A Tale of Two Soups

I could have put a really corny line like "It was the best of soups" or "worst of soups" right here. But I didn't. You're welcome.

And really the worst of soups line would only refer to my husband's opinion. I thought they were both pretty good. Both are new soups that I had never made before. And I knew I was taking a chance on Soup A...

Soup A: Butternut Squash Apple Soup - A friend shared this recipe on Facebook. I'm not a big fan of squash, but I can eat roasted Butternut Squash so I thought I'd try it. It was healthy and the addition of the apple got me curious.

Now, I knew Hubby was not a fan of squash. I did not know that he was not a fan of cooked apples either. This soup made history in our house because, in the 4+ years we have been married, Hubby has boasted that I've never made him a meal he didn't like. There goes my spotless record.

Conclusion: Good soup to me, bad soup to everyone else. Even Little Man made a face at the first bite. And that is not a normal response for him.

I thought it tasted better the next day. I probably won't make it again because I would be the only one eating it. It took a lot of work and time to peel and chop all those veggies. Not worth it for one person.

And now for Soup B...

Soup B: Slow Cooker Cheesy Hashbrown Soup - I figured this soup would go over well. Really, how can you go wrong with potatoes, cheese, and bacon? Probably not the healthiest option but great comfort food!

Conclusion: Everyone was VERY happy with this soup! I think I redeemed myself. And I think potatoes will always win in our house.

It was just about the easiest soup you could make. The most work I did for this soup was cooking the bacon and grating the cheese. I dare you to mess this one up.

I hope you try at least one! Which one do you think would win in your house?

The Leak

If you've been following me on Facebook and Instagram, then you already know about The Leak. If you haven't, then let me enlighten you. The Leak started about a month ago. At least that's when we noticed it. I was pretty positive that the sound of running water in the wall and a newly heated bathroom floor were not good signs.

Then we started losing hot water.

Our house is built on a slab. This means that there is no crawl space at all. Any work to fix a busted pipe in the floor requires pulling up the flooring and pulling out a jackhammer. Fun stuff, right?

The first plumber we called in wouldn't get back with us. He came and looked around but then never showed up or called. By this time we had been without hot water for a week and we were just a few weeks before baby's due date. Thankfully, my Brother-in-law knows people who know people. Oh, the joys of having a family member in construction!

The new plumber showed up and got to work on Wednesday. These are a few of the photos from my Instagram feed. That little door in the corner of the kitchen with the plastic over it is our only first floor bathroom. They put a hole in the floor and then in the wall but didn't find the leak until they went back to the floor and made a bigger hole.

By the time they left that afternoon, we had our bathroom usable again and lots of hot water! Such a wonderful thing for this nesting mama!

This floor is where we are today. Guess what this means?! New floors y'all! Woot woot! And they have to fix the wall too, which means that dated paneling is doomed!

If something like this ever happens in your house, check with your insurance to see if they will cover any of the repair work. We rent from Hubby's parents, and their insurance wouldn't pay for the actual plumbing repair, but they are paying for a good amount of the floor and wall repair. Which means, because of The Leak, they are ripping up the three layers of old linoleum and putting in all new vinyl flooring in the bathroom, kitchen, entry, and in the garage apartment bathroom that backs up to ours(the heat from the leak made the floor bubble up in there).

How awesome is that?

And they are doing all they can to try and get it all in ASAP before baby arrives. Double awesomeness. Who knew a great big Leak could cause so much happiness?

So after a month of water gushing under our house and two weeks without hot water, we are getting all new floors downstairs and removing the paneling in the half bath.

We had all of a night and a morning to decide on the new flooring and this is where we ended up. It blends all right with the kitchen cabinets and, more importantly(as cabinets can be painted), it blends with the wooden floors upstairs. For when we decide to rip out the carpet. And all dirt will be hidden.

Oh, happy day.

So...flooring choice. What do you think? Yay or nay? Any shared experience with busted hot water pipes?

January Review

It's February! Gah! Already! It can't be here yet. I still have to get all the baby clothes washed before Baby gets here. Where did January go?

Alas! January is gone and February is here, despite my lack of baby preparations. January saw our kitchen getting mostly painted, discovering a hot water leak under the floor in said newly painted kitchen, and mostly me being a lazy bum. Because holidays. At least that's what I told myself to excuse my laziness.

It also saw these posts!

Top 10 Posts of 2013

All the Christmas Pillows

Goals for 2014

Train Wreck

One Word {2014}

Let's Get Dangerous!

First Snow Day of the Year

Shabby Chic Dropcloth Chair Cover

Now that February is here, I'm hoping to get more projects done before Baby comes. That Nesting better kick in soon because I know I don't have enough energy to get it all done! And, of course, that wonderful budget that's keeping me down. Here's to hoping that I'll at least be able to get my hospital bag packed!