Outdoor Living

As I'm sitting here at the dining room table to write this post, I take a look around and I feel like the apartment walls are closing in on me. I'm surrounded by stuff. Stuff without homes. Those 2'x2' canvases that I picked up at the thrift store for .50 a piece (a total steal of a deal). Christmas lights I still haven't put away (I know). Wroght iron railing I picked up at the flea market last weekend (just you wait and see).

 

Too.Much.Stuff.

 

Stuff = clutter and clutter = apartment walls are closing in on me ala Princess Leia in the trash compactor in that one Star Wars movie. #nerdalert

 

We've officially run out of room people. The cabinets are full. The drawers are stuffed. All these things...this stuff without homes is driving me bonkers. So until I pretty up those canvases that are totally stuck in another era into some beautiful wall art, or figure out how to safely secure these heavy railings to the wall, here they sit. Smiling at me and suffocating me all at the same time. 

 

I need space. And then it dawns on me. The answer has been in front of me this whole time. Literally.

 

Sitting here at the dining room table, the view directly in front of me is that of our patio. I remember while apartment hunting over a year ago that the patio on this apartment layout was one of the things we oohed and awwed over when we first saw it. It spans the entire length of our living room and our master bedroom. It boasts a full size washer/dryer in the laundry closet and still has feet to spare with gorgeous California views of palm trees and bright blue skies. By apartment patio standards, it's massive! But as I sit here, I realize just how little we've utilized this available living area. And it makes me sad.

 

Our patio has the potential to be additional living space, a place to enjoy dinner on those warm summer nights, a place where I can go to escape all the stuff, heck...it can even be a pseudo office, because I don't really have a desk or a place to blog. It doesn't just have to be the place where I go to do laundry and die (kiddingnotkidding). The only source of natural light into the main living areas of our apartment is the sliding door that leads directly to our patio which has never ever been particularly esthetically pleasing to look at.

 

Seeing as we just settled on another year here at the very least, and with summer just around the corner, now's the perfect time to amp up this space and use that once neglected square footage to maximize on our livable real estate sorta speak.

 

I'm so excited to take on this little patio makeover and see what I can come up with. As always, I'll be DIY-ing my way through and ballin' on a budget. But before we dive head first, how about a few little before pictures to see what we're working with, yeah?

And from the other direction...

Complete with leftover barstools from our previous apartment when we actually had a bar, my makeshift spray paint/stain table, and cat condo for our sweet Zurgy who likes the view out here from way up high.

 

Inside those double doors is our laundry closet. 

 

Ugh. So bad. This is getting a makeover of it's own because well...it totally needs one and I'm totally embarrassed by it!

 

The before shots are always so, so bad! But hey...at least we can clean our undies, right?!

 

 

So there it is...not much to look at now, but it's got great potential and a lot of room to work with. I've already made a little progress out here and I'm loving it already even in it's unfinished state.
Maybe I'll even invite you over for some margaritas afterwards to break in the new patio! Sound like a plan?

Jamaican Jerk Marinade Recipe & Skewers

 

Aside from decorating my home and DIY-ing my way through life, I also enjoy cooking. I don't cook nearly as much as I should, but when I do, I love to whip up something new, different, and if it's easy, well then...that's a bonus!

 

As I was scrolling through Pinterest the other night, and as my boyfriend lurked over my shoulder, he saw a picture of some shrimp skewers and excitedly asked me to pin it. He loves shrimp but me...not so much. I willingly obliged anyways.

 

I'm not much of a seafood fan, so naturally I tend to cook food I'm familiar with and food I love but I'd like to make more of an effort to cook food he loves too. So when he asked me to pin these shrimp skewers, I knew that I wouldn't eat them but I also knew that I could make a chicken version that I'd love just as much as he'd love the shrimp and we'd both be happy campers.

 

After being re-directed to the site for the shrimp skewer recipe the only ingredients listed were shrimp and jerk marinade. Huh? That's all? No breakdown of what's in the jerk marinade? Or can you buy a bottle of the stuff? I was clueless.

 

That was a total bust. But even though I had never had "jerk" anything, it still sounded good, and certainly looked good. So I improvised and decided to make my own. After Googling for a jerk marinade recipe and coming across what seemed like a million variations, I pieced together my variation and I have to say...it was mighty delicious!

 

Jerk marinades are often used as a dry spice rub or as a wet marinade and for this recipe, I made a wet marinade for my proteins. The jerk marinades are made up of numerous seasonings and spices which I surprisingly had most of them on hand. But enough with the talking...here's what you'll need to get your jerk on:

 

 

1 lb. raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into cubes

3/4 c. vegetable oil

2 habanero peppers, seeded and chopped 

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped (reserve some for garnish)

6 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. ginger

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. coarse black pepper

1 tsp. course sea salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

 

(ginger and chili powder not pictured)



 

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the proteins (shrimp/chicken). Habanero pepper, jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro do not need to be finely chopped. You'll see why in a second.

 

**Just as a word of caution - we love spicy food and therefore added 2 habaneros and a jalapeno, but even then it wasn't all that hot for us. If you're unsure or do not like spicy food, just stick to the jalapeno or omit both all together**

 



 

With all ingredients in the bowl, give it a quick stir.

 

It's starting to come together!

 

 

After all your ingredients have been quickly stirred, pour everything into the blender and puree until your marinade is no longer chunky.

 

At this point you'll want to place your proteins into Ziplock bags and divide the marinade between the two. This recipe should be enough for 2, 1 lb. proteins.

 

Once finished pouring your marinade into the bags, gently massage the marinade into the meat for an even coverage and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours. The longer the better!

 

While your proteins are marinating, you'll want to prepare your skewer sticks. Start by filling your sink with water and place let your skewer sticks soak.

 

Soaking your skewer sticks will help prevent them from burning or catching fire when you place them on the BBQ later.

 

 

Once your proteins have marinated and your skewer sticks have soaked sufficiently, it's now time to assemble your kabobs.

 

I just used red onion and green pepper cut up into decent sized chunks but you could also use tomato, jalapeno, or even pineapple would be great too!

 

For the skewers, I layered red onion, then green pepper, shrimp or chicken, and repeat, then layered everything into a baking dish to take down to the BBQ.

 

 

We started by placing the chicken skewers on the BBQ first because they take longer to cook through. If you're cooking chicken and shrimp be sure to take this into consideration to plan your cooking times accordingly.

 

Once the chicken was cooked through about half way (approx. 7 mins) we added the shrimp skewers to the BBQ so that they would finish about the same time. Cooking times for your chicken may vary from ours depending on how thick/big you cut your chicken cubes.

 

 

After everything was cooked through and had a nice char to it (the best part in my opinion) it was time to eat! (OK...this was the best part)

 

I served the jerk shrimp and chicken skewers atop a bed of cilantro citrus white rice (recipe coming soon) and garnished with a little extra cilantro. Deeelicous!

 

His:

 

 

Hers:

 

 

Man o man, this was good and looking at all these pictures is making my mouth water!

 

It definitely didn't disappoint and I'm so glad that I was able to give my man the seafood he so loves while adapting the dish to accommodate my taste too! I just love it when a recipe can pull double duty like that!

 

Think you'll give this recipe a shot? Do you love spicy food as much as we do? Whatever you do, be sure to make extras...trust me...you'll be glad you did!

 



Look for Less - Spring Living Room Edition

 

Spring is just around the corner and I'm loving all the pops of color and floral prints plastered all over the blogs and Pinterest. I'm eager to incorporate a little bit of Spring into my living room but until I do, this living room caught my eye:

 

I love the teals, pinks, and crisp whites all while feeling cozy, eclectically gathered, and collected. This living room totally screams "spring" to me in all the best ways possible.

 

I searched the Internet for the original source of this living room but was left empty handed so if you know who I should credit, please let me know and I'll be happy to do so! Since I wasn't able to find the original source for this living room, I really have no idea where any of these furnishings came from but often times I see gorgeous rooms and they just look lavishly expensive. And while I'd give my right arm, and probably my left, to live in one of those pin-worthy homes, this girl on a budget just doesn't have the cha-ching to be as fortunate.

 

So what do I do? I do what I do best! One of my favorite things to do is to take an inspirational image like the one above and recreate it for the girl on a budget (aka me!). It's so fun to see something you love, but probably can't afford, and find something similar for much, much cheaper. Great design doesn't have to be expensive! That's the absolute best part!

Wanna see my rendition? Take a look and see:

Source List: 

Chevron Drapes - H&M Home - $24.95 for the pair

Round Mirror - Ikea - $14.99

Teal Tufted Sofa - World Market - Reg $699.00 (this was just on sale for $499!!)

White & Blue Polka Dot Pillows - Etsy - $60.00 for the pair

Floral Pillows - Wayfair - $106.00 for the pair

Coffee Table - Target - $135.99

Blue Vases - World Market - $14.94

8x5 Rug - Rugs USA - $86.00 (currently on sale for 75% off)

Art - Etsy / Minted / Artfully Walls - Approx $25.00 ea

White Sofa Table - Ikea - $199.00

Lamp - Target - $39.00

 

Total Cost: $1454.87

Here's the side by side:

Not exact, but pretty darn close, no? I love that the re-created look has the same vibe, and colorful spirit as the inspirational image all while standing on it's own.

 

It was so much fun trying to re-create this spring living room look with items I found on the cheap. And the best part? A lot of these retailers offer sales all-the-time so any of these items can be purchased even cheaper! But a living room for less than $1500.00? I'd say that's  job well done, don't you?

 

 

 



30 Day Entryway Closet Check-In & a Quick Little Project

Hi friends!

 

I'm back today to give a 30 day check-in of our entryway closet organization project and to let you in on what's worked, what hasn't, and how I addressed it.

 

Remember a month ago when I shared this before and after?

 

With a few organizational additions installed and some visual de-cluttering, it's amazing how so little can go such a long way. However, as we continue along our organizational journey, sometimes things could use a little tweak, a little umph, to really take it to the next level.

This little closet organization project has done wonders for our family but after using this space for a month, I realized that one area of this space, needed a little extra organizational help.

I have a confession...

We suck at mail. We pay most all our bills online and who doesn't get truck loads of credit card offers and junk mail? So needless to say, we procrastinate when it comes to opening and sorting through the mail and as a result, we would just shove all the mail in the inbox until it couldn't hold no more.

See?

The inbox on the door was/is an awesome idea, and really, truly has worked wonders. It just needed a little help to help us be better at sorting the mail. My solution?

I took some generic binder clips that I had on hand, added some washi-tape to the front & back, and labeled them with a permanent marker. Now we can clip the mail with these washi-tape clips into self-explanatory categories.

 

They've really helped to corral the mail and prevent it from getting out of hand. So easy to make too!

 

And when we're not using one of the clips? They easily clip to the edge of the basket just waiting to be used...like so:

 

 

The only other addition is a chevron file folder that holds all our coupons and gift cards that staying in the "Outgoing" mail box that we can quickly grab anytime we're heading out the door.

 

 

With these 2 small additions/tweaks, our coat closet is working like a dream and we're no longer combating a messy inbox and overflowing mail.

 

 

I love quick and simple projects like these washi-tape binder clips. I wonder where else I could employee these cuties? Any suggestions? Where would you use some in your home?

 

 

 

Gallery Wall Changes

 If you're anything like me, then you love a good gallery wall and that also means you're a frame hoarder too. I'm guilty as charged. In our small apartment alone, we have 4 areas where gallery walls have emerged and 4 gallery walls means A LOT of frames.

 

Gallery walls can make a huge statement and bring life to blank apartment walls but they can also go very stagnate, very fast. That's what I'm currently struggling with at the moment. In my haste to hang something, anything, on the walls when we first moved in, I did so without much thought or intent and now I'm left feeling meh about most of it.

 

I haven't quite landed on my ideal design solution for any of these areas so while I'm pondering over my options, you know I just can't leave well enough alone. So! I decided against ripping everything down and starting from scratch, but believe me I considered it, but then where would I store all the frames? Instead I just decided to tweak a few frames throughout the house and see what sticks because who knows...maybe I'll end up loving it all over again.

 

So while I'm busy giving my gallery walls a mini-makeover I thought I'd share with you a few quick and simple ways to tweak a boring ole picture frame.

 

Ready to see the results?

 

The first frame tweak I worked on was this "all of me loves all of you" print I had framed in my go-to Ikea frames. I downloaded this print from an Etsy shop a while back and I think the bedroom is the perfect place for a print like this. Just not sure I'm digging the whole composition of the gallery wall above the bed just yet...I have nightmares about giant earthquakes and the gallery wall crashing down on our heads as we sleep blissfully unaware.

Just as a reminder, here's what the gallery wall above our bed looked like pre-tweaks:
 

 

The print had a white background and basically just blended right in with the white mat, which for me was no bueno, so I took the mat out and gave it few thin coats of my favorite gold spray paint. Although I love the look of this gold spray paint in other applications, I'm not so sure I love it here. But hey...it's just paint, right? And speaking of paint...did you know that mats can be painted for an instant new look? No? Well now you do. And not just with spray paint...with any paint! Just be sure to let your painted mat dry ample time before re-installing it in the frame. This frame tweak was easy-peasy!

 

 

The next tweak happened in the kitchen and although these frames aren't technically part of any of our 4 gallery walls, they were still fair game.

 

To jazz these bad-boys up I picked up some cheap flat corner braces from my local home improvement store and screwed them into each frame corner for an instant campaign style look. Just be sure to remove the glass before doing this to ensure you don't accidentally crack the glass as your brackets are going in. For less than $5, these cuties were looking better already.

 

The verdict? Dig the frames, hate the kitchen. Faux maple cabinets with dark speckled granite countertops? Bleh.

 

 

 

 Next up...

 

A pop of color! Using my go-to Ikea Ribba frame, I painted the inner edge of this extra deep Ikea frame a coordinating pop of color to match the print I downloaded here. The pop of color gives the print an extra layer of dimension and interest.

 

This extra deep frame from Ikea has a square insert that can be removed or kept in place to allow for different picture display options. To achieve this look, I removed the insert, primed it with some spray primer, mixed up some pink, red, and white craft paint to mimick color of the flamingo and then painted all 4 inside edges of the square insert. I let the insert dry for a few hours before re-installing it.

 

Here's the result! You like?

 

 

 

I'm loving the pop of color this little update adds to the space. Can't believe it took me this long to make such a simple & easy update to a boring frame!

 

All 3 of these "tweaks" took me less than 10 minutes to complete, not including dry time. While I'm not head over heels in love with the gold painted mat, it's an easy enough fix, and these tweaks may just hold me over until I figure out what to do, or not do, to these spaces.

 

What do you think? Will you try any of these ideas out in your own home? Do you love gallery walls just as much as this girl?