grody grout

When we first got our house, we had some grody grout and caulk. Around the sink was a ton of mold and broken tiles. It was nasty. When the last owners put in the kitchen, they also used brown grout instead of white. It just made everything look dirty.

So off to Home Depot we went to see what we could do about it… and look what was staring at us on the shelf …

We started the project at midnight and it was super easy. You have this little tool kind of like a knife and you scrape off the top layer of grout. When we did this around the sink and removed the caulk, the broken tiles basically just fell off. What was under them had corroded away.

We used this compound from the kit kind of like you would glue and put them back in place. We could have replaced the broken pieces but that would have involved buying new tile, some how getting it cut to the right size, etc. Doable, however, we don’t plan to keep the tile counter tops. We want to get granite, so this is our cheap temporary solution. We just “glued” the pieces together :)

While Lan was doing this, I was busy removing grout on the counters. We have a shop vack (its like a vacuum hose), so we had that going right next to where I was scraping out grout to control dust. After that we took the white grout and applied it to the grout lines with our fingers. It just seemed less messy than applying it over the whole tile. We used a wet sponge to clean the tiles and we were done for the night.

It took us about a month after that to get back around to re-caulking the sink. But it is now officially done, and man did it make a huge difference. I am now willing to wait a few years to replace the counters and sink, where as before it was an urgent problem… especially since I am allergic to mold… and ugly grout :)

We didn’t do the back splash so you can see the difference. The counters look so much cleaner now. Not too bad for a temporary solution and $20. If I actually liked tile, I wouldn’t mind keeping it for even longer.

Cabbage Soup

I know what you are thinking.... most people turn their noses up when I mention cabbage soup... but trust me... yum! Granted, I was one of those kids who has always loved cabbage soup. A while back when "the cabbage soup diet" was a big hit and my parents were doing it, they would constantly be yelling at us kids because we would always be eating their diet soup. It was a common thing to hear a child request their parents for some "diet soup" in our home. :)

I have been trying to lose weight. I have even joined a Biggest Loser competition at work! Yikes! I have been counting calories using calorie counter at About.com. I love this website. It said that in order to reach my goal when I would like to reach it, I should be consuming 1200 calories a day. That is a very low number. In order to save some calories, one of my go to lunches has been cabbage soup. I love this recipe and it is super low calorie, fills you up, and keeps you full... and it is super yummy. I will actually be making another batch this weekend.

After I make it, I like to portion it out into plastic baggies and freeze them. It makes it easy to grab and go in the morning. Being busy can make it difficult to eat healthy, but this makes it easy.

6 cups chicken broth
2 carrots
1 bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped celery
2 zucchini
16 oz diced tomatoes
1 onion
1/2 tsp garlic
4 cups cabbage
1 tbsp crushed red pepper

Bring the broth to a boil.
Chop everything into bite sized pieces and cook until the veggies are tender. Season to taste.

makes 10 servings or more and only 67 calories each!

When I cook, I don't really follow the recipe. It is my estimation of what I use. I probably use the whole head of cabbage. I am even thinking of adding leeks the next time I make it. Have fun with it. I is a yummy, healthy, veggie soup

Bruxie

In old town Orange there is a waffle stand that has a line down the street.  Bruxie specializes in waffle sandwiches and Belgium waffles.  That’s right… waffles are no longer just delivery devices for gooey syrup.  They are instead stuffing them with everything from salmon and cream cheese to eggs and bacon… and I am hooked.  That’s right ladies and gentlemen, a savory waffle is delicious. 

Above is my waffle with salmon and cream cheese.  Lan got prosciutto and gruyere and we split both.  The waffle was crispy and tender.  I don’t know why… but it works.

Lan also got us a Belgium waffle with Nutella on the side.  Yum.  They are made just like they are in Belgium, not with regular sugar, but with pearl sugar.

The Green Tea Challenge is officially called

We have officially called the green tea challenge. Well, it was actually called a few weeks ago... but who is counting. Jessica and I went a good three weeks without our beloved coffee... and were pleasantly surprised with the results.

The switch to green tea was a smooth one. I didn't go through coffee withdrawals. Each morning I filled my to go mug with piping hot green tea and kept the tea bag in. Then when I got to work, I re-filled on hot water. It did the job of warming me up and giving me my caffeine fix. It wasn't quite a cosey as my morning cup of coffee laden with flavored creamer, but it did the job. A big bonus that I noticed was the fact that on days where I didn't feel like having coffee or tea, I didn't get a withdrawal headache like I did when I was just on coffee. Not to mention the fact that it is far less calories. Jessica noticed that she didn't have the afternoon crash, and now that she is back on coffee, she is good with just one cup instead of...well... more :) It was kindof like a coffee detox.

I am not totally back on coffee... it is more like an indulgence now for those mornings that waking up is absolute torture. I am trying to loose weight, so having those few extra calories when I drink green tea instead of coffee comes in very nice. Who knows if it is speeding up my metabolism or not, but at least it is a drink that isn't adding to my waist line.

Final verdict: green tea = a good thing

Asparagus

With a title like Asparagus, you may be thinking this is a recipe post…but no. I’m talking paint. We have officially painted the first room in our home and are loving it. Now if I can just convince Lan to either let me paint the paneling or take it down. Neither of us like it… but who knows what can of worms we would uncover, so for now, it stays.

Before: please ignore all the junk in the bottom of this photo

After:

We love how it turned out. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the walls look clean, crisp, and a little more modern. Now we just need to put something on the walls for that polished look.

Above you can see a closer look of a weird mini column in our room. The wall is actually textured wallpaper that they sponge painted. It was dirty.. and just looked weird. We did discover that those vertical pieces of paneling on the corners of the panel are purely there for “decoration”. Bye bye decoration.

I may not have gotten rid of all of the paneling…. but aaahhhh... doesn’t that look better

Dry Erase To Do List

I am a huge list person. I make lists for everything…and thus waste a lot of paper doing so. This super easy idea (much like how most of my ideas are) came to me the other night while cleaning my craft table and finding a ton of clips frames.

You just use the glass as a template for cutting out some pretty paper. I would suggest not using any paper that is too busy. You could even design something on your computer that is tailored to what you want to use it for. If you like lined paper, print out some and put it in your frame. Then put your frame together. This kind of frame doesn’t have a border which is actually nicer so junk doesn’t get caught in the border when you erase.

Use a dry erase marker. It wipes off cleanly. Super easy to change out.. perhaps with the seasons, or if you are indecisive like me, simply when the fancy strikes you.

Plant Markers

Last weekend I started planting my seeds in starter pots. I used peat moss cups because they can be planted directly into the ground once their roots poke through he bottom of the cups.

In order to keep all of my little plants organized I made plant markers. I have heard of people using popsicle sticks, but they absorb water and can become gross. You can also buy them, but hey… why spend money when you don’t have to.

First I found some plastic that was going to be thrown away.

I cut it so that I had a flat rectangle.

Then I used a straight edge to cut strips

I used a permanent marker to write on them… and done super easy and cost absolutely no money… plus they even work better than many other options.