The main seasoning ingredients used. I start with chopped onions, minced garlic and a couple of cubes of frozen basil. Two large cans of crushed tomatoes and one of puree starts the sauce. After it's simmered for an hour, I add a small can of paste, kosher salt, a lot of Italian seasoning, and my Babchi's secret ingredient, a teaspoon of sugar. As tomatoes tend to be too acidic for me, the sugar helps cut that a lot.
Oh, there was cooking too; I used up the last baggie in the freezer so I made another batch of my Babchi's spaghetti sauce. I also did a variation on the kale infused meatloaf, this time using ground turkey and chopping up a couple of strips of bacon into the veggie mix to give it more moisture. Verdict: a little too crumbly, but the flavors are amazing. I think I could have skipped the bacon since you really don't taste it. The chipotle is the standout, in a good way.
Hubby polished off the roasted veggies so I will be making the asparagus and the cauliflower at some point; I didn't plan well enough on the veggies this week, methinks.
Anyway, onto the main project of the weekend: continued renovation of the living room!
Last week we got the chairs and the new side table.
This Saturday, we got the rug.
Seriously. Isn't it awesome?
We are completely nuts about it. So is George!
What? I am NOT playing with the edge. I swear! How can you accuse me of such a thing?
Sunday I went to Target to look for lamps, and completely scored on the one for the side table.
I am less enamored of the tall halogen I got (forgot to make sure it matches the other one) but those are easier to replace. Mostly we are just excited to finally have some light in the room!
The last step will be the paint (I know, we did it backwards). The guy is coming in two weekends, according to Hubby and his scheduling with him. We're keeping the mustard but the blue is getting done over with this incredible dark orange called Tiger Stripe.
We are also getting the stairwell and kitchen done in a creamy pale peach called Bagel.
The three (the mustard we have, plus the two above) will be great background for all the color in our furniture and accessories. I'm so excited for the painting to be done. We've had these color almost ten years, since we moved in. We are due for a change.
Yeah, I think it is safe to say that we love color.
I especially like it because it's such a welcome contrast to my office. I like our new building, and I LOVE that my new office is so huge, but it is white white white. I have as many colorful accessories, artwork and interesting lights as I can, but it's still pretty white.
It's nice, but I much prefer coming home and seeing this.
What about you? Do you like white and neutral in your living space, or are you a color fiend like me?
Colour all the way, baby! Every room in my house is a deep or vibrant colour, including my closet! I hate white rooms, just not my thing.
ReplyDeleteLove that rug - it's just gorgeous.
We have no white walls anywhere in the condo, so I'm definitely a fan of color. The living room and main hall are a warm beige, and everything else is red, yellow, green and blue. We have one room left to paint, so I'm trying to pick another fun color for that in hopes that we don't need to re-paint or redecorate anytime soon (especially since our guy who does the painting is usually me!).
ReplyDeleteThat is a really great rug! Where is it from?
Amazing how much that rug pulls everything in! I love color (had a purple accent wall in my family room and kitchen for 10 years) but now I've gone a bit more neutral...although my accessories are pretty bright. Looking forward to seeing the finished room with the new paint (bet YOU are too, haha!).
ReplyDeleteI love color, but am kind of afraid to just go for it. I've lived in my house for 10 years and still have quite a bit of builder's beige because I can never decide on a color. Maybe your color will inspire me to just go for it. Heck, it's paint - if I don't like it, it can always be changed. I loved seeing the pics of your living room as it comes together.
ReplyDeleteGiven the choice, I'd probably say "color"! Your rug sure made a HUGE difference in the room! Looks like you're having fun...
ReplyDeleteI definitely love color. My house is like a Crayola box!! We do have a neutral tan color in a few places, but we also have red, blue, green, etc.
ReplyDeleteThat's going to be a nice looking room! I love the carpet and the chairs.
ReplyDeleteI'm a contractor so my office space never really belongs to me. The color of the space isn't as important to me as the lighting, and I have been know to climb up on the desk to unscrew lights that are too bright.
Cool rug! Looks great in there.
ReplyDeleteFor years I lived in rentals where everything was beige. When we bought our house, the first thing I did was paint several of the rooms with color!
ReplyDelete