Home renovation ({by the numbers}

Because I'm a record keeper and a number lover I found it interesting to keep track of how many cans of paint I bought, trips to the dump etc.

Here are the grand totals for our 7 weeks of work on our new home:
PAINT:
9 gallons of primer
12 gallons of ceiling paint (I know!!)
5 gallons of paint for the family room, halls, stairway, storage room and laundry room
2 gallons of paint EACH for; master bedroom, boys bedrooms, alivia's room and powder room, office/music room and den = 8 gallons
3 gallons of paint for the basement and stairwell
3 gallons of paint for the doors and trim/baseboards

CLEANERS:
2 bottles of pine sol
1 bottle liquid sander
6+ magic erasers
1.5 bottles of carpet shampoo (for the carpets that we kept)

OUR CLEANING PROCESS to almost every inch of the house:
Clean/disinfect
Patch
Sand
wipe down with liquid sand paper
Prime (1-2 coats in most rooms because most rooms had a dark color we had to cover completely)
Paint 2 coats (except for the kitchen. The paint we used only need 1 coat)
Wipe down baseboards and doors
Paint trim, windowsills and doors

TRIPS TO THE DUMP:
3 (for old carpet and pad)
1 for misc items

MOVING LOADS:
by Mom's van: 24!!!!
by truck 4

MOVING & CLEANING HELP:
14 family members
2 missionaries
8 friends

NEW APPLIANCES: 3

HOURS OF WORK:
COUNTLESS by so many

That is a LOT of work and a LOT of help in a short amount of time. We could NOT have done it without all of your help. Thank you thank you everyone for your help and thoughts and prayers.

Home swatches

Probably because I'm a nerd I want to keep a record of our paint and carpet swatches. Disregard if you don't need to know. ;)

Family room Carpet

Stairs and bedroom carpet (disregard the paint swatch. Did NOT end up using it)

Master Bedroom- HGSW3317 Delicate Delia **

Master bathroom, kids bath, & basement powder room- Olympic Embellishment OL669.2 **

Alivia's room and powder room- Gray Screen SW7071

Jackson's & Levi's rooms- Useful Gray, SW7050 **

Entry, hallway, family room, laundry room and storage room- Valspar Possibility 5007-1A

Kitchen and breakfast room- Caught in the Rain HGSW2347 **

Office/music room and dining room- Wintersweet Gray HGSW3487 *

Basement/downstairs stairs- Basalt Powder HGSW2457 ***

I am SO very pleased with how the colors turned out. You never know how they'll go in your room with the lighting etc. I like all of them, but I LOVE most of them. Yesss!

Our home renovation

{5.27.16}

We have been SO blessed to be able to buy this home for our family! I love this home, the layout and all the room we're going to have.

 One of the things we love about this home is the open kitchen, breakfast room and family room, in addition to ALL THE WINDOWS!! It's amazing what some sunshine to the soul makes.

The home has been vacant for 17 months and needs a lot of TLC, including a BUNCH new carpet, patching, priming and painting EVERY wall and ceiling along with some water leaks and other little fixes.

This is ALL the old carpet and pad we got rid of. It's a whole mountain's worth!

Because we had SO much work and painting to do the kids were able to help with some of it.

Here the boys are priming Levi's room.

Here are some BEFORE and AFTER shots.

Master bedroom BEFORE was a mustard yellow, and then we painted it a light smoky blue. Very calming and serene. I LOVE waking up to this color.

This is Levi's room BEFORE and AFTER. It was rust orange, and is now a light tan. MUCH better and there's no hole in the ceiling or walls. BONUS! :P

Jackson's room BEFORE and AFTER. It was a caramel brown (walls & ceiling), and is now the same color as Levi's (a light tan). It's amazing how different the boys' color looks with the varied lighting. I LOVE the color it is. Seems like the color is better shown below in Jackson's room.

Alivia's room BEFORE and AFTER. It was a gray blue and is now just gray.

Our family room BEFORE had a red accent wall. It was primed and is now all painted a light beige/gray.

These 2 cleaning supplies have worked WONDERS! Honestly!! I cleaned the doors and cabinets in the kitchen and the transformation was incredible. The easy off cooktop cleaner allowed us to clean on TONS OF grease off of the fan blades that seemed otherwise impossible. Woot woot! So happy to find great cleaning supplies to save me some elbow grease.

It took us 7 weeks and many many helping hands to do all the work we did. We recarpeted 2/3 of the house and painted every inch- all the ceilings, every wall, door and trim. My father in law was able to help us with a broken sump pump, some water issues/leaks, new wood flooring in part of the kitchen along with so many other tasks I can't even keep track of them. 

My birthday wish was to be IN the house and all moved in BY MY BIRTHDAY. My wonderful husband, extended family and friends made that possible. We moved in July 16 with  5 days to spare. BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!

no-knead dinner rolls

I am sad to say I haven't mastered making bread or rolls, but I'm trying and if I can get a handle on this recipe, it may be my new GO TO roll recipe.

This recipe comes from my Everyday Food Magazine from years ago. (Doesn't look like it's being published anymore, sadly). There were SO many good recipes from there that I've kept out and really liked.

NO-KNEAD DINNER ROLLS
Even beginner-level bakers will have no trouble making these fluffy rolls; the dough can be prepped, put in the pan, and chilled up to a day ahead.
Prep time: 35 minutes
Total time: 2 hr, 40 min.
Makes 18

INGREDIENTS:
2 c. warm water (105-115*)
2 packages (1/4 oz. each) active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 t.)
1/4 c. sugar
4 T butter, melted, plus more for pan and brushing
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 t. salt
6 c. all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for shaping dough

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour warm water into a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Add sugar, butter, eggs, and salt; whisk to combine. Add flour; mix until incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Brush top of dough with butter; cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface. With floured hands, roll dough into a thick log. Cut into 18 equal pieces (halve log, cut each half in thirds, then cut each piece into thirds again).
4. Brush a 9x13 baking pan with butter. One at a time, flatten each piece of dough, then fold edges toward the center, pressing to secure, until a smooth ball forms. Place dough balls in prepared baking pan, smooth side up (you should have 3 rows of 6). Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30-40 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 1 day).
5. Preheat oven to 400*. Remove plastic wrap; brush rolls with butter. Bake until golden and rolls sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 35-40 minutes (tent with aluminum foil if browning too quickly). Pull rolls apart, and serve warm.

18 minute cake

This is one of those recipes from my childhood. I remember having this at just about every church activity I ever went to. Years later, I've thought about it and never made it for my family. I HAD to try it out and see if it held up to all those memories. Luckily, it did!

18 minute cake
(Old favorites from the heart of the Columbia Basin, by Aunt EvaLu)

Sift together in large bowl:
2 cups sugar
2 c. flour
1/4 t. salt

Boil in a saucepan, then pour over sifted mixture:
4 T. cocoa powder
1/2 c. margarine/butter
1 c. cold water
1/2 c. vegetable oil

Then add:
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs, well-beaten
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla extract

Bake 18 minutes @ 400* in a flat jelly roll pan (I used a rimmed cookie sheet). Don't overbake. Some ovens may not require 18 minutes.

FROSTING:
1/2 c. margarine/butter
6 T. milk
4 T. cocoa powder
3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla extract

Boil margarine, milk and cocoa. Add 1 cup nuts (optional), powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread on cake while hot.


One of the things I love about this cake, other than the DOUBLE chocolate factor is the moistness it has. It is SO so yummy. When  I made it this time it came out perfectly! My family liked it, but Jackson LOVED it like I do. Yesss!

Sabrina's PB frosting

I LOVE PB frosting! How did I go 20 years and never have had it before! My life was so incomplete! :P Luckily, I've had it many many times now. It's a tricky thing though; some recipes are hard to write down because they're "off the cuff". This is one of those recipes, but I'm writing it down so I have a guideline of where to begin for next time. I want to recreate this all on my own and not have to wait to have it someplace else.

SABRINA'S PB FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:
3 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4- 1/2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. peanut butter

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cream together sugar, butter, vanilla, and 1 T. milk. Mixture will be stiff.
2. Then add PB. Add more milk or PB or sugar if needed to reach desired consistency and flavor.

Version 2:
Make regular buttercream frosting, then add 1 1/4 c. PB.