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One Year Update

Listing Photos

It all started with my Starting Point post. There I wrote my initial thoughts and ideas for this house as recorded last November. We bought this house and found many things wrong with it. We starting putting work into the house starting last October/November, and below is what we were able to accomplish so far.

Current Progress

As you can see just between the first set of photos and the second, we’ve made some big changes. We removes trees and bushes, put in raised beds, added an exterior door on the garage, and changed the accent color on the house from red to teal. Inside, we removed a lot of the latex paint off the utility room walls, we built and removed our builtin pantry, and installed a storage shelf instead. We removed the broken dishwasher and sealed the space to be used for my canning stuff. We also upgraded the light in the kitchen, painted cabinets, remove the old range microwave and added a new range-hood, as well as replaced the old leaking kitchen faucet. In the dining room, we refinished the wall after removing about 1/3 of the wallpaper in the house, and we also created a lampshade for our single handing bulb from a lantern we used at our wedding reception. We haven’t done too much to the living room yet; we added a projector screen and are mainly using it for storing some of our extra stuff until we finish the master bedroom. We replaced the light fixture in the hall, and upgraded all the light switches in the house to the rocker style. We repainted the bathroom, removed the medicine cabinet, changed the light fixture, and painted the vanity and changed the hardware. We also added a new shower curtain to match. In the original green room, due to it’s carpet color, we originally replaced the floor in the closet with vinyl planking. After seeing how easy it was, we took on the task of redoing the entire rooms floor, which was not an easy task. we remove the wood from the closet to be replaced with matching floor eventually, I also painted the bedroom the two shades of orange, we moved in, and that is the state of our orange room. Finally, our current project is the master bedroom, or our new green room. We just finished laying the flooring on Saturday. There is still a lot of work we want to do in that room before the new unveiling, but I hope this helps build some excitement for the next unveiling, which will be coming in the next two weeks or so.

A Year’s Worth of Projects

A year is so long, yet so short. We were able to accomplish so much because of the blessing we’ve received this year and from taking things in stride. We are happy for our new experiences and are content with this house even as we continue to find more problems. We aren’t sure if we’ll keep this house forever, but we are happy for all the good things this house is providing for us. This Lustron gives my husband and I something to do together, to bond over, and to dream for. We hope for nothing but the best for this house in the future, and we hope our fingerprint on this house improves the beauty of this old Lustron, rather than hinders it’s potential.

For more on our home improvement posts from this year, feel free to check out any of this posts below. If not, I’ll see you again soon!

Starting Point

New Light Fixtures

New Kitchen Faucet

Update and Mistakes

DIY Hidden Pantry

New Dining Room Light

Removing Wallpaper

Closet Work

Bathroom Transformation

Dishwasher to Storage

Kitchen Cabinet Updating

Raised Beds

New Kitchen Vent Hood

A New Big Project: Laminate Plank Flooring

Green Room Flooring

Finishing Our Guest Room

New Kitchen Shelf

Cucumber Sandwiches

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I’m still drowning in cucumbers, and as a result, I figured some sandwiches with some cucumbers in Italian dressing would be a nice treat. The dressing for these sandwiches is rich and full of flavors. The thick cream cheese brings a smoothness to the dish. The dill is subtle, but so delicious with the cream cheese. The ranch dressing brings most of the flavors, with garlic and onion bringing a savory flavor to the dressing. All that complimented by the fresh and crisp cucumber. You can pick from a variety of breads, but we went with the standard white bread today. Try this at home sometime soon and you won’t regret it!

What You Will Need
  • 4 Oz Cream Cheese
  • 1 tsp Dill
  • 1 Tbsp Ranch Dressing
  • Sliced Cucumbers
  • Bread
  • Bowl & Spoon
Directions
  1. In a bowl, Stir cream cheese, dill, and ranch dressing until combined.
  2. Add dressing to bread, top with cucumbers then bread and enjoy!
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Homemade Chicken and Broccoli

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Chicken and broccoli is my favorite Chinese food. I’ve been eating it since I was a kid and I hear a lot of other people like it too. So, as a result, this dish was formed. When you choose to make this, you can substitute worcestershire sauce in place of soy sauce if you don’t have much ginger or garlic, since worcestershire has soy, ginger, and garlic in it. I used 2 small chicken tenders to make this, however, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to use a pound of chicken breast instead if your love Chinese food, or if you have a larger family than two to feed. Though this tastes very similar to takeout, this dish tastes just as good if not better with the sesame oil, and garlic powder coming through even more than takeout!

What You Will Need
  • 1 cup Chicken (Brest or Tenders)
  • 3 cups Broccoli (Fresh or frozen)
  • 2 Tbsp Oil
  • 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • Pinch of Flour
  • Wok/Dutch Oven & Spoon
  • 1 1/2 – 2 cups White rice
  • Medium Saucepan
Directions
  1. In a medium saucepan, add 1 1/2 – 2 cups white rice. Rinse the rice under cool water 5 times. Add an equal amount of water to rice. Place over medium heat. Once boiling, cover and reduce your heat to the lowest setting.
  2. Place your wok/dutch over over medium high heat, and add oil. Meanwhile, half your chicken and slice it, then add it to the oil. Prep your broccoli now if you are using fresh.
  3. Stir your chicken and cook it until the chicken looks cooked externally. Add your broccoli (if using fresh add 1/4 cup water). Add to your mixture the rest of the ingredients. Continue to stir and cook until you broccoli is cooked to your desired texture.
  4. Remove from heat, and serve chicken and broccoli over rice.

Taco Scrambled Eggs

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Tacos are great to eat, but their leftovers are even better to work with. I could have made a casserole or just froze the meat for next time, but one of my favorite things to do with these leftovers is to make taco scrambled eggs. I’ve been making taco scrambled eggs since I was a kid. It’s simple! Just throw everything into a pan and in just a few minutes you’ll have a delicious, filling, savory breakfast. I used shredded shape cheese then topped it with slices of American. I also used my homemade cucumber salsa with this dish. Not only did it add beautiful color to this dish, but it was so refreshing with these eggs and brings a new flavor than normal salsa, though I love this with normal salsa too!

What You Will Need
  • Leftover Taco Meat
  • Shredded/Sliced Cheese
  • Salsa
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Milk/water
  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • Bowl and fork
  • Frying pan and Spatula
Directions
  1. Microwave taco meat for 30 seconds to be able to pour from container.
  2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add butter, melt and coat bottom of pan.
  3. In a Bowl, add your eggs and milk/water. Whisk with a fork until combined.
  4. Add your egg mixture to the hot pan. Top with 3/4 of your cheese and your taco meat. Stir the mixture until you see no visible raw egg.
  5. Reduce heat to low, top with remaining cheese. Let cook until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and serve with salsa.
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Green Beans

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It’s not everyday I do two posts, however, my earlier post was short, so I wanted to share another today. I’m growing green beans in my garden this year. I usually just serve canned green beans, but I was convinced they would be good to have fresh, and if we don’t have them fresh, we can at least freeze them to preserve them. Here is a delicious way to serve them that doesn’t take much time or fancy prep work.

What You Will Need
  • Fresh Green Beans
  • Knife and Cutting Board
  • Small Saucepan and Slotted Spoon
  • Water
  • Salt and Butter
Directions
  1. Rinse your green beans, transfer to your cutting board.
  2. Cut off both ends of the green beans, cut into 1 1/2 – 2 inch pieces, then transfer to your saucepan.
  3. Add enough water to cover, add 1 Tbsp salt to pan, and place over medium high heat. Cook for at least 5 minutes.
  4. Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked beans onto serving dishes. Once plated, top with salt and a thin pad of butter.
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