Hot Chocolate Brownies

♪♫ At laaaaaast....my loooove has come along...♫♪

Is it weird that the song At Last by Etta James played in my head, time stopped and swirly twirly cartoon hearts and snowflakes floated around my head the first time I tasted these?

I also felt like Buddy the Elf declaring "I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!" while throwing my elf hat in the air.





We bought this brownie mix at Aldi, just because it seemed like a nice holiday treat to have while cuddled on the couch with a warm blanket, and a great Christmas movie.

Now I am smitten, and my heart is all-a-flutter. The brownie and marshmallow together are just pure magic. I can't even describe its ooey gooey warm deliciousness. 

Oh, one parting warning about these. The marshmallow is insanely hot when they come out of the oven, so though it may seem like torture , its a good idea to wait a bit and avoid scalding the inside of your mouth. 

That is definitely the first time I have ever had to warn anyone to avoid a marshmallow related injury!

Last Minute Christmas Decorating and a Flooring Update!

I promised frequent updates on the hardwood flooring restoration project, but unfortunately there have been no updates to report. 

Due to some big-time stressful life events, we decided it would be best for all of us to put this project on hold and avoid adding to our stress. 

We had planned on finishing this project before Thanksgiving, and it is now rapidly approaching Christmas.

Anyone who knows me knows, I LOVE decorating for Christmas. 

I look forward to it all year - I am always trying to extend the season by starting earlier and leaving the decorations up a little longer than most people do. As you can imagine, waiting and waiting until mid-December with no end to the waiting in sight has been torture. 

We felt like we were skipping Christmas by living in an un-decorated work-zone.

So, we moved the furniture back into place and put up the Christmas decorations in a hurry. (♪♫ because we need a little Christmas, right this very minute...♫♪)

We're referring to the current state of the unfinished floor as 'charmingly rustic' - in other words scratched, rough, and discolored wood with a few remnants of 50 year old varnish around the edges.

In certain light (at night) the unfinished hardwood in the dining room doesn't look all that different from the finished wood in the living room, and the transition is not too terribly noticeable - and it doesn't take any imagination to envision how it will look when it is done.

In daylight it is a whole different story - but still a huge improvement over the tired old plastic-covered-picture-of-bricks linoleum that wasn't fooling anyone.

A Christmas decorating home tour will be coming soon (hopefully), with pictures that artfully avoid daylight and/or showing the unsightly areas that are still unfinished.

Until then, here is a taste! Enjoy!

How to Remove Staples from Hardwood Floors

How to remove staples from Hardwood Floors!

I've done lots of home improvement projects, but only on a beginner level, so I still have a TON of things to learn and re-learn with each new project.

With this flooring project I knew how to remove the plywood sub-floor and linoleum, but I did not consciously anticipate the sub-floor leaving behind what felt like billions of staples that did not come up with the plywood.

My first instinct was to pull the staples with the tools I had with me, which were just screwdrivers and a pair of regular non-locking pliers.

Both tools were painfully inadequate and the very first wave of regret and panic washed over me as I looked out at what seemed to be an army of tiny little staples marching in formation as far as the eye could see -- threatening to destroy all home improvement dreams.

I thought I was being logical when I figured that I could yank each staple out at the angle they were put in - straight up and out - using brute force. 

I dont know why I thought this. That certainly isnt how I would try to pull a nail! 

It just goes to show you that fear (that I was in over my head with this project) can make you forget things you already know, and make illogical thoughts seem right!

Then we remembered that locking pliers exist, and are a far better fit than the non-locking ones I tried, that left my hand aching and exhausted after only a few staples. 

So, to pass on the knowledge, and to remind myself for any future projects, here is how I did it.

Step 1: Look at all the staples and freak out as you realize that you are about to spend a huge portion of your life on the floor, crushing the flesh between your knee bones and the floor (or you can do as I did and do the majority of the work sort of lying on the ground like a sea lion). 

I'd say this staple pulling extravaganza was a combined total of about 4 hours of lying on the ground with non-stop staple pulling fun, and by the end of it I was feeling a distinct urge to clap my flippers and beg someone to toss me a fish.

Or you could wear knee pads.

Step 2: Find those locking pliers and lock them down on a staple. You will probably have to adjust them so that they grip tightly enough to pull the staple, but not so tightly that locking and unlocking the pliers is painfully difficult. 

Step 3: Once locked on, just tip the pliers to the side and follow the curve of the tool, slowly rolling the tool on the floor and letting it do all the work of prying the staple out. 

The staple will start to pull up and will bend a bit as it comes up. Take it slow, because some staples are in there better than others, and some pull out easier than others. 

I can't tell you how many times a staple came out slowly with a lot of resistance and then suddenly no resistance causing me to crush my poor thumb against the ground with the tool. OUCH!

Step 4: The staple comes out and you realize it was pretty easy and you only have to do it a billion more times!

Now, maybe I get a bit loopy when I do a tedious and monotonous task, but take a look at those pictures and tell me you don't see a face on the locking pliers! 

It looks like a prehistoric staple eating creature! I love him and want to keep him as a pet and name him!

I wish I could report that I gave the staple eating creature a creative name befitting his prehistoric and slightly amphibian countenance, but I didn't. I named him "Facey" -- because he has a face, and I am a doofus.

This is really all the proof I need to know for certain that I spent too many hours in solitude on that floor with the staples, and that it may have caused my brain to transform into a bowl of oatmeal. 

Okay, that is the end of my big 'how to pull a staple out of wood" tutorial.

Though I suppose all of this article could have been summarized by saying;   

"Pull staples from wood using locking pliers. The End."  

...but that wouldnt be nearly as much fun as describing myself as a sea lion, a doofus, an oatmeal brain and someone who names her tools and thinks that they are prehistoric amphibians that eat staples.

Peppermint Eggnog -- Candy Crushing it for Christmas

It's officially the Christmas Season -- time for fun and festive food and drink. 

I don't know about you, but I am just too busy to go out gathering eggs and nogs to make eggnog from scratch. We buy a jug of it at the supermarket  -- but just because it isn't home-made doesn't mean it can't look and taste like it is!

We topped it with a swirl of whipped cream and a bit of crushed candy cane -- then tossed in a whole candy cane as a festive swirly stick. 

It's not all about looks though, (♪♫ It's all about that bass, 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble ♫♪) we want it to taste great too! Adding a candy cane really adds a pop of peppermint that tastes, smells and looks like Christmastime. 

This same whipped cream and candy cane treatment is amaze-balls on hot coco as well. Go the extra step of adding some peppermint schnapps if you really want to be full of the holiday spirit -- and spirits.

If you are wondering how one might go about crushing the candy cane, I am sure there are lots of ways to do this -- none of which involve playing the insidiously addictive Facebook game Candy Crush. 

We used a mortar and pestle. It worked well and made me feel like I was concocting a magical holiday potion -- maybe one that cures mistle-toe in elves.

I am sure a hammer and a ziplock bag would work just as well though in a pinch (for crushing candy canes -- not treating elves with mistle-toe. That would be cruel).

Now when a candy cane breaks as I pull it out of the box I don't feel so bad  -- all the more for beverage garnish!

UPDATE! Some of you have written in sharing that you are crushing your candy canes in a food processor set to 'pulverize.' What a great idea, especially if you are making a lot of it for a holiday party! Thank you all for sharing your tips!

UPDATE AGAIN!: Some of you have asked where I got these gorgeous clear glass pedestal mugs. If you'd like some of these mugs to grace your holiday table, or a lovely mortar and pestle similar to the ones pictured above, I found some on Amazon. Links added below. Enjoy!

Cranberry Sauce!

If your family is like mine, and wants the jellied cranberry sauce from the can -- jazz up that oh-so-classy can shape with a few fresh cranberries on the side as garnish. 

I think I'll tuck a few fresh mint leaves among the cranberries next time as well! 

♫ I don't think you're ready for this jelly...cranberries's too foodilicious for ya babe♫

Please accept my apologies for putting the song Bootilicious in your head, but my thought is that maybe if it transfers to your head it will stop being in mine!

Silliness aside, I hope you had a happy, healthy and beautiful Thanksgiving. I also hope that you are able to fully and deeply feel and see all the love, beauty and everyday miracles that surround you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dining Room Flooring in Progress Before and After DIY Renovation Project

After 27 years, I think it is safe to say that we got our money's worth out of our 80's linoleum floor. I have been mentally removing it for at least a decade now and cropping it out of pictures ever since I started this blog.  

I finally tackled this DIY (Do It Yourself) project armed with only 2 screw drivers, a pry bar, a box cutter/razor and locking pliers. 

Should be easy, right?  Just pop up the old sub-floor and reveal the gorgeous hard wood below. 

As you can see in the first picture at the top, removing that first board was exciting and wildly satisfying, because it meant there would be no turning back! You can't just cut a 4x4 square out of the dining room floor and change your mind!

So, on with the adventure! Board by board I pried them all up, revealing...well...52 year old hard wood floors with potential...and .....a BILLION staples to remove.

Hours upon hours on the ground with the trusty locking pliers and a bruised opposable thumb that is quite opposed to this abuse, but we are finally pulling into the home stretch of the first step of removing the old floor.

As I write this first post in the series there is only one small board (and the million or so staples holding it in place) left to remove. Not bad for only 2 days of work!

I'll be posting new pictures and updates as I go, so check back often. I'll link to the follow-up posts here.

Total spent on this project so far: $0.00

Here is what it looks like now..in progress! 

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Recipe

We saw this recipe idea in a Mayonnaise commercial, so you know its not the healthiest of recipes, but we tried it once and it soon became the favorite chicken dinner of everyone in all the land (or at least in our house).

Pictured here, we served it with peas and red potatoes, but this chicken goes great with all veggies.

Here is the recipe along with our extra tips!

1. Cut chicken breasts to thin cutlets. We like to plan it out so we can buy a big package of whole chicken breasts at only $1.99 a pound or less -- then as soon as we get home we fillet the chicken into tons of nice THIN cutlets that we slip straight into ziplock bags and pop them into the freezer.

When we need the chicken we just pull out the already pre-prepared chicken to use in all sorts of different chicken dishes. The chicken is safely frozen so it won't go bad, all the prep work is done, and we are set for about a month worth of chicken at a time.

2. Preheat oven to 425 F degrees

3. Lightly oil (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) a baking sheet. We like to use Release foil that REALLY cuts down clean up time.

4. Mix a half a cup of mayo mixed with a quarter cup Parmesan cheese

5. Spread mixture on the chicken fillets

6. Sprinkle lightly with Italian Seasoned bread crumbs

7. Pop in oven for 20 minutes 

8. Hold onto your socks because it's so moist, delicious and flavorful that it'll knock yer socks off. Seriously, everyone we served this to LOVED it and we've served some very picky eaters!