'Tis the season

12/13/2011

We bought out first real Christmas tree!

I didn't really want to set up a tree because I couldn't think of a spot to put it in our apartment. After a weekly chat with dad, he gave us strict orders to put up our tree the next day. I obviously do exactly what he says...still, cause we did just that! We went to Home Depot, bought a tree stand & a star. Then after work we headed to the fire station just down the road & picked out our perfect little tree! I am SO happy we decided to go the real tree route because 1.it is so festive and 2. our money benefited the fire department! I just wanted a teeny tiny tree & told the nice tree man this too, but he kept pulling out decent sized trees. I couldn't say no, so we took home the first one we saw. Mike helped the guys strap the tree to the top of the car & without thinking, they tied all the doors shut except the drivers side. It was funny when I went to open my door & couldn't get in. I climbed over the drivers seat & we were on our way home. It was freezing cold with the windows down, but the experience made it all worth it! When we got home, I made Mike trim a little off the bottom cause it was still a little too big. He thought I had ruined the tree, but it ended up looking great! I think buying a real tree each year has become a new tradition for us! If you haven't experienced buying a real tree, driving home with it on your car, watering it & cleaning up it's needles (lucky ours doesn't lose it's needles at all!!) then you definitly should next year!

Love this Christmas subway art c/o

Made my Christmas wreath (thanks to pinterest)

DC Temple Trip

12/3/2011

The young men & young women from our ward went to do Baptisms for the dead & I tagged along! It was such an amazing experience & I am so glad I decided to go! I was able to see Mike perform his first baptism & it was so awesome! Mike was released from young men's the next day so we were SO happy we were able to experience this with the youth just in time!

Before we headed home we stopped at Cafe Rio (they are scarce out here, as in not ONE in Philly) & it was amazing, as usual. We are already looking forward to our next visit, which will hopefully be full of sight seeing as well. (first time in DC for me!)

the whole crew

the young men & leaders

such a pretty temple

and the lovely young women & their leader

The doc

11/14/2011

Mike's first day shadowing in a Dr.'s office

I love hitting these little milestones because it means we are THAT much closer to being done with the med school part of this long endeavor!

You can obviously tell, once again, how thrilled he is that I am documenting each of these, but how fun will it be to look back and see how much has changed!?

I am so proud of you Mikey & I am so grateful that you are putting yourself through this to hopefully make our lives a little better in the near future!

I can't believe we are almost halfway done! HOORAY! Let's hope the next half flies by just as fast!



A whole outfit refashion

I have had these Hollister pants FOREVER, but rarely wear them anymore because they are, well, frumpy. So when I saw this tutorial I knew exactly what I would do with those pants! Now they are much cuter & skinnier!

 I found this shirt at Old Navy for $5. Loved it, but it was a little too baggy for my liking. So I took it in a little on each side & now it is much more flattering!

 and voila! A new, cute, in style outfit!

Pumpkin carving

(10/28/2011)

We had some friends over, ate pizza & carved pumpkins! It was a fun night.

Toby's artwork...I put my pumpkin down on the floor & the next thing I knew he was going crazy.

 Mike's..donny darko

 Mine..frankenstein..would have been much cuter if

my pumkin was still green!

 us & The Larsons



Freddy Hill Farms

(10/15/2011)

I have been loving all of the fun fall activities there is to do out here so I begged Mike to go to the pumpkin patch with me! He decided to tell me how childish & silly we were to be going without kids after we had drove an hour & had parked our car. Lovely. BUT guess who loved it & had so much fun! He doesn't trust me at first, but then always seems to have fun! Anyways, our activities included watching pig races, taking a hayride out to the patch, picking a pumpkin, miniature golfing, hot dog lunch & fresh dairy ice cream! We always have so much fun together & it's so nice to get out of the house, away from studying & do something fun!

 I was so excited about this green pumpkin, I was going to carve Frankenstein in it & it was going to be awesome, but by the time we carved them it turned orange!

Searching for the perfect pumpkin...and isn't he the best for carrying my pumpkin around for me :)

 There are 2 different courses out there & they are probably the nicest I've ever been to!

 Such a curious boy

(At first I was kicking Mike's trash, but then out of no where he beat me by one point!)

"pinning" for dinner

I was feeling domestic today & let my stomach reap the rewards!

For some reason I have had this desire for the yummiest chocolate chip cookies ever & thanks to pinterest I found it. These were AMAZING, especially for my first time baking from scratch (well without my mom that is)!

Recipe found here

And seeing how the nearest Durango's/Cafe Rio is in DC, making these tasty salads at home is a MUST!

Instead of using boxed mexican rice that I find disgusting, I found this extremely easy & tasty mexican rice recipe found here

And this amazing tomatillo recipe that makes the salad what it is, found here

Thank heavens the grocery store next to my house has tomatillos!!

I cut up some romaine lettuce, heated up some black beans & added all these ingredients plus some marinated steak & a tortilla to my trough (because a cereal bowl is way to small for all this deliciousness) & voila, my favorite salad at home!

Projects

Mike built this milk crate for his record player out

of wood we found at the dumpster

 This was once a mirror that I turned into a flower holder

 some plates & a candlestick from the thrift store

turned into a jewelry holder

before

after

 I attempted yellow for my knife block, but it looked aweful, so green it is!

before

 after

 Our long awaited night stands we bought off of craiglist & hauled home in the backseat of our little car..

our bedroom is coming together slowly, but surely

before

 after...SO much better!

 and one last striped skirt...here is the $6.48 dress from Ross

before

 and after...the outfit I wore to church

(gotta love Mike's impatient photography skills. this was the best I got...)



Meet Mack

(September 25, 2011)

While hopefully searching craigslist for a new puppy, I stumbled upon an add for a 5 month old rescue. I checked into it & we ended up with Mack, formerly known as Herbie...hence the name change. The first two weeks were rough. He wouldn't walk on a leash, he wouldn't go potty outside & he whined A LOT. We were REALLY close to getting rid of him, but as much as I couldn't stand him I realized he just needed a good home with people to love him. Since then he has shredded 2 doggy beds while locked up in his kennel, tore up a chunk of our carpet (which we hot glued back in place!), pottied far too much in the house & stole our hearts! Toby wasn't fond of him at first. If you know Toby, you know how spoiled he is. There were a few fights over food & toys, but all is well now. Toby couldn't be happier to have a brother, they play NON-STOP, & Toby is always the one to instigate it.

 he lays in the strangest places, sprawled out on the kitchen floor, under the table

& cuddled up to the couch

 oh & cuddled next to Toby, but this was forced.

 the chunk of carpet he tore up is right in front of him...good thing our glue job makes it impossible to tell!

 he's still learning that being mauled & cuddled is never going to go stop

 Mack is already WAY bigger than Toby & they are 2 years apart!

He still hasn't learned how to jump up on the couch or the bed, which I'm loving right now cause he is way too playful. He has tumbled off the bed a few times which is sad, but hilarious. Toby is teaching him all kinds of things like how to play, how to hide under the bed, how to bark & how much fun the dog park is! I still think we are crazy for getting a second pup, but they sure are fun!