China Cabinet Project: Finally Complete!!!

Okay so MONTHS after my first post on this, I have finally finished that beast of a china cabinet and could not be happier with the turnout.  It took so much longer than I anticipated, but so worth the wait.  I hastily purchased several fabulous fabrics to put on the back panels, but in the end I settled with a Vintage Gold paint by Martha Stewart.  Let me tell you, I love this color so much, I'm in the process of hunting down other things in my house that I can paint with this stuff.

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I think the gold really enhances all of the antique pieces with the contrast against the new pieces.  


Here it is again BEFORE:

Old Fashioned and NOT Working with my Style

My Muse:

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Sorry mom and dad - it's not that I didn't appreciate this beautiful antique, it just wasn't meshing with the style I'm trying to achieve in my new home.  


So without further adieu, here is the FINAL result:

Side View Without Any Accessories

Front View Without Accessories

It almost took me just as long to pick out and organize the perfect accessories to display.  But I think I did a pretty darn good job:

Fully Accessorized

What makes me so happy about the cabinet is that every single item I've displayed has some sort of history or meaning to either me or the bf.  The above picture shows an old autograph book that belonged to my great-grandmother, Amanda Caroline Fromm, for whom I was named.  This book dates back to 1897 - how cool is that?  The little girl in the frame is my grandmother Fromm as a baby.  Those books belonged to my grandfather; they are actually from the Harvard University Library - where he went to school.  That glass pitcher - well that has been in my family for centuries.  I'm ashamed that I don't know the full history behind that thing.  I just know that it's beautiful.  


Below is the room as a whole:

Please excuse the hideous chandelier.

Next steps:

~Replace Chandelier with something like this:

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~Find Fab Rug

~Hang these Peacock Prints on Either Side of Cabinet:

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Phewww....so glad this project is over.  On to the next project.........stay tuned to see what that may be:-)

xoxo,

Amanda

Weekend Warrior

Okay so I guess warrior may seem a little extreme, but I totally do feel like one since I am so happy to announce that I FINALLY finished my mother's china cabinet!!!!  Yayyy.......okay, well I can't rejoice too much since I haven't actually put the thing back together yet.  BUT, at least the hardest part of painting it is finally over.  Not only did I lock myself in my house to finish this beast this weekend but I also banged out three fabulous dishes that I've been dying to share with everyone.  Before I get to that, here's a little sneak peak of the fully painted, yet unassembled bottom half of the cabinet:

I will do a full post on the final product once I get it put back together (hopefully tomorrow).  On to my fab recipes:


The first thing I made was the easiest Banana Bread recipe ever.  I don't know why, but I have been craving Banana Bread ever since it's gotten a little bit cooler outside.  Feeling overwhelmed by my painting sitch on Friday, I wanted to make the bread but didn't feel like actually going to the store (since I was covered in paint).  So I found this recipe online and I just so happened to have all the ingredients in my pantry already (as I think most other people would as well).  This recipe is so basic and even though I made it as is, I can see myself adding walnuts, or chocolate chips, or whatever I want in the future.  Okay here it is:

Easy Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas  (I used about three large bananas)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. 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 prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Okay so once we got our fix of banana bread, I moved onto my next craving (I'm not preggo, I swear)...a little gem called the Enchilada.  I've searched high and low for the perfect recipe and have pinned several on my Pinterest, but who would have thought that the most delicious Enchiladas would come off the back of a cream cheese container?!  I was at the store Saturday, picking up some necessities when I stumbled across the new Philly Sante Fe Cooking Creme.  The recipe seemed so easy with very little ingredients so I couldn't pass it up.  Let me tell you, the result was absolutely mind-blowing.  

Not the most attractive pic, but wanted to show how MUCH you get from this recipe!

Serve with Spanish Rice and Dollop of Fat Free Sour Cream - What More Could You Want?

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp. oil

3 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts (I took the lazy approach again and used Mojo Rotisserie Chicken)

1 can (14.5 oz.) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained (I actually used the diced tomatoes with added jalapenos)

1 tub (10 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Santa Fe Blend Cooking Crème, divided

1/2 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese

8 flour tortillas (6 inch)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F.

Cook and stir onions in hot oil in large skillet on medium heat 4 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Stir in chicken, tomatoes, 3/4 cup cooking crème and shredded cheese.

Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining cooking crème. Cover.

Bake 15 to 20 min. or until heated through.

I Repeat - Mind Blowing.

On to dessert!  Okay, so there is NOTHING fancy or creative about this.  Just one magic ingredient, mascarpone cheese.  The bf wanted cupcakes, specifically yellow cupcakes, so I took the lazy approach yet again and got the magical Yellow Cake mix out of the box:

I may not mind taking the shortcut on the cake part, but I absolutely refuse to take a frosting shortcake.  Yes, I am a frosting snob.  I saw Giada make a chocolate ganache awhile back that I thought looked so amazing. So I made it:

Ganache:

• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (recommended: Nestle morsels)
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Combine the heavy cream and vanilla extract in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until small bubbles appear on the outside edge of the cream. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate chips. Using a fork, gently stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Yes, it was delish, but the bf turned his nose up at the fact that it was extremely runny and he's accustomed to the super fluffy frosting.  Hmmm...what can I add to this to make it fluffy??  Bingo!  I just happened to have Mascarpone Cheese in the fridge since I had vowed to use it somehow.  

I plopped the entire tub of the cheese into the chocolate and mixed.  Enter the most rich, creamy and delish frosting I've ever had.  No lie.

 So do I even have to explain this...just make the yellow cake mix as directed.  Make the ganache and add the mascarpone.  Dip the cupcakes in the chocolate goodness. ENJOY.

What did ya'll do this weekend?

xoxo, 

Amanda

China Cabinet Progress

So I know we've been MIA the past week or so, but that's b/c both Katina (Recipe Gurl) and I were in Richmond for her engagement party!!  We will post on this tomorrow for "Wedding Wednesday".  I got back from my trip yesterday almost thinking that my China Cabinet would be magically put back together and completely finished, instead still in the middle of my Living Room and all over my poor Dining Room.  No such luck. I know I have been complaining about this project, but once I started, it's really not that bad.  It just comes down to finding the time to finish it.  I finally disassembled it and put two coats of White Primer on it.  First check out the before pics.  Here are some pics of my progress:

I'm being lazy by not painting the inside

I had to use a makeup brush to get into these crevices!

I used the Behr Undercoater Enamel Primer and Sealer and let me tell you - this is the best primer EVER because you don't have to sand your surface before applying it!  I absolutely HATE sanding and am so happy that this primer allowed me to completely skip this step.  Of course, if you have a really rough surface that really needs the sanding, then I suggest you do so anyways.  My cabinet was in perfect condition, it just had that shiny top coat on it that I thought for sure would need to be sanded off first.  


Next step:  Two top coats of glossy white; spray paint the brass hardware with brushed nickel spray paint; cover the back panels with fabric/wallpaper (did I mention that I changed my mind on painting the back panels that jade green?  I feared that it would make the china cabinet look too 'beachy' or 'shabby chic' instead of the modern look I'm trying to achieve.)


There will still be some space on both sides of the cabinet once it's in the Dining Room, so I'm thinking of getting some of these prints off Etsy to put on both sides:

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At $10 a print, how can you go wrong??


What projects are you all working on?

xoxo,

Amanda

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

I know, I know, today is supposed to be "Wedding Wednesday" but since my best-friend-bride is on vaca and I have taken the day off to start what I thought would be a one-day project but now has turned into a huge mess...I have decided to post on my biggest Makeover Challenge to date.  Don't worry, we'll be back next Wednesday with another "Wedding Wednesday" post.




Okay, so many moons ago, in one of my very first posts, I mentioned how I was making over my mother's China Cabinet.  I know it's hard to believe, but I am just NOW starting this project.  I had no idea until now how big of a project this was going to be.    This cabinet has been in my family since I was born, and the items in it (such as my great-grandmother's China) have been passed down for generations; so this project is very special to me.  I really want this piece to showcase things that are dear to me and my boyf; things that have been handed down to us from our grandparents and great-grandparents.  I have redone many furniture items throughout the years, but this beast of a china cabinet was definitely NOT meant to be taken apart.  There are so many intricate details; glass that isn't removable; drawers that aren't removable; lighting in the top part that is impossible to remove...I just don't know how I am going to do this!!  Last night I started having second thoughts and almost scrapped the project completely, but since my mom has agreed to help me this weekend, it has given me new hope.


Here is the China Cabinet BEFORE:

Beautiful to begin with...not sure why I decided to paint it in the first place!!

Now here's the mess I have made of it:

My great-grandmother's China 

The boyf's beautiful Grandmother

The mess I have created - TONS of China and family heirlooms

Lower half of China Cabinet

Upper half of Cabinet -even Gizmo wants to know what's going on!

So my idea is to paint the entire outside a glossy white and the back inner part of the cabinet a jade green...so HERE GOES!  I will keep you guys posted throughout this makeover journey!

xoxo-

Amanda