Monday, April 30, 2012

Random Decor

Bench from a coffee tablebhg.com
Side table into bench!!!

..outlets under the cabinets! under cabinet lighting

love thisbeautiful blinds. just add ribbon to the edge

I love the balance of everything in this room!beautiful balance of shape, color, texture, scale!

I totally cut this out of the magazine- love it!someday my room will look put together like this

somedayso beautiful I want to cry

Who wouldnt want to sneak in here and read?such a sweet space

exactly what i wantan option for the house paint scheme

cutebunk bed installed
walldisplay2_01I always need a guideline for this!

First impressions

DOORS!
paint the pantry door an accent color.  I love beautiful doorsthehouseofsmiths.com
Sheet metal inside cupboard to hide all the stuff you would put on your fridge.kandjstaats.blospot.com
Pocket door pantry. never would've thought of this!toppics.justfreight.org
I love the large house numberleethegrapohicsqueen.com
I love the large house numbers here


Drawer Solutions

TONS of great suggestions on what to do when building a new house.ths.gardenweb.com
Great idea! pegboard inserts can be sized to fit existing drawers and the pegs can be adjusted to secure stacks of bowls and plates. TUPPERWARE!bhg.com
Outlet drawer.daily5remodel.com
Kitchen ideas Pull-out cutting board above your pull-out garbage can. thefarmchicks.typepad.com
Pan organizinginspirationofdecoration.blogspot.com
Pot organizationkitchens.com

Flavored Water

CITRUS CUCUMBER WATER

  • 1 large lemon, sliced
  • 1 large lime, sliced
  • 1 large orange, sliced
  • 1 large cucumber, sliced
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Place all the sliced fruits and the cucumber in a glass pitcher and add water. Refrigerate for two hours to allow flavors to infuse, then serve in glasses over ice.

CUCUMBER–HERBAL WATER

  • 5 cups water
  • 10 thin slices of cucumber
  • 2 lemon slices
  • 2 sprigs of fresh mint
  • 3 sprigs of rosemary

Put water in pitcher and add lemon slices and cucumber slices. Crush mint and rosemary to release flavor, then add to other ingredients. Refrigerate for several hours. Serve over ice in tall glasses. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

CUCUMBER–MELON WATER

  • 1 large cucumber, sliced
  • 1/4 honeydew melon, cubed
  • 1/4 cantaloupe, cubed
  • 1 half-gallon water

Place cucumber and melons in a glass pitcher and add water. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then serve over ice. Garnish with melon balls skewered on a swizzle stick.

HONEYDEW–LIME WATER

  • 2–3 slices of ripe honeydew melon
  • 1 lime, sliced
  • 4 sprigs of mint
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add melon slices, lime slices and mint sprigs to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Makes about 8 servings.

HERB AND BERRY–FLAVORED WATER

  • 1 cup fresh blueberries, lightly crushed
  • 2 4–inch sprigs of fresh rosemary. lightly bruised (to release more flavor)
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add blueberries and rosemary sprigs to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Makes about 8 servings.

LEMON–LAVENDER WATER

  • 3 large lemons, sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh lavender
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add lemon slices and lavender to pitcher; pour water over both and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice and garnish with a sprig of lavender.

LEMON–MINT or LEMON-BASIL WATER

  • 4 lemons, sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups firmly packed fresh mint or basil leaves
  • 6–8 cups water
  • 6–8 cups ice cubes
  • Fresh mint or basil sprigs

Place lemon slices in a large pitcher. Rub the mint or basil leaves between the palms of your hands to bruise the leaves slightly. Add to the pitcher with lemon and pour in the water. Cover and chill 1–8 hours.

Strain lemon–water mixture and discard herbs. Divide lemon slices and additional fresh mint or basil sprigs equally among 6–8 glasses. In each glass, add 1 cup of ice cubes, then fill with lemon water.

LEMON, LIME AND ORANGE WATER

  • 1 large lemon, sliced
  • 1 large lime, sliced
  • 1 large orange, sliced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves (optional)
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add citrus slices (and cilantro leaves, if desired) to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Garnish with your favorite citrus slice (and a sprig of cilantro, if you’re using that). Makes about 8 servings.

FROZEN FRUIT WATER

  • 2 cups frozen apple chunks, grapes, or berries
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add frozen fruit to a pitcher; pour water over fruit and let sit at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Stir to distribute fruit flavor and serve in glasses with some ice cubes. (Note: you can chop up the same kind of fruit, unfrozen, and follow same directions. You’ll need to use more ice when serving the unfrozen fruit–flavored water).

ORANGE–MINT WATER

  • 3 large oranges, sliced
  • 10 mint leaves
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Put sliced oranges and mint leaves in pitcher and add water; refrigerate for 2 hours to infuse flavors. Pour over ice and garnish with a sprig of mint and orange slice.

WATERMELON–BASIL WATER

  • 2 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
  • 10 basil leaves
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Pour water over melon and basil; refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice, garnished with a sprig of basil.

FRUIT WATER

  • 1 each of the following fruits: apple, lemon, orange, pear
  • 4 large strawberries
  • Handful of raspberries
  • Handful of mint leaves
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Cut large slices or thin wedges of each fruit; place them in a large glass pitcher and add cold water. Refrigerate 2 hours and serve over ice in tall glasses.

Candy Cane Windows

Put these in the windows for some fun Christmas Flare

Funny 30th Birthday Idea

Stick 30 suckers in a box with a note that says

30 sucks!


hahaha

Family Halloween idea

Snowflakes

This site has some great snowflake ideas

Sour-ish dough bread

Artisan Bread

makes four 1 pound loaves.

3 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated fast acting yeast (2 packets)
1-1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6-1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached all purpose white flour *

* (My favorite way to make this bread now is to use half bread flour, half all-purpose flour and throw in 3/4 cup wheat bran into the dough.)

tip: After baking, if your bread is gummy on the inside, try either increasing the amount of flour by 1/4 cup and/or increasing the baking time by 5-10 minutes.

Also, If the dough is just too sticky for you to work with comfortably, increase the flour in your next batch.


Mixing and Storing the Dough

1. Warm the water slightly. It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature, about 100 degrees F. Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours.

2. Add yeast and salt to the water in a 5 quart bowl or a plastic container with a lid.

(Note: I dump all this in my KitchenAid mixer, let it mix it for just about 10 seconds and then put it in the plastic container. I just find it easier to let the mixer do this part).

3. Mix in the flour - kneading is unnecessary. Add all of the flour at once, measuring the flour by scooping it and leveling it off with a knife. Mix with a wooden spoon - do not knead. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. This step is done in a matter of minutes. The dough should be wet and loose.

4. Allow to rise. Cover with a lid (not airtight). Lidded plastic buckets designed for dough storage can be purchased many places. (I used a plastic square food storage container at my local grocery store. I just punctured a small hole in the top). You want the gases to be able to escape a little. You can also do this in a large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and puncture a small hole in the top. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on top), about two hours. Longer rising times will not hurt your dough. You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period. Fully refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and is easier to work with than dough at room temperature. So, the first time you try this method, it's best to refrigerate the dough overnight (or at least 3 hours) before shaping a loaf.

Baking

5. Shape your loaf. Place a piece of baking parchment paper on a pizza peel (don't have a pizza peel - use an unrimmed baking sheet or turn a rimmed baking sheet upside down). Sprinkle the surface of your dough in the container with flour. Pull up and cut off about a 1-pound piece of dough (about the size of a grapefruit), using scissors or a serrated knife. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball as you go. Dust your hands with flour if you need to. This is just to prevent sticking - you don't want to incorporate the flour into the dough. The top of the dough should be smooth - the object here is to create a "gluten cloak" or "surface tension". It doesn't matter what the bottom looks like, but you need to have a smooth, tight top. This whole step should take about 30 seconds! Place the dough onto your parchment paper.

6. Let the loaf rise for about 30 - 40 minutes (it does not need to be covered). If it doesn't look like it has risen much, don't worry - it will in the oven. This is called "oven spring".

7. Preheat a baking stone on the middle rack in the oven for at least 20 minutes at 450 degrees F. Place an empty rimmed baking pan or broiler pan on a rack below the baking stone. This pan is for holding water for steam in the baking step. (If you don't have a baking stone, you can use a baking sheet, but you will not get the crisp crust on the bottom. You will still have a great loaf of bread. Baking stones are cheap and easy to find - Target carries them - and are a must for making pizzas, so go out and get one as soon as you can.)

8. Dust the loaf with a little flour and slash the top with a knife. This slashing is necessary to release some of the trapped gas, which can deform your bread. It also makes the top of your bread look pretty - you can slash the bread in a tic tac toe pattern, a cross, or just parallel slashes. You need a very sharp knife or a razor blade - you don't want the blade to drag across the dough and pull it. As the bread bakes, this area opens and is known as "the bloom". Remember to score the loaves right before baking.

9. Bake. Set a cup of water next to your oven. Slide the bread (including the parchment paper) right onto the hot baking stone. Quickly pour the water right into the pan underneath the baking stone and close the oven door. This creates the necessary steam to make a nice crisp crust on the bread. Bake at 450 F for about 30 - 35 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf. Make sure the crust is a deep golden brown. When you remove the loaf from the oven, you will hear it crackle for a while. In baking terms, this is called "sing" and it is exactly what you want.

10. Cool. Allow the bread to cool for the best flavor and texture. It's tempting to eat it when it's warm, and that's fine, but the texture is better after the bread has cooled.

11. Store the remaining dough in the refrigerator in your lidded (not airtight) container and use for up to 14 days. Every day your bread will improve in flavor. Cut off and shape more loaves as you need them. When your dough is gone, don't clean the container. Go ahead and mix another batch - the remaining bits of dough will contribute flavor to the next batch, much like a sourdough starter does!

The Italian Dish
theitaliandishblog.com

Spring Cleaning ideas

FOYER
  1. Dust lighting fixtures.
  2. Wash walls and trim
  3. Wash doors, knobs and switch plates.
  4. Wash bench or other furnishings. Launder bench cushion, if applicable.
  5. Empty out coat closet. Wash walls and floor. Sort items as you return them to the closet. Store out of season items, donate unneeded items.
  6. Clean or replace entry mat.
  7. Sweep and scrub floors.
  8. Reseal grout lines, if necessary.
BEDROOMS
  1. Open windows
  2. Dust furniture.
  3. For each drawer: remove items, wash drawer, place items back neatly. Donate Items you no longer need.
  4. Remove everything from closets. Sweep and wash closet floor. Put everything back neatly. Donate items you no longer need. Try not to store things on closet floor.
  5. Move Bed. Sort and put away anything that was under bed. Sweep or vacuum under bed. Try not to store things under bed.
  6. Put bed back. Freshen mattress by sprinkling with baking powder, letting sit briefly, and the vacuuming it up..
  7. Launder bedding and curtains. Wash pillows and duvet in hot water. Air out mattress pad, if you have one.
  8. Dust lights. Clean lamp shades.
  9. Wash windows and window sills. Take out and wash window screens.
  10. Wash switch plates. Wash walls and trim.
  11. Wash mirrors or dust art.
  12. Wash doors and doorknobs.
  13. Wash floor registers and other vent covers.
  14. Sweep and wash floor or vacuum.

      BATHROOMS
      1. Open windows
      2. Empty all cabinets and vanity. Wash inside, replace items neatly. Discard expired medications and cosmetics.
      3. Wash outside of cabinets and vanities
      4. Clean tub. Wax if necessary. Clean drain.
      5. Clean toilet, inside and out. Remove seat and clean around seat bolts.
      6. Clean sink and drain.
      7. Shine faucets.
      8. Clean mirror and frame .
      9. Dust light fixtures.
      10. Wash windows and window sills. Take out and wash window screens.
      11. Wash switch plates. wash walls and trim. Wash doors and door knobs.
      12. Wash floor registers and other vent covers.
      13. Sweep and wash floors.
      14. Reseal grout lines.
      KITCHEN
      1. Open windows.
      2. Remove and clean window coverings. Click here for instructions on cleaning mini blinds.
      3. For each cabinet or drawer: Remove items, wipe out drawer, place items back neatly. Donate unneeded items.
      4. Wash and sanitize cutting boards
      5. Sharpen knives
      6. Wash cabinet doors and knobs
      7. Clean and organize pantry. Check food expiry dates.
      8. Clean oven.
      9. Clean stove top. Remove elements and drip bowls, if applicable, wash and put back.
      10. Clean and organize fridge and freezer. Defrost freezer, if necessary. Check food expiry dates.
      11. Clean under fridge and stove.
      12. Vacuum refrigerator coils.
      13. Clean microwave.
      14. Clean crumbs out of toaster.
      15. Clean and descale kettle.
      16. Wipe down any other counter appliances
      17. wash counters and back splash.
      18. Wash and shine sink. Shine faucet. Clean drain.
      19. Clean Dishwasher.
      20. Dust light fixtures.
      21. Wash windows and window sills. Remove window screens and wash.
      22. Wash switch plates.
      23. Wash walls and trim.
      24. Wash doors and door knobs.
      25. Wash floor registers and other vent covers
      26. Sweep and wash floor.
      27. Reseal grout lines, if necessary.
      DINING ROOM
      1. Open windows.
      2. Wash curtains.
      3. Wipe down table and chairs.
      4. Wipe down or dust other furnishing.
      5. clean chair pads, if applicable.
      6. Polish table, if necessary
      7. Create a pretty spring vignette on table!
      8. Dust any displayed china or serving dishes.
      9. Launder table linens.
      10. Shine silverware.
      11. Dust art.
      12. Wash windows and window sills. Take out and wash window screens.
      13. Wash switch plates
      14. Wash walls and trim.
      15. Wash doors and door knobs
      16. Wash floor registers and other vent covers.
      17. Clean floors.
      LIVING ROOM/ FAMILY ROOM/ PLAYROOM
      1. Open windows.
      2. Vacuum sofas.
      3. Spot clean sofas, if applicable.
      4. Launder throw pillows and blankets.
      5. Dust shelves, furniture and decor.
      6. Clean lamps and lampshades.
      7. Wash windows and window sills.
      8. Take out and wash window screens.
      9. Clean television screen.
      10. Carefully dust electronics.
      11. Tidy electronics wires. Tuck nicely out of sight. Label them, if practical.
      12. Sort through music and DVD collections. Purge things that no longer suit your families interests. Organize what is left in an attractive manner.
      13. Sort books and magazines. Donate or recycle ones that no longer suit your families interests.
      14. Wash hard plastic children's toys with warm soapy water. Rinse and dry. Launder stuffed toys. Donate or store toys that your children have grown too old for.
      15. Wash switch plates.
      16. Wash walls and trim.
      17. Wash doors and knobs.
      18. Wash floor registers and other vent covers.
      19. Clean floors.

      LAUNDRY ROOM
      1. Open windows.
      2. Wash windows and window sills.
      3. Take out and wash window screens.
      4. Wash cabinet doors.
      5. Wash inside cabinets.
      6. Wash laundry sink. Shine faucet. Clean drains.
      7. Wash outside of washer and dryer.
      8. Wash inside of washing machine.
      9. Wash lint trap with soap and water to remove filmy build-up from laundry soaps and dryer sheets. Let air dry thoroughly before putting back in place.
      10. Wash switch plates.
      11. Wash walls and trim.
      12. Wash doors and door knobs.
      13. Wash floor registers and other vent covers.
      14. sweep and wash floors.
      15. Reseal grout lines, if applicable.
        STAIRWELLS
        1. sweep/vacuum stairs
        2. Spot clean walls.
        3. Wipe down handrail.
        4. Dust art and light fixtures.
        OUTSIDE
        1. Sweep porches and walkway.
        2. Wash thresholds.
        3. Wash exterior doors. Give front door a fresh coat of paint, if necessary.
        4. Clean or replace welcome mat.
        5. Wash siding.

        REMEMBER TO:
        • Clean blades of ceiling fans.
        • Sort through and organize family photographs (digitally or into albums).
        • Sort and clean any extra zones such as linen closets, utility closets and office spaces.

        ***Read the introduction to this list, complete with some helpful tips, by clicking HERE.

          Happy Cleaning!