We Can Can

Last summer, I got the brilliant idea that I wanted to try canning our food. I had finally run out of the things my grandma had canned since moving from her old house, and I wanted to stop relying on store bought things in metal cans or pickled beets with too much cloves for my taste.

So Andrew and I went to a local bookstore, sat down with a couple of coffees, and started looking for a book we could follow.

You Can Can was the best in the stack. It had big glossy photos, step by step, and focused on the basic pantry staples (not full of things lavender - jalapeño jelly and coriander infused pickled corn).

We stated going crazy with canning.

Here's the evidence from early last fall:

We also froze everything we could freeze, and eventually we had to get a deep freezer - that I filled.

It was kind of nuts because we didn't know how much we could get through.

This year, we got a late start but it's been a lot easier because we know what is worth the hassle. For me, it's these:

(This is 40 lbs we purchased when we saw a sign as we were driving along a Wisconsin highway)

And these:

(Andrew doesn't like them)

Surprisingly, we didn't come close to finishing these:

Unfortunately, a huge amount of frozen food was lost in March when, over vacation, a circuit broke in our basement and turned everything in the freezer to soup. I don't know what made me feel more upset - having to throw away all that work or all that good, healthy and organic food.

This year, are goals are a little less lofty. We want to try to re-do a few things that didn't turn out so great (dill pickles - I used a packet to make them "dill" and ended up with scary neon over-salted pickles; red cabbage - tasted like vinegar so strongly that it couldn't be served warm). We've also learned that some things have a million uses (zucchini relish and canned tomatoes). Some things are darned delicious (sweet pickles, pickled beets, minted pears, peaches, spiced apples). Some things are great in smaller quantities (apple sauce, apple butter, cranberry relish, apple pie filling). And since our one jelly was a raving success (tomato basil), we want to try more of those.

Last week, we started with the essentials when we realized our CSA had given us an abundance of zucchini. We had a small quantity - just 4 jars - of zucchini relish, but it's a start.

This week, I decided to document the process for the blog as we canned tomatoes (from our own garden), dill pickles, and made freezer corn. Since we are a lot more comfortable with the process now, we basically did all 3 at once.

Pickles are crazy easy, and with fresh dill they are even easier. Here's what I prepped (after googling what a "head of dill" is. For the curious, it's the flower part).

And here's our basket of tomatoes. 

To peel tomatoes, you start with making an x on the blossom side (which is the opposite end from the attaches-to-the-vine side). This is important prep.

The pickling juice for the pickles was just vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. It's on the left. On the right, a nice hot water bath was getting started for the tomatoes.

Then Andrew and I went to our "stations" - on the left side of the stove, I get my mise en place together for filling the jars (top) and Andrew uses the right side for sterilizing everything.

We work pretty well as a team.

Pickles were first to be canned. I stuffed the slices and dill into the jars and then used the funnel to ladle the hot pickling liquid over the top.

They are gorgeous when finished - the fresh dill looks so much better than neon green!

Next in line, we tackled the tomatoes. We hated canning tomatoes last year because they made an unbelievable mess. But this year it went a lot better.

I did them in two batches and used a system of having a strainer in the sink with cold water to peel and core, and then threw the tomato into a bowl on the other side of the sink. Everything stayed nice and contained.

Here's the second batch (romas) in the hot bath to loosen their skin:

Then Andrew needed to go to the store, so I tackled the corn (with a little help shucking from my mom).

I use a modified version of my grandma's recipe. By modified, I mean that I don't measure the corn, use 1/4 c sugar and a sprinkling of salt. But I do measure out 5 cups of ice water for some reason.

Then it goes into the freezer. I try to get all the air out, but sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn't. The corn always turns out yummy regardless. 

Today our yield was 4 quarts of tomatoes, 6 pints of dill pickles, and 8 2-serving bags of corn. Tomorrow is my favorite - beets!

Mission Accomplished/Crisis Averted

We went to see the other house today.

 I LOVED it. 

I could see myself living there, easily. It has weird quirks and tons of character. And the space! The bedrooms and closets are huge. Three, yes three bathrooms. Built-in drawers with original cup pulls in the closets. Original hardware on all the built-ins. Extra storage space galore. A work bench/room. And the attached garage! Attached, people. This is really a serious thing when you won't live in a house that was built after 1930. The outdoor space was amazing, complete with a pear tree.

The amount of work needed in this home is exhausting, though. The rooms with original hardwoods need to be re-sanded and stained. Nearly every light fixture needs to be updated (ohh and how I nearly died when I opened an attic storage space and spied the original dining chandelier), and there is a lot of questionable electrical work. There were holes in some of the plaster in the closets. One bathroom needs to be entirely ripped out and started over. Plaster needs work in spots on ceilings. One room has teal carpet and a dragon mural. The basement is finished but not waterproofed. And last but not least, the kitchen needs a complete overhaul.

A big part of me wished it could be our next house, but it isn't going to be.

And yet I left the property feeling very happy about the whole experience. 

Six years ago, we would have looked at this home and dismissed it out of hand. We wouldn't have known how to estimate what a bathroom or tear-out would cost. We wouldn't have known what to do when refinishing floors or even what we want and need in a kitchen. We would have been terrified of all the unknowns that don't really bother us now. This would have been an insurmountable project for us back then.

Now that we've been homeowners of a an old house, we know what we are capable of (and what we aren't). As we walked through, Andrew and I were evaluating cost, process, and complexity - all things we couldn't have possibly understood as first-time home owners (and certainly couldn't have tackled while preserving our marriage). 

Seeing all those blank canvases (with old house bones) made me feel excited about our next home - we will certainly be able to find that perfect old house and make it ours, while restoring as much of its original character as we can in the process. We can take on more next time, and it will work out beautifully.

Seeing that old house also made me realize that I want to enjoy what we have and what we've done with this house for a few more years before starting from scratch.

So speaking of that, may I present my messy kitchen:

Oh yes, all that hardware matches.

Here, too.

The fridge doesn't quite fit centered, but it's not as off-centered as it looks here. Just an angle. And please pretend that you can't see my sink full of dirty dishes.

And of course there is a story about those dang knobs. Because this is a long post already, I will summarize a little bit.

Lowe's called in the afternoon that my order was in. So after work, I stopped by (on my way to meet the realtor).

Me: hi, I'd like my order

Lowe's kid: I have no idea what I'm doing

Me: hi, I'd like my order

Lowe's kid: I have no freaking idea what I'm doing. Why don't I make you stand around for awhile, since I'm sure your time isn't valuable.

Me: I'm trying to be nice, but I really hate doing business here.

It went something like that.

Wouldn't it be nice if that was the end?

Do you already know where this is headed?

Wrong dumb stupid freaking knobs.

We returned them, had dinner out, and then went back to Menard's and bought the knobs.

And some dots. 

Andrew has a candy weakness for dots. Since dots are located near cabinet hardware at Menard's, every time we've been there (and Andrew has been grumpy), I've suggested getting Dots. We hope this is the last cabinet-related outing to Menard's, so this time Andrew got his favorite Tropical ones.

I was a little bummed out about "losing" the savings that I'd found at Lowes, but I used my $25 visa gift card that I won in a weight-loss challenge at the Y. So at the end of the day, there was a $5 difference in price, but we wound up with $2 cash savings on out of pocket expenses. So I can still say that we spent only $30 on cabinet hardware.

That's the recap of our evening. One project done (well, mostly done but that is another post for another day), one house visited, and one house to be loved and appreciated by us for a few more years to come.

Bungalow Love (and why we are looking at a house on Tuesday)

Yesterday I started drafting a post that was basically an open love letter to my house - how I've learned to deal with (even appreciate) small closets, a small kitchen (that was huge to me when we first moved in, because I'd seen so many teensy galley kitchens in our house-hunt), and how small spaces mean that you get cozy with the people you love and live with. We are not bursting at the seams in our two-bedroom house, mostly because we've learned to live in a way that uses space efficiently with less stuff (and I still have a lot of stuff, frankly). The lightness - literally and figuratively - that our space has allows in a lot of happiness.

And moreover, our house has a history - long before us of course, but a history with us, too. There are scratches in the floor in the guest room where you can see how my grandpa, who is no longer with us, was much more efficient at sanding the floors than we were. There are Motawi tiles that I grouted into the hearth - a gift from Andrew when we went to Des Moines to celebrate my 29th birthday. Our families helped us with projects here, and we learned so much by learning how do to do all those little things on our own, too. This house is very loved.

So there you go. That's the summary of the post that was swimming in my head yesterday.

So with all that love for our little bungalow, why on earth are we going to go check out a new property on Tuesday?

What is "insanity," Alex?

I always have an eye out for our next house, mostly because we very clearly know what we want, and I want to reassure myself that this mythical house exists. 

In our next home, we have a pretty crazy wishlist. It includes:

Everything that our current house has ---

Air conditioning and modern heating

A new roof, furnace, etc

Built ins and character (unpainted woodwork)

A finished basement

At least 2 bathrooms

Outdoor living space

A decent sized, well-thought out kitchen

A decent yard

2-car garage

A good neighborhood

Plus ----

A specific zip code east of the one we are in

A specific neighborhood east of the one where we live

Dining room built-ins

A working fireplace

Bigger rooms, in general

Bigger closets in the master bed (two closets would be grand)

1-2 more bedrooms (would be okay +1 bedroom and a non-conforming guest bedroom)

Fully fenced yard

The problem is that when you add what we have to what we want, we exceed what we could reasonably spend. So Andrew and are in total agreement that what we want to find is a home at has the bones of what we want, but cosmetically may need some work. For example, I can deal with ripping up carpet and sanding wood floors. I can deal with taking down wallpaper. I'm not afraid of bad ceiling fans or ugly light fixtures. And I can work with outdated kitchen cabinets, floors, and counter tops.

We also hate moving. Our next house is one that we plan to be in for a long time. So it needs to have space for us to adapt, change, and grow into.

So that's why it's a little crazy when I said to Andrew, "I think I found our house."

It's the price we want, a bungalow, 4 bedrooms, finished basement, attached garage....and no one has painted the woodwork. French doors. Sconces. Glass door handles. A partially wrap-around porch. Fantastic bungalow exterior style with brick and stucco. 

And, the carpet and paint is awful, the kitchen out of date, and the yard a little overgrown.

I spent most of the evening mulling over what would happen if we fell in love with it. I thought about it this morning, too. Would we move? Could we?

Spoiler alert: ultimately, I don't think we're moving any time soon. It doesn't really make financial sense, since we've planned our past major improvement projects based on the idea that we stay in our current house five more years. And even if we did love this other house, the neighborhood is not the one that I have my heart set on. If a house is my dream house, the neighborhood has to be right, too.

Even though I can't imagine leaving our little bungalow it's fun to step outside just for a few minutes and wonder what another house might have in store for us.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

I said I'd wait until Christmas to get hardware when I saw how much the hardware I liked cost (my first estimate was $97 - kind of a lot when you have perfectably serviceable hardware).

But then on my way back from the dentist last week, I had this brilliant idea. Since we weren't really sure what hardware we wanted, we should try out some of the styles. (I say we pretty much in the royal sense, because Andrew wasn't really seeing a need for new hardware).

Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the contenders. I really loved the look of bin or cup pulls, and thought that was the direction we were headed. And I really liked antique bronze or oil rubbed bronze.

But in my random grab of hardware at Menard's, I spied a style that was decidedly mission and decidedly cheaper than its mission-style peers. And it was "antique pewter" in color, a finish that neither Andrew nor I had considered.

The second I held them up to the drawers and cabinets, Andrew and I were completely on the same page (and he didn't even know they were cheaper!)

Hello, gorgeous!

But somehow, even though the pulls were on supersale ($2 instead of the $5-6 ones I'd thought we'd like), the knobs (since we need 14 of them) were bringing our total up to $75. Yuck.

So I returned all of the mismatched hardware - with that cash refund, I bought 7 more of those super cheap pulls since the sale was ending soon (Total of about $18 after tax).

And of course Andrew went to work putting all those handles on, since I'd totally made a mess of measurement back in 2008 when we moved in. Because the handles had holes for 3in and 96mm (and most of my drilling previously wound up somewhere at 3 1/4in - I have no idea how the precious handles somehow attached somewhat correctly), Andrew had some seriously odd measurement math to do. 

Most of the drawers use the 3in hole on the left and the 96mm on the right (sorry to whoever buys our house someday..I really hope you like arts and crafts style, which you should if you are the someday owner of our house). But, it worked to attach the handles with no evidence of my prior handiwork.

If you are playing along at home, we now have lovely antique pewter arts and crafts-style drawer pulls and brushed nickel knobs. Which leaves us with this awesome look:

Pretty, eh?

Because I am a super competitive shopper, of course I found those antique pewter hammered knobs way cheaper. After slogging though pages and pages of hardware outlets, Amazon, Wayfair, etc - I found the cheapest price at Lowes.com. Where I happened to have a gift card with a remaining balance on it. Yes!

Luckily, I called the store first and learned that those knobs are a special order item. So I special ordered them online with my gift card. And...they aren't slated to arrive for nearly 2 weeks.

With my gift card, though, I ended up spending a total of $30 for new hardware, which means for less than $100 total and a lot of elbow grease, it's going to look like I have a brand-new kitchen...

...in 2 weeks.

We have another small project to do tonight (lazy Susan will go back to being useful! Hooray!) 

and after that, I guess I'll just be sitting in my kitchen imagining how those pretty new hammered pewter knobs will look...

...in 2 weeks.

Scrubs of Redemption

Andrew says this is basis for redemption. 

Lazy Susan before and after:

Here's the full-size after:

I'd say he definitely earned a decent amount of redemption!

Andrew did a second coat of Motsenbocker's and then scrubbed like heck to get the stain out of the grain. He then carefully wiped everything down. And mowed the yard.

When it came back from class, he insisted that I stain both tonight, so we can get a poly coat on tomorrow and hopefully have all the cabinets replaced by Friday.

I keep thinking this kitchen project is almost done. But there are just a few pesky things remaining.

What's the buzz

Everything more or less has a place back in the kitchen, though there were a few misfit items that had to be re-arranged after our pantry/cabinet adventure last week. 

When we moved the cabinet into the pantry nook, I had to move the memo board where Andrew and I keep things like ticket stubs, cards, invitations, etc. Once or twice a year, I'll take the whole thing down and keep a few items in a memory box of that year, and then the whole process starts all over again.

The most logical spot for the memo board was behind the swinging door in our kitchen. However, this is where I keep my apons on a couple of command hooks. So now my aprons were displaced.

While I'm typically opposed to putting new holes in woodwork, the aprons needed to be in the kitchen and I liked how they had been behind the door. It just made sense to me to have them there. I debated just getting new adhesive for the command hooks that is been using, but I wanted something permanent and prettier to go along with the other upgrades we'd made for the space.

In our basement remodel and in my closet, we have these awesome dragonfly hooks that I love. They are a pewter tone and definitely fit with the "bungalow thing" that I try to have going on in decor. Andrew isn't a fan, because he doesn't like dragonflies. Uh...ok. But he put up with my dragonflies nonetheless.

So I went straight to Target.com to get another dragonfly. And of course, my dragonfly no longer exists.

But there were some other fun options. A few months ago, my favorite DIY bloggers at Young House Love created a line of hooks sold at Target. While YHL's asthetic is not at all like ours typically, we've relied on several of their tutorials for help when we've had ideas like putting in a paver patio. And I do love their playful style.

Back when they announced their new line, I actually tried to think of a use for this octopus hook, but there really wasn't a place for that in our home. So naturally, I'd  also completely forgotten about the bee hook.

And...it came in dark cocoa bronze. Score! I decided to order it without consulting Andrew. I figured if he was going to have a thing against dragonflies, he probably wouldn't be down with a bee, but since it would be out of the direct line of sight most of the time and holding my aprons, and less than $10 (yay for RedCard) - minor decor choices don't really need a quorum, right? I clicked the happy "add to cart" button and said "hey, we need a hook, so I just ordered one from Target." Since we were knee-deep in all my other projects, this statement may have registered with him. Not sure.

Last night, I came home from class and there was a pretty big box waiting for me. Even though I'd seen these in the store, I was expecting a much smaller hook. And box. But, this was a good thing, because I have a hefty collection of aprons. Aprons need a good sized hook. I tore into the package and proclaimed that Andrew should go get his drill to put up my bee-hook.

"My drill? Wait, the back of the door? A bee?"

He had a lot of questions, but thankfully, he'd had a long day so he gave up quickly. I marked the spots on the door with a sharpie, and in a lickety-split second, viola!

And here's another blurry shot. Yes, it all looks cluttered but it's behind the door.

I asked Andew what he thought, and to my absolute shock he said,

"It's cute."

"Cute?"

"Yeah."

I have never heard Andrew proclaim anything as cute other than kittens, puppies, or babies. And all of those things share in common things like a pulse, the wonder of creation, and eyes and noses and such.

But apparently, my bee hook falls into the same category.

Our estimates were off...

Andrew and I are used to projects taking much longer than we expect. Since we had a busy Sunday, we were shooting for just having the kitchen tidied up and ready for doors and drawers to be replaced Monday night. Boy, were we surprised by how the day unfolded.

We woke up at 8:15. Andrew had set an alarm for 7, but I slept serenely when he woke up and shut off the alarm. The first thing he said was "sorry, I screwed up about church."

I said "No problem, we can still go. I showered last night!" Then I remembered that the early service is at 8am, not 9. Whoops.

So we ate a leisurely breakfast. Andrew topped a wheat crumpet with a fried egg, fresh basil, just-picked tomatoes, and avacado. Not a bad way to start a morning.

We decided to attack the inside first with the poly coat rather than divide and conquer again. We were shocked by how fast it went, since everything was already taped from the day before's staining.

And then we were done. 

The directions said to do 1 coat, sand, and then apply a second. We decided to throw caution to the wind and just do our best to apply one even, thin coat. It worked remarkably well. So we moved on to outside.

And pretty soon those were done, too. We had plans for a movie at 1:50pm, so when it was 11am and everything had a nice coat of poly, we started milling around to see what else we could accomplish.

Andrew brought out the big guns to start working on the jacked up lazy Susan doors.

I found Motsenbocker's on a blog when our floor project had reached an impasse - back in the day. It's a water based paint stripper that is less toxic than other options. It's also pretty effective. This stuff is from 2009, but it still works.

Here's the before of the doors. You can see how the stain caked and the grain of the wood is lost.

A nice smear of Motsenbocker's to begin.

Already a difference.

Meanwhile, I decided that we could carefully put the drawers back. And then I put everything that had been hanging out on our dining room table back into its proper place.

I also organized the junk drawer. I'm very anti- junk drawer organizing. It just doesn't make sense - I feel that it's ok to have just one chaotic catch-all place. But there was a lot of junk in there and the drawer was difficult to close. So I sorted. There is something wonderfully calming to me about sorting (I blame my grandma, who used to give me a tin or mismatched buttons to play with. I could sort for hours. Or 10 minutes).

See? Organized. Well, not really. But better.

By the time we needed to go, the kitchen was actually in much better order.

Once the movie ended, we ran to HyVee for some groceries and met our friends back at our house for dinner. Our friend Andy had just worked a 24 hour shift, and Andrew and I were exhausted from our DIY weekend. So I am not embarrassed to admit that conversation was basically limited to listening Andy's 3-year old son expound topics including the following: setting sail using all the pillows in my living room, his friends, what he thought of our hammock, his like of cake and cantaloupe, and all the characters from Planes 2.

After dinner, Andrew and I went straight back to work on the cabinets. With the exception of one that gave us some trouble, everything went into place with ease. About an hour later, we were taking our "after" photos.

Not a perfect match for the other woodwork in the house, but much more complimentary than the builder-basic yellow tone.

I have plans for the top of that cabinet...

And this morning, I couldn't help but compile some fun before and after photos. Of course, I forgot to take current "before" photos from when we started, but I did have a few on a Facebook album from 2008 and 2011.

Here we go!

Top is from 2008 when we first saw the house. Note there wasn't a fridge in here yet.

These before shots are from 2011. Wall color has not changed - just different lighting.

There's still some work left - despite taping, we need to clean up some stain that ended up on the floor and walls. Obviously, the lazy Susan doors need to be finished, so we will likely get those back in place later this week. And of course, I'm still wishing for darker hardware to make the look a little more Craftsman and less late 90's. But all in all, we are both blissfully happy (and pretty shocked) that our weekend project (mostly) just took a weekend to accomplish. Who knows what can happen with this new-found confidence.