Sunday, April 24, 2022

New Construction Home Design Choices and Inspiration - Flooring, Tile, Counters, Cabinets and more!

 

Welcome back! The past month has been a whirlwind of making design choices for our new construction home, and it's been a ton of fun. Our last house was "finished" when we purchased it, and all of our furniture that I had collected from previous apartments filled the house right up, so I did very little design work with it. Building a new house is a whole other story! I've re-kindled my love of pinterest and design and I've been loving it.

One of the first decisions I made was to go more warm toned with the house. Our last home was very cool toned with stark white and gray kitchen cabinets and cool gray toned flooring and paint. I want this new home to feel cozy and inviting by comparison, so I decided to keep my finishings more warm.

Builders paint the whole house in one color of paint, and I've decided to go with Extra White by Sherwin Williams. It's the paint on the left of the picture below:


I pulled from Studio McGee's home to guide my flooring decision. I wanted a light blonde wide plank flooring, but nothing that leaned too yellow. Below is my inspiration photo and a photo of the flooring I chose:

 


 

We selected tile at the same time as flooring. I saw this absolutely stunning navy bathroom in another builder's model home and heavily pulled on it as inspiration for my own bathroom. In our master bath we are doing navy cabinets, white quartz counters, white tile floors, and stunning navy blue herringbone tile behind the vanity and white herringbone hand formed subway tile in the shower. Below is my inspiration photo, then my tile selections.




Moving onto the kitchen, after some back and forth I'm going with white cabinets around the perimeter, charcoal  cabinets on the island, and warm grey Fantasy Brown countertops. Below are my cabinets colors along with a sample of fantasy brown, then a picture of my actual slab:

 




 

Below you can see the cabinet color we are going with (the white one). We nixed the black and this other stone in favor of going more dramatic with the marble countertops while keeping the cabinets all white.




The two upstairs bathrooms will be finished with our builder's "standard finishings" which I am pretty happy with. They include white counters, light wood cabinets, and grey and white tile flooring and the subway tile in the shower.


 

Switching gears to exterior choices - we picked a deep blue for the front door and a light gray for our siding. Below is our front door swatch on top of our siding and a virtual mockup of how the front of our house will look. We decided to stick with a traditional exterior rather than spending extra money to upgrade to a craftsman or farmhouse front because we thought our money was better spend upgrading the interior which we will see much more often!



There you have it! Now that my selections are almost finalized I can hardly wait to see it built and all come together.

With My Love, Katie



Friday, April 22, 2022

We're Building A House!

 

Not this exact house, but this model! Our house looks like this right now:

Just a pile of dirt! But it holds so much potential. The floorplan we picked will be L-shaped open concept for the great room, kitchen and dining room, which I feel is the perfect compromise between open and closed concept. I love the kitchen being open to the living room, but I'm not a fan of everything just being in a big rectangle shaped room together. I think the L shape will be perfect, with each room having it's own clearly defined space while still being very open!


Our great room is going to have a gas fireplace in it which I am totally jazzed about. I also love that all three floors (including the basement) are going to have 9 foot ceilings! That is going to feel so good after living with 7 foot 6 inch ceilings in our previous house.



The way our builder does it is that we have to make all design and optional selections in the first month, so it's been a whirlwind of design choices that I'm excited to share in another post coming soon.


With My Love,

Katie




Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Oven Fried Latkes

 

Hi all!

In honor of Rosh Hashanah today, I want to write down my recipe for oven fried latkes! Ever since giving myself a good old oil burn, melting a plastic spatula and setting off a fire alarm at 1am (we were in college and practically nocturnal!) during my first attempt at stovetop frying latkes, I've been making latkes in the oven. It's not any healthier, but you can do the whole batch at once (and reduce your chances of major burns)! 


Ingredients

  • 2 pounds russet potatoes
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 scant teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • Applesauce (for serving)
  • Sour Cream (for serving)
  • Green onion (for garnish)

 

Directions

  1. Set oven racks in center preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Peel the potatoes, then coarsely grate them with the onion together in a food processor or by hand using a box grater. Place the potato and onion mixture in a fine sieve and press down firmly with a wad of paper towels to remove excess moisture. Stir and repeat a few times with fresh paper towels until the liquid is mostly drained. Transfer the potato and onion mixture to a large bowl and mix in the eggs, salt, baking powder, and flour.
  3. Fill two heavy non-stick rimmed baking sheets with 1/2 cup oil each. Place the pans in the oven for 10 minutes to heat the oil. Wearing oven mitts, very carefully remove the pans from the oven. Drop the batter by the 1/4-cupful onto the baking sheets, spacing the latkes about 1-1/2 inches apart. Using the bottom of the measuring cup or a spoon, press down on the latkes to flatten just slightly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bottoms are crisp and golden. Carefully remove the pans from oven and flip the latkes (tongs are the best tool as a spatula may cause oil to splatter). Place the pans back in the oven and cook until the latkes are crisp and golden brown all over, about 10 minutes more. Remove the pans from the oven and transfer the latkes to a large platter lined with paper towels. Serve immediately with sour cream or apple sauce, if desired.
  4. *It is very important to use non-stick baking sheets so the latkes don't stick.

 Recipe from Once Upon A Chef


Friday, September 3, 2021

Rifle Paper Co. Garden Party Triangles Quilt

 

Hi all!

I've been quilting all throughout quarantine, but haven't shared much of my craft here on the blog. In an effort to get better at documenting my development as a fiber artist, I'm going to make a point of sharing my creations!

Today I'm showcasing a quilt featuring fabrics from Rifle Paper Co.'s garden party line. I loved this line the moment I laid eyes on it. I made this quilt with a garden party jelly roll, along with a low volume tan from their basics collection and a blue laurel stripe. 


This was actually my first quilt using triangles as building blocks. The use of a triangle ruler really helped me keep things even! Sewing the triangles together was repetitious, but I really enjoyed the process and found it very soothing.

The pattern is from a book called Jelly Filled. It was my second pattern I made from that book, the first jelly roll quilt I made has a post hopefully coming soon!

Below is a photo of my handsome quilt husband. He is the most patient quilt holder of all time! These photos were taken at Valley Forge park, I think the history helps bribe him to come along.

 

Thanks for checking out my quilt! Hopefully lots more quilting posts to come!

With my love, Katie


Instant Pot Collard Greens, Potatoes and Sausage




Hi all!

This meal is a favorite. It's a fast, staple meal I developed over quarantine. It's taco kit easy, but even more comfort food-y. It's pretty healthy too! Instead of regular sausage, I usually buy chicken sausage. One of my favorites is chorizo chicken sausage. It goes so perfectly with the collard greens and potatoes to add a kick of spice to the meal! I hope you try this and enjoy!


 

Ingredients

  • Collard Greens (either a bag of prepared chopped collard greens or one bunch, large stems removed and chopped)
  • 8 ounces potatoes, skin on, cubed (red, gold or russet all work well)
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika (regular or smoked paprika also work well)
  • 1 package chicken sausage, chorizo chicken sausage works well

Directions

1.) Combine all ingredients except sausage in the instant pot. Stir to combine and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes with 10 minutes natural release.

2.) While collard greens are spending their 10 minutes of natural release cut the chicken sausage into coins. Heat a dash of olive oil over medium high heat on the stovetop and cook the chicken sausage until warmed through.

3.) Taste the collard greens and adjust seasoning with white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately and enjoy!


I hope you try out this recipe, it's such a quick and easy meal but absolutely delicious!

With my love, Katie

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Skyrim Inspired Nordic Beef Stew

 

Hello everyone!

To cut to the chase about this unique beef stew, it's my favorite beef stew I've ever had. It's miles away from traditional American beef stew. The flavors are more nuanced and delicate, which in my opinion makes it that much more delicious! There aren't any potatoes, but the turnips are a really excellent and unique stand in with a similar texture. The leeks make such a gorgeous change from regular onion flavors as well! I adapted this recipe from the Braised Rib Stew with Farro recipe from the Elder Scrolls Cookbook. The recipe is quite different so I wanted to record my adaptation here! This is going to be my go-to beef stew from now on. I hope you give it a try!

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs Top or Eye round roast (or another lean cut of stew meat), cut into 1-2 inch cubes
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Port or Marsala Wine
  • 5 Cups Beef Stock
  • 6 Large Carrots, diced
  • 2 Turnips, peeled and diced
  • 1 Large Leek, White and Light Green Parts Sliced
  • 3-4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 1 Cup Farro
  • Heaping Tablespoon Allspice + more to taste
  • 4 Bay Leaves
  • Salt and Pepper

Instructions

 1.) Heat pan over medium high heat. Add the tablespoon of olive oil when the pan is hot then add in the meat. Sear on all sides, seasoning with salt and pepper, and be careful not to stir too often so a flavorful sear can develop. Once the meat is brown pour in the wine followed by the stock to deglaze the pan.

2.) Add the carrots, turnips, leeks, garlic, allspice, bay leaves, farro and meat to either a slow cooker or instant pot pressure cooker. Cook for 8-10 hours on low in the slow cooker or 35 minutes on high pressure in the pressure cooker with a 10 minute natural release. 

3.) When stew is done cooking taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. This stew is delicious immediately but even better the next day. Enjoy!

 

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Egg and Mushroom Ramen for Two

 

 

This was my first foray into homemade ramen, and it was absolutely delicious!


Ingredients

  •  2 packets instant ramen noodles, seasoning packets discarded
  •  4 Eggs
  • 8 ounces mushrooms
  • 1 heaping teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1 heaping tablespoon diced garlic
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
  • Squeeze Sriracha, plus more for serving
  • 1 Tablespoon plus 2 splashes Rice Vinegar
  • 4 dashes Fish Sauce
  • Olive Oil
  • Green Onions for garnish
  • Furikake for garnish
  • Fresh Bean Sprouts for garnish

 

To make the eggs and noodles:

Boil water in a small sauce pan. Add the eggs to the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes uncovered. Immediately remove from water and transfer to an ice bath. Break each brick of noodles in half and place into the boiling water. Boil according to package directions (likely 3 minutes), then drain.

To make the broth:

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot. Add the ginger and garlic and fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pot and cook for 7 minutes. Next, add the chicken broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar and a splash of sriracha to the pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. 

 

Assemble all ingredients into two bowls and top with sliced green onions, bean sprouts and furikake. Enjoy!


Optional Addition of Chicken Breast:

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet. Slice the chicken breast in half so you have two thinner strips. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Place chicken in skillet and sear on both sides, approximately 2 minutes each. To the chicken add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sriracha, and 1 tablespoon rice vinegar. Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through.