Living Room Before and After

Hi there. We are so glad you stopped by! Last week I did a post about taking 2 bookcases and turning them in to an entertainment center. This week, I thought I would follow that up with how we turned the living room, where the entertainment center is, in to a brighter more up to date room. Come on in!

Let me start by telling you, back in the day when we bought our house, this was our 2 car garage!

We removed the door in between the garage and the entryway.   Then we opened up the wall to make it feel as though it had always been this way.  We then raised the floor so that it would be even with the entryway. The picture above, is the view from the living room, in to the entryway.

This is the view from the entryway in to the living room. When we turned the garage in to our living room, a very dear friend of ours added this beautiful fireplace.  It has always been one of the favorite features of our home.

I guess I'm not the only one that loves the fireplace. Our dog Isabelle, loves the fireplace, too. Zoom to 2013. It was time to update the garage, I mean living room! Come and take a peek at our new look.

We painted the walls a light cream color to make the space feel brighter.  It was quite a change from the deep red, but so refreshing to me. I basically turned the colors around.  Before; dark walls, light furniture.  After; light walls and dark furniture.

I updated the items on the mantle.   I think the fireplace looks better with the new wall color, too. It blends in with the room better.

The long wall to the right, when you walk in to the room.

This is a very poor quality picture, but I wanted you to see how I made the window appear bigger.   I hung the curtain rod as high up as I could and past the sides of the windows.   (This was once where the garage door was)

Here's the entertainment center I told you about last week.  It used to be 2 bookcases.  I love how it fills up this wall.

One more before picture..............

.........and the after! Isn't it amazing how changing the color can make such a huge impact. Paint is your best friend.  You should invite it over.....often. Thank you so much for stopping by my home.  I loved having you!

How To Make An Entertainment Center

Hi there!  We are so glad you stopped by. Do you ever look at something you have and just know you can turn it in to something better?  It has good bones so you don't want to replace it, you just want to update it. Give it some love. Here is a picture of my "something". 

Because we purchased a new television, I had to do an update.  This television stood on its own. Our new one would need to sit on something. I had these great bookcases, that were given to me quite a few years ago.  They are well built, just not my style anymore.  The television you see in the picture was leaving us, but I liked the idea of wall unit. Here is what we did to turn 2 bookcases in to an entertainment center that I love, very inexpensively.

I had my assistant in all things wood, add some shelves and a piece of molding across the top to make it look like it's all one unit.  I'm sorry, I didn't take a picture of the before with the molding attached. After he got them all attached, I decided I didn't like the second shelf from the top.   So, he took it out for me. Sometimes things look better in  my head!

I got some primer that will go on any finish and primed away.

I took the doors off and removed the floating shelves.    It is so much easier to paint them if they are laying flat. 

The paint I used was Sherwin Williams. The color is Riverway. 

I added some updated hardware, in Oil Rubbed Bronze finish......

And, my favorite part, I decorated it.

I love the color.  It shows nicely with the browns and greens of the accessories I used.

Here's a close up of the other side.

I knew those baskets would come in handy one day!

Here's one more picture of the before.............

And, the after, with a little love! There you have it.  An easy transformation using what I already had!   Thank you so much for stopping by.  It means the world to us.

Marinated Chicken Wings

Hi there!  We're so glad you stopped by! This recipe has been in our family for as long as I can remember.  I believe it came from my Great Aunt Jan (so I can't take credit for this deliciousness!) I am not a huge wing fan - but these are seriously amazing and they're too good to NOT share!     MARINATED CHICKEN WINGS 

What you'll need: 

5lbs chicken wings

1 C. Soy Sauce

1 C. Sugar

1/2 C. orange juice (I use Tang) 

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Ground ginger

You can marinate overnight (I don't, and they're just as flavorful)  

Preheat over to 350. 

Mix all ingredients (except wings) in a bowl.  

Put wings on the bottom of a roaster pan.  

Pour the marinate mixture over the wings. 

Bake uncovered for 2 hours.  Turn the wings and mix marinade every 1/2 hour.

I like serving these with chicken flavored rice pilaf.

These are perfect to bring along to a potluck, holiday get-together, or to snack on while watching Sunday football! 

Enjoy!

 

Fresh Apple Cobbler

HI there!  We're so glad you stopped by!  My husband had a day off this week, and I have been dying to take our kids to the apple orchard.  A few friends had referred us to go to Apple Jacks in Delano, MN. We had a blast! 

  Once we got home I wanted to make a dessert with apples, obviously.    I threw a bunch of stuff together, and about 20 minutes into the baking process I was starting to lose confidence as it wasn't starting to 'harden' like I thought it should.   When it was finished I handed it to my food critic, my husband, for the verdict.   He ate it all, and then came back for another dish!  I actually got a text from him this morning saying "I'm flying through work today so I can get home and eat some apple cobbler."   If HE thinks it's amazing, you will too!  I present to you...... My fresh apple cobbler!  

   What you'll need:  5 apples, peeled, thinly sliced, and cut into 1" pieces (I used Sweet 16 apples)  2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tablespoon vanilla  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspon ground nutmeg 1 7oz package Apple Cinnamon muffin mix (I used Jiffy)  1 stick butter, melted   Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 8x8 square or 9x9 pie pan with cooking spray Mix apples, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.  Put in the pan.   Mix the melted butter with the muffin mix.  Pour over the apple mixture.   Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.     It's going to be gooey - that's what makes it so fantastic!  Serve warm with ice cream or cool whip!