Thursday, June 16, 2011

Hash Brown Omelets

When I student taught my roommate and I went to a local restaurant and had hash brown omelets, a cinnamon roll, and hot chocolate on every snow day.  Then we would go home and watch Friends for hours.  Naturally, I make one of these on most snow days now that live a couple of hours away from my college town!

These omelets are pretty good though, so they aren't just reserved for snow days!  We eat some sort of eggs for dinner at least once a week.  They take me about a half hour from start to finish, which I don't think is too bad.  Here's how I make them...
Thaw 1/2 bag of shredded frozen hash brown potatoes
My onions are sad looking...Usually I finely chop 4-5 green onions.  Half goes in with the hash browns in the skillet.  The other half is set aside.

Put hash browns into a big skillet and turn stove to medium heat.
Salt and pepper the hash browns.
We like quite a bit of pepper!  Once it looks about like this, stir it up!  Stir in the first half of the green onions.
Scramble 4-5 eggs with about 1/4 cup of water.
Turn the hash browns every so often.  Once they just start to brown they are about ready.
Smash down the hash browns so the entire bottom of the pan is covered.
Pour eggs on top of hash browns and cover. 
Finish preparing the filler ingredients while the eggs are firming up.  We love sausage, onion (the other half of the green onions) and cheese.
If using frozen sausage, thaw it to room temp in the microwave.  It doesn't need to be hot, just thawed.
Once the eggs are completely cooked they should look something like this.
Add all ingredients to half of the omelet.
Fold over the plain side.
Cut in two and enjoy!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Gold Mirror

Holy smokes!  This fall I found a cool mirror at Goodwill but didn't really have a spot to hang it in my apartment.  It was too good to pass and it looked like something my sister would like, so I picked it up...for $3.99.  I wasn't positive Kaitlyn would like it, but it wasn't a big deal if she didn't because it was so cheap.  Check this out though...I found the SAME mirror with a coat of paint to the frame and chalkboard paint on the mirror...FOR $159!!!!!!!  Sheesh!  You can see more pictures and a better description from the Etsy shop ShabbyMcFabby.

My Goodwill find:
(I should have cleaned the mirror first!)
I love the top!  It looks even better painted!
ShabbyMcFabby's transformation:


I may just have to snag this back from my sister next time I visit!  As far as I know she still hasn't painted it or hung it up for that matter!  I think I could find someplace to hang it...I think...

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Vintage Sheets

A few months back I started picking up vintage sheets at Goodwill and the local Y Thrift store...not really knowing what I would make with them, but knowing that the cost of the fabric per yard is beyond awesome!  I haven't done much with them yet, and while I have some ideas I don't know what I'm going to do with the bulk of them.  But I do know I like them and I won't feel horrible if I don't love something I've made from one of them!
The first thing I made was an old lady robe.  I love it.  It's pink.  It has flowers.  It's lightweight.  Oh, and rick-rac.  I love rick-rac!  It's not perfect...but that's fine with me. 

This picture really shows the color pretty well...

Here's a skirt I whipped out using one of my sheets!  I really like it...but haven't worn it yet.  I can blame the weather in part...but really I'm just not sure that it's totally "ME."  I'm thinking I might wear it to school a day this week...weather permitting!

Other than a pair of pajama pants, the only other thing I've used my sheet stash for was the pillow backing for my Dresden plate pillow from this post. 

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Grandma's Davenport

This is my Grandma.  She's pretty cool for many reasons.  For example, she taught me how to knit when I was in elementary school on a summer day in her camper.  I wasn't allowed to get up or stop for what felt like ages because she wanted to make sure I really knew what I was doing.  It worked.

Grandma Glor first introduced me to the deals you can find at Goodwill.  She used to go to a Goodwill warehouse once a week at 4 or 5 in the morning to look for Tupperware.  Then she'd take it home and clean it up to sell at flea markets.  This was her way to earn a little extra cash to help her grand-kids buy college books.  How cool is that?  Each semester she would give me a card and remind me "it's not much, just a little something to help."  And it did. 

Well, as a kid I was always confused when Grandma would tell me to look for something "by the Davenport."  I can remember asking her where I could find a game and I swear I would search the entire house looking for "the Davenport," because the games were under the Davenport.  Pretty sure I gave up and found something else to do most of the time.  Then, one day, someone explained that the Davenport is just the couch!  For years I never knew why Grandma called the couch a Davenport...but guess what!?!  I decided to do a little research awhile back and found out a few things on the good ole Davenport!


Here's what Mr. Wikipedia has to say about the Davenport:

Davenport is the name of a series of sofas manufactured by the now-defunct A. H. Davenport Company. Due to the popularity of the furniture at the time, the name "Davenport" has become a genericized trademark. It is often used as a synonym for "sofa", especially in the Midwestern United States and in northern New York state. Specifically, it is used in the Adirondack Region and the Tug Hill Plateau, especially amongst those born there before World War II. The so-called Davenports of the northern New York region are often locally made sofa versions of the locally manufactured convertible Adirondack chair.

Among the younger generations, the word has come to mean a more formal sofa. In the Tug Hill and Adirondack regions in New York, a Davenport may refer especially to a couch which, like a modern futon lounge, converts on pivoting hinges from a sofa to a bed.

In other areas of North America, the word Davenport is used for a Futon-style sofa with storage under the seat area.

Thank you Wikipedia for the helpful information!
Image from Carly Googles - Apparently I'm not the only one!
Would you classify this as a Davenport?  While orange might not be my color of choice...I have to admit I think this would have been sweet to have in our "guest" bedroom instead of a bed.  I'm not sure I would want it in a house, but for now, in this little apartment...it would be practical.  I wonder how comfortable it is, and how much they cost...

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Second Bedroom

We live in a two bedroom apartment.  A rather small two bedroom apartment.  The second room is the catch all for everything.  .e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.  Seriously...tools, sewing stuff, camping gear, "pantry" food items, a bread maker, serving platters, and sports equipment (just to name a few things) have all found a "home" in this room.  It's not ideal, but since we don't have a basement, or other storage room,  a few shelves have helped us store our junk.  Up until this past fall the second room has been the storage room/office.  Then, a few months ago, one of our neighbors gave us a bed they were getting rid of.  We were excited, but we had no idea how we could make it all fit.  We got rid of a LOT of stuff and moved things around to open up enough space for the bed.  It's not perfect, but it's a ton better than it used to be!

Bits likes the new pillow!  I  found an easy Dresden plate tutorial and I am pleased with the results!  No idea where I found the tutorial though...I think I forgot to bookmark it.  :(  The white background is actually one of my vintage sheets.
I don't know that I love the mirror there...but I like the way the three frames go together!  The squirrel print on the left is from etsy shop CacheCache and the print on the right is from Kantan.  The print on the right says "You must not forget to pray night and morning everyday."  I have to confess that I didn't pick either print out on my own.  I saw them both in a different blog and thought they looked great with my sweet Goodwill curtains (only $3.99!!!).  The "art" above the frames was made with toilet paper rolls and the hot glue gun (tutorial here)!  I painted the mirror and frames with paint I already had from other projects...so it isn't a perfect match, but I like it.  The "quilt" is from Target. 
That's all.  I'm not showing you what the rest of the room looks like.  (It's not pretty...not pretty at all.)