Over the weekend, Ashley and I worked on a project that required Liquid Nails… and a lot of it. The project isn’t finished yet (we’ll be filling you guys in on the details in the next week or so), but we picked up a couple of quick tips that I thought may be worth passing along to fellow “baby DIY’ers”.

Liquid Nails is a pretty awesome substance. It does a great job of joining substances where super glue dares not go. One thing I didn’t know before this weekend’s project is if you want two things to bond more quickly, apply Liquid Nails to one surface, press the two surfaces together, pull them apart, let them sit for about two minutes, then put them back together. Not only does this process help the adhesive bond more quickly, but it also helps create a stronger bond. It suggests that you do this right on the back of the tube, but if I hadn’t been bored at some point (I read when I’m bored), I’d have never known. But this tip really does work and works really well at that.

This next tip seems really obvious, but it’s one of those “why didn’t I think of that” things and something you can apply with pretty much any tube-based product. Say you’ve got a tube of your favorite adhesive or caulk, but you’ve lost the cap. I usually end up forgetting to find some way to seal the end, and the tub ends up sealing itself – which just causes a headache when you go to use it the next time. The simple solution: insert a screw in the end of the tube and give it a turn or two. It grabs the plastic, seals the end, and it’s easy to remove.

Have any adhesive/caulking tips to pass along? We’re all ears!

Greg and I had a doozy of a weekend. We set out to tackle our major to-do list which consisted of boring stuff like filing, blog maintenance, getting the oil changed, clearing off the patio, etc. Just when we were about done… it’s Monday. Ugh.

Nevertheless, over the course of our ultra busy weekend, I managed to finally finish unpacking my office stuff and load the final pieces into the new storage furniture (more on those here). One of the things I wanted to keep in the tall storage cabinet is a set of my favorite and most referenced books. The only problem was that I needed a bookend. Rather than going out and buying a set of bookends, when I only needed one, I put on my thinking cap and decided to make one.

I grabbed one of the extra bricks we have stacked up next to the carport and wrapped it with a piece of scrapbook paper. Yes, so simple it’s stupid. Since it looked like a plain gray box, I thought it needed something a little extra. I ordered a vinyl number 7 (for $5) from the go-to queen of vinyl, Shelley, over at The House of Smiths.

I followed her easy instructions and instantly had a one-of-a-kind, personalized bookend. Yes, a ridiculously simple solution. My favorite kind.

A full “Storage Cabinets: Cribs Style” post is coming your way on Wednesday, but until then, here’s a sneak peak – and what the new bookend looks like in the newly organized cabinet:

Since a post is always 100% better with a cute photo of a furry animal, here’s a shot of Bentley basking in the sunlight on the patio this weekend…

He thinks he’s hot stuff.

I’m all about fast and easy meals. On top of that, I’m normally one of those go-by-the-recipe kind of “cooks”. All of that went out the window a few weeks ago when I decided to attempt to recreate Longhorn’s Parmesan Crusted Chicken. Well, I failed on the Longhorn part, but not on the crazy yummy goodness part. Within the last two weeks, Greg and I have had this “mistake” for dinner at least five times. It’s fast, easy and we call it “OMG Chicken”. Greg literally said “Oh my goodness” when he tried it. Yes, it’s that good. Like in a completely-proud-of-myself-I-can-now-call-myself-a-real-cook kind of way. Then my hopes and dreams of becoming the next Giada were shattered because apparently there are a lot of variations of this recipe online (here, here, and here). But oh well, I don’t care. It’s still my and Greg’s OMG Chicken.

Since this is what’s on the menu tonight (along with steamed broccoli and stuffed mushrooms), I thought I’d go ahead, document the process, and share it with you guys. It’s a super easy meal to put together in a flash. To make the easiest chicken dish ever, here’s what you need:

• Chicken Breast Tenderloins
• Garlic Salt
• Plain Panko Bread Crumbs (Not regular breadcrumbs!)
• Parmesan
• Ranch Dressing (I highly recommend Marzetti’s Ranch – regular or Light.)

I didn’t list the ingredient measurements because it will depend on how much and what cut of chicken you use. Plus, this dish is seriously super simple. Beyond simple! You really can’t mess it up. I’ll explain as we go along…

First off, line the tenderloins in a baking dish then season each side of the chicken with garlic salt. Spoon ranch over the chicken and coat both sides. Don’t be stingy – this is where the chicken gets it’s yummy juiciness. We ordnarily use Light Ranch dressing and you really can’t taste the difference.

Then coat the chicken with an even(ish) mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and parmesan. I tend to put a tad more parmesan than Panko – but like I said, you can’t really mess it up. Kick it up a knotch by substituting the plain panko for Chipotle Panko bread crumbs. Tonight, we have some friends coming over for dinner, so I’m making one dish with plain and another with Chipotle.

Pop it in the oven on 375° for about 25 minutes or until it’s golden brown on top, like this:

This is the Chipotle dish, so it looks a little more red than the plain will. It doesn’t look like much but it’s so, so good. Pinky promise.

Have any favorite super fast and easy chicken recipes? We’re always looking for more to add to our box!