House Progress: Blah Blah Blah

We finally had a 'lil open house of sorts at our "new" (old) house. Like I said in the evite, if we waited until we finished renovating, it might be 15 years before we had a housewarming party!

We used the little gathering as reason to get a few more things done around the house. Dan trimmed many bushes and shrubs, cut the grass, laid some mulch, dusted off the house's exterior, installed light switches and electrical outlet covers, cleaned the grill, replaced three old light fixtures with more modern ones and hung about 15 picture frames. I'm sure I've missed about five things.

I did what I do best: not much that was especially useful. As I mentioned two weeks ago, I've been pining to fill our built-ins with interesting and personal items. So I bought stuff for the built-ins and ordered photos to put in picture frames.

My other contribution was grocery shopping for the party. We bought hotdogs, hamburgers and baked beans but also made a few homemade items. The coleslaw was especially a hit (see below for recipe).

Wall of photos in the hallway — frames ranging $7 to $22 from Target, Ross and Home Goods. Thank you, Chiara for the Home Goods gift card! It's been put to good use.

Wedding photos - finally! We never put up any at our old house because we knew we would be selling (didn't want to put holes in the wall — and we wanted to keep our photos on the wall rather impersonal for potential buyers). Wedding photography by Cariad Photography.

Small guest bedroom. This room needed the most work a month ago. We've since bought a bedspread (TJ Maxx - $40), throw pillows (Ross), pillow cases (Ross), a framed picture ($40 - Home Goods). I also hung some curtains that my stepmom didn't need — they worked perfectly!

Left side of built-ins. That's Dan's mom in the photo on the bottom shelf. We already had the little lamp — and the candle and candle holder are both from Home Goods (about $8 for the stand, $4 for the candle).

Left side of the built-ins. Perfect time for a photo.

Left side (again). You see that I won the globe!

One of many fam photos. Frame from Ross ($7). Love the frames at Ross but I hate the sticky residue each price tag leaves behind. Note to readers: Home Goods' stickers come off MUCH more easily.

Distressed painted frame from Pier One ($11). Purchased it with a gift card from our wedding (thanks, Sarah and Will!).

Handcarved wood vase (gift from my friend Lauren's dad maybe two years ago); filled with peacock and ostrich features from Hobby Lobby ($4.50)

Gilded looking frame from Home Goods. Gah, I could do so much damage in that freaking store ($7).

Another Pier One frame ($11).

Oversized vase - $15 at Target. Individual globes (wicker, acrylic, etc.) were between $2 and $5 at Pier One.

Bronze mouse bookends were a gift from my Uncle Harry years ago. Love them. :)

Signed platter made by That Pottery Place for our wedding (used in lieu of a guest book). pocket watch clock was a wedding gift that we didn't register for but I love very much (Pottery Barn).

Some of the fam. Not sure where Ben (brother) and Becca (brother's gf) were when we snapped this one.

You can't tell too easily from this photo - but there's a wall in between the built-ins. It's a hollow/thin wall, meaning we can't trust it to hold our TV. Eventually we'll get the wall recessed and framed out so we can hang the TV there.

Combine in a large bowl or aluminum roasting pan:

• 2 bags pre-shredded cabbage for coleslaw (with the pre-cut salad bags)
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice (fresh squeezed is best but not required)
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup light mayo
• 1 jar mandarin oranges (drained)
• 2 packages ramen noodles, crumbled into small pieces (no need for the seasoning packet)
• Fresh cracked black pepper and kosher salt to taste

(Thank you to Anna and Lauren for helping prep for the party, too! Also, even though no one should have - we received some very nice housewarming gifts Saturday. It was great to see friends and family!)

I know what you're thinking. What happened to when Katy used to occasionally write funny blog posts?