Short and Sweet

This weekend was the last one in a little while that Jonathan and I will be home for the entire weekend. This coming weekend we are going to watch the Reds and Giants play at Great American with my mom and dad. I am super excited about that. The last time I was at a Red's game at Great American was with my dad in July of 2009, right before I moved here! We are celebrating Jonathan and Dad's birthdays too!

Since we won't be home for a few weekends, we decided to make this one a productive one. Friday night we went out to dinner just to have some us time. Saturday, we went to the book sale in Wooster, and I was allowed to fill an entire paper bag for $5. My seventh graders will be happy, and I came home with some good books as well. We are also thinking long and hard about buying a TV. Jonathan likes 55" which is extremely big...but it's that or 47" and we can't go that small! HAHA.

Today, we went grocery shopping and got stuff for all of our meals for the week. We also cleaned our ENTIRE apartment. I am talking wiping down our cabinets and everything. The reason we made it such a serious cleaning day was because we are thinking about moving in the next month to a duplex. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and much more space. I love the open kitchen and the deck off the back. The best attraction for us is the two car attached garage. NO more clearing snow off my car at 7 am in the winters!! It is a little more expensive and Jonathan and I feel like we have negotiating room with the construction going on the road in front of our entrance. Thank God for Jonathan knowing and understanding road construction plans.

I'll keep you posted. I am hoping for a quick work week for both of us (I work 4 days at Gap) and then home! :) Have a good one.

Then and Now

Then

Now

I can't wait to put them side by side in a frame! So fun :)



Top Chef

One thing that Jonathan and I have really liked about living together is the opportunity to cook good meals. We rarely eat out, which saves calories and our waist size, which means we cook more! We definitely save money in the long run not spending money on tips and things like that. We were excited about this past week because we went to the Farmer's Market and The Butcher Shop in Wooster. We picked up yummy ribeyes, pork chops, ham loaf, and ground beef, as well as squash, zucchini, blueberries, tomatoes, green beans, and peas! There is nothing better than fresh veggies and great meat!

Here is our fiesta with the grass fed ground beef from the farmer's market.



My taco without the carbs from the tortilla! :)

We also had pork chops one night. Jonathan is picky about them....but so far he has liked the ones I have made!

Lastly, we attempted our first ribeye on the grill. Our newest purchase was a meat thermometer so we knew when the steak was done! They turned out pretty good. We both agreed they were a little too done (just a tad) for us. Some of you may disagree when you see the pictures! All you medium well to well done people!!

Anyways, we had fun cooking up all of our purchases. The zucchini and squash, green beans, and steak were all from our purchases.

Have a good week! Summer is FLYING!






Sweet Puppy

Jonathan and I had a fun filled evening last night. We went over to Matt's new place in Milltown Villas. The highlight of the evening (besides the good food) was meeting his sweet puppy, Chico. Chico is a golden retriever and is 15 weeks old. I was impressed by how good of a job Matt has done training the pup. He is so good! He knows how to sit, stay, shake, and lay down. Of course, like any puppy, when he gets super excited, he doesn't want to listen! :) Here is a picture of Chico that Matt sent me after we left. Apparently, he was worn out!

Have a good week! :)

Welcome to Nashville, y'all!

It all started when Jonathan and I got on the plane to Nashville. Jonathan is scared to fly, so we hit up the Columbus Brewery before our flight, ordering double shots in his Bloody Mary's...I drank water. :) When we arrived in Charlotte, my college roommate and good friend Sarah Bailey walked around the corner. Not only is it random to run into someone you know but even more random in Charlotte's airport. We enjoyed a drink, calamari, and hush puppies before our flight left. :)

Jonathan and I spent a wonderful weekend in Nashville visiting Ben, Molly, RJ, and Renee. We had a fun and college weekend. Molly told me before I went that I needed to put my "big girl" pants on for the weekend. I tried my best! The first night we were in Nashville we went to a cute bar and grill called Sam's. It was a pretty early night considering we had a big weekend ahead of us.

On Saturday we spent all day at the lake and we went out and enjoyed downtown Nashville at Paradise Park. We went to a part of the lake where it is about 2 feet deep and comes up to your thighs. It is the perfect place to hang out, listen to music, and enjoy cold beverages. We did just that and soaked up some quality southern sun! Jonathan and the boys stayed out super late. R.J's parents also cooked us a wonderful supper of brats, hot dogs, and hamburgers. Here are some pics of us out and about!

Sunday was the big day. I just want to say that the northerners showed up to compete. They held the 2nd annual Fourth-a-Palooza at R.J.'s friends house. Basically, it is where you compete in 10 events such as flip cup, corn hole, sack race, 3-legged race, etc. and the winning team gets $100. Jonathan and I were on a team and got 3rd. Molly and Ben won it all and Renee and R.J. came in 4th. Molls and Ben were kind enough to treat us to dinner that night with the winnings. (We would have done the same!) I must comment on the southern hospitality as well. As an out-of-towner, I felt completely welcome and everyone was so nice. I was very impressed. If I wasn't sure about wanting to move south before I visited Tennessee for the weekend, I am completely convinced now that the south would be a great place to live for a little bit. The funniest part of Sunday were the outfits.

Needless to say, we were 3 very good looking couples on Sunday!

Monday Funday was the day we flew back. Jonathan did not need a brewery this day, so that was good! :) He is getting so brave! The flights were rough because of storms, so that was not fun for him and I felt bad. We only arrived about 40 minutes late safely in Columbus and got home at about 9:00 pm. Tuesday came quickly and Jonathan and I are exhausted, but we wouldn't trade anything for the weekend we had. I miss my friends already!

If you want to see some more pictures from our weekend you can check out Molly's blog, Hey Y'all.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th, just like we did! :)

God Bless the USA

Just wanted to update you before I leave for the weekend. Jonathan and I are going to Nashville to spend some time with Molly, Ben, Renee, and RJ. I am so excited to leave! We will have a wonderful 4th of July with sun, food, fireworks, laughter, and I am sure some country music! I will update with pictures when I return. I look forward to a perfect getaway this weekend.

Also, it is the 4th of July, so along with the fireworks, BBQs, and cookouts with family and friends, let's not forget those who are fighting for our wonderful country. We are truly blessed. I am proud to be an American! God bless the men and women fighting for our freedom!

Lastly, you may notice the change on my page. I just felt like refreshing it and making it new! :) Enjoy the new colors.

Cheers to a wonderful holiday weekend!