Getting Creative with Furniture

As my budget is tight, I've tried to find ways to get creative with homemaking. Making big batches of tomato sauce and storing them in the freezer, buying ten boxes of pasta when they are on sale (ten for $10) things like that. So when I needed some furniture for one of my home's bedrooms, I thought about how I could get things done on the cheap.

I truly cannot stand most of the furniture on the market. It's cheaply made with particle board and looks like every other piece of furniture. The nicer stuff often costs and arm and a leg. I tend to buy repurposed furniture, or well-crafted pieces from places like Restoration Hardware (where we got our beautiful new bed).

I used to visit an amazing shop called Savannah Hope Vintage (that now sells at the Brooklyn Flea) whose owner finds amazing old furniture -- high quality, well made wood pieces -- and repaints them to make them fabulous. I had her refinish my grandparents old bedroom set, and also bought six other pieces that she did.

Though there are many pieces that I've wanted to buy from her, my budget didn't allow for more than $20 - $40 for this room. I decided to try and copy something that I saw at Savannah Hope Vintage. It was an ombré effect in shades of grey. Yesterday, I went out and found a dresser from the 1970's, something similar to what I had as a child, and went about getting colors to paint the dresser.

The dresser. Before.

I bought sample sizes of four shades of green, beginning with one that was almost white. Then I lightly sanded the wood, removed the handles, and set up to paint.

Paint shades and sanding sponge.

The process was cathartic. I loved the process (except, maybe, sanding). Seeing the colors come together, drawer after drawer, excited me. I couldn't stop until I was done. I wanted to see the finished product. After a few hours of sanding and painting, here is the final piece (drawers open to allow for optimum drying). I am so excited about it that I think I'm going to do more. Baby, we're gonna need a bigger home.

The Creamiest Macaroni & Cheese

Rainy nights like tonight are made for comfort. I've lit a fire and cozied up on the couch, but only after making the creamiest macaroni and cheese.

I made it on the stove top for my son, and will be baking the casserole portion of it tomorrow afternoon, for my boyfriend. The recipe is surprisingly easy, no roux required, and it tastes too good to be true.

Here's the recipe. I hope you enjoy it.

Take a 1 lb. box of your favorite noodles (I used rigatoni) and boil. While the noodles are cooking, brown 1 cup panko bread crumbs in a pan with melted butter (about 2 T worth of butter). Once it turns golden, remove from heat, salt to taste, and add a little bit of paprika for color.

Take small casserole dish and coat the bottom of the dish with melted butter. Pour the panko over the top to form the bottom crust of the mac and cheese.

Butter fried panko coats the bottom of casserole

Once pasta is cooked, drain water and return to stove top. Add about 2 cups of freshly shredded sharp cheddar, and 6 slices of deli sliced yellow American cheese (the American cheese binds the cheddar and makes it creamy). Stir until creamy. You can add a little milk, salt, and pepper. I add about 1/4 cup milk, and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.

Cheesy rigatoni

Spoon cheesy pasta into the casserole dish, being careful not to disturb the panko crust. Pack it tightly to the top, then put remaining butter fried panko over the top. Take a small square of wax paper, put it over the top, and press to flatten. Discard after using.

Ready for the oven

Bake in the oven at 350* for 10 minutes. Serve warm and fresh.

Dirty Girls

Recently, I started running. I began to run because my dog, Rocco, has endless amounts of energy and running with him was the only way that I could tire him out. And then, of course, my boyfriend runs, my friends run, and the weight I've been wanting to lose will come off faster if running is involved.

So today, when my friend Lina, posted a question (something to the effect of Dirty Girl or Spartan?), I knew I had to run the Dirty Girl race. It's a mud run that is only for women, but men are invited to watch and offer moral support.

Moral support and kisses.

Aside from the fact that the name is just fabulous, Dirty Girl is a 5K for people of all levels and abilities. They have named the water section H2OMG, and another one PMS, pretty muddy stuff. If you want to avoid an obstacle, you can (no burpees as payment). You can run in a tutu, a bikini, whatever you'd like. It's all girls. Pink is the main race color.

This Dirty Girl goal forces me to get my act together and get back in shape (it is also just two weeks before my beach vacation, so it cracks the whip just in time). I'm so excited about this race that I've started a team, hoping to run with lots of fun women. To join my team, Dirty Domestic Goddess Girls, register using Team Code: VHLVW. Everyone who runs with us gets a specially made Dirty Girl candle. Just for our team!

A huge thank you to the beautiful, fit and motivating Lina Catanzaro, for putting it out there and getting the wheels in motion. Run, girl. Run.

Privacy, Please

I've always been an open book. I'd tell anyone who asked what was going on in my life, even the personal stuff, if they cared to know. I always thought that it was just being honest, authentic. Why not spill stuff about my childhood, my finances, my romantic interludes?

As I've gotten older, I've found myself having deeper feelings that I like to keep to myself. Some of the sweetest moments in my life are the ones that I want to keep for myself. Why share the beauty of private, intimate moments that were really only intended for me?

I've started lifting the drawbridge and keeping the important stuff on my side of the moat.

Some of the things I choose to keep private are feelings, others are emotions. And then there are observations, thoughts, actions that grow bigger and more special when they are kept protected. Truth be told, it's hard to hush up about moments that are so amazing I'd like to share them with the world. It's hard to be bubbling with excitement and keep that to myself. Doing so, however, elevates those special, joyful moments to a new level, and keeps them protected.


Clearly, there is something to be said for keeping things private. I've learned this firsthand, and while sometimes people have a hard time accepting this change in me, it's a good one and I'm glad I've implemented it.

Create Your Life

It's this time of year that I reevaluate my life.  I think about what is working, what isn't, and how I want my life to look. It's not as simple as thoughts like health, success, or happiness. It's far more detailed.

What does it mean to be healthy? Happy? Successful? What do I want to see when I look in the mirror? How do I want my parenting model to look? What do I want my intimate relationship to be like?

I sit with catalogs and see what resonates with me, what feels most like the type of person I am. I think about qualities that I'd like to have in my mate (found, fulfilled), and what kind of partner I'd like to be to him. Envisioning a moment is usually enough to show me what I'm looking for, whether I have it, and what, if anything, I'd like to change.

The act of deciding what you want for your life is important. We only (technically) get one shot at this, so why do it blindly? Be pointed in what you want for your life, and make sure you follow through by striving towards it until it is attained.

I've recently done this, and I am happy to say that everything in my life is good. All of the people in my life match what I've always wanted. Friends, family, and the man in my life... all amazing. I'm at a very happy place.

But I've got to straighten some things out with myself. Having spent years dressing for others, behaving a certain way, even worrying about how I appear, it's time that I do what works for me. I've started, but still, there's more. Thankfully, I have support. I have a strong, loving acceptance present in my life that gives me the freedom to rediscover who I am and what I want for myself. With that, all things are possible.

I'm ready to bloom.

Lose Yourself

“Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.” 

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Sorting out one's life is never easy. As a child, my plan was to marry Bobby O'Neil, have a bucket full of kids, a white picket fence, and all the happiness that goes with it (rather, that is supposed to go with it). But you know what they say about the best laid plans. And happiness? Well, it's not something uniform. Happiness doesn't necessarily hang with us, even when we've dotted our i's and crossed our t's.

But that doesn't mean it's not attainable.

Sometimes the only way to have what we want in life is to get lost for a while. Getting lost is rarely intentional, yet the results are usually beneficial. We learn lessons. We don't have a GPS to navigate through life, so we search for clues of what's familiar, following tracks made by others, walking on cleared trails.

Alas, settling into the footsteps of others or walking a path matted by somebody else's boots serves no purpose. Yet we believe that if we successfully do what someone else does, our results will be the same. While that may be true for cookie cutter tasks, like hammering a nail into a wall, it doesn't serve us in the search for that which makes us whole. We need to sit, breathe, and have faith. 

I haven't been able to do it. I've been running in circles, doing what I think is right for me, only to discover that I keep getting lost. Alone, I am never lost. But the moment that I try to connect with someone else, boom. I'm down the rabbit hole.

Moving forward, I am going to try and do my own navigating. I am going move in the direction of what feels like happiness. Keep posted.

Heart On My Sleeve (Surrender)

Disclaimer: If you credit yourself for having been a primary person in my life in the past few years, and aren't any longer, well, you probably don't want to read this. If you were on my email list, I cannot find the tab to remove you, so feel free to mark this as SPAM.

Made it past that point? Okay. Here I am, writing with an open heart. It's been a while (read, 8 years) since I've had the courage to be completely honest and raw. Is it a good idea? Who knows. But it's how I'm choosing to live.

Without being hurtful to others or getting into details that are best forgotten, I will share something that I've learned about myself that is begging to be spilled. It's the kind of thing that sits bound up inside the heart until it's told. After it's out there, I can put it to rest. This, by the way, is inspired by a quote I read on my friend Jamie's facebook wall (I've shared it with you, below).

I've spent the past few recent years slowly degrading. Dying, like a plant without water or sunlight, constantly dry, searching for nourishment. Occasionally, I'd get a bit of water and a hint of low light. Not enough to allow me to grow; just enough to sustain me. I always felt trapped by the boundaries that were set up around me, keeping me corralled in the same spot. Don't grow, they warned. Don't change. But change and growth are part of the process of life, and being stagnant is not something I've ever agreed to settle on. For years, I created something in my head that simply wasn't there. I followed the "law of attraction", focusing on what I wanted and thinking that it would magically appear. The thing is, the law of attraction works when you actually make it your reality, look for what you want, be who you want to be, and walk away from everything else.

And so, finally, I walked away.

For months, I focused on what I wanted my life to look like. What I wanted for my business, my family, my friendships. What I learned, to my surprise, was that being alone at home on a Friday night was far more rewarding than being out chasing something that I wasn't sure I even wanted. I got really comfortable being with myself. After a while, though, I started to miss the shared life. Little things, like sharing coffee in the morning, or laying in bed together talking about everything and nothing.

Choosing to take the next step, I've ventured out. While I am not exactly sure where I am going, I know that what I am ready for is something real, something honest. It should be simple, and it should be nice. It shouldn't feel like work.

I will not play the role I've played in the past. I will not live with unmet needs. The game serves no purpose in my life. I know my worth. While I am not perfect, I am many good things. I am honest, and caring. My heart is big. I take risks, laugh loudly, and am willing to walk to the top of the mountain and jump. I will no longer let my past define me. And I will never let anyone steal my sparkle.

This is what was posted by Jamie R. Allen:

Very little grows on jagged rock.
Be ground.
Be crumbled.
So wildflowers will come up where you are.
You've been stony for too many years.
Try something different.
Surrender.