A Mini Garage Makeover & Three Random Things

To my dismay, our garage door is used a lot for guests.  I always love for people to come through the front door, but with this house, it just doesn't seem to work that way.  It's kind of an unnecessary walk around the house just to get inside. Since we have so many guests that use this door it might as well look good.  I've been seeing some entry doors painted black on Pinterest and decided on Monday, that would be a good project for us. I knew Darrin didn't have much to do outside, so I asked if he could help me and he agreed.  This is before...

This is after.  We taped off the door & windows and spray painted it.  I wasn't sure how it would look, but I knew it would dry so much faster than painting with a brush.  In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best choice.  It looks good, but I can definitely tell that it was spray painted.  I will touch it up with a brush someday.  We added the handrail b/c we have several guests that need it and changed the door mat at the bottom of the stairs.  The handrail is actually a handicap bar for a bathroom, spray painted black.  Lowes didn't have exactly what we wanted, so we tried this and I think it works.  The little picture is from my Girls Night Out baby shower.  I plan to change this picture with the seasons. 

We have another door in our garage that leads to the laundry room.  I debated on whether or not I should paint it too or leave it so the other door stood out as the entrance.  I decided that both should be painted, but in the end I was too tired and my back was killing me. The other door will have to wait for another day. For now, I'm very happy with just the entrance door looking better.

I guess you could say that my weekend featured a few little nesting projects.  Since Miles has been able to dress himself, I have laid out five outfits on Sunday to get him through the week.  I've always laid the clothes in the floor, which doesn't look neat.  I bought this little cubbie organizer on the dollar aisle at Target.  It was a $5 item, but well worth that.  I thought the individual sections might be too big, but they were half the size I thought they were and turned out to be perfect, especially when you consider winter clothes.  Little things like this make me so happy.  

Next random thing...this guy beat us in Rummikub for the first time.  After 3 rounds, he had the highest points...fair & square.  He was very happy with himself.

And now for a random recipe.  A friend told me about a recipe for Cafe Rio chicken a couple years ago and I never got around to trying it.  I finally did and it is a new family favorite.  You cook the chicken in the crock pot and then you can eat it on tortillas, hard shells, a salad, or in lettuce wraps.  Tortillas or lettuce wraps would be my pick.  Enjoy!

Cafe Rio Chicken

2lbs boneless chicken

1 cup Italian dressing

1 Hidden Valley Ranch packet

1/2 cup water

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 Tbsp cumin

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over the chicken.  Cook for 4-6 hours on low. The chicken can be frozen.  Shred chicken and mix with juice before serving.