New Cabinets! Well... "Like New" {Home Improvement}

Yeah...I know. It's taken me a while to get these photos up of these newly remodeled cabinets in our kitchen. But guess what?? TODAY'S THE DAY!!! =)

So, without further ado...here's what the cabinets looked like BEFORE:

And with a little [actually A LOT: try 2 grown men, a woman, & a 12 year old boy] of elbow grease and changing of plans more than once:

These beautiful babies were created!

(Excuse the awful paint job at the bottom of the cabinets...we're supposed to be getting molding to go down there!!)

Ha! You can see my blue Christmas lights at the top of the cabinets...can you tell it's December?

Tim found this AWESOME contact paper stuff at Lowe's. The original plan was for the cabinets to look like these beauties from a photo on Inspiration for Decoration:

See how the glass is frosted, so you can only KINDA see what's inside? Yeah, that was my original plan. However, my honey works at Lowe's and likes to scout really cool things for our house when he's at work, so he found this really cool contact paper stuff (that's not SUPER expensive) and brought it home. HOW he knew I would like this stuff more, I don't know. I guess 4 1/2 years in a relationship can do that to you! ;) But I loved it...and that stuff is SUPER pretty when the light hits it! 

So...on to the next project in the kitchen. Which I have NO CLUE what the next part will be...probably painting the wall underneath those pretty cabinets. I have a really nice red in mind for those 2 small walls, so hopefully it will look nice once I get it on there! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

And now, I will leave you with other pretty things to look at!

Exhibit A: new lamps for the livingroom. Bought at Lowe's for $13 for the SET. Nice right? I might have to change the shades because I'm not sure if that's the color I want them to be...but for now, they look good & were SUPER cheap!

Exhibit B: new butcher's block. THANK GOD for grandparents who grant Christmas wishes. I asked for one of these a while back...and looky here! =) It's red so it matches my kitchen. Although, if I change the colors, well....you get the point.

Well...that's it for now. I'll HOPEFULLY be sharing more home improvements now that Christmas is over! Tomorrow I will *maybe* post about my awesome trip to Secondhand Rose Thrift Store with my best friend Jessica. We'll see...it is my birthday ya know! 

New Look

FINALLY! I've finished the look of the blog! I'm still trying to customize the headers (for some reason, it's refusing to work) but other than that....

THIS BLOG IS DONE! Now...on to the POSTING!!

*I will be posting more later to show you our AWESOME new cabinets!!

Tangy Shrimp Stir-Fry {Recipe}

Have you ever had one of those days when you have a kitchen full of food, but have NO idea what to cook for dinner? Well, let's just say a certain blogger had one of those days recently. (Me? No, of course not...my kitchen is always stocked full of wonderful items ready to be whipped up gourmet-style! *rolls eyes*)

Anyway...finding something easy, quick, and still YUMMY for dinner is ALWAYS a hard task. Cue Tangy Shrimp Stir-Fry! This recipe has a yummy tangy taste of lime, along with a good spread of veggies, protein, & a starch (also known as a "rounded meal" in our house...this doesn't happen very often!). Ready to get your stir-fry on? Let's do this...

Here are the ingredients you will need: 1 bag of cooked, peeled & deveined shrimp (it's best to get the ones without the tails...SOMEONE didn't do this & it was VERY annoying!), 1-2 cups of rice (depending on how much rice you like; I used 2 cups), 1/4 of a yellow onion, 1/2 of a green bell pepper, 1 large tomato, 1 lime, and your favorite seasonings. I used Goya's Adobo seasoning & McCormick's Roasted Onion & Garlic Potato Seasoning.

First, boil your white rice by following the directions on your packaging or using a rice cooker. (My kitchen isn't so up-to-date yet, so I have to boil it on the stovetop...bleh.) While the rice is cooking, go ahead and chop your veggies.

Once your rice is cooked most of the way through, begin cooking your shrimp in a large skillet on medium-high heat. (It's best if the shrimp is already thawed out, but it's fine if it's frozen. Just make sure to drain out any water that accumulates in your skillet.)

While your shrimp is cooking, grab your lime and roll it on the countertop. A certain SOMEONE watches too much Food Network (ahem...) and has learned that this helps to release the juices inside. Once you've rolled it a few times, cut the lime in half. Squeeze the juice from the lime onto your shrimp, along with the Adobo seasoning (or whatever seasoning you chose to use).

Add the chopped onion and let it cook for about 1-2 minutes, then add the bell pepper and let it cook for about 5 minutes. When the bell pepper and onion are slightly browned, add the chopped tomato to the mixture and cook it for about 3-4 minutes.


Once your mixture is well-heated and cooked through, sprinkle about half of the McCormick seasoning over it and stir. If your mixture seems a bit dry, add a splash of olive or vegetable oil to it so that it doesn't burn. Add the rice and the remainder of the McCormick seasoning. Turn heat down to about medium-low and stir while it simmers down, about 3 minutes. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, making sure your rice and vegetables are thoroughly cooked.

Once your stir-fry mixture is finished cooking, it is ready to serve. Use the second half of the lime to add a splash of lime juice and sprinkle your dish with a pinch of parsley flakes (to make it gourmet-beautiful!). Enjoy!

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New Lights! {Home Improvement}

So, due to an unfortunate event, my boyfriend and I have moved into my mom’s house to take care of my little brother. Being as my grandparents owned my mom’s house, they asked if Tim and I would like to go ahead and purchase the house. We said that would be a good idea, and to make a long story short, now we own the house. It’s a pretty nice place, however it definitely needs some sprucing up. Mostly because we would like to sell it to move into our own home once we’re married. With that being said, we’ve decided to make a few changes! One of the first things we’ve decided to do is change the lighting in the house.

Here’s the original lighting that we have throughout the house: (photography by my little brother, Deonte =])

Most of the rooms didn’t even have the covers over them. Which was really ugly, because they looked like this:

Definitely not cute, right? Well, Tim works at Lowe’s. When he’s at work, he finds deals on clearance items and also gets some great deals from his manager. =) So, these are the first lights he picked up:

Pretty nice, right? Yeah, I love ‘em! And to make it even better, our dining space is in the same space as our kitchen and there’s another one of these over the table! It’s definitely pretty. Now I’m just waiting on him to find someone to put in the dimmer switch he bought! *hint hint*

This is the second light; he bought 2 of them:

I plan on hanging these in the hallways, but I still need one more to make it work. (One of the hallways has 2 lights.) I love the black & white because of the photos I have hanging in one of the hallways. They’re monochromatic photos of a boating/fishing town that I found at a yard sale…bought 4 of them for $2 total! (I love a good bargain…especially at a yard sale!)

And….as of last night, I now have these beauties:

There’s one in the living room, one in the master bedroom, and soon to be one in the master bathroom. In each room, this one little light does something different, which I adore! In the living room, it’s dim, but it adds mood lighting. If I need bright lighting, I just turn on the 2 side lamps I have. In my bedroom, it’s actually better than the original light because it’s more focussed. And as for the bathroom…well, I’ll let you know. =)

What types of home improvements are you completing right now? What do you think of the new lights?