Crunchy Country: Do It Yourself; Update a Dresser

I am always looking for a bargain. My husband says I sometimes shop at "Cheapo.com" and gets annoyed when things are crappy (and I admit, some of the stuff on the internet is crap)
But I often go to consignments shops and I happen to love the Goodwill.
My daughter needed a small dresser that would fit in her closet (don't want to take up princess space in the actual bedroom) and I found something perfect at the Goodwill for $20! It's well constructed, heavy and real wood. How can that be bad. It definitely wasn't princessy or pretty and I was going to paint it white but that would be too annoying, so I changed out the hardware and it is instantly better!
Here is before:

And here is after:

I found the handles on Etsy - they are so cute and the artist makes tons of different ones. I just ordered some mermaids to use as hooks for the backs of the doors.
Here is a link to the page because I am just that kind of girl:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Knobs?ref=pr_shop_more

Crunchy Country Dilemma: To Baby or Not to Baby?

Pardon me for being too personal but I suppose that's what blogging is: getting personal. So here's the country dilemma: to baby or not? I have been going back and forth since we moved here. And I think I cracked the code today. I don't want to share my daughter with my husband. She is in school for three hours a day now, so that does give me a tiny break, which I have been desperate for. But lately, those three hours are filled with running around working on our house that is still in progress. And although I often feel stressed and overwhelmed and always take on more than I should, my daughter and I spend all of our time together and we are very close. If we add another child to our family, I won't be able to love my daughter the same way. Obviously, I will always love my daughter and as life changes and we change, so will the way we love, but a baby needs. And needs a lot. And if a baby were to be brought into our picture, my husband would have to take over a lot with our daughter. And I don't think I am ready to lose her.... yet.

My Client on The Coveteur!

Well Crunchy Followers...
Here is a link to see my client, Christos Garkinos, co-owner of the world famous luxe for less store: Decades.
Here is the link to see all his fabulous things!

http://www.thecoveteur.com/

Crunchy in the Country: the Quest for Dressers....

The quest is over my friends. Dressers have been purchased, delivered and are already being used. It's been A JOURNEY. I am a bargain hunter, but I also love nice things and have very good taste (if you don't mind me saying)
I have been living with my clothes on the floor (neatly folded) since we moved in. No good. I don't really like new furniture for the most part, I like antiques. So I have been looking. Consignment shops, high end antique stores, Goodwill (where I found Tallulah's dresser which I will post later), online, in catalogs. I saw dressers for as much as 10,000. Literally. Ten thousand crazy MF dollars for a really beautiful dresser, but still. I want to meet the person who buys it. Crazy bastard. So I finally went back to the same consignment store I go to every time I can and behold... there was one that would work and was a very good price. I bought one for the guest room and one for my things. $200 each which is less than you'd pay at Pottery Barn. I win.
Here is a photo of the guest rooms action:

Crunchy Diet: Jenny Craig Week One

Here's my crunchy update. One week = two pounds! Feeling awesome and accomplished. And it's been pretty easy.
I cook my food at the same I cook for my family and try to make things similar - so if I am having macaroni and cheese, I make home made mac n cheese for my husband and daughter. Then no one asks for bites of mine and I don't feel deprived.
Here's to week two!!!

The Crunchy Country People: Cast of Characters

Well, I suppose you are all getting to know so much about our move, our renovation and our life but I haven't properly introduced the cast of characters, so I will start with me, since I do all the work.
I am a Mom. First and foremost. It is my number one focus and everyone else comes after that (I tend to come last, that's another story) I am a wife. I am a business woman with my own small business in the entertainment industry. I am a daughter. A sister. A friend. So much goes on every day, for everyone. We all have so much to juggle and deal with - some more than others. I try to stay focused, get as much accomplished in a day as possible, and really, really, really be there for my kid. I chose to have her, it's the least I can do.
I have done a lot of very cool stuff in my life and met a lot of amazing and unusual people. I am from an entertainment business based family, so I have been exposed to a lot of things most people haven't seen and often dream about. My work followed in the footsteps before me.
I always wanted to be a Mother. I always dreamed of having lots of children. By the time my daughter arrived, I was maybe too old, maybe too settled, maybe too... I don't know... but Motherhood was a very difficult transition for me and that was not expected. A dear friend once said "surrender" and I think that is the hardest thing for me to do in life. I am learning to. And learning not to be hard on myself and beat myself up all the time. I am trying to make myself a little bit more of a priority, but it's hard. It's all about balance and a lot about letting go. I tend to hold on too tight and be too rigid. But I'm learning.
I love being all of the above and I think life is full. I am happy.

My Favorite Cartoon

Country Kitchen: From Blah to Wow!

Here are some pics of my awesome kitchen. It is still a work in progress but it's in progress.
It has amazing bones - a big open space and a massive fireplace. Dreamy. When we bought the house it was brown. All brown. And it made the room small and dark. Here are some BEFORE shots.

The stove was right next to a door, which is right next to the front door, so we moved that over. All the appliances were old and some not working and we wanted to update everything. The cabinets were cool and old, but there was no way to save them with our new configuration, so they had to go.
Here are some DURING shots:

Everything gets moved, old chandeliers removed, walls painted white and black and white linoleum flooring installed - plus all new KitchenAid appliances. A big sexy fridge and a double oven! We kept the amazing copper hood.

Voila! We are getting a kitchen table and have added some massive bakers racks to the other side. More pictures to follow in future posts. Enjoy! I know I do!

Crunchy in the Country: The Country House

I guess I haven't properly told the story....

My husband and I have been dreaming of moving to Connecticut for a few years now and we figured we were a few years away from making that move, until this past summer.

My husband is from CT, so we spend A LOT of time here. Long visits twice a year at least. It was sort of becoming ridiculous, but then we really thought we were trapped in Los Angeles by work and life.

Cut to August. My husband needed to be East for work so we planned a long trip. After a few delays, we arrived and just felt so good to be here. Like I said, we love it here. 

Before we left, I finally got to the place where my husband had been for a long while: our house in Los Angeles was too small (that's it on the front of the blog) we were bursting at the seams but it was really hard for me to let go. But I finally did and in one week, we packed our house up so it was looking ready to sell. It is a miracle we didn't kill each other in that process - but another story.

When we finally arrived in CT I did some online House Flirting (which I did all the time) and stumbled upon our dream come true: Lots of acreage, an old house untouched by the owners (no 1984 remodel to deal with) stables, a barn, a pool...and wait. If our house in LA sold, we could actually maybe afford it. Too good to be true? Sometimes things that seem too good to be true are just that, too good to be true. But sometimes, you get a dream come true. And we did.

Here is the house and some of the other goodies.

I think you get it. It's all covered in snow now.....

Everything had to be updated, painted and modernized without bastardizing. 

I have never been happier in my life.

Before and after pics over the next postings!!!

Crunchy Lunchy: Jenny Craig Style

Here is a picture of my lunch today. Chicken Tikka Masala. New on the JC menu and delightful. I cook EVERYTHING in the oven or a skillet - I cannot stand anything cooked in microwave. I added my own roasted cauliflower and nonfat yogurt and you know what? It was delicious.

I feel the pounds slipping away.....
BYE BYE!

Crunchy Country: Here's How I Roll

I went to bed at 8pm last night. That's right. 8pm. Lights out.
Here's why: when you are a Mama (or a Dada) you are at the beck and call of your child or children (and bless all of you with more than one)
So here's how my Saturday night went:
Hung out with best friend, f-ed off Jenny Craig, cut hand (see prior posts) drank too much champagne and stayed up until midnight.
Tallulah (3 year old daughter) has been sleeping in her own bed!! for 4 nights in a row, but she does wake up in the night looking for Mama and when Mama isn't there she is wanted. Needed. Desperately.
So Saturday night I went to bed late and was up 3 times throughout the night by the desperate pleas of daughter. Then at 6am, she was awake and wanted to party.
Sunday morning, best friend and I lug and drag a 200-300 pound rug into my house and move furniture to arrange (see prior post)
So Sunday evening I was toast. And I went to bed at 8. So excited.

THEN

Phone rings around 9pm and wakes me up (thanks)
Husband comes home unexpectedly around 1am (thanks again)
Daughter hears father and calls out MAMA! she has 180'ed in her bed and is without covers - Mama deals
around 5 am daughter calls out again MAMA! MAMA! Mama brings pillow and gets in bed with child. 6am child has bad dream and is crying.
7am we are up to start the day

And somehow, I feel rested....

Crunchy in the Country: Let There Be Rug

As I mentioned in my earlier post, one of my best girlfriends came for a visit this weekend. And since we just moved to a new house, we are in need of many, many items. With all our millions. As if.
But, we did make it to the antique rug man and we did get great deals with him - my friend walked out with 4. I need so many, I didn't know where to begin, so I said to my friend, where is the 911 in my house. She replied, Bedroom.
So here it is:

1930's Sarouk - it's everything and more.
The guy folded it up and it took up my entire trunk space. He was wondering how we were going to get it in the house. No worries we said, we can handle it. He replied that we were crazy, the rug is much heavier than you think. No no, we're good. We're pros.
Well you can plainly see we did in fact get the rug in the room but when I tell you it was harder than childbirth, I am telling you, it was. We carried about 250 pounds from the car, down the long walkway, into the house - then we unrolled it and could drag it up the stairs, we moved the king size mattress off the frame and shimmied the rug under the bed by taking turns lifting the bed and shimmying.
Every muscle in my body hurts.
I almost forgot - my 30 pound daughter asks me to carry her up and down the stairs all the time. I finally told her it wasn't going to happen anymore today.

The Slap of the Hand: A Jenny Craig Update

I am but a mortal human and food is my weakness. So although I am gung-ho to lose my weight on Jenny Craig, I succumb to temptation like we all do. Yes, the mighty fall.
One of my best girlfriends came for a visit and no, I am not blaming it on her, but we did have a steak (shared) and salad (good) and champagne (bad) and French bread with French cheese (the worst)
Being the pig that I am, I did not have the time to get up from the table to use a cheese knife, so instead I wielded the sharp kitchen knife I double as a steak knife to cut a chunk of cheese (no delicate slices for me) and the Jenny Craig angels looked down and cursed me.
I cut my hand.

Serves me right.
Back on the diet today.
Bad girl!

Crunchy Design: No Thanks to Lava Lamps

I hate Lava Lamps.
Actually, that's not true. I like them in theory. I like seeing them in windows of kitchy stores or in someone's house. But not MY house.
My husband LOVES lamps of lava. They "relax" him.
So we have one in our living room:

 and my husband bought one for our daughter for her bedroom:

Yeah, sure, they're kinda cool... until you live with them all the time.

Crunchy in the Country: Jenny Craig Breakfast

For those Jenny-curious, here is my breakfast from this morning:

Jenny Craig cinnamon french toast (cooked in the OVEN) with non fat cottage cheese, sliced strawberries and warmed mixed berries (frozen from JC, heated in the oven)
Filling and yummy actually.

Crunchy Body: Starting Jenny Craig

Well people.... Last week I lay in bed touching my dry skinned legs and realized they left larger than their usual largeness. So I made the call. Time to get back on Jenny Craig. I did it successfully over the summer after I packed on a whopping 20 pounds without looking, but I lost the 20 in 8 weeks and it was relatively painless. So here I am again, I have 5-10 to lose - I'd be happy with 5.

Here's what my freezer looks like. Prepackaged breakfast, lunch & dinner - all frozen. I add fresh fruits, veggies and dairy. The food is pretty good. Especially when you cook it in the oven or a skillet instead of a nasty microwave - those are yucky anyway.
Plus, being a wife and a mother I get the added pleasure of still cooking all the meals for my family. Yay for me! Not.
Wish me luck!

Crunchy in the Country: Another Must Have

One thing I forgot to mention before. A cool mist humidifier. It's a must have. I hate them because you have to clean them a lot and that is super annoying - I don't even clean myself as much as I need to clean this stupid machine. BUT the cold outside, the heat in the house, the fireplaces makes skin crazy dry and I am a dry skinned human to start.
Here is the machine I have. It's a BIONAIRE and I say it like it's Italian. Makes it more fun.

I don't go for the warm mist humidifiers because I think they are germier and I don't like germs. I killed our last humidifier by over enthusiastically cleaning the machine. So go easy. But humidify for sure.

Crunchy in the Country: The Nose Nose Nos

Hello Friends,
One thing I have learned moving out to the freezing cold country is that your nose gets SO DRY its not even funny. It gets little scabby sores INSIDE it, just from being dry. And if you're a nose picker like me - I admit it - no shame in my game - it just gets worse.
But I have a savior. It's called AYR.

Saline nose gel. It is THE BEST. I have tried everything from Aquaphor, Polysporin, Ocean, lotion, castor oil - nothing worked until this.
Go buy some.

A Crunchy Update: Bittersweet Kid Sleep

Well, how was my night?
Started out i was feeling rather blue, my daughter was asleep in her own bed. I had to remind myself it was for the best - and it is.
Then I realized I could get in my bed alone and read a magazine and then I was jumping for joy! I haven't done that - or much else - in my own bed in a long long time. So up the stairs I went with a text from my husband that he was coming home early (which would still be very late)
My first wake up came when I heard him come home, which I thought was our daughter falling from her bed.
My second wake up was a short hour or so later when my daughter woke up crying, realizing she was alone.
My third and final was when she woke again, this time, soaking wet as she peed through her diaper and jammies and soaked the brand new bed (luckily we have a waterproof cover.) By then she knew that I wasn't really sleeping with her and she was calling my bluff by staying awake. I was so tired but I didn't give in - entirely. My husband, who was in bed by this time, said "just bring her in here" No way.  I will not give in.
So I slept in there.

It's a Bittersweet Symphony in the Country... Baby is in her Own Bed

It's a Bittersweet Symphony, this life. Thank you The Verve for that song. Every parent will face the day when your baby, or in my case, child -  starts sleeping in his or her own bed. Our daughter is three years old. You'll meet her soon. And she's been in our bed since we've transitioned from the West coast to the East coast basically back in August. So it's been six months or pretty darned close. It started with just needing one of us to lie down with her at night to go to bed and slowly became the trap of needing us with her. Since everything in her life was in upheaval, we didn't - and wouldn't - be tough on her. You'll find that's a common theme with our household. But tonight my dear friends, my daughter is in her own bed. Her room is a shrine to Princesses. Disney and beyond. Wall murals, starry twinkle lights, a pink canopy over an antique bed. But in our move, the mattress was lost and the new one just arrived today - with her new purple 600 thread count bed linens.
And without issue, without tears, tonight she sleeps. And I will sleep alone (husband is working away) for the first time in years, without hearing snoring or farting or getting kicked in the face, stomach, chest by a toddler with long and strong legs. And you know what? I will miss her.

Getting Crunchy in the Country at Dinnertime

Hey there

So tonight I didn't know what to feed the family. Husband is away working so that makes feeding a bit easier, but still. I like to give healthy and balanced meals as much as possible without wasting. But how to make leftovers yummy...? Different from the usual Italian or uber-American fare I usually make.
We made CrAsian Stir Fry Soup.

Here's what we did
We added butter, 1 clove of garlic cut into 3 pieces, a few slivers of white onion, sliced carrots, broccoli and leftover asparagus, some dry angel hair pasta - let that cook up a bit then added some chicken broth (2 cups) and cooked until the pasta was soft, then added sliced leftover pork tenderloin. Sorry vegetarians, I am not one. a squeeze of lemon, a splash of soy sauce and a dash of ginger. My three year old ate almost a whole bowl and that is a lot for her.
Gettin Crunchy in the Country people.

Getting Crunchy in the Country without Heat

Woke up this morning feeling much colder than usual. I thought maybe I was just tired. My three year old was ready to party and I felt like a teenager asking for "five more minutes" but three year olds don't give five more, so up I went.

The thermostat wasn't working and I knew we were without heat. I braved the cold and got some wood from outside and after five tries, the fire was lit. Here is a photo of it tonight. I realize this is cheating but most fires look roughly like this.