We are officially homeowners!!!

Posted in Family Room, House Tour by Tanisha

I am so excited to let you all know that we’ve bought our first house!! (Which is also why I’ve been MIA for the past few weeks…whoops!) So far we’ve been here for two weeks and could not have been happier with our home. I am also excited that I can now start getting my hands dirty with all the design ideas I’ve been pinning for the last year! Most of the house is still empty as we now have many more rooms to fill than we did in our 1 bedroom apartment, but I still wanted to share a few photos of our new digs.

For today’s post, I’ll share the Family Room/Kitchen area. By no means is this room done (we have several projects ahead of us including new floors, paint, window treatments, new sofa…etc), but this is the room that we spend most of our time in by far.

When we started house hunting, we knew we wanted a place that we could entertain. We love to have our closest friends and family over and wanted a home that would allow everyone to mingle and converse easily. We LOVE how this open floor plan allows us to do just that!

This rooms get sooo much light– it’s amazing. Cooper loves lounging here too!

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The breakfast bar is perfect for additional seating and for grabbing a quick bite in the morning. Plus it allows me to still feel a part of the action while I’m cooking!

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Next to the kitchen are 3 additional spaces: the Laundry Room (left), the Powder Room (straight) and the Garage (right). Hanging in the right corner, you’ll see my monogrammed Key Holder I made when we first got married. Placing it right next to the garage is both attractive and convenient as we are able to hang our keys right when we get home. I also love that the previous owners added a buffet for additional storage. It’s a great place to set up a bar during parties!

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To the left of the buffet are our sliding glass doors leading out to our back yard. (More on the yard in another post.) These curtains were the first thing I purchased for this room. I wanted something to soften the doors, but still allow light to shine through. These finds were from Bed Bath and Beyond and are the perfect addition to the space. I LOVE them!

The gas burning fireplace and mantle were hand crafted by the original owners. I love how its rustic lines play against some of the more modern elements in the room. And with fall just around the corner, I can’t wait to snuggle up next to this baby!

We’ve definitely got a list of things to do in the space to really make it our own, but with a few photos on the wall and some of our familiar pieces, it’s already starting to feel like home!

13Jul2013

Spice up your date night– with a jar!

Posted in Life As A Wife by Tanisha

It’s the weekend! And in our home, that usually means having a date night! I am a firm believer that date nights are crucial to any marriage. It’s so easy to just want to curl up and veg out on the couch after a long work week, but setting time aside to reconnect with your honey is so worth it! But after having the weekly “dinner and a movie” for about a month, we started to get into a date night rut and wanted to change things up a bit. That’s when I came across this GREAT idea on Pinterest— creating a date-night-jar! Here’s how it works: Start with any jar. A mason jar will do just fine. I actually had a pretty tin sitting around that I used. Pick up some inexpensive popsicle sticks which can be found at any craft store. Michael’s happened to have some that were already colored which was perfect. However, if you can’t find any in this fashion, no worries– you can simply paint them! Just keep in mind you’ll need to select three colors (categories) for you popsicle sticks which will represent kind of date you’ll be going on: Yellow—An inexpensive night in Examples:

An “old movie night” watching black and white films
Playing a competitive board game
A Chopped Challenge where you select three ingredients and make a complete dinner using only what’s in your pantry

Green—An event which requires a lot more planning and usually tends to be on the more expensive end Examples:

Visiting a wine vineyard
Going to see a Broadway show in the city
Taking a couples cooking class

Pink— A night out of the house, but not as expensive or elaborate as a “green” date. Examples:

Drinks at our favorite wine bar “Rosie’s”
Miniature golfing
Coffee and dessert in town

Come up with as many ideas as you want and write them on the appropriate popsicle sticks. Don’t be afraid to be creative and maybe a bit silly. The point of this is to have fun! And voila…you have a date jar full of wonderful thought free moments for you and your love to enjoy!

What about you? Any great date ideas or tips you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them!

12Jul2013

Foodie Friday: Chicken Burgers with Garlic and Rosemary

Posted in Recipes by Tanisha

This is my first “Foodie Friday” post (yay!). I was thinking about which recipe I’d like to share with you all and thought of my husband’s favorite summer meal– Chicken Burgers! I originally got this recipe from Giada De Laurentis on Food Network but have put my own twist on it over the years. Click here for the original recipe.

They are so easy to make and super delish! Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients
Mayonnaise Spread:

1 cup light mayonnaise

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 clove garlic, minced

Burgers:
1 pound ground chicken

1 Small Onion

1 Small Pepper

¼ cup parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 Kaiser rolls

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup arugula, divided

½ cup Mushrooms

1 Small Eggplant

Directions
For the mayonnaise: In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, garlic, and rosemary; set aside.

For the burgers: Preheat a gas or charcoal grill or place a grill pan over medium-high heat. In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, ¼ cup parsley, sautéed chopped onion, sautéed chopped pepper and 1/2 of the mayonnaise mixture. Using clean hands, gently combine the ingredients and form the chicken mixture into 4 patties. Place the burgers on the grill and cook for about 7 minutes on each side. Transfer to paper towels and let rest for a few minutes.

While the burgers are cooking: Sauté mushrooms with salt and pepper. Set aside. Slice Eggplant into ½ inch thick portions. Brush each side with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and place on grill until tender.

Brush the cut side of each roll with the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture. Grill for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly golden.

To assemble the burgers: Spread a dollop of the remaining mayonnaise mixture on the tops and bottoms of the toasted buns. Place ¼ cup of arugula on bottom bun with chicken burgers on top. Next, add mushrooms, eggplant and finish with the top half of the bun.

Happy Cooking!!