Sunday, January 25, 2009

Blog Reader Requests

First of all, I am going to share a recipe with you.  (Debra this is for you!)  Every time I serve this, I get requests for the recipe. 

French Dip
serves 8

3# beef chuck roast  (we have use lamb roasts and had great results)
¾ cup soy sauce
3 cups water
1 ½ tsp. dried rosemary
1 ½ tsp. dried thyme
1 ½ tsp. garlic powder
1 bay leaf
5 whole peppercorns

Place contents in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours or until beef is tender.  Remove bay leaf and discard.  Strain broth to remove remaining spices.  (I tie the spices all up into a piece of cheesecloth or a spice bag, so I don't have to strain it.) Shred beef.  Skim fat, if needed.  Use broth for dipping and add some to the shredded beef to keep it moist.  Serve on hard rolls.

Debra, I will make this for you if you will come...just give me about 6 hours advance notice :-)

Secondly...My cousin Chris has been wanting to see photos of our finished basement.  Here they are:  

From my kitchen you will see this opening.  This leads you to the basement stairs.  I repainted my kitchen a green color called cavern moss.

If you look to the right, this is where The King made me a little kitchen office.  It is here I do my menu planning and make my grocery lists.  I love my little nook.  It used to be a pantry but we framed a larger pantry into the kitchen when we were framing the basement.  This paint color is called pizza pie .  I get hungry every time I look at it.

When you turn to the left, you go down four stairs and then turn right onto a landing.  There is a door at this landing that goes to the outside.  We plan to build a deck or screened in porch out this door one day.  Do you like my curtain rod?  I have fabric to sew a curtain...I just haven't gotten to it yet.  I'm telling myself that fabric, like fine wine, is better with age.

Then we head down the stairs to the basement.  These stairs used to be very steep but The King's brothers helped him plan and cut out some of the original landing to make the stairs perfect!  I painted this stairwell a brown color called patches.  I was hoping it would cover up dirty little fingerprints.  It does that job well.  What is does not cover up is permanent marker.  Trust me, I know.
 
Now we are at the bottom of the stairs.  Here is the main living area.  It is a tan color called spiced vinegar. 

Standing in the main living area.  Behind the sofa are the doors leading to the laundry room, the bathroom and the utility room.

Another view of the main area.  My treadmill is behind the sofa.  I removed the clothing for this photo shoot, but my treadmill doubles as a clothesline since it is so close to the laundry room.   Okay, I lied.  My treadmill does not double as a clothesline.  It is a clothesline.

Still standing in the main living area, but looking down to the end.  This is where we keep the toys.  The love seat gets pulled into the main living area on family movie night so (mostly) everyone has a place to sit.

Here is the bathroom.  I love the fixtures.  Actually, I love everything about the bathroom.  I still need to find the perfect towel bars for this room.  One of these days I'll make that a priority.

The walls are a little darker shade than the main area.  This color is jute.  I chose red as my accent color.  I have more fabric ready to be made into a shower curtain.  I'm letting it age as well.  There is a linen closet to the left and the shower is on the right.  We put in floor heat throughout the entire basement so this tile floor is cozy warm.

Next is the laundry room.  This is a shade lighter than the main area and it is called sand fossil.  Don't you wish you could name paint colors?  I do.  That's what I want to do when I grow up.

Just keeping it real for you.  Those other photos were all staged to make it look like I have a perfectly clean house.  I don't.  This is the real me.  Actually this is laundry on a good day.  Some days you can't even see the floor!

Hope you enjoyed the tour.  And Chris, it looks so much better in real life...come and check it out.  

13 comments:

  1. I think it's beautiful! You have a good eye for color!

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  2. You have such great "style" and such nice decorating sense!! I LOVE your basement! And that bathroom WOW!! So what happened to the laundry room upstairs, is that the new pantry?? What awesome ideas!! Was the stair helping brother the twin brother?? He helped build our stairs!! He is one great stair man!! But I must say...my FAVORITE PART.....the little desk area off of the kitchen!! What a perfect, completely useful thing to do with your space!! Congrats guys on a beautiful job!!

    Sheri

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  3. Great tour! I love your little office, and the bright cheerful color! Curtains..yes I have fabric that is ageing too! Curtains seem so unnecessary in the boonies. LOL thanks for sharing the real laundry room view! Your basement looks cozy and comfortable! :)

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  4. I would love to come and check it out some day! It looks great and I love the colors you have chosen....alot better than my blah off-white we had put in all the upstairs of our home!

    I gave you an award....stop by and "pick" it up!

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  5. Thanks for the recipe - it sounds good! You never know as Carol & I might just have to go on a road trip someday - maybe not until warmer weather. You are so good with decorating among other things. Thanks again!
    Debra L

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  6. LOVELY!

    Ah the laundry, the never ending laundry fro a mother in a big family!

    The recipe looks yummy! I will try it!

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  7. Sheri,
    The laundry upstairs is now just the entry/mud room. It is so nice to have it out of the way. Your Father in law gave us the idea on how to cut the landing away and yes, the Twin helped with the stairs. I consider him an expert in the area.

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  8. Gorgeous! I would love to be able to do that to our basement, but alas, we can barely stand up straight in our basement between the rafters, lol.
    Your laundry room is spotless compared to mine. How do you keep up? (to me, that IS kept up) I have 7 kids, too. You can't see at least 50% of my basement floor from the mountains of laundry. My husband keeps talking about adding another washer and dryer, but I don't want to do that. I say use the money wisely and hire someone to do our laundry.

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  9. I love your basement! You are so lucky to have a charming farmhouse that actually has a finishable basement! I love your colors!

    Another thing about those french dips - I love making extra meat and freezing it! That is one of those recipes that reheat very well and is perfect when I have extra (stale) buns on hand... Yummmmmm!

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  10. Love your remodel...the colors you chose are beautiful...I even like how your laundry is matched to the colors (lol, just kidding!) Thanks for sharing the laundry, it makes me feel a little better about falling behind here...I've been sick since we arrived home from Ethiopia (as was the baby)...so your reality blessed my heart.

    Love you dear friend!
    Kimmie
    mama to 7
    one homemade and 6 adopted

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  11. OH, yes, I am doing the Beth Moore Esther study! LOVE it! I missed yesterday, so I will have to go make up the video this week. It is really good stuff. The second week, the first after the intro video, God really spoke to me about something I was working on. So clearly that a friend said "Did you hear what God was saying to you?" LOL I love when that happens.

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  12. Michelle,
    Are you for hire? I would love to have you come and paint and decorate my home! I love your basement and all the paint colors.
    Michele c/ 1 L

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  13. Wow, it looks beautiful, you did a great job. I loved all the colors. I think most of us with many children can relate to the laundry room. Thanks for keeping it real!!!

    Love ya,
    Julie

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I love to hear what you have to say.