Photo Update

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last posted. I have been busy taking care of the house, preparing for our Cinco De Mayo Housewarming Party, planting our veggie garden and garden in the front of the house (pictures to come!), and cooking up a ton of new recipes. Here are some photos of the new (and old/re-purposed) items that we've added to the mix...

Upstairs Guest Bath w/ Anne Taintor Photos


Newly Painted Guest Bedroom


New Rug for Guest Bedroom


The boys behaving for once...


New Couch for the Loft


Side Table in the Loft


Mad Men Painting in Loft


Other Side Table in Loft


I feel like our house is really coming together, and reflects both of our personalities well. I am picking up a firepit from Craigslist this week, and we are also planning on purchasing a patio table for our back porch. I can't wait to get our backyard put together and start grilling out and relaxing out there. We have also finally picked a date for our housewarming party. Due to my love for all things Mexican, we are planning on having it on Cinco de Mayo. I am planning on doing a margarita bar, taco bar, and have lots of different dips to munch on. I have a lot of great ideas, and can't wait to share them with you all. Well, that's all for now...have a wonderful day, blog world!

House Projects & Recipe

Goooood morning, all!

I have been busy catching up on emails and assignments at work, and preparing to move offices in March. I am also working on a number of projects at home, which I have compiled into the following list:

Hang shell chandelier in master bath.

Purchase/hang crystal chandelier in my master closet.

Purchase black leather couch & portable bar for loft.

Hang canopy in guest bedroom.

Install garage blinds.

Spackle and sand small holes on living room wall.

Set up front and back porch for spring.

Purchase new porch lights.

Set up firepit in backyard.

Besides running around cleaning or organizing our house, I have been cooking...a lot. Last Friday I wanted to whip up something fun and slightly indulgent for our move night. I saw a few recipes on pinterest for Taco Pizza, and thought it sounded intriguing. I looked over the recipes, but wasn't overly impressed with what I found. So, I came up with the folllowing:

Taco Pizza

Ingredients:

Fresh Pizza Dough (Trader Joe's is awesome!)
1/2 Can Low-Fat Refried Beans
Extra-Lean Ground Turkey
Taco Seasonings
1/2 Cup Taco Sauce (I love Ortega's)
Mixed Bag of Cheddar Cheeses
Lettuce, Chopped
Tomatoes, Chopped
Cilantro, Chopped
Green Onions, Chopped
Cooler Ranch Doritos
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons Hot Sauce (Optional)

Directions:

-Mold pizza dough onto pizza stone. Bake at 400 degrees for 4 minutes. Remove from oven. By slightly pre-cooking your dough, when your toppings are added and your pizza is cooked, your dough will come out fully cooked and not overly doughy. Meanwhile, brown ground turkey and add in taco seasonings. Set aside. Mix together 1/2 can of refried beans and 1/4 cup of taco sauce. Set aside. Remove pizza dough from oven and top with refried beans and taco sauce mixture. Add cheese on top. You can use as much or as little as you'd like. Top cheese with ground turkey. Bake in 400 degree oven for 9-12 minutes, or when cheese is fully melted. Remove from pizza from oven and let sit for a 3 minutes. Top with lettuce, tomato, cilantro, green onions and doritos. Curb the amounts to suit your preferences.

*Although it is not pictured, I also made a sour cream/hot sauce mixture to top our pizza with. You do not have to add hot sauce to your sour cream, but if you like a little spice, you can mix 1/2 cup sour cream with about 2 tablespoons of hot sauce.

This was an easy and fun meal that was perfect for a Friday night at home.

Happy cooking!