HoliDaze!

Season's Greetings!

I know, I disappeared for a bit.  Months.  So without excuses, the last post led to more home improvements.  Which led to selling our home.  New job for DH.  New home in a new state to go with that new job.  Hit reset with the home improvements with our new home, beginning after the holidays.  I am still unpacking and will be back after the holidays.

All the best of this season to you and yours,

Nancy

Happy Fourth

Bathroom Remodeling 101

As I posted a few weeks ago, I painted the master bedroom ceiling.  Which started the renovation projects in the master bedroom.  Who knew it would lead to the connected bathroom.  So when you ask in the future, where is that lady from
The Moonlight Factory blog,
you will know I am MIA again due to
"the ceiling made me do it episodes"
and most likely it is something  from the photo below leading me to the next project.

Bathroom Remodeling 101

Coming to you from the 80's bathroom:

linoleum floors with pink flower accents demands pink tiles surrounding tub 

and the builder's vanity cabinet completes the tour...demolition complete.

Ahhh...this is better.  

Grey walls, all white mosaic penny tile flooring, white tile surrounding bath tub 

and an updated ebony vanity cabinet and trimmed mirrors.

Hmm...the hallway is looking a bit shabby now...

Cinderella's Floor Cleaning Recipe

Don't judge...I don't have a sister named Cinderella to do the floors.  I do have two huge Bernese Mountain Dogs that love to play in mud and then dance on the kitchen floor.

Time for Cinderella's Floor Cleaning Recipe.

Sprinkle baking soda in the grout lines.  Add white cleaning vinegar over baking soda, watch it foam up the dirt.  This is what it looked like after foaming and a swipe with mop.  Imagine how good it will look if I take the scrub brush to it next time and then reseal it.

I am all about simplicity these days and this is a simple solution to cleaning!

You are welcome, have fun at the ball now that you have this chore done...

Zzzz....

Whew, I have been neglecting posting on The Moonlight Factory blog.  Why?  Well, it started out simple enough.  I was going to paint the ceiling in our bedroom.  That highlighted the fact the walls needed a fresh coat of paint.  Then naturally, the floors.  Enter bamboo flooring.  So much fun to install.  French doors for the closet.  New I Comfort mattress and a base to rise and vibrating zero gravity controls...of course this piece heaven deserved a new wrap around bed frame and night stands...

a new rug will go with the ceiling and curtains and ...

yep, I was painting the ceiling...

Turkey Pot Pie

The menu today is all about leftovers!  Turkey dinner leftover biscuit topped Turkey Pot Pie fits the leftover ingredients perfectly!  I cannot think of one meal from turkey dinner leftovers that I did not love...mmm.

Start with leftovers, add where needed (in my case I had no leftover potatoes from the meal so I added chucks of potatoes, carrots, and peas ) mix ingredients together with gravy.  

Put in  spray oiled casserole dishes.

Mix up some biscuit mix that is of cake consistency and pour on top of turkey ingredients.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit  for 30-40 minutes until golden brown crust.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

Yum!  Take that NY winter that will not end...



Farewell February!

Farewell February!  Santa needs to pack up all this snow and let the Easter Bunny start hopping down the bunny trail playing in all the tulips along their way!

Snowball Fight!

Brody and Bailey, our Bernese Mountain puppies are now 10 months and 100+ pounds.  They are begging for someone to continue the snowball fight with them : )

For the love of fresh linen scent...

I love the smell of fresh bedding, crisp and smelling of sunshine from drying on a line outdoors, don't you?  *Sigh, this is New York, the middle of February, snow blizzards daily, way too far below zero temperatures outdoors to have that simple pleasure...so I went to the stand by dryer sheets.  And then my dryer seemed to be taking longer to dry a load of laundry.  Maybe I should call the repair man and bite the bullet on expensive repair bill.  Instead, I pull out dryer vent and clean it off, I always do this after every load, no problem.  

 Not certain if you can see, but the water made "puddles" on the screen today when I thought maybe a quick rinse would help with a super clean.  For the love of fresh linen scent, I had forgotten all the warnings about dryer sheet build up blocking screen and becoming a fire hazard.  Easy solution is a a scrub with Dawn dish detergent and retest water drainage.  Presto!  All set and dryer is working fabulous again!

Roll Call

 We are being held in the icy grip of ol' man winter in NY.  For you that can, please send warm tropical breezes and sunshine ASAP.  Brr...

This calls for a steamy bowl of homemade chicken soup and some of the best rolls you will ever melt butter on.  Time for Roll Call.  

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup milk (100 degrees - 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
1/3 cup sugar
2 packages fast acting yeast
2 cups of flour
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
Combine all ingredients in bowl with dough hook.  Allow to rest 10 minutes.  Turn dough out on to floured board, knead dough until smooth.  Put dough ball in a greased bowl, cover and allow to rest until double, approximately  1/2 hour to 45 minutes.

Roll out dough to 1/2" and brush with melted butter.  Cut in to 1" strips and stack on top of each other.  A stack of five to six usually is what my muffin tins need.  Cut in 1" squares with pizza cutter.

Stack on sides in greased muffin tin. Brush tops with 50/50 mix of melted butter and honey.

Allow to rise in warm place in kitchen, covered.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes until done and golden brown.
Slather with butter and enjoy! 

A Word, an Un-Resolution

No Goals...

No Resolutions...

Just One Word. 
A touchstone, a mantra for the year...

Some of you know I practice the Un-Resolution and made the choice to abandon the New Year Resolution treadmill years ago.  A new tradition emerged and I wrote about the One Word Resolution here:

One Word

My Word for 2015 is Embrace.
Embrace change in a new season of life.  Embrace the adventures waiting.
I cannot wait to see what 2015 will bring!
Do you engage in the tradition of a One Word Un-Resolution?  What's your Word?

I use a word planner to outline my goals.

A free blank template for your personal use.