workout day!

I worked last night and have to work again tonight, but I managed to squeeze in some heavy lifting with the encouragement of Lepetite Jen

this is not Jen, but this is what she would do if she was here  :)

Here's what I did

 Jump squats no weights  3x12

 plie jump squats 10 #  3x12

Romanian dead lifts   12#  3x12  (wasn't real sure how to do these properly, even after video)

lying leg curls   35#   3x12

butt lift  5# each hip   2 minutes

planks   1 min x2

too hot to run for me   it's 95 out yuk!

I hope I can keep it up, because when I'm not working out I feel yukky.

gotta go to work, night 2 of 3

It's gonna be a long day

Got a bit tipsy last night.  Forgot to lock the car which wouldn't be a big deal except I left my purse in there...

This morning I have spent all morning canceling credit cards and such ...

#1 question they ask when you call to cancel?

"What's your credit card number?"

UHHHHH?   I don't have it...it was stolen.

Lord.

that no knead bread they are all talkin about

So, I haven't really done anything fabulous in a while.  This lil number was as debatable as fabulous, but I liked it.

Its the No Knead Bread from Jim Lahey

The first loaf I made I tried some whole wheat flour...It failed miserably.  It was a flat gummy mess.  The next one, I just used the exact formula (duh) and it was quite good.   Yummy good, with a slight taste of sourdough.

If you make it, you need a cast iron pot.  I used a 5 qt.  I didn't have one, so I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond....that sucker was 148$ !!!!

 screw that.  I then remembered I had seen some at World Market...they were 49$ and came in all kinds of groovy colors.  PERFECT!!!

hint #2:  only use the 1/4 t. yeast, don't be tempted to add more.

Well Here's the recipe.  I've heard there are many variations on the internet, but this is the real one...you can also youtube it.

this is after I let it rise for 12 hours then dumped it onto a floured piece of parchment

then it had to rise again for about 2 hours

the final outcome...yummy!!!!!

We dipped the pieces in Olive oil, red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

here's the recipe:

3 cups (430g) flour

1½ cups (345g or 12oz) water

¼ teaspoon (1g) yeast

1¼ teaspoon (8g) salt

olive oil (for coating)

extra flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal (for dusting)

Equipment: 

Two medium mixing bowls

6 to 8 quart pot with lid (Pyrex glass, Le Creuset cast iron, or ceramic)

Wooden Spoon or spatula (optional)

Plastic wrap

Two or three cotton dish towels (not terrycloth)

Process: 

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lightly coat the inside of a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F).

Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes in the bowl or on the work surface. Next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450-500°F. Place the pot in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes Then remove the lid and bake 15-30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.

good luck!  let me know how it turns out!

xo, m

spent some moolah...

I just couldnt take it anymore.  I needed to start fixing my living room!  

I went out and bought this couch set, minus the side chair.

*(that is not my living room)

It's semi modern looking, a neutral color...grey is neutral, right?

We hope it matches the green carpet and yellow walls.

The chair I have been recovering...well It better match too.  

I'm not super fond of the pillows, but I can recover those with some of the fabric from the chair.  I also had purchased 2 yellow pillows and some black and white graphic pillows to tie it all together

I'm still going to have to do something about the white curtains I bought.  I just dont like them...they need a sheer or something under them

I'll figure that out.

It was so hard to pick out a couch!   it took us about 2 .5 hours.  We looked at everything, took pictures, then went back and sat on them all.  We talked about dog hair and kids...and decided the kids need to sit on the floor and the dog needs to be locked up.

It will be delivered tomorrow.

Today I started my running again.  4 miles done

I ate a nice cup of greek yogurt with a spoon of organic peanut butter mixed in.

I'm going to head upstairs and make bread...

I wonder how that will work out.

Its the NO KNEAD CRUSTY BREAD

I'll take some photos.

have a great day

xo

m

upholstery hell

From the depths of the basement and Re-uphosltery hell, and just to say I can do it...

remember this post

" Step One of Re upholstery of a chair"

It started like this purple mess, stained and ripped.

Then to my weary hands and eyes I continued on, hoping to one day complete the project.

When I started, Osama Bin Laden was still alive

See this Post

Lord, I'm slow.

I'm still stapling and pulling and trying to figure it out.

I have decided that it can't look any worse than it did, and my new motto is why keep it if we aren't going to use it....

So, Fix the DAMN thing!

(or ditch it, it can't be any worse)

Here I'm stapling, just to hold something in place so that I may tug the other side.

from the front:  not too shabby, still a ton of stapling and fabric, and I'm not even showing you the back yet!!!!

upholstery hell, originally uploaded by v8grrl.

The side, which still needs the entire side done....but it's getting there.

This was time consuming, and daunting, but once I said, "screw it" ( so, not Miss Design Blogger) and started stapling it started moving faster.  

I probably could have bought a new chair for about 300$ from IKEA

but this will make me happier, knowing I can do it myself.

The cost:

fabric: 42$

Staples:7$

Loss of confidence: ***

I'll keep ya posted.

Now you attempt it!