A Money Monday for Steve

Steve's birthday is next Wednesday, so I thought I'd pass on some things on his wish list.

1. a printer
2. window fan
3. two ticket vouches for a movie
4. pottery barn frames (okay, maybe that what I want)
5. cargo shorts (size 32--not too long)
6. clear play DVD player
7. nice pajamas for warm weather

Money Mondays on Tuesday

Temporal Organization.
Well I would have to say the Container Store has some amazing closet organizers, amongst other things. I really like how in their pictures the closet is also painted and wallpapered. Who does that? I guess whoever decorated the house mom moved in to did that because there were lots of layers of paint in her room. I like the birch and white elfa decor closet to go in the guest room. Then I would have to move Danielle in there. The wallpaper in their picture is so cute! I really wish I knew more about wallpaper, because I think I am the type of person who would like it. But I can't even paint stripes myself so I should probably just calm down about it. Too bad we have already started to paint Danielle's room peach, which John says is an ultimately girl-y color. More than pink? I don't know. Once a year the Container Store has a sale on their shelving so I would probably have to wait until then, or copy the look at Lowes.
Total Cost: $1278.57

Engagement Pictures!!

Request for pasta sauce recipes

I get bored with pasta, but I need to use the bulk pasta I purchased (damn you, Costco!). Please submit your fun/healthy/delicious pasta ideas.

Food patterns

Love the idea for food recipes. . . here's what we've been making lately.

I've been craving Mexican food like crazy! So I made garlicky bean enchiladas topped with (Tilamook) pepper jack cheese. I served it with a salad (topped with bell peppers and carrots, maybe tomatoes--can't remember). I made an extra batch of enchiladas for the freezer, because I hate to spend all the money on ingredients for a meal, and then not do anything with the leftover ingredients. I didn't want to throw away the extra tortillas/salsa verde! Once we found Winco foods, the meal ended up being really inexpensive. I think I spent $8 dollars on a meal for 4 people, and have enough leftover basic ingredients that I only had to spend $1 for more cannelini beans to make the freezer batch and have stretched the other basic ingredients to other meals. I have every intention of making a enchilada recipe I found in my Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone because I think the meal with taste really good with homemade red mole sauce. yum. Then, I made Tex Mex chili tonight (topped with Fritos and remaining pepper jack cheese) served with a salad and cornbread muffins w/ butter and honey. Yeah for cornbread muffins with chili.

It's not just TexMex I'm eating, Steve and I try to eat 5 fruits/veggies a day. I always buy lettuce (typically green leaf or romaine), wash it and dry it in my salad spinner. It's so much cheaper than those salad bags you buy at the store, and doesn't take much time to prepare the lettuce so it's ready when you want a salad. I need convenience! I've made salad almost every night--sometimes it's strawberries and coconut (idea courtesy of Carol), sometimes it's apples with sugared almonds, or just a variety of other veggies (bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes). I also try to make fish once a week. Last week it was salmon with lemon and breadcrumbs. This week (probably tomorrow) it's tilapia with toasted almonds served with carrot-and-pea-rice and probably a side salad.

We've spent a lot on groceries this month, as we just moved into our new place and had absolutely nothing in the fridge. But when I have a little bit more wiggle room in the budget, I'm making pan-seared scallops with lemon served with roasted spaghetti squash with herbs, and a kale, white bean, and prosciutto crostini with a ricotta tart with chocolate and kumquats for dessert. I found it in my Martha Stewart Living magazine--so excited to try it!

Tasty Tuesday

Hey everyone- I have a great new idea for how everyone can help me become a better cook. On Mondays we can spend money and on Tuesdays we can eat more food. The idea for Tuesday is from my sister in law Kathryn. It is called tasty Tuesdays where you post a recipe that is pretty good or other food idea we can all try.
Here is Kathryn's recipe for salmon that is really yummy.

juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon rind
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
1 minced garlic clove
1 pound of salmon
Marinate salmon in lemon mixture and broil both sides until flakes easily.

This is an easy recipe and very tasty.
I really need more recipes and I want to be a better cook. I want to know how to make bread and good homemade pastas.
So bring on the tasty Tuesdays!
Janae

Money Mondays Rugs

I really want a play mat for Danielle to play in downstairs. In the basement Danielle likes being with me when I am cleaning but I wish I had a gate and a mat of some kind to make a baby safe zone. I am just a little scared about her falling on the cement and hurting herself. My favorite option is still the skiphop playspot which has interlocking foam tiles that you can arrange in different places. I would but a baby cage around it and fill it full of toys. The playmat is $79.00 and I like the pink and brown one.
Also I want a great rug for her room. there is a really cute pink one on poshtots.com that I wasn't able to get a great photo of. Until I selected all, copied it and pasted it in word, then printed it to a PDF and converted it from a PDF to a JPEG with a little photo editing you can see the shaggy pink rug that I think would look great next to Danielle's crib. We have a fuzzy lambswool rug for Austin's dog bed and babies love it! Our friend Natalie wanted to pull it on top of her when she visited- and I think Danielle would love playing with this rug and it would help keep the floor clean. It is a pink shaggy rug! how cool is that! It is $124.00
Finally I want a large rug for the downstairs. Our carpet just isn't very high quality and rugs seem to hold up better. Or at least they don't look as bad- our entryway rug is so beautiful and durable which I appreciate. How fun is this zebra print rug from Williams Sonoma Home! the 9' by 13' is $1,350.00 with 110.00 added for shipping. I would get it in the brown and it would make such a bold statement for the room. A simpler and more natural look from Pottery barn would also look great- it is a little cheaper at $749.00 for a 9'by12' rug in ivory. I like the Henley rug and the concentric squares rug and both are more durable for a high traffic area and gorgeous.
It seems like rugs are just some of the most expensive things ever made- I swear I could re-carpet for less. So I decided to go with the less expensive of the two super spendy rugs. Well for the total cost of the post, not in real life. I would love links in the comments to other neat rugs for my house, including a 5 foot by 2 foot rug if anyone can find one.

Total cost $952.00

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is pretty casual for our family. I can usually count on Janae to send me a "mother-heart" card based on the most annoying talk ever. This Mother's Day, Steve made me waffles for breakfast and surprised me by putting up curtains in the living room and kitchen after I went to sleep. I got a c.d. of inspirational hymns and a 100-grand candy bar at church. Steve and I are big fans of celebrating Mother's Day and Father's Day with each other, even though we're not parents. My mom doesn't really check my blog; she's much more interested in my sister's blog on account of the entries about the grandbaby. Still, this entry wouldn't be complete without recognizing my fantastic mother--Thanks! I love you, and I couldn't have made it this far without you!

Money Mondays on Tuesday

Well I was reading Jenna's bride blog this morning and it reminded me how much I love weddings. Melissa why don't you have a bride blog? Anyway it of course made me think of how great Claire looked in all wedding gowns which reminded me how much I wanted her to try on the Priscilla of Boston Platinum collection. What a fantastic and fancy collection. I thought I wanted a simple wedding dress, but the more I see other wedding dresses the more disappointed I am that I got a dress at the first place I went to. I remember hauling my fat pregnant but to all these cute wedding dress places and wishing that I could try them on too. I know- I am very selfish.
One time when I was talking about it John said "Honey, we can get you another wedding dress after the baby is born." These words thrilled my pregnant mind and I still haven't forgotten them. So this week's Money Mondays will feature my new wedding dress. I will get a Priscilla of Boston wedding gown. Melissa should come visit here in Philadelphia and check them out. I knew at the time of my wedding that I wanted an empire waist dress so how about this fantastic one from Priscilla's? Of course it was the sparkly fun of the one on the right that really drew me to the line in the first place. Everyone should feel free to find me a dress and post a link to it in the comments. Then I will post about the winning dress on my blog next week. I am so chubby right now though that I don't think I would look so great in these dresses. There is one dress from Melissa Sweet I really like. Of course the person who picks the best second wedding dress for me will win a prize.
Total Cost? over $5000.00

wtf?

Well I have a card that I got when Claire was visiting- it only has three letters on it "WTF" which adds to it's appeal and also renders it useless. Who can I send such a card to? Maybe someone I am frustrated with? Or a famous person I like to fight with who will remain nameless here? Can you send someone a card like this and maintain a friendship or make it funny? Also is it irreligious? Another great card that I have is from carolleedesigns.etsy.com and says "why can't you be more like your sister?" How fantastic is that? Also which one of my sisters would I send it to? It remains in my newly acquired letter organizer with some cards that I will never be able to give away but thought were so fabulous that I bought them. Having cards you couldn't really give or sign if you did give is quite difficult- you would be surprised. At what point can you send someone a "WTF?" card- for not posting to a blog that we have invited them to see? For forgetting an anniversary or birthday? For never coming to visit? For forgetting baby wipes? (because then John could send me a million of those things). I guess some of these cards- like little delightful bad thoughts, are just stored in my white letter box. That way I can look at them whenever I am frustrated and feel that same rush- just imagine if I finally sent the "love is never having to say you're sorry" or "hope your having an upped my meds type of day" to someone and really showed them how I feel. Or how I felt. For about two minutes before I opened up the white file box and had a healthy dose of reason mixed with shame restrain my impulsive card sending.
Just keep storing it up kids.

Money Monday

I want something to clean the floors of my new place, aka, a vacuum.

Hoover WindTunnel Self-Propelled Bagged Upright Vacuum - U6439900

$229.00

• Upright vacuum cleaner makes cleaning easy with self-propelled action
• Uses HEPA filtration
• Includes an on-board crevice tool, upholstery nozzle, dusting brush and 2 extension wands
• Deluxe stretch hose and 31’ power cord for easy reaching
• 15" cleaning path



Click here!

Come see our rock climbing wall

Well John is making good progress on the rock climbing wall. It is so exciting that I had to post some pictures for everyone to see. I got the pictures before the addition of routes with tape! It is so exciting! John is doing a great job. I really miss having Steve here though because that was a great help. So Steve you are officially invited back to help put up the other side and maybe panels at the bottom. Wouldn't that be exciting? I guess your wife can come too. :-) John is going to get a crash pad for father's day, which we are probably celebrating today. Hooray for holidays! I am really excited for mother's day. Actually we are partially celebrating that today as well. I am getting a few hours to myself. My sister in law Kathryn knew someone who doesn't have to watch the kids and gets a "day off" on mother's day. So she decided she wanted that. I think I want to do that as well- no cleaning no kid watching etc. It is more difficult that Mother's day is always on a Sunday though- maybe we will celebrate my mother's day on Saturday and our mothers' mother's day on Sunday. But with my birthday that week it would be an exhausting schedule of partying. Hopefully we will be able to make it. And hopefully everyone will be able to make it out to Philly to come see our rock climbing wall (and finally get to New York) P.S. if you need to buy rock climbing holds atomik climbing is a great option.

Moving

Ok, so I was supposed to move today. After work Melissa and I went up the Harmon property management, gave them the first months rent, and got the keys. We then went and did a walk though of the place taking note of some things and planning on where to put some of our stuff. We had to go, Melissa had work, and I needed to watch Lord of the Rings with Jeremy for a while... Anyway, I started packing my stuff in boxes (throwing everything into something resembling a pile in random boxes). If you don't understand my packing, just ask Jeremy, he doesn't understand either and he helped the whole time... Well, I finally got it all packed up and loaded in the truck and trailer (about half of my room, the truck wasn't full). Carol, Jeremy and I then headed off to Fedex to visit Melissa for a bit, then we went to my new place. When we got there the door wouldn't open, the keys weren't right. The locks had been changed after we got the keys to the place (around 12:40) and when we started moving junk in (around 7). I was pissed. I called Harmon, got their msg system. Knocked on a few doors and found someone home, I then asked for the maintenance number for Harmon, which turned out to be virtually worthless. Anyway, I called both numbers and left messages. I decided to have a locksmith (Jeremy) open the door for me (after calling Billco); it took him about 3 seconds a lock, now that's impressive. So, we got in there and found that the sink drain was dripping, the electricity was on (didn't take long at least), and there were dings and dents in the wall that Melissa and I didn't see on our first pass (no electricity first time through). Anyway, all and all I hate Harman and I haven't even moved a box in yet. I had to go back home and cover my stuff with a tarp (Jeremy actually covered it). I hate moving...