Closing Time

Well, we are officially homeowners! Our closing went great and even though we were supposed to receive the keys on Monday, we got them on Saturday at 1:30 PM. The first walk into the house was surreal. I couldn't believe that this was OUR house. Ever since then, each time I open the garage door, I remind myself to be grateful, and to enjoy every minute of it!

Our big move with all of our furniture isn't until this Saturday, so we have been moving small boxes, painting, installing new light fixtures, and got our carpets steam cleaned yesterday. My parents surprised us and bought a brand new, energy efficient washer and dryer, so we were SO excited/thankful. Our realtor (B's Aunt), also surprised us and purchased some of the new light fixtures for us. Here is the chandelier we picked out to hang over the kitchen table...

And we chose this light to put at the top of our staircase... Tonight we will be doing some more painting, and then tomorrow I am cooking our first meal at the house, and we are introducing the pups to their first house together!

This is normally how our time with the dogs goes...

Tink is being the perfect gentleman, while Bucky is outta control crazy, haha. You've got to love them, though! P.S. Please ignore me looking like a hot mess. It was Tink's 3rd birthday party, and I was the party planner for our celebration at that park! :)

Hope everyone has a fabulous rest of the week!

BINGO!

B sent me this yesterday, and I was cracking up! It is oh so true.



Next time we do some shopping at Walmart, we will definitely be playing along. You should too! :)

Cincinnati

This weekend my mom and I headed to Cincinnati (my place of birth!) for a day of shopping. We spent the entire day laughing at each other, and found some great finds for my house and kitchen. With the closing on my house 3 days away, I have been packing, organizing and on the hunt for some great deals on household items.

Our first stop in Cincy town was Ikea. I hate to admit this, but I have never been, and was excited to experience the spirit of Sweden! Anyways, we arrived in style and spent over 3 hours in the store. I normally resemble a stampeding bull while I shop/peruse, but we took our time and managed to get out of there in under 3 hours!

Here are some of my finds...

Reversible Rug for Living Room:


Floor Lamp for Reading Room:


Cookbook Shelves for Kitchen:


Duvet Cover for Master Bedroom:


Vase for Master Bedroom:


I got a few other miscellaneous items, but I am happy to report that I got 10 items for $98. There is no way I would be able to get that many items for that price at any other place. I was very impressed!

Our next stop of the day was Jungle Jim's International Market. If you haven't figured out by now, I am a huge foodie. I love to cook food, eat food, and dream about food. I had heard about this grocery store in the past, but did not realize until I got there just how amazing it was. First of all, this place is about the size of 3 super targets. It is divided into sections such as sushi, cheese, meat, American groceries and groceries from over 10 countries. My mom is Australian and I have been brought up eating a variety of Australian dishes, so we were really excited to check out their selection. Australia has the BEST candy/chocolate and has so much more flavor than that of their counterparts. I only managed to spend $14 on candy from Australia, Germany and Mexico. I also got some wonderful items from their Asian, Italian and Middle Eastern aisles. After a quick sushi stop, we journeyed through the sections, and spent around 4 hours walking around. It was just AMAZING!

JJ's small selection of hot sauces...


Their webiste is http://junglejims.com/ so go check them out!

We had a wonderful time, and I can't wait to venture there again. We decided that our next weekend road trip would be Louisville, and we **may** consider bringing the boys. Hope everyone has a great week!

Winding Down...

Well, we are officially closing on our house in 2 weeks! Because the current owners are moving out the weekend after our Friday closing, we wont get to move for another 3 weeks, but we are both so excited. And anxious. And nervous. And just about every other emotion you can imagine. I'm sure that's normal, right? And I also suppose I should start packing even if our new house is 6 minutes away from my current location :) I have already done so much shopping, and have just about everything we need for the house. Of course, being the cheap person I am, it was all severely discounted, given to us, or some items were even found at Goodwill.

I have been so swamped at work lately, that I have not had any type of a social life. I have 2 huge projects due at the end of the month, which have caused me to work ridiculously long hours. Luckily, I will be taking off a full 5 days for the first time in my life upon moving into our new house. I have never taken off a full work week, and know I will still be checking my email and taking calls from home. I can't completely give up my career for a full week!

Here's my office in all its glory. I am on the second floor to the top!

Next weekend I am having a Girls Night Out with my 2 best friends, which is definitely needed. AND, tomorrow we are being nerds and attending the Home and Garden Show to check out landscaping/fencing options. I also have a groupon for a delicious, hip restaurant to top off our day.

Also, my current annoyance is the excessive amount of people at the gym. I am so sick of waiting for a treadmill, elliptical, cycle, etc. Please go away new resolutioners! Those of us who have been dedicated to the gym for so many years are sick of you taking up space and texting/talking on the phone/or barely moving while you are on a machine!

P.S. I know it is only Friday, but I have planned our meal for Sunday, and am so excited to indulge! I am finally going to try my crock pot recipe for baby back ribs (a once a year treat for us), along with a side of southern style coleslaw, salt encrusted baked potatoes and sweet corn. ::DROOL:: Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

The Christmas Pig

These past few weeks have been a blur, filled with fun memories and lots of great food! On my last post I left off at discussing B's birthday weekend. That Friday I surprised him and we ventured to Christmas at the zoo. We both have a huge passion for animals, so I thought this would be a fun thing for us to do together.

We looked at the animals and light displays, and shared a few sweet treats from The Outpost.

We then went to the White River Gardens and explored the beautiful greenery and flowers they on display for Christmas.

On Saturday, I confirmed our reservations at The Melting Pot, and we enjoyed a delicious, three course meal of the following:

Fiesta Cheese Fondue


Shrimp & Sirloin in Court Bouillon


Chocolate S'more Fondue with strawberries, cheesecake, rice krispie treats, marshmallows, and pound cake




It was a great birthday weekend together, and I look forward to many more with him!

The following weekend we headed up to Wisconsin to celebrate Christmas with B's family. We had a wonderful weekend, and received lots of items for our house. Since this is our first home, we are needing a lot of the basic necessities. To name a few, we received a crockpot, food processor, spice rack, extra spices, mixing bowls, blankets, wine rack, etc. We also went to a beautiful steak restaurant called Mr.B's. I was a little concerned about what I was going to order since I rarely eat meat, but I was happy to find a pasta section and tried their eggplant rigatoni with a side wedge salad. It was AMAZING. It was so creamy and flavorful, and I would definitely order it again. We also went a little early before our reservation and hit up the happy hour. I am so glad we did this because we were able to try the duck fat fries and steamed mussels for a fraction of the cost. I paired mine with a gingerbread flavored cocktail, and it was delicious.



This past weeekend was Christmas which was celebrated at my parents house. It was a pretty eventful weekend as I had offered to help babysit/foster an adorable piglet named Bacon. He came from a neglected household, and I could not possibly turn him down. Knowing nothing about pigs, I offered to help care for him, and quickly fell in love. However, the day before I picked him up, his foster mommy bathed him in puppy shampoo and he had a severe allergic reaction. Two days later, after waking up to him with a fever and seeing his small little body covered in bright red/orange blisters, I called her up and asked if she would nurse him back to heatlh. Because she was a vet tech at an exotic animal clinic, I felt she was much more equipped to care for the little guy, and emotions aside, I had to do what was best for him. That being said, I took him back to her house on Christmas morning, and cried the whole way home. This week, I am spending some time looking for a happy home for him, and can't wait to see him grow into a healthy young boar.



Here are two more photos of Bacon with my parents dog, Duke. They were the most unlikely pair, but became good friends in a few short days.





Anywho, that is what I have been up to the past few weeks. I have also tested/created some yummy dishes in between those weeks, and promise to post more recipes on my next post. Hope everyone has a great week, and a very happy and safe new year!

Big Ten Game & Lots of Food

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

It's another busy work week for me! Even though I have Friday off so we can celebrate Christmas in Wisconsin, I will still be working 40+ hours, on top of finishing up Christmas shopping, wrapping last minute gifts, running errands, and cooking things for my office to enjoy. I must admit, however, that despite the insanity, I do love this time of year.

Anywho, a few weeks ago we had family down from Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin was playing in the Big Ten Championship football game, and we of course had to celebrate and cheer them on. It was great to see B's family and friends, and we had a wonderful time showing them around our town. This picture was taken outside in the cold while we were tailgating and watching the Marquette basketball game. They are such troopers! ;)



The morning of the game, I made a big breakfast consisting of a variety of juices, muffins, fruit salad, blueberry skillet coffee cake, and a creamy potato casserole. Everything tasted delicious, and it kept us full until we ate later that day.

The Blueberry Skillet Coffee Cake is a Paula Deen recipe, and is super easy and tasty. The recipe can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/easy-blueberry-skillet-cake-recipe/index.html or here:



Ingredients:

Streusel Topping:
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) of unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Coffee Cake:
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) of butter
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 (12-ounce) tube buttermilk biscuits
1 cup blueberries

Directions:

For the streusel topping: Combine the almonds, sugar, butter, flour, and cinnamon until large crumbs form.
For the coffee cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a 9-inch cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet, cook the butter and brown sugar over medium heat until melted. Arrange the biscuits in a single layer in the skillet. Scatter the blueberries over the biscuits, and then distribute the streusel topping over the berries. Bake until the biscuits are golden, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and serve from the skillet.

The potato casserole was the perfect accompaniment to the coffee cake. I prepped it the night before, and popped it in the oven right before serving. I got the recipe at http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/11/creamy-potato-casserole-aka-football.html , and have also listed it below.

Ingredients:

1 (28-32oz) bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
16 oz sour cream
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups corn flakes, crushed
1/4 cup butter, cubed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients, except corn flakes, and spread into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Top with crushed cornflakes and dot with cubed butter. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Tomorrow is B's 28th birthday, and my mom wanted to have him over for his favorite meal. This past weekend I took him to Christmas at the Zoo on Friday, and the Melting Pot for a 3 course fondue dinner on Saturday. We had a wonderful time, and I am so lucky to have him as my partner. More pictures to come later :)