Lentil Veggie Soup

Sorry folks no pictures of this one.  This is not a pretty dish.  In fact, its down right ugly, but it sure is good.  Feel free to omit or sub out any veggies that aren't to your taste.  Really this is a versatile little soup.


Lentil and Veggie Soup

Ingredients
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 c. veggie stock
1 1/2 c. lentils
1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 package frozen spinach

Methods

Heat oil and saute onions, garlic, carrots and celery until soft

Add lentils, broth and squash.  If necessary, add water until all ingredients are covered. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Cook 20-30 minutes or until lentils and squash are tender.  Add spinach.  Season her up- really any way you like.  I like a bit of spice so just some salt, pepper and red pepper flakes did the job.

Enjoy!

Get Your Head (board) on Straight

So I've been hemming and hawing over what type of headboard to adorn the guest bedroom with.  I had lots of ideas that I loved (lord  knows, I pinned plenty...), but I just couldn't commit.  UNTIL I found these babies at the habitat store...

Those would be frames that you would use for replacement windows...  At only a buck a piece, I snatched up 5 since I had no idea how many I would actually need to make the headboard with.  Once I got home, I figured that 3 would be prefect for a full bed.

Step two involved spending a million hours at Jo-Ann fabrics hemming and hawing over which fabric to use.  I finally settled on...

A dark purple and two festive prints.  I loved the colors and how they reflected much of the same palate as the Matisse prints also in the guest bedroom.

The rest of this process is very exact and precise.  You must follow my every direction or you will fail.

Turn frame over, lay fabric over the frame, pull tight and staple gun the shit out of it.

See easy...  Just repeat for all the panels...  I suggest drinking a bottle of wine and watching Modern Family while doing this.

And then do the top parts the same way...

The next step was to figure out how to attach everything.  After a lot of hemming and hawing at Lowe's (man this project involved WAY too much indecision), I grabbed a couple of 48" pieces of oak (dimensions 1/2"x2").

To attach the frames, I flipped em over, and attached the boards across the back...

Finally, to hang 'em, I picked up a packet of picture hanging stuff that can handle a heavy load...

I just attached the little eyelet guys at the ends of the boards...

And ran the wire between them...

And from there, it was just like handing a picture.

So how did it turn out?

TA DA!  LOVE IT...

And for a more vertical view...

And a slightly wider angle (man this room is hard to take pictures of...)

Not bad for a couple hours and less than $30.00.  Now I just have to figure out what to do the blank space all around the headboard...

A Little Face Lift

NOT FOR ME!!  For the sweet little thrift store table that lives next to our front door.  Sadly, this sweet little table was never in great shape and 2 moves in 4 years has not helped it at all.

Poor little thing...

Fortunately, the issues here are actually pretty minor.  Let's break 'em down...

Problem 1: Chipped Paint

It appears that the drawer area was originally stained before being painted over, but the legs had traces of pink and green paint on them.  Maybe it was just built out of reclaimed wood...  Regardless, a new coat of paint was badly needed.

Problem 2:  Split Wood

The little space  between the two drawers was split at the bottom, making it really hard to open or close the drawers.

Problem 3:  Nasty Glass

Can you see how dirty that glass is?  I am more than a little embarrassed about that.  I mean really, cleaning glass ain't exactly rocket science...

To get this baby back in shape, I started by cleaning out the drawers.  I unearthed homeopathic doggy downers (for Matilda) that were at least 2 years out of date, a bag of calorie replacements from when I used to run far (also about 2 years out of date), a car charger for a phone I no longer have and a blue mesh bag.  What is wrong with me?

AND back to the table...

From here, a bit of wood glue and some clamping was all the was needed to fix the split wood issue.

And two nice coats of paint...

And new knobs for the drawers...

And you got yourself a better looking table...

BUT I couldn't just stop there.  This table is so sweet, it needed a little umph, so I stamped a couple fleur-de-leis on top...

Side note about fleur-de-leis, Seth really likes 'em, probably because he lived in Europe for a while and is a closet snob.  So when I showed them to him, he says "man, I really like fleur-de-leis."  And I say, "yes, I know, that's why I did those."  And he says "You actually listen when I talk?  Maybe I should do that..."  And there you have it...

So back to my sweet little table.  Her she is in all her glory...

And a little looksie from the top...

Man, clean glass alone makes such a difference.  I am even more in love with my little table now...

Anyone else have a quick little Saturday facelift project planned?