This is what my closet/dressing area looked like in the real estate listing pictures. I don't think I took any of my own photos of this area.
Now, I have spray painted the brass light fixture a slate grey color and replaced the heavy brass framed mirror closet doors with curtains. I love being able to throw open my entire closet rather than have 1/3 of it blocked by a heavy door.
Although the space works well now, it is really too much room for a dressing area. Eventually, I would like to remodel this whole area and the small bathroom adjacent to it. I envision it as a large combination bathroom and dressing room. French doors out to the balcony would also be nice.
The other night I actually managed to cook a decent meal. That has been a rarity in our house since I have been studying for the bar exam.
I wondered how to grill chicken breasts without having them taste dry and bland. It seems like every time I've grilled chicken breasts they don't have much flavor even if I sprinkle spices on the top. I found just the solution in a YouTube video featuring an old-time country guy who explained how to brine your chicken breasts. This sounded like a great idea. I brined our Thanksgiving turkey last year, and it was delicious, so I was eager to brine chicken.
Brined Chicken Breasts for the Grill
Step 1: make the brine
2 quarts of cold water
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon onion flakes
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1/2 cup course salt (if you use regular table salt, reduce to 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup white sugar
Step 2: brine the breasts
Soak the chicken breasts in the brine for about an hour. Do not leave them in longer than an hour and 15 minutes. If you brine them longer, they will be too salty.
Step 3: prepare for grilling
Heat the grill to medium high. Remove the breasts from the brine. Dry off the chicken breasts. Drizzle oil over both sides of the breasts.
Step 4: Grill.
A trick when you grill chicken breasts is to move them around a little bit when you first put them on the grill. This will keep them from sticking. Once the breasts sear on the outside a little, you can stop moving them until you flip.
Grill on medium high for about 4 minutes per side.
The chicken was juicy and flavorful. I was concerned that the cayenne pepper would make them too spicy, but they weren't actually spicy at all, but they were delicious. You can certainly vary the types of spices you use. I'm going to try it with brown sugar and put some bbq sauce on the breasts when I grill them next time.
The other thing I loved about this brining recipe is that it only takes about an hour and a half of forethought to grill your chicken this way. I like to marinade meat overnight, but I usually can't think far enough ahead to do that the night before.
Let me know if you try this and what you think.
Lou's Sprinklers arrived today to troubleshoot our dysfunctional sprinkler system. Hopefully our yard can make a dramatic transformation. Given our half-hearted efforts to water the lawn ourselves, it's no surprise that it looks like this:
With an operational sprinkler system, a bit of grass seed, and God who makes things grow, I am confident that our yard can look more like this:
Okay, so that might take more than sprinkler repair and grass seed, but a girl can dream. As for Lou, he's prompt, friendly, has very fair pricing, and I wholeheartedly recommend him if you need a sprinkler guy.
Lou is replacing the "brain" for us, and troubleshooting any problems with the valves. We're planning to have him fix the front yard completely, but save money by doing the digging ourselves. Then we'll tackle the backyard ourselves.
We got home from our Independence Day camping/kayaking trip after midnight last night, so it was a pleasant surprise that the fur child let us sleep until 10 a.m.! His usual practice is to demand that we shower him with attention/let him out to pee/feed him promptly at 7 a.m. But, I've never known a more affectionate dog, so that along with his puppy cuteness makes it hard to hold anything against him. Yes, I am utterly infatuated with this puppy. He is a 7 1/2 month old border collie named Arrow; a working breed whose "jobs" at our house are to look cute and keep us on our toes. When we have failed to supervise the furry monster, he has found the following ways to entertain himself:
- drag a potted plant into the neighbor's waterfall koi pond
- stand atop the bathroom sink and chew a bar of Dove soap
- destroy one green flip flop
- eat the tail and ear of his dragon toy
Overall, he's a wonderful pet. We're glad to have him.
This past weekend, in honor of our nation's birth, we visited the Payette River valley of Idaho, north of Boise. We took an inflatable kayak called a "Ducky" down two sections of the Payette River. Chris paddled in the rear and steered, I sat up front ordering him where to go, and Arrow was in my lap or standing at the bow, biting at the water. Arrow made a fine whitewater dog. He did not seem phased by the biggest rapids, even after a large rapid launched him several feet in the air and graciously back into the boat rather than the river. He also looked precious in his doggie life jacket.
Although the stress of bar exam studying made it difficult to devote 4 days to a vacation, I'm glad I did. It was wonderful to spend time with my husband, who has endured these last 3 years of my law school attendance with abundant patience. He is incredibly skilled at whitewater kayaking and enjoys is immensely, so spending a long weekend in Idaho was a blast for him. Besides, according to the Declaration of Independence, we Americans have an unalienable Right to "the pursuit of Happiness," and a whitewater river through a beautiful canyon serves up one happy day.
As for now, I better return to my bar review books so that I can pass this test at the end of the month and finally be done with studying.
