Google Sketch Up

Last week we were hanging out with our friend Damien and he told us about this super neat program called Google Sketch Up. Since John and I are big Google fans, we went right home and started playing around. Let me tell you, this program is pretty dang cool. It's pretty user friendly, although it does take a little getting used to. For our first sketch....our master closet.

For months now, we have been living with half a closet. Our master closet is a pretty substantial walk in. We took down the wire shelves when we moved in so I could paint. Then we hung two of the shelves back up on the left wall and it turned out that all of our hanging clothes fit on those two shelves. But we still have the whole right side with nothing. No place for shoes, no mirror, no hooks, no nothing.

One of the hardest things for John and I is trying to figure out what will be most useful in the closet and then picturing what it's going to look like. That's where Google Sketch Up comes in. We took some quick measurements of the walls on the right side of the closet and started sketching. Then we started brainstorming different options. We don't need any more hanging space, so we started thinking about shelves. I didn't want to use dressers and I really wanted to utilize the vertical space in the closet. That led me to Expedit from Ikea. Now here's the cool part...Google Sketch Up allows you to search for an item and then import in into your sketch. It was so easy! We imported different Expedit shelves into our sketch and started playing around. Since the Expedit shelves were imported to size, we could move them around the space and see what fit and what we liked.

After many different scenarios, we decided upon 4 Expedit shelves with four boxes each. We are going to mount them to the wall so we can utilize the space underneath for our shoes. Some of the shelves will hold baskets and some will hold folded shirts and pants. We are going to hang a mirror on the wall to the left of the shelves and hooks on the small wall to the right. It turned out pretty simple but I think it will be just what we need. We decided to go with 4, 2x2 shelves instead of 2, 2x4 shelves because we think they will be more versatile in the future. If we ever move, we could use them in other rooms for other functions.

Now we just need to go get the shelves, put them together and hang them on the wall :)

Coming Soon to Orlando...

It opens September 10th! Woo Hoo! So exciting!

Anyone want to come check it out with me?

Banana Bread Muffins

This is the perfect solution for those mushy, ripe bananas sitting on the counter. Delicious!

Banana Bread Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 mashed, overripe bananas (5-6 large bananas)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the muffins comes out clean. Let muffins cool for a few minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack. Yields 12 large muffins.

John and I added a bit of sweetness to the top of the muffins after we took them out of the oven. Mix 1 tablespoon water and 3 tablespoons brown sugar in a small bowl. Brush on top of the muffins for a sweet crunch!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Last week, John and I took on home-made chicken alfredo pizza. We were craving the creamy alfredo sauce but wanted to make something new and fresh. This pizza absolutely satisfied our craving! I made the dough with wheat flour and it turned out good. However it was a little too much wheat for my taste, so next time I'm going to do half wheat flour and half white flour. We added red peppers and green onions to the chicken and it gave this pizza just the right amount of color and flavor. We hope you enjoy this pizza just as much as we did!

Pizza Dough
1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
1 cup warm water
2 tsp white sugar
2 cups bread flour (or 2 cups wheat flour, or 1 cup bread flour and 1 cup wheat flour)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt

Alfredo Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 dash ground black pepper
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup grated Romano (or parmesan or Mozarella) cheese

Toppings
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped


1. To make pizza dough: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and white sugar in warm water. Let stand for 5-10 minutes until creamy. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, olive oil, salt and yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough is formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume (about 30 min - 1 hour). Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Roll out into a pizza crust shape. (Dough will make 1 extra large pizza or 2 medium pizzas if split in half.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pizza dough only for 6-8 minutes to help set crust.

2. To make alfredo: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Blend salt, pepper and flour, then stir in the milk and the cheese. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat, cover and set aside. (Note: This sauce should be thicker than regular alfredo sauce. If you'd prefer your sauce to be a bit thinner, add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time.)

3. To make topping: Shred cooked chicken into small bite sized pieces. Mix chicken, chopped pepper and green onions and spices in a small bowl.

4. Spread alfredo sauce onto the pizza crust. Sprinkle chicken mixture on top of the sauce. Optional: Sprinkle additional cheese on top of chicken mixture.

5. Bake pizza until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Snug as a Bug