Beet Pickled Eggs

In this salad: greens, picked eggs and beets, broccoli florets, avocado, baked sweet potato slices (leftovers), huge scoop of hummus, almonds, S&P

I love eggs! From my head down to my legs! Children of the 80s, remember those commercials? Anyways!! I really do eat a lot of eggs and love to prepare them in a bunch of different ways. My son loves them hard boiled, Adam likes them deviled and I just can't pick a favorite. But since I've been hard boiling them for the guys, I snuck a few away last week and did a small batch of beet pickled eggs. I love the gorgeous pink color and both the beet and eggs work well for quick salads. Here's how:

Ingredients

• 6 (or whatever will fit into your jar) hard boiled eggs
• 1 medium sized beet, pealed and cubed
• 1 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup of water
• 2T sugar
• Pinch of Salt

First you've gotta boil those eggs. I find a lot of people tend to over cook them. I place mine in a large pot, usually a dozen at a time and cover with cold water and a dash of baking soda. Then I let them come to a boil for a minute or two, transfer to sink and shock them in ice water. Older eggs usually peel better than fresh (but eggs have an incredibly long shelf life, so most grocery eggs will be just fine).

I haven't tried this recipe with canned beets, but like with most things, fresh is usually better.  Toss the beet, sugar and salt into a sauce pan with ACV, when it comes to a boil, transfer to room temp jar. Top with one cup of water and add in peeled eggs.  Let sit overnight or longer for that pretty pink color! These would make lovely deviled eggs too! 

In this salad: greens, pickled eggs, watermelon radish, almonds, huge scoop of hummus

Our Farmhouse | Laundry and Mudroom Makeover

Ta da! I just put the finishing touches on my laundry slash mudroom makeover and I am so excited with how it all turned out! We did this one all ourselves with no outside contractors and I got to really expand my skills working with wood and electricity. I've got a big pot of coffee waiting, so come on over and have a look!

Before

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Let's start by talking about this room in it's before state. The walls were the same dark brown color as the majority of the rest of the house and the floor tiles and rug were in the same family. Even with big windows the space felt pretty small. The ceiling had some damage from a former leak and some drywall shifting left two big cracks in the ceiling (covered by a delightful pink wallpaper boarder). Speaking of windows, neither had any casement trim on them either.  The washer and dryer came with the house and we knew they'd stay, but the tubes and power and this and that behind them was an eyesore. And for a long time our microwave sat on the floor in the corner. It was just one of those spaces that didn't contain any joy and because we come and go through this door nearly 100% of the time, I wanted to fix 'er up!

Ceilings

First up - the ceilings. My folks came to town to stay with me while Adam had a business trip. Since my dad likes to stay busy with a project when he visits, I proposed two options - help me with the laundry room or paint the ceiling of our sunroom (which is super high). Dad chose the laundry room and he may have regretted it because it ended up being so much more work than we thought (I wanted to complete the room and surprise Adam when he got home from his trip). 

I knew I was going to go for a shiplap style treatment on the slanted ceiling. As I mentioned in a past post, this room was probably a porch at sometime that was eventually closed in and the boarded ceiling gives a nod to that. I had looked for inexpensive options (like ripping plywood down into planks) but because of the humidity and moisture created by the dryer, my dad and I agreed solid wood boards would be a better choice. I went with 6" wide pieces that I cut down to length. Because we were nailing above our heads, we also did pilot holes to get the nails started (I do pilot holes for everything now! Makes hammering so much easier and faster). 

Even after carefully picking through the lumber yard for the straightest boards, there was still some variation, which we evened out by installing some trim on either side. This part really puzzled my dad (he's super handy and does projects around the house all the time). We tried so many different things to try to push and pull them into perfection, but by that time I told him "done is better than perfect" and used caulk to pretty it all up. It is a farmhouse after all! 

My mom and I painted the ceiling with just one coat to let some of the character of the wood come through. I used Chantilly Lace from Benjamin Moore in an eggshell finish for both the ceiling and walls (they took 3 coats!)

Appliance Surround and Shelf

Another big priority was disguising the mechanical stuff behind the washer and dryer (there's still easy access should we need to get to the water!). I designed a surround using 6" wide boards with two horizontal pieces on the front. We found the top board in the garage which Adam sanded down beautifully. I coated it with a mix of beeswax and mineral oil and i love the natural finish. Adam built and installed this whole piece for me and I love it! Thanks babe!

Window, Door and Baseboard Trim

Casing those windows was also a priority for me and I did those 100% myself. Because of the space available, I went with smaller width boards (the sides are 2x1, bottoms 3x1 and top a flat 3x1 and side mounted 2x1).

The casing on the door was run of the mill stuff, so I tore it down and did a similar finish to the windows. The side boards are 3x1, and the top is a combo of two 2x1s and a flat 3x1.

Lastly, I installed 6" baseboards around the room. All of the trim is Black by Benjamin Moore in a semi gloss finish

Floors

I want to devote a whole post to the floors, but here's the long and short of it. I painted the grout (Pearl Grey MAPEI Grout Refresh) and then applied vinyl stickers over my old tile. This is a short term solution for the next year or so and a way to test out if I really want to spend the money on cement tile. It was super easy to install but I am not sure of the durability yet. I'll be putting a rug of some sort right by the door to help with that!

Decor

This is my favorite part and I had a lot of fun pulling this together. I kept with my homemade/second hand mission too! Over the washer/dryer are some glass vessels I picked up in years past at garage sales. We have different kinds of detergent we're using up but Adam prefers dry and I like liquid so we have both. And if I'm being honest, it just looks cute to have a variety up there. I already had the clothespins too and they are purely decorative! The amber glass bottles have my tea tree and lavender oils in them that I sometimes use for different washes (like cloth diapers). 

Next to the appliances is a small cabinet we already had and the bowl on top was bought from an elderly gentleman who makes them by hand at a holiday market a few years ago. 

All of the baskets (and placemat/trivets) are second hand finds (similar groupings are available in my etsy shop!)  I love those pocket style guys and think they look so cute with little succulents in them! The letter board was a gift from Adam two or three years ago and I love how it looks on the original farmhouse wall (it was covered in vinyl that my dad pulled off and in pretty good shape. I filled in the nail holes and we painted it the same white as the rest of the room). I made and installed the macrame plant holders on both sides of the room too. Plant wise there's a lipstick plant, two pothos (one is the daughter plant of the other!) and a bunch of succulents all in terra cotta pots. 

Miscellaneous

Other bits and bobs - I swapped out all of the power outlets for white instead of almond and put new covers on them too. I reused the existing light but put in an edison bulb and a globe I got at the ReStore for $1. I also painted the back of the door black to match the trim but I have dreams of putting a Dutch door in it's place this summer (Gotta save up first!) I also put in a new floor register that I spray painted black. 

I think that's it! This project was a solid week of work spread out over three weeks. This space brings me so much joy! 

---

See more of my FARMHOUSE makeovers here! 

Inspired By | Baskets as Wall Art

One of the design trends I've really liked lately are baskets as wall art. I've lucked out - they are abundant at my local thrift store (so much so I've been buying extra in hopes I can list some for sale in the near future!)

I'm using them in my new laundry room and these are some of the images that helped me create a layout that I liked (I also used a trivet and a placement). I like more shallow style baskets for my walls but the possibilities are endless!

If you're not the thrifting type, a great source singles or sets are on Etsy.  I have two similar pocket baskets (great for little potted plants!) and I love something like this for a statement. 

The Science of Sleep

This post isn't scientific at all actually. It's just anecdotal evidence. Life is so much better with sleep. Yesterday I got a nap. Today was my morning to sleep in. I feel like a different human. For parents of young kids so much sleep is sacrificed for free time or hell, just getting our babies to sleep so they're not total monsters. That first year is so tough. I haven't slept through the night in at least 14 months. But it's slowly getting better and better and praise be for a hour or two to just curl up alone and sink into a deep sleep.  

It also doesn't hurt that the sun is shining and I let myself have coffee versus tea (may regret that) but currently sitting at my dining table alone to just look outside, write and make lists and the current silence and last nights' rest are making me glow.  

And on somewhat of a side tangent - I've been feeling so loved by the comments and DMs y'all have been sending me related to my new style of content. I know not every post is going to be earth shattering or ground breaking but knowing there are other folks out there going through the same things is really uplifting. It's possible to feel incredibly grateful and massively frustrated at the same time (see also: the side effects of the full moon on children). And to know you're not alone - that's one of the best parts of all. Looking forward to the week ahead! I've got thrifting, plant shopping, clean eating and hiking on my mind. What are you up to? Cya tomorrow!