potty break

I'm tired of the bathroom.  The kids can shower AND use the toilet in there now.  They just have to walk about 15 steps to the laundry room to wash their hands and brush their teeth.  Vanities are overrated.  And I'm tired.  I'm praying for another burst of energy next week.

And I'm praying hard.

I had the extraordinary privilege to host {Club Project} at my house last week.  Despite the prep that goes into getting ready for it, it's one of the best days of the whole year for me!  I have at least a thousand things we could have worked on, but I narrowed it down to some upholstery pieces I've been wanting to transform.

A piano bench (bought at a thrift store for $10) that needed to have the hot pink Asian silk retired.

A neo-classical bench (bought on Craigslist for $25) that also needed some fresh upholstery.

A very puffy, upholstered queen headboard (Craigslist, $30) that had seen better days in the early 90's.  We had already started tearing it apart..... 

And six parsons chairs ($20 apiece on Craigslist)  upholstered in a very neutral, but ugly southwest print.  I love their boxy shape and non-rolled backs.

I'm putting the finishing touches on each piece, and I'll blog about the "afters" soon.  They are all SO much better.

For lunch that day, I duplicated a delicious salad from one of my favorite places called Pita Jungle.  It's a roasted vegetable salad with  chicken, feta cheese and toasted pine nuts, tossed in a vinaigrette. I paired it with a garlic focaccia bread that I found in the refrigerated section at Costco.  It was really good.

For the salad, you can use any vegetables you have on hand or that your family likes.  I used fresh corn on the cob, french green beans, zucchini, red bell peppers, onions and carrots.  I cut the corn off the cob, cut the green beans in half so they were shorter pieces, cut each zucchini in thirds, then in spears, sliced the onion and bell pepper in bite sized strips, and I left the baby carrots alone.  I put all my veggies in a huge bowl and tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper.  I spread them out in a single layer on two jellyroll pans (because I had so many) and put them in the oven on 400 for about 35 minutes.  When I'm using two trays, I just switch their positions halfway through the cooking time.  I also broiled them each on the top rack for 5 minutes when they were done just to crisp them up a little.  I did this in the morning so that they would be room temperature by lunchtime.

For the greens, I used a mix of baby spinach and romaine.  I got a rotisserie chicken and took the meat off the bone.  To toast the pine nuts, place them in a single layer in a dry skillet and cook them over medium-high heat, stirring them around frequently so they are evenly toasted.  As SOON as they are brown, take them off the heat and OUT of the skillet.  If you leave them in the pan, they will continue to cook and be black in no time.  At $23.99 a pound, we are definitely into babying the tiny nuggets of gold.

Toss the greens, room temperature roasted vegetables, chicken, crumbled feta cheese, toasted pine nuts and your choice of vinaigrette together in a large bowl and serve immediately.  Mia made the dressing because she is literally the dressing master and I'm terrified of making dressings.  She just makes it up every time as she goes.  It's never the same, but always delicious!  This particular one was a creamy vinaigrette.

I'm sad I didn't take a picture of my salad all done, but here is a picture of a very similar one.

A day spent with my project girls is good for my soul.  They are all like sisters to me and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have them as a part of my life.  We treated ourselves with a trip to Southern California a couple of weeks ago and it was a ball.  We laughed and cried so much that I never wanted the trip to end!  We are good for each other.  I love my dear friend {Katie's} post on Why Women Need Women.  It's so, so true. If you want to be a better wife, mother, daughter, friend, neighbor, grandma, aunt, cousin, or anything really, spend some time on Katie's blog, {The Vintage Mother}.  This girl has got it figured out.

Another highlight of last week was getting to tour my new friend {Dorie's} home.  It looks even better in real life than it does in the beautiful pictures she puts on her blog, if that's even possible!  Dorie and her husband are so friendly and kind, and their work is impeccable.  The white, six burner Viking stove stole my heart.

And her French Bulldog Wallace.....oh my, is he ever cute!

Thanks Dorie!  It was such a treat for me!

Check back next week.  Hopefully there will be some progress on something to share!