Basement Work

I've been seriously slacking when it comes to writing blog posts! This update covers the last little bit of last year.

Starting in November lasting through December we had contractors come in and do all the work in the basement that we needed done quickly, or that we didn't want to do ourselves. This included putting up the closet framework for our master bedroom closet, the drywall in the master bedroom and the ceiling in the 2nd room, and lastly installing new windows. The windows were quite an ordeal because they had to be special made so they took a REALLY long time to come in, and then the contractors had to cut out the concrete in order to fit the bigger windows in. We still have concrete dust flying around the house- I think partially because we haven't started, or cleaned, the 2nd room downstairs. But what we worked on last year was our bedroom and the laundry room.

Laundry Room
We paid the contractors to put the ceiling up in the laundry room and put folding doors in the laundry room over the HVAC and Water Heater.
What we did was :

• Mud and sand the drywall that was already up
• Install the tile in the laundry room and the landing 
• Paint the laundry room ceiling
• Paint the laundry room walls
• Install the baseboards

What is left 

• Painting the folding doors (started)
• Paint the molding and the trim (started)
• Build a shelf right above the washer and dryer but only 4-6 inches deep - this most likely will not happen until after we get a new washer and dryer
• Install cabinets above the washer and dryer
• Find a new storage unit/trash can for between the washer and dryer

Master Bedroom

We paid the contractors to do a lot more in the master bedroom than we normally would have, mostly because we wanted the room mostly done by Christmas, and we did succeed. We got the contractors to fix the electrical work, install the bigger window, do the drywall and all the mudding. 

What we did : 

• Paint the ceiling and walls
• Install the flooring
• Install the baseboards
• Install the trim

What we still need to do 

• Install the quarter round/shoe
• Touch up the paint on the ceiling and the walls
• Find a painting to cover the breaker box 

The bedroom has the least amount of work that we still have to do to have it completely done.

2nd room Downstairs 

The 2nd room downstairs is pretty much a blank canvas. We paid the contractors to do the ceiling and some of the drywall above the knee wall and put the bigger windows in. 

What we have left (which is a lot) 

• Empty the room & clean it
• Seal the floor, use concrete filler and seal it again
• Install the sound wiring for TV & surround sound
• Drywall
• Taping & mudding
• Painting the ceiling
• Painting the walls 
• Install the floor
• Baseboards & shoe
• Build book cases & recessed DVD shelves

I have found I am more productive if I have a deadline, so I'm telling myself I want to have the 2nd room in the basement done by the end of April so we can move onto focusing on getting the carpet upstairs ripped up and the flooring installed there. Then we will have most of the big projects at the house done!

House Updates: Shed's workbench

WOOHOOO! We finally have our shed! Only 6 weeks after we ordered it when we were told three, but whatever we have it now. So before we started loading up everything we have that needs to go into it, we wanted to build a workbench to put in it so we could better organized the multitude of tools that we have gotten from my Grandma and Grandpa after he passed. So Scott drew up the idea he had, did the math on what all we needed and off to Home Depot we went! We had them cut the plywood in half and the 4x4 posts as well. The 2x4s we cut ourselves.  We then put it all together.

This is the underside of the top. We used brackets to attach the 2x4s to the legs. 

Finished bench!

We still have to cut and put up the pegboard for behind the workbench, but we're trying to decide if the pegboard is going to need more support in the middle of the board since we'll be loading it up with tools. 

But yay we have a shed! Now we just need all the frustrating things to stop happening with our basement work so we can work on getting that completely finished and we'll be able to move on even more! Hopefully we'll be able to catch some good sales over Black Friday for flooring. I'll try to do an update on the basement later on in the week.  

Recipe: Portobello Mushroom Cap Pizzas

When Scott and I went to Wegmans to do our grocery shopping, we ended up eating before we did the shopping (this helps keep us from going crazy). I had already picked out my food, but I noticed some mushroom cap pizzas that looked DELICIOUS. So we got the fixings so that I could make my own version!  They were SO GOOD, but next time I would change some things- but I'll get to that at the end.

Ingredients:

Portobello Mushroom Caps
Mozzarella Cheese
Pizza Sauce
Toppings of choice- I used tomatoes and sweet peppers

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Use tin foil to make circles for your mushroom caps to sit on to help keep the bottoms from getting soggy. Brush a small amount of olive oil onto the caps, season if desired.

3) Spread pizza sauce on the bottom of the mushroom cap, sprinkle with cheese and add the toppings and any additional seasons that you would like.

4) Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese starts to brown.

ENJOY!

Things I would change:

1) I would skip the pizza sauce. I found that the mushroom caps themselves produce enough juice that the sauce ended up making everything soggy.

2) I would cut off the stems. This time I left them on and found that it made the pizzas harder to eat or cut.

3) I would add more seasoning to the mushroom caps. This time I used only a tiny bit of salt, next time I think I'll try to add some cornmeal or garlic or a mixture of the two of them to try coating the mushroom caps.

So there is my Mushroom Cap Pizza Recipe! Enjoy!