Lighting Denver

Friday night we went downtown with Cody and Trista and their little guy, Hudson, to watch the downtown lighting ceremony. The City and County building is lit up with tons of lights and they light it up to music, so it's a really fun time! It was a little chilly, but it could have been snowing, so no complaints here! 

Channeling Martha

My inner Martha Stewart knew it was holiday time and made a case for being let loose. I didn't argue. I've been trolling Pinterest (I've raved about the site before, so check it out if you haven't yet!) for holiday decorating ideas for the house since we now have more space to decorate. I found one thing that I was pretty confident I could replicate, so I took to Joann Fabrics for some ribbon and pine cones.

The Original


A little hot glue. . .

And voila!

Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I also think the centerpiece I put together looks pretty good.

Landscaping Project #1

If you know either of us you know we're relatively clean people and mud isn't something we're fond of , Eric in particular. So the north side of our house poses quite a problem, because it's basically been mud since we moved in. The north side doesn't get sun and it's shaded completely so there's very little drainage and means for drying out. We've tried to be patient and deal with the ick that comes in on our shoes anytime we try to take garbage or recycling out. However, neither of us really embraces the virtue of patience very well. 

After moving in Eric designed a plan for the entire front landscape, which incorporated a path from the backyard gate to the curb so the garbage bins can be taken to the street without getting stuck and we would no longer sink in and become mud monsters. The path was planned to go in when we did the beds next spring, but we bumped up that plan a bit. . . 

Our Black Friday was black due to the dirt we were covered in rather than our participation in ensuring our choice retailers had a profitable day. Below are the pictures of the path project that we completed. I'm horribly sore from digging and shoveling and have decided that my desk based career path was a wise choice. 

Before

So it wouldn't be a Sartor, or Belu for that matter, project without some sort of issue. The first one: the engine block of the dingo was too cold to start.

Problem 2: the battery was dead and had to be jumped

finished path- just needs the hardening polymer and then it's set for walking and rolling garbage bins on

We also ripped out the awful bed lines and mulch

New Napping Spot

Indy has no shame in where he naps or what he naps on. His new found favorite spot- the shelf of the new coffee table. This coffee table is bigger than the last one and I think he realized it's here to stay so clawing at it or jumping on top of it is wasted effort. We know how much he hates to waste energy ;)

Joys of Homeownership

Well the honeymoon phase is over. We officially have to do stuff to keep up the house. It's not just this cool thing anymore. Well it is, but it's done being kind to us and requires us to maintain it. How dare it!?

Eh, it's not really that bad, and raking leaves isn't tough. I actually had fun doing it. This was about 3 weekends ago and there's not enough leaves that have fallen again that we've had to rake a second time.  

  

Yes, I took the pictures, but immediately after I snapped these I was back to helping bag all these piles!

Cleaning the gutters though . . . um while not tough the words disgusting and sick quickly come to mind. I did not get a picture of the bin Eric was throwing the slime and sludge into in fear someone might have it flagged as "too graphic". Eric actually wouldn't let me help with this since it was so awful. What a good husband!

Friendsgiving

  This past Saturday Friendsgiving (our Thanksgiving with our group of friends) was hosted by our friends Scott & Heather. Everyone brought fantastic food we completely gorged ourselves, as should be done when there's plenty of ridiculously good food. Scott and Joe each made a turkey, smoked and BBQ, respectively. The turkeys were so good and the gravy from smoked drippings was fantastic. Eric also did a ham since 21 people had to be fed! He did a mustard and brown sugar glaze, which was really juicy and delicious. All the traditional sides and desserts were there so it was a pretty awesome Saturday. 

gravy from smoked drippings goodness

Scott & Joe carving their turkeys

In addition to the good food there was plenty of good football to watch! Eric is obviously a Buckeyes fan and our friend Joe used to play football for Wisconsin, so we know who he roots for, needless to say watching the Ohio State-Wisconsin game was rather um, intense. . . 

Using the wishbone to determine whether Wisconsin or Ohio State would win

The only thing Joe won on Saturday...

All in all though it was a great way to spend a Saturday. As you'll notice in this blog I managed to get people pictures, but not so much with the food. At least I'm consistent in forgetting pictures of some element of each event!

House Warming

Two Sundays ago we had our housewarming party/mini reception for our family and friends who couldn't make it back to Ohio for our wedding. Eric and I had this crazy idea that we'd cook for it rather than paying to have it catered. A day and a half straight in the kitchen together. I don't know how we didn't drive each other crazy, but thankfully for the sake of the food we didn't! 

Our heavy hors d'oeuvres menu included:

- Hot Ham & Swiss on Sweet Hawaiian Rolls

- Black Bean Chipotle Dip w/ Chips

- Sweet Asian Meatballs

-Fruit, Cheese & Crackers

-Caper and Tomato Bruschetta 

-Spinach & Mushroom Roll Ups

Gruyere & Bacon Dip

-Caramel Apple Trifle

-Mixed Cookie Tray- Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate Chip & Craisin,

and Spice Cookies w/ Candied Ginger

our laundry room, aka, our  makeshift butler's pantry

Yep, we made all that. Well, Eric made most of it. I just did the desserts. My Aunts Kathy & Jayne brought the cheese (goat cheese for me!), fruit and bruschetta.

We had a great time with everyone who came and while I got plenty of pictures of food I failed to get pictures of friends and family. Sorry, people. I just can't do it all.

Wedding Pictures!!

We are in LOVE with our wedding pictures! We hope you will be too!

http://www.pictage.com/1345208