Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

Over the last couple of weeks a few of my favorite bloggers have featured their favorite kitchen gadgets.  I've loved reading these posts because I like to know what other people find helpful in the kitchen. If I can buy a cheap gadget that will make dinner prep a little bit easier, I'm all for it.


My first favorite is a citrus squeezer.  Until I owned one I thought it was completely unnecessary. I received on in my Christmas stocking a few years ago, and now I couldn't imagine not having one. This takes all the work out of squeezing lemons and limes, and I find that I get so much more juice out of the fruit when I use this.  Plus the little holes are small enough to catch the seeds, a major plus in my book.  Find it on Amazon here.

I think most people probably already have a garlic press, but the key is to have a good quality one.  I like the heft of this one and that it has stainless steel handles.  The stainless steel can actually help with getting that awful garlic small off of your hands. It's dishwasher safe, and comes with a garlic peeler.  Find it on Amazon here.

I hate to waste, and small spatulas are perfect for getting the last drops of spaghetti sauce or mayo out of the jar.  Plus with the Le Cruset brand, you know it's going to last.  We received a few for wedding gifts 3 years ago and they still look brand new.  Find it on Amazon here.

This Oxo Kitchen Scale was another wedding gift we received.  I figured it was something we'd use only on occasion, but I find myself pulling this out weekly.  I weigh leftovers to make sure they're equally portioned and measure butter while baking since it's more accurate than the measurements on the stick. Find it on Amazon here.

Everything Oxo makes is such great quality, and this salad spinner is no exception.  It has rubber feet on the bottom that keep it from shifting, and it can easily come apart for cleaning.  I used to use a colander for cleaning lettuce, but this little guy  makes the task so much quicker.  Find it on Amazon here.

An avocado cuber does sound super unnecessary, but it is amazing how much time it will save you while making guacamole.  Once you cut the avocado in half and remove the pit, you press this down into the half and give it a little twist.  You're left with avocado cubes that can be dumped into a bowl and mashed for guac.  Seriously, so simple. Find it at Williams Sonoma here.

Do you have any favorite kitchen gadgets?  I'd love to get some more recommendations!

The Living Room- Far From Complete

With our last house I rarely posted any updates, because I never thought the house was completely finished.  I've come to realize that no room will ever be finished in my mind, so it makes more sense to post small updates along the way.  Last month we moved from a tiny 50's bungalow to a three bedroom house in the burbs, and we now have a lot of square footage to fill.   Since we're nearly finished with our kitchen updates, I'm starting to pay more attention to the living room. 

 

This room started out as a fully carpeted room, so we've already made a huge update with replacing the floors with hardwoods.  Once the floors were down, I soon realized that the rug I currently had was the wrong color and way too small.  I was so hoping it would work because I hate rug shopping.  For one, they're entirely too expensive, and secondly you never really know what it's going to look like until you get it home and lay it down in your space.  Not to mention there are thousands upon thousands of options to choose from, which is way too overwhelming.

 

Before we moved in

 

Our old rug

I decided to take a giant risk and purchase a final sale rug from Pottery Barn.  The rug gods must have been looking down on me that day, because it is perfection.  I needed a 9x12, so I was already going into the search knowing I'd be paying a pretty penny.  I scoured the Rugs USA website to find something during their 70% off sale but came up empty handed.  I figured I'd pop over to the PB website to at least get some inspiration for rugs, knowing they'd all be too expensive.  And then, I spotted this gem, marked down from $1000 to $270, and I knew I had to have it.  We put it down last night, and I'm already in love. The size is what we needed, the colors are neutral enough to go with anything I put in there, (except our current couch which was going to get recovered anyway) and it's surprisingly soft for a natural fiber rug. 

 

Now all we have to do is get everything else in the room updated to compliment the rug.  If only that was as easy as it sounded.  I know it will be a process just like every other room, but at least we've got one more thing checked off!

And just because I'm a habitual list maker, here's the rundown of what all we plan to do to this room:

Living Room

Hardwoods Installed
Buy new rug
Paint walls SW Agreeable Gray
Paint accent wall darker gray (color TBD)
Whitewash fireplace
Custom slipcover for couch
Purchase piece of furniture for TV to go on
Artwork above mantle
Window treatments

Weekend Recap

This weekend T and I had a wedding in Columbia, so we spent Friday and Saturday nights with my parents at their lake house.  We absolutely love going to the lake.  It's one of the only places that I can go and completely relax.  It's laid back, showers are optional, and we barely get any cell phone service.

On Saturday afternoon, we headed out for a pontoon cruise.  My mom and I have the same bathing suit, so we thought it would be fun to match for the day.  Ten years ago I would have been humiliated to match my mom out in public, but now I think it's the greatest thing ever.  We stopped at  our favorite service station/ burger place for lunch and headed a sandbar afterward to cool off in the water.  George was tall enough to stand on his hind legs and prop his arms up on T's shoulders so we could wade with him. He looked so human-like, it was hilarious.

That evening we headed to the wedding of one of my good high school friends. I managed to take no pictures what-so-ever because I spent the whole night catching up with some of my best hometown friends who I hadn't seen in years.

I hope y'all had a great weekend! 

House Updates

I've been watching entirely too much HGTV lately, so I'm under this jaded assumption that any house renovation comes together quickly and perfectly every time.  I figured we'd move in, get to work, and be done with everything in a couple of weeks.  HA.  Yeah, that hasn't happened.

Luckily we did hire the pros to come in and spruce up our kitchen, so that's obviously where the most progress has been made.  It's still missing a backsplash and pendant lights that should come in next week, but holy moly what a difference.  I've also added a couple of photos from the very beginning stages so you can get an idea of the progress that's been made.  I'm in love with our new counters!

And here's where we sit on our to do list:
Kitchen
Remove linoleum and replace with hardwoods Remove wallpaper Replace light fixture with two pendants Install can lights Replace all appliances Kitchen island re-installed New back splash New counters installed Paint Walls (Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray) Install shutters/blinds/window treatments Install window seat Change out cabinet and drawer pulls

We have also started to change out the flush mount lights in the house.  I had a hard time finding ones that I liked, but finally found two styles which were perfect for what we need. One lantern style from Wayfair for our foyer, and an octagonal style from Home Depot for the hallway upstairs and our laundry room.  Here's a little before and after shot of the Wayfair lanterns.  Now I can't wait to get that yellow off the walls, I think the lights will look even better once the walls are more of a neutral gray.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Weekend Recap

This weekend T and I headed down to Charleston for the wedding of two of our good friends, Beth and Josh. I have been so excited for this wedding all summer.  My favorite weddings are the ones that are completely customized to the bride and groom's style, and Beth and Josh have done this from the very start.  We had a kickball shower for them earlier this year, I mean, how awesome is that?

The ceremony started at 11:00 am at a Catholic church in downtown Charleston.  The ceremony was beautiful, very traditional and full of the pomp and circumstance of a Catholic wedding.  After the ceremony, we headed to the Citadel Beach House at Isle of Palms. We had a luncheon when we arrived similar to any typical rehearsal dinner, toasts, first dances, cake cutting, etc.  And then the party took a turn that I've never seen before at a reception.  Everyone changed into their bathing suits, the DJ and Bar moved outside, and King of Pops arrived.  We played corn hole and beach volleyball, and used their beach access to get a little beach time in.  At 5:30 the couple had their sendoff on the beach and rode off together on beach cruisers.  It was seriously so much fun.

After the wedding T and I headed to West Ashley to spend the rest of the night with my best friend Kate and her husband Jack.  We had a really tasty dinner at Bohemian Bull.  Their burgers are amazing, and any place that lets you sub fried okra for fries gets an extra gold star.

Hope y'all had a great weekend! 

Back In The Kitchen

This week is the first week that we get to have a home cooked meal in our new house. While our kitchen reno isn't complete yet, I do finally have a fully functional kitchen. As much as I complain about being the family meal planner, grocery shopper, and cook, I really do love coming home from work and preparing a good meal a few times a week. I wish I was one of those girls who would come home from a stressful day at work and want to go on a run.  Nope, not me.  Instead, I get home from work, pour a hefty glass of wine, and cook a 5,000 calorie meal for dinner.

It's not feasible with my work schedule to cook every single night, so I try to cook 2-3 times with enough leftovers that we can eat on for other dinners and lunches that week.

It's been killing me eating out for nearly every meal for the last month.  I thought I'd love getting takeout every night, but it got old, fast.  Home cooked meals are so comforting to me, and I've really been missing our little family ritual.

For our first week back in the house, I wanted to go rather simple; no recipes that call for too many ingredients, or weird cooking methods.  I still haven't completely unpacked all of my kitchen boxes, but I do have the essentials.  One pot, one frying pan, and a cookie sheet.  I usually try to make my own salads to save money, but this week I'm going with the pre-bagged route.  It doesn't get simpler than a bag with the lettuce, dressing, and toppings all together.

Here's what we've got on the menu:

Monday- Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Oregano, Roasted Broccoli, Cucumber Salad
Tuesday- Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Oregano, Roasted Broccoli, Corn on the Cob
Wednesday- Coconut Chicken with Sweet Chili Sauce with an Asian Salad (pre-bagged from Publix)
Thursday- Shrimp and Grits with another Publix pre-bagged salad.

via

Have a great week!

The Great Flushmount Lighting Debate

I've never really thought twice about flushmount lighting, usually it just  kind of blends in with the room.  When we moved into our house I started to notice the flushmount lighting as I started looking at every tiny detail in each space.  I quickly realized that everything existing had.to.go.  

I hopped on to the Home Depot and Lowes websites thinking I could easily find a few options that would update the space without breaking the bank.  Wrong.   Everything I found looked super cheap or resembled a boob, or both.  You know what I'm talking about.  No bueno. I had the best luck at Wayfair.  I was wanting something that looked more like a lantern for the two lights in our foyer area, and fell in love with these.  They're $110 each, and with an additional sale they were having that day I wound up getting them for $93 a piece.   

Wayfair- $110

I found one light that I liked at Home Depot (still haven't seen it in real life yet) that was very reasonably priced at $38 each.  I love the octagonal shape, so I hope they look as good in person as they do online! These will go in the hallway and our laundry room, pending that they look decent when I receive them.

Home Depot- $38

Here are a couple others that I loved.  I'm keeping these in my back pocket just in case the others I ordered are disastrous.

Wayfair- $125

Wayfair- $155

I'm hoping that my next post will be loaded with picture updates.  Real pictures, not the stock ones I've been pulling from websites for the last two posts. Yesterday they started doing some drywall work and installed a few of our appliances.  Fingers crossed I'll be coming home to a painted kitchen with a refrigerator today.