5 thing Friday - patio grill, avocado tree, one pot meals, kitchen cabinets, art

I brought home this little gem from Highlands: 

It is essentially a pot-bellied cast iron grill.  It has been sitting out in the open at Highlands for years, originally bought for scouts.  And now it will live on my patio and be my little grilling friend.  I don't think the outside rust makes one bit of difference and the inside is in good shape!

Bonus: I have enough charcoal to last a good long while.

Free(ish) to me avocado tree, courtesy of one of these little avocado seed holders I bought for stocking stuffers.  (This one belongs to The Girl)  I was inspired by her having one on her patio that is going great and already making a tree!  Mine is now planted and out in the sun.

Two one pot wonders.  The one above is a cubed cilantro lime seasoned chicken breast, a head of broccoli florets, some garlic, and a 1/2 cup of raw rice.  Once the chicken was nicely browned, I threw the rest of the items in, added a cup of chicken stock, and simmered it while I showered after work.  Yes, it was delish.

This one is two boneless BBQ seasoned pork chops in my small crock pot with 1/2 a bag of frozen baby potatoes and about 3/4 cup frozen green beans and two pats of butter.  It cooked all day on low and I even had enough pork to do 2 soft tacos for lunch the next day.

The sad state of my kitchen cabinets.  But believe it or not, I don't want to paint them.  Someday I will have the wallpaper taken down in here and have textured white walls, and I love the look of wood against that.  Instead, I am going to refinish them.

Wish me luck.  It will be a project spread out over a couple of weeks, I'm sure.

The above photo was taken in 1986, when Hubby and I had been married all of one year.  Its a great pic, and has been hanging in the front room for years, but was time to let it go into the cedar chest for my peeps to have one day. (there are pics of Mark and I all over the place - a few too many, really)

I took it down on Sunday and hung this pretty.  I love the colors and the accents of gold on it and it makes me feel peaceful to see it as I leave the house in the morning and return in the evening. 

Peacefulness is something I could use more of.

Gina