The good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly but always true story of a boy and a girl who met and fell in love and are trying to figure out this crazy thing called life.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
20 weeks until BB Arrives
Christmas 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
A Christmas Filled Weekend (and a minty cookie recipe)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Guess what...
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Hello! Anybody out there?
Mom and Dad come to visit! Over Labor Day weekend, my mom and dad came for a visit. The visit did include Dad putting on a new roof with the help of some hired help from Craigslist. Yep - you read that correctly. The visit was so much fun - we drank a little wine at Tasting Devine and enjoyed the beautiful late summer weather at Cantigny Park.
The following weekend, September 10, we celebrate our 5 year anniversary! Being married to the love of my life = it doesn't get any better!
DMB - Brett's two favorite things in the world (besides me and the puppies) are the Cubs and Dave Matthews. Does it get any better than a Dave concert at Wrigley Field? Yes, actually it does...when there are TWO Dave concerts at Wrigley Field! We were lucky enough to get tickets to both shows and spent an awesome weekend in the city. It was like a vacation. Jason Mraz opened for Dave which was awesome! We also stayed at the Old Chicago Inn....if you ever need a quaint place to stay near Wrigley. This. Is. The. Place. The rooms were small, but it was just awesome. The innkeeper was too cute and made this stay just perfect!We ran in to Lauren Jiggetts from NBC and Brett HAD to have his picture taken with her.
So, that's about it....there have been lots of fun things going on...and more to come soon!Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Don't go too far
Friday, August 13, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Our Week of Demo and Construction
One of those cool tools was a saw!
I learned how to do so many things from my Dad throughout the week. Here I am grouting the ceramic!
Brett got to buy a new toy - a nailer. My Dad showed him how to use it :-) J/K!
At the end of the week, we had two great nights out. Both Friday and Saturday night we went out to dinner and had some wine at Tasting Devine.
We really had the bets week. I loved hanging out with my Dad, spending time with him and learning so many new things. Although, the situation was awful we are so lucky to have him and are now enjoying our beautiful basement again!
Friday, July 30, 2010
How many licks does it take?
Lucy and Tucker were stuck inside all day because I was outside with my best girlfriends having a yard sale. Tucker was quite anxious and took to licking the window...
(sorry the video is sideways...I took it with my phone and can't flip it!)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Words to live by...
"I'm realizing more and more and more that life is
exactly that. A day, a moment of pure joy, perfection, interspersed
amongst confusion and chaos. THAT IS LIFE at its most real reality.
They all blend us to make us what we are, what we are becoming ~ what we choose to do with our joy and sorrow is a constant
struggle. If we didn't have a perfect day, a disastrous day once in a
while amidst the majority of the "boring is good" days and weeks, it would just be too vanilla."
Sunday, July 25, 2010
And it all falls apart...
Several months ago Brett had planned a "Guys' Weekend" that included friends from out of town staying here and going to the Cubs/ Cardinals game on Saturday. Things started out great on Friday as everyone arrived safely and the boys had a great lunch at The Tilted Kilt. They came back to the house for a bit and then we all headed out for a fun night in Naperville.
At 6:30 am on Saturday morning, one of the guys knocked on our bedroom door letting us know that his air mattress had turned into a raft! We went to check things out and the basement was full of water and the water was still coming in! Everyone went to work - putting stuff together to take the water from the pumps away from the house, trying to open drains, going to Home Depot, manually sucking up water with a wet vac, etc. It was a mess. We had two functioning sump pumps, but it had rained so much that the city's drainage system couldn't handle it. Water was coming in the shower drain, the floor drain - everywhere!
Once the water had stopped coming in, I finally convinced Brett to go to the game so they all showered and we hopped in the car and who knew? 290 was closed! We physically would not be able to get to Chicago. So, we drove for an hour and a half and ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Cubs beat the Cards. That night the guys ripped out all the carpet and padding and continued with the clean up and preparation for more rain that night.
The damage is done. Our basement is a wreck and we have a lot of work and expenses ahead of us. Because this is not the first time this has happened, our insurance will cover none of the damages. My Dad is coming out next week to hear what Perma Seal has to say and we will go from there, either by doing more preventative work (like when they installed the sump pumps)or just reconstructing the basement into something livable.
How many guys does it take to....?
"This is the greatest weekend ever!"
My closet with about two inches of water that just wouldn't go away.
Mark's feet, completely submerged, as he manually pumps out water.
Our bedroom furniture - on bricks!
The end of our street completely flooded.
Brett looking so happy to be spending more money at Lowe's. This trip was for fans and a dehumidifier.
Monday morning - all the carpet waiting for the garbage man.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Getting it Together
Last week (and this week too) I finally felt organized. I had a plan to the week, stuck to it and got a lot accomplished. The house actually feels clean and while there are always little chores to be done I felt comfortable in knowing I was caught up on most of the big stuff. I created a menu for the week and was able to shop for most of the things we needed in one trip. I finished the class I was taking this summer and got it in the mail. While I am not always the most organized person in the world, it is amazing how much better I feel when I am. I feel like my like is less chaotic, I am less stressed and I am able to enjoy the time I have much more. I also feel like I am a better wife to Brett and a better puppy mama to Lucy and Tucker. When Brett gets home at night I am ready to listen to him about his day and I don't feel like my time has been wasted but rather I have contributed to making our house a home.
Planning our menus for the week seems to really save me a lot of time and stress when it comes to "what's for dinner?" A while back I found this (via According to Nina) at The Project Girl and it was a huge help, both in shopping and planning. I was able to make notes about what days Brett would need a lunch and when he wouldn't and what we were having for dinner. I was able to shop more efficiently because everything I needed was already divided into categories saving me time when at the store.
I have had a few misses, but hey, that's what I love about cooking - you never know what you're going to get. Here's a little summer specialty and while it may not constitute a "meal", it was a great week night dish. I ended up making something more filling to go with it, but this would make a delicious appetizer or a side to perhaps some Italian chicken.Rustic Tomato Basil Tart
***Although I did get the idea for this from a recipe, I did not follow it.
Ingredients:
In addition to the fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil straight from the plant, you will need this
a balsamic glaze made simply by simmering balsamic vinegar until it reduces by at least half. It will be thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Unroll a pre made pie crust and roll out slightly. Layer sliced mozzarella over the pie crust leaving about 1 1/2 inches around the outside. Top with a single layer of sliced tomatoes, drizzle with balsamic glaze, and top that with roughly chopped basil. Top with another layer of cheese.
- Fold the edges of the crust over your toppings life this
- Bake your tart at 375 for about 25-30 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is also has a nice brown crust.
P.S. The new changes t blogger are not cooperating with me! I have no idea why my last post looks as though it does. I have tried formatting it 7, 000 times!
P.P.S. I still owe you all a chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have not forgotten!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
What am I reading?
I can't believe that my summer vacation is already about half over! What have I been doing? More importantly what have I been reading? So far, I am pleased, not ecstatic, but pleased with what I have read so far.
- Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson - A thoughtful and enjoyable, yet VERY quick, read.