Glass Blocks

As soon as we bought the house we knew we wanted to turn the dead space in our bedroom into a big walk-in closet which leads into the master bathroom. As soon as we knew that we wanted to turn the dead space into a walk-in closet, I knew that I wanted glass blocks in the closet in order to keep the area from looking too dark and dingy. At first James didn't think the area needed light, and now thinks that a picture window is the way to go. But I am holding strong to the idea that glass blocks will make people line up for want of owning this house.

The picture below shows the area in question where the walk-in closet will go. The wall to the closet will start right in the middle of the wall on the left (where the not-so-straight black line is), and the doorway will be where the dresser and TV currently are. The double windows will be gone, and the lovely GLASS BLOCKS will go just under the ceiling line, and just over the clothes pole and shelf. LOVE IT??

Here is a picture showing how nice glass blocks can be:

And another one showing how much they add to curb appeal:


They also seem amazingly easy to install: http://www.accentbuildingproducts.com/pdf/glassblocks/preassembled-basement.pdf

And at under $300 are a virtual bargain!

Schnitzel

One of my favorite recipes to make and eat is schnitzel! I grew up on the stuff, and have now, with the help of James, added a few more elements to the recipe which make it beyond delish!


Here is the recipe: (super quick and easy!)

Ingredients:
4 pieces chicken breasts
Flour
Bread Crumbs
2 onions
2 eggs
oil for frying
egg noodles
1 cube beef bouillon
2 cups water

Directions:
- Cook egg noodles according to package directions
- Heat the oil in a pan
- Slice the onions into sort of thin slices and add to the oil
- Turn buner to medium low heat
- Tenderize the chickens
- Mix equal parts flour and breadcrumbs
- Beat the eggs to mix the yolk and egg white
- Dip each chicken breast in the eggs, and then dredge in the flour mixture
- Add the chicken cutlets to the pan with the onions
- Fry until golden brown and cooked through
- Once the chickens are all cooked, set the chicken cutlets aside
- Add the 2 cups of water and cube of beef bouillon
- Turn the heat up to high, and cook to boiling
- Once the bouillon has dissolved, turn down he heat, and add flower to thicken mixture to gravy consistency
- Place the chicken cutlet (schnitzel!) on the egg noodles, smother with the onion gravy, and EAT!

Gotta Post Something...

I haven't been remotely as good about posting as I had hoped to be. I think it's mostly because I am just not happy with how the pictures are coming out. So here is a picture of Audie, which is one of the very few pictures that I do like.

Face only a mother can love, or cutest puppy dog ever??

Birthday BBQ/New Camera

This weekend we finally threw the birthday BBQ that we planned to throw last weekend. At first I was a bit of overwhelmed with all of the people and commotion, and as a result didn't get any good pictures of the BBQ itself. But here is a pic of me and the hubby from later on in the night when things began to settle down.

For my actual birthday the week before Jay bought me the simply most beautiful flowers:

And because I like to fancy myself a photographer, he also got me an SLR camera!!! I was beyond excited!

I took the new camera for its first test spin today. My test subject was, of course, my loyal sidekick Audie. I love this first one, I think he looks so regal:

I like this second too. I think it's a good action shot (but it would probably be better if it wasn't bordering on pornographic...)

I like the colors of this shot:

And finally... some "fall decorating" pictures:

My attempt at creating a "Pottery Barn style" decorated end table:

Resolutions

Rosh Hashana was this past Tuesday, and my birthday was the Tuesday before that. And so.. for the new Jewish year and new Gali year, I resolve to post on the blog on a more regular basis. The new SLR camera that Jay got me for my birthday will also, I am sure, help to strengthen my resolve.

Tomorrow we are having the belated double b-day bash. We still need to get the food, prepare the food, give Audie a bath (he stinks!!), tidy up the house, get a few last minuted things at Pottery Barn, and find a BBQ outfit. The last two things are probably more "me" than "we," but that's just symantics.

This post is kind of boring since there are no pictures (I have yet to figure out how to take nice, un-fuzzy pictures with my camera), but I promise that I will not make a habit of posting picture-less entries to the blog.

I haven't updated the blog in a while because we STILL don't have power 13 days after storm. Although I feel guilty posting updates from my work computer, I feel as though I owe it to my PUBLIC to post! (My public, of course, consists of our moms, Dee and Kay). Here are some pictures of the heights a few days post Ike:

Labor Day Weekend

A few days belated, and not very exciting, but nonetheless, here is our Labor Day weekend:

We started each day off with our usual weekend morning breakfast: fresh coffee, toasted bread (anise bread on this particular weekend) and jam: (we know our "entertainmant center" isn't much to look at, but it does the trick for now)

Then Jay set out on finishing up the french drain project. He worked in the beating sun...

And the pouring rain...

But he did it! The project is done, and more importantly, it actually works!! I don't have a picture of the finished product, but I will post one shortly.

While Jay was working on the drain, I went to a bunch of open houses. How gorgeous are these Victorians:

I really liked this backsplash which I saw at one of the houses. It's like subway tile, but looks more like a natural stone. The builder told me what it is called, but I forget...

Finally, we worked on fixing up the backyard. We bought a bunch of grasses, and planted them up against the house. Then we mulched the beds with cedar mulch. I love how it looks!

More mulched beds:

Like I said, not very exciting, but we enjoyed it :)

Pretty Pretty Pictures

Now that the wedding has come and gone, all of my bridal magazines, and bookmarked websites have been replaced with decorating/renovating magazines and cottage themed websites. Here are some looks that I have liked.

I really like the clean look of the light blue with the subway tile in this bathroom. I like the fixtures too.

I also like this color green, and the roman blind. I'm also kind of liking the clapboard look instead of the usual beadboard.

But then again, beadboard is just so pretty...

Moving on to kitchens... In these two pictures I love the bright white with the brown wood. Probably not very practical though.

Love yellow and blue together!

I like this color combo too

If I only got paid for looking at pretty pictures on the internet!

The SOFA!

Although it's a nice black leather sofa, Jay and I decided that enough is enough, and that we have had our last uncomfortable night of TV watching. And so the black sofa and chair got moved to the front room... (Notice the crack in the wall... I am trying to hide them in all the photos, but they are unavoidable).

...and we bought a sectional at a furniture warehouse here in the Heights which is known for its Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware looking furniture (but at half the price... score one for the good guys!) The sofa is GIGANTIC! And by GIGANTIC I, of course, mean the perfect size for a nice comfy night of TV viewing.

You're not suppose to love "things" but I think I am in love with this sofa.

That's it for today :)

A few more pictures of the wedding that I like:

Tropical storm Edouard is hitting Houston right now. It's actually not that serious, but work decided to close (woohoo!). That allows me to sit at home and watch our wedding video ad nauseum (again, woohoo!).

This past weekend I went up north for a visit. Friday KDB picked me up from the airport, and we met up with SB and went to Lola's. Katie let me borrow her seersucker JCrew dress circa 2004, which I absolutely love. I considered stealing it "by accident" but I didn't, because I am that good a friend.

Here are the three of us (and the pretty dress) before dinner:

Lolas famous sangria: (one of the many pitchers we had)


Saturday I surpriesd LC at her birthday party. But I didn't get any pics of this, unfortunately.

Saturday, I went with G and Cath to brunch at Splash and had such a great time. The food was amazing, and the atmosphere was great. We've decided to make it a tradition.

Here we are at the restaurant:

This was the view from the restaurant. I wish I could have taken a picture of the temperature. It was perfect.