling posts of new creations soon...but not sure when I'll fit in the time :-)

Nothing to update on Chuck....he's still off work...waiting to get into the orthopedic doctor! Fingers crossed he goes back soon...He's sick of being home all the time and I'm sick of him being home all the time LOL.

That's about it for now! Back to work I go :-)

Homemade Mint Chocolate Cake

For Chuck's birthday cake he really wanted a Mint Chocolate cake....I searched and searched and searched and then found myself back at my trusty old site....Taste of Home...what can I say it's my standby site and this is exactly why.

First I gathered all the ingredients:

After a quick call to my mom I successfully melted chocolate in the microwave for the first time :-) And OMG did it smell amazing???

The cake batter...looking a little funky but it turned out to look much better after being baked in the oven!

The middle layer of frosting, which this is really the creme chantilly with mint extract, and in this case a little food coloring..oh yummy!!! It almost tasted like Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream without the Chocolate.

The outer frosting...this was so yummy...I could have eaten the entire bowl of frosting...

The middle layer of the cake!! Looking mighty fine!

And I was a little silly and thought the frosting was too thick so I added a little more evaporated milk, so then it was too soft, thus why it ended up in the fridge... But it was a little better because the cold brought out the mint some more!!

This recipe is a keeper!! I loved the frosting and the cake was so moist and delicious! I have found another cake from scratch recipe...Look out packaged cake world...you are going down!!

My next made from scratch cake will be......CARROT CAKE....and YELLOW CAKE... :-) Wish me Luck!

Happy Birthday Honey

So Sunday was Chuck's Big 30th Birthday but as I stated in previous posts he hurt himself at work and we had to postpone all festivities. Hopefully we will be able to celebrate the last weekend in February or the first weekend in March. But I must say even though he's down and out he had a wonderful birthday! I gave him his gift Saturday night cause his best friend Nick had brought him a gift to go with mine. I got him a PS3 and he was so shocked!! And then Nick got him a game...but he got it all set up on saturday night.....

And this was him on Sunday....ALL DAY!!

I was so happy that he was so obsessed with it. Even when his Mom came to see him he had a hard time putting the controller down, but he was happy to show off all the features...overall he had a nice birthday and was really happy :-)

YUMMY BRUSCHETTA!!

So after watching the Julie/Julia movie I HAD to make some yummy bruschetta!!! She makes it on the night that she decides she wants to write a blog :-)

So one day after work I went to the store and picked up some french bread, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. And let me make one huge factor clear: I HATE TOMATOES!!! Hate, hate, hate them, ever since I was a kid I've disliked Tomatoes. I love ketchup and pasta sauce but I can't stand whole tomatoes. But in my effort to get over foods I dislike that really are pretty good I decided what better way than a little bruschetta. Plus my Paps makes grilled tomatoes with mozzarella on the BBQ during summer and I really liked those...

Just like in the movie...you can never have too much butter...while I wish that was true I must disagree. These were a little more buttery than I wanted but that was a minor detail....

The amazing mixture to put on top. This is actually a recipe that I found from weight watchers. You are supposed to put this mixture on Pita's and make mini pita pizzas, but hey why not try it for bruschetta. It's chopped tomatoes, olive oil, basil, and a little garlic salt.

I toasted the bread with butter in the pan on the stove top, then topped them with the tomato mixture and some mozzarella, then popped them in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes!!

TA DA:

They were so good!! I ended up eating these two for dinner and was stuffed!! I found a new way to enjoy tomatoes....I think I've figured out that I like hot tomatoes but I still can't eat them cold....I am giving it some time before I can eat them like an apple...GAG!!

But yes these are so easy, so UNHEALTHY, but so good...and I was so full with eating these two pieces for dinner....and just to give you a better idea of the size....I just cut off to pieces from a loaf of french bread and that plate is a dessert size plate, not a big plate :-)

New Look/Bad Accident

As part of my new goal to blog on a regular basis this year I also decided my blog needed a, let's say, Facelift! And even though the new background takes longer to load it's worth the wait! I love it! Thank you to http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/!!

Anywho, this week started out with quite a suprise!! On Monday Chuck calls me and immediatly I can hear something is wrong! Turns out he was in the Emergency Room. While at work he slipped and fell on a wet mat!! He has fractured his heel and sprained his ankle! YIKES! Needless to say the guy was in severe pain and now has been on pain killers since then! I feel so bad for him being laid up and in pain! So I was also lucky enough to be able to work from home and help him out. The guy has been upstairs since MONDAY!! I can barely stay at the house 3 days in a row without needing to get out and run an errand, but he hasn't even seen the living room in 2 whole days!! But he's also more, let's call it, laid back than I am! A.K.A lazy! LOL I know he's going stir crazy and would rather be at work but he's doing better than I would be!

Other than that...we have to cancel the big 30 party on saturday! Poor guy doesn't even get to celebrate his birthday! So we are postponing the party until he's back on his feet!

I've started my Harry Potter book! So far so good, as if I was worried at all...but I am happy to say I've started reading every evening now!

I guess I should go finish the laundry and see if Chuck needs anything! Hope you all are having a better week than me!

2010 Reading List

So I've decided that I own too many books that have been sitting unread for MONTHS and MONTHS!!

So one of my New Year's Resolutions is to read all books I own before purchasing more!! Then I even went further than that! I have a wishlist with my Library Account and once I'm done reading the books that I own I am moving onto that list and then once I finish those I will buy just one book! I am constantly finding books I want to read so I either buy them used off Amazon.com or I see if they are at the library!

So I am embarking on a brand new reading adventure! I have listed the books I own on the right, but here is the full list of books and authors! Check back for reviews :-)

1. Animal Husbandry by Laura Zigman
2. Baby Proff by Emily Giffin
3. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
4. Her by Laura Zigman
5. My Life in France by Julia Child
6. Something Blue by Emily Giffin
7. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
8. Ghosts of Boyfriends Past by Carly Alexander
9. The Fixer Upper: A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews
10. She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot
11. Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews
12. Girls Poker Night: A Novel of High Stakes by Jill Davis
13. The Egg Nog Chronicles by Carly Alexander
14. The Secret Life of Mrs Claus by Carly Alexander
15. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
16. Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates
17. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer
18. Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single by Heather McElhatton
19. Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg
20. A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley
21. Misery Loves Cabernet by Kim Gruenenfelder
22. Confessions of a Beauty Addict by Nadine Hoabsh
23. Learning Curves: A Novel of Sex, Suits, and Business Affairs by Gemma Townley
24. Little White Lies: A Novel of Love and Good Intentions by Gemma Townley
25. The Hopeless Romantics Handbook: A Novel by Gemma Townley
26. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
27. Lo's Diary by Pia Pera
28. Diana Agafya by Jacob Emery (Chuck's Cousin :-))
29. The Gate Crasher by Madeleine Wickham
30. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling ( How sad that I have not read this one when I read all the other ones within 2 weeks of getting them)
31. Sunday's at Tiffany's by James Patterson
32. The Next Big Thing on My List by Jill Smolinksi

As you can see I have quite a task ahead of me! It's going to be filled with a variety of books! I was going to try and set up a deadline and order of which ones I want to read but I just can't pick. So I am going to either start Harry Potter (cause it's probably the one I've owned the longest) and then I think I'll read the Next Big Thing on My List! But stay tuned for book reviews and suggestions!

I am very excited to get back into reading more books!

Crock Pot Mac N Cheese!

Tonight I made a new recipe! Crock Pot Mac N Cheese!!

I added all the ingredients, set it to low and waited 3 hours!!

Here it is after 3 hours of cooking, and then mixed!

Needless to say it SUCKED!! I should just stick with my Mom's trusty Mac N Cheese recipe instead of finding another one! We ended up throwing it out and eating Hamburger Helper, Broccoli and Carrots, and Corn bread! YUM!