Half Bath, check!

The downstairs half bathroom is finished....and pretty darn awesome, if you ask me. It's a perfect blend of traditional, contemporary and cottage stylings.

Here are before pictures....and a reminder of how lovely a shell-shaped sink can really be.

Drum roll please....

The breakdown:

Trim lumber and beadboard- Lowes $80

Paint - Lowes $20

Towel ring and paper holder- http://www.ebay.com/ $20

Faucet- Kingston brass $90

Sink- http://www.ebay.com/ $65

Butcherblock, stain, polyurethane- IKEA $59

Bungalow pulls- Home Depot $10

Spray paint (for existing mirror and light)- Wal Mart $5

Soap dispenser- Made it (jar, spray paint, old pump)

Frames, towels, basket, rug- Had 'em

Total: $349

Not too shabby!

{What We're Eating}

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops
Giada De Laurentiis recipe (with some added fiber!)

Boneless Pork Chops (I use the two-packs of butterflied)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper
1 egg, whisked
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup crushed fiber cereal (fiber one, wheat chex, total flakes all work)
Olive oil

Salt and pepper chops then coat with parmesan cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops in egg then coat with bread crumb/cereal mixture. Cook in 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat, about 7 minutes on each side.
I usually serve this with roasted zucchini, peppers and mushrooms. Enjoy!
*I also use this recipe with boneless chicken breasts, pounded out and cook about 10 minutes on each side*

Pretty piggies

I was adoring these little chubby perfect piggies today and couldn't resist a mini-pedi....errrggghhhhh I could just eat her up!!

Polyvore

So I'm pretty sure this website could become a huge problem for me...check out a few of my  fairly pathetic attempts at fashion designing! If only I had a closet like Polyvore's.....sighhhhhh.

boho nautical by askruse on Polyvore.com

Nautical top
$39 - jessicasimpsoncollection.com

BKE stretch jean
$50 - buckle.com

Woven leather shoes
$24 - swell.com

River Island clutch
25 GBP - riverisland.com

Zad teardrop jewelry
$24 - swell.com

sweet springy by askruse on Polyvore.com

Tunic dress
25 GBP - axparis.co.uk

TopShop denim legging
$40 - topshop.com

Miz Mooz flat shoes
$20 - infinityshoes.com

Jewelry
$28 - modcloth.com

Belt
$20 - alloy.com

Moyna : ivory/lime ivory/black natural/brown summer bag
$82 - moynabags.com

hippy cowgirl by askruse on Polyvore.com

Retro vintage dress
$45 - modcloth.com

Old Gringo studded boot
$262 - endless.com

Messenger bag
$50 - zara.com

Chameleon Jewelry hook earring
$30 - charmandchain.com

Retro ring
$9.99 - modcloth.com

Wool scarve
$16 - zara.com

Yep, thats right folks....cowboy boots. Always wanted them, never had the guts to buy them (let alone pull them off.) Maybe this will be the year!

Sneak Peak

Thought I'd give everyone a little preview of our latest project, the downstairs half bath. It's nearly complete and we're totally digging the contemporary cottage vibe!

{What We're Eating}

Salsa Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 packet taco seasoning (I've used ranch or chili packets instead if I'm in a pinch)
1 1/2 cup salsa
3/4 cup shredded cheese

Sprinkle seasoning packet over both sides of chicken to cover all surfaces. Place chicken in greased baking dish then pour salsa over chicken. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes then add cheese and bake for 5-10 more minutes until melted. Serve on brown rice and top with sour cream if desired. One of the easiest and juiciest chicken recipes I've found. Enjoy!

Grrrr

This is the reason I've learned that I CANNOT go to the grocery store if I'm starving....I swear I have no idea how this ended  up in my shopping cart.

Just Sayin...

Lame, I know, but I'm still a devoted fan of the Bachelor {even though I think Brad is pretty much as dumb-as-a-doornail} and can I just say, thank goodness Michelle is GONE....what a freak?!?!

Black eye, seriously?

And BTW, if your name is Michelle, you should probably never go on this show...remember the trainwreck M. from Jake's season? I'm just sayin...

B Mine

We spent Valentine's Day
hanging out at home,
shopping for Spencer {CE sat in a shopping cart for the first time and thought it was super fun to talk to everyone in Stein Mart},
playing with my heart-day gift {see the Kodak Play-Sport video camera footage below},
photo-shoot with the sweetest and SITTING,  almost six-month old ever,
baking the largest chocolate-and-butterscotch-chip cookie on the face of the earth, &
going out for Sushi {which included a blow-out, spit-up, and squawk session...romantic, eh?}
Couldn't have been more perfect @-----}----

{What We're Eating}

I try really hard to cook homemade, healthy meals at least 4-5 times a week so decided to start sharing them with you at least once a week. This is one I've had for a while but don't make very often, for some reason. It's one of those "this-is-really-good-we-should-have-this-more-often" meals. Enjoy!

Curried Chicken Corn Chowder

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, boiled
(boiled in 6 cups water with 1/2 yellow onion 1/2 cup shredded carrot and 1 chopped garlic clove)
1 can healthy request cream of chicken soup
1 can cannelini or great northern white beans, undrained
1 can no salt added yellow corn, undrained
1 Tbsp curry powder (the original recipe calls for 2 tsp. but we love curry, so we use more!)
2 tsp parsley (fresh or flakes)
2 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil chicken and strain off water (so you still have the onion, carrot and garlic) and shred chicken. Add all ingredients to pot and bring to boil, then simmer on low until ready to eat. Healthy, hearty and so simple.

Rice Rice Baby {clever, eh?}

We started a new adventure this week...rice cereal! We hadn't been in a hurry to start solids but over the past couple of weeks, she has seemed much more hungry in the evenings and was giving us other cues that she was ready (aka: can't keep her eyes off of our food, drinks, and silverware). After about three days, she has the hang of it for the most part, and LOVES it. She can't wait for the next bite and gets super excited when she sees the bowl and spoon. I'm hoping to do a few weeks of rice then head on to oatmeal....I've read a lot about the increased digestive and nutrition benefits of oatmeal so we're planning on switching to that as soon as we can. Here are some pics and a video. {Disclaimer: We completely understand if you don't get as excited as we do by watching a baby eat cereal in a high chair...I'm not offended if you choose not to watch the footage out of utter boredom.}

"Ready, mom!!"

{And so big I can hardly stand it.}