Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts

Makeshift Sunday Brunch & Premature Closet Mourning

And the countdown begins!!! 3 days until we close on our very first home. Thank God, because I don't think I could take a whole lot more of this anticipation/anxiety. This past weekend was spent packing, packing, packing. The only things left to pack are kitchen dishes/utensils, our clothing and bathroom stuff. We're technically not out of this apartment until the end of the month, so it might be a slow process of actually getting the stuff over there. But Saturday morning I woke up (abnormally so) at 5:30 am and decided to "Get To It!". This will be our third time moving in less than a year. When we moved from Minnesota to Sioux Falls, South Dakota last spring, I was much less organized from the get-go. What took me weeks then took me only a mere couple of hours on Saturday.

When we were done packing, we went.... FURNITURE SHOPPING. Ended up purchasing a patio set on sale for $108 at Shopko, a couch, chair & ottoman for the upstairs living room and a gorgeous sectional for the basement. Yikes.

Sunday, Kris and I went to 9am mass at Holy Spirit. We normally like to go out for brunch on Sundays after church, but after the huge purchase we'd made the day before, we decided to take the more economical route and dine-in for Sunday Brunch. The problem? Very few ingredients. We've been trying to get by on what we've got without doing any more grocery shopping before we move. But with a little innovation and some elbow grease, I was able to whip up a delicious, semi-healthy, 100 % home-made meal.

I share with you:

Chicken Sausage Breakfast Pizza with
Seasoned Breakfast Potatoes


Chicken Sausage Breakfast Pizza:

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/4 cups Jiffy baking mix
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 1 tsp. salt, divided
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
  • 2-3 chicken sausages, casings removed and crumbled (any flavor you like! I used garlic & mozzarella)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped.
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  1. 3 Tbs. grated parmesan cheese
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Combine baking mix, hot water and 1/2 tsp. salt in bowl. Knead with hands until the dough no longer sticks to your fingers (may need to slowly add a bit more baking mix).
  3. Spray a 13 pizza pan with non-stick spray. Press dough onto pan.
  4. Brush dough with olive oil. Poke all over with a fork. Bake for 8 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, saute onions & sausage in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil until onions are soft. Drain.
  6. Whisk together the eggs, sour cream & ricotta cheese.
  7. Spread the sausage/onion mixture over the crust. Carefully pour the egg/cheese mixture over it.
  8. Sprinkle with pepper, remaining salt and parmesan cheese.
  9. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Turn the oven up to 425 and bake for an additional 8 minutes.
  10. Cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing.


The breakfast potatoes were so simple that I'm not even going to give you a recipe. I diced up 3 russet potatoes, soaked them in ice water for 10 minutes and double-fried in canola oil until golden brown and crispy. I seasoned them with a mixture of sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley and thyme. SOOOOooooo GOOD!

Now, after all that goodness and yumminess, I have to leave you on a sad note.
Our new house, with its 3 bedrooms, beautiful fenced-in backyard and deck, finished basement, 2-car garage............. lacks a walk-in closet. So while I'm counting down quite joyously the days until we move, there's definitely more than a hint of remorse there when I think of what I have to give up:

My "Hollywood" Dressing Room:
WARNING: If you are weirded-out or disturbed by anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive organization, refrain from viewing the following pictures. Parental discretion is adviced.

Yes, you are seeing that correctly. Not only do I color-code my closet by section (long-sleeved shirts, short-sleeved shirts and tanks), but I also match the hanger color to the shirt color. Don't judge.


The Shoe/Necklace area: I purchased an old pot-holder hanger at a garage sale to use for my necklaces. I'm desperately in need of a second one now!


And, the most important part of my wardrobe: The EARRINGS.
I've used bead organizers from the craft store to organize my earrings for years. The small compartments work perfectly, and they're super cheap.


Welllll... I started a scrapbook spread yesterday that I never finished, so I think I might try to get that done before bed. Or... I might just plop down on the couch, watch the Big Bang Theory and call it a night. Tomorrow we get to go see what the new shingles look like on our roof! I had to work all day so Kris went and picked them out by himself... I told him I trusted him to make the right decision. Hopefully he doesn't prove me wrong!

"Giving them space to draw and color gives them room to be creative." - Jeannie Fraise, interior designer

Every artist needs a studio, right? A couple of months ago I decided that I wanted to get back into scrapbooking, a hobby that I had in high school and hadn't revisited since. I'd been keeping all of my scrapbooking and crafting supplies in under-the-bed storage bins-- every time I considered getting them out to scrapbook, I'd dread the mess that I was going to be left with. So I transformed a section of our guest bedroom into my own personal little "creative space":



The dresser on the left: Top drawer holds scrapbooking mats and papers. Middle drawer has stationary, mailing supplies and specialized printer paper. Bottom drawer holds typical "school supplies": Binders, folders, notebooks, rulers, etc.

Storage container on the right: Top drawer has standard printer paper, 2nd drawer holds cutting supplies, 3rd drawer stamping stuff, 4th drawer bead & jewelry-making supplies, bottom drawer is a menagerie of random craft supplies (everything from random pieces of cardboard to a glue gun.)


I had a bunch of leftover mason jars from my wedding (I'd used them as vases for the bridesmaids bouquets at the reception), and I found that they were perfect for displaying pencils, markers, pens, scissors, etc. in a useful yet asthetically pleasing way. The small three-drawer storage stacker has glues, adhesives and punches in it. My ribbon is housed in an old container for Dove facial wipes, believe it or not. :-)

Although I've come a long way from dragging my supplies out from under the bed and cluttering up the kitchen table, I still find myself wishing for more space... at night when I can't sleep I dream up my new creative space in our new house...

Well, time to scrapbook! I'm working on page 7 of my wedding album. Happy scrapping!

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