Office Facelift: Part 2

Remember this post? It's been a while since we have been able to do anything to the office. We did paint the front, but nothing else has been done. We are waiting to finish that. But more recently, we face lifted the front hallway.

Here is a picture of the back hallway so you can get an idea of how it looked before.

The wallpaper was probably more of a mauve or rose when it was new. It has since faded to a pink color and these oak cabinets and shelves are everywhere.

We took away the, old faded pictures with think gold frames and oak cabinets (you can see one to the left of the picture). Then we added these metal and glass cabinets. We added a little decor with the more modern plant and the metal art work above the cabinets.

We also removed the wall paper, textured the wall and painted.

In this picture below, you can see the older type of plant that tops all of the cabinets in the office.

It's starting to look fresh and new! We are very happy with the way this hallway turned out. Now we need to finish the front waiting area. After all, that is the very first thing you see when walking in the office. Once we finish that, we will move on to the rest of the halls.

Re-Finised Oak Table

We have a very small dinning area in our house. There is only one dinning area and it is right infant of the slider to the back yard and we have a big rectangle table in the space. It has always felt cramped, so I have been pinning round tables on pintrest for quite a while now. I finally got inspired enough to buy one on Craig's List and refinish it myself.  

I choose a more simple table because I tend to get impatient with little details. I also needed one with a leaf so when guests do come over, we have enough space for everyone to eat. After months of looking at tables but not feeling motivated enough to actually buy one and after it sat in my garage for about 1-2 weeks, I started sanding away.

I thought it would be so easy with the puppy, she loves to be out front so, I thought I could just tie her up to the the long leash and she would enjoy smelling and watching everything. Unfortunately, I forgot how much she loves to be right where I am ever second of the day.

Luckily, the sanding was pretty easy and the kids wanted to take Roxy on a nice little walk. I love when they can be helpful. Too bad it's not more often. 

I choose Kona stain for the top and the same white (white dove from Benjamin Moore) for the bottom that my kitchen cabinets are done in.

Here is my table without a center piece. It fits perfectly in the spot!

The table was actually very easy to re-finish! However I still have some finishing touches on it. I want to lightly sand the white, add one more coat of pain then put some polyurethane on it. I ended up choosing an egg shell to have more of a matted look, but everybody that see's it seems to think the satan would look better.

The problem is, now that it is in my house, I don't want to take it out again to do that little bit. Maybe I'll get motivated next week when it is not either over 90 out or raining.

It also works well as a sewing table!

Gluten-Free Bagels

We love bagels in this house! When my dad was alive, we would meet at the bagel shop every Sunday morning from before I was pregnant with little C till after L was born. It was at least a good 4 years that we held this tradition. Even today, the workers still know us and love to see the kids growing. However, now that we know little C can not have any wheat or gluten, we can not go to our wonderful Bruggers.

I have found a bagel at Trader Joe's (of course my favorite store), but it doesn't have the texture of a "real" bagel, but, at least the kids like them and they can still have their cream cheese, unlike me.

Tonight, I tried my own recipe using the wonderful Pamela's Bread Flour. Apparently, they were "Good enough to eat," according to little C. I guess that's not bad. My dinners often are not good enough to eat and need to get choked down (according to these two).

I used a recipe I found on line for regular ol' New York Bagels. I forgot how sticky dough from this flour is and how difficult it is to work with. I ended up adding extra flour and although the shape wasn't perfect, they were pretty good and had that bagel texture. After boiling the bagels, I sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on the tops, then baked them.

Unfortunately, I didn't re-oil the pan after I cooked the first trial bagel. That was a bummer.

I think I will try them again using the bread recipe on the back of the Pamela's bag. Maybe the dough won't be so sticky.

Here is the bread mix I love!

Wheat and Cow's Milk Free Chicken Parmesan

Since little C and I were tested for food sensitivities, we have had to say good bye to some of our favorite foods. It has taken some time, but I have found ways to recreate a few of them. I had a craving for some good Italian food and I have really been missing the cheese. So, I set out to make some good ol' Chicken Parmesan.

I started with this Hunt's tomato sauce that I bought quite a while ago and added some Wild Tree seasonings to make a spaghetti sauce. I love that this sauce is in a box and not a can.

I pounded the chicken flat.

Dipped it in egg...

Then I dipped it in the Ian's Panko Gluten Free Bread Crumbs mixed with some sheep cheese and seasonings. By clicking on here you can see them on Amazon.

After that I pan browned both sides.

Then I put the chicken in a pan with the sauce and Sheep Romano another cheese I can't find the name of. It is a lighter flavor like mozzarella.

These are my absolute favorite noodles. If I get any other quinoa noodles, they have corn flour and we can not have corn in my house. These Brown Rice, Quinoa noodles also have the best texture to them, just like drum wheat noodles.

Sadly, I don't have a finished product picture. The dinner was so good we all ate it all up. I was very happy to have a yummy pasta and cheesy dinner without all the stomach ache.

Cozy Cave

Remember this picture of Dixie? This was her favorite bed. We always wanted a smaller one because it took up so much room and it was a lot to lug around when we were camping. Even though a cozy cave is a perfect Vizsla pet bed, these cozy cave beds are not cheap, I just couldn't justify the cost of another.

I always thought it looked easy enough to make and now that we are getting another puppy, it's the perfect time to make a smaller one. Yep, I said we are getting a puppy. She arrives Tuesday night. One of the hardest parts about getting a pet is loving them so much knowing you are going to loose them one day. But a good friend reminded me that "It is better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all" and in the words of our kids, "We want Dixie back, but a new puppy is the next best thing."

So, I went to JoAnn's and got some fabric and started cutting. Making the bed helped to relax my mind a little and prepare for the new puppy. I couldn't give her everything that was Dixie's just yet.

I love circles, they are so easy to cut and sew! I cut 2 circles and the side for the inside cushion.

I added a zipper so I can change out the batting if it gets old and yucky or I need less or more of it. I just used a robe zipper for this part.

To sew the edges, it was very simple, just sewed right sides together around the circle and since I had a zipper I left it on zipped so I could flip it right side out.

Here is the top cover part. Since I couldn't get Sherpa fabric as thick as the real cozy cave, I added some quilt batting in-between the top layer and the Sherpa.

For the top of the bottom half I used the sherpa again just like the original Cozy Cave.

I got the filling from Amazon because it was about 1/3 the cost. This is the one I bought. If you click on the link, you will see it is a 10 lb box. I didn't realize how much 10 lbs of PolyFill was. When I opened it, it popped out the top and after I filled the bed, I still had to stuff it back into the box. I barley made a dent. I guess I should get to making another Cozy Cave for a friends little dog.

The kids wanted to make sure they fit in the little one also.

Now they can snuggle with their new puppy.

Hopefully, next week I can share a picture of our new puppy inside the bed.

Kristen

Goodbye Dixie

This post is in memory of Dixie, our puppy we lost to a car at 10 months old. She quickly became a part of our family and stole our hearts. Even my heart, no matter how hard I tried to not let her in. Don't get me wrong, I love animals! But, this dog was for my husband and kids. I took care of the family and the cat. I didn't want to take care of something else and Mr. C was willing to do all the work for the dog. If he saw that I got just as attached, I thought might loose all the help I had with her.

But, I am a total animal person! I LOVE animals. All kinds! They are just one of those amazing creations that are a complete gift to humans from God. (The only thing that would make them better is if they could pee and poop in the toilet.) Growing up, I always had cats as pets, in fact, I can't think of a time that I lived without a pet until I lost my last cat at 27. When I was little, I always dreamt of having a pet bear, a real live bear. Particularly a polar bear, but any bear would do. Dogs are wonderful also, I just have trouble with the smell. Needless to say, Dixie quickly won my heart and in secret when no one was looking, I'd sit and snuggle with her. She was a licker, but knew I didn't like to be licked, so she would put her face right on my cheek for a hug.

Vizsla's are know as the velcro dog. They love their people, want to please and they always stay close. They also have a ton of energy.

Mr. C always wanted a dog that could go everywhere with us and one that could keep up. Dixie was certainly that! I wanted a dog that didn't stink. Well, guess what, Vizslas don't stink! Yeah, give them a couple weeks of no bath and a 100 degree day where they are running around outside, it's like a kid, they will get a little stinky. But on a regular basis, Dixie did not have dog smell. I could pet her and not walk away with stinky hands.

Dixie certainly could keep up. In fact she wouldn't stop going when we were out. We had to put limits on her since she was still a puppy. When she was at the beach she would run and leap through the waves forever. If we'd go to the sand, she would dig like she was digging to china! She just loved it all.

At home as long as she got her hour play time/walk in the morning, she would be resting where ever most people were in the house.

Dixie was alway so happy when she was allowed to sit on the couch with us. No matter how little room there was she would find a way to fit.

After about a month of swimming and lots of encouraging with unlimited treats Dixie finally went in the water on her own. It didn't take long before she was swimming circles in the pool. She especially loved swimming to the kids and licking their faces to death. Now that it's winter, she would go and sit in the spa with us too.

Dixie would play hard and sleep hard.

Vizslas are such snuggle dogs and Dixie was true to her breed. Her second favorite place to sleep was in her cozy cave. Her first favorite place to sleep was deep under the covers right up next to Mr. C.

This picture is just cute. She loved to roll in dirt or the dead grass after we turned out water off because of the drought.

One thing Mr. C loved to do with Dixie was go out to the park so she can stalk rabbits. She would creep up to the storage bins going really slow and peek her head around waiting till she found something to charge. It was really funny to watch.

When I was cooking, Dixie loved to sit on my kitchen rug that was on top of my gel mat. It was supposed to be to keep my feet from getting sore, but Dixie wouldn't leave any room for me.

It's like a big cat! C reads before bed and Dixie would love to snuggle up right on top of him.

One of Dixie's favorite places was the desert. We camp there and Dixie would have so much fun playing in the circle of trailers, running around with her friend Dallas, occasionally coming by and sitting by the fire for about 5-10 minutes before she would be off again chasing RC cars, looking for rabbits or going shooting with a group of people. She would get so tired that we would have to put her in the trailer with the door shut to get her to rest. She would look out the window for about 10 minutes then finally give in, snuggle in her cozy cave and be out to the world. 

All pooped out after spending hours in the desert chasing RC cars and playing with her friend Dallas.

After the desert, a friend there said she was going to pick up Dixie a rain jack at her work. She brought by last Tuesday. This was the last picture taken of Dixie. Later that night she went on a walk with Mr. C. She was so excited she was spinning in circles. It had been raining that day and she didn't like the rain in her face. 

She went out and did her little rabbit hunt. She had so much fun. But something happened and she left the fenced in area. When Craig spotted her she was stopped. He called her and she took off into the street and in an instant she got hit. The people stopped brought her to the side walk and Mr. C picked her up. They drove Mr. C and Dixie to the hospital, but she passed in Mr. C's arms on the way.

Dixie was such a blessing to our family. I will never know why our time with her was so short. Maybe it was just as simple a little reminder to us that life can be taken in an instant and to enjoy every moment. At least that's something good we can take from it. Or maybe she gave us all the joy she was meant to give. Either way, I truly believe God uses everything for good. No matter how sad we are to loose Dixie, there is still something to take from it. We really do need to slow down and enjoy every moment more. It is too easy to get caught up in the fast pace business of life. Animals are such an amazing creation that were given to us for enjoyment. We really loved Dixie and the time she with us and it won't be long before we have another little puppy running around here again. Even so, we will always miss that little puppy that stole our hearts from the beginning.