Our Home: Hallway and Laundry Room

Happy Tuesday! Who's excited?! This girl! I have lots going on this week that is Christmas related and I am just THRILLED to get into it =) I'm feeling very festive this year! I am in a really good place =) So, today I wanted to share pictures of the hallway near the bedrooms and our laundry room.

Hallway

I know that neither of these are REALLY exciting to most people - but I love the makeover! The hallway felt really narrow (not that it is that wide) but it was very dimly lit and the paint was, well, a disaster

Before

After

Laundry Room

I know what you are thinking - "what is so great about a laundry room?" Well, my friends, the laundry room we previously had was OUTSIDE and a bit dirty and if it was dark outside I was NOT going out there. THIS laundry room is INSIDE =) and adorable, if I may say so myself =)

Before

After

What room in your house do you like to brag about??
I hope you are enjoying the home tour!!

Christmas Time Is Here!

Happiness and Cheer

Fun for all, the children call

Their favorite time of year!

Hi everyone!! Can you believe it - 13 days until Christmas! I just LOVE the Christmas season! I will continue to share pictures of the house -- I know 2 rooms is a HUGE tease. BUT I wanted to share with you our Christmas tree and a few pictures that were taken =) We picked this tree out on the first shot! Last year we must have looked at 20 trees before finding one we loved. Last week, it was the first tree we picked up!

Here are some pictures we took while decorating and then some pictures of the completed tree =)

 

 

  

I have a couple decor crafts that I plan on getting done this week...we will see how that goes! But I am SO happy with the tree! I just love it =) We have the 'traditional' Christmas decor colors: gold, red, green and then we mixed it up a little with a pale blue that i just LOVE.

Do you have a real or fake tree?
What are your Christmas decor colors?

Our Home: Spare Bathroom

I know this isn't something super glamourous but I LOVE the way it turned out. I was a little disappointed with the structure of the spare bathroom but it is definitely bigger than the 'big' bathroom at the old house. I really wanted a pedastool sink for the spare but I know that isn't necessarily the best for this particular bathroom because of the size. PLUS we would have to buy the sink and then something for storage and we were pretty tight as far as our budget was concerned anyway after closing costs, paint and flooring. So maybe one day we will upgrade - but like I said, I LOVE the way it looks NOW.

Spare Bathroom

This is a picture the day we bought the house:



After:

 



We painted, took up the linoleum and tiled, installed a new light fixture to replace the hollywood style standard bathroom light, AND my favorite part - added faux paneling!!! YAY! Oh I also painted the door knob...but I did that in every room. =)  We still need to add hooks for towels but we just haven't gotten around to that. oh and since this picture was taken, we have unpacked the box that had the shower curtain in it =)

Did you take pride in decorating your spare bathroom??

Did you do anything interesting for it?

Our Home: Formal Dining Room

Alright people -- the time has FINALLY come! I am going to start sharing the house pictures with you =) I meant to start this yesterday but I became so tied up at work that I just didn't have time. I am hoping that going forward I can get my posts together in advance...the night before at the very least lol! I had intended to share progress pictures but I think I will just share before and after...that way it will be a little more dramatic =) I am going to start with the

Formal Dining Room

This is the day we purchased the home:

This is how the room looks now:

 

We removed the carpet and installed wood laminate, painted, replaced the blinds and replaced the light fixture. We still have some decorating to do on the walls and drapes for in this room but I am really happy with the way it turned out. To be honest, because I was so involved with the process, I didn't quite realize how drastic the before and after were until I created this post! Keep in mind that the overhaul took less than two weeks. We bought the house on October 31st and moved in completely by November 12th. We started removing all the carpet and painting on November 1st and all the floors were installed by the end of the night on the 9th; leaving only the tile to be grouted on the 10th and we relaxed on the 11th and made final preparations to move out the next day. We worked our butts off to get everything unpacked by Thanksgiving Day so we could host our families =)


I am looking forward to sharing more photos of the house =) I hope you are having a great week!

Miscellany Monday

Hey Y'all!!! I'm linking up over at Lowercase Letters for Miscellany Monday!

Link up here

{One}

We had our housewarming party on Saturday night and it was a huge success! There was so much love and happiness in our house. It was amazing but can you believe it -- I didn't take a SINGLE picture! I'm really bummed about it and was a bit upset yesterday but honestly I was so busy hosting and giving tours that I just didn't think to pick up the camera.

{Two}

When I am not feeling on top of the world, I generally don't take pictures =/ I wasn't loving the way I looked on Saturday night so that MAY be part of the reason that I didn't think about a camera too.

{Three}

After work today, The Husband and I are going to pick out a Christmas Tree!!! I am so so excited to decorate this year!

{Four}

I am going to be getting a lot of my Christmas shopping finished up at lunch today! WOO! I'm thrilled about that! I am also making a trip to the craft store for a couple things to make some homemade gifts as well as a couple home decor projects for Christmas this year =) I hope to be very busy after work this week getting it all together =)

{Five}

I'm going to start sharing house pictures tomorrow!! I'm so excited TO FINALLY have the time to share the pictures =) I'll probably do one or two rooms at a time and show you before, during, and after so that you can see the transition.

{Six}

I struggle every year coming up with a Christmas list for anyone or ideas for myself. I'm pretty good about getting things together for other people but I can't really come up with ideas for myself! I try to think of things ALL year but I either forget or eventually buy it on my own! OOPS! =)

{Seven}

My office Christmas party is next week after work and I am really looking forward to it =) I have been coming up with the Christmas gift exchange gift that I want to have...we do a Chinese Gift Exchange every year at the party.  I really lobbied hard to have a Secret Santa this year and everyone was supportive of the idea. Then the boss sent out the invite for the party and said we are doing the exchange. Needless to say I was a little bummed. =/ I like buying for specific people and not just random...I LOVE doing personal gifts. Oh well -- I am still excited about what I am bringing even if I can't make it SUPER personal.

{Eight}

Last year, a group of my girlfriends started a Christmas Cookie Party tradition. Next week will be the 2nd Annual Cookie Party. I have been looking forward to this for month! We had so much fun last year -- you can read about it here. I am going to be late to it though because of the office party BUT that's OK I'm just happy to be able to be a part of it! =)

I just love this time of the year -- the decorations, the parties, the giving, the food, and all the love and happiness that is shared amongst friends and family!

What are your holiday traditions?

Deck The Halls

HAPPY DECEMBER!

I'm so excited to be celebrating our second married Christmas in our new amazing house! I can't wait to go get a tree and decorate the house! I LOVE that we have decided to start getting real trees - at least for a while. =)

I'm thinking we will need to take a similar Christmas picture to this:

Every year =) it makes me happy! I DO miss my long hair though! I can't wait to grow it out to wear I feel super  girlie again!! =)
Happy December Everyone! I can't wait to dive into this Christmas Season with you all!!

{Recipe} Macadamia-Crusted Fish

Today I have another recipe to share with you. I know I know -- I keep promising pictures of the house but to be honest, pictures are going to have to wait just a few more days. We are having our housewarming party this weekend, SO everything (sans craftroom) will be mostly completed and ready to be shown =)

My grandparents gave us a cookbook as part of our wedding gift and we just now pulled it out this weekend to try a new recipe. I'm so happy we did this! The recipe we decided to try was

Macadamia-Crusted Mahi Mahi

::INGREDIENTS::
1 cup panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 egg
2 tsp water
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2-4 fillets mahi mahi (<-- we used trigger fish)
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp ginger

::DIRECTIONS::
-In a bowl, mix bread crumbs, macadamia nuts, salt, and pepper.
-In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and water.
-Coat fillets with flour, the dip in egg mixture; roll fillet in nut mixture.
-In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; cook fillets for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden brown.
-In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, and ginger. Optional: microwave sauce, uncovered, on high for 30-60 seconds.
-Drizzle sauce over fish.

This was a fairly simple recipe from our Taste of Home cookbook. We paired it with mac 'n' cheese, although I think next time we will try some garlic mashed potatoes. No judging the sides either -- I know the meal isn't balanced...that's how I roll haha =)  Oh and J didn't like the ginger, so he made his own sauce with the soy sauce and brown sugar.

I loved the texture and flavor of the crust mixed with the sauce. As previously mentioned, we used trigger fish as we didn't have an mahi.

Where do you normally find your new recipes?