Anniversary

On Tuesday Doug and I celebrated our third anniversary! In the morning I surprised him with a candy bouquet (I forgot to take pictures before all the candy was removed from their skewers haha) and he surprised me with two dozen roses delivered in the middle of the day:

After work/school we went to Nana's Restaurant where I enjoyed a delicious risotto, braised veal, shrimp with red peppers. Yumminess! Doug ordered their house spaghetti with lamb meatballs. He said it tasted more like noodles in french onion soup than anything, hah! For dessert I had creme brulee and Doug had their homemade vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. The atmosphere was classy and the food, divine. What a wonderful day.

And what a better way to end the day than a few episodes of Monk.

Thanks, Doug!

Sewing Class

I took a 5 class course to learn how to use my sewing machine (good thing too - I didn't know it could do half the things I learned!). It's been super fun getting back into sewing. I posted some animal pillows I made earlier in the year and I've made "lots" more stuff but they are mostly all gifts so I can't post them yet haha. Anyway, here are some techniques I learned how to do in some of my classes:

ruffle one fabric while simultaneously attaching a non-ruffled piece 

insert a zipper

gather (without pulling threads by hand!)

sew knits together/make a neckline

insert buttonholes!

gather - using a cord (the cord would go on the back s you don't see it, duh...)

Half these things I can't actually do without buying the correct "feet" so if you're looking for something to get me, a gift card to Thimble Pleasures might be nice ;).

Sewing isn't the only thing I've been doing:

making artisan bread

and eating it!

to grow the little guy inside me :).
This is from 30 weeks - I'm now 32 weeks!
Holey moley!
Holy moly?
Holy moley??

Among Other Things

Among other things this week...such as being cited in the WSJ and co-authoring an article that will be published in the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural  Development later on... Doug's been a busy man. Right?

Everyone knows this is what Doug actually does all day:

Mario Teaser

Choose the 'Wrong'

That's all folks

I mean really, who gets published twice in one week?? Congrats, babe :).

Summer plans

Oh my goodness. Time is going by so stinkin' fast! I seriously feel like I don't have time to read all the blogs I want to, crochet fun things and play with my sewing machine, make the dinners I should, keep the house as clean as it needs to be, and make all of these baby-related decisions in 3 months (or less!)! Not to mention I haven't even looked at our budget this month... Maybe that has something to do with it's the end of March and I still accidentally write 2011 sometimes, that Doug's birthday/April/General conference is on Sunday, this belly keeps getting bigger without my permission, the groceries disappear before I can go shopping again, and that we'll be in NY for the summer in just over 6 weeks.

Does anyone else feel this way? It's a little exhausting.

Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited for everything that's going to happen in the next few months, it's just scary to think that maybe the next three months will go by just as fast as the last three months did.

So, on to the title of the post - want to know what we're doing this summer?? Because we finally do :).

source

Doug will work as an intern at GE in NY again. It's a relief to actually have the paperwork saying he's been officially offered the position so we can finally make plans. Granted, he still has to pass the drug screening...good luck, babe. We'll live at my parents' house (I bet they're super excited to have a super-pregnant woman live with them for a month and then a newborn for the month after that, haha - fortunately for them they can escape to the lakehouse after the kids finish school) and I'll have a baby (thought not at their house). Anything else? We'll stay in NY until the end of August and then move back to NC where Doug will start school again and I'll stay home with baby.

Sounds like a plan.

"Don't let's talk about that right now"

Listening to Gone With the Wind has been delightful. I love hearing phrases like, "Oh how you do run on!" or "Don't let's go home just yet." My favorite parts of the book by far are Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'Hara/Hamilton/Kennedy's conversations. Scarlet drives me nuts. I can't relate to her at all and would never be her friend in real life. Similarly, I don't think Rhett and I would ever get along, but he's the most fun and honest character despite what the other characters say about him.

Source

I'm almost 2/3s through the book (I'm on CD 27 of 41) and I started in the beginning of February haha. It is so long and boring in parts but Rhett makes the whole book worth it. Have any of you actually read the whole thing? What do you think?

Easy Peasy

Okay, how come no one told me making homemade macaroni and cheese is super duper easy? I've always tried fancy cheese/oven/casserole recipes when all I really wanted was the Kraft simplicity but authentic taste. Want to know the secret?

Cook & drain the pasta.

add some butter, 

add some milk, 

and add (instead of the package powdery stuff)

 grated cheese and enough flour so it's not runny.

Pepper & salt to taste.

Voila!

I know, it's not very specific. But that's why I love cooking vs. baking. And PS, I'm eating what's leftover this very minute and it still tastes delicious.

Want to know what other cooking adventures I've undergone this week? 

Can you see the basketball and MM's in celebration of March Madness??

recipe found here

These cabbage rolls would have been a perfect St. Patty's day food if I had thought that far ahead!

recipe found here minus the raisins - gross!!

Both of them were surprisingly easy! But not as easy as the mac 'n cheese.

Thankful

Today I am thankful for:

• a full pantry
• milk @ 2.88
• gas @ 3.65
• my sewing machine
• cute fabric
• scented candles
• hot water
• the company of friends
• work
• books which take me to other times and places
• Doug's sense of humor
• netflix
• homemade bread (which isn't made yet, just the thought and planning is enough haha)