Craving Some Peas!

. . . Not just any peas! I'm craving some Dill Pea Salad! For those of you who don't know what that is, it is yummy dill-y deliciousness. There's a little place out on the east side of town called The Cottage Bakery & Cafe. My mom introduced me to it. It was a quick walk from here old office building and she used to frequent the place for lunch.

Well one glorious day, she brought home a doggie bag from her lunch trip there. In it was a fantastically delicious Thai Chicken Wrap. She'd been raving about how good it was and I was curious to see what she meant. She graciously allowed me to try it and . . . YUM!!! I wanted one too!

So one day we decided to meet for lunch and The Cottage Bakery & Cafe is where we went. Of course I ordered a Thai Chicken Wrap . . . but what to choose as my side? Following my mother's suggestion, I requested their Dill Pea Salad. Yumminess! I order it every time I go there!!

Unfortunately, that little cafe is no where close to my house and I very rarely have occasion to venture in that direction, so I haven't been there in a while. Sad me :o(

This morning I woke up with an insatiable craving for that pea salad. But luck was not on my side and I have been without a car all day. So I began perusing the internet for recipes. I found and printed out a few that sounded like they could yield similar results. I've tried one already, and it's very good. Not the same, but still good.

However, I will continue my quest to find the perfect Dill Pea Salad recipe. My burning desire has been lessened, but it's far from being put out. Oh, Dill Pea Salad of my dreams . . . where are you?

Ode to a Dream Kitchen

Ok . . . so I guess this can't really be called an "Ode" since it's not a poem. You'd think that having a degree in English would infer that I read and write poetry all the time . . . not so. I don't like poetry at all! So I guess this is more of a "I Wish I Had a Different Kitchen" rant.

My kitchen is tiny! Two people cannot in any way, shape, or form be working in that space at the same time. As a result of it's tiny-ness, there's not enough cabinet or counter space. If I buy one too many boxes of cereal, I have to store it behind the microwave or in the "I-don't-have-a-place-to-put-this-food" box that I have stored in the garage . . . yes, the garage (I don't really have any other options). The cabinet above the unlevel, electric stove is too low to be able to mount an under-cabinet microwave, so instead it takes up a large chunk of valuable counter top.

I like to purchase beautiful serving bowls and platters along with pretty drink ware so that on the (rare) occasion that I entertain, I can do so in style (I say rare, because my house in general is too small to entertain well). I don't have enough space for these either, so most of my wonderful serving dishes have been relegated to an old IKEA T.V. cabinet we've moved into the dining room.

I've now actually taken to moving some larger appliances (and one gigantic frying pan) into the garage to try and free up space.

So with all this ranting, what does my ideal kitchen look like?

For starters . . . SPACIOUS!! Plenty of room to maneuver and cook and even entertain! It'll have a pantry where I can store all my food so I can utilize my cabinet space for my dishes, bowls, platters, etc. I've bothered my boyfriend about this enough that he's actually promised that our next house will have a pantry (and i will hold him to it). The microwave will be off the counter tops. The stove will be level and . . . dare I dream it? . . . GAS! I absolutely HATE cooking on an electric range! My parents have always had gas, so that's what I grew up cooking on. But this . . . abomination . . . sitting in my kitchen . . . I can't even cook rice!!! It's disgusting how hard it is to try and control a cooking temperature on that thing! An island. I want an island. With large drawers to store all my pots and pans and cooking utensils. No more bending over and trying to rifle through overcrowded cabinets!

Sigh . . . maybe someday I'll get my dream kitchen. But with the housing market as it is, we're not going anywhere anytime soon. I'll just have to suck it up and make the best of it, all the while dreaming of that glorious day when the kitchen that I long for will be mine.

Until that day comes, pray for me . . . and my rice!

Bathtastic!

Recently, I took some time off work. 12 glorious days, to be exact. Because my boyfriend and I are poor, poor people (OK, maybe not that poor), I wasn't able to actually go anywhere on vacation. So I decided to stick around the house and get some things done. I did a little shopping . . . slept in . . . celebrated my birthday . . . and completely redecorated my master bathroom!

I'd been planning this project for a few months. Slowly and meticulously buying and storing all the little bits and pieces I would need to execute my vision. I bought thick, luxurious bath rugs (marked down to $7.88 at Costco!), natural and serene bamboo, rattan, and glass accessories, and a gorgeous (and remarkably affordable) mirror.

I worked long and hard for two and a half days before my masterpiece was complete! I now have a fantastic, gorgeous, calming, and chic spa-style master bathroom!

Here are the unfortunate "Before" pictures:

I will confess to having these as the previous "After" pictures. Originally the bathroom was completely white, and I insisted that we paint one full wall as well as the pony wall this shade of blue (to match the darker blue shade in the rugs). Also notice the builder standard mirror and plain golden oak (well . . . oak-looking anyway) cabinets.

For the redo, I painted all the walls a soft bluish-gray. I painted the cabinets and espresso brown and added brushed nickel knobs. I removed the old mirror and hung a new one. I even updated the old tan colored mirrored medicine cabinet by spray painting the tan color white, reinforcing the cracked and bowing Plexiglas shelves, and adhering some pretty paper to the back of the cabinet (I know no one else really gets to see it, but it makes me happy). Add my cute accessories and the look was complete!

Here are my "After" photos:

It was hard work, but well worth it. I can't help but feel a little thrill of excitement every time I walk into my beautiful bathroom!

With that project down, it's time to refocus my energies elsewhere. Perhaps on to the kitchen? . . .

Introducing the Homemade Diva!

This afternoon I was fortunate enough to be able to watch the movie Julie & Julia. For those of you unfamiliar with the premise of this movie, it's a true story about a girl named Julie who decides to cook her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year's time and blog about the experience.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, it did get me thinking. Julie loved cooking. She also loved Julia Child. Because of her love of the two, she enjoyed and was dedicated to her project. So what did I learn from this? Write about what you love!

As some of you may know, the original title of this blog was The Unwritten Writer. I was searching for an outlet for my writing. A place to express myself and grow as a writer. However, I lacked a purpose . . . a focus. And because of this absence, I hardly ever wrote anything. I could write about anything and everything, but how could I narrow it down? How could I choose? So instead, I wrote nothing.

So the Unwritten Writer is gone, and the Homemade Diva is ushered in! I will now use this blog as a way to chronicle my adventures and experiences in decorating and cooking. God bless HGTV and the Food Network!

So join me on my journey as I attempt to beautify and satisfy the world one room and one recipe at a time!