I’m either…
March 30, 2011 …cooking…cleaning…packing…painting…lotion-ing my poor hands…or pulling paint out of my hair.
Numerous people have asked when our move-in date is. That would be THIS Saturday. Hence the craziness.
The kitchen will not be finished for at least another week. I’m totally fine with that! Being inconvenienced for a week or two is really no big deal. It’s such a small amount of time in the grand scheme of things!
So, how will we get by?
Grains + Beans
I’m currently soaking a LOT of grains + beans to boil sometime today. Once they’re cooked, I’ll portion them and freeze them in freezer bags. Then we can thaw them in the fridge as needed and heat them in the microwave. I don’t typically depend on the microwave, but for 1-2 weeks, it’s not going to kill me!
In the bowls:
- black beans
- chickpeas
- brown rice
- farro
- unidentified small red beans…can’t remember what these are!
For breakfast, I plan on eating a lot of overnight oats and smoothies. We will not have a sink so I’ll be washing things in the shower. hehehe
We’re going to set up our large dining room table with the coffee maker, toaster, a few plates, silverware, cups and all the other necessary kitchen things.
The waiting will be worth it!
Breakfast this morning was a mix of buckwheat groats, steel cut oats + pre-cooked millet. It was a GIgantic bowl
The bowl is actually for whisking eggs. My mom got it from me at an art fair this past summer. It’s perfectly shaped to hold and place your thumb where the depression is in the back of the bowl. Then you just whisk + pour! Or, you can just use it for breakfast. :)
Can’t wait to have our mock-kitchen all set up!! Today was INtense to say the least. I painted for a total of 7hrs. My arms feel like jelly but it’s done! I know there will be touch-ups here and there and the 3rd bedroom will need to be painted when the closet is finished, but everything that can be painted is painted. Woohoo! Tomorrow I’ll be installing the legs on our base cabinets, while my uncle installs the sub-floor to go under the kitchen tile. Once that is in place, we’ll get the bottom cabinets attached, and then move the upper cabinets in the kitchen to get them out of the way.
After that, starts the cleaning! What’s on the cleaning list?
- scrub the crapola out of the bathroom [it’s a mess from cleaning all of the painting related things]
- pull up nasty paper covering the wood floors, which is sure to be a huge dusty mess
- wipe down walls with wet towels to remove all dust + dirt
- vacuum
- mop wood floors – need to research mops right now!
Aaaaaaaaand breath! I think I’m going to sleep for 24hours Saturday night! We have a bunch of friends coming up on Saturday to help move, which will be fabulous. Once things are moved in, which really shouldn’t take too long, it’s time to relax! One of our favorite bands, Trampled By Turtles, is playing Saturday night and we’re all heading to the show. Unless I face plant into bed first!
Speaking of face planting into bed….
Ashley
Reader Comments (73)
I think the little red beans are adzuki beans, if I'm not mistaken. Btw, your brekky looks sooo good, as always!
Wow -- what an accomplishment! It will be nice, I'm sure, to finally just be in ONE place, instead of 4 (if you include Lowe's and Home Depot, which you should! hehe). That is a good feeling, even if it's still a bit chaotic IN that one place ;) When we had wood floors, we were told unanimously (including by all the people who did wood floors for a living) that swiffers are the best for the floors, and easiest to use. We didn't like the seeming "waste" factor though, and found a mop that was like a swiffer, with cloth pads that could be washed and reused. Just an idea if that's the type of thing you're lookin' for :)
Smart thinking to plan ahead so well with your meals! The little red beans look like adzukis to me -- I am posting on black and adzuki beans for tomorrow, so I identified them pretty quickly, haha. ;) Hope everything goes smoothly from here on out with the move!
You are so organized! I really admire it :) Good luck with the move!
You seem quite good organiser. Can't wait to see your final tip-top house pics! I know it's really hard work. Only few weeks to go now, babe. :) That red one is Adzuki beans.
haha crazy! Great job thinking ahead and everything! and as for that cute bowl, I guess you could use the thumb part to actually put your thumb in it while holding the bowl and eating all at the same time if you're in a hurry! :P
best of luck lady!! Looking at those grains and beans makes me a bit hangry!
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Ashley, It has been great fun following you through the process of buying and sprucing up your new home. I can't wait to see you in and settled - and finished with all of your remodeling and painting - because, quite frankly, I've been tired every day just watching the process! Camping in your dining room sounds like a lot of fun. You have the right attitude to get you through this disruptive time. Wishing you all the best.
Those would be adzuki (also called aduki) beans. The little red ones that is.
I think they're adzuki beans - and I also believe the previous 10 commenters beat me in saying that! Gah, I wanted to be the first one, so I seemed really wise :P
A few years back we had our kitchen redone, and had 'the kitchen' in the hall for SIX months (they found porblems in the wall and had to rebuild half our house). No oven, just a microwave - for 4 people. It. was. awful. !
I think I would cry if I had to clean that much.
WOw, I had no idea you guys were THAT close!!! How exciting! :)
Strange to say, but this has actually all sounded kind of fun...fixing up a house (of your own!) must be such a sense of accomplishment!
Thanks for sharing your adventures--I've never commented before, but finally wanted to say hello :-)
Those look like azuki beans! haha I know my dried beans too well:)
You have such a great attitude! You are right on for getting your beans and grains ready. That's exactly what I would do too. They are are so easy to cook and then put in the freezer to have for later. That way you won't skip a beat with eating well without a kitchen! Good luck getting it ready today!
Glad all is going well with the house. You are so organized! You really deserve a spa day once all the demo is over! ;-)
Good luck with the move!
It'll be an adventure! At least it's just a couple of weeks. My aunt lived without a kitchen for 2 months while they were renovating theirs. I think I would die. After moving and all of the work you guys have been doing, I would not be able to go to any sort of show on Saturday. It'll be good to go out and celebrate though!
Really smart plan with the beans and grains!!
You're so smart and organized...and ambitious, taking on the renovations like that. Good luck with everything! Oh, and that bowl is so cool - I love finding unique pieces like that to spice up my regular dish collection :)
Yeah, they're adzuki. I have some at home too.
I love your plans for how you are going to eat! Very creative. I can see myself planning "ok we'll have Chipotle that night, and we'll get Chinese this night, etc" -- you're so smart for planning ahead :)
The red beans look like adzuki beans - they are my favorite!
Good luck with the move!
I LOVE Trampled by Turtles! Enjoy the show!
yes!! Totally forgot...love those beans! :)
Just thinking about it makes me melt in my chair....hehe
Thanks Sarena!! :)
It's definitely been fun, but also a bit stressful. It's easy to lose sight that it's only temporary and all the hard work will pay off, but I think we did a pretty good job. If we were stressed the whole time it would have been no fun at all! :) Thanks for saying hi!
I know you're really wise!! :)
Thanks so much Anne! :)
Just checked out your blog...so cute!
Very true!
Hahaa...I'm a good faker at being organized. :)
Ashley, check out the Bona mop system. It is usually sold in specialty flooring stores but maybe Home Depot or Lowes too. Bona makes a Swiffer type mop (larger though) that has a removable and washable cloth pad and you can also use their solution which is safe for pets! I highly recommend.
I forgot to mention that the Bona solution is supposed to be the best for hardwood floors.
Oh my gosh, you have NO idea!!! We don't like the idea of all the waste from Swiffers either. I was just reading that sponge mops are the best and only using water + vinegar. I think that makes sense b/c you can squeeze so much liquid out of the sponge mop, so there isn't a pool on the floor. Need to pick one up!
Thanks!! Yay beans! :)
I love and admire your dedication to meal prep even on the eve of a gigantic move into a home without a kitchen (for now)! Very impressive. My in-laws recently built their dream house and lived in the basement until the other floors were ready. Even when they finally moved up from the basement, the kitchen was still a work-in-progress. For months my mother-in-law lived without a stove. She literally cooked every meal o a hot plate and on the grill in the backyard. Even their regular Sunday roast chicken dinner was on the grill. She was insane. And never, ever complained. Sounds kinda like you!
I remember when we moved into our loft and we were still in the middle of construction. The clutter and dust drove me nuts. And I can sympathize with washing everything in the shower. It was all worth it in the end when you finally have your HOME!
holy cow. you've got a lot going on this week before Saturday! Good luck!
Hi Ashley!
I'm a big fan of all of your creations, as is everyone, especially breakfasts :). I've been making the buckwheat bakes from grinding my own flour (LOOOVE THEM). Just wanted to know what you thought about Bob's Red Mill Buckwheat flour?? I noticed that it's darker in color but from what I underestand it's from raw buckwheat groats.
best of wishes and good luck with everything going on!!
I'll second the Bona system. When we had our wood floors installed they gave us one and it is great. Like a swiffer but you wash the pads rather than throwing them away. If you'd rather use water and vinegar in a squirt bottle instead of their cleaner your totally can. We're in week ten of our upstairs remodel - sigh, cooking in the bathroom is getting really old! - and this mop really helps keep the dust down because there really is a TON of dust isn't there? My painting starts tomorrow so I'm totally going to think of your 7 hour painting days!
Awww, I like how your bowl is kinda heart shaped!
We remodeled our kitchen and were without a kitchen for 10 days and it was hard but not impossible! Your attitude will help a lot!
Those red beans are adzuki beans. They taste AWESOME! My favorite way to eat them is to cook them till they're really mushy, pan fry them with a little bit of oil and sugar/honey/maple syrup and use a food processer to mash them up. They could be used as fillings in all sorts of breads or eaten as a topping for yogurt (sounds weird but so delish! trust me! You can get them on the street in Asian countries everywhere)
Uhhh, whoa that sounds good!!!
Awesome suggestion..thanks!! We are not big on the throw away version either! Yes, tons of dust! Good luck painting!
Aw, yay, I'm so glad! Hmm, I'll have to check that out...I do think I saw that BRM made "raw" buckwheat flour. Buying + grinding in my kitchen is cheaper though and I haven't seen the BRM flour. Plus it's so fresh when you grind at home and taste just seconds! :)
Glad to see other people went through the same thing!
We will definitely be utilizing the grill!!!! :)
I just saw trampled by turtles a few weeks ago in Lawrence, KS. You will not be disappointed. They put on a great show. My only advice though is to wear super comfy shoes. I wore semi-uncomfy flats and each opener (there were 2) played for an hour each then TBT played for just short of two hours...so my tootsies were a bit sore!! Enjoy! THe house looks great!