What I Did With Those Blueberries

Thank you for all of your suggestions on what I can do with 5 lbs of blueberries. 

I'm glad to report that we've eaten them all!

I checked out allrecipes.com and found some great and delicious looking recipes using blueberries, but.... I was too nervous to try any of them out.  I know. I suck... Plus, I was pressed for time and was scared to fail because then I would have to write about it and you all would truly see how seriously unskilled I am in the kitchen. 

So, I came up with 3 super-easy-absolutely-no-effort-involved ways to use those yummy berries for the party we hosted on Saturday for my brother's birthday.

1. Mixed green salad with glazed walnuts, feta cheese, blueberries, and a light raspberry vinaigrette! This salad was yummy and really flavorful. I probably had 5 servings of it throughout the day.

2. Blueberry Margaritas!! Genius, right?! Luckily, we have one of those Margaritaville machines, so I just put ice in the machine, threw all the ingredients into the pitcher and pressed that shiny blue button.  Perfectly blended margaritas in under a minute!  The drinks were fruity enough for the ladies, but also in a cool shade of deep blue/purple so the guys didn't feel too embarrassed to drink it. 

3. Frozen blueberries in a bowl! I couldn't think of any other ideas, so I just put a bunch of berries in bowls around the house.  People loved them since it was hot that day and the berries were refreshing. 

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the bowls, but I'm sure you get the idea. Source

I really did have big plans to do something that required more effort... but in the end, I'm glad to have found these simple ways to use the tiny blue fruit. 

I'm Feeling Blue...berries

The kitchen is my favorite room in our house.  It's not gigantic, but it's filled with tons of fun gadgets that we registered for during our wedding and has pretty granite tops and a fun stone backsplash. 

This picture was taken before we moved in when I was showing my mom the house.  Sorry, I don't have a recent picture of all our kitchen gadgets, but you can see the counter tops and backsplash.  That's my mom. 

The problem is:  I don't cook or bake (much).  Sure, I'll make a pasta meal or grill some chicken every few weeks, and during holidays I like to whip up my go-to appetizers and dessert recipes, but other than that, the kitchen stays pretty unused.  That's why it's so pretty. 

Anyway, my wonderful FIL stopped by this morning and delivered 5 lbs of blueberries that he got on his recent trip to Oregon.  FIVE POUNDS!! (I understand to some that may not seem like a lot, but I never buy blueberries at the store -- though I do love eating them when they're available)

I took a handful to work today to eat as a snack, but... what am I going to do with the rest of the 4.98 lbs?!

So, I am on a mission.  I am looking for wonderful recipes (easy enough for a complete cooking/baking idiot) that incorporate blueberries.   That way, I can finally use some of the cool kitchen doohickies that have been collecting dust in the past year. I'm throwing a party for my brother's birthday at the house this weekend, so I hope to have a few ideas by then.... but I kinda need help. 

How do I know if a recipe is "good"?  Do you have any yummy ones you'd like to share?

Simple Joys: Rearranging Furniture

Sometimes, it's the simple things that put a smile on your face and give you that extra kick in your step.

The other day when we cleaned our master bedroom, we did a little furniture rearranging, too!

It was a very easy and seemingly minor change - we moved our bed from one side of the room to the other.

No biggie, right?

Well, that's what I thought, too... but for some reason, I was really excited to go to bed that night. I love sleep and always looked forward to getting some shut eye, but I felt inexplicably extra giddy jumping into bed. It kind of felt like I was on vacation and had something super exciting to look forward to the next day (I didn't - I just had work).

I got up waaay earlier than usual the following morning - I only had to snooze my alarm clock ONCE. Matthew didn't have to push me off the bed to get me up. I felt great and the thought of having to commute 62 miles to get to work didn't give me the feeling of dread it usually does on a Monday morning.

Our private space felt brand new but at the same time familiar. It was nice.

Who knew simple things like moving your bed could make your day that much brighter?

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On a separate note, this week's theme on the iheartfaces photo challenge is "pets". Unfortunately, I do not currently (this is a hint for the hubs) have a fancy camera, so my picture was taken using my iPhone. I didn't put much thought in taking the picture, so the lighting is awful and the composition is whack. I'm 100% positive I won't win, but I just had to post a picture of the cutest bulldog brothers in the world :)

Stay-in Sundays

Yesterday was Sunday and it was the only Sunday this month that we got to stay at home and relax...


Wait, no we didn't.


Rewind.

I knew June was going to be a busy month filled with a wedding, father's day, recital, graduations, and birthdays. I love busy months - don't get me wrong. Having something to look forward to on the weekends made for fast work weeks, and who doesn't love the company of great family and friends?

However, having busy weekends, also meant that we didn't have too much free time to enjoy the quiet moments with each other. I savor the Saturday mornings where we wake up at ten, stay in bed for an hour longer mapping out the day's plans, then enjoy a nice homemade brunch in the quiet of our kitchen nook. The rest of those days are usually spent lounging with our babies and catching up on our guilty pleasure shows that have been piling up on the DVR... I love those simple stay-in days... and I was hoping we'd have that yesterday since we finally had a day free of outings.

Then, I opened my mouth and asked my husband what he wanted for his birthday. I thought he was going to answer with the standard, "Oh! I want [insert new collection obsession here]!" or "Let's go on a trip to [insert any of the many places I've been hinting him to take me -- oh wait, it's not my birthday?]!"

Instead, he said this:

"For my birthday, I want a clean house."

For those of you who know me, you know I'm not the tidiest person in the world... yeah, I am not known to clean up after myself very often (I'm the baby of the family, so I guess I was a little spoiled in that department)... but I'm not completely disgusting... right? I do the dishes.... sometimes... and I think I vacuumed the house last week.... OK, fine! I'm kind of a slob. There. I said it.

I'm not perfect and I am the first to admit that, but disclosing that I am too lazy to pick up after myself for all of the interwebs to see, is pretty darn embarrassing. (I'm not 100% a slob... just 85%)

Matthew is no neat freak himself, but he is definitely better at it than I am... I would say 80% of the mess is my doing, so it's only fair that I take responsibility for cleaning it up.

I like being organized and having a neatly kept house... When we know we are having people over, I will definitely make sure that the blinds are dusted, the floors are mopped, dishes are done, books in bookshelf alphabetized, and no dirty undergarments are left out in the open. So, for those of you who come over to our house once or twice a year, you would think I was Mrs. Clean (sorry if I've shattered your illusion of me).

Well, we haven't had a party at the house since... oh, Thanksgiving, I think... so.... you can say we had a lot of catching up to do.

Our main problem area is the master bathroom. The master bath is the last room we clean/organize because no one sees it but us. I told you all about the tub situation, but I also failed to mention that our walk-in closet is the most unorganized it's ever been! 90% of my clothes were all over the floor. Matthew has had to climb over the different piles I created just to get to his side of the closet (poor guy). I only lived off of whatever came out of the dryer, so there were lots of outfit pieces I hadn't seen in months.

OK, back to the present. Matthew wanted a clean house for his birthday present, so that's what I gave him.

I woke up bright and early-ish (hey, 9:30 is early for me on a Sunday!) and got started. I knew the closet was going to take the longest, so I dove into my clothes pile and started organizing. I will spare you the details of how I organized everything, but just know that it took 5 hours to finish... Matthew and I did a million loads of laundry in between the organizing and eventually emptied the tub-o-clothes.

Then, I worked on our grimy shower. Let me tell you... My parents never made me do chores - let alone clean the shower - and I guess I never understood (until now) how hard and gross it really is! YUCK! Since we've never it's been a while since the shower was cleaned, it took for-eh-vah to complete. I have never felt so dirty coming out of a shower in my entire life.

I cleaned the rest of the bathroom, including the tub (which I'm super excited to use now!) and moved on to the kitchen and dining room. I think Matthew saw the sweat rings on my shirt (I never sweat) and the tub grime in my hair, so he gave pity on me and we tag-teamed the kitchen/dining room duties.

It took a really long time, but I am happy to report that we have a very clean house upstairs! Yeah... I didn't really have time to finish the 2nd half of the house - darn closet took forever! However, I will work on finishing the rest of the house sometime this week. Hopefully in time for the weekend, in case we have any last minute 4th of July shindigs at the house.

So, yeah... we had a Stay-in Sunday... but not quite the relaxing one I had in mind.

It would have been waaay easier if he'd just ask for that darn soda dispenser system!!! (His new hobby)

Happy Birthday, love!

Top 3 Ways Our Bathtub is Used

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I wished we used our bathtub to bathe. It is pretty, nicely decorated with candles and frames, and has a nice view of the hills... but we don't. I think I've only bathed in it once since we've bought our house... that was almost 3 years ago. Instead, we use our shower since it's more convenient and a lot quicker to get in and out of during our morning routine rush.

One day, we will use the tub the way it's meant to be used, but for now, here is a list of how our beloved tub is being utilized:

snippet of our master bathroom floor plan

1. Extended Hamper: I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but our tub is used as a hamper more than anything else. Currently, there is a GINORMOUS pile of dirty clothes in it, waiting to be washed. We try to do laundry everyday, but somehow, life happens and days go by before we put another load into our washer. I probably have clothes that I haven't seen since winter in there. No, really... it's sad, but true. The good thing is, we have a solid plan on how to conquer the giant monster tub of clothes, and I can see an improvement already. Yay, us!

2. Chair/Stool: I like to be seated when I put on my make-up or fix my hair, but we don't have a chair in the bathroom. The tub has turned out to be the perfect solution. It's nicely situated in front of the mirror over the double sinks, so I can finish getting ready without any difficulty. Also, because of the stack of clothes in the tub, it is super easy to stand on the pile and use it as a stool if I need to cut Matthew's hair (rarely do I do this, but sometimes I help buzz his head).

3. Dining Table:

source

Ha, just kidding... though that pasta does look pretty delicious.

I can't think of another way we use our tub and a list isn't a real list with only 2 entries.... so I decided to throw that picture in.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is, our tub is not being used and I am not happy about that. Especially since it is now officially summer, I would love to draw myself a nice cool bath with fun summery scented bath salts and stew in it all day.

Matthew's not big into baths, but maybe I can convince him by getting a fun, manly, toy ship he can play with (Friends reference, anyone?).

I'll keep you posted on the progress of our tub... Maybe I'll even be able to show you some before and after pictures soon :)