Baby G is a....

So... if you haven't heard....

THE GANTZ FAMILY IS EXPANDING! 

We could not be more excited... and we only have 4. more. months. till we meet our sweet.. baby....

!!!GIRL!!!

That's right ladies and gentlemen... We are expecting
Baby Girl Gantz!

This past weekend we had our gender reveal party with our family and friends. We found out with everyone so it was a very special night... Thought I would share a few pictures!

First of all.. we all know I love me a party and a theme. The theme for our gender reveal was "Carnival" and Lindsay Kooser designed our invitations for them (Kooser Design).  Our invitation is on her website.

Once we had the invitations.. I knew I wanted some type of carnival tent. **Paging Gabe and my dad**

They constructed the tent support from PVC pipe and then we draped plastic table cloths to make it feel like an actual carnival tent. Add some vintage looking lights.. and voila! Thanks guys!

Here is the finished product and then a night view. LOVE IT. 

For the food, I wanted all things carnival. This included: hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, fresh popcorn, cotton candy, lots of candy, and yummy lemonade.

The cotton candy balls we ordered online. 

For a few fun games to do before the reveal.. we wanted to get everyone's vote whether they thought boy or girl. That is where this lovely sign came in...

Gotta have some carnival tickets in there! 

We also wanted to see if anyone could guess baby G's name since we are keeping it a secret until she arrives. Not knowing what the reveal would unfold.. we had everyone guess for boy and girl!

This screen door was $10 at a local antique shop and everyone pinned their guesses on it.

For table decorations, we went simple and  yummy! Peanuts and candy and sparklers were the choice for this theme.

YUMMY. 

Once it was time for the reveal.. our friend got the magic envelope and set up a little firework show for us.. Red for Girl.. Blue for Boy!  And we definitely saw RED!

SO HAPPY! 

We could not be more excited to welcome this little girl into our lives in November! Stay tuned for nursery updates!

#GantzPartyof3

XO-Karalie 

Fabulous friends, food, & not so fabulous football

Hello friends!

This past Sunday was the Super Bowl and I have to say I always look forward to this game. It is supposed to be a time to get together with friends and family, eat some awesome food, and watch a great football game. Well this year for SB48, we nailed 2 out of the 3.

We went to a friends for the evening. It was great to see everyone and just hang out. The game was just sad; and that is all I will say about that. However, I did love the Budweiser commercials and the halftime show! Bruno, I love you. And thank you for recognizing our military- that was great to see!

Well on to food....

Everyone contributed "snacky" foods, also known as appetizers to most people. I have to say, I ate waayy too much. And that is an understatement. There were dips and chips and cheese and sweets and all kinds of awesomeness. I contributed two items:  Artichoke dip & Lil' Smokies. I haven't quite got the smokies up to par yet, so once I do, I will post the recipe.

First of all, I started with the Pioneer Woman recipe for artichoke dip from this cookbook.  Remember I was going to make every recipe from it? Yeah... I've made 2. Fail.

Any who, me being the rebel that I am, of course I can't stick to the recipe so here is my adapted artichoke dip recipe.

BAKED ARTICHOKE DIP

First, combine 1-14oz can of artichoke hearts (drained) in a food processor with an 8 oz block of cream cheese. Have you guys seen the new cream cheese that is made from Greek yogurt? That is what I used and it made me feel less guilty after my 3rd helping.

Turn the food processor on low and let it rip. Process until the mixture is not smooth, but not chunky. You get the picture right? Once you get that combined, add in ½ c of mayo and ½ c of ranch dressing. Yikes, yum.

Pulse this mixture 4-5 times until it is thoroughly combined.

Toss in 2 scallions, a few dashes of minced onion (the dried type), 1 tsp seasoning salt, 1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to your own taste bud's desire) and a few cranks of the black pepper cracker. Turn the food processor on low and process till combined.

Remove the mixture from food processor and place in bowl. As you can see from above, it is still a little chunky. Add in a handful of Parmesan cheese and another handful of feta cheese. Now, if you do not like feta cheese, I have sympathy for you. I could eat those salty little gems like candy. But feel free to substitute your own favorite cheese.

Rough chop a second 14oz can of artichoke hearts that you drain well and throw them in. This adds a nice texture difference. Stir it up and try not to eat a spoonful, I dare you.

Spread in a greased baking dish and bake at 350deg for approx 30-40 min. It will depend on how deep the dish is. Make sure it is nice and bubbly when it comes out of the oven.

Unfortunately, I do not have an after picture because we had to leave right away. Story of my life. Serve with corn chips, I bought a blue corn bag and yellow corn bag, and ENJOY!!!

Did you guys have a fun Super Bowl? Make anything delicious? If so, please share!

Xo- Karalie

Shopping List
2- 14oz cans artichoke hearts
1 8oz Greek yogurt cream cheese
½ c. mayo
½ c. light ranch dressing
2 scallions
seasoning salt 
black pepper
dried minced onion
cayenne pepper
2 oz. feta cheese
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese 

Inspiration Tuesday!

Hello friends!


Big news in the Gantz house.... We have FINALLY decided on a style/design for our kitchen and master bathroom renovations. Gotcha. Now, you may not think this is big news, but to us it is! We have been debating about these renovations for a couple months now, not being able to pull the trigger. I think now that we have a very clear vision of what we want... the magic can begin!


I want to share a few of my "inspiration" photos for both spaces. Our house has a definite style to it that I like to call "Modern Farmhouse."  I am slightly obsessed with antiques and things of that nature, but at the same time, love straight lines and geometric patterns. Trying to find the balance between these two seemed to be a challenge at the beginning, but I think I have achieved this in our dining room and living room. Now.. I am the one that thinks this and am no expert in any shape or form. Other's may have a different opinion, but they don't live here, therefore, it doesn't matter!

Let's talk kitchen!

Right now our kitchen has a very funky layout that drives me crazy. Here's a photo of what we are currently working with:

This was before we randomly decided to start demo-ing the floral board. Sorry Gabe!

This picture above is looking in through the dining room. Here's another view:

This is looking from the sink- we took a door off to see if we could strip the varnish and paint the doors. Holy work.

Now here are the pro's of my current kitchen:

• Space. I have ample space to work with in designing the new one.
• Cabinets. Even though I can't use all the cabinets because of the weird layout, I have space for a lot of things.
• Window. The window over sink lets in so much gorgeous light and looks out into the back yard.

Let's talk con's:

• LAYOUT. There is not a great working triangle for this chef-wannabe. 
• Floral board. Whoever invented that plastic floral board covering the walls is not a friend of mine. 
• Counter tops. Outdated. 
• Cabinets. Outdated. 
• Storage. While I have a lot of cabinets, there is no pantry or broom closet.

There are good things and bad things about the kitchen and it helped when we first decided to renovate this space to list them out. It has led the new design.

Here is my inspiration picture:

The things I love most about this kitchen are as follows:

• Cabinet colors.
• Pops of bright colors (ours will be mint obviously)
• Those adorable "EAT" pallet letters
• Type of floor (wood ceramic tile)
• Rectangle back splash (ours will be a glass tile)

Up next.. We have to figure out how much work we want and have time to do ourselves, what we need to have a professional do, and how much we want to spend. Kitchen and bathrooms add up very quickly and we don't want to have to sell a kidney to pay for it. Can't wait to show you updates of this project! 

On to, the bathroom.

Our master bathroom is terrible. I mean carpet, laundry facilities, original vanity terrible. See below:

This was when we first moved in. We do have a dryer and adorable laundry hampers from TJMaxx in there currently. But I mean honestly.. Why do people put carpet in bathrooms? I will never have an answer to this question. When we bought our house we new it needed renovating which was one of the reasons we purchased it, we wanted to make it our own! Here are the inspiration pictures for the new bathroom:

Here is what I love about the above pictures:

• SUBWAY TILE. It comes in so many different colors but we are going with good ole' white with a dark grey grout. Very classic. 
• Wood floors. We are once again doing the wood ceramic tile in the bathroom. 
• Re-purposed vanity. I am on the hunt for an antique vanity that can be re-purposed into a vanity with sink. 
• Modern farmhouse feel. See above. 

Gabe and I are off to pick out tile tonight and can't wait to show you what we decide on! I will most definitely keep you all updated of this ginormous project we are undertaking. Wish us luck!

Have a happy and blessed day all!

Xo- Karalie 

Flea Market Fun

Hello friends!


We have started on some new projects in our house and thought I would share the before pictures with you!

I have been looking for a dresser to "re-do" into an entertainment stand for awhile now, and guess what... I finally found one! The lucky winner was at Boyle's Joyland in Topeka! Now.. first we must chat about Boyle's. If you have never been there, you must go. And lucky for you, they are open 8 days a week (if you haven't seen their TV commercial, just go with it.) There are so many things in that store I would love to get my painting hands on (including one particular claw foot tub- yikes!).  There is also a full-sized stuffed timber wolf there, but I am not in the market for any taxidermy at the moment.

This store is very overwhelming by the amount of things in it. I tend to be a little claustrophobic so I practiced deep breathing while I was there.. but then there is a weird smell.. so don't breath too deep.

Anyways... here are the 3 gems I found at the flea market:


First up: 

This awesome silver metal, antique looking, funky lamp base! I have been looking for a lamp base for this shade for probably a good 3 months now. I found the lamp shade on sale for I believe it was $5 at Lowe's and it has to have a knob to keep it in place. I thought, Easy! I can find a base for that anywhere! Wrong. Then I saw this beauty and voila! Mr. Boyle's wanted a whopping $6.95 for the base. Therefore, I have a very unique lamp for under $12! Here's another look:

LOVE.

Up next, this cute little shelf/wall piece:

That awesome ladder back there is going to be a quilt rack for the living room. 

This piece has a small shelf at the top, then two behind the glass, then those cute little cubbies on the bottom. This was an expensive $7.95. One of the frame pieces needs re-glued, but that's a piece of cake. This is going to go in my living room once I have painted it! Can't wait to show it too you all spiffy looking. Now... for the biggest purchase at Boyle's:


A DRESSER!!! Hallelujah the search is over!

It is currently this awesome shade of cobalt/purple. This color would be something I would have loved when I was 12 (I stamped electric colored flowers all over my wall at age 12- hippie child at heart here) but this just really won't fit in to the color scheme in my living room. Therefore, bring on the paint stripper and sander. I cannot wait for this to be finished and show you all how a $30 dresser can be an amazing piece of furniture with a little elbow grease (if all goes according to plan). Here's another angle:

Hope it fits in the living room!

I will post some "after" pictures once I get my behind in gear and get these guys done.

Have a happy day all!

Xo- Karalie 

Week Night- Date Night

Hello friends!

Gabe and I decided that since the weekends get so busy, we would have a date night during the week! Tonight consisted of dinner and a movie.


Dinner for us tonight meant Burger King and our movie choice was Lone Survivor.


Now, I am not a huge movie guru. I like to watch them on TV but it takes a special movie for us to go to the theater (I mean, tickets are $10 a piece!) and I would have to say, Lone Survivor is worth way more than a $10 ticket.

I had been hearing really great things about this movie and was excited, and a little nervous, to see it. I was nervous because I wasn't sure how I would react to a very real account of an experience that many of my patients have seen or dealt with themselves. The movie is based on a book that the Seal who made it out alive, Marcus Luttrell, wrote. The movie is said to be done very close to what actually happened to Seal Team 10 and what they had gone through in Afghanistan. Between the physical wounds and the emotional wounds, I cannot fathom what it takes to be a Navy Seal or any other member of our military. It is a strength that I have no comparison to and the scenes at the beginning of the movie that include a glimpse into what I would imagine is basic training for the Seals, is tough. It makes me feel like a huge wimp for being "too tired" to get up and work out in the morning. It makes me feel like a huge wimp for not being "strong enough" to carry some heavy boxes. This movie makes one look at themselves and say, "Would I ever be able to endure that?". And the simple answer is no. These men are special. They can carry on after being shot multiple times and carrying another soldier after their own shins and ankles have been broken. It was one of the most emotional movies I have ever seen.


This movie hits us hard, right in the heart, because we know it is real. As you watch someone falling down a rocky cliff, we know this happened, and happens to our military men and women often. After the movie was over, I had a really hard time saying this movie was "entertaining". To me, someone else's pain should never be shown for someone else's entertainment. But these men's pain, is what makes me able to wake up and freely go to the gym before I go to my job that I freely chose. This story shows us how big the sacrifice is, it is more than we can imagine. This is a story everyone needs to hear so we can all take a moment each time we see a Veteran (and not just on Veteran's day) and say "Thank you."


Lone Survivor kept me gripping Gabe's hand the entire time and fighting back tears. I thought my eyes were open to what being in our military really entails, but after seeing this movie, my eyes are open even wider. Please go see this movie. I really hope it makes us all stop and think. We need to be more grateful and more aware of the sacrifices others who don't even know  us, are willing to make on a daily basis for us.

Once you see the movie, read the book. 

Xo- Karalie

2014- Here we go!

Happy weekend friends!!

We had a wonderful Christmas in our household this year. I absolutely love the holidays because everyone slows down (kind of) and makes time to spend with each other. It is so hard to get the whole family in one room at the same time, but everyone makes it a priority to slow down at Christmas!


Now that the Christmas season has officially ended (tear), we can start looking to the New Year. What will 2014 bring? What will I accomplish in 2014? The questions and possibilities are endless, which is why I adore this holiday!

New Year's 2013. Sparkle and Champagne ya'll.

Even though I love me a good New Year's Eve party, complete with sparkle and champagne, I am not one for resolutions. I try to live everyday the best I can and if I make it to the gym, awesome. If not, well sucks for me. Instead of resolutions, I like to make suggestions to myself for the new year. It just sounds less harsh when I don't take myself up on a "suggestion" I made.


Here are my 2014 suggestions::

1) Not acquire so much "stuff."  Do I love me a new pair of kicks? Absolutely, but this year I am going to try to spend money more wisely. I have decided that finishing a new project, like the dining room table, gives me much more satisfaction than a spiffy new pair of boots. 2014 will be the year of fun projects I have declared. Although.. boots do make the world go round.....This one might be tough.

 

2) Pick a cookbook & create every recipe in the book. I love cooking. I love creating something delicious and having people enjoy it. I love to discover new flavors and I think trying other people's recipes is vital to keep you on your toes in the kitchen. Therefore, I think I am going to try to cook all Pioneer Woman recipes out of this cookbook and see what happens! Gabe is going to love this one.

3) Create a new tradition with Gabe. As we have now settled into daily life of work and play, I want to create a fun tradition that we can keep going once we have kids of our own. It might be going to lunch every Sunday after church (which we should attend more often) or maybe making pizzas one night a week. Something that we can look forward to each week as a family.

4) Donate more. This goes along with suggestion #1. I plan on having a rather large garage sale next summer since our house is in a neighborhood and I have to say I am quite excited about this. I really want to donate more and anything that doesn't sell at the garage sale will most definitely be donated. I know there are others out there that need the sweatshirt more than I do and it is very gratifying to help others out.

5) Enjoy life. Last but not least, I think we all could benefit from this suggestion. The everyday hustle and bustle of jobs, family, and life itself can get rather overwhelming. 2014 will be the year I stop and smell the roses, roll with the punches, and enjoy that margarita when I feel like it!

Do you have any "suggestions" for 2014? What are you looking forward to most?

 

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Xo- Karalie

Breakfast anyone?

Hello all!

Now that our Christmas shopping and grocery shopping are both officially complete- we can take a big deep breath and enjoy this Christmas week!


It is freezing outside. And I know some of you will say "DUH, its winter in Kansas!" but this is just a little too cold for this girl. So to battle this frigidness, I made breakfast for dinner. Because what's better to warm the soul than bacon?!  Nada.


Therefore, its french toast and bacon for dinner!


Here is how I made my french toast:

(These photos are from my iPhone and don't quite do the meal justice)

Start with 6 whole eggs in a dish. You could probably get away with 5 because I had some of the soaking mixture left over. Add 3 Tb of heavy whipping cream to these eggs and have at it. Beating eggs is actually a great stress reliever. Try it.

Once you have these two beauties combined, add your cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and my secret ingredient --------> french vanilla instant pudding mix!  I added about 2-3 Tb of it. It thickens the batter (so does the heavy whipping cream) and sweetens just enough and adds the perfect vanilla flavor. It is a multi-tasker.

Add in some WHITE bread. Yes you can use whole wheat, but it just isn't the same. I tried to find thick cut texas toast, but I was also grocery shopping the night before Christmas Eve. There were a lot of things I couldn't find. Fail. 

Get your griddle pan ready by slathering it with butter over medium heat. I leave the wrapper on it that way I don't make a mess. Pop what ever you don't use back in the fridge and you have it for the next time you make french toast... or pancakes... or waffles.  Am I finding a theme here?

Griddle these babies till they look like this:

Pop them on a cooling rack and place in a 200 deg oven until you have finished the entire batch. That way they all stay crispy and warm.

Meanwhile, place your bacon on a cooling rack that is placed over a baking pan. Place in an oven that is OFF. Once in the oven, preheat to 375 deg and cook till crisp. I think you could even do 400 deg to get the bacon extra crispy but it should look like this once it is out:

Thank you Lord for bacon. 

Plate up a few pieces of french toast along with powdered sugar, add in some bacon, and voila! The perfect comfort meal for this ridiculously cold night!

ENJOY!!

Xo-Karalie


French toast:
6 whole eggs
3 Tb heavy whipping cream
1 Tb cinnamon
3 Tb french vanilla instant pudding mix
Pinch of salt
Thick cut white bread
Butter for greasing pan

Combine first eggs and cream. Beat with a whisk till very well combined. Add in spices and whisk till combined.

Heat griddle pan over medium heat and rub with butter.

Soak bread in batter mixture and brown on hot griddle.

Place in 200 deg over to keep warm until all bread has been cooked.

Serve with bacon and powdered sugar.

Here Comes Santa Claus!

HAPPY HUMP DAY FRIENDS!


Only 2 days until the weekend- Whoo!

So now that Thanksgiving is officially behind us, we can bust out the Christmas tunes and eggnog. Except, we have been in the Christmas spirit since the middle of November and I don't like eggnog. But, the Gantz home is decorated and ready for Santa to slide down the chimney.


I went with a particular color scheme this year, silver and red, with touches of vintage and sparkle. Yes, I plan a color scheme each year, its that OCD thing coming out.


Let's start with the Christmas tree!

Those letters spell "Merry Christmas" and I got the inspiration at Pottery Barn. They were $3.50 a letter and I just couldn't see spending that on letters! Therefore, I bought the letters at JoAnn Fabric for $1.49, little left over silver paint and glitter spray and voila! My own letter banner.  You can semi-see one of the pillows we (well my mom) sewed for this season. One set is an awesome vintage Santa fabric and the other is fashioned after this pillow. Except, I did silver stars.

Up next, the buffet.

This is one of my favorite places to decorate in the main living area. The ornament garland I found at TJMaxx and the trees were half price at Hobby Lobby. The planter is left over from our wedding and I filled it with cute red bird and snowflake fabric. Layer in some ornaments and glitter pears to complete it! I love love this and can't wait to change the vibe each Christmas. Oh the possibilities!

Then let's move on to the dining room table.. Which is 100% complete!!

Yes I know our table is a little off center but just go with it. My wonderful mother sewed this adorable runner for me and it has vintage reindeer fabric in the middle. These white milk jugs I found at Target when we moved in and the berries I got half price at JoAnn. Add in some candles and hurricanes and we are complete! I am in the process of changing those yellow chairs to cream and will post them when I'm done.  (Look at that wood grain guys- success!)

Here are just a couple little projects I made...

These used to have some paper on them so I took a little acetone to them and dawn dish soap and they are as good as new. I painted stripes to go along with the color scheme for the year and filled with left over ornaments. I literally did not spend a dime on these and just used what I had!

These were wine bottles (obviously) that I gave a little makeover to. I free-handed the painting so the lines could be a little sharper but most definitely turned out better than I thought. Thanks mom for the cute bow!

Last, but not least, are just a few other things we did.

I found those stocking holders at TJMaxx for very little money and my mom made the stockings. I am eventually going to stencil a "G" and a "K" on them. The little wagon with the tree and snowman was once a baby blue. Black spray paint fixed that and now I can decorate throughout the seasons! Add a few Santa Claus' from Gabe's childhood and the Gantz home is open for the holidays!


Have you made some fun Christmas decor for the season? I'd love to hear what projects you guys are working on!


Up next in the Gantz life... Finish dining room chairs and.... start on... THE PALLET WALL! :)


Xo- Karl 

Table Update!

Happy Friday friends!!


I'd like to bring you a dining table update!


This post is about more sanding and removing paint, essentially getting the table ready for paint and stain. Here goes:

This is what the table looked like when I was finished sanding. We didn't sand all the paint off the legs and rails since we were going to re-paint those. The top has little flecks of the turquoise still left but I think it adds character. It is safe to say I never want to sand anything again ever, until the chairs are here. That's another blog post.

Once the sanding was up to par- we applied paint stripper onto the top of the table to get more of the turquoise off. Now, this stuff is nasty. It smells like a toxic orange dreamsicle and you have to wear gloves, but it is definitely worth it! Here is what we used:

Make sure you put it in a metal bucket! Then paint it on rather thickly and use a toothbrush to get down in the crevices. 

Follow the instructions on the particular stripping agent you are using, but we did not let ours dry too long because you don't want that gunk to be permanently stuck. Ew. 

Here is the second coat of stripper setting before we tooth-brush of it. Look at that wood grain! SCORE. 

This is what the table looks like after the final sanding and wood conditioner has been done. We are now ready to tape and paint! 

I went ahead at this point and tested the red color on the legs. Loved it, but it wasn't quite covering like I would have wanted it to. Therefore, PRIME! Piece of cake. 

We let this dry and then it was off to the races with the red paint! We applied light coats and let ample time for the paint to dry.  Here is what we came up with:

Ta-daaa!! I am officially obsessed with Valspar spray paint. We found this at Lowe's and its by far the best spray paint I have used (Mom agrees and she's the expert).  Remove the tape and voila:::

Time to stain and poly! I am really loving the way this turned out and can't wait to show you the finished product!

Have a fantastic weekend all! STAY WARM! 

Xo- Karl