Our Newest Addition

Over spring break this year Mike and I went to Colorado to do some skiing and hang out with his parents. This trip was full of really great experiences. We got a chance to visit Colorado Springs our old stomping ground and eat at our favorite place Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. I went skiing for the first time and didn’t break a limb! Kay and I went snow shoeing with 2 amazing guides and saw some amazing landscapes. Kay and I also went to a glass blowing demonstration, something that has been on my bucket list for years. On our way home we stopped in Ft. Collins, CO and toured the New Belgium Brewery and had some tasty beers.

I will have posts and pictures about most of these things coming soon. One of the most memorable things for Mike and I was meeting a lazy Bernese Mt. dog/ Pyrenees at a book shop in Frisco. Flash was the biggest, softest, and laziest dog I had ever met. That's him up top. A close match to my Aunt Linda's dog Sam who I love dearly. Mike and I visited Flash and we were sold. We had to get one.

About a month after moving into the house we brought home our very own little bundle of joy. A Bernese, her name is Penny and she is wonderful. Penny is just 13 weeks old now and weighs about 20lbs, when she is full grown she will be about 100-130lbs.

The New Digs

I finally have a little extra time on my hands and plan to devote a little of that time to this wonderful blog. Since the last post in January a lot has happened, like, we bought a house! I never thought i would be a home owner at 23, but Mike and I fell into a great deal we just couldn’t pass up. Two days before Christmas this past year we talked to our realtor and within hours made an offer on a home that we had never seen, except for a snow covered poured foundation, and a floor plan drawing.

Looking back it was quite the whirlwind and I hoped we had done the right thing, this deal seemed too good to be true, and John Mayhew always says if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. We spent the holidays excited and nervous about a new house that was going to be built just for us. But, it wasn’t too good to be true, besides the stress of being a first time home buyer, getting a loan which we would have went through no matter what, we now have the perfect little custom home. We love it and consider ourselves sooooo lucky that this once in a lifetime chance found its way to us.

Since the house was yet to be built we were able to choose exactly what we wanted on the inside and outside of the house. It was really fun! From the cabinet color, to flooring and countertops, orange peel ceilings, light fixtures, faucets, you name it we got to choose it. There are some in progress pictures below. Stay tuned for interior pictures with decorating underway.

New Years Resolutions/ Random Thoughts.

Last Post: July. Time flies and believe it or not I've actually had a few people ask when i would have another blog post. Hopefully i can get back into the swing of things by doing some explaining and letting you in on some new stuff and ideas.

I havent posted in a while because i like to upload pictures when i write something, and our iphoto hasnt been working....since july. It may or may not be because i accidentely uploaded 5,000 pictures from my greece trip about 6 different times. whoops!

Since it's the beginning of the new year i would like to share 3 resolutions. People say when you tell someone your new years resoultion it gives you more of a reason to go through with it. The resolutions ive chosen for this year are completely doable and exciting to me. I've learned from my mistakes in the past to start binge dieting Jan.2 or give up chocolate till spring break, they dont turn out so well.

-Learn how to reupolster furniture, no no no im not talking about giving new life to your grandma's gigantic floral couch. But cushions, maybe a chair would be fun. Im thinking a spring project taught by you tube.

- See as many art exhibits as possible. Big, small, here, there. The fact is, im deprived. I went from walking down the halls of the art building at uni and not even looking twice if there were dead birds nailed to a wall or a painting hung on the ceiling (creative over stimulation) to now, pinch pots by 5 year olds and cute bears (still creative) but not very intriguing.

- Be a person other people want to be around. We had a professional development workshop before Thanksgiving and it was about 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It was pretty eye opening.
It makes you think about leading a better life, putting first things first, building relationships with people that matter, and thinking proactively.

So there you have it, a few ideas, hopefully i will be able to follow up on. I wish i had a picture, but i'll work on that situation!

Egg Cartons & Ice Cube Trays

Here we go again.. this is a post i would like to post, so i can say i have posted it. Are you with me so far? These are ideas and uses for...you guessed it egg cartons and ice cube trays. The little guy in the high chair is my nephew Max, and i hear he is really enjoying his new baby food!

Egg Cartons: (the art teachers best friend by the way, we use them all the time for paint, paper mache, sequins and beads, etc.)

-Paint, like the picture, makes it a little prettier. Place on the washer/ dryer for lost buttons, bobby pins, coins, etc.

-Use it to house small tea light candles, line the center of a table with cartons.

-in the art/craft room, for beads, buttons, things to keep separate,

-Use as a jewelry box to keep you necklaces, bracelets and earrings separate.


Ice Cube Trays:

-freeze home made baby food. Enjoy Max!

-Freeze pesto, sauces, and thaw a few cubes over noodles or veggies for next day lunch.

-Spice up your ice cubes: add raspberries, strawberries, or lemon peel.

-If making a summer drink, freeze juice(lemonade, oj, pineapple j) in trays and add to drink when served. This way your drink isn't watered down.

Ideas using gift wrap

Have you noticed all of the cute gift wrap that's in stores lately? It is sooo beautiful. Here are some ideas of things to do with gift wrap besidessss wrapping gifts. Some of the cool print i have seen are at Hobby Lobby and Michaels, but if your interested check out parcelpost.wordpress.com, modishblog.com. These are great sites, for paper and ideas! Once youve found that perfect print try:

*wrapping several picture frames with the paper and hanging them behind a couch, bed, or in a cluster on a wall.

*Spray adhesive the wrap to the cardboard inside a picture frame, looks great in a white or black frame. These look great in a wall cluster of photos, prints and paintings. It adds color to a room.

* Line insides of kitchen cabinets

* cover notebooks, cards, folders, and files

*Glue paper to the underside of a plastic clear plate, cup, bowl, platter, or coaster

* Spice up storage containers for magazines by wrapping with paper. Wrap a pizza box with paper (i get pizza boxes to store stamps, paper, and other art supplies). Free storage!

Greek Cooking Class

A couple of weeks ago Mike and I went with his parents to a cooking class in downtown Waterloo. Here are some photos from the class and the approximated recipes for the salad (the picture with the chef and the big bowl) and the dessert we had.



Summer Greek Salad Recipe:

1 lb cooked shrimp (cook at 375 for 8-10 min)
1 cup orzo pasta
1/4 cup dill
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup black olives, 1/4 cup red onion
1/2 cup parsley
lemon and olive oil to dress pasta
1-2 tablespoons diced banana peppers
pinch of red pepper flake
Feta Cheese

*Serve cold,

I actually made a recipe very similar, but this one has more ingredients and tastes awesome!


Mediterranean Melon Salad: MMmmm MMMmmm MMmmm (:

2 cups watermelon
2 cups honeydew
2 cups cantaloupe
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 teaspoon mint
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1 tablespoon honey

Cut up melon, top with mint, cheese, and toasted walnuts (which she did in a skillet for 5 min?), drizzle honey on top and serve.
This was soooo good, refreshing and light.

We were also served Spinach Feta Bites, Tzatziki with Greek style eggplant and Beef.

Library Cookbooks

Yesterday i made a trip to the library just to look at cookbooks. The Cedar Falls library had 2 huge cases full, like thousands of cookbooks, it was fun. I usually look for new recipes on the internet, but this was a nice change. I checked out about 8 different books ranging from fine dining, to classic "Iowa Cuisine", which i was a little curious about.

These 2 were my favorites, and also a classic greek cook book which i will share about later, along with our "greek cooking school" experience a few weeks ago. Tonight i will be attempting a Brownie Pie from the Barefoot Contessa's book. Wish me luck!

{although it's nice to have many cookbooks on hand, what a money saver to check out from the Library and save the ones you like. Create your own recipe box of the best you've found}