New House Tour {Before}

The husband and I have been busy bees trying to get paint on the walls and furniture in the right rooms and I can finally say that the house is coming together!! {Slowly}

I am not quite ready to take the after pictures, but what are after pictures without before pictures??

 

So here is a little tour of the house before - excuse the DISASTER we didn't want to commit to anything yet lol

Home Sweet Home!

{View from the driveway}

 

Right side of fireplace 

{View from front door} 

Living room wall - behind couch

{Entrance on right leads into the hallway}

 Main wall of living room - houses the fireplace

 Windows in living room facing front yard

{View from breakfast area}

View through living room, breakfast area and 'mini mudroom'

 

The breakfast/dining area

{The area in the back has a small step down into what I call our "mini mudroom". It leads to the backyard}

 

Left wall {shared with kitchen} of the breakfast/dining area

P.S. - See the sticky notes? They totally have measurements and color names on them so we wouldn't paint the wall the wrong color!

 

Extra room that used to be the garage

{Ignore the duck...}

 

 The entrance to the kitchen {View from the sink}

Kitchen sink and windows to backyard

{Same as above, but with the 'new' dishwasher}

 

 The empty corner that is supposed to house a pantry, but doesn't

{This isn't a TRUE before pic, because that stove is new {to us} and waaaay better than it's predecessor}

 

Full bath complete with vintage retro painted tile!

 Half bath also starring the painted tile...in teal!

Laundry room - it has a window :)

After pictures to come shortly, but for now I can only concentrate on one thing...

AGGIE FOOTBALL
#BTHOBAMA
#JOHNNYFOOTBALL
#ROLLTEARSROLL

 

Life and It's Lessons

When I was a kid I couldn't wait to grow up. I couldn't wait to get a "big girl" job, wear a business suit and drink Starbucks.

I couldn't wait to have my own money and a credit card - OH LORD, I wanted a credit card.

I wanted my own kitchen, so I could wear an apron and bake cupcakes {because that is the only thing you do in a kitchen, right?}

What I never thought about was what all of those things come with...

Like a credit card comes with interest rates; A kitchen comes with an electricity bill; A business suit comes with a dry cleaning bill and don't get me started on what comes with a "big girl" job. Being a grown up isn't always fun...WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME!?

Okay so while I sat around writing this I thought to myself - "Self, you sound pretty damn whiny..." And I was right.

After being with Ford for so many years, I realize (and then I forget and then I realize again - it's a cycle) that I take for granted all of the milestones and life changing moments that we have been through together.

Not everyone can say that they learned to drive with the one they love; or walked across, not one, but two graduation stages with the one they love; or celebrated their first legal drink with the one they love; or had the best and worst experiences in life in college with the one they love; or walked down the aisle and married the one they love; or lived together for the first time with the one they love; or any of the other wonderful things that we have added to our memory lane.

So where are we now?

Our first house together (it's a rental, but hey, a house is a house people) ---Exciting, scary, fun and stressful are the emotions we are sharing at the moment.

So here is to new adventures and figuring it out along the way. To cupcakes, briefcases and being a "big girl."

Count your blessings and live in each moment - you only get one chance.

Special Brownies...The Black Bean Kind

Diets are all the rage. Whether you're pretending you're a cave man or pretending you live in the Mediterranean, there is a fad diet for you to obsess over.

Recipes for these diets fill my Pinterest feed and I can't help but think that some of them actually sound decent. {And the photos aren't half bad either}

I have tried a few healthy dinner options and those work out just fine usually, because there are lots of things to supplement for fattie foods like heavy cream or a stick of butter. BUT - and that is a big but - I get really skeptical when it comes to "healthy" desserts, because how the hell do you make chocolate and sugar healthy and still taste good? <<VERY IMPORTANT

Well, since the summertime fat blues have officially kicked in, I figure it's time to try some, because sweets {chocolate specifically} are my weakness. I came across a great blog on Pinterest and hallelujah, it focuses on healthy food, desserts specifically!

Katie from Chocolate Covered Katie, is a girl after my own heart and now her recipes are gracing my kitchen counters! {Well one is...multiple to go}

This weekend I started my "healthy desserts" journey with her recipe for black bean brownies and I have to say that as I was adding the ingredients into my food processor, I was giggling to myself because I couldn't wait to serve these bad boys to everyone without telling them what they were.

Side note: I don't have kids yet, but I have a husband and sometimes I feel like he is a child... and I knew that if I handed him a brownie and told him it was made with beans he would immediately have turned up his nose and swore that he could taste them. In comes wife trickery...

So what was the verdict? 15 minutes after I cut them, there were none left!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups black beans (1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder- dutch or regular (10g) (add a little extra if desired)
• 1/2 cup quick oats (40g)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or agave (Honey will work, but not for strict vegans.) (75g)
• 2 nunaturals stevia packs or 2 tbsp sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil (40g)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips (115-140g) (Not optional. Omit at your own risk.)
• optional: more chips, for presentation

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well. (A blender can work if you absolutely must, but the texture—and even the taste—will be much better in a food processor.) Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Optional: sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top. Cook the black bean brownies 15-18 minutes, then let cool at least 10 minutes before trying to cut. Makes 9-12 brownies.

I loved this recipe because I got to use products I have never used and now have on hand for another new recipe. Next time I think I will add nuts and double the batch because the 8X8 didn't last long at my house!

And the best part is, these bad boys are only about 115 calories each! Thanks Katie - I can't wait to try these, these and these!

What healthy recipes were you skeptical about, but loved once you tried them??
- Lindsey Nicole