More Project Progress and Enchiladas

I'm writing this post... in our new office closet!  Hurray!  We're moving along in our home improvement goals.  Here's the before and after:

More gigantic holes to fix.

New outlet installed next to the desk, and all patched up and painted pretty!  Ryan found the desk next to a dumpster on our block and repaired the bottom shelf.  It's perfect! As we move into sorting out the bedroom proper we will figure out some clever way to put the big blank walls in here to good use.

Though we are making steady progress, as my patient husband constantly reminds his impatient wife who always wants to have everything done two weeks ago, there is no way we're getting all this stuff done by Easter.  (That is, Anthony's "big boy" room.) It's okay though.  I always kind of figured on that, knowing that everything always takes longer than anticipated, especially since we're learning as we go, and we're very talented procrastinators by nature.  The new baby will be in our room for a couple of months at least anyway, so it was never imperative.  I would like to get all the painting and things requiring the use of power tools done before baby, and I think that's still very attainable.  But probably not all the sewing and prettying up type of things.  Those can be added whenever, really.  Anthony's not going to care if his bulletin board matches his curtains.  Or if he even has curtains.  I shall stop being stupid and not stress.

I don't have energy to spend worrying about what we haven't done right now anyway.  I'm too sleep deprived.  Crazy pregnancy dreams and stupid leg cramps and occasionally Anthony keep waking me up.

Oh!  Lest I get sidetracked into a complaining fest, I forgot to show you our "home theater":

Yep, it's just the computer.  With my feet in front of them.  We can wheel the desk to the end of the bed and watch movies now.  Much more convenient for when I inevitably fall asleep!

Finally, I made these enchiladas for the first time on Tuesday, and they were so good that Ryan requested leftovers on Wednesday night instead of waiting a bit.  They were super easy too. 

Chicken Enchiladas (from Taste of Home)

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried coriander
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, divided
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 8 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• Melt butter in a large saucepan. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in coriander and half of the chilies. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, Monterey Jack cheese and remaining chilies.
• Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place seam side down in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Pour sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
• Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.

I think this would be a great recipe to turn to for a quick meal-delivery, which I've been needing fairly often lately.  It's a casserole for easy transportation, but NOT LASAGNA.  It's also not spicy at all; we topped it with hot salsa to taste and it was delicious.  It's also a good way to use up leftover roast chicken and stock.  Ryan's not a big soup lover, so I often find myself with a freezer full of stock that I can't use as fast as I make it. All in all, a keeper!

Happy Friday, everyone!

A Little Project

We're still working steadily on our home improvement projects in preparation for the new baby!  We've torn apart the closet that's going to become our "office":

Yikes at some of those holes!  The wood that held the shelves in place was put in with FOUR INCH nails!  Through plaster and masonry.  Ryan's parents are coming this weekend so with any luck his dad will help out a lot with this job.

We're also working on emptying out the current office and finding new homes for all the random stuff that landed there.  This is what I finished today:

I didn't take a before picture, but the wall was a darker green that I regretted as soon as I had painted it before.  Now it matches.  Our wedding photos were there.  They have not yet been rehung, but they'll probably just go on the other side of the hall. The bookcase was in that bedroom, crammed full of miscellaneous books and knick-knacks from Ryan's childhood.  (NB:  I feel that "random" is overused.  Bring back miscellany!)  Now many of them are being given away, some, such as our high school yearbooks, have been unceremoniously dumped in the basement, and the rest of them are still on the shelf, but much much fewer of them and attractively arranged.

The curtain conceals our towels, sheets, and surplus toiletry items, since we have nowhere to store them in the bathroom.  I'm really pleased with how that curtain turned out.  It's made from a sheet that I picked up at Goodwill awhile back just because I liked it.  It was meant to be, because the green of the print matches the paint color exactly.

Total project cost for fabric, lace trim, and tension rod: $15.  And I have enough of the sheet left to make a matching cafe curtain for the stair window!  (The valance was a Goodwill find as well.)

Here's something useful to know:  If you go to Joann.com, then click "Store Locator" at the bottom of the page, then "More Store Information," for any location, a button to print off a coupon for 40% any regular price item will pop up.  There seems to be no limit to how many times you can print it, but you can only use one coupon per transaction.

A happy Valentine's Day to everyone tomorrow!

2012 Home Improvement Resolutions Begun!

This is what Ryan and I have been tackling since I've gotten over the stomach flu: 

Eeeeek!!!!

This is our closet.  Or rather, was. See all those massive holes in the walls where Ryan sledgehammered out the decaying old shelves?  That dismal single-bulb light?  That icky chartruese color the closet had once been?  Well, this is that same closet now:

Lovely, no?  Ever since installing a garbage disposal for my parents over Christmas, Ryan has really been into doing electrical work himself.  This is a long closet, and the light just didn't reach very well to the end.  I was okay with not messing with the light fixture, but the dark end was my side of the closet, so Ryan really wanted it to be bright for me.  Now I have more light in my closet than at my sewing table, and Ryan is exceedingly proud of himself! He installed a switch where the old pull-cord fixture was and hung the track light along the sloping ceiling.

The wire shelves provide a lot more storage than we had. They were a bear to install, however, due to multiple trips to Lowes being needed to get all the pieces that match the right system. Why there are three apparently identical closet systems, all made by the same company, the pieces of which are not at all interchangeable, is one of the great unsolved mysteries of the universe. They were also somewhat expensive. Rubbermaid is sneaky. The shelves are really cheap, but the brackets you have to use to hold them up and all the other sundry pieces/parts are ridiculous.  But by the time you realize the grand total you've already got your shelving cut and are stuck with it.

 Finally, it was necessary to get the three levels of hanging rails along the sloped ceiling to line up precisely so that the shelves would attach, a process that had to be done by trial and error and error and error because not even methodical Ryan could get measurements that exact on our uneven walls.  God bless Anthony's godparents for watching him all day Saturday while we did that.  I am not a patient person, ever.  And I'm pregnant, with all the hormonality that implies.  And we've got even bigger projects coming up.  HGTV take note, you've got a big opportunity for reality TV here!  But we did it. One more look at the finished product:

We were prompted to tackle the closet because of the baby on the way.  This tiny person has prompted a chain reaction of necessary projects so she (I think) can claim the nursery for herself.  This was just the first step, kind of like the little old lady who swallowed a fly.

We had to
1) Redo this closet so
2) We can fit everything inside it so we can
3) Turn the other closet into an "office" so
4) Anthony can claim the office/guest room/random storage for his bedroom so
5) The baby can take the nursery

And the baby naps alone, the baby naps alone, high-ho the dairy-o, the baby naps alone.

So these are our home improvement goals for 2012, at least the part of 2012 before the baby is born!  I'm not really expecting much beyond that, since we'll be wanting to be doing more outdoor things then.  Plus of course having a newborn.  The office-closet is another big electrical project for Ryan, since there is no outlet there for the computer and the wire will have to be run a good distance.  Also another light fixture, but perhaps this one will be easier.  I have the "big kid" room--where the Montessori magic happens--mostly planned, and it requires much sewing which I'd better get going.  I'll share updates as we complete things.

Anthony really is getting to be a big kid!  He got a haircut finally, which makes him look so much older.  Also no more highchair, eating soup with a spoon, and drinking from a regular cup!