ottawa – Page 2 – The CZEDs

Sippin’ on gin and juice… laid back

May 3, 2013 No Comments

Yesterday was a great day. Just one of those days where everything comes together and you get stuff done! Not only was I super productive at work, but I also managed to get a bunch of stuff done around the house and cook an awesome dinner.

Last night’s menu consisted of grilled cajun catfish with a side of grilled potatoes and onions and an awesome salad. I’m not usually a huge fan of catfish but figured we’d give it a go on the BBQ, because what isn’t awesome on the BBQ? By the time we ate the sun was down, but I did manage to snap a shot of the salad and the delicious cocktail I made. Apparently gin and lemonade is an excellent combo and I highly recommend to anyone looking for a new summer drink.

Check out the recipes below!

Dill & Cucumber Salad

Cabbage cut into ribbons
Cucumber sliced however you like
3 x radishes thinly sliced
2 x green onions thinly sliced
1 x celery stalk thinly sliced
A bunch of fresh dill chopped
Dollop of yogurt
Sprinkle of cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Gin ‘n’ Juice

1 oz of gin
A bunch of ice
Top with lemonade
Strawberry for fun!

DIY

If the shoe doesn’t fit

May 1, 2013 No Comments

Get a new shoe rack! Chris and I have been super busy the last couple weeks and finally have some projects to share with you. The first is a super easy shoe rack made out of two cedar planks and two L brackets. You could make this out of whatever wood or shelving you have lying around, I just love the smell of cedar though — especially right when you walk in the door!

The old shelf we were using was old and rickety and basically falling apart. It was also big and bulky and took up a lot of space. Having just one shelf much lower to the ground made our narrow hallway a little more spacious. The materials we used are listed below.

Oh yeah, and trying to get a picture of the space was no easy feat since it’s so narrow, so please excuse the shifty shots!

Materials

2 x planks of wood (cedar smells nice and does well with wet stuff)
2 x small strips of wood (to act as extra support between shelf and bracket)
2x L brackets (Chris found these in our basement)
8 x screws
Drill
Set-square
Level (we didn’t use one cause we had it resting against the floorboard)

Things + Stuff

When life gives you lemons…

April 11, 2013 No Comments

This week has been super crazy — Chris threw out his back and I came down with a bit of a cold. But, it’s been nice to have him around while I work, I love bouncing ideas off him. Hope to knock off some items on our to-do list this weekend if the weather and chris’ back cooperates, until then it’s couch city.

DIY

This dresser may contain nuts

April 7, 2013 No Comments

Following a pot of coffee and a quick breakfast, Leanne and I took Oscar for a walk, with a quick stop to the Home Hardware in the Glebe. I like going there with Oskie-boy because it’s one of the few stores in Ottawa that he is welcome.

Last weekend Leanne’s mom handed us down an old dresser she inherited from her father — the wood grain looked awesome, but the brass handles and knobs had to go. This was a quick and easy DIY project, especially with the help of Marty cat.

The only hassle was to find handles with mounts that fit the width of the existing holes, which turned out to be impossible with hardware from the 70s. I ended up making new holes, and used the new hardware to cover the old ones. All said and done, it cost us $30 and took less than 20 minutes. Too easy.

Helpful hint: Rub a walnut on wood blemishes to make them disappear!