The Friday Post: Floor Pics + Cucumber Soba Salad

Last weekend, we made a lot of progress on the floor refinishing project. I still need to reinstall all of the shoe moulding, but the foyer and dining room are complete. Getting this far feels like a million bucks. Knowing we still have the living room left to do feels like ten bucks.

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This time around, I squirted the Rubio Monocoat oil on the floor, and Andy spread it with a floor buffer. An entire post is forthcoming, but the short of it is that the job was much faster this way than wiping the oil on by hand. I’m pleased with both methods, but there is a very subtle uniformity difference between the hand-rubbed floors and foyer and dining room.

Now, I cannot stop thinking about rugs. I feel like we need them everywhere. We need runners, square rugs, rectangles! The floors were such a mess before that we never cared much about what was on them. Do we go cheap? Is it time for vintage rugs? We cannot decide. It feels a little overwhelming.

Here are a few new runners that I have been looking at for the downstairs hall:

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They may be too dark, red, or orange. I need to branch out a little. Even with the nearly all-glass door and the new header window, the hall gets very little natural light. If you have a favorite rug, please link it in the comments.

One Room Challenge Inspiration

For a couple of years, I have had this image from the Pottery Barn catalog taped to the laundry room wall. Yes, tape. I could have pinned it, but I went old school.

Don’t hate me, but I’m leaning towards fresh white walls in the laundry room/office instead of a color.

Except for the floors, the room is just so dirty and gross right now, and I am searching for a little calm in here while the rest of the house is in chaos. Colorful art would keep the space from looking too boring and offer a peek of something interesting from the kitchen.

I hesitate to ask this question, “What do you think?”

More Random Stuff From This Week

• Episode #6 of the podcast is out now: True Tales From Old Houses. I was telling two local friends about the podcast the other day, and they admitted they did not know what a podcast is. I showed them how to subscribe on their phones, and we located a few other titles in their topic of interest. Would a listening tutorial be helpful here on the blog too?
• A friend on Instagram gave me a head’s up that the cabinet in the Scary Bathroom made an appearance in this article from The Spruce. What a nice surprise!
• We bought this Roomba with our tax return, and I cannot wait to turn it loose on the first floor. His name is Frederick, and we are keeping him busy on the second floor until the downstairs is back in order.

DIY Meal Kit Recipe: Cucumber Noodle Soba Salad

I was in the mood for a cold salad this week. Don’t ask me why since it is 30 degrees outside. Perhaps it was the three days of sun in a row that put me in that frame of mind.

If you are unfamiliar with the BHH concept of DIY meal kits, please read this post first. The initial recipe post in this series is also helpful and informative. Note: Most of our recipes are vegetarian.

Recipe: 5-ingredient Cucumber Noodle Soba Salad

Recipe Notes:

• The portion size for this recipe is very generous.
• To make the dish faster, I did not chill it as suggested. I rinsed the noodles with cold water instead. Although it might be more flavorful after a rest period, it tasted good to us.
• Hot sauce adds a healthy dose of flavor.
• For the meal kit, I combined the rice vinegar and honey into one container.

Earthwise Reusable Mesh Produce Bags

Storage Containers

We use these Sistema KLIP IT boxes or the larger size (shown today) depending on our needs. We are also big fans of 1.3 cup Snapware* for small portions. They fit nicely in the Sistema Klip-it storage boxes. I also recently added these tiny lidded glass containers (intended for baby food, but they work perfectly for spices or small portions).

*This links to the plastic version, but we prefer glass. Unfortunately, the glass containers, sold in sets of four, seem difficult to find now. This 10-piece set includes the small Snapware containers we use as well as some additional, useful sizes.

Have a great weekend! My daughter and I are in Florida pretending to be wizards until Monday. If I were a real wizard, I would wave my wand and finish that living room floor with a magic spell. Wouldn’t that be nice?

-Stacy