Sugar Shock

I am on a diet. The first phase of this diet eliminates sugar, caffeine, and meat aka the loves of my life...besides the Mister. While I'm not hungry (it's all you can eat fruits and veggies), I may snap. My office is full of sugary goodness, and I kid you not, I could smell doughnuts from 50 yards away. I'm talking football field distance. To make matters worse, I'm attempting to make a birthday cake for my best friend. I have to wash my beaters every time I pull them out of the batter so I won't lick them. Forget water boarding, this is torture.

Anyway, This isn't my first cake rodeo. I'm no baker, but I enjoy decorating. Here's my first attempt at using fondant for my 25th birthday:








Not bad, but why would I possibly work with something I know and try to perfect it? Because I'm stupid. This time, I going buttercream. Shortening, powered sugar, and more powdered sugar. I may snort my countertop. Wish me luck!


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Menu Plan Monday

I'll admit it. Mr. DIO was out of town, which means I've been eating whatever I want. I haven't menu planned. I've just followed my whims. This has ranged from mussels and french fries to a Jello Snack Pack. And after Sunday's Super Bowl feast, expect to see a whole lotta lettuce in next week's plan. Don't judge.

Monday: Moules et Frites

Adapted this Smitten Kitchen recipe for the mussels and bought frozen crinkle cut fries for the frites. Completely indulgent and fanciful. I thoroughly enjoyed this with a glass of sauvignon blanc and a Pretty Little Liars DVR marathon.

Images found here and here.

 Tuesday: The Aforementioned Jello Snack Pack

Wednesday: Dinner out with friends

Thursday: Popcorn
In fairness, I was putting together a popcorn bar for my boss' baby shower and felt experimentation would lead to a successful buffet. I was right. 

Friday: Braised Beef Bones & Egg Noodles
The boy came back, so I figured I may as well give him a home cooked meal. This one is my mother's recipe, so there's no measurements a.k.a a sure fire way for me to screw up, but he loved it regardless (and had the decency not to tell me he prefers my mom's). 

1 pack of short ribs
horseradish
sour cream
beef broth
chopped onion
salt 
pepper
egg noodles


Pour enough beef broth into a Crockpot to cover your ribs.Thicken with sour cream and horseradish (I'm not a big fan of the stuff, so I try to use sparingly. If you're like me a little cornstarch goes a long way). Throw in the onion. Sprinkle the ribs with salt and pepper, braise on all sides. Throw them in the Crockpot too. Cook on low for 9 hours. You could probably add in the noodles as well but I wasn't home and was too chicken to try, so I par boiled them first and mixed in for the last 30 minutes. Served with a salad.

Saturday: Wings & Beer at Buffalo Wing Factory
It was a friend's birthday. Although, as made apparent by previous menu posts, sometimes you just have to. 

Sunday: Go Green Bay Glutton-fest
I'm trying to make myself feel better with a theme. It was the Super Bowl. There were friends. We had everything from pepperoni pizza, french fries, steaks, buffalo wings, shrimp cocktail, chips, dip, beer...and i had all of it. I know, I know. 


Diet starts...tomorrow.  

When *NOT* to DIY

When you're sick...

With a fever over 101...

And your husband has to keep pulling you away from the miter saw...

Really, he knows you can do it; it's just that now probably isn't the best time.


...dining room's going great.


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New Year, New You, New House?

No, we're not moving, but I'm definitely cleaning and purging my way into the New Year. Now that the dust has settled somewhat, it's time to get organized and really focus on bringing this home to life. On today's list is cleaning out our fridges, airing out the guest rooms and laundering their sheets, washing windows that haven't been washed since we moved in, and tackling our own laundry...Seriously, if you have a system, let me know. There is no reason two people end up with so much dirty laundry.

Ahem. I digress. This was our first full year in our house, and I can't wait to reveal all the work we've done, like: 

• Installing hardwood floors
• Installing molding (both of the crown and chair varieties)
• Painting. Lots of painting
• Adopting a dog
• Cooking a multitude of dinners and treats
• Oh, and planning our wedding

While walking Molly through the snow last night, the hubs and I decided our motto for 2011 is No Complacency.

I

We're most concerned with the final part of that definition - "smug self-satisfaction with an existing situation [...]" Are we happy? We're over the freaking moon. We're finally (my word) married, we've found a great house to grow in, we're fortunate enough to still have jobs, and our family is bearable healthy and happy. We just don't want to get too comfortable. It would be a shame to get this far only to quit. We've accomplished so much in the past year, our momentum is just catching speed.

What are your home goals for 2011? 

Just Do It

I'm an awesome project starter. Let me tell you. I'll see something on TV or online and just know that I need to do it too. I'll sit in the room in question, stare at my canvas, brainstorm the possibilities, make at least one to do list, and run out to get my supplies. Then...oh look, Real Housewives of Who Cares is on... I often get distracted, overwhelmed, or just plain scared. Do I really know what I'm doing? Is that color a really good idea? Do I really even like that? Second guessing yourself stinks.

Luckily the other half of the DIO duo is a get 'er done kind of guy (which, by the way, I both love and loathe). If he (I) sets his mind to do something, it's guaranteed to get done immediately. If it's something he hasn't done before, he takes the time to research the best method and gives himself a realistic timeline to complete it rather than, you know, jumping in after one 30 minute glimpse on a home improvement channel.

Inviting someone over to our house, though, is usually the only best catalyst I need to finish a project. So when we decided to have a party to celebrate the graduation of a dear friend, I knew it would be more than just throwing together a spread; a serious room makeover was needed.

Project: Dining Room

This was the state it was in when we moved in. This picture is deceiving though, as the previous owners had a food fight before they left. I'll fill you in on how that was fixed later.

What gets you motivated to finish a project?

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