Weekend Warrior- Stairs Edition

To those who know me it is no secret that I do many home repairs and remodeling myself. When I can't handle the task at hand completely by myself I simply call Daddy for some help. I have painted my entire home myself and redone furniture and even laid my own pergo flooring on the first floor.

My stairs going to the second floor have long been an eyesore to me but was never an undertaking I wanted to take on while Eddie was still with me in his old age. I didn't think he would be able to do the steps without the carpet on them. I originally set out to have the tops be the natural wood finish with only the front of the stairs painted but that was dashed when I pulled the carpet off. Some one may years back had painted the stairs with a white enamel paint already.  I was forced to simply prime and paint the whole stair to match my woodwork. The stairs treads I laid down once painted were from Home Depot. The paint I have used on my woodwork throughout the whole house is called French Pastry by Valspar.

Medina Ice Fest

What fun treat to head to Medina to go antiquing and find out there was an ice sculpture display through the town as well.....

Each shop put an ice sculpture out in front of their store and the whole town came out to see them.

Farewell Old Friend!

Yesterday Eddie lost his long battle with cancer. He lived a good long life up to the age of 16 1/2. There will never be another dog as loving and good-hearted as Eddie was. He and I went through a lot together over the years and it will be a long sad adjustment to him being gone.

No longer will I find bits of broken plastic hanger around the house because he used them as a chew toy. No longer will I get a hug from him with one paw on each shoulder. No longer will he perk up to go for a ride because I grabbed his leash. No longer will I have to wait to shut the fridge door because he's checking out the meat drawer. No longer will I have him running up the stairs to get in bed before I do. And so many more things that were just part of his personality.

No words can really emphasize the pain in losing a pet....

A New Escape!

I lease my cars, which many financial experts will most likely advise against.... but it's what works for me.  Every time the lease comes up due I call the dealers ahead to try to minimize the time spent just sitting in a dealership.... it never works for me though! Why does leasing a new version of the same car you already have require giving up almost two days of your life? Someone seriously needs to figure a way to simplify this process.....

In the end, I actually changed dealerships I lease from due to poor customer service from a sales man at my prior dealer and came home with a new Ford Escape .... finally!

 Normally I get a darker color car but this time I decided to go with a new color called "white gold."

 Casual yet preppy I waited the salesman out... I dressed for the NE Ohio weather....

The signature pearls I wear area find from Grandma's Jewelry box,  my anchor button up is from Tommy Hilfiger for Macy's (no longer available), and the fleece pullover from St. John's Bay (no longer available).

My jeans are from Old Navy Rockstar Jeans.

The rain boots were bought last year before the rainy Kentucky Derby at Sears (no longer available).

A Calm Christmas Morn'

Before the chaos begins, I love to get up and enjoy a cup of coffee and make sure my four-legged little babies get their gifts on Christmas Morning. Within less than an hour my parents will be over for breakfast and a family moment of gift exchange and later this evening there will be a huge dinner.  No time to rest but now... a turkey needs in the oven within the next two hours!

 Every year I buy myself new pajamas for the holidays, this year I chose the Holiday Dog print from Old Navy.

 Eddie was sure this gift was fr him..... and he was right!

Dante found his package as well.... and loved his new Vineyard Vines stuffed whale!

 

Both were beat though long before the turkey hit the oven!  Buon Natale!

Christmas Eve for Four!

Despite being of an Italian family, with more cousins than I would recognize in a shopping mall during the holidays, Christmas Eve has over the last several years become a quieter evening with a fish dinner with my parents and last remaining grandparent (Grandma Jane) followed by midnight mass. Being a small affair for only the four of us, I don't the traditional seven fishes but rather one fish and pasta. True to my style though, everything, even the small dinners is a production during the holidays.

I sat the table using red chargers with dishes acquired from JCPenney's many years ago. The set was called Midnight Santa and some pieces can still be found on Ebay.

Without having toys inside I made an adult version of the traditional English Christmas crackers.  I made them by saving empty toilet paper rolls and wrapping with a sturdy wrapping paper and curling ribbon on the ends. They are stuffed with Italian Torrones candies.

The side buffet was covered with a leopard fabric garland (bought in previous years), plaid deer (last year from JoAnn's), and an assortment of Christmas cookies before the main dishes were prepared.

This year I took the easy way out making the main fish dish from an easy recipe I found online several years back. Despite being easy it is still very delicious.  Recipe below.... see couldn't be easier!

Baked Tilapia ( I substituted Haddock this year)

4 filet of fish
6-8 Ritz crackers (due to Haddock being larger I doubled the Ritz but nothing else)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon of chili powder
1/4 teaspoon Adobo (this is an Hispanic spice found in the ethnic aisles)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

From frozen line the fish filet on a sprayed baking sheet. In a small bowl combine crushed Ritz, seasoned salt, chili powder and Adobo.
Cut butter to 4 pats, one for each filet, and place them on frozen fish. Sprinkle the seasoned crumbs equally over each filet.
Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes.

Cookie Delivery!

Being Italian it is probably a given that I have more cousins than I can even count...many of them are elderly, so every year I bake a ton of cookies... more than I could ever eat, though might like to, so I package them up and take a night out during the holiday season to deliver them to grateful family I may not see much during the year!

Below is my famous buckeye recipe (yes probably a calorie overload but so worth it):

• 4 cups peanut butter
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1- 12oz bag semisweet melting chocolate (if in NEO use Giannio's otherwise use from crafting dept of Michael's or similar store)

Use a larger mixer to beat the peanut butter, butter, confectioners sugar, and vanilla together on medium speed. Chill overnight, then roll, into one inch balls (like an actual buckeye), line these on was paper covered trays. Chill again until firm.
Once firm start melting the chocolate in a double boiler pan, once melted enough, poke fork in peanut butter balls and dip in chocolate part way to look like an actual buckeye. Once chocolate hardens (sometimes requires refrigeration to firm) pinch fork holes closed.