House Tour, Part II

Hi friends! Welcome back to part II of the house tour. Today I'm going to show you Blazer's master bedroom, Blazer's study, Blazer's guest bedroom, and Blazer's porch.

Here's the master bedroom... perfectly cozy. We got the new rug at the foot of the bed because we've never had hardwood in our bedroom before, and we discovered that Blazer (bless his little heart) was too afraid to jump on and off the bed from the hardwood because the first time he did it, he slipped and fell. Poor little guy. Now he has a landing pad.

Here's the master bath...tiny! Luckily Brent let me have this bathroom, and he uses the guest bathroom which is actually bigger but doesn't have a tub. And of course I have pics of Blazer up on the wall. Don't judge. I love that little guy.

Here's our study, which is pretty similar to our study in Humble. This is now my office!
Another view of the study
There is a third bathroom attached to the study. Brent said I was big time now because I have a bathroom attached to my office. Usually only CEOs have that, you know. :-)
Here's YOUR bedroom! It looks much better than last time it was on the blog. It's super cozy and you will love it in here.
Here's our lovely porch. We have enjoyed sitting out here with coffee and wine - morning and night! Blazer also LOVES being out here and he is so good... he never leaves the porch. He's just content to watch the neighborhood go by through the railing!
A parting view of our little casa. Love.

Trail Running

This morning I decided to go for a little run because it was 10:00 am and it was 80 degrees outside. You know... because that's normal. There's this lovely little trail here called the Al Buehler Trail or the Wa/Duke (Washington Duke) trail. It's pretty much perfect: fully wooded (shaded), gravel trail, 3 miles, AND it makes a loop so you end up where you started. Today I tried to keep my usual intervals: 2 minutes walking and 3 minutes running. However, that proved difficult since this trail is HILLY! Oh, hello hills... nice to meet you! Anyway, I had fun, and it took me exactly 40 minutes to walk/jog the trail. It was lovely. After looking at concrete for my entire life, this is a nice change of pace. I'm thinking this will certainly become part of my weekly routine. I didn't bring Blazer this time, but I'm relatively certain he would think this was doggie heaven. Maybe he'll come next time.

It's almost magical!
Oh...just a little babbling brook that I ran by... you know...
I had that song from "Little Orphan Annie" running through my head... you know the one....(cue music) "I think I'm gonna like it here!!!!"

Decorating... Done!

Well... everyone has been clamoring for photos, so ask and you shall receive!! We are finally ready to show you our new home. I am completely, 100% in LOVE with this house. We decided that (so far) it is our favorite place to have lived, considering actual house and location.

We had a heck of a time getting painters nailed down, but I had to have colors on the walls, so we didn't give up. We finally found a great and affordable painter, and then we wasted no time getting everything hung up, organized, and ready to go. It's finally a home, and I just love how it turned out. This house is much smaller than our last house, so we had some decor that we didn't use. However, I actually like the smaller house better... super cozy. I used restraint and didn't hang everything I own because it would have looked like a circus.

I hope you enjoy the results! Today you'll get a tour of the entry, dining room, kitchen, and living room. Check back soon for bedrooms, study, and outside!

Hello friends, my name is Blazer and I am in charge of this house. I'd say I love you all, but that would be a lie since I only like mama and daddy. But I will let you see Blazer's house just for today. I'm very nice.

This is the entryway! When you walk in the front door, you see these pictures of the church where Brent & I got married and the lovely doors behind which are the washer and dryer.
This is a view looking back toward the entryway and into the dining room.

Here's our dining room! I'm loving this room. We didn't have a real dining room in the last house, and this is perfection. It's right at the front of the house. I'm seeing some dinner parties in our future.

Another dining room view

View of the kitchen open to the living room. We used the same paint colors from the last house, but a shade lighter on everything. We thought the lighter colors went better with this style of house. I looooove how the paint turned out. Oh, I heart paint.

This kitchen is way smaller than our last, but somehow it feels huge. Everything fits with space to spare. There are these amazing corner cabinets that pull out and have lazy susans inside for all of your appliances. I forgot to take a picture of inside the cabinets, but take my word for it.. they are incredible.

Here's a view from the stove into the living room. We have this cute little breakfast nook that needed furniture. Enter TARGET. I am in love with this white table and polka dot chairs... all from Target. It's my new fave place to sit and work on my laptop. I'm typing here now.

Another view of the breakfast nook where you can see our cutie new bar stools!!! Our old bar stools were too short so we're storing them in the garage. We bought these space saving, yet adorable bar stools at... you guessed it... TARGET! I mean they are so nice and sturdy. You've done it again, Target. I salute you.

And here's the living room. Notice my restraint in not hanging stuff on every wall. We're trying to go for more of a cottage look and determined that simple is best. Oh yeah, and a zebra rug. That doesn't count.

Another living room view

And yet another living room view. Hey, y'all wanted pictures...

Well here you can see the adorable white tufted side chair we ordered from... Target. Y'all I can't help myself.

Blazer hopes you liked this little tour and that you will stop by soon to see the bedrooms and study. Good thing my husband likes to move us around like every two years because I REALLY like decorating and organizing. More than any normal person probably should.

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think!

A Taste of Texas

I am loving so many things about Durham, I could fill up this whole blog! (And I probably will.) I have a long list of restaurants to visit, and a few of them are Mexican. However, I'm not getting my hopes up. I was spoiled with the best Mexican food in the country back in Houston. I'm not ashamed to admit that we ate Lupe Tortilla fajitas every Friday night for two years, and I never once got tired of them. I know that the farther you venture from Texas and Mexico, the slimmer your chances are of finding good Tex-Mex. So I've brought along my favorite Mexican recipes to cook when I'm craving some bubbly cheese. I did have one minor panic attack when a grocery store here didn't sell tortillas AT ALL. I'm used to fresh tortillas made in the grocery store in Texas, so no tortillas at all was not going to fly. Thankfully, another grocery store had a whole display of tortillas. None made in-store, mind you... but they were adequate.

I always thought it was pretty near impossible to make homemade enchiladas and that one would have to spend the entire day in the kitchen stirring various pots to make it happen. This is not true. I found a Rachael Ray enchilada recipe and have adapted it for my taste, adding a little more spice. I make this recipe all the time, and it is surprisingly quick considering there are no shortcuts at all. It includes cooking and shredding your own chicken and making enchilada sauce from scratch. Don't be scared - it's simple, and it all comes together in 30 - 45 minutes. When we finally make some friends here and have them over for dinner, I may just give them a Taste of Texas!

Chicken Enchiladas
Adapted from Rachael Ray

1 package yellow corn tortillas (9 or 10 will fill a pan)

Filling:
3 cups chicken broth
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 dried bay leaf
1 onion, roughly chopped
2-3 sprigs of fresh oregano
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt

Sauce:
2 cups canned tomato sauce
several drops of hot pepper sauce (like Cholula or Tabasco)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (this is amazing... gives it a really great taste)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1-2 chopped canned chipotles (you can take these out if you don't want added spice, but I love the taste they add)
1-2 spoonfuls adobo sauce (again, optional)
2 cups shredded pepper jack or cheddar cheese

1. Combine chicken stock, onion, oregano, and bay leaf in a saucepan and bring to a boil. It will smell so fragrant! It is totally easy and worth it to flavor the cooking liquid this way!

2. Once broth comes to a boil, add chicken breasts whole. Reduce to a simmer and poach chicken until cooked through - about 10-15 minutes. I sometimes pull out the chicken and cut into it to see if it's cooked.

3. While the chicken cooks, wrap tortillas in foil and place in a 200 degree oven to warm up. They will be more pliable and easier to roll if they are warm.

4. Put the enchilada sauce together. Stir together tomato sauce, chipotles, adobo, hot sauce, cinnamon, and chili powder in a sauce pan and warm over medium/low heat.

5. When the chicken is cooked, remove from pan with a slotted spoon and let cool on a cutting board. DO NOT throw away the cooking liquid or anything in the pan!! When chicken has cooled enough to handle, shred it with a fork and a knife.

6. In a bowl, combine the shredded chicken with onions and oregano leaves from the cooking liquid (discard oregano stems and only use leaves).

7. Add tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and 1/2 cup of cooking liquid to the chicken. Stir to combine.

8. Remove tortillas from oven. Hold each tortilla in your palm, and spoon a small amount of chicken filling in the center. Roll the tortilla over the filling, and place the enchilada seam side down in a shallow Pyrex baking pan.

9. Keep filling enchiladas until you fill your pan. Press the enchiladas tight up against each other as you fill the pan so they don't come apart.

10. Use a ladle to cover your enchiladas with your delicious homemade sauce. Sprinkle shredded pepper jack (or cheddar) over the top.

11. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes and then broil on high until cheese is brown and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes and serve with rice and/or beans!

Target Treasures

My two favorite things to do on days off are: (1) Wander the aisles of Hobby Lobby and (2) Wander the aisles of Target. Today I chose Target. I figure I've been working hard and I deserved it. I went into Target to get a rubber mat to go beneath a rug to hold it in place. I fully intended to be in and out in five minutes.

But then I got to thinking... I have nowhere to be right now, and I could just check out the clothes & shoes since I have some spending money from Brent. So I gave myself permission to wander, look, and try on to my heart's content. It was PURE HEAVEN. I'm not entirely sure how much time I spent in Target today, and I'm not sure I want to know... but it was decidedly more than five minutes.

I may or may not have left with 4 pairs of shoes, two dresses, a skirt, and three tops for UNDER $175 total. I'm not kidding people. Get to Target!! I found a treasure trove of cute stuff, and I wanted to share my finds with you. If you share my love for Target, read on and then seriously go there ASAP. Nothing on this post is over $30!!!!

Find #1: Mossimo Pilar Wedges
Exhibit A: Via Cardorna wedges from Anthropologie for $140. Super cute, right?

Exhibit B: Mossimo Pilar Wedges from Target for $30. Call me crazy, but I like the Target ones BETTER! I love the brown color and the zip up the back. They are adorable on. I will henceforth be wearing these with EVERYTHING.

Find #2: Xhilaration Tashi Sandals: So comfy and cute. They really do look expensive and will go with everything for summer.

Find #3: Merona Mena Pumps: I love the brown croc. I have been buying heels from Nine West forever, and they fall apart so quickly! I have some brown ones that have been repaired twice now, so forget it... I like these!! They will be great for work with pants.

Find #4: Mossimo Versie Pumps: I LOVE these. They have a high heel but not too crazy, and the shiny patent leather is super pretty. They are comfy! These are also replacing a black Nine West pair on its very last legs. RIP Nine West. I might be done with you.

Find #5: Mossimo Racerback Tanks: I bought two of these: One in plain white and one in purple stripe. They are looser fitting and not skin-tight. Also I like that they are longer tanks.

Find #6: Xhilaration Kimono Top: This picture does not do it justice, but this is actually a really pretty top. With a tank top underneath and paired with the blue skirt below or white pants as shown here, I think I would wear this to work.

Find #7: Mossimo Chambray Skirt: This is a perfectly fitting, stretchy, denim-looking nice skirt. It's got adorable pockets, sits low on the hips, and is just the right length. Pair this with those Pilar wedges from up top...

Find #8: Mossimo Pleated Zip Back Dress: This is one of my favorite finds. This dress is AWESOME. It is soft and stretchy, yet looks nice and tailored. The front is cute and simple and would look great with fun earrings or a big necklace. The pleating is so flattering - it's better on than on the hanger. It also comes in black, teal, and orange, but I thought I could keep it simple for work with grey and add color with shoes and jewelery.

... and this is the best part... the back!! It has this over-sized black zipper that I am in love with.

Find #9: Xhilaration Braided Strap Dress: This dress was on clearance for $17!! It fits nicely and has a cute shape. It also has perfectly placed pockets and would look fabulous with a cardigan for dinner or a party.

There were so many other cute things I saw, but I had to stop somewhere, and I'll let you discover them on your own. Wandering around Target and buying cute, inexpensive clothes and shoes will cure whatever ails you... Guaranteed.