I am woman hear me roar...or watch me paint a deck

My dad was really handy to have around: broken window? he can fix it... leaky faucet? he can fix it...fall through the floor in the attic (actually happened...twice)? he can fix it.
Me? not so much. I have never really been handy although my dad did give me a tool set when I turned 21 which has actually come in handy a ton especially over the last year.

As a homeowner there is no option to call the landlord to fix it. When we moved to this house last June the deck was starting to show some wear and tear. I thought about painting it last year but it was such a busy summer getting settled in that it got pushed back. This winter was horrific (2nd most snowy winter in Connecticut history) so the multiple feet of snow took it's toll on the deck even more. I knew that I had to get the project done especially since I have tons of visitors coming this summer. So here is my (possibly inept and wrong) how to guide to re-staining your deck.

My deck before picture...as you can see it's starting to look a bit run down. The first step is, of course, clearing off all the furniture. I did this alone because my husband is crazy busy for another week so I felt like a beast. Now I had spoken to my neighbor about if I needed to rent a belt sander and he thought I could get away with just renting a power washer. I was so excited about that because I really hate sanding (I refinished my bedroom set and it required me to sand it multiple times) so I rented a power washer from a local store for only $36/all day. The power washer was really easy to use and only required access to a hose. I was shocked at how much paint came up with the washer but it also got tons of dirt and grime up.

After power washing, I sanded a few spots that had flaky paint. Next, the fun part, actually staining the deck. The previous homeowners painted the deck-a big no-no according to the guy at Home Depot. Apparently paint will just flake off and deteriorate no matter how many coats you put on. Since not all the paint came up we went with a stain that had a similar color so it wouldn't take tons of coats to cover it up. After talking it over with the Home Depot guy, we went with a Behr paint stain that is guaranteed to last for 10 years. Now I am not going lie, painting kind of sucked. The floor/stairs were fairly easy-first coat took about 2 hours to apply and only about 1-2 hours to dry (it was pretty hot outside) and I did the second coat the next day and it looks great. Now for the tough part: the railings...oh the railings...they took forever because the posts are so close together so it took forever to get all the sides done. The inner railings took about 4 hours and the outer parts plus all the showing supporting structure took almost 6 hours and my arms wanted to fall off by the end.
So 2 gallons of paint plus many woman hours and lots of soreness equals a complete project!

Final part of the project was bringing everything back up. It was raining but I was determined to get the project 100% completed so that's why everything looks so wet.

So that is my how to guide...it took two days and some hard work but the results are fabulous and I no longer have it hanging over my head. I know it's silly but doing something like this by myself (with some much appreciated help from my husband) was nice and kind of empowering.
Good luck with your own projects!

Huzzah!

I am happy to report that my project was a success!

Before

After

The entire deck is shoveled! Well...the areas around the planters have a bit of snow around them but I figure that will melt fairly quickly. We are suppose to get another round of snow this week (as is most of the country, even my beloved Oklahoma) but I have a really good feeling about winter being on a downturn. I know that we are getting an epic storm on groundhog day which probably means 8 more weeks of winter but I have a good feeling so we'll see. Honestly, I am just happy that temperatures will start getting high enough to slowly melt the snow. I was chatting with my neighbor about how my mom told me it was 70 degrees a few days ago in Oklahoma and how I was so jealous. He said that it would be a big problem if it got even up to 50 degrees because the snow would melt too quickly causing flooding in our basements. It's strange that almost all homes here have basements but back in Oklahoma, right in tornado alley, no one really has basements...kind of weird.
One reason I started this blog was to talk about how things are different in the north and I have recently learned about "ice dams."To learn about ice dams Apparently, when it snows a bunch homeowners either have to clamor up on their roofs themselves to get all the snow off the roof or hire someone to do it. Luckily, my neighbor tried to do it himself and failed miserably and now is having a friend do his, another neighbor and mine for a discounted rate (still several hundred dollars). It is a huge help because some buildings locally have been collapsing under the weight of the snow and then ice dams can cause winter damage in the home. All my neighbors have been incredibly nice--snow blowing our driveway, helping clear around the mailbox and generally assuring me that this is incredibly unusual. Apparently, no one has had to hire someone to clear their roof since 95/96 winter when they got 115" of snow in one winter. We are at 71" so far with almost all of that in January. Right now we are at the 11th most snowy winter, but after this week I think we will easily be in the top 10. The gap between the snowiest winter and the 2nd snowiest is huge: 115" for number 1 and 84.9" for number 2. Lets hope my good feeling is indicative of a calming mother nature...please?
Praying for an end to the snow apocalypse,
Steph
Top 10 Snowiest Winters for Connecticut:
Here is a list of the 10 snowiest seasons on record: 1995-96 115.2”, 1993-94 84.9”, 1966-67 82.8”, 1977-78 82.3”, 1960-61 80.2, 1945-46 79.9”, 1947-48 77.7”, 1915-16 77.1”, 1955-56 76.1”, 2004-05 74.1”.
-from http://www.wfsb.com/technicaldiscussion/index.html

Fireplaces and New Years

One of my biggest regrets about our house is that there is no fireplace. No fireplace in a New England home? I know, crazy. When we were house shopping fireplaces were pretty high on my list but I compromised because our house has an amazing backyard view, a huge deck and two full bathrooms which makes having guests much more convenient. I tried to compensate not having a fireplace with having a chimenea. No one up here knew what a chimenea was so I think it may be a Southern/Southwest thing but I finally found one up here this summer and it has been happily installed on my deck since July.

However, the weather turned from lovely and warm to this:

My first blizzard on 12-27-10. We ended up with about 14"

As you can see, the chimenea is not only not accessible but also a bit impractical since I am fairly certain all my important extremities will fall off if I sit out there long enough, even with a small fire. I have been mourning the tragedy of not having a fireplace ever since it got cold. I went home for Christmas and my mother surprised us with an electric fireplace! I have always thought they were extremely cheesy and don't look realistic but I realized that technology has come such a long way. They not only look very realistic  but also can put out heat, you can adjust the flame level, and do all sorts of cool stuff. We shopped around quite a bit and we finally settled on one we liked at Lowes. It has ceramic logs that really help with the illusion and also a grate in the front, just like a regular fireplace. After purchasing our new addition, my lovely husband was able to assemble it within an hour and just like that my wish was granted! I now have a wonderful fireplace that is almost always on and putting off a romantic firelight glow.

I absolutely love it and I am so happy that I have a mantle to display our wedding pictures and to hang stockings on (which I never did this year but will definitely do next year!).

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Weekend. I am happy that Logan actually has the day off so we going to watch some Sooner football and eat our black eyed peas (for luck), spinach (for prosperity) and also ham and macaroni and cheese because they are delicious. My family has been doing a similar New Year's Day meal for as long as I can remember and once again, since Logan and I are on our own, it is up to us to carry on the tradition. One of my favorite parts of being married has been creating our own traditions that someday our children will pass on...we always buy a Christmas ornament when we travel, we celebrate Valentines Day on February 28th because it is when Logan proposed and it's double as romantic (get it 14+14=28...I know we are kind of nerds), we build a gingerbread house on our anniversary (12-19) and we always kiss goodnight....just some examples. I think I will have a few New Year's resolutions this year but I am still not sure on exactly what I want to do. I know resolutions are kind of silly but it is a chance to improve and start fresh which I always love. 2010 has been a good year for me...I traveled to Asia on a mission trip and spent weeks traveling all over Europe with my wonderful husband, hiked up a waterfall, played in the deep purple green waters of Martha's Vineyard,  moved to a new state, relearned how to play Warsaw Concerto on piano, bought a house, and my favorite, celebrated my 1st wedding anniversary. I know that 2011 will be just as special and exciting.

The days are long and the years are short,
Steph

Thanksgiving Menu

My family and I take Thanksgiving and Christmas very seriously. We create entire menus, make everything from scratch and always make too much food. Usually my mom hosts Thanksgiving where we cook for most of the day and then sit down to a nice meal and talk about what we are thankful for and write it down and put it on the Thanksgiving tree--this is a family tradition that started because I love having a Christmas tree up but it is just too early so we decorate it in Thanksgiving colors and write down on paper turkeys and autumn leaves what we are thankful for and prayer requests on put it on the tree. The best part is that we save them throughout the years and it is really fun and nostalgic to look through the thoughts of years gone by.

This year Logan's vacation isn't for another few weeks so I am creating a Thanksgiving menu for two. Making a menu for two people is ridiculous for Thanksgiving because I just can't eliminate anything! I have to have my favorite sides and desserts so I cut down a bit but there is still going to be a ton of food.

Thanksgiving Menu 2010

Appetizers:
Spiced Hot Buttered Rum Cider
Roasted Spiced Pecans
Chives and Herb Cheese Ball

Main Course:
Herb Encrusted Turkey Breast with Giblet gravy

Sides:
My Aunt's world famous, prize winning Potato Rolls
Cornbread Stuffing with Spicy Sausage and Sage
Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan
Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Bacon
Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce

Desserts:
Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Old Fashioned Gingerbread with Maple Rum Whipped Cream

I have never made this much food in one day (although I am making the potato roll dough the day before because it sits for 8 hours) so I am nervous we are going to end up eating at 9pm. At least I am making rum cider so I will be very happy while I toil in the kitchen. This has been the first time I have gotten to choose what is on the menu and make exactly what Logan and I want so it will be fun to try new things. I haven't had gingerbread in years and I never have made a homemade cranberry sauce! I can't wait to share the holiday with my husband for the first time. In other news, we bought a Christmas tree yesterday and I am making holiday cookies this Saturday to nibble on while we decorate the house for my favorite holiday :) I'll post pictures next time. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! What dishes are you going to make?

I am making Scented Pine Cones to make the house smell nice and I love to decorate with nature. So here is a quick recipe for those that have a surplus of pine cones: get a bunch of pine cones and rinse them off and let them completely dry. Put them in a sealed bag with several drops of scented essential oil (I am using a combination of cinnamon, apple cinnamon, and Christmas wreath-you can get these at craft stores like Michael's) Seal the bag and shake several times to distribute the oil. Keep the bag sealed for at least a couple days although the longer the better.Shake the bag every few days. Once you open it you will have wonderfully scented pine cones! I put mine in a tall glass vase and I think it is mighty pretty...you can also put them in a basket with some dried orange slices or cinnamon sticks.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Steph

New England Fall + Spiced Nuts

 "Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." -George Elliot

I am over 1200 miles from home; it is currently getting down to the 40s at night; snow within the next month is a strong possibility. All of this is okay because I am in awe of my first New England fall.

In Oklahoma we get very beautiful fall colors but the trees here are just jaw dropping. Yesterday I drove out to the UConn campus for a meeting and along the drive I kept wishing I had my camera because I kept seeing beautiful tree after beautiful tree. Logan and I are going hiking this week so I will take more pictures but here is just one from my backyard. I was shocked when I got home from my two weeks in Oklahoma because all of a sudden the trees were ablaze with gorgeous color. I can't believe that this is my backyard...I love just sitting on the deck with a fire in the chiminea, drinking coffee with cinnamon and just enjoying the crisp fall air...I just wish Logan (or friends or family) were here to share it.

View from deck

Originally I was just going to post this as is but here is a really quick recipe that I whip out when I want a snack or need to convince Logan to mow the lawn.

Spiced Nuts
Beat one egg white (save the yolk and make some sort of custard or something later) and 1 Tbs of water till nice and frothy. Pour egg white/water mixture over about 3 cups of pecans (I imagine you could use other nuts but I always use pecans because I am sort of Southern and it is in my genes, also pecans are delicious) and stir until all the pecans are moistened. In a bowl, mix sugar, salt (I am a big fan of coarse sea salt...I am convinced it is more tasty than other varieties), cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and then sprinkle over the nuts. Spread the nuts on an aluminum foil covered pan (helps with clean up) and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes stirring 2 or 3 times during baking. Watch your nuts for the last 10 minutes or so because some ovens cook faster/slower and you don't want to burn them.

The great thing about this recipe is you can modify it to make savory nuts with different spices. I have done some with rosemary, salt and pepper that were tasty. I also really liked a spicy version with red pepper, cumin and a bit of chili powder. Play with it and make some for when you have company coming for holidays; put them in a pretty bag with a ribbon when you need a quick gift or make them when you are hungry and scarf them all up.

Spiced Nuts
1 Egg White
1 Tbs of water
3(ish) cups of pecan halves
1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 tps of salt
1 1/2 tps of cinnamon
1/2 tps of ground cloves
1/2 tps of nutmeg

Happy Fall Color Watching and Nut Toasting!
Steph