Eau de Toilette... errr a new bathroom

When we moved into our home in 2004, the bathroom had a cutesy, teddy bear border up that I’m sure if Lila had been around, would have insisted it stay.  However, since it was just Cam and me, we decided it had to go.  We redecorated with a lodge feel, including some authentic deer antlers and feet in the décor.  I crafted faux rocks from foil and joint compound and painted them to look like “real” rocks.  Then, I mounted them one of the walls.  It looked pretty cool, I think.  Sure, it wouldn’t be for everyone’s home, but I live with a hunter out in the country.  I think it worked.

            However, as the years went by, the “rocks” did not hold up too well to little hands.  I removed those a couple years ago.  The border I put up with the silhouettes of moose and deer was starting to peel as well.  But, the thing that broke the camel’s back was that when Maggie came along, we all started spitting on each other at teeth-brushing time.  One sink was just not enough for four people to share.  (We do have a second bathroom that’s actually quite nice, but it’s in the basement and none of us really want to go down there for our grooming.)  So, I convinced Cam that we needed a second sink in the bathroom.  Actually, that part wasn’t hard.  It was the convincing him that we needed to redecorate while we were at it that took a little more smooth-talking.

However, after several months, he got on board with me and helped develop a “look” for the bathroom.  We now have a lovely, barn-themed bathroom.  Barns kind of have a special place in my heart.  Cam and I bought some property together before we were even engaged and built a large barn on it, mainly just the two of us working every weekend in rain, bitter cold, and wind without electricity and sleeping in a tent!  It was our first big project together and something we both took a lot of pride in and learned a lot about each other while doing it.  When we moved to our home, Cam designed a barn to house the livestock we planned to raise.  I honestly didn’t help much with that barn.  I’m going to say I was pregnant or something, but it might have just been so darn hot.  But, I’m sure I held at least one board and hammered in a nail or two.  Our third barn is down at “Old Glory”.  It’s the hay barn.  With two babies underfoot, I again was much less involved in this barn, but helped out when I could.  Anyway, I love the look of barns.  The smell of them (most of the time) is very pleasant.  The light can be really beautiful.  Plus, it’s just cool how they’re put together.  

I am so pleased with our new bathroom!  We used old barn lumber that our friends had offered us to make the walls look like post and beam framing.  Cam built a cabinet for the sinks from the same lumber.   

We found this great lighting in the “outdoor lighting” at Lowe’s for $20 a piece.  Similar fixtures I had seen on a “barn lighting” website were upwards of $150 each!   

The splurge was the great faucets.

 But, I couldn’t *not* get them.  I mean, they’re perfect for a barn bathroom.  I couldn’t find anything I liked in the way of shower curtains, so I made one from burlap and stenciled the name of our farm on it to look like a feed sack.   

We also put up corrugated metal around the shower and on one wall, which I didn't get a photo of. Overall, I'm just tickled.  It's been super handy to have the second sink, and it's a pleasure to go into a pretty bathroom!

Ravioli!

I made ravioli from scratch!  Sometimes I even amaze myself.  =)  I stumbled on a recipe for it the other day and thought, “I could make that!”.  I decided I would try my hand at make the ricotta as well.  We have Alpine Goats here on the farm that produce an abundance of milk.  Up to this point, Cam has done all the cheese making around our house.  I watch him spend several hours, or even days in the process and it's never appealed all that much to me.  Heck, with aged cheeses, you can wait years before you taste the fruit of your labor!  But, amazingly, ricotta is super easy to make!  It’s like the easiest cheese ever!  And, you can try this at home!  You can use cow’s milk, too.  I only had a quart of milk on hand and that made about a cup of cheese.  All you do is raise the temperature to 185, add a Tbsp of apple cider vinegar per quart, stir, and drain into a colander double-lined with cheesecloth.  That’s it!  After 20 minutes of draining, you have ricotta cheese ready to use!  Aghhh!  How could it be that simple!? Are you as excited as I am!?  Probably not.  Anyway….  So, I followed a recipe I found in Hobby Farms magazine of all places, for the dough.  The hardest part about that was rolling out the dough. 

 

After tasting our ravioli, I decided I should have rolled out the dough thinner.  Live and learn.  I rolled out the dough, scored it, scooped in my filling of homemade ricotta, garlic, onion, and some fresh chopped spinach, and put the other layer on top.

 

I cut the squares using a pizza cutter.  I don’t have any fancy ravioli equipment, so I just used a fork to pinch the edges of the squares together.  

  I boiled them for 8 minutes and, voila! Ravioli.  So, to recap, I made the cheese, pasta dough, rolled it out, filled it, cut it, pinched it, boiled it.  Then, I’m a little embarrassed to say, after all that, I poured on a JAR of RAGU spaghetti sauce.  But, it was really tasty!

Sunny Beaches

We took a beach vacation this month!  Our little family was joined by my in-laws for a four-day trip to Sanibel Island, Fl.  We can never get away very long because of all our critter responsibilities, but honestly, after four days or so, I’m ready to come home.  I like home! This vacation was not meant to be an escape from home, so much as from the winter weather!  And, lo and behold, the day we left Southern Indiana was hit by a huge snow storm.  The temps with wind chill were below zero.  So, we were all quite happy to be in sunny Sanibel.  However, Sanibel was hit with unseasonably cool temperatures there as well.  Our days were not as warm as we would have liked (our two full days only hit 60), but it did not stop us from having a super time! 

 

Cam and I took Lila to Sanibel her first winter.  We had a great time and had wanted to go back ever since.  The place we stayed, Water Side Inn, is a little mom and pop place right on the beach.  Nothing fancy, but just what we wanted.  

Sanibel is not built up at all.  Driving the main roads (there are about 4) feels very tropical and lush.  Apparently, they have a terrible mosquito problem during the summer, but during the winter months, it is gorgeous.  It’s known for its fantastic shelling opportunities and in fact, the beach is just full of them.  It’s not very soft to walk on because the shells are so prevalent.  

We ate our weight in seafood, saw dolphins up close and personal, took a frigid open-air tram ride through the J.D. Ding Darling Nature Preserve, and played on the beach.  I got a chance to go shopping by myself and found some great sandals to pull out this summer and remember our trip.  Cam and I even got to sneak away for an ice cream date!  We ate alligator, escargot, fresh grouper, and calamari. 

 

Lila thoroughly enjoyed the beach!  The past couple times she has been, she’s been a little leary.  But, this time she was all about it!  She and Nana made sand “cookies” and “cakes”.  She ran in the cold surf, turning her feet a purple color, but giggling the whole time.  She loved it all, despite the cool temperatures.  She *really* loved being able to get our spring dresses from storage.  She was thrilled to see some of her old favorites resurface.  (Although, I should have packed some warmer attire for all of us!)

 

We all had a great time!  It was super nice to have my in-laws there with four extra hands to help with the girls.  I guess some people would cringe at the thought of traveling with their in-laws, but I am not one of them.  Mine rock!