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{A Quick Meal} New Orleans Style Barbecued Shrimp

Y’all know I loves a quick meal. Nothing grinds my nerves so, than being stuck in a hot kitchen in the summer.

This week I went with a recipe that I’ve made before but it’s been awhile. I even mentioned it last year on my 5 Quick and Easy Meals for Summer post.

I got the recipe from Martha Stewart. The only tweak I made was substituting Old Bay for the Cajun Seasoning in hopes that it wouldn’t be so spicy this time around and it worked. I served ours with rice but I could easily see subbing the rice for grits. I wish I would’ve thought of that. Nothing like creamy grits with fish or shrimp.

Anywho.

Mimimal chopping was involved

You do know everything tastes better with a little butter.

5-7 minutes in the pan

Ready to eat

Here’s the recipe

Ingredients

- Coarse salt
- 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large celery stalk, diced small ( 3/4 cup)
- 1 small bunch scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large lemon, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
- 1 3/4 pounds shell-on extra-large shrimp, deveined

Directions

In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/4 cups salted water to a boil. Add rice, stir, and return to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Meanwhile, in a large heavy pot, melt butter over medium-high. Add celery, scallion whites, and garlic and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add Creole seasoning and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
Add Worcestershire, lemon, and shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are pink and coated with sauce, about 4 minutes. Serve shrimp over rice with scallion greens on top.

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Décor• DIY• Living• Our Home• School

Homework Station Design in Process

Last week it dawned on me that we are nearly half way through Summer Vacation and before I know it the school bell will be ringing again. We’re headed to see the “Mouse” in a few weeks and when we return there will only be 3 weeks left to get school shopping and all of those things done.

I won’t say anxiety set in but let’s just say I’m tired of the clutter that comes with school and I need a solution to keep their artwork, school work, permission slips, book bags, markers, pencils, pens, flashcards, paint brushes, paint and folders off my kitchen table. After being in the house nearly a year we I’ve concluded that the workout room will be turned into a homework station /craft space for the children.

This wasn’t an easy decision to make. There is equipment in there that the previous owners left and while I’m not saying we don’t need a space to workout, I’m thinking the wine room will get refitted with less bulky equipment. My husband recently went and got a gym membership, I took that to mean he was throwing in the towel. It’s now time we I make the space useful….cause there are cobwebs forming in there. Wasteful.

Looking from left to right in the room this is what is currently there

I’m not saying it will be completely done before school starts but by the first day I hope to at least have desks, chairs and lamps in there for them. Funds will be low. I did say we are going to see the “Mouse” so there will be some Craigslist’ing, Ikea’ing, Goodwill’ing and DIY’ing going on. I do like the paint color and may leave it just making that entire back wall chalkboard…or maybe everything above the beadboard will get chalkboarded out. We’ll see.

Here are a few inspiration photos:

Source

Traditional Kids by San Francisco Closet & Home Storage Designers San Francisco Organized Interiors

Source

Do you have a designated space for your children to do their homework? Should I leave the wall green?

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Décor• Giveaway• Living• Our Home

Mohawk Area Rug Giveaway

Disclosure

As you can probably tell I am on a roll trying to get this house transformed into a home. While I know it will take time the journey of a thousand miles started with one step…you feel me?

Mohawk Area Rug Giveaway

There is nothing more cozy than a warm and inviting home and I am trying to transform our house into just that. The folks over at Mohawk were so kind to send me an 8X10 area rug and allow me to giveaway an additional area rug. With the weather as cold as it is the rug couldn’t have come at a better time, not to mention it has curtailed my children from sliding across the living room.

Mohawk Rug

Prior to the rug getting here the space was cold and bare. We have two sofas, two chairs and an ottoman that were placed haphazardly.

Once I rolled the rug out I decided that the furniture needed a little rearranging. Not sure if the arrangement will stay this way but it works for now.

Mohawk Rug

Amazing what a rug can do to warm up a space. I chose the Simpatico rug for its neutral colors. I needed something to work with the pillows and the patterned chair and this fit the bill. The rug is excellent quality and bound on the edges to prevent fraying.

Mohawk Rug

We don’t own a vacuum cleaner, I’ll need one ASAP as it is recommended for the care of the rug.

Mohawk products are manufactured right here in the USA. To learn more about Mohawk’s history and their dedication to keeping their products manufactured right here in the USA check out their video Still Made in the USA.

You can find Mohawk scattered all throughout social media. If you need inspiration or information you can find Mohawk on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Google +, Houzz, Pinterest, Home Talk and on their own blog Mohawk Home Scapes.

Here’s the fun part. Mohawk is giving one of my readers the opportunity to win a rug of their choice valued up to $150. Selected rug must be sized 5X8 and under. The giveway will run until Februay 10, 2014 and is open to U.S. Residents only. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Our Home

Barn Door Obsession

I have an obsession with barn doors. I think they put the most eclectic touch to living spaces. When we were looking for houses I was always on the lookout for a space that could accommodate an interior barn door. I wasn’t even sure where to look to get barn doors, but I knew when the time came I would find someone and I am glad to know that Specialty Doors will be the place we go when it’s time to get ours done.

Barn Door II Source

As much as I would like to see a barn door on the main level of our home the space is not feasible, so the next best thing is the basement. Our basement currently houses a wine cellar/room. While a cute novelty it serves no purpose for us and I would rather re purpose the space with shelving from floor to ceiling for books, games, pictures and other knick knacks. A space that would be perfectly flanked by a barn door.

I can’t wait to get to the basement and start renovating down there. The Halloween decor is played out. I have big plans for this space and my barn door is going to be amazing…eventually.

In addition to barn doors, Specialty Doors also offers hardware, accordion doors and other solutions to transform living areas into fashionable and functional spaces. If you ever walked into a house that has brass door knobs you know that a detail as small as a door knob can date a house and Specialty Doors can help with these minor details that make a large impact when updating a living space.

I am looking forward to sharing the transformation of our living spaces with you and hopefully they will inspire you to make some changes to your areas. I promise the smallest changes have the biggest impact.

Do you love barn doors?

This is a sponsored post with the Niche Parent Network & Conference. All opinions are my own.

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