brick city love

I ripped it all out.

February 8, 2010 in 3rd floor, bedrooms | Tags: button tufting, deep button tufting, diamond tufting, headboard, newark, nj, renovation, row home, row house, rowhome, upholstered, upholstery | 2 comments

This weekend we expected to be snow bound; warm, cozy, tucked. Instead, we got what could only be exaggerated as a “dusting”. It was a bit of a let down. Determined to make productive use of the weekend, I took the opportunity to do a few quick projects around the house. The headboard wasn’t one of them.

There were grand plans of finishing the upholstered headboard. You know ~ the one I’ve had in the works since September and shared a sneak peek of 2 weeks ago? Yeah. That one. Funny… it’s also the very same headboard that I ripped out tufts to start over because I didn’t like how it was coming out. I don’t think I mentioned that part yet…

Yeah. I’m starting over {with the tufting part} and could really use some lessons. If you’re an upholsterer, I’d LOVE to hear from you because these diamond tufts just.aren’t.working. I get the concept. I see what it’s supposed to look like in my head {and in pictures on blogs & websites} but my tufts are just coming out flat.

It’s supposed to look curvy & full. The tufts are supposed to be tight. Mine is looking flat & blousy. The fabric goes flat across the foam, makes a 90 degree turn down into the hole where the button goes, and comes straight back out. Where’s the taughtness?! My beautifully covered buttons peeking out from valley in the foam??

So the project sits. In pieces in what will eventually be the guest room until I can muster the courage to tackle it one more time. I’ve poured over the few tutorials I’ve found online but am disappointed there’s not a more comprehensive tutorial. A video would be ideal but YouTube has only turned up one, semi-useful clip {that magically skips from pulling the button through to everything being tight & wonderful}. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated.

This one is a little more informative. Maybe my foam {3″} is too thick. That would stink.

The weekend wasn’t completely unproductive. Other {easier} projects were tackled. Homework for my grad class was done.

There’s always next weekend to get back on the horse. If you want to be my upholstery mentor, I’d love to hear from you.

Nana-penos: Our Secret Weapon

February 5, 2010 in Non-house | Tags: banana, chili, chili cook-off, cornbread, jalapenos, Mt. Holly Chili Champ, Mt. Holly Chili cook off, nana-penos, nanapenos | 2 comments

Nana-penos are our little invention. They evolved from a joke; a slice of banana, topped with a slice of jalapeno, & a dusting of cinnamon sugar. They honestly weren’t very good but some people actually seemed to enjoy the combination. We’ve tweaked them with the addition of corn muffin mix & subtracting the cinnamon sugar.

Into your mixing bowl combine:

3 boxes of Jiffy corn mix
3 eggs
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons diced seeded jalapenos {don’t forget to take the seeds out; they’re hot}

We use mini-muffin pans. Three boxes of muffin mix make 6 dozen mini-muffins.

Don’t forget to liberally spray the pans with cooking spray! You want things to pop right out.

Put a dab of muffin mix in the bottom of each cup and press a thick half slice of banana into it.

Then cover the banana with another dollop of muffin mix.

Then bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Since you sprayed the pan, they should just pop right out.

The chunk of banana is a really smooth surprise that nicely balances the spice of the jalapenos. Quite delicious, actually.

Cooking Three Pork Moon Chili

February 4, 2010 in Non-house, general | Tags: chili, chili cook-off, mt. Holly, Mt. Holly Chili Champ, Mt. Holly Chili cook off, Mt. Holly Fire & Ice, newark, nj, renovation, row home, row house, rowhome | Leave a comment

This past Saturday, we competed in a chili cook-off. The tradition originated when we were in high school but was only rekindled a few years ago. It’s a fun thing we do with some of our best friends & family.

We all get together at my parent’s house and cook. This year, we made about 25 QUARTS of chili. What can I say? We don’t to anything halfway; not even chili.

You know a man’s serious about his food when he has his first knife tattooed on his forearm.

If you’d like to recreate our little masterpiece, here’s the ingredient list:

6 large onions
2 bunches celery
3 red peppers
3 orange peppers
3 yellow peppers
3 green peppers
2 1 1lb bags corn, roasted
16 oz minced garlic (in water)
4 ½ tbsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Cinnamon
8 tbsp. Chili powder
1 1.5 tbsp. Smoked Paprika

10 lb pork shoulder, braised & seasoned with onion, poblano, & Corona beer
3 lbs bacon
5 lbs ground pork

3 cans chipotle peppers in adobo
6 dried Anaheim chilies, soaking in base for 20 minutes
2 cans, 6 oz, tomato paste
3 cans 14.5 oz diced tomatoes, no salt
4 cans 8 oz tomato sauce
1 can 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
16 cans 15.5 oz Black beans
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup molasses

After it cooks a little, your delicious Three Pork Moon Chili is ready to go.

While the chili cooked, I made team t-shirts.

I found & edited images online and printed them on ink jet iron-on transfers.

Why “Three Pork Moon”?? Well it was a full moon and we used 3 different kinds of pork {pork shoulder, ground pork, & bacon}.

We {or should I say Rob} were inspired by what is quite possibly the most epic shirt on the internet – Three Wolf Moon.

And since we never win “Best Presentation” anyway, we decided to put the majority of our effort into t-shirts.

By the end of the day, both crock-pots of chili were completely gone!!

And we were the People’s Choice WINNERS!!!! With 370 votes. {Never mind that you voted with buttons and our parents came.}

Hi, New Friends!!

February 3, 2010 in general | Tags: newark, nj, renovation, row home, row house, rowhome | 6 comments

On a whim I was scrolling through ye-ole-blog-stats {who am I kidding?! I check those suckers daily} and it would seem we made some new friends in the first month of this new decade.

WELCOME!! I love new friends! HI!!!!

I’m sure you’ve already checked out the “About” page but let me show you around a little personally.

See, we bought this house {our very first house!} back at the end of May 2009. Brick City Love was started the very same day.

So excited to get cracking, we spent the entire summer renovating but made the mistake on focusing on practically the entire house, instead of just one or 2 projects. D’oh!

Everyone always says that renovations always take longer and cost more money than you expect, so we’re not all together suprised by the current state of our home. At the very least, we’ll have blog content for a VERY long time.

While we get aquainted, here are some of our top posts:

Upcycled Fence Turned Photo Display

How to Make a Bedskirt

Satin or Semi-Gloss? {This isn’t instructional, rather an actual dilemma.}
We went Satin.

Bulldog Clip Pins

Our Floor Refinishing Odyssey

How to Hang a Header

Roy Vaccaro’s New York Old Iron

So click around. The 212 posts should keep you busy for a while. It’s all one giant work in progress but the master bedroom is starting to look a little more finished. Maybe by spring.

And a HUGE THANK YOU to the blogs & websites that referrer people over to Brick City Love! You rock my socks.

There’s a whole bunch that link to us but I’d like to give a special hug to my top 6 referrers.

You should go check them out. They’re awesome.

We’ve got big plans for 2010. We hope you’ll stick around; the more the merrier!

And don’t forget to comment! Yes, you; the lurker who’s been hiding. I love comments & feedback as much as I love all of you. You’ll make my day.

xoxoxox,
Carrie

Hibernating

February 2, 2010 in Non-house | Tags: bread, costco, newark, nj, renovation, row home, row house, rowhome | 3 comments

I’m craving Costco French bread.

If that’s not one of the most random things, I’m sure the fact that I’ve had this picture on my phone since March 2009 {taken 3/15/09} is. Or maybe it’s kinda crazy. Or fat. Either way, I want it’s warm, chewy goodness.

I think it’s the weather. The cold, gray winter is triggering the instinctual urge to hibernate. Curl up on the couch {or our heated mattress pad} with a blanket, the dog, a hot cup of tea and huge hunk of bread.

Three Pork Moon Chili

February 1, 2010 in Non-house | Tags: 3 pig moon, 3 pork moon, 3 wolf moon, chili, chili cook-off, Mt. Holly Chili Champ, Mt. Holly Chili cook off, newark, nj, three pig moon, three pork moon, three wolf moon | 2 comments

I need a weekend to recoup from my weekend and maintain that a weekend that required an alarm to be set BOTH days doesn’t count as a weekend.

That said, it was a really good weekend.

The chili cook-off was a success. We won “People’s Choice” for our Three Pork Moon Chili.

10 points if you get the reference.

It’s an incredibly rough picture of us but we were severely lacking in the sleep department {& what the heck am I doing with my shoulder?!}. We didn’t start cooking until 8:30pm Friday night. A full post with pictures and recipes coming soon!

Dia De Los Chili

January 29, 2010 in Non-house | Tags: awesome, chili, chili cook-off, cook-off, Fire and Ice, fun, mount holly, mt. Holly, Mt. Holly Chili Champ, Mt. Holly Chili cook off, Mt. Holly Fire & Ice, newark, nj | 3 comments

It’s chili cook-off time! TOMORROW!

Back in high school, Rob & a few of this best friends entered a chili cook-off on a whim and won Best Tasting. A few years go, we started the tradition back up and have entered every year since. Some years we win something, some years we don’t. The categories are Best Tasting, Best Presentation, Best Overall, & Crowd Favorite.

Last year was a winning year.

The boys cook the chili & it’s different every year.

The girls make the cornbread nanapenos.

And create the display.

It usually involves R2D2 somehow because it’s made by Rob, Rob & Derek {R2D1}.

It’s serious business.

Here’s a little look at what went into our chili last year.

{You got mad video editiing skills, babe.}

Word.

Wish us luck!!

Closet After!!

January 28, 2010 in 3rd floor, bedrooms | Tags: after, before, closet, elfa, free standing closet, newark, nj, renovation, row home, row house, rowhome, the container store | 4 comments

You’ve already seen parts 1 & 2 of our closet odyssey but now comes the fun part. AFTER pictures!!

And when the “before” looks like this:

anything will look better!

Click over to Glocally for the full reveal.

I’m Not Looking

January 27, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: custom, custom pillows, duvet, duvet cover, fabric, flower, gold, newark, orange flower fabric, pillow, pillows, quilt home, red flower, red orange flower, renovation, row home, row house, rowhome, sew, sewing, sewn, teal, turquoise, west elm, yellow | 8 comments

This is not me continuing to look for master bedroom bedding.

With maybe pillows out of:

{click image for source}

Nope. I’m definitely not looking.

Bedding Overload

January 26, 2010 in 3rd floor, bedrooms | Tags: bedding, bedroom, bedspread, blanket, comforter, duvet, newark, nj, renovation, row home, row house, rowhome | 10 comments

With the headboard nearing completion, a bed skirt to match, the curtains installed & gliding like buttah, a rug shagaliciously underfoot, bedside tables being sidetables, and the DVD clutter cleared away there is only one major thing left to do in the bedroom.

Bedding. {Well, technically bedding & lighting but I’m not thinking about lighting yet.}

Much like the overwhelming tidal wave of dishwashers, my head is swirling with bedding options. Thank you for your honest comments about my previous bedding idea.

For those that love it, it’s a print called “Bettina”, discontinued from Pottery Barn. There’s a few sellers that have it on eBay but I’ve yet to pull the trigger.

I like it. I honestly really really really like it. Rob likes it. But I don’t know if I LOVE it. I’m not sure it works with the room. I can’t quite put my finger on it but, for whatever reason, I’ve yet to commit. That hesitation leads me to believe – however lovely – Bettina might not be right for our room. It might be but maybe not.

See? I’m waffling. I’ve scoured websites upon websites looking at everything from duvet covers to quilts. So far I’ve looked at the ENTIRE bedding categories on:

I’m nothing if not thorough.

Unfortunately, the only thing I’ve managed to accomplish is be even more undecided than I was before. Nothing on the 2 dozen websites screamed BUY ME!!!!! So I’m taking that as a sign. The active bedding search is on hold.

See, 3 days after Rob & I started dating a friend {Tepp} asked me about “us” and me ~ being the too-cool-for-school 16-year-old that I was ~ replied “Whatever! It’s not like I’m going to marry him or anything.”

So I’m not going to look. Instead, I’m switching strategies to an actively passive search. My energies will be focused on other projects and things that need to get done {like this pesky no-so-little “capstone” project for my masters}. Hopefully in my travels, when I least expect it, I’ll happen upon the perfect fit that we’ll love forever. It seemed to work so far.

If you think you have the perfect duvet/comforter/quilt, please share! I’d love for it to compliment the painting that we have above the mantel {feel free to ignore the weird dark green grate. Stripping the paint off of it is on the TO DO list}.

Click Here to Follow BrickCityLove on Twitter!

@Smallchic I was hoping for a little more but all we've gotten is a dusting. 2 days ago
Last night we presalted our sidewalk & stoop. Woke up to let the dog out and it's still all clear. Back to sleep. 2 days ago
@kamharrisphoto Us too!! 2 days ago
Cornbread nana-penos!! http://brickcitylove.com/2010/02/05/nana-penos-our-secret-weapon/ Sound yummy? They are! 3 days ago
Prunes get a bad rap. They're really quite delicious. 4 days ago

brick city love

I ripped it all out.

Nana-penos: Our Secret Weapon

Cooking Three Pork Moon Chili

Hi, New Friends!!

Hibernating

Three Pork Moon Chili

Dia De Los Chili

Closet After!!

I’m Not Looking

Bedding Overload

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