Bathroom Updates

Chris and I have been on a redecorating spree before my family arrives next week. We're definitely much more into modern/contemporary spaces than the previous owners. The master bath was a little too rustic/country for our tastes, so we finally tackled the room and did a complete 180 on it!
Here is the bathroom before (previous owners):



After getting our shower repaired, our bathroom became fully functional, but it was still not so pleasant to look at. Of course we painted the walls and the cabin-looking wood and ended up with something pretty decent. However, after painting the wood white, it became ever so clear that the floors were mega dingy. This I already knew as my mom and I attempted to clean the floor upon moving in. It was then that we noticed the floors were actually white as opposed to tan. Gross!

What Chris and I thought would be a one night job, turned into a whole weekend of flooring. It seemed that each tile that required cutting took two hours (1/2 hour to cut the tile only to find out too much was cut off, 1 hour to cut a new tile to perfection, and a 1/2 hour break for a bowl of ice cream to recoup). I emerged from the process achy, blistered, and ready to sleep on my new pretty (and clean!) floor.

The window still needs repainted (and the horrible spray paint on the window panes chipped off), but overall it's a room that I'm happy to spend some time in! I would've included some pictures of me working, but true to labored worker form, my pants didn't seem to stay up well enough for a decent posting picture. At least my thong was covering my crack though, which is more than can be said for I Left My Ham Sandwich in My Fat Roll for Later Plumber #1.

Last weekend we painted the front room and it's starting to look great! More on that to come, but next week expect a great post on Chris' 30th Birthday Surprise Extravaganza!

The Life of a Bus Rider

Have you ever sat next to someone on the bus who you just want to punch in the face, but refrain either because a) you don't want your mug shot showing up on the 6 o'clock news, or b) it's just not nice? Today the thought crossed my mind. The lady sitting next to me decided the bus ride home was the best time to go through her ring tones and find a new tune to hear when her daughter calls (which is probably never because she looks mega boring and talks to herself). I get that on the bus you have all the time in the world to accomplish the things you keep putting off, but now is just not the time to subject everyone to hearing beep beeps to the tune of Ten Little Indians. Why don't you join in with your fellow elders and bust open a cheesy romance novel with a Fabioesque man on the cover.


Or better yet, take a nap like Mrs. Wrinkles there in the back. Sure she smells, but if you sit towards the front then you hardly notice. Which, while I'm on the subject, is more than I can say for the others.

I ride with nice enough folk in the morning: men in business suits, ladies talking about the weather. How is it that these people are never on my bus ride home?! It seems no matter which time I leave, I never catch the morning-folk on the ride back. How in the world can the evening-folk smell like corned beef and rotten eggs? And don't get me started on the g-pa (I use this word in the exact way it should be used) who looks eerily similar to Charlie Bucket's grandpa except chooses to wear sagging yellow wind pants, Timberland shoes, and an oversized puffer coat. Seriously, what seventy year man even knows these clothes exist?

Who would have thought that I could have rambled on and on about the bus? Don't get me wrong, this is a far better class of people than those you'll find on the Lincoln buses, but it doesn't take much to beat those Lincolnites. I just never thought I'd see a 70-year-old thug. At least the bus leaves me with stories to tell instead of ranting about the traffic if I chose to drive to work instead.

A Day in Pictures

What a day - and it's only 4:00. Up 'n' at 'em as usual, Chris and I tackled some morning chores and then got down to some deep cleaning. It's a gorgeous day out and we were ready to take advantage of it. I made us a hearty breakfast of strawberry crepes and then we were off! While Chris handled the manly chores like cleaning the yard and garage, I got down and dirty in the house. Put a little music on for me, and I can clean like nobody's business.

First things first, I deep cleaned the french doors and then left them open for Lola and Trio to roam around outside. Even Lola must have been in the cleaning mood because she took advantage of the towel I laid down and wiped her paws upon entrance.


Of course I had to stop the cleaning a few times to keep an eye on the kids. Trio's exceptionally reserved about the outdoors, so I was surprised to see him investingating the backyard with Lola.
I know what you're thinking, but yes, our cat is the size of a small dog. In fact, Lola and Trio are the exact same weight - a healthy 17 lbs. :)

After finishing the doors, I moved on to cleaning the inside of the fireplace and then I was off for more misadventures in the kitchen. The oven had been running on self-clean all morning, and just as I was getting ready to bake, I noticed that the latch wouldn't budge from the lock position. I was in the middle of making Runzas. How do these babies look?!


If you answered beautiful, then you would be correct. Once Chris got home from some errands, he was able to unjar the door (I guess it just needed a man's touch) so I could proceed with cooking my masterpieces. They turned out golden brown and delectable, as expected.


After chowing down I was up to the master bath to lay down a few more tiles. Those suckers are are much more difficult than HGTV makes it seem! We started last night by laying down all of the ones that didn't need cut. We got those done in an hour and were having the time of our lives. Then came the tricky part: cutting the tiles to perfection. It seems like each one takes an hour. I was working with a particularly tough cut for around the vanity and got a nice straight cut along with numerous blisters. The only thing keeping me going was the lady across the street.

I haven't met many of my neighbors yet, so I don't really know her story. From my second story window it seemed that she was 60ish and kooky. My ears first perked up after hearing someone repeating "tweety" in a sing-song voice. I got up to spy out of the window just to see her return inside. A couple of minutes later, she returns singing "tweety bird" over and over. I look out again and she's just sitting on her front porch looking up at a chirping bird. I hope that she soon moves on to a nursing home (*cough* psych ward *cough*) so we have a shot at getting a neighbor our own age and sanity level.

Man, I love cookies!

My new purchase of a buffet for the old dining room has prompted me to bake goodies every weekend so I can fill my pretty glass cake stand adorning the buffet. This weekend I made some yummy grapefruit cookies per Stephanie's recommendation.

Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

Original Source: Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Grated zest of 1 Ruby Red grapefruit, plus 1/4 cup freshly squeezed juice
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large egg yolks
Pink Grapefruit Cream Filling (see recipe below)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In a small bowl, combine zest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Add egg yolks, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Beat in reserved zest-sugar mixture.
Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the juice, and beat to combine.
Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out disk to 1/8 inch thick using a lightly floured rolling pin. Using a lightly floured 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place about 1 inch apart on prepared sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes. Transfer parchment paper and cookies to rack to cool completely.
Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon filling onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping flat sides down. Once filled, cookies can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.


Pink Grapefruit Cream Filling

Ingredients
Makes enough to fill 15 sandwich cookies.
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice

Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in honey. Add juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside until ready to use.


They were meant to be sandwiched, but having only a star cookie cutter, I decided to just slather them with extra icing. I think they would have been a little more soft and chewy had they been circles, but they were delicious nonetheless. They had a tartness like a lemon cookie, but they were still sweet and the buttery frosting was the perfect finishing touch. Obviously, the bulk of them had to be sent away to Chris' work so I couldn't get my hands on them. Of course they all had rave reviews, which would explain the fiasco at home. After five minutes of being home on Monday, the beautiful cookies went from looking like this:


To this:


Update: The last two cookies were eaten shortly after this picture was taken. :) I just can't help myself when my two favorite foods - fruit and cookies - come together to form a yummy goodness.


My other obsession? Seltzer water. I buy out the stock at Hy-Vee every time it's available. However, Hy-Vee is often out of seltzer water. I can't help but think that I'm the only one buying this stuff, so they must not get it in stock very often. I go through about a 2-litre per day if it's available and often carry it around the house as if it were a 20-oz bottle of water. I also carry them around in my purse, stock them in the study room fridge at work, and bring them in the car with me when I'm out and about. So, if you're ever at Hy-Vee and they have this stuff in stock, then be sure to pick me up a few bottles!