Now you see it, Now you don't

So the title of this post is referring to a problem we had in our master bathroom. We have two windows surrounding the master bath, which wasn't a problem until we lived here a few days. The master shower is located to the left of the tub. The windows have wooden blinds, but each window has an arch circle window above the blinds that was not covered.....

Here is the arch window which faces the front of the house



Well the arch windows were no big deal, until when taking a shower one night I looked up......to my surprise I could see my neighbors lights on through the arch windows and could see through their blinds. So I then realized I bet they could see down into our shower from what I think is their game room (not that I think our neighbors are peeping Tom's). I yell for my husband and tell him to hang a towel over the glass shower panel so I can finish my shower.  My husband starts to make jokes about making extra money for peep shows....he thinks he is funny ;) 

So my solution was to use Rustoleum Frosted Glass Spray paint. FYI have the room vented well when using Frosted Glass spray paint....I learned the hard way and thought I would pass out from the fumes. I started by taping off the top drywall and the bottom blinds with newspaper and painters tape. I put about 2-3 coats of paint...wanted to make sure it was frosted well.



Frosted Glass Window

 It was so easy and looks great! I had no dripping or running of the spray paint. I can now take showers in peace :)

Our New Home

So our house hunting is finally finished and we closed on our new home last week. We moved in last weekend and today marks one week in our new home! I absolutely love our home it has everything and more than we could every ask for :)  The home is 5 Bedrooms and 4.5 Bathrooms with 3 car garage and a game room.....that's Texas for you :)

Get ready for a ton of pictures....

This is the from the realtor website as its gloomy here today and I forgot to take a picture of the front of the house the other day.

Entryway

 Formal Living Room / Dining Room

Study

 Kitchen

Eat in Kitchen area

 Master Bath

Game Room 

My soon to be Craft Room..... I can't wait

Upstairs Bathrooms - they all look the same

Lots of storage!



Backyard Patio



Pool and Yard

Bootsie...aka the tour guide and my constant companion



She finally ventured upstairs!

That's our new home.....we can't believe we actually bought this house. We always say everything happens for a reason and this fell into our laps for the right price and a great location, so we are truly blessed.





Back To House Hunting

So we found a home we really liked and in the perfect location! It had most of our wants and room to upgrade / remodel the way we wanted, so it seemed perfect and we both immediately liked it (which is huge as my husband I found out is very picky when it comes to house hunting). So our real estate agent goes home pulls comps, etc. We are ready to make any offer the next morning, only to find out the house was already under contract and the relocation company agent forgot this and never updated the MLS :(  I was so upset and disappointed, so were back to square one and house hunting again. There are no words to describe how much I despise house hunting right now. We do have one house as a contender, but its the top of our price range, we need to crunch the numbers. I hope we find a new home soon.

Craftiness

I had taken a break from my crafting, because we are living in an apartment and I thought we wouldn’t be here that long. Well since we are still house hunting with no contenders in sight I decided it was time to begin my crafts and scrapbooking again! Here are the crafts I’ve completed over the last month:

1.       “Oh the places we’ll go” – I made this for our first anniversary gift and my husband loved it! It was a very simple project and has great meaning. My husband loves to travel and loves maps, so this was the best of both worlds.

I found this project on the following blog:

http://www.astepinthejourney.com/2011/07/oh-places-well-go.html

2.       Ornament Wreath – This was another very simple project, but oh so fun and cute! I found the plastic ornaments in the $1.00 section at Target. The ornaments were bright and glittery just what every girl loves J  It took about 8-9 packages of the ornaments, ribbon and a metal coat hanger. Total cost was about $9.00

3.       Scrapbooking our trip to NYC, Toronto, and Niagara Falls.

Homemade Pizza

Every Friday night for the last few months I have been making pizza it has become our little tradition :)  I make a thin crust Spinach and ricotta pizza with pickled jalapenos. My husband is Southeast Asian so spicy food is a must for him.

Spinach and Ricotta Pizza

1 pkg Thin Crust Pizza (I prefer Mama Mary's thin crust)

Low Fat Ricotta Cheese

Low fat Mozzarella Cheese

2 cups Fresh Spinach

1/2 tsp of minced garlic

Thinly sliced purple onions

Tomato Sauce (I prefer Prego)

Pickled Jalapenos (may omit for taste preference)

Italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Place pizza crusts on Pizza stone or aluminum foil

3. Lightly coat crust with extra virgin olive oil

4.  Place Spinach in pan with minced garlic over medium heat. Continue till all spinach is wilted

5. Apply tomato sauce to crust ( typically about 5 -6 large tablespoons per pizza)

6. Next add ricotta cheese in small thin spoonfuls, onions, and jalapenos.

7. Sprinkle with Mozzarella and Italian seasoning. Bake in oven till crust is golden brown about 20 -30 mins



A Full Day

I had planned to run some errands this morning, then come home relax and clean the house. Well, my day was going as planned until I realized my wedding ring was scratched and one of the solitaire prongs was chipped. I had just picked up my ring from the jewelers yesterday after the annual inspection and cleaning….. I asked them to check the diamond, because I thought it was loose.  So today when I saw the scratches / chip it made me upset, because it meant driving all the way across DFW for them to fix their errors. Anyway, I got the ring fixed and finished all my errands, but not much housecleaning has been accomplished yet ;)  On  a positive note I scored 5 North Face T-shirts from Macy’s for $2.00 each and with my $10.00 coupon credit from buying my husbands jeans = Free workout shirts for me!

Delicious

Since I am off all week I tried a new recipe which I got from Pinterest. I can't believe how many great recipes are available on Pinterest! What did I do without pinterest, anyway I made Tex Mex Chicken and dumplings. As usual I modified the recipe to our liking and simplified it.

The original recipe can be found here: http://www.todaysnest.typepad.com/todays-nest/2011/10/lola-cooks-texmex-chicken-and-dumplings.html

My Modified Tex Mex Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Serving size is about 6

1/2 to 1 lb Chicken Sausage (I use Caliente or Hatch green chile chicken sausage from Sprouts or Central Market)

1 lb Chicken chopped

2 cups of water

2 cups of chicken broth

1 medium onion chopped

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/4 cup of chopped roasted hatch green chile's (may omit if not available)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 to 1 cup sliced carrots

3 - 4 Celery ribs chopped

3 tablespoons flour

Dumpling Recipe

I use Bisquick box recipe and add in the following:

1 tablespoon cilantro chopped

1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Sweet Jalapenos 5-6 slices chopped (add for desired spiciness)

1. Put chicken stock and water in large pot over low to medium heat. Bring to low simmer

2. Season chopped chicken with salt / pepper

3. Brown sausage then, chicken in separate pan. When both are done set aside.

4. Cook Carrots, onions, and green chile's in pan. Add cumin and stir, then for 4 -5 minutes.

5. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cont to stir for another 3 minutes.

6. Ladle in some broth to loosen up flour coated vegetables.

7. Place chicken, chicken sausage and vegetables in large pot of gently simmering chicken broth / water.

8. Make dumplings according to Bisquick recipe, then add in Cilantro, chopped jalapenos and cheddar cheese.

9. Use two teaspoons to form dumplings and drop into top of simmering pot. Note the dumplings will double in size, but I just put them close together and divide them when serving.

10. Place lid on pot and cook covered for 15 mins without lifting the lid. DO NOT Open the lid during these 15 minutes, because the steam will cook the dumplings.

11. Check dumplings after 15 mins and if needed cook another 5 mins if not done. The dumplings will a light cream color and semifirm when done.

12. Serve warm and enjoy!

Crissy