The Friday Post: Playing Catch-up + Pesto Pasta & Potatoes

It has been a few weeks since I wrote a Friday post. The One Room Challenge is an intense six weeks, and it seems to suck all spare time away. Since it has been a while, there is plenty to share.

The big Blank Slate Laundry/Office reveal was on a Thursday, and Friday Andy and I were sanding the living room floors. We had a strict deadline to finish the entire project by Sunday night. The reason the timeline was so tight was that BHH was scheduled to be the venue for a baby shower the following weekend, and we needed enough time for the floor to cure before we moved the furniture back into the room. After two and a half long days, we finished around 10:30 on Sunday night. It was a late night for Andy. He stayed up to catch the Game of Thrones finale. Anyone else? Do I admit that I’ve never watched it? Yes, I do. This is a safe space.

The Baby Shower

Three co-hosts and I threw a colorful baby shower for our friend Holly on Saturday afternoon. The Friday night before, Andy and I were moving furniture back into the living room. By Saturday morning, I resorted to hiding the rest of the mess in various locations. The rest of the summer should be a fun treasure hunt since I probably will not remember where I put a bunch of things.

My co-hosts brought the food, and my 12-year-old daughter made the cake. She planned this cake for months, and she baked for a week leading up to the big day. She even mixed the colors for the fondant.

It did not turn out exactly as she planned, but I was so proud of her for rolling with her disappointment and embracing the challenge of making a six-layer cake! Naturally, as her mother, I thought it was perfect. That’s how moms roll.

I am so grateful to my co-hosts. They made a beautiful spread of food, and honestly, they did most of the work during the shower too. I was on hand to empty the trashcan and keep the toilet lid closed because dogs are gross.

Holly’s baby is due at the first of July, and we are all so excited about it.

Gearing Up for Summer

Yesterday, I wrote a post about our summer projects. In addition to that list, I knocked some of our general summer maintenance items off the list this week. None of these were DIY jobs. I paid someone to clean the gutters, clean out the sewer drain from the house to the road, and seal the driveway. It was worth every penny.

Here is a shot of BHH fresh from this morning’s Millie walk. The Buckeye tree is in full bloom and everything is so lush and green. I love this time of year.

Everything Else

• Episode Ten of the True Tales From Old Houses podcast released this week, and that’s a wrap for season one. Devyn and I are on a brief hiatus through June. Season two begins on July 8. We did it! We made it through one whole season, and I can’t wait to share more episodes. This podcasting business is so much fun.
• Speaking of podcasts, I had the pleasure of being a guest on the Staged4More podcast hosted by Cindy Lin, and the episode dropped yesterday. Talk about fun! If you want to hear me excitedly talk (picture waving hand) about old houses, renovation, and restoration as well as advice for old-home buyers, you can listen directly from the link I posted or download the episode on your device. Cindy already has nine podcast seasons under her belt, and her experience shows. I asked my son if he wanted to listen to the episode, and he answered, “No, I hear your voice every day.” Kids are so honest.
• This week, I finalized a lot of our summer travel plans. Two of the kids go to camp, and there are a lot of details involved with that. My 18-year-old and I are taking our usual trek to NYC to the Origami convention at the end of June. However, the biggest news is that my oldest two boys and I are traveling to Japan in August! We bought our tickets this week, so this is happening. This trip has been two years in the making. We will spend some time in Tokyo and hope to see the rest of the country by train. Our plans also include visiting with the exchange student that we hosted last year if he and his family are available. Do I speak Japanese? No, I do not. Wish us luck.

Do you have any summer travel plans?

DIY Meal Kit Recipe | Pesto Pasta & Potatoes

Carb-phobics avert your eyes. This recipe was a huge hit in my house. Even the picky 12-year-old ate two bowls.

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: Pesto Pasta & Potatoes

Recipe notes:

• I subbed broccoli for the green beans because I swore I bought green beans, but I guess I did not.
• Since the broccoli was frozen, I did not store it in the meal kit box. The original recipe calls for frozen green beans which I would treat the same way.

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!

-Stacy