February is a month of love in the Morenus home.

 

We were married in February...

Buddy's birthday is Feb 4th, just like nana's!
McKenzie's is Feb 20th and Grandma Ruth's is Feb 11th!

 

Valentine's Day is celebrated...

 

We take a trip to the beach to see our Crawford Grandparents...
Who share our wedding day which happens to be Grandma's birthday, too :)

 

 

So it is easy to see why I wanted to decorate for February... a whole month of hearts, and red and pink surrounding the home to remind us of how special the month is.

 

Starting today, January 31st... maybe I procrastinated.. I will take the following items and craft them into February Love Decorations...

 

 

 

Visit again throughout the month to see what they became :}

 

I hope you have a month of love too!

 

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those

 who love him and keep his commands."

Deuteronomy 7:9

Ring Christmas Bells...

I couldn't help myself... Christmas decorations have started to appear at the Morenus home. Mark the calendar... the tree went up on November 21st.

 

 

I am taking my time at actually adding the ornaments and such. It was a miracle that we even found the tree. It was not in the shed with the other decorations and it was not left in my parents attic. I panicked but Tyler found it in our attic along with a few other boxes that were thrown up there during the move. POINT FOR HUBBY!

 

Let me remind you that all of our tree ornaments are DUKE and chapel hill themed.

And most have a matching pair, like these two...

 



I will post the fully decorated tree once it is complete!

 

The crafts that have been completed so far for Christmas 2013 are...

 

"Jail Break Deer"... Tyler named him...

 

A dry erase board count down... with a deer for tyler and a penguin for me...

 

A miniature burlap wreath... planning to make large sized wreaths too.

 

 

Lastly, I held my first "pinterest party" where some of my favorite ladies came over and spent a few hours crafting... so much fun! Here is what it looks like when six ladies craft together...

 

 

Here is some of the items we made...

 

 

Thanks for reading :)

 

**He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.** Colossians 1:15-17

 

 

 



Pruning Cabinets...

Our Pastor did an amazing job teaching us about pruning on Sunday, so I figured I would keep the theme going. After all, we did in fact prune our cabinets after church... and all day... here's the details.

At the beginning of summer our neighbors set three beautiful cabinets on their lawn. I drove by, circled and came back by, left for a little while, came back home, drove by twice again and finally called Tyler who had also seen the cabinets that morning. He said to go for it, so I rang their bell asking if they were getting rid of them. THEY WERE! And they WERE FREE! The lady had a friend move in with her and he brought with him several pieces of furniture that weren't needed and he just wanted to know that the cabinets would go to a good home (check) and would be used (check). The man and the lady even helped my sister, Amy, and I get the cabinets to my house and in my garage! SO HEAVY!

So they set all summer just waiting to be worked on. Yesterday, we "painted" the cabinets with a polyurethane remover and scraped all of the goo off of the first cabinet. IT TOOK FOREVER! It is a very "easy" process but very time consuming! SO WORTH IT! This week I will tackle the other cabinet. My wonderful in-laws helped us... one cabinet down. We brought it into the home to take a photo, and returned it to the garage. Once I finish the other cabinet we will clean both of them and return them to the living room to be accessorized :}

Below: left side has been worked on (but not cleaned) right side is original...

**Note: The mantel is still missing... that project is coming up next! Also, my father-n-law and husband "Puddy and Sanded" all the nail holes, etc. left from the previous owners... so we have "Dalmatian walls" for a little while too. Luckily, PHO (previous home owner) left the paint codes so I can go get some touch up paint and restore the clean, smooth paint look!

"I am the TRUE vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15: 1&2

Get out old... New is taking over

Somehow saying "Out with the Old, In with the New" just didn't seem to do it justice for me.

I am loving the home owning experience. With pinterest.com and a million decorating magazines everywhere I look, it is SO easy to get overwhelmed with ideas. However, I love it. All of it. I know that half the ideas will never come to life, and the majority will be shot down by the hubs... but the ones that we do act on will be awesome!

Here are three things we are working on: My Office, The Kitchen and Our Living Room. Why the rooms have official capitalized titles, I am not sure.

My Office:

I said, "Goodbye" to the white fan that was in the room when we purchased it. It reminded me of a child's fan... small, solid white, and with an enclosed lighting system... one tiny little bulb that did NOTHING as far as lighting the room is concerned. Luckily, while at Lowes looking for grill items, I ventured over to fans and the beautiful fan I ended up choosing was on sale. I shopped Lowes, several other stores, and returned a few days later to purchase the fan. I call this the Morenus way of shopping... I'm starting to get used to Tyler's "think on it" method! The base of the fan perfectly matches my black-brown "espresso" office furniture and the blades, wood grain, add the perfect adult taste... in my opinion. Did I mention that the fan actually cools down the room now and the lights actually light the room... Amazing!

 



The Kitchen:

When touring the home before purchasing it, the kitchen is one of the things that made me want it. So beautiful. The previous home owner had upgraded the kitchen already so not much at all was needed to be done. But every room deserves a little personal touch. While shopping at Pier One a week ago, I found an awesome Tea Cup drawer pull for... 18 CENTS! LITERALLY PENNIES... 18 of them! This is one tool-required house project I tackled on my own! I only changed the one cabinet that stores all of our cups. You can see that the tea cup is a bronze-brown color and the remaining cabinet knobs are silver... who cares :). Maybe i'll change the other knobs later on!



Our Living Room:

As much as I love to decorate, when we moved in I could not come up with ANYTHING different than what the previous home owner had done in regards to furniture placement in our living room. The room requires furniture to float as there is a carpeted section outlined by hardwoods (laminate). So our couch and loveseat took the same home as before. However, Tyler and I both wanted to change the TV situation. A TV mount was left in the corner of the room, and before milk was added to the fridge Tyler had one of our TVs mounted. For months we searched for a piece of corner furniture that would either host the TV or stand just below a mounted TV. We never bought anything because we never loved the idea. THEN... drum roll... I found two bookcases FOR FREE. Our neighbors were getting rid of bookcases and offered them to us... for free. I took them. 9 foot tall, solid wood, glass front doors, bottom cabinets, with lighting already in the inside. We walked the entire house with the tape measure, that evening, trying to figure out where 9 foot tall cabinets would go... but the ceilings in our home only allowed for them to go in our living room and only in one place due to the number of windows we have; AROUND THE MANTEL! So excited! Tyler and his dad mounted the TV above the mantel and fixed all the holes in the walls that the mount and other nails/screws left. During the process, Tyler tried to loosen the mantel so he could shave down the edges, eventually allowing the bookcases to sit flush with the mantel... and the mantel collapsed to the floor. SO... right now we have no mantel and we have two bookcases in our... garage (on their side... too tall to stand)... waiting to be stained. When the living room project is finished... it is going to be AMAZING! Here is the before photo, but you'll have to look back for the after!



Today's bible verse comes from an adorable Celebrating Homes plaque I purchased with our family name printed on it. "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15.

*I have no clue how to flip this... appears flipped until posted in blog*

 



♥ Pinterst Inspired: Circle of love ♥

CRAFTING

 

Lots of people have that one thing they can do to escape from reality and regain sanity... mine is crafting! I think it is why I love being a nanny so much, because I always get to use my creative juices to make crazy-awesome school projects or fun & practical household items.

Today I did the later.

 

I took four basic materials and made a "Circle of love"...

 

A glue gun, close pins, spray paint (I used outdoor spray paint because that is what I had on hand) and a circle of some sort (found mine at hobby lobby in the ugly green color... it was with the wreaths near the floral department. Honestly no clue of its actual purpose- feel free to leave that in the comments if you know!).

 

 

First... I laid a plastic tarp on top of three stacked Rubbermaids in my garage- I felt this little crafting "desk" was a sign from God that I should be crafting (haha). Ok really its a sign that I should unpack the final Rubbermaids! :). I placed the round frame in the center of the tarp and sprayed ONE COAT (that was all! yay!) onto the frame being sure to spray at all angles so it would cover the underneath too... I like how raised this little wire frame is! No need to flip and repeat unless you just want to. I cracked the garage (added this note for my curious father) and let the frame dry over night. The next day (ok after a yard sale... so it may have dried almost 18 hours) I heated my glue gun (about 20minutes... cold glue just doesn't work at all) and then put glue (one close pin at a time) onto the frame (on the middle two layers only... they are raised to the same height) and adhered the close pins (of course facing to where the pinned item will be off the frame and not over the center of it... duhh!). I waited until the next day.... LIE.... I immediately started attaching things and taking pictures!! :)

 

 

BE SURE TO UNPLUG YOUR GLUE GUN (Again... for my dad :))

 

 

Now that it is complete... I think I will actually "Chip-clip" it to my fridge and "pin" letters, wedding invites, cards, etc. that we receive in the mail on it! This will save a few chip-clips in the long run and look craftedly-awesome (its a word! I know Webster!).

 

"He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer." Exodus 35:35

Outrageous Cludder Domination... OCD :}

What some might call Obsessive Compulsive Disorder... like that makes sense... I call Outrageous Cludder Domination. Why? Because when I finish organizing something

 I truly feel that I have DOMINATED it!

For instance, our kitchen. Like most kitchens, we have several cabinets that are home to our dishes, pots and pans. However, our small kitchen is also the location of our laundry facilities

 and my favorite closet of the house that some refer to as a "Pantry".

As a wedding gift, my parents gave Tyler & I a membership to Costco and gave us a million bulk size household items. Needless to say, we were grateful but quickly had to find space for everything... permanent space... not just the kitchen table! Therefore, my first three OCD projects of the house were organizing our kitchen cabinets, the laundry room and the pantry. See below!

 

Cabinets... you never realize how much Tupperware you have until you have to find a cabinet big enough to host it. Our corner three shelf cabinet literally has NOTHING but Tupperware and one stack of Crate & Barrel saucers and two meat platters. This is what happens when one of your bridesmaids sells Tupperware! So grateful though- this stuff comes in handy since Tyler and I cook at home almost every night and ALWAYS have leftovers!

 

 

 

Laundry Room... So appreciative of the work that the previous home owner did to our home, such as adding additional levels of shelving in almost every closet! The extra storage room in our laundry closet very quickly become the home for our Costco goodies. We were also able to purchase a new washer and dryer from Lowes (after weeks of shopping other stores) that is energy efficient and actually did significantly decrease our water bill! Side note: An old closet organizer made for the perfect kitchen towel sorter (dish rag, dish towels and cleaning rags) and we were finally able to hang our Chapel Hill (BOOOOOOOOOO) and DUKE (WOOHOOOO) grocery bag holders that I purchased at the Southern Living Christmas Show.

 

 

Pantry... Ahhhh :)...

 

So happy that our pantry is SO big that it can hold all of our non-perishable food, our extra condiments and even some of our small appliances! Oh, and the aprons fit nicely on the inside of the doors too!

 

 

 

"But all things should be done decently and in order." 1 Corinthians 14:40

Favorite Foods... so far

Getting settled into married life means getting use to living together and EATING together. We have similar taste buds, but never seem to crave the same thing at the same time. However, we both do agree that we want to cook meals at home and not waste money eating out!

 

BREAKFAST

 

Tyler leaves before 7am most mornings, so we end up doing breakfast separately. I typically go for a long walk with my sister and our dogs, then return home to make a yummy meal. Tyler is more of a cereal guy, but most mornings I think his breakfast consist of sunflower seeds!

 

 

My favorite breakfast meal so far is an egg patty sandwich. Ty bought a very cool frying pan that is literally the size of a perfect egg patty. I scramble one egg and 1/2 a tablespoon of milk in a bowl with a mini whisk. Then I pour the mixture into the medium-high heated pan, that I spray with PAM before heating. I let the patty form, making sure most of the mixture is in solid form before flipping it, using a mini spatula I found at the dollar store. I cover the {new} patty top with a slice of the Ultra Thin cheese by sargento (usually a cheddar or colby jack). Once the cheese has melted, I lift the patty out of the pan and onto a Thin Sandwich (like the thin bagels). Whole Grain! I usually eat the egg patty sandwich with applesauce or greek yogurt... and of course a huge Tervis of coffee! 

 

 

 

DINNER

 

Our dinner routine is unique but it works for us. Tyler usually beats me home by at least an hour so he is able to do most of the cooking. Which he loves! He is a very good cook, takes after his momma! I just always feel bad that he waits on me to eat... we typically do not get to eat dinner until after 8pm.

 

You'll want...

Skillet and oil and medium heat- ready to go.

Oven at 375 degrees- ready to go.

13x9 sprayed with PAM- ready to go.

Boil noodles of choice!

 

Our favorite meal so far is Chicken Parmesan. Mostly, I love it because we both cook it together! Ty is not a huge fan of cooking meat in a skillet but I don't mind the popping oil bubbles... just wear long sleeves :). In order to have the best flavor, Tyler prepares the chicken the night before. He starts by cutting off the fat (of thawed chicken breasts) and then flattening the boneless chicken breast with a meat tenderizer. Then he pokes holes in the breasts and covers them with Italian dressing, inside of our Tupperware marinating container. We leave the breasts over night to marinate. The night of cooking, we take two "mixing" bowls... one with 3 eggs (Scrambled) and one with Italian bread crumbs... and we dip each breast in the egg (coat it) then roll it in the bread crumbs and then repeat. I let our skillet & oil reach medium heat and then take each breast (one at a time works easiest) and cook it in the skillet about 3minutes each side. Once both sides of the breaded chicken breast have that golden brown look, we place the breast into a 13x9.

 

{Here are the breast ready to now be baked}

 

In the 13x9 I place the breast in first. Then I add "spaghetti sauce" around the breast. It doesn't need to be under the breast, because it will move around once it starts baking. However, I do make sure to cover all of the edges of the pan and in between the two breast. I do not put sauce on top of the breast, but you could if you wished! {We use our own homemade sauce, but store bought works just fine!} I bake the chicken at 375 degrees for 30mintues. At the end of 30mintues, I pull out the tray in the oven and add cheese on top of the breast. Then I bake the dish for another 10minutes, changing the temperature to 350 degrees.

 

{Here is what the chicken looks like fresh out of the oven}

 

To serve, I put a breast on top of noodles (any kind... we have tried it all!) and add the sauce from the pan to my plate. The taste of the Italian chicken topped with cheese and sauce is amazing! Truly! We have had it every week since marriage, except for the honeymoon! Thanks to Momma Morenus for the recipe!

 

{Ready to eat...}

 

In honor of the food post... The picture of the day won't be of buddy bear... We will share a photo of our first ever dinner guests, our Atkinson family. They joined us the weekend after the honeymoon for hamburgers. It was very interesting- tyler used his new grill for the first time and we quickly figured out the burner covers (??) were flipped the wrong way so the flames had NO control and it looked like a giant fire! The kids told on the men, ty and colt, for their fire hazards but luckily colt was able to save the grill, the house and the food :}. Here are the adorable kids...

 

 



 "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31