Great Ideas

What started as a simple desire paint the front room quickly change into a major project. Upon taking down some of the wallpaper we noticed several large cracks and found the plaster was black in some places. We also found out that there is no insulation behind the walls. So after careful consideration (which lasted about 5 minutes) we decided to go ahead and do the walls right.

Our version of doing it right means we are ripping out all of the walls, insulating, and putting up drywall in place of the old plaster. My husband was able to get this section of the wall finished and cleaned up rather quickly. It looks like the majority of our work is going to be clean up and we need to decide if we need a dumpster. Which I think we just might.

We have hardwood floors on the first floor and it made me cringe to see them after my hubby had cleaned up this first section this evening. They weren't in the best shape to begin with and we already knew they needed to be refinished, so maybe after we are finished this room he'll get on that. I think we may have opened a can of worms with this project!

Favorite Brunch

Today over at Today's Housewife the theme for Please Pass The... is favorite breakfast or brunch meals. Here is a neat recipe that I found and just love.

Cream Cheese-Raspberry Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake
2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 tsp sugar
Filling
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 pint (2 cups) fresh raspberries
Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP butter, softened
2 tsp orange juice

Heat oven to 350. Spray large cookie sheet or 14-inch pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. (I use a round pizza stone) Unroll both cans of dough; separate into 16 triangles. Reserve 4 triangles for topping. On sprayed cookie sheet, arrange 12 triangles in circle with points toward center, leaving a 3-inch hole in center. Press dough to form 14-inch ring. Press seams together to seal. Fold outer and center edges up 1/4 inch.

In medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients except raspberries; mix well. Gently stir in raspberries. (Mixture will be thin.) Spoon filling over dough.

With scissors or pizza cutter, cut each reserved triangle lengthwise into thirds. Place 1 tsp sugar on work surface. Press each dough strip into gar. Arrange sugared dough strips, sugar side up, evenly in spoke-fashion over filling. Press ends to seal at center and outer edges.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes.

In small bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter and orange juice; stir until smooth. Drizzle over coffee cake. Serve warm. You can also add a mound of extra raspberries in the center for a garnish. Yum!

October Cooking List

Here is my meal list for the month of October. I'm actually getting bolder in my ventures and have decided to host two cooking days instead of just one. I found out that many of the gals who would like to cook with me do not want to give up their Saturdays with their families (or just can't do it Saturday). I completely understand! So since I'm a stay-at-home mom, why can't I host a mid-week cooking day as well as a weekend day? So this month we have cooking day on a Tuesday as well as a Saturday.

So here's what I'm eating this month. If any of these meals sound appealing to you and you would like the recipe, just leave me a note.

1. Italian Chicken-Tomato Pie
2. Pork Chops with Brown Sugar-Cider Glaze
3. Stromboli
4. Upside-Down Pizza Casserole
5. Stuffed Shells
6. Enchiladas
7. Easy Chicken Bake
8. Parmesan - Garlic Chicken
9. Broccoli Ham and Cheese Casserole
10. Roasted Pork Loin
11. Sausage Pizza Twist
12. Turkey Meatloaf
13. Ham & Cheese Stuffed Chicken
14. Chicken Pie
15. Birds Nest Pie
16. Italian Pasta Bake
17. Heavenly Chicken
18. Taco Pie
19. Chicken Manicotti
20. Spice Rubbed Steak
21. Mini Italian Meatloaves
22. BBQ Pork Chops
23. Quick Chicken Divan
24. Raspberry Glazed Chicken
25. Tomato Soup with Basil
26. Hamburger Rice Casserole
27. Sausage Casserole
28. Tuna Casserole
29. Crock Pot Easy Swiss Steak
30. Vegetable Primavera

Wallpaper Is Evil!

As you can see from this picture, my wallpaper is pretty. It's a nice floral design that has been in this house for ages! So my hubby and I have decided that it's time to go. Which means, my hubby goes to work and I stay home and amid homeschooling, cleaning, blogging, etc, I get the fun job of stripping the wallpaper. Well, since I'm doing it, you all get to read about it!

I've stripped wallpaper before, we took all the dark blue stuff down out of the kitchen about a year after we moved in. We painted the kitchen, breakfast nook and living room nice green and cream colors. Unfortunately the green turned out too minty and so we've decided it's time for a change. We also decided to rearrange the entire first floor, swapping the dining room for the living room, moving doorways and adding built-in bookshelves and an electric fireplace. We have high hopes! As you can see, this is a rather big room that is covered in wallpaper.

My problem now is this evil wallpaper. It doesn't want to come off. Not only does it not want to come off, it's shredding! AHHH! Underneath the walls aren't drywall, it's plaster and we've found several cracks in just one section alone. Well, the good thing about that, my hubby decided to go ahead and check the walls for insulation and insulate if necessary. (I've been begging him to do this for 3 years!)

On an interesting note, in this picture you can see the original color of the wallpaper (top). When I removed some of the paper near the top, the border came off and revealed the paper underneath. It was a lighter color which would definitely be more appealing. But we're going for a dark rich red and a sage green with gold/cream curtains. It might not sound like much now, but when we're finished I'll post the pictures!