table for two: January 2009

Friday, January 30, 2009

Holy Cow!

Did you hear about the new house that they bought? Holy flippin cow! Am I the last person to hear about this? It's fricking HUGE! Almost makes me want to have eight kids so we can buy a farm style mansion with our big FAT check from TLC!

Sidenote: I always wanted to be on TLC's A Wedding Story. sigh.

Wednesday night I treated my ladies to a big pot of chili and homemade cornbread. What did I ask of them in return? Why nothing! Except for a little addressing, sealing and stamping of 100 special letters. I thought it was a pretty good deal. They ate for free and our special recipients won't get letters addressed to them by a First Grade Teacher.

Now thats a pretty darn good deal, wouldn't you say?

(Thanks girls...I'll have some more chili ready in March for the next round of special letters. Mwahahaha...)

I've been a bad, bad blogger. I know. I promise to be better.

Love,
E

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Favorite Things - Week Four

This weeks favorite thing is actually one of Nathan's favorite things, but I'm just as much a believer as he is.

Have you ever known someone that practically eats ketchup with a spoon? Well, I live with someone like that and it's not Sampson. Nate has a true love for ketchup. I used to always buy the regular Heinz kind but when we moved to Ann Arbor the "green" bug bit me and I switched over to a lot of natural products. Anything that makes up a majority of our menu is usually all natural. So...milk, eggs, chicken...you get the picture. Well, Natie's favorite thing to add to any meal is ketchup, so I bought this kind on a "If you're going to eat it so much, its going to be all natural. Get used to it." Okay, maybe it was more like "Hey, check out this new ketchup that I'm sure you're going to loooove!!!!" So, he was a good sport and tried out the new stuff...and he hasn't looked back since. He swears it's the best ketchup he's ever had...so, this weeks favorite thing is Annie's All Natural Ketchup. I'm fairly certain you can find this in a lot of supermarkets unlike last weeks yogurt that is harder to find but soooo delicious! Enjoy...

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Too Many Choices...

I love you.

and you.

AND I love you TOO!

This registry thing is SO hard! How are you supposed to choose not only the dishes you'd like but also how many, what shade....GAH! And silverware. Shape, style, weight, amount...Don't even get me started!

I use to love looking at peoples registries. Except this summer when I went the easy route with cash in cards...maybe I should take a peek at those 9 registries for some hints on what we need! I think it tells so much about couples. Especially the bedding sections! I think the alltime best registry I ever looked at was Laura Morgans. It SCREAMED LM...monkeys and frogs galore! And I have had a first hand look at their bathroom...it was quite the jungle...there was even a giraffe to hold my engagement ring on it's neck while I showered!

I'll let you know if we ever finish registering - so you can critique us of course!

Crash Hot Potatoes

Made these last night for dinner. They were so delicious! Might just be one of my favorite Pioneer Women recipes ever...and I absolutely LOVE her Lasagna!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Power of Prayer

Nate thinks it's so odd that I feel connected to people I've never met through blogs. I know that it's not just me; many other blogging friends and even those cute little lurkers out there feel connected to strangers through their blogs as well. Whether I'm finding great recipes or just giggling over a funny story, I really enjoy finding new and interesting blogs.

I recently found Kelly's blog through another favorite wedding blog of mine. If you believe in the power of prayer, please say one for her little girl Harper. I can't stop thinking about this sweet baby girl and her worried family. Be strong Miss Harper!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Maybe

if I buy these I'll actually get my Christmas thank you's in the mail. Sorry to anyone deserving a thank you note...I promise, I'm trying to get them out!

Damsel in a Dress

I have this on my fingernails right now. I love it. Nate thinks my nails look funny with polish on them. I love it. April, my sister-in-law, let me paint my nails with this at Thanksgiving and then surprised Becky and I with a bottle at Christmas. Did I mention that I love it? You can buy all Essie products online which I didn't know! The quality is just great! I'm thinking Blushing Bride might be perfect for a certain day coming up...in less than five months!!!!

Favorite Things - Week Three

Nate and I discovered Rachel's yogurt about six months ago when we were wandering the aisles of Whole Foods one day. My absolute favorite is the CALM - Plum Honey Lavender. Although it's a bit pricier than other yogurts it's worth it for the exotic, natural and delicious taste!

Rachel's yogurt actual started in the United Kingdom and made its debut in America just a couple years ago. I have to admit, knowing that it began in Wales makes the price that much easier to swallow! Have I ever mentioned that although I am quite the "mutt" I have direct lines Wales through my maternal great-grandfather Grandpa Doc! In fact, my mom's cousin who she and my Aunt Mary visited this past spring are hopefully coming from Wales to our wedding this May!

So...try some Rachels if you can find it...you won't regret the interesting variety and super delicious taste!

P.S. Did you notice last weeks "Favorite Things" snuck into this weeks picture? Sneeky wash cloths!

***Update***My Aunt Collie just informed me that my paternal side is part Welsh as well! I just love blogging...it brings out such interesting things! :) Thanks, Col!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Did you order yours yet? We did. Can't wait to eat our favorite ones...frozen thin mints. Divine.

Thank you Necco for your Twilight inspired conversation hearts. Might have to buy a box or two just to support the cause...of Twilight that is.

Promise, last Twilight post. For tonight anyway.

Is it wrong...

to be 25 and buying dolls?

Buy Your Ticket

It's official. Nate just Fandangoed movie times for us tonight and the following words left his mouth:

New Moon comes out on November 20th.

Carm and Jenny...buy your plane tickets, we're going opening day. I don't know where we're meeting. But we're going. Wanna come LaGina? :)

Is it November yet?

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Durh.

Last night I was telling Nathan about this great story my Aunt Collie had sent me. (Thanks, Col!) It's about an elephant named Tara and a dog named Bella that are the best of friends. Well, they both live on in an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. Nate was curious as to how they keep the elephants contained since they really deserve a large area of roaming grounds. I assured him that the elephants had plenty of room to roam. He asked if I remembered how large the santuary was. I said "I think it's at least 22,000 miles across."

Durh.

You really should watch the story. It's so sweet. Tara and Bella.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Favorite Things - Week Two

One of my favorite things to use since I got them at Christmas are these cute little numbers. They are homemade washclothes that my mom hand knit from bright yarn colors. She's given us a few before but they were white. My sister-in-law April spotted similar cloths in funky colors at a cute little shop in Iowa during one of our many family wedding weekends. She asked my mom if she could make them for us in bold colors instead of white so we all got a nice box full at Christmas! They are so soft and they wash really well. I've been trying to get my mom to open a little shop on Etsy to sell her sweaters and washclothes...don't you think she'd do well? Maybe that will inspire her to open up shop!!!

One Foot Under...

Whoa! I can't believe it's been a week since my last post. Yikes!

We spent the weekend in a winter wonderland. From Friday afternoon through Saturday night we must have seen at least a foot of fresh snow fall. It was pretty, but made for a pretty boring weekend.

Nate was excited to try out his new coat that he got for mountaineering. A dream that I know he WILL fulfill someday! Until then, it keeps him mighty warm even when he's shoveling in this kind of weather...

I will add more of the pictures when blogger stops acting up on me...tomorrow maybe?

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Shout out...

to Meghan for our new blog picture! The barn roof is really tiled that way. Isn't that neat? Thanks Meghan!

Favorite Things

I had a request to continue my "Favorite Things" during the rest of the year. Each Sunday night I will feature one of my favorite things...until I run out of them!

The first thing I'd like to share with you is Etsy.com

I've been shopping on Etsy since 2005. Basically it's a website for talented people allowing them to sell their handmade items to others. You can find anything from purses to stained glass.

There are thousands of sellers to browse through...but here are some of my favorites!

aj&co. A favorite purchase from them was this.

Madbags I've had many purses custom made by her and they were lovely. I had this made for Evie.

Lake Erie Beach Glass I bought a few items for friends. They were beautiful!

Stylish Mode Great and funky headbands!

Rissa's Cheesecakes Nathan's sister has here own Etsy Shop as well. She sells delicious cheesecakes! The cheesecake bites are amazing!

Until next week...

New Years with the Zyducks

We headed to Deerfield, IL for the annual Zyduck/Szymaszek Family Christmas. We had a nice time visiting with everyone. I kept forgetting to take pictures, so here are just a few snapshots of our weekend.

Mimi and Papa checking out their 2009 calendars.

New sweaters for the girls

The ladies with newly engaged Marissa. We were listening to the following...

These boys made up the "wedding committee" planning all different elements of Marissa and Pat's upcoming nuptuals. From laser favors to the Rocky themed vows. Yo, Marissa.

Pancakes

Nate makes the best pancakes ever. I usually only buy organic syrup for us to eat with pancakes all year long. For Christmas I broke down and bought Mrs. Butterworths as a special treat. He swears it tastes better than any natural/organic/expensive/cheap/any other kind of syrup. I can't tell the difference.

I always appreciate these pancakes in the morning...yum!