Year of the House - Half Bath Update, Part 2

By now we should be done with our half bath, right? Wrong. Seems there was a little measurement issue that I may or may not have warned Andrew about. And that measurement issue may or may not have turned out to be as I had suspected. Thus, our toilet did not fit back into the half bath and was off by a quarter of an inch. Crap. (Did you think that pun was as funny as I did?)

There was also the small part about water leaking from the sink water hookups under our new cork floor. And the part about a fan air drying it for a 24 hour period. And so Andrew was back at square one, re-hooking up the sink, with not a minute left in the weekend to start worrying about moving the pipe for the toilet.

Now the sink is back in its place and we have been leak free for another 24 hour period of time.

Andrew is now busy fixing the piping under the toilet, so that we can finally move the toilet out of our living room and back to its proper location. First, he moved the drain collar over about 2 inches, which meant doing a little cork floor patch for the adjustment as well. This is what it looks like in the bathroom:

And this is what it looks like in the basement in our laundry room:

Yes. That is a gaping hole in the drywall that had to be opened in order to get everything back to working condition. So as I traipsed down to the basement to do some laundry the other night, I found Andrew sitting on the dryer with some PVC pipe in hand, getting some serious work done. And by serious work, I mean making a telescope out of PVC pipe.

Finally, after the fun was over, he got back to work. Lilah decided it was best if she stayed out of this mess this time around and opted to be lazy in her bed instead.

Hopefully all will be finished in the next few days so that we can finish up the rest of the original project, which was to install the horizontal wood panels. Here's to hoping that the next time I update you, the half bath is at least back in working condition with little left to be done!

Beef Tenderloin with Potato Risotto

I'm not one that usually needs meat in my life, but Andrew is part Irish, part English, and grew up with meat and potatoes on a regular basis. Aiming to please once in a while, and wanting to try something new, I decided to go the meat and potatoes route the other night. This beef tenderloin, accompanied by potato risotto, is a recipe that worked perfectly for a Friday date night at home. The tenderloin was seasoned just perfectly, and the potato risotto was rich and creamy-- a perfect side that I'll be sure to use with other meals.

Want to have a go at this delicious (and fairly simple) gourmet dinner? I'm happily passing on the recipe below.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices, then 1/8-inch cubes
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Coarse kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 2 6-ounce beef tenderloin steaks
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions for the Potato Risotto

Melt butter with the onion in a large deep sauce pan. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until the onions are clear. Add the cubed potatoes and cayenne pepper, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the burner to medium heat and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender (about 8 minutes). Add cream and continue to simmer for about another 10 minutes. At this point, the potatoes will begin to hold their shape. You'll want to continue stirring the potatoes so they do not stick to the pan. Finally, stir in chives and the Parmesan cheese.

Directions for the Tenderloin

Sprinkle coarse salt, pepper, and thyme on both sides of the steak. Rub the spices into each side of the steak. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on a medium-high burner. When the oil is heated, add the steaks and cook until they are done as desired. I found that for a medium steak, each side needed 4-5 minutes.


This meal went fabulously with a red glass of wine and the best chocolate cake ever. We enjoyed a bottle of La Posta Cocina Malbec with the meal which ended up being the perfect pairing! What have you been cooking up in the kitchen lately?

P.S. I know a lot of you have been requesting my black bean salad recipe, so stay tuned for that recipe in the next few days! :)

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

Nope. Not talking about the Wilco version of I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. In fact, I'm going out on a limb here and saying that this cover of the song is by far better. The original just feels so dead to me. And, quite frankly, I'm kind of tired of the "Wilco is the coolest band ever and I'm so cool because I love Wilco b.s." Sorry if you're a Wilco fan. Not trying to put you down, but I think I warned everyone long ago that I'm a pretentious music snob.

Needless to say, JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound really put a great spin on this song. A spin that gets me dancing. The band out of Chicago has a lot of other really good songs as well, my favorite being Sister Ray Charles which you can listen to here if you have Spotify. I would have put that video on here. However, the only video I found of the song was a live version that also had an annoying drunk couple dancing. So I wanted to spare you all. Oh heck, I guess I could at least give you the link for the video since you're probably curious about the drunk couple now. But don't say I didn't warn you.



What have you been listening to lately that makes you dance? Let me know! I need some new dancing-in-the-kitchen-while-cooking music.

I Finally Admit It

Last Thursday night I busted out a super cute outfit for school that was perfect for the arrival of spring. I pulled out a pair of wedges that I'd been dying to wear again, but was waiting for the right weather and outfit. I got home, kicked off my wedges at the spot where we leave our shoes and enjoyed the rest of my evening.

For the last hour of the night, I decided to be lazy on the couch and watch some tv. As I came up our basement steps and into the living room while heading to bed, there on the living room rug, I saw Lilah sitting with both of my wedges, munching on the back of one of them. Immediately, she knew she was in trouble, and she ran down the basement stairs to her daddy, Andrew, to be consoled. Andrew, realizing what had happened, was not going to have it, and upon Lilah realizing her predicament she went right to her crate for bedtime.

I went upstairs, infuriated, and literally threw my shoes into the closet hoping that maybe the next morning the leather would magically be healed with no sign of a dog's destruction. And then I cried. Yes, I cried over that pair of shoes. And, yes, I finally admit it, this is not the first time I have cried over shoes. I cried the first, second, and third time previously that Lilah destroyed a pair of my shoes. She seems to especially like my shoes. Not Andrew's. Only mine. But she hadn't destroyed either of our shoes, or anything for that matter, for over a year. Thus, I thought I was in the clear.

But there is a happy ending to this sad, sad story. And that happy ending comes in the form of not one, but two new pairs of shoes. And again I must make an admission, that maybe, just maybe Andrew is right in calling me Imelda.

And then I got this super awesome package in the mail at school the other day.

You may have seen my joyous remarks about said package here and here. And now if you're in love with these just as much as I am, you can get yourself a pair (or two) as well. Just click through the photos to get to the shoes (if you're not a big fan of yellow, there are other fun colors as well!).

Any new pairs of shoes you just love these days? The best part of both of these is that they are super comfy! What types of shoes are you shopping for lately?

Well, Hello There New Blog!

Some of you may have sensed it was coming (and by sensed it, I mean saw my frustrated posts on Twitter). Others of you probably had no clue that this was in the works. Either way, I present to you, my fabulous new look for the blog! Maybe you already got a sneak peek earlier this afternoon while I worked out some of the kinks, but now at this moment, I can assure you that this is it! And I love it!

There are a few new things you may notice aside from the overall design. You'll find the addition of a Hellocotton button on the left, so that you can follow me there. Below that, there is a search field so that you can look up all of those old and wonderful blog posts you're trying to find. To the right, you'll see my lovely friends, so check out their wonderful blogs! As for my tabs, I've changed some of my links, so check those out-- click away!

For the most part, this is it people. I'll be adding a few more things in the next week to help you find recipe, Year of the House, and music posts. And yes, I'm even thinking about adding and "About" tab-- finally! So what do you think? Do you like the new look?

Happy Hour at Home

What better way to enjoy a Friday evening at home on the roof top deck with your own little happy hour. While it's fun to meet up with friends after a long work week, sometimes it's more enjoyable to kick back and relax. And that is just what we did this weekend. On the menu was homemade crostini and crab dip, a black bean salad with tortilla chips, and a couple of home brews. A pup by our side and a chance to enjoy the sunset over Baltimore City made this may favorite part of our weekend.

What was your favorite part of the weekend?

Shibang Designs

Just happened to stumble upon this lovely shop, Shibang Designs, that has beautiful textile pieces in bold vibrant colors. Clutches, iPad sleeves, cosmetic bags, home decor, and other such things all are appliqued with brightly colored flowers that come in some of my favorite hues.

What are some of your Etsy favorites at the moment?

Chocolate Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting

When I was in high school, I used to bake desserts for the coffee shop in my hometown called The Electric Brew. I would spend the day at school and the afternoons and early evenings baking. In that time, I baked hundreds of cookies, muffins, cakes, quick breads, brownies, and other assorted things. And I got pretty good at it. I had a lot of experience going into it all considering that my mom is a baker and owns the best European-style break bakery in the area (I'm not being biased!) called Rachel's Bread.

I asked Andrew last week if there was anything in particular that he wanted to eat for dinner this week, and his response was just, "Desserts. You make the best desserts." So on a quest to come through for him, and with the excitement of getting back to what I'm truly the best at in the kitchen, I scoured the web for a new recipe to try. And what I found was the most delectable chocolate cake I think I've ever had. Mind you, it may be incredibly rich and take a bit of time to make, but in the end, I guarantee it is all worth it!

Ingredients for the Cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

Ingredients for the Frosting

• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
• 8 oz milk chocolate, melted and cooled (I used a little under 2 Lindt milk chocolate bars)
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions for the Cake

Pre-heat the oven to 350. In a stand-up mixer, cream sugars and butter until nice and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Incorporate chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately. Pour the batter into 2 greased, round cake pans and bake 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cakes cool in the cake pans for about 10 minutes and finally invert the cakes onto a wire rack.

Directions for the Frosting

Begin heating the milk until hot, but not boiling in a small quart-sized saucepan. In a bowl, combine egg yolks, flour, and 1/3 cup confectioners sugar along with a pinch of salt. Pour milk into egg mixture and whisk continually.  Put mixture back into the sauce pan and bring it to a low boil while continually whisking. Reduce the heat and continue whisking until the mixture becomes a thick custard. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and let cool for 45 minutes to an hour.

Once cooled, add vanilla and remaining amount of confectioners sugar and mix well. Beat in softened butter until smooth and creamy. Finally, pour in melted chocolate and beat the frosting until nice and airy.

Directions for Assembling the Cake

Using a serrated knife, cut each cake into two horizontal layers. Use about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of frosting between each layer and then use the remaining frosting for the top and sides of the cake.

The cake turned out very light, moist, and fluffy, yet extremely rich. We enjoyed a piece of cake along with some of our homemade mint liqueur. This is most definitely not your every day cake and would be perfect for a special occasion or surprise.

Needless to say, this must be the best chocolate cake that I've made to date, and would highly recommend trying it! Do you have any special dessert recipes that you'd like to share? I would love to try them!

Little Talks

I think I overestimated others on their scale of love for music based on the non-participation of my Tuesday Music Party (waaaaaaah wow). So instead of a linky party, I'll just post what I love and hope that you love it too. And if you want to share what you've been listening to, feel free to leave it in the comments-- because seriously people, I always want a few new things to slap on the record player, or stereo, or iPod (whatever you like to use the most... just fill in the blank).

As of late, I find myself wanting to listen to Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men over and over again. I wake up in the morning with it stuck in my head and feel the need to get it out of my system. So I play it once thinking that will do the trick. Instead, I want to hear it again.



And in case you were wondering, this Icelandic band has a lot of other really great songs too. What do you think? I think I may just have to walk my butt down to The Sound Garden on April 3 when their album, My Head is an Animal, comes out.

Hello Spring

I love spring in Baltimore. Between fall and spring in this city, it is so hard to choose which I like better. Both provide beautifully temperate weather in the 70s, sunshine, and low humidity. When March rolls around, one day will suddenly jump from temperatures in the 40s to temperatures in the 70s and then there is no looking back. It happens just like that. And the best part? We get to enjoy this beautiful weather for about three months before the dog days of summer arrive.

Spring also means time on our roof top deck in the evenings with great views of Patterson Park and the rest of the city.

And it means lots of outdoor time for Lilah. Even she likes to spend time up on the deck where she can sniff out the neighborhood smells and talk to her dog friends down the block.

And along with the time spent on the deck also comes longer walks in the park, grilling on our (now usable!) patio, and general relaxation outdoors. Have you been enjoying beautiful weather like we have in Baltimore? What are some of your favorite activities to do once the weather warms up?

An Orange St. Patricks's Day

While you're supposed to wear green on St. Patrick's day, we spent our day in orange. Saturday was quite the eventful day and I'm ready to enjoy a less productive and more lazy Sunday. We started our day running our normal Saturday errands to the bank and post office. Then we donned our orange and headed to the local Syracuse alumni bar, Dog Watch Tavern, for some March Madness basketball. Syracuse ended up beating Kansas State to go on to the Sweet Sixteen!

And if that wasn't enough Syracuse Orange action for the day, we then took the five minute drive up to the Johns Hopkins campus for a lacrosse game. Syracuse was in town to play Hopkins which only happens every other year. It was a beautifully sunny day to be outside and enjoy some lacrosse. Unfortunately, we were not as victorious in the lacrosse game as we were in the basketball game.

From the lacrosse game, we headed back home, quickly changed out of our orange and hopped back into the car. We drove a quick few minutes into downtown to the Hippodrome. A friend of ours had tickets to see The Addams Family, but couldn't go, so Andrew bought the tickets for some last minute fun on Friday afternoon. I'm glad he did. The show was hilarious and the perfect thing to end a busy day.

Our last stop for the night was Matthew's Pizza to pick up some very late dinner. Matthew's is possibly my favorite pizza place in Baltimore. In an East Coast city where thin crust pizza is king, Matthew's is the closest you'll get to the Chicago deep dish style pizza I'm used to in the Midwest. After a very busy day, it was perfectly satisfying.

How was your St. Patrick's Day? Did you stick with the traditional green? Or did you have other plans like us?

Shop Update

I spent a large majority of last weekend working on some designs for my shop. I was incredibly productive in one day and came up with some stuff that I absolutely love! With Mother's Day approaching sooner than later, I've listed some new cards for such occasion.

I came up with a few paper cut note card sets.

I worked on a set of thank you notes based on a hand drawn image.

And finally, some save the dates, that are super simple and fun.

The save the dates have already been popular with one order in the works. You may have seen me tweet about progress with this order since the color scheme is just slightly different. I love the new colors just as much!

How do you like all of the new designs? What sorts of projects have you been working on lately?

Eleven Things

You may have seen this here and there while reading through your blogs. I was tagged by Liz, and it seemed like the perfect thing to do while home early from school feeling under the weather. And to be honest, you probably don't know that much about me because I'm that jerk that doesn't even have an "About" page on my blog (maybe that'll soon change). So here are the rules:

THE RULES

one Post these rules.
two Post a photo and the eleven random things.
three Answer the questions provided by the one who tagged you.
four Create eleven new questions for the people you tag.
five Go to their blog (or Facebook or Twitter) and tell them they’ve been tagged.

Here are my eleven random things:

1. I love being the one behind the camera, but I hate being in front of it. I get a lot of paparazzi photos like this one courtesy of Andrew, and I complain about him always being a paparazzi. I promise it's not because I'm horribly mutilated or something, and it's something that I'm thinking about trying to get over.

2. I worked as a barista at a few coffee shops for seven years. That's a quarter of my lifetime. One summer break, I missed being a barista so much, I took a part time job at a coffee shop in Fells Point in Baltimore even though I didn't need the money. One day I want to have my own coffee shop.

3. I always said I would never be a teacher. Huh. Look where that took me.

4. Andrew and I were really good friends for a year before we started dating, dated (if you can even call it that) for 7 years before we got engaged. We got a dog, bought a house, then got a cat. We joke that before we get married we need to have kids since we do everything else a bit backward compared to most people.

5. I'm 5'10" and have difficulty finding long enough pants, which at times is a fashion nightmare. Despite it all, I always secretly wished I had grown to be 6 feet tall just so I could say I was 6 feet tall.

6. I'm the last person you'll see dancing in public, but I love to dance and sing at the top of my lungs while I'm cooking in the kitchen.

7. I'm incredibly stubborn and hard-headed, especially on subjects I'm passionate about. I try not to write about those things on my blog in order to stay out of trouble.

8. I was classically trained on the cello since fourth grade. I stopped playing after I graduated high school, but still have my cello and play every now and again.

9. I am an ice cream fiend. If possible, I have a few scoops every night. This may be my downfall. When I die of a heart attack at age 34, you can blame it on clogged arteries from eating too much ice cream from the time I was a kid.

10. I lived in Australia for study abroad in college. If I could take all of my friends and family with me, I'd move there without hesitation.

11. I'm a homebody that's pretty shy-- a complete introvert. Even most of our friends don't know this about me, thanks to Andrew and his extroverted ways.

Here are my answers to Liz's questions:

1. Do you have any phobias?

I really hate snakes, but not to the level of it being a phobia. It's more like, ew, gross, ok moving on. Other than that, I don't really have any paralyzing fears. I try to live each day as it is and not live in fear of what is to come.

2. What is your proudest accomplishment?

I'm pretty proud of my degree from Syracuse University and my master's degree from Johns Hopkins University. I also feel proud about my accomplishments with my stationery and card business. But there are a lot of things I still want to accomplish in my life.

3. What is your biggest regret?

I don't know that I have one. There have been lessons to be learned in life, but never anything that I could truly say I wish I had never done.

4. Why do you blog?

I've always loved writing. It's a creative outlet for me.

5. What is your biggest goal for this year?

My biggest goal this year is to participate in my first craft show.

6. What 3 things would you bring to a deserted island?

A survival guide with lots of info about edible plants and such, matches, and something to either desalinate or purify water-- what can I say, I'm a resourceful kinda gal that's up for an adventure. :)

7. How many countries have you traveled to?

Canada, Australia, Belgium, France, Italy. Not enough.

8. How do you deal with drama in the blog world?

I think I tend to be in my own bubble because I don't notice a lot of drama. That's how I am in life too. I try to avoid situations that create drama. For this reason, most of my friends in high school and college were guys.

9. What are your top 3 favorite blogs?

I love fashion and graphic design so despite their popularity, I have to go with Kendi Everyday , Sidewalk Ready, and How About Orange .

10. Flats or heals?

Heels! I need to get to that 6 feet mark, remember?

11. What is your favorite fashion season?

Summer! Love all of my sandals more than anything else! And sunglasses!

My questions:

1. Where is your favorite place in the whole world?
2. Do you call it soda or pop?
3. What is your favorite song of all time?
4. Do you prefer cooking or dining out?
5. What 's the best experience you've ever had in your lifetime?
6. Any pets?
7. What's the most important part of your day?
8. Favorite artist?
9. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

Now it's time to tag some of you lucky people! I choose Kristen, Rachel, Paige, Imelda, Holly, and Cassandra.

Year of the House - Half Bath Update

This past weekend Andrew worked away at installing maple panels in our half bath. Wood paneling doesn't always sound so lovely, but remember this post about our final goal to have a Frank Lloyd Wright bathroom? This is what we're going for. Not that old 70s wood paneling you're thinking about.

In order to get a clean, nail-less look, the first step in the process is to mount something on the studs called a z-clip (because it's shaped like a z).

After these lovely clips were installed, Andrew used a router to create a reveal that would show between each panel. Yes, he bought a ridiculously expensive router just to do this. (Cue in Tim the Tool Man Taylor grunts and sounds). And there's a back story about this router that I won't get into that may or may not have been the reasoning behind these flowers. But in order to spare him of anymore embarrassment, I'll leave it at that. Plus, I'm getting way off topic.

So next is to screw the other half of the z clip onto the back of the panel. Then the panel just locks into place. These clips are supposed to withhold some ridiculous amount of weight and help create a seamless look with no putty holes-- a definite bonus.

Two more rows of panels will be added along with a final cap on the top row. The next step will be to stain and finish the panels. Once all of that is done, the sink and toilet can go back in, freeing up space in our living room. Though as I've said before, the sink and toilet hanging out in our living room right now sure makes it looks classy.

And of course, none of this work would be getting done if it weren't for our stealthy contractor, Finn.

I've yet to witness it, but I've heard he's pretty handy with a hammer. What do you think of the progress thus far?

Music Link-Up Party - Move By Yourself

I heard this song by chance on our favorite radio station a few weeks ago, and I have since been unable to let it escape my mind. Come to find out that professional surfers apparently like to make music. This song is written by Donavon Frankenreiter, a professional surfer and good friend of Jack Johnson. Though if I were to compare, I'd kind of have to say that I like this funk-laced song a bit more than his friend's tunes. And the video itself just makes me want to move to California. Sigh. I truly am a West Coast kind of girl stuck on the East Coast. Maybe some day...



What have you been listening to lately? Grab a button and link up below! Don't forget to link up using the direct URL for your post rather than your blog homepage. I look forward to hearing what you've been loving and sharing some music with you! :)

<div align="center"><a href="http://rowhouse14.blogspot.com/search/label/music%20linkup%20party" title="Row House 14 Music Linkup Party"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ch7KtCEqyQg/TyWd3hMmJiI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/rqaGJ1T9_iE/s1600/Music+Linkup+Party.jpg" alt="Row House 14 Music Linkup Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

New Rules for the Music Link Up Party

I've decided to change up the Music Link Up Party a bit to make it easier to play along. Each week I'll be sharing a song that I've been really into as of late (which usually changes every week, so it's perfect!). To link up and join in share what you've been loving this week on your blog, grab a button from my post, and link up at the bottom of my music post. Also, don't forget, you can link up at any time throughout the week. I leave the link up open for a full seven days, so if you can't get your post done on Tuesday, feel free to join in the next few days! Hope you stop by to link up tomorrow! And as always, happy music sharing! :)

<div align="center"><a href="http://rowhouse14.blogspot.com/search/label/music%20linkup%20party" title="Row House 14 Music Linkup Party"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ch7KtCEqyQg/TyWd3hMmJiI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/rqaGJ1T9_iE/s1600/Music+Linkup+Party.jpg" alt="Row House 14 Music Linkup Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

The Real Reason

We didn't decide to turn our spare bedroom into a studio and reading room for any old reason. Sure, working on stationery, cards, and architectural drawings in a dingy basement is certainly not good for getting the creative juices flowing. And curling up in a comfy chair in a bright, sunny room is the best way to indulge in a good book. But I forgot to tell you the real reason we decided to make this room what it is. Maybe it's not my reason, but Finn would sure like to argue that it's the best reason. I mean, with sun like this and comfy chairs with lots of pillows and cozy blankets, the real reason was for Finn to have an excellent napping place.

It's no secret that this is his new favorite place in the entire house. And with cute little paws like that it's hard to think his reasoning about our studio space is wrong. Has he convinced you? ;)