My flooring is not boring...

Yes, I admit there are quite a few neutral tones in my house. Especially on the bigger items, such as walls, furniture and flooring. I prefer to accessorize with color and pattern, it is much more cost effective to do so. Just my opinion.

As you know, I chose linoleum for the kitchen. Congoleum 's Pacesetter Vintage Slate in Multi Bisque 60054--which was discontinued. Bummer.  I  have decided to go with it. Fortunately, I found some sources-locally-- even though I am still trying to determine if I can get enough for the other rooms. I can't help it, I REALLY  fell in love with this pattern and color. Hopefully, I continue to love it for the next 10-15 years or until it wears out. Good thing that doesn't apply to spouses, haha.

Here is a sneaky peeky of the flooring sample against the painted walls. Again I must remind y'all the color isn't true life. Once we have all the wiring hooked up to the box (in about a week) we will have better lighting, which will hopefully translate to better pictures with an accurate representation of color.

Because guess what y'all? THIS is happening! The flooring is being installed in less than 24 hours. Oh yeah, if we are especially lucky the kitchen cabinets are going in. What? WHAT is right!! All I need to do is run over to my 2nd home (Lowe's) and get the floor adhesive and seam sealer before our crew arrives in the morning. And by crew--I mean my brother-in-law and step-dad. I seriously don't know what I would do without my family... well, SOME of my family, haha.

This is what a 12 foot roll of linoleum looks like. Doesn't look lime much in the picture but it looks ginormous in my room. 

We plan on doing a perimeter glue. Fingers crossed--and not glued-- this goes as planned! It is an empty room and according to the room dimensions we should have 4.5 inches extra on each side, which is more than the 3 inch recommendation. We got this, right?

And I swear I may end up camping out on my new floor. Yeah probably not because I am kinda spoiled with the whole bed thing. But it doesn't mean I won't make googly eyes and stare at it in appreciation. That's not weird is it?

Here's my list from my earlier kitchen remodel post with some additions/ modifications

• Finish tearing out the plaster and lathe on the North wall
• Tear out ceiling
• Cut out the wall boards in the sink area to remove mold. It appears to be contained in a few spots. Decided to do a complete tear out
• Patch/ repair the remaining 2 walls. Possibly skim coat. Decided to do a complete tear out
• Build temporary supports for new headers over door and window.
• Cut out a  2 foot by 8 foot floor section (sink area)
• Sister the joist beams and shim where the floor slopes
• Determine if sill plate needs repaired  Damage is minimal-yay!
• Install a floor jack on North-East corner--where the the sill plate is water damaged
• Move the stove outlet from floor to the wall and update to a new receptacle-IN PROGRESS
• Build bump out wall (west wall/ kitchen sink side) to accommodate for out of plumb wall.
• Lay a new subfloor
• Replace, update and attach the outlet to a stud on east wall
• Add 1-2 new receptacle(s) to the east wall (window wall)
• Add 1 new receptacle to west wall-IN PROGRESS
• Purchase recessed light housing and trim kits
• Order focal/ center light
• Move center junction box, update and wire in a wall a 2 way switch for the ceiling fixture. IN PROGRESS 
• Install recessed lights perimeter of the kitchen (3 on each wall) and install dimmer switch. IN PROGRESS
• Install/ wire in electric for stove exhaust hood
• Replace the window
• Attach furring strips to the exterior walls (North and East) to bump out the depth
• Insulate and seal. Minimize any possible cracks, leaks or vermin/bug/ draft entry points-IN PROGRESS
• Install furring strips to bump out north wall (entry door wall) so drywall is flush with door frame
• Electrician inspection
• Drywall, mud, tape, prime and paint IN PROGRESS
• REPAIR THE EXTERIOR WALL FROM INSTALLING A SMALLER WINDOW--IN PROGRESS
• Install the linoleum -- IN PROGRESS
• Install plugs and light switches
• Final electric connection to the breaker
• Purchase additional corner cabinet
• Install cabinets
• Order remaining counter top (stove side of the kitchen) Order NEW counter tops due to laminate being discontinued--14 days lead time
• Install counter tops
• Install sink
• Install garbage disposal
• On demand hot water? Maybe???
• Order and install stove exhaust hood
• Paint and install new door
• Purchase door hardware
• Install door hardware, including kickplate
• Add a peephole to the door since it is windowless
• Trim work (doors, the window, baseboards, crown molding)
• Purchase  tile for backsplash
• Install tile back splash (sink area), considering backsplash installation on stove side?
• Install stove and refrigerator
• Purchase end panel for dishwasher installation
• Purchase and install a dishwasher
• Purchase and install cabinet hardware
• Purchase ceiling medallion
• Install the ceiling medallion and chandelier
• Decide on window treatment
• Order and SEW fabric for window valance/ curtains/ shade
• Paint  mobile island/ cart
• DIY some wall art
• Purchase/ DIY 2 kitchen stools
• Accessorize
• Cook, bake and ENJOY the finished kitchen!

Twofer meals...

aka, how to stretch your budget and still eat a tasty meal. 

Y'all we are broke. The real kind of broke. Living paycheck to paycheck, never enough money to pay all of our bills each month, no savings, no safety net, the scary kind of broke and looking to  2 jobs kind of broke. In other words, just like 67 % of Americans according to  an April 2014 money and finance article on CNN. 

I don't know about y'all but going the grocery store anymore just about makes me sweat.  Long gone are the luxuries of  buying what I want, when I want or buying name brand  foods--hello generic. Call me the casserole queen. I focus on the staples (beans, rice, pasta), supplement with broths, cream soups, frozen vegetables and smaller portions of meat (and to the hubbs horror, 1 or 2 meat free meals each week).

We didn't have a very good garden this year, I wasn't able to can  and of course that pesky no kitchen issue has made it very difficult to control my budget. I don't have the luxury of  cooking in bulk. What I can do; however, is make my meals count. Leftovers are all well and good, but I like the TWOFER meals. 2 meals from 1 main ingredient.

Earlier this week,  I splurged on the grocery deli rotisserie style chicken. Normally a 32 ounce cooked chicken sells for $5.99. However, with a coupon, I only paid $3.99, yasssss!!!

I split the rotisserie chicken for 2 meals to make a Cheater Chicken Pot Pie and Chicken Salad.

 Easy peasy super pleasy--dinner one night and lunch the following day for me and the hubbs.

Cheater Chicken Pot Pie

Here's what you need:

For the crust:

1/2 cup baking mix

1 teaspoon butter milk powder

1 egg

1 teaspoon melted butter

1/3 cup milk*

*I  use powdered milk and water (1/3 cup water + 1 heaping tablespoon of powdered milk, mixed well)
1 egg beaten

Mix well. The batter will be thick but pourable.

Yes I am using "convenience" foods (frozen potatoes, packaged gravy, cream of soup). It would  be much healthier and less expensive from scratch but this is a way to make a tasty meal when time is limited. This recipe is definitely not for the calorie conscious!

For the filling:
2/3 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2/3 cup frozen diced potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package chicken gravy mix
1 cup milk*
*I  use powdered milk and water (1 cup water + 3 heaping tablespoons of powdered milk, mixed well)
1/2 of the rotisserie chicken meat (light and dark) rough chopped which was close to 2 cups.
Pepper, poultry seasoning and parsley to taste (in our case it is 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoons each)
Mix all ingredients and pour into a  lightly greased 8x8 foil pain. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Pour batter over the top of chicken and vegetable mixture. Bake for at 350°F (on lower rack) for 35-40 minutes. Crust will be golden brown and filling bubbling.

It looks (and tastes) like  the from scratch version. Yummy!

The other half of the rotisserie chicken was shredded to make chicken salad (sorry no photos). But I will be making it again soon!

Chicken Salad
2 cups shredded chicken
1/4 cup minced celery
2 tablespoons minced scallions (white bunching onions)
1/2 cup sliced red grapes
1/4 c chopped apple (tart)
1/4 c. fat free sour cream
3 tablespoons of light mayonnaise
1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
squirt of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon parsley
salt and pepper to to taste
(Throw in some walnuts or pecans and it becomes a fancy Chicken Waldorf Salad)

Combine all ingredients until well mixed. This is great on lettuce, in a wrap or on bread.  Or maybe just a couple (dozen) spoonfuls on it's own. Not that I would do that...heheh

What are some of your favorite Twofer meals?

Magic math...or when 2 weeks turns into 6 weeks

I wish I could claim I was abducted by aliens because it would certainly be more interesting than explaining the monotonous machinations of life. Alas, I really don't want to be a tinfoil hat wearing kind  of gal. You need a certain kind of crazy to carry that look and I don't have it. But crazy people don't KNOW they are crazy, right?  

Good news--The kitchen walls have been primed and painted. I went with Valspar Ultra (no VOC paint and primer combination) tinted to Basket 7002-24. 

This isn't true life color. It is a creamy vanilla color, depending on the light it reads almost as a slight peachy yellow.  It has a very clean and bright appearance. 

I used the the paint at 50% pigment in eggshell finish for the ceiling (1:1 ratio of 1 gallon pigmented paint combined with 1 gallon of the Ultra White-both eggshell finish). 

Ceiling with the 50% pigment load

The walls are the Basket at 100% pigment in Satin finish. You can see the ceiling (which has 2 coats) has a very tone on color without being the same saturation as the walls.

Walls with 100% pigment load

  Here's is a slightly better picture showing the paint color. Although still not true life. With daylight it looks and feels like sunshine, so happy and bright!

1 coat walls, 2 on ceiling

I think with the addition crisp white molding and the white cabinets the kitchen will feel open, airy, light and bright. Even the hubbs said he LIKED the color!  OMG--did you feel that? That was the earth tilting on it's axis, lol!!

 Bad news-- BOTH my linoleum and laminate counter tops have been discontinued. Wahhh!! What does this mean for us? Well the 6 foot slab of counter top we already custom ordered (and purchased) will be re-purposed for the someday (next year) bathroom/ laundry room remodel. As far as the linoleum--we have enough for the kitchen but not the bathroom/ laundry area. We have a couple of options. Option 1--I have scouted and identified several vendors on the web who have "my" linoleum. Unknown are the quantities or vendor reliability. Option 2--go with another linoleum with a similar pattern and color to transition into the other rooms. Option 3--order all new flooring for the entire space. Um yeah, not so happy right now.

Perplexing news-- this is my main focus right now. Figuring out how to repair the outside of the house after we installed a much smaller window. Considering we have 40-50 year old aluminum siding, matching it is out of the question. Whatever we decide, I need to do quickly, because cold weather is fast approaching.

I REALLY don't want to spend another winter looking at this! I feel like I am in a dark and dreary cave with the window being covered in sheet plastic.

That is all I have for now. Again I do apologize for being MIA but life is getting in the way of my life. What is new with everyone else in blogland?

Here's my list from my earlier kitchen remodel post with some additions/ modifications

• Finish tearing out the plaster and lathe on the North wall
• Tear out ceiling
• Cut out the wall boards in the sink area to remove mold. It appears to be contained in a few spots. Decided to do a complete tear out
• Patch/ repair the remaining 2 walls. Possibly skim coat. Decided to do a complete tear out
• Build temporary supports for new headers over door and window.
• Cut out a  2 foot by 8 foot floor section (sink area)
• Sister the joist beams and shim where the floor slopes
• Determine if sill plate needs repaired  Damage is minimal-yay!
• Install a floor jack on North-East corner--where the the sill plate is water damaged
• Move the stove outlet from floor to the wall and update to a new receptacle-IN PROGRESS
•  Decided to 
• Build bump out wall (west wall/ kitchen sink side) to accommodate for out of plumb wall.
• Lay a new subfloor
• Replace, update and attach the outlet to a stud on east wall
• Add 1-2 new receptacle(s) to the east wall (window wall)
• Add 1 new receptacle to west wall-IN PROGRESS
• Purchase recessed light housing and trim kits
• Order focal/ center light
• Move center junction box, update and wire in a wall a 2 way switch for the ceiling fixture. IN PROGRESS 
• Install recessed lights perimeter of the kitchen (3 on each wall) and install dimmer switch. IN PROGRESS
• Install/ wire in electric for stove exhaust hood
• Replace the window
• Attach furring strips to the exterior walls (North and East) to bump out the depth
• Insulate and seal. Minimize any possible cracks, leaks or vermin/bug/ draft entry points-IN PROGRESS
• Install furring strips to bump out north wall (entry door wall) so drywall is flush with door frame
• Electrician inspection
• Drywall, mud, tape, prime and paint IN PROGRESS
• REPAIR THE EXTERIOR WALL FROM INSTALLING A SMALLER WINDOW--IN PROGRESS
• Install plugs and light switches
• Final electric connection to the breaker
• Install the linoleum
• Purchase additional corner cabinet
• Install cabinets
• Order remaining counter top (stove side of the kitchen) Order NEW countertops due to laminate being discontinued--14 days lead time
• Install counter tops
• Install sink
• Install garbage disposal
• On demand hot water? Maybe???
• Order and install stove exhaust hood
• Paint and install new door
• Purchase door hardware
• Install door hardware, including kickplate
• Add a peephole to the door since it is windowless
• Trim work (doors, the window, baseboards, crown molding)
• Purchase  tile for backsplash
• Install tile back splash (sink area), considering backsplash installation on stove side?
• Install stove and refrigerator
• Purchase end panel for dishwasher installation
• Purchase and install a dishwasher
• Purchase and install cabinet hardware
• Purchase ceiling medallion
• Install the ceiling medallion and chandelier
• Decide on window treatment
• Order fabric for window valance/ curtains/ shade
• Paint  mobile island/ cart
• DIY some wall art
• Purchase/ DIY 2 kitchen stools
• Accessorize
• Cook, bake and ENJOY the finished kitchen!