The Master Piece

Throughout the clean-out stages of our home renovation, we have been storing and sifting through our things in the biggest-offending room of them all: the master bedroom.

This room is one of three rooms in the house with wallpaper, and the only one with carpet. As such, the propensity of the room to collect dirt and grime has been the greatest. We're having to tackle a few major issues in this room-- damage to sheet rock and surfaces due to chain-smoking and cat urine. There also exist the regular '70s Reno pitfalls such as crunchy popcorn ceilings and ancient wallpaper glue as well as the ever-disintegrating shag carpet.

The room in its original state

The room after completion

Needless to say, this room was intimidating for me to start on, but I vowed to have it ready for Christmas!

Detail of wallpaper (1x2 feet)

The obvious first step was to clean the room itself out. It had been our "distillate" room of sorts when cleaning out the stuff from other rooms, meaning as tough decisions arose, or we came across things we were unsure whether we should keep, they ended up in this room. That made the process of cleaning this room out a very difficult one.

The next steps were:

1. Removing and assessing usability of crown moulding
2. Removing, cleaning, restoring ceiling fan
3. Removing the wallpaper
4. Removing the popcorn ceiling
5. Patching and caulking any holes, cracks, or flaws
6. Sanding all surfaces
7. Cleaning and vacuuming all surfaces
8. Priming, sanding, and painting all surfaces
9. Painting, cutting, installing new crown moulding
10. Removing carpet, assessing the floor underneath
11. Cinderella-style scrubbing of the floor followed by sanding, then more Cinderella-style scrubbing.
12. Cleaning, staining, sealing the floor
13. CLOSETS!

We decided to leave the disgusting goldenrod carpet in place as a perfectly-fitted drop-cloth, and we'll tossed it when the paint was done, waiting until the end to assess the condition of the floor underneath.

The wallpaper--

For starters, we removed any nails or screws in the wall itself, taking as much care as possible to not destroy the sheet rock/drywall. We then removed the crown moulding. It was splitting, so we won't be using it again.

Our best friends were a flat paint trim guard  and the Paper Tiger Wallpaper Scoring Tool. We also devised a solution of 2oz liquid laundry detergent and 16oz water in a spray bottle to help loosen the glue (as well as improve the smell in the room).

The method:
Score a 5-foot section of wall, douse completely with the laundry detergent/water solution, and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Continue to score and soak again as you wish. After the 5 minutes have elapsed, use your putty knife or your paint guard to begin scraping big chunks of paper off. Be sure not to gouge your drywall, but also be sure to remove as much glue as you can. Don't kill yourself, as you'll need to go back over the wall with a sander in any case.

The Ceiling--
Get ready for serious fallout of the nuclear variety, but also prepare to get some sweet, sweet, triceps at the end of this deal! The tools for the popcorn ceiling removal process are remarkably similar to those used in the wallpaper removal process with one serious addition-- the Shop Vac. The Shop Vac pulled double duty keeping as much dust out of the air as possible and removing some larger chunks of popcorn.

I'm a cruel, cruel wife.

 The first step was to use the Shop Vac directly on the bare ceiling to remove as many chunky bits of popcorn as possible. These bits absorb our laundry detergent/water mixture and keep it from getting to work on the glue. After vacuuming, spray a 5x5 foot section of ceiling with our magical mixture, and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Proceed to get showered in dust as you scrape the ceiling away. Beware again of gouging, and of scraping unevenly on the floated patches if you have them. You want to leave the ceiling as level as possible.

It's snowing inside!

Sealing, Caulking, Spackling--
Definitely took a bit longer than I was expecting. I had to clean, remove excess falling caulk, and make sure the surfaces were ready for adhesive. I used Dap 3.0 white window, door, and trim sealant for the windows, doors, and baseboards. I cut the tip of the applicator tube at an angle so that I could apply evenly, then ran my index finger over the joint to seal it off completely. We did this to all wooden trim that sat away from the drywall.

PAINTING!
Since the original wood trim in the room was coated in oil-based paint, we had to prime it with Kilz Oil-Based primer. Once primed thoroughly, latex paint can go directly on top of the primer and never will we need to return to that wretched oil-based paint! For the drywall and ceiling, we just went straight for Kilz2 Latex Primer.

I painted the wooden trim first, as I needed to thoroughly cover edges before painting the color on, and the color was easier to control. The white we used is what we used in the other parts of the house-- Sherwin Williams's HGTV Satin Finish in Roman Column. For the walls themselves, we used the same brand and finish of paint in Recycled Glass. We did two coats on each surface.

Details--
We also had to uninstall, clean, and reinstall the transom window and window hardware. We also had to reinstall the corresponding hardware for window locks and door rimlocks. Oh, and reinstall that 60-lb cast iron ceiling fan from the 1930's. It's an old hunter variety that if oiled, will run like a champ way past my lifetime.

The Floor--

Finally came the time to remove the carpet!! It was really gross, and I ended up cutting it into 4 large sections to roll up and dispose of in contractor bags. I also had fun using the pry-bar to remove the floor tack tracks along the wall's edges.

Sassy reno-cat

We were really hoping to get by without refinishing the floor, and so we gave it a thorough cleaning job, but it became evident that we had to take that on. The boards were splintering in spots, and there was just some gunk that would not come up. We sanded, sanded, and sanded, and then we cleaned, cleaned cleaned. Afterward we used Minwax High Performance putty to fill in the splintered parts and got ready for staining. As it dried, we also installed curtain rods, curtains, new electrical outlets and light switches.

The condition of the floor before cleaning

The following morning we cut, painted, and installed the new crown moulding. I did not get any pictures of that process, but let me tell you, it was incredibly frustrating and very, VERY educational. That was probably one of the toughest parts about this whole room renovation-- between cutting the exact angle on two planes, to getting the measurements pristinely correct (and having them still be wrong), the whole thing was painstaking. Also, newsflash... old houses's walls are NOT completely even and straight. That can cause some serious problems upon installing 16-foot sections of crown moulding. Tread carefully when taking on that project for the first time!

After a few bourbons and a few cat cuddles...

Our thoughts expressed after crown moudling

...we were ready to stain. We used Minwax Polyshades in Walnut, as we just wanted to richen and seal the current floor color. I would not recommend if you have untreated or bright wood and are looking for a dark stain. I would instead stain the wood itself before applying polyurethane. We applied it with cheap old natural bristle brushes that were 4" and worked in a team for two hours to make sure we got it on evenly.

Waiting for the floors to dry!

The next morning-- surveying the damage!

We had done it! The floor was a bit sticky the next morning, but after walking on it for a bit, the sheen died down. Technically, you are supposed to sand this layer, but just some gentle wear got it perfectly ready for us to install the bed, nightstands, and all the other things. Overstock.com's holiday sales were our best friend in that regard.

We did it!!! 

Our official dates from start to completion of this room were 10/31/2015 to 11/23/2015, not counting the closets finished on 1/16/16. That was a whole other ordeal, and the lesson learned there was, "1970's cheap parts and hasty, messy labor contractors are the enemies of today's renovation projects." 

Come Fly With Me

Today Alan and I ventured to Inglewood Farm for their weekly Saturday market, and what did we discover but a bumper crop of gorgeously juicy Meyer lemons. Tonight before dinner as we were listening to some old Sinatra, we decided to fix something that reminded us of the slightly hazy winter sky and the fresh, floral flavor of that tantalizing citrus.

The Aviation Cocktail

Combine together in a shaker:

1.5oz Gin

1.5oz Fresh-squeezed lemon juice 

3/4oz Maraschino Liqueur

1/2oz Creme de Violette Liqueur

Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled coupe glass. Rim glass with a lemon twist. 

New Year, New Orleans

A festive guide to a romantic New Years Eve in the Big Easy

To fill you in, Alan and I met when I was living in New Orleans. To keep it short, our love was hatched over Old Fashioned cocktails and raw oysters in some of the best little restaurants hidden in that town. This year, we decided we'd return to our "roots" for New Years Eve and explore the city that's changed so much in two short years, and check off some restaurants on my list of places to dine. Don't worry, we'll never quite reach the end of that list.

At Cochon in 2014

Rule #1
Avoid Bourbon Street (unless 70-year-olds chain smoking in crop tops is your thing)
Look, I do have love for Bourbon Street. I just wouldn't characterize it as charming or romantic. It's got it's own feel, and for this night, we left it out. Our key words were "intimate" and "delicious."

Rule #2
Find a decent place to stay
And for the love of the 'hood, avoid AirBNB unless you personally know the owner. AirBNB's model is phenomenal, but it's also ruining the great neighborhoods of New Orleans for everyone, even tourists. That's a whole other post, but do us a favor, and stay at a cute boutique hotel or BnB that pays taxes and has a business license, ok? Look toward the Marigny, Warehouse, Lower Garden, or French Quarter neighborhoods.

Rule #3
Don't drive!
Aside from obvious facts like drinking, parking is a nightmare, and you're likely to get stuck in some construction maze. How unromantic is road-rage? Do everyone a favor, and call an Uber or a taxi.


We were fortunate enough to have good friends that live in a loft in the warehouse district. They were out of town for the holidays, and allowed us to stay at their place. That saved us a ton of cash, and put us right at the start of our "dinner map" so to speak.

Stop 1 - 4:00pm: Martin Wine Cellar
On our way into town, we stopped at the Baronne Street location (though Metairie will also suffice) and picked up some great small-production vintage champagne to sip on while we spruced for the evening. Martin is one of very few retailers in the nation that direct import and retail incredible French, Spanish, and Italian wines. While here, do yourself a favor and pick up a few bottles.

Champagne Gaston Chiquet Special Club 2007

Stop 2 - 6:00pm: Sac-A-Lait
This was our first restaurant stop, literally 200 feet from the bed we were sleeping in. It's been around for nearly a year now, and it's specialties are esoteric south Louisiana country eats with a gourmet twist.

Our stand-out dishes and drinks:

The wines by the glass list was impressive and offered great choice and variety. I had the Gamay. Raw oysters are always delicious, but the house-made sauces really hit them home. The creamy horseradish was our favorite. The Alligator and Mirliton dish was incredible, and believe it or not, I think the Mirliton mash with Remoulade sauce was the star. I will be attempting to make that myself.

Stop 3 - 8:15pm: Angeline
Located in the old "Stella" property, this restaurant is away from the street and quite intimate. We requested to dine at the bar, which has a total of 5 seats. The service was impeccable, and the food was phenomenal. Some of the best we've had recently. We will definitely be back.

Our stand-out dishes and drinks:

This is really tough. Everything we had was dynamite. Old Fashioned - great, French 75 - great. But the best I think was the drink called the Last Aviator, which is a mix of the Last Word cocktail and an Aviation. Gin, Creme de Violette, Campari, honey, and lime are showcased. I am attempting to replicate this myself, but I've not succeeded in breaking the code. For food, the Georgia Clams and Wild Boar sausage was a knock-out, though if you have a salt sensitivity, don't do it. Definitely briny.

Stop 4 - 9:15pm: Cane and Table
This restaurant is described as European-colonial meets proto-Tiki. What I think is that it's definitely what Louisiana tasted like in the 1700's. Brainchild of cocktail wunderkind Nick Detrich, we've been here quite a few times and always return, though the brand of cocktails and food is not for everyone. Simple, heirloom cocktail recipes and classily antique new-world flavors are the mainstay.

Our stand-out dishes and drinks:

Drinks are the name of the game. The cocktail list here is nearly two pages. But for us, the best things were the Labat's Planter's Punch, a potent mix of 3 rums and lime (recipe from 1693) and the Bottled Silk, which is an enchanting concoction of Cava, fino Sherry, and Birch Snaps. The Crispy Suckling pig was sinful, with slow-roasted texture and juices that seeped into the rum-soaked bread that it rested on. Believe it or not, the Brussels Sprouts blew us away. A bit spicy, but perfectly crispy, this is exactly what tipsy Alan and Wallace wanted from Brussels Sprouts. 

Stop 5 - 10:30pm: Beachbum Berry's Latitude 29
To continue the proto-Tiki trend into a mod-50's Tiki moment, we finished up with this place. Equal parts New Orleans and Trader Vic's, it's a great place to end the night and a phenomenal vantage point for fireworks!

Our stand-out dishes and drinks:

Dumplings. Dumplings everywhere. Knock yourself out. The Dumpling Burger does not dissapoint. For drinks, we chose a communal option. Upscale parent to Bourbon Street's fishbowl cocktail, the one we chose was the Lapu Lapu, a 60's drink based on rum, lime, and juice. We finished up our drink just in time to step out the front door and catch the fireworks.

After settling up and sealing midnight with a kiss, we took an easy stroll back toward our abode for the night, not more than 3/4 a mile. It was quite a way to seal such a big year in 2015, and though we were unsure if we still "had it" to make it through 4 restaurants, we found out that not only are we still with it, we can do it with impeccable timing!

Courtesy Hotel Monteleone

Christmas Eve Champagne Punch

I'm sort of a Christmas junkie. I get my decorations up the week after Thanksgiving (hey, I'm no monster) and they don't come down until 12th Night at the earliest. We've been working long and hard on our house this past year, and to show off our latest achievement (a complete master bedroom renovation), we hosted a cozy Christmas Eve party. To put everyone in the holly, jolly spirit, we put together this Champagne Punch, which after crowd-sourcing reviews, was a big hit. Here's how to do it.

Christmas Eve Champagne Punch
2 cups Rosemary Simple Syrup (recipe below)
2 cups orange liqueur, preferably Grand Marnier
1tbsp Angostura bitters
1/4 cup lime juice
2.5 bottles (750mL) sparkling wine (choose something traditional method, such as Cava, Prosecco, or Cremant)

In a punch bowl, combine first 4 ingredients over ice. Pour on sparkling wine, combining gently so as not to release too much bubble. For the best ice to use, see the "ice wreath" note below. Cubes are NOT ideal.

The aftermath of our punch

Rosemary Simple Syrup
2 cups sugar
3 cups water
6 rosemary sprigs, coarsely chopped
Bring water to a simmer on the stove, and stir in sugar. Once dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the rosemary sprigs, bruising them a little as you stir. Let cool, then funnel into large mason jar or bottle with lid. Allow to steep at room temperature for two days, gently agitating a few times a day to reincorporate rosemary. Strain before serving.

Ice Wreath
As I mentioned before and will iterate again, ice cubes are NOT desirable as they melt very quickly, and therefore don't do much for cooling. Plus, they end up watering things down. Instead, try creating a fancy ice wreath for this festive holiday punch. In an attractive bundt pan, layer sliced limes and oranges. Fill 1/3 full with water, sprinkle in some cranberries and rosemary sprigs, and allow to set in the freezer for two hours or so. Once hardened, create another layer and freeze thoroughly. Allow to sit 5 minutes at room temperature before inverting over your punch bowl. The wreath should fall right out! As it melts, the fruit will begin to float around the bowl; continuing to flavor your punch!