repairing

Hey everyone! There is so much to catch up on! I am so behind on sharing the nursery and renovation projects that I promised and now we have another big project on the immediate horizon. I hesitate to even call this a project as I think repairing is a better term. A little over a week and a half ago, we got hit with a straight line wind storm which caused our neighbors giant old oak to fall on our house. I had just come downstairs with Jane - after another one of her seemingly preferred 30 minute naps - and was sitting on the couch playing with her. I had been in the dark nursery getting her to sleep for the previous hour or so and was unaware that it was even storming. Looking out the window, I remember noticing how crazy windy - like scary windy - it had gotten and before conscious thought could really enter my mind I heard a loud crash and I grabbed Jane and ran to the basement. Sitting on our basement steps, I could see out the dining room window that it looked like a tree had fallen on the west side of our house. I had no idea if it was a tornado or just a bad storm.

Shortly after the worst of it had passed, our neighbor called to check on us and informed me of what had happened.  Jeff made it home as fast as he could and I think was pretty shocked as he pulled up.  I had come up from the basement but did not want to leave Jane to survey the damage and with the power being out I quickly made plans for us to stay with friends. Jane and I departed and basically didn't return until three days later once power was back on and we knew it was safe to re-occupy the house.

I have to say it was one of the more terrifying experiences of my life and we all just feel so lucky that neither Jane nor I were hurt. As a new mom, I definitely felt a whole new sense to protect and to value what is most important. Jeff and I want to thank all the friends, family, contractors and neighbors who rallied around us to help out. We are both so grateful for all the support we received and just feel so blessed that the damage wasn't worse and that we are all safe. 

Below are pictures from the storm. We are currently gathering a bid to hand over to the insurance adjuster. We have never had a claim before and are really hoping we don't have an uphill battle ahead of us to get the funds needed. The majority of the damage is to the roof and attic space. There is a large wall crack in our master bedroom and then windows blown out in the office as well as the dining room and entrance. Other than that, we were very lucky that there was not more interior damage. On the exterior, there is the roof and supporting structure, gutters, stucco, trim and chimney to all be replaced/repaired. There are also numerous other smaller things like holes in our driveway that were created by the force of the tree falling. We have a good contractor lined up and the adjuster comes on Friday so we are hopeful that we can start work soon. In the meantime, we have cleared out of the office and our master bedroom and are staying in our guest bedroom. Now I am mostly worried about how to get our reluctant sleeper to nap with construction going on...

Want to read more? Check out one or all of these related posts.

metal seam roofing
july 7, 2014

exterior paint color
march 4, 2015

antique home style
march 13, 2015

recipe tested: whole 30 mocha

I recently came across a recipe for a homemade mocha. It is compliant with the rules of Whole 30, think Paleo-esque. I do not follow a Whole 30 or Paleo diet but was looking for a way to amp up my morning coffee. I’m not a fan of Starbucks or other coffee shop drinks since you don’t know how much sugar is actually going into your cup of joe or latte or mocha.

The second reason I gravitated to this recipe was that I had all of the ingredients (3 in total) on hand – coffee, coconut milk (from a can), and cacao nibs. Cacao nibs are up there on my list of favorite superfoods. They add a nice chocolatey flavor without being too rich and add a bit of texture. Another superfood that would be a nice addition would be a dash of cinnamon. Cinnamon, in my opinion, is a very underestimated spice and has tons of health benefits so I like to use it wherever I can. 

The beauty of this recipe is that you get to play a little game of "a little bit of this, a little bit of that." The amount of each ingredient is totally up to you and your taste buds. Isn't liberating to be so free with your measurements!

So since today is Friday I thought “why not spice up my morning coffee, I mean TGIF”! So I made some of my favorite drip coffee, New Mexico PiñonCoffee from Trader Joe’s, pulled out my handy dandy Ninja blender and got to work. I have individual blender cups which I love because you can drink right from the blender cup – love a time saver in the clean up department. Well if you choose to use a blender cup, a quick word to the wise, DO NOT SHAKE. I am serious! I thought it was a good idea to shake the blender cup with the piping hot coffee, coconut milk, and cacao nibs to incorporate it a bit before blending but that was a big no no. The warmth of the coffee caused a bit of a pressure build up in the cup creating a nice spray of coffee all over my kitchen, white bath robe, and white walls. There goes the short clean up time.

Ok back to my mocha. After my blender cup misstep, I cautiously blended my concoction (with a towel over it just in case) and what resulted was a luscious, frothy, delicious homemade mocha. It was exactly what I needed to get my Friday started and I highly recommend it for the next time you are in the mood to spice up your morning routine and the best part, you can save that $4 that you would have spent at your local coffee shop. Enjoy!

kitchen tools: the spiralizer

july 7, 2016

introducing katie's place

june 24, 2016

resource review: food blogs

february 18. 2014

kitchen tools: the spiralizer

This whole spiralized vegetable trend has been around for sometime now but I only recently joined in. It was after a weekend away visiting girlfriends - consisting of lots of laughter, fun, and yummy food - that I decided I needed a way to indulge but in a cleaner, more responsible way. Enter my new spiralizer!

It took me a bit to decide on which brand of spiralizer to buy. There are a lot of opinions out there in the food blogging atmosphere which overwhelmed me so I narrowed it down to two brands that a few spiralizer aficionados recommended. Those two were the Paderno and the Veggetti. Both have their pros and cons, which you can find on both sites or really on any website so I won't bore you with the details. I ended up going with the Paderno because a) I’m a huge fan of Williams-Sonoma and trust their products b) I had a gift card to Williams-Sonoma and c) It came with a cookbook!

THE PLACE HOME | photo courtesy of Williams-Sonoma

After placing my order, I fully embraced this new world of spiralizing and did everything I could to prepare for this new kitchen tool to arrive. I researched and pinned multiple recipes to use with my Paderno, and then it became a matter of waiting for it to show up. As my husband, Sam, can attest, I was extremely excited when it showed up in the mail, maybe a little too excited.

I've tried numerous recipes so far but there are two in particular that I keep coming back to. My first stab at spiralizing was a recipe from Food Count, a safe beginner recipe of zoodles and turkey meatballs. I was so pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to use my Paderno - love the sound of that my Paderno, man I’m a kitchen geek. Sam was not as pumped about the whole process as I was but we both agreed that the zoodles were absolutely delicious and we didn’t really miss the real stuff or at least the is what he told me!

THE PLACE HOME | photo courtesy of Food Count

My next venture in spiralizing was even more of a hit with my tasting panel i.e. Sam. I decided after my first spiralizer experience that I was ready to amp it up and move to more “advanced” vegetables. I tried this wonderful recipe from Nosh and Nourish for their Paleo Pad Thai with Carrot and Sweet Potato Noodles. The sweet potato was a piece of cake but then the carrot proved to fit into that “advanced” category that I thought I was ready for. It was a bit more difficult but I overcame the challenge and I felt like I deserved a Paderno gold star by the end of it. Together the carrots and sweet potato provided a great crunchy texture and mildly sweet taste, perfectly complementing the peanut sauce. I will say I did not follow the recipe exactly, I just used what I had on hand. I subbed soy sauce for coconut aminos, almond butter for sunflower butter, and to amp up the protein I skipped the eggs and grilled up some chicken creating a little Chicken Pad Thai action.

THE PLACE HOME | photo courtesy of Nosh and Nourish

I am very impressed with the versatility of my spiralizer and can’t wait to tackle more recipes and vegetables. Even though I am obsessed with my new tool, both of these recipes and other spiralizer specific recipes can be made just by julienning your veggies but I bet it won’t be as fun!

harvesting cucumbers
august 4, 2013

animals, vegetables, miracle: a year of food life
april 11, 2014

introducing katie's place
june 24, 2016