Galvanized cover-up....

A month or two ago I wrote about how I decided to redo my kitchen decor. I wanted it to be country, pretty, but simple. I got into my head that I wanted to put a pitcher on top of my fridge with some sprigs poking out of it. I found a pitcher that I LOVED...but the downside, it was $40. Not horrible, but NOT what I wanted to pay, so I held off.

In preparation for an upcoming garage sale I was going through one of our closets and found and old galvanized pitcher that I used to put sunflowers in. I have always liked it, but remembered that the reason I don't have it out is because we use mostly bronze or darker metals in our house and not the silvery color. Then I sparked an *idea*. I decided to spray paint the pitcher and distress it with some sand paper and see how that worked....

The pitcher before

My tools: Fine grit sand paper and mustard yellow spray paint

Finished product

I love the details on the tin and sanded them so they would stand out more. This is up on top of my fridge right now with some other Fall decor...the "sprigs in it are growing on me, still trying to decide on those, BUT I am happy with how the pitcher turned out!

Fab Food: Italiano

Oh man, I'm still salivating from this weeks fab food. 

When planning our meals for this week, I planned on my "Fab Food" being a homemade chicken Alfredo. Not because it is extraordinary in technique, etc...but mainly because it is amazingly delectable in every way. I went grocery shopping on Monday aaaaaand because I was so excited about this meal, I made it that very same day.

Because I like stories, I'm going to preface this recipe with one...

One summer when we were newly married, my husband and I went back to help out at the summer camp he grew up going to. He was helping out with the kids while I was put in the kitchen(typical!). I thought that I was just going to be doing salads, other easy things, etc....but no, no...I was actually a cook. 6-8 hours in a kitchen (in a foreign place with people I didn't know) just about drove me nuts, BUT I did come out of it with some new friends and some great recipes. One week we had a *guest head cook* come in to take over the kitchen (I welcomed this). Her name was Sonja, and her food was incredible. This is Sonja's Alfredo Sauce topped with  marinated chicken...

Note: Due to the extreme excitement to eat this dish, I did not take the time to take pictures of, well...anything while cooking. So please, get out your best thinking caps (this is the teacher in me talking) and do your best to imagine :)

Marinated Chicken

--First things first, thaw about a pound of chicken in about a 1/2 cup of Italian Dressing and let marinate for an hour or so. I use a light dressing in order to lighten this dish a *little*

--Cut chicken into strips and put it in a large skillet along with another 1/3 cup of Italian dressing

--Cook over medium heat until done

Pasta

--Take your favorite pasta (we used linguine) and begin boiling...hopefully you know how to finish the pasta without me explaining it....

*Alfredo Sauce*

--Once the chicken and pasta are cooking begin your sauce.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups half & half (ouch)

1 cup milk (we used Skim...another shy effort at lightening this)

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

Garlic to taste

All of your fav Italian herbs...mine? My classics...thyme, oregano, basil, and rosemary

1. Melt butter in 2 qt. saucepan over medium heat

2. Whisk in flour (should be clumpy), gradually stir in half & half, milk and bouillon

3. Cook, stirring constantly with whisk until sauce thickens (about 5-10 minutes)

4. Add seasonings, stir in grated cheese and cook until melted

*Note: if it is not thickening add small amounts of flour until thickened to your liking, or if it's too thick just add milk!

5. Top cooked noodles with sauce and incredibly yummy chicken.

6. Retreat into your own happy place...momentarily tune out children...savor...delight...devour...get seconds...

--This recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups--

 

While I didn't get pictures of the cookin' I did get pictures of my happy and pleased boys afterwards...



 They loved the Chicken Alfredo! It almost made up for the broccoli I also made them eat with this meal...







Vanity rehab.....

Two of my boys in Dublin!

Every summer our little family travels to Texas to my husband's family's farm. We love going to the farm to visit family and also enjoy the laid back atmosphere. One of my other fav's about this trip is going to check out all of the antique stores in town and along the way.

On our stop in Dublin, Texas (a yearly MUST because of the original DP plant that is still there and STILL uses real sugar in their DP's. We stock up!) we visited the Old Fashioned Soda Fountain, purchased our DP's and then I ventured into some antique stores :) I found one that had just opened a few weeks earlier and noticed this:

It is a "shell" of an old mirror that would sit on someone's vanity. I thought it was beautiful. It has a gray metallic type color and is orange where the paint has chipped away. I love orange and immediately knew what to do with it. The price? $5! Love....mainly because there are some outrageously priced flea markets in our town, so this was a steal comparing.

I knew I had wanted to make this into a chalkboard (kinda even swivels like one of the old school big blackboards!). I threw around the idea of just spray painting wood, but I also wanted this to be magnetic, so I knew that wouldn't work. About a month ago when going through our shed I came across an old cork board/white board combo that we didn't use anymore. A light bulb went off and I decided to attempt to spray paint the whiteboard with chalk board spray and use the cork board for a later project(watch for that one in the *hopefully* near future).

The white/cork board with the casings removed

The next step I enlisted my husband to cut the white board to size in order to fit into the vanity frame. After it was the right size I washed it with a damp cloth and let it dry. I chose Krylon's Chalk board spray (no picture, just imagine...) to cover the surface. The result? The spray adhered wonderfully! After a few coats I said uncle.

Before I put the chalk board in the vanity frame I noticed more chipping paint from the frame so I decided to spray a few coats of a semi-gloss Poly-Urethane (a protective enamel) onto the frame and it's stand (I didn't want to lose all the gray from it!). The result? A great added shine to it and a little tougher surface than we had before.

I love how it turned out!

Magnets work great for putting recipes on for cooking or I can put a picture on it!

The chalk works and I even have a little divot for the chalk to sit on!

I love antiquing :)