(house)Work Wednesday: These are a few of my favorite things

I love to organize things.
I love plastic Sterilite containers.
I love matching hangers.
I love label makers.

And I love Real Simple for putting this into their email: Organize Your Closet Like a Pro

Happy Organizing.

(house)Work Wednesday: Oh that whole resolution thing...

So in an effort to get back on track with my (house)Work Wednesday Resolution I made the following three dinners in the past week or so.

• Chicken Wings (courtesy of Allrecipes.com)
• Parmesan Stuffed Chicken with Melted Strawberries (courtesy of BHG.com)
• Garlic Cheddar Chicken (courtesy of Allrecipes.com)*

* This is the one Y.M. liked the best.

What did I learn in my cooking adventures?

• "Louisiana hot sauce" DOES NOT equal "regular hot sauce" (aka Texas Pete.) If you are going to use Louisiana sauce, then you should water it down OR just don't use as much.
• Flour thickens up sauces if they don't stay on wings (courtesy of my Y.M.)
• You should really buy the regular chicken breast instead of the thinly cut...but if you buy the thinly cut by accident, you can always just fold the chicken in half; then it's just folded, instead of "stuffed." :-)

(house)Work Wednesday: Spring is in the Air

Two Sundays ago Lisa, YM, and NEB went to the Southern Ideal Home Show for a very domestic double date. Plus we won free tickets so why not?

Anyway after an afternoon of searching the fairgrounds for the perfect hot tub, closet organization system, and appliances for my future house, we headed to Cameron Bar and Grill for a late lunch. Lisa and I had the Strawberry Salad and it was amazing...

...so amazing that I wanted it again for my late dinner...but I couldn't justify $16 in salads in 5 hours. Sigh. So instead of getting the salad, I headed to Harris Teeter for the weekly produce trip and went to get all my lunch meats and such. As walked through the deli a light bulb went off in my head: MAKE THE SALAD YOURSELF!!!

Now I know most people might have thought of this, but I am not the type to think of restaurant food as something I can DIY-ify but this seemed like a good start.

Here's how it broke down-

• 1/2 pound of fresh Salad Mix: $3


• 1 1lb tub of strawberries on VIC card special: $1.25


• 1 bottle of light raspberry vinagrette dressing: $2.49
  


• A dash of sugar because I don't like the candied pecans in the original salad: $0
  


• Some feta cheese from my fridge: $0

= 3 Strawberry Salads for $6.74 + tax.

And voila!!!

Isn't it pretty?

house(Work) Wednesday: Medicine Cabinets

Since me and Y.M. have resigned our lease for another year (blah...) I've decided that I need to do a little sprucing up around the townhouse to keep my nesting instinct at bay. (After all, I've moved every July for the last 6 years and now I'm going to miss my yearly redecoration.)

Since saving to pay of student loans is a higher priority than redecorating in the allocation of my finances, I'm always looking for cost effective ways to nest in my rented space.

I saw this on medicine cabinet decoration on Real Simple and I think it would be a cute Saturday afternoon project for the guest bathroom. I think it's too girly for Y.M. (who gets the medicine cabinet to himself in exchange for me getting all the other cabinets in the bathroom) but who knows...he may not even notice it...

(house)Work Wednesday: Cleaning for Guest

No one likes to clean bathrooms. But having 4 people share one bathroom for a week (must get at least two full baths next time around...) means that the bathroom has to be cleaned before our guest arrive.

Here's a quick bathroom cleaning guide from Katie at The Hyper Homemaker.

Bathroom done in under 10 minutes. Love it.

house(Work) Wednesday: Winter Wonderland

Here in North Carolina we had our first big snow of the season and I felt unprepared. In thinking about how to winterize my life, I started thinking about about frozen pipes. Now like most 20-somethings, I'm a renter and I usually wouldn't even think about the pipes BUT since I just changed my renters insurance policy (to USAA, the best insurance company EVER) and one of the things they mentioned was burst pipes in the winter, it was a little more top of mind.

Here's some tips from State Farm about how to prevent burst pipes that could flood your house, apartment, or condo and cause thousands of dollars of damage to your building and property.

Stay warm.

(house)Work Wednesday: Resolution #7

Note: Sorry for the delay in sending. I drafted but did not schedule this posting.

Finally my last resolution: Cook more meals at home.

Now, I'm not a big cook...like I don't cook at all...and I think 2009 is the year to work on that.

My plan?

Slowly increase the number of meals I cook from scratch at home. This is going to sound awful but I figured out that I haven't made a meal from scratch since September (and when I say "from scratch" Velveeta Mac and Cheese would count...) All my "at home" meals come out of frozen food packages or my Yankee Manfriend makes them for me. So this year I'm going to make sure that every month I will make at least the number of meals that corresponds with the month (i.e.: January-1, September-9.)

With the help of Better Home and Gardens, Allrecipes.com, and Shape hopefully I'll stop feeling so awkward in the kitchen.

(house)Work Wednesday: Laundry

So this was my wikiHow of the day and I thought I would share it with all of you.


Fast Folding:How To Fold A T-Shirt In 2 Seconds - Explained

Brought to you by the people at VideoJug.

Don't know if I'll ever use it...but I'm a big fan of being efficient and notsomuch a big fan of the time it takes to fold laundry so this might be useful.

(house)Work Wednesday: Liking to Clean vs. Liking It Clean

I decided because I had the day off from work today and did nothing of substance that I would just continue that trend to the blog and skip something of actual substance this week and just go with something random. Enjoy.

So I was talking to Lisa after going on a movie double date to see Transporter 3 with her, N.E.B., and my Y.M. and we got on the subject of hand vacs. And Audis...because they were in the movie and we're in marketing so we can appreciate good product placement.

Lisa: Check out this statement in a review and tell me what seems odd: This is the best cordless hand held vac that I've ever had in 34 years of marriage. No cleaning before marriage?

Me: Maybe she didn't have one. I wouldn't have one except for Sweetie (Y.M.'s dog and the source of a ridiculous amount of hair.) I just bought it two weeks ago. I had planned on putting it on the registry (Bridal...somewhere off in the future...), but nooooo...stupid dog hair.

Lisa: You must not be as OCD as me

Me: I am, but I've been using the Dyson. (Yes the Y.M. likes to clean enough that he bought a Dyson to deal with the pet hair....yeah I know you're impressed.) Then Y.M.'s like "I woulda gotten you a dyson hand vac." Well damn.

Me (in a fit of ADHD): I want an Audi now

Lisa: I want a dyson hand vac

Me: Hmm. Well if i can afford an Audi or for that matter the dyson hand vac, someone else can clean my house. I don't like cleaning that much, I just like it clean.

Lisa: Hahahahahaha TRUEEE!

There is your "housewifey" conversation of the week brought to you by me and Lisa.

Liking TO clean is different than liking IT clean. Maybe there was some enlightenment in the afterall...

(house)Work Wednesday: Thanksgiving Soiree

"Friends are the family we pick for ourselves."

Very true. And there's nothing like spending time with your family for the holidays, but since usually your real family wants to spend this time with you, sometimes you have to make time to celebrate the holidays with your friends.

This past weekend me and my Yankee Manfriend threw a Thanksgiving soiree for our friends. It was our Second Annual Potluck Thanksgiving. Basically, we made the turkey (and I use the term "we" loosely, Y.M. made the turkey but unlike last year at least I went along on the trip to Trader Joe's to pick it out) and everyone signs up to bring something. We then fill in any holes in the "traditional" Thanksgiving dinner.

Like an 20 something couple, we were on a budget and there are some things we didn't want to skimp on, like the turkey, but there are other things that you can most definitely save a lot of money (and cleaning time) while still having a nice presentation thanks to...

(Drum Roll)...

The Dollar Store

I don't know about you but I forget about the Dollar Store until it's time to look for something random for Halloween. And typically when I'm trying to save money I hit up the local Wal-Mart, but I didn't really need, nor do I have the storage space for 100 paper plates even if they are $3.00. The Dollar Store makes it really easy to get "Holiday" specific items while balancing a good price without having to buy in bulk.

Here's a list of the things I got at the Dollar Store for our party of 12 people.

• Plates
• Cups
• Plastic utensils
• Plastic Shot Glasses
• Apple Juice
• Napkins
• Potpourri

Total Cost: $7.00 + tax

And no one knew the difference.

They also have a lot of serving utensils and other items that would be great to take to a party if you're on the "bringing" end of a potluck. This way if you don't get your serving spoon or potholder back it's not a huge deal. Think about it: Your grande skim mocha latte at Starbucks will cost more than you would have spent on the serving spoon, dish, and potholder you brought to the dinner and will be used for about the same amount of time. ;-)

(house)Work Wednesday: November Treats

One of the reasons that November is my second favorite month is because November means pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING.

Here's 10 recipes from the people over at Real Simple to inspire some pumpkin flavored appreciation.

http://simplystated.realsimple.com/celebrations/index.html

(house)Work Wednesday: Table Setting

Hey guys...

I'm pretty sick today so you'll have to wait until next week for the first real edition of the Wednesday segement of my enlightment: (house)Work Wednesday

To hold you over I'd like to recommend this blog from the Hyper Homemaker: http://hyperhomemaker.blogspot.com/2008/10/setting-proper-table.html

I feel that everyone should know how to set a table. Especially since my Southern mommy taught me how to do it when I was 8...gotta love us G.R.I.T.S. ;-)