Recipes
My First Crack at Italian Wedding Soup - Success
Recipes
December 5, 2013
My First Crack at Italian Wedding Soup - Success
Before marrying Jules, I had never heard of Italian Wedding Soup. Julia's mom is full Italian, and there's a lot of heritage that comes along with that. Honestly I feel like I won the lottery when I married into Julia's family, but that's off topic. This post is about soup. And darn good soup. It's […]
December 5, 2013
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Art
The Best Calendars for 2014
Art
December 4, 2013
The Best Calendars for 2014
When we were growing up, every year for Christmas, my sisters and I always got a calendar for Christmas. We were a big calendaring family--which I guess you kind of have to be when you have 5 kids with 5 different activities going on. Every Sunday night we all had to break out our calendars […]
December 4, 2013
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Lifestyle
It's A....
Lifestyle
December 2, 2013
It's A....
Last Wednesday morning, at just over 20 weeks, we went in for our anatomy ultrasound for our little bebe. It happened to also be my birthday. Total happenstance. I always have my appointments on Wednesday morning, but what better day to find out if we would be adding a little boy or girl to our […]
December 2, 2013
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DIY
Project Shelving: A Wall for The Sconces
DIY
November 27, 2013
Project Shelving: A Wall for The Sconces
Our reading room shelving project has officially taken off and has changed a little bit since the last time we talked about it. We discovered a legit lumber yard down the road a few miles that made it too hard to turn down wood shelves instead of painting them white. But before we even get […]
November 27, 2013
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Recipes
Thanksgiving Leftovers - Cranberry Turkey Sandwich
Recipes
November 26, 2013
Thanksgiving Leftovers - Cranberry Turkey Sandwich
Well here we are. The week of Thanksgiving. This is what we've been preparing for! I'm taking it a little easy this week, and getting stuff ready to celebrate my wonderful wife's birthday tomorrow, but I wanted to leave y'all with this quick little gem. Last month, one of our readers asked me for a […]
November 26, 2013
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DIY
A Neighborly Pantry
DIY
November 25, 2013
A Neighborly Pantry
As I mentioned here, one of our favorite things about being on the Ace Bloggers panel is that there is a real focus on the neighborhood. In fact, we recently had the chance to do a whole project for one of our neighbors. It's not like we're hurting for projects to do around here, but […]
November 25, 2013
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Chris Cooks
Proper Knife Care: Best Storage Options for Kitchen Knives
Chris Cooks
November 22, 2013
Proper Knife Care: Best Storage Options for Kitchen Knives
Well now that we all know how to properly clean and sharpen a knife, the last and possibly most important is storage. The way you store your knives will have a major impact on how sharp they stay, and how long they last. First, the bad. The worst thing you can do for your knives […]
November 22, 2013
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DIY
Our Advent Calendar + Ideas
DIY
November 21, 2013
Our Advent Calendar + Ideas
Last night I finished our advent calendar that will hopefully be in our family for years and years: As a reminder, this is how it looked when I bought it on clearance for $20 from our local craft store (Porter's for anyone close) As a reminder, this is how it looked when I bought it […]
November 21, 2013
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Chris Cooks
Proper Knife Care: The Best Way to Sharpen Your Kitchen Knives
Chris Cooks
November 20, 2013
Proper Knife Care: The Best Way to Sharpen Your Kitchen Knives
Don't you hate it when people try to tell you, "You're more likely to cut yourself with a dull knife than a sharp knife"? You just want to smack them, I bet. That doesn't make sense, right? How can a dull knife cut you worse than a sharp one? It seems so obvious that sharp […]
November 20, 2013
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Lifestyle
Happy Wednesday and an Update!
Lifestyle
November 20, 2013
Happy Wednesday and an Update!
Is it only Wednesday? This week has been insane and packed full of projects and deadlines that it feels like it could be a Saturday. I don't have any finished photos to share with you of all these said projects we're juggling, but I thought I would give you a run-down of what we're working […]
November 20, 2013
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Chris Cooks
Proper Knife Care: How to Clean a Knife
Chris Cooks
November 18, 2013
Proper Knife Care: How to Clean a Knife
I'm a firm believer that the right kitchen equipment makes a huge difference in the food you're able to prepare, and the most important equipment is, indisputably, your knives. They are the backbone of your kitchen, and just as important as your oven and fridge. Even still, I have people often say things to me […]
November 18, 2013
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Art
Art For A Nursery or Child's Room
Art
November 18, 2013
Art For A Nursery or Child's Room
Sometimes, when I am having a particularly stressful day or moment, I start planning the nursery in my head. I guess it is my happy place. We'll probably start the nursery after the new year, but I can't stop myself from gathering ideas, or as this post illustrates--art. Is there anything sweeter than art for […]
November 18, 2013
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Chris Cooks
How to Cook An Entire Thanksgiving Meal In One Oven
Chris Cooks
November 16, 2013
How to Cook An Entire Thanksgiving Meal In One Oven
Ok, so I realize it's Saturday and we typically don't post on weekends, but we had a question from one of our readers that I thought required a "quick" post. Here's the question, from Rachel: I've really enjoyed the recipes you've shared this week and really want to make some for the big day. But […]
November 16, 2013
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Recipes
Light and Airy Pumpkin-Ricotta Cheesecake
Recipes
November 15, 2013
Light and Airy Pumpkin-Ricotta Cheesecake
There are a lot of pumpkin cheesecakes out there, and I love them all. The first time I had pumpkin cheesecake, it was more of a New York style, with the thick, dense filling. It was delicious, but also very heavy. When working up my own recipe for pumpkin cheesecake, I wanted to find a […]
November 15, 2013
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DIY
Ask Julia: A Venture Into Painting Walls
DIY
November 15, 2013
Ask Julia: A Venture Into Painting Walls
Sometimes we get asked such a great, in depth question that can be helpful to so many others we have decided to answer such questions (with permission, of course) right here. Today's question comes from a couple that just moved into military housing--their first place they are allowed to paint: Julia, I am […]
November 15, 2013
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Recipes
Buttery and Crusty Herb-Topped Dinner Rolls
Recipes
November 14, 2013
Buttery and Crusty Herb-Topped Dinner Rolls
My mom makes amazing rolls. It's actually my grandmother's recipe and they're famous in our family. Any time we get together, those rolls are always requested. They're buttery, fluffy, and a necessity at any of our Thanksgiving get-togethers. Unfortunately, the recipe I'm sharing is not her recipe. No, I'm afraid that recipe belongs to the […]
November 14, 2013
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Decor
Decorating the Front Door for Christmas. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Decor
November 14, 2013
Decorating the Front Door for Christmas. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
We decked the halls (okay, just the front of our house) really early this year. Back in July, Home Depot contacted me and asked us to participate in their Holiday Style Challenge this year. They sent us a room full of mystery boxes containing more Christmas stuff then we knew what to do with and […]
November 14, 2013
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Recipes
How to Roast the Perfect Turkey
Recipes
November 13, 2013
How to Roast the Perfect Turkey
Ok, I'm not gonna get into a long shpeal about the importance of the turkey on Thanksgiving (also called "turkey day"). Everyone knows the importance of the turkey, and we also know it takes more than gravy to fix a dry, flavorless turkey. There's a lot to go over in this post, but we'll cover […]
November 13, 2013
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DIY
Winterizing The Lawn
DIY
November 13, 2013
Winterizing The Lawn
We were recently invited by Ace Hardware to be a part of their first ever Ace Blogger Panel. It's exciting and new and the reason for my trip to Chicago (their headquarters) a few weeks ago. Ace's whole goal is to create a hardware store experience that makes you feel like you're getting help from […]
November 13, 2013
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Chris Cooks
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Maple and Bacon Vinaigrette
Chris Cooks
November 12, 2013
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Maple and Bacon Vinaigrette
I've never cared much for sweet potatoes, as historically prepared on Thanksgiving (marshmallows and all). I think my beef is that they are often overcooked to the point of mush, and lacking in the flavor department. And adding marshmallows, for me, only enhances the mushy mouthfeel. It's like I'm eating baby food, and I've always […]
November 12, 2013
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