Posts filed under ‘Bathroom’
Oops – got busy
So when your wee one gets sick and your insomnia kicks into high gear you don’t always get to your blog. Sorry about that. Here are a few more pictures leading up to the big bathroom reveal.
13 Days to the Reveal!!!
Are you getting excited? I sure am. Keeping my fingers crossed that my package arrives soon. Here’s another little tease.
Countdown Fun!
Everyday until the bathroom reveal (13 days away!) I will post a little snippit of a photo. The entire picture will be part of the big reveal! But for now, I can tease you with a little bit of fun! Be sure to check back tomorrow for another piece of the picture!
The Bathroom Reveal
As long as everything goes well with the United States Postal Service, I will be posting the big bathroom reveal in 14 days!
I’m Cracking Up!
I thought I had decided on the accent colour for the new bathroom. I even went so far as to order turquoise bathmats. Maybe it is the orange undertones in the paint, but we are now going to accent in orange… try finding orange bathmats. I challenge you. Send me some links (post them in the comments at the end of this post) that sell orange bathmats. While I prefer muted colours; I’m open to all your finds.
I’m Cracking Up Crackers
Who knew finding orange bathmats would prove to be so challenging! My stressness took me to the kitchen where I baked some crackers, which seemed appropriate given that I feel like I am cracking up! I adapted this recipe from Heidi over at 101 Cookbooks. I added some flax meal to the recipe to give my crackers a more organic look and taste (it’s also good for you!). Heidi rolls hers out with a pasta maker, but I just rolled mine out as thin as I could with a rolling pin. I also didn’t bother using the dough hook on my mixer to knead the dough. I did it by hand and when I was done my hands were silky soft from the olive oil. Add whichever toppings you desire. I used sesame seeds and garlic on some and the others were decked out with pumpkin and sesame seeds. 
1 ½ cups semolina flour
1 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
¼ cup flax meal
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup warm water
Whisk together the flours, flax meal and salt. Add the water and olive oil. Stir to combine. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 7 to 10 minutes (enjoy how soft your hands are after). The dough should be just a bit tacky. If you need to add a bit more water or flour do so.
Divide the dough into three equal portions and roll into three balls. Lightly cover each ball with olive oil and cover the dough with a clean dish towel and let rest for 30 to 60 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 450F degrees. Cut three pieces of parchment paper the size of your baking sheet (I used a standard sized baking sheet and was able to make 3 sheets of crackers). When the dough is done resting, flatten one dough ball. Using a rolling pin roll the dough out on your pre-cut parchment paper. Roll the dough to the edges of the parchment paper. Place the dough covered parchment paper on the baking sheet and using a pizza cutter cut your dough into your desired shape and size. Poke each cracker with the tines of a fork to prevent puffing, add any extra toppings (pat them down gently into the dough), and slide into the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Some of the edges of the crackers will get a little brown. Repeat the process for the remaining dough.
Enjoy with nut butter or your favourite cheese.
Colour???
After many stores and many maybes I still do not have bathmats for the new bathroom. I originally though orange would be bright and cheery, but then I changed my mind. Then I thought turquoise or aqua… but I can’t quite seem to land on a bathmat I like in these colours. I am totally drawn to the chocolate brown mats, but then the bathroom will be devoid of colour – remember I painted the walls a warm beige. I really don’t like this part of the bathroom renovation; not one bit. Any suggestions? I just really want to finish this project… sigh.
Masking Paint Odours: Bake!
We have painted the bathroom; you saw the paint chip. We have hooked up the sewer lines… and now we’ll add a few finishing touches, like some art, bath mats… that sort of thing. I have to decide about the light fixture that will hang over the tub. I have a chandelier that came with the house. I thought I would clean it up and paint it white or chrome (to match the fixtures), but I’m not sure. I do like the idea of reusing… What do you think? Should I buy a modern light fixture or use a chandelier with a lot of sparkling crystals? Send me a comment below and let me know!
In between painting, I have been baking. In addition to using low odour paint, opening the windows and running an air purifier, baking really helps with paint odour…sure it is only masking it, but it does smell better! I made the graham pillows again. I just can’t get enough of these, despite all that butter… My husband asked if they had chocolate in them and when I said no, he wasn’t too interested. Back in the day, before I read food labels, I used to enjoy Nutella, which just celebrated World Nutella Day, by the way. Unfortunately, after reading the label on this product, I could not bring myself to eat it anymore. So, I made my own! The internet is laden with homemade nutella recipes; just Google it. But beware, many of the recipes contain loads of sugar – you may as well just buy a jar. I found this recipe instead. What I like about it is that it is low in sweeteners and you store it in the fridge, which makes it difficult for spreading (unless you leave it out a room temperature for a while), but great for baking in the centre of my graham pillows – add a small marshmallow and you have smores. You can also heat it up and drizzle it over grilled pineapple and strawberries with a sprinkling of coconut. Or place a dollop in the centre of some homemade chocolates. This is better than the real thing.
A Healthier Nutella
Hazelnut skins can be quite bitter. Be sure to roast the hazelnuts at 350F degrees for 10 minutes and rub the skins off using a tea towel or your nutella will taste very bitter. If you want your nutella to be a bit sweeter, you can substitute the agave for honey.
- 1 cup hazelnuts, roasted and skins removed
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 5 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
- pinch sea salt
In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts to a smooth butter, which should take anywhere between 3 to 5 minutes depending on your machine. Scrape the sides as needed. Once the hazelnuts form a butter consistency, add the cocoa, agave, vanilla, oil and salt. Process until well blended. Store in a in the refrigerator. You will want to bring the nutella to room temperature prior to serving, unless you are going to bake with it.
A Bathroom Reno Break
I could be soaking in my tub or enjoying a steam shower, but we got a tad bit distracted. We are experiencing an early spring in southern Ontario and after the crap-ola summer we had last year, we are trying to stay outside and enjoy as much of the sun and warm weather days as we can. We also do not have air conditioning, so it’s best to stay outside and enjoy the breeze anyway. That said, the bathroom renovation is really only just a drain pipe away… and maybe some towel racks.
Instead of finishing the bathroom, we put in a veggie garden. We are also building a climber for our daughter, but we’ll reveal more on that in a later post – I’d like to post it finished so that you can see that we do actually finish the projects that we start! The veggie garden measures 8 feet by 8 feet, and the centre-piece is a teepee structure that will, in time, be covered in broad beans and peas. We have also planted:
- celery
- cherry tomatoes
- pencil-pod beans
- zucchini
- swiss chard
- double-yield cucumber
- lemon cucumber
All of these are planted in the garden, but we also have a lettuce patch growing in an old wheelbarrow that was left on the property when we bought the house, and we have horseradish growing in a deep container, and various herbs are growing in my flower gardens and planters throughout the yard. I’ll be sure to post some more photos of the garden as the summer progresses. Hopefully, everything grows well! I planted quite a bit from seed!
Happy gardening!
