March Madness

The month of March just flew by! For several reasons, but the two main ones being:
1) Schoolwork piled up and,
2) It was crunch time in terms of getting renovations done to qualify for the eco-energy government grants.

Here are some highlights:

We made great progress with insulation, door replacement, and toilet replacement.  This house is now officially insulated! It feels much warmer and cozier, and we hope to see a real change in the heating bills in the future. Although, we got lucky this year, as we didn't have a very cold or long winter.

Living in chaos

Hole-y walls

We were thankful to have good friends to provide their expertise and skills when needed.  Specifically, Ryan Franks was a huge help in installing our new side door. We got the door from Home Depot - a basic steel door with a venting window. We bought one that we could paint ourselves since the difference in cost was about $500! We chose a dark charcoal grey colour that Behr titled "Intellectual".  (Whose job is it to name paint colours anyway?) It is now installed and looks so sharp against the red brick of our house. We just need to do another layer of paint at some point and finish the brick mold around the door (which Andrew has made with the help of his very knowledgeable brother and father).

We got a dual flush toilet from Home Depot as well (we have been keeping that place in business!). It was amazing how it all went down: We were planning on getting a dual flush or low flush toilet to meet the standards for the government and city of Guelph grants, and had accepted that we would likely have to spend around $300 for our toilet of choice.  Andrew called me one afternoon after work saying he was going to go pick up a toilet in Kitchener, and I suggested that he should go to the Home Depot in Guelph instead - in case there were any problems, the return would be easier.  So off he went to Guelph's Home Depot, and low and behold, there happened to be just one dual flush toilet on sale for $150. Andrew inquired as to why this toilet was on sale and the salesperson told him that it had been a top seller the year before and that someone had returned it to the store just recently.  The salesperson didn't know why the store accepted a return for a product they no longer carry (they now carry the updated version), which explained why there was only one and why it was on sale.  The toilet was still brand new, in an unopened box, and we were lucky enough to be the proud new owners later that afternoon.

Thanks to some moral support and guidance over the phone from future brother-in-law Tim Harnack, as well as some hands-on help from the talented Benton Brown, Andrew successfully installed the toilet and we are now enjoying the dual-flush toilet each and every day!

The final audit, done on March 27th, went really well.  Although we don't have the final report just yet, the auditor was really impressed with the immediate results.  He commented that we went from 15 air exchanges an hour to around 5 or 6 - which is a much more ideal number.  He also complimented the beautiful and air-tight attic hatch that Andrew made.  It sounds like we will get the full grants from the government!

Now that our own March Madness is done, we are taking things a little more slowly. Andrew continues to work diligently at finishing up the basement (drywalling, making shelves, dusting, dusting, and more dusting) and I continue to work sporadically diligently at the last of my schoolwork. We are also planning our trip to Europe, which is fast approaching (we leave near the end of April).

If this post were to have an all-encompassing and concluding point, it would be this:
We feel so grateful and blessed to have friends and family who are quick to offer up their skills and expertise with regards to our home renovations.  It has made this process so much easier, we (Andrew) have learned a lot, and we want you to know that we will joyfully repay the many favours in any way possible (food).  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

- a&a

Mailbox

This post is fairly straightforward and simple...we got a new mailbox! By new, I mean we found it at a thrift store back when we moved into our rental unit, originally planning to put it up there, but we never did. When we moved into our house, we knew we would be replacing the old, rust-stained white mailbox with our thrift store find. This week, we finally did!

Before

After

Is that not the most dramatic before and after you have ever seen? We are also hoping to either replace the door or sand/strip/stain it to be a dark rich wood colour - which will match the mailbox better.  I am not a big fan of this door for many reasons:
- It is not sealed well, so you can feel a draft
- The window is only a single pane of glass (not great for warmth or safety)
- The lock mechanism is not great...it has to always be locked or the door won't stay shut, and I would prefer a deadbolt
- I don't like that it is white - only for the reason that I use a white curtain so that some light can still come through...and I don't like the white on white. I would prefer a dark door with a light coloured curtain or maybe just a door with a smaller or frosted window

But I digress...I'm here to talk about the mailbox!

I am definitely a home owner, because the thought of our new mailbox makes me squeal with excitement (although let's be honest, I tend to do that with just about anything). I keep opening our front door to make sure it's still looking great. It is. The day we put it up, I was hoping to witness our mail carrier deliver the mail and hopefully see an approving 'this-mailbox-is-way-better–than-your-old-mailbox' nod while I peered through the window. That didn't happen, which is probably for the best. But I just know that he must have loved it!

All this talk of mailboxes has me itching to go check the mail.

Until next time,
a&a

Our Granola Recipe

Andrew and I have been using this delicious recipe for the past couple years. Andrew came up with the recipe through several trials and few errors, and we think it is finally all in correct proportion.  Needless to say, we still tweak it every time it is made depending on how we feel and what ingredients are available.  It has been a hit with many friends and family, so I thought I would share the recipe here! I made a batch today (as I mentioned in this post, it is one of the things I do best in the kitchen).

I make it in massive quantity (about 6 quarts), so it normally lasts at least a couple weeks. I've organized the ingredients into four different groups, as you add them at different times. To begin:

First - preheat the oven to 400

Add the following into a big mixing bowl:

- 4 cups large flake oats

- 2 cups roasted peanuts

- 2 cups sliced almonds

- 2 cups coconut

- 2 cups spelt flakes

- 2 tsp salt

Bowl 1

Once all the ingredients are added, give them a good mix. I left them separated for the photo because it looked cooler. Don't let the coolness fool you, I did mix it afterwards!

We use large flakes of coconut, but shredded would be fine too.

 In a second bowl, mix the following ingredients:
- 2 cups sunflower seeds
- 1 cup pepitas
- 1 cup sesame seeds

Bowl 2

In the last bowl, add and mix:
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 3 tbsp ground flax
- 3 cups of raisins (we use golden, thomson, whatever is handy)
- 2 cups of apricots (cut into small raisin-sized pieces)
- 1 cup of miscellaneous dried fruit (this time I used dried apples and cranberries, but it can be anything...go crazy!)

Bowl 3

In a small pot, add:
- 6 tbsp of butter or oil (or a combination of both)
- 6 tbsp of honey

I normally place this pot on the burner that gets the warmest when the oven is on. It melts by the time I'm ready to use it without even turning the burner on.

Once the oven is ready, divide the contents of Bowl 1 into two pans. Place in the oven for 5 minutes. Take it out, put it in the bowl and stir. Then put back into the pans and in the oven for 5 minutes, take out, and stir again. At this point, add the contents of Bowl 2 into Bowl 1, divide into two pans and put it into the oven for 5 minutes. Take out and mix again, this time adding the melted honey/butter/oil goodness and mixing it evenly throughout the granola. Put the mixture back into the oven for 2 minutes.

To recap those crazy instructions:

- Bowl 1 in oven for 5 mins

- Stir

- Bowl 1 in oven for 5 mins

- Stir and add Bowl 2

- Bowl 1 and 2 in oven for 5 mins

- Stir and add honey mixture

- Bowl 1 and 2 and honey mixture in oven for 2 mins

Those instructions look even crazier...I hope this is clear!

Take it out of the oven, add the contents of Bowl 3, and give it a final stir. Note that the contents of Bowl 3 never go in the oven. Let it cool and then put it in an airtight container.

Serve with yogurt, milk, or just eat it as a trailmix snack - Bon Appetit! 

My Chef at Home

In light of Valentine's Day approaching, I thought it would only be appropriate to write a post about/to my own personal chef at home.

I would have to say one of the questions I get asked most often is "So who does all the cooking at your house?" and I always struggle to answer it.

The honest answer: Andrew does - he does almost all of the cooking.  

I remember in 2006 (before Andrew and I were even dating), we were just starting to strike up a friendship.  We would hang out at the restaurant where we worked, at staff parties, or I would go to his place and he would cook up a storm for me.  Advice to any single man: if you want to woo a girl - cook for her.  If we were at work and I complained of a sore throat, Andrew would whip up a hot cup of lemon, ginger, and honey tea for me.  He couldn't have been more considerate, attentive, and caring.  I felt so loved. 

One thought I remember verbalizing early in my relationship with Andrew, to Christina or Erin or Tess, was that "if I marry this guy...I'm going to eat like a queen for the rest of my life."  I couldn't have been more right! Which brings me back to the question of who does most of the cooking in our house. I think the reason I struggle to answer it is because part of me feels guilty that I have been so blessed to not only marry one of the most caring, funny, and capable men I've ever met - but also to marry a chef! I'll be the first to admit that I am spoiled rotten when it comes to meals, and for that I am forever grateful.  When I answer the question, I normally follow up with "but I'm a really good dishwasher/helper/eater". Which are all very true statements.  

Now this whole 'chef at home' thing is a bit of a double-edged sword, because my repertoire of recipes is not as vast as I would like it to be.  Don't get me wrong, I do help out.  I can fend for myself when Andrew is not home, and would consider myself to have more culinary knowledge than the average person, but I would like to know and do more. The following is a list of cooking/baking duties I am awesome at:

- Making coffee in the morning

- Making granola

- Spooning out yogurt

- Baking cookies, chocolate cake, scones etc.

- Making a mean batch of popcorn

- Cutting up any kind of vegetable or fruit

- Making a vinaigrette/dressing 

- Making grilled cheese

- Following a recipe

- Sauteing onions

- Did I mention doing dishes?!

I have learned so many skills and tricks from my handy husband. As much as I love being cooked for, this year I am hoping to take a more active role in meal-planning and preparation, and hope to document some of that journey here.

To conclude: Andrew, I love you so much. Thank you for everything you do. 

 Never ever leave me because I would starve to death.

- a

All in a weekend's work

I can spend hours daydreaming and imagining what we will do in our new home (many of these hours involve pinterest.com!) I think about what colour we will paint the walls, how we will arrange the rooms, how good our basement would look if we could afford all the storage solutions in the world and so on and so forth.  However, at this point, we have to scale back the dreaming and ground ourselves in reality. We have a lot of work to do before March 31st, and none of it justifies any time spent on pinterest.

When we moved in, we found out that there was zero insulation in this 101 year old baby.  This was not revealed to us in the home inspection since there was no attic hatch. We found out upon tearing down a wall and cutting an attic hatch.  We can understand that a house built a century ago would lack insulation, after all, wood was plentiful and heat was cheap. What we can't wrap our heads around is how none of the previous owners went about insulating the place. Heating bills must have been through the roof! (Pun intended).

The uninsulated attic

Our fancy new attic hatch

So away we went to insulate the attic (after setting up wiring to put in overhead lights in the bedrooms) and the one corner of first floor attic space.  Afterwards, we found out that the government is offering grants for home upgrades that increase efficiency, only available until March 31st. Although we missed out on the attic grant, there are still grants for insulating the basement, exterior walls, replacing doors etc. We booked an audit and, as predicted, it revealed there were many ways we could upgrade the efficiency of our home.  Apparently, the air in our house changes completely 15 times per hour, with an ideal number being closer to 7.  At least we're breathing fresh air? Also, the auditor said that if we added up all the tiny hole and leaks in our home, we would have a gaping hole equivalent to 1.6 square meters. Do you get what I mean when I say we aren't even thinking about paint at this point? 

Hose man

The cotton candy insulation blower machine

Part way through insulating

These upgrades have been keeping us busy, and the time crunch has been leaving us with a (healthy?) level of stress to get it all done.  Andrew's Dad, Craig, spent a weekend with us in December getting all the work done that is seen in the previous photos, as well as tearing down a wall in our bedroom! For some reason, and probably against his better judgment, he decided to come back again this weekend to help insulate some of the remaining first floor attic spaces. I guess we didn't wear him out enough the first weekend! We couldn't feel more grateful for all the hard work he has done, and the knowledge he has brought to our home renovation adventure. 

Clothes moved out to make space to venture into the closet

Dad/Craig ready to insulate

I can't wait for this home to be insulated, warm, and cozy! For now, I will continue to spend most of my time beside the fire...

 a&a

Visitors are always welcome...

...especially when they bring food!

Last Thursday we were pleasantly surprised when our good friends Katie and Ryan (& daughter Tricia) called us up and asked if it would be okay for them to come for dinner with Katie's parents, Andy and Melanie.  They also offered to bring cheese, salad, shepherd's pie, and dessert! Who could say no to that?! So they arrived and we munched on some delicious cheeses and chicken liver mousse, and even popped open a bottle of champagne that had been in our fridge waiting for the perfect occasion.

The Bubbly

A very ticklish Tricia

While the adults were downstairs, Tricia ventured upstairs and would return talking about the 'froggy' upstairs.  Not sure to what she was referring, I followed her upstairs (without her knowing) and was led right into our bedroom.  She had found our frog-shaped dehumidifier and was telling it to "stay here! don't move! go night night!" 

I don't know what is more hilarious, the sight of Tricia talking to our frog-shaped dehumidifier, the fact that I am admitting we have a frog-shaped dehumidifier, or Tricia's innocently inappropriate pronunciation of the word 'frog'...

A good night was had by all, and again, we were left feeling so blessed to be living this life.

a&a

Guestbook

When we moved into our new home, we decided to start a guest book for our visitors.  A few friends of ours have had a guest book in their own home and we really liked the idea of having our visitors leave a little note or jot down an experience they had while in our home.  At our rental house, we continued to use the guestbook from our wedding that consisted of cue cards. 

Cue Card Guestbook

As much as we loved the cue card guestbook, it was hard to keep track/know what to do with all of the loose cards, and we wanted something a little more cohesive.  For this house, we are starting fresh with a bound guestbook, which was actually a birthday present from my best friends Erin and Tess.  It's from Ten Thousand Villages. All of their journals are so beautiful and I love the textured paper. 

Paisley Home Guestbook

Already starting to fill up with entries...

 I can't wait to have more people over and sign our guestbook! So, if you are reading this, please stop in for a visit! Unless we don't know you, that would be weird...but if you're nice, we will probably let you in.

a&a