My Go To Summer (Super Easy) Party Recipe

It's been a while since there has been a recipe on the blog, and it's about time to remedy that, don't ya think? So here it is! I also wanted to put this recipe out there now because a) it is a wonderful summer recipe and b) it was made in our old kitchen and it's hilarious to see the yellow countertops! I also wanted to share it with all of you because it is probably one of the easiest things to make ever.

If you are ever invited to a party last minute or someone unexpectedly drops by and you want to whip up something that will knock their socks off and quench their hunger, then here is your answer my friends! Now let me introduce you to my homemade salsa recipe (with salsa as an ingredient - is that cheating?)

Summer Party Salsa

• Can of black beans
• Can of petite diced tomatoes
• Can of mexicorn
• Some of your favorite salsa (optional but makes it juicier)
• Cilantro to taste (also optional)
• Chips for dipping 

So what do you do with all of those ingredients? You just pop open the cans, drain and rinse them all well, and then stir together. Then add some of the salsa to make it juicier if you want. I like to add some fruity type of salsa (like mango). Then chop the cilantro and stir it in.

That's it! Isn't that easy? Now just serve it up. Or, you don't have to serve it to anyone but yourself. I have been known to make this my dinner! You definitely don't even need to just save it for summer; it can be a really yummy dip all year round.

How about you? Any go-to party recipes to share? I would love to hear about them - and make them!

Backsplash, backsplash, view all about it!

As you know, we have really been making some changes to the kitchen, first starting with new countertops and then painting our in-between-spaces kitchen cabinets and hardware. Our next and necessary step was putting up a backsplash because we had to tear out our old yellow tile backsplash (oh no, more yellow flitting out of the window of our kitchen). Since this project was going to take a while, Eric and I were living with a torn-up backsplash for two weeks. We were really ready to tackle this project to stop living in a construction zone.

Now there are many choices for backsplash, with most people going with tile. We considered going that route since there are so many choices, designs, and colors. We had also been eying another option that was most likely cheaper and easier. For us newbie diy-ers, it was appealing. It is called Fasade and it offers faux-tin tile options for backsplashes, walls, and ceilings.

They also have all sorts of colors and styles. After ordering some free samples and living with them a little while, we decided to go with this backsplash option and chose our winner.

It is ripple in brushed nickel (the one farthest on the left). So off we went to buy our supplies. Then this Saturday was the day! Eric had to work in the morning, so I was assigned prep duty. I was happy because I got to play with spray foam to fill a small gap under our window.

The spray foam was the fun part, the sanding and smoothing (as much as possible) the back walls was not as fun, but I probably got some new arm muscles! The surface for the backsplash needs to be clean and smooth. We tried the best we could and then just crossed our fingers everything would adhere.

My assignments finished, we were good to go when Eric got home. To see a detailed video on how to install the backsplash, you can view it here, but I will give you a short rundown. Warning, there are limited pictures of the actual install since this was a two person job.

First, you need to take measurements of your overall space to determine the amount of supplies that you need. Then you need will begin to make more precise measurements for each 18" x 24" panel. We took it one panel at a time, making the exact measurements for it and then dry-fitting each one to make sure we got it right. Don't you like my oh-so professional drawings and measurements below?

It was fun to do, making my brain use its math side (public relations doesn't always ask you to use much math). All the measurements had to be really precise. Eric compared it to making something out of Legos - which made him enjoy it!

When you have your measurements made for each panel and marked on the sheet, you then use a box cutter to score the panel, applying more pressure each time. Then you bend it back and forth and it just snaps off. It was actually really easy to do!

We cut against a yard stick for a straight edge and cut on a piece of wood so as not to harm anything underneath. As each piece was cut, we dry fit it, completely dry-fitting one wall and then the next, to make sure it all fit properly together. Once it was all dry-fitted, we cleaned the back of each panel with isopropyl alcohol and then applied three strips of the recommended double-sided tape. Just to make sure it all fit, we dry-fitted each piece again before adhering. Then you were done!

All-in-all it was a simple process, although it required quite a bit of precision and patience. It took us between 5-6 hours just because of all the measuring and cuts. Oh, and the triple checking that we did! But it was worth it. Now, here it is!

We also added some battery powered LED lighting to make it sparkle a little bit too. Oh, and that is totally me displaying some of the yummy veggies picked from the garden!

Now, let's do another before and after with our old yellow kitchen to where we are now!

WOW! Eric and I keep going in there to just stare. Then we look at each other and ask,. "Is that really our kitchen?" Yup, it really is. And we love it! So, let's review our kitchen makeover list and our progress.

• Paint yellow cabinet white
• Paint pea green garbage compactor black
• Paint yellow walls tan
• Put up new back splash
• Put up under mount cabinet lighting
• Change light fixtures above the kitchen and eat-in kitchen area (bought and waiting for an electrician quote on Monday!)
• Paint all hardware and hinges

Looking at that list I am impressed with the progress we are making. The next kitchen update post will be with all new lighting! I expect it to look dramatically different, especially in pictures, because we will bid farewell to our yellow florescent light.

What were you up to this past weekend? Any big projects you were able to check off your list?

PS - Want to check out the house tour of our kitchen before any updates? Check out the yellow cave here.

Testing the Kitchen Kraze

So ever since we got these beautiful, shiny new counter tops, I have literally been on a kitchen Kcraze. Yes, I spelled it wrong on purpose in the title. It looks more fun that way with the word kitchen! I have actually been daydreaming about our changes to the kitchen. This weekend another one took place, that was kind of like a test to see if we wanted to make the whole kitchen look this way. So remember this bad boy?

Well, pretty much everything needed to change underneath the counter top on this cabinet. This cabinet came like this with the house, wonderfully matching the walls (sarcasm intended). It has been on the to-do list to give a little makeover to, but low. Well my shiny Formica friends changed that. I couldn't stand to look at it anymore. So the plan was to paint it and repaint the hardware. We also saw this project as a test to see if we want to paint all the cabinets and hardware. See if I think the cabinet passed or failed the test at the end. Any predictions on your part?

Back to business. To begin, I took apart the cabinet, dismantling hardware from doors and cabinet fronts and then taking those off the actual cabinet.

Then I gathered all my supplies. This time it consisted of sand blocks (fine), Next Liquid Deglosser (with safety glasses and gloves to wear while using this chemical), beautiful nickel spray paint, and just a white semi-gloss. Since this was just a test on painting the cabinets, I just used the paint we had. If we actually paint all the cabinets I will purchase cabinet painting specific paint. However, the spray paint was our ideal paint choice for the hardware.

Then it was time to sand down everything: cabinet doors, faces, the entire cabinet, and the hardware. Since the cabinet had already been painted, it didn't really need sanding but lets just call it extra credit. Once they were sanded I used the liquid deglosser for cleanliness and security. The after pictures of the cabinets look pretty much like the pictures above, but not the hardware! After sanding the hardware, I apparently sanded years of grime off of them. Check out this exceptional before and after.

This revelation was too much to keep to myself! I thought it was so cool to find the hidden, bright gold underneath. I jetted up from the basement and outside to where Eric was working on his car to show him what I had uncovered. We both kind of marveled at how beautiful the gold was, had a fleeting moment of "How could we paint something so pretty?" and then got a hold of ourselves. Although we love the classic shape (not outdated in shape, just color in my opinion) keeping it gold would just date the kitchen. So we had an "ahh" moment and then off I went to paint.

I first started by giving a good first coat to the hardware - another item that got in on the mix. That is the shelving unit we use to hold magazines in the kitchen. When we bought it in Ikea we could have sworn it was red (to perfectly match our other pops of red) and when we got it home it was magically orange. Hmm...not worth the three hour drive to return it. So it stayed in all of its orange glory. But not for much longer!

Wonder why there is a giant piece of foam in the spray paint firing field? It was just a one of those ideas I have to say I was pretty proud of. Now look at it again.

Yup, that was my idea of how to spray paint screws without messing up the threads. It worked! Happy dance ensued! Oh, and why paint screws? You can actually see the screws in our old-school exposed hinges. You also got a sneak peek of the color in that picture. Isn't it lovely? I get all dreamy eyed when I see the results of just one can of spray paint. I did a light, even coat of spray paint, went inside to paint the cabinet, and then came to do a second coat to make it all perfect. 

To paint the cabinets, I used just a small roller that we had already, which did a pretty great job actually, but if we paint all the cabinets I will definitely get the door and cabinet rollers. They are more foam like so they don't leave those unnoticeable indentations when on the walls but show up glaringly on cabinet doors. Anyways, this is why it is a test, to see if you are doing it right! So I cut in the edges and corners using a brush and then went back with a roller to try and eliminate all brush strokes to make the surface look even. Two coats of that, two coats of the spray paint, and some dry time (overnight - boo!) and it was time to assemble.

Did I tell you that I day dream about our kitchen? Well, unfortunately all this painting went down on Sunday so dry time was overnight and while I was at work on Monday. I literally found myself day dreaming about coming home and putting the cabinet together to see the final result. And the result? So. worth. it.

Now let's see that dramatic before and after, shall we?

LOVE IT! So Team Megan is 100% into painting the cabinets now, lovely wood and all. Team Eric is probably about 95% into painting the cabinets. Our votes come with a condition, which is to finish all the other kitchen updates, live with it through the rest of summer, fall, and winter, and then decide to paint or not to paint in spring. Why so much crazy waiting if we know we want to do it? Our philosophy is to take things slow, to make sure you absolutely love the choices you are making, and if you aren't having fun with it, it's not worth it. Since we have so many other projects to keep up busy, the wood is so beautiful (albeit old, we know), and this painting thing would be a HUGE undertaking, we want to be absolutely sure before we paint. There's really no going back on that one.

So let's review the kitchen upgrade list now:

• Paint yellow cabinet white
• Paint pea green garbage compactor black
• Paint yellow walls tan
• Put up new back splash (doing that this weekend if all goes well!)
• Put up under mount cabinet lighting
• Change light fixtures above the kitchen and eat-in kitchen area (bought and waiting for an electrician quote on Monday!)
• Paint all hardware and hinges (well, a few are done, but I plan to keep at this arduous process a spray paint can at a time) 

That's the to-be-completed list and live with it a while before the possible (but most likely) cabinet painting. What do you think? Paint or not to paint? Any tips out there for painting cabinets? We will take any and all advice!

The Yellow Cave Facelift (aka Kitchen Update!)

So remember the yellow cave of a kitchen that we have from the 1960's? If not, you can check out this post that shows it in all its...old age.

I do think it was the cream of the crop kitchen back in the day. This day though, it needs a little help. So we took a first (very exciting and thrilling awesome) step: new countertops! If you couldn't have guessed from this polling post there were decisions to make and I needed input for such a big decision. It was a unanimous decision by my family, the readers, and by what Eric and I were thinking: Federal Cornerstone!

A plus side to getting a new countertop (like it needed one) is that we had decided long ago if we were going to update the countertops, we would replace the old, scratched, shallow sink and the ancient stove top. Then, as a consequence of replacing the countertops, and not a decision we made ahead of time, we had to pull out the back splash and will have to replace that. No tears lost on the yellow tile being gone!

So after we made all our decisions and placed our order, we had a parade of people coming through the house. The demo guys needed to come and check out what they would have to do (we would have demoed if we were doing the whole kitchen but were nervous about hurting the cabinets since we were just taking out the countertops) and the installation guys came to make a template. That all took about a week. Then the countertops had to be fabricated, which took about 2-3 weeks.

This Monday all the action started. Day one was ripping out the countertops and back splash. Unfortunately I was at work and missed all the fun and came home to this.

Talk about an open concept, right? It was very convenient just reaching through the top to access pots and pans, although there really was no need since no cooking was going on that night!

Come Tuesday it was the big day: installation day! I thought they were supposed to come at 8, which is when I usually leave for work, so I tried to dawdle as much as possible to get a sneak peek. No such luck. They ended up showing up around 10ish. Oh well, I did get awesome text updates throughout the day though. When 4:30 hit, I ran out of work, motored down the road, screeched into the driveway, and blew through the door yelling, "I'm so excited!" So worth it too.

They. are. perfect. I love them! They are a such a pretty speckled shade and fit perfectly into our kitchen. I just love the Formica too, an affordable solid surface. Let's take a few more looks. Although it is a little distracting with the torn out back splash right now. One step at a time.

So I was wondering if this would be true, and I guess I found out that it is sort of true. I have often heard that if you update one thing in a room, it just makes everything else look a lot older. There is a perfect example here.

This is that random, yellow cabinet between the living and kitchen. I always detested the yellow on the cabinet and have been meaning to paint it (where does the time go?!) and now the new countertop color has moved it to the top of the priority list. The yellow looks terrible against the new grayish-brown countertops. Maybe that is this weekend's project.

Now introducing the new sink and faucet. So in love this this deep sink and beautiful curving faucet with the removable sprayer head.

Now the new flat surface stove. Hello no more burning particles that hide under the burner!

You can also see the sneak peek of the different choices of back splash we are  going to get! There are a few choices of the tin tiles.

I will keep it a surprise which one we choose! Can't wait to get that up, as the torn-up walls are realllllly distracting. Let's do one more before and after.

 
So there it is folks, the first of the kitchen updates. Wondering what else we plan to do to spruce the space up? Here's the list:

• Paint yellow cabinet white
• Paint pea green garbage compactor black
• Back yellow walls tan
• Put up new back splash
• Put up undermount cabinet lighting
• Change light fixtures above the kitchen and eat-in kitchen area
• Paint all hardware and hinges (argg so not looking forward to this. So many handles and hinges!)

Eric and I had talked about painting the cabinets before but then said no, the wood was too nice to paint. Well, now we may be rethinking that...maybe. We are going to do all the updates first and then do that later on down the road. Talk about a big project! But it definitely would be a big change!