Weekend Update: July 4th!

We had a great, busy and fun weekend. Friday started off with a trip to The Cove for dinner and a walk around the dock at sunset. It was a beautiful night.

Saturday I spent the afternoon with my friend Bethany, lounging at her parents pool and eating picnic food. The evening involved a bridal shower for my cousin's fiancee.

Mum, Rach & me at the shower.

Sunday Josh and I were on for worship band in the AM. The rest of the day we laid low, napped and enjoyed a relaxing night together.

July 4th was spent at our good friends' (and wedding videographer/photographer duo) Dave & Danielle's new home. There was lots of good food, great friends and beautiful sun.

My adorable niece!

Yummy picnic food.

Festive cake pops by Danielle! They looked and tasted awesome!

A little puppykins!

Two of my favorite men! My hubs and my dad!

These lights with pom-poms and lanterns were strung all over their backyard.

Chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow cream frosting made by me!

Strawberry cake pop!

Boat ride thanks to our friend Aaron!!

Oh, yes...the weekend was filled with good times. Except...one...bad...time...

Yep. My iPhone fell (I had it sitting on top of the car while I got my keys out)...face-down...onto gravel. Ugh. I would have probably screamed and let some bad words fly out had we not been in public or had my great-aunt not been in the car with us. But. I cried. Expressed my concern of telling Josh (he's been pretty easy going about the whole thing). But man. I'm so sick about it. There's like, no way to fix the iPhone 4 front damage easily, either. And if there was any chance of this being covered by the one year warranty...well, it's been one year and one month. So, yeah, not looking good.

Anyway. The weekend was great other than the iPhone incident. Hope you all had great times with family and friends. I'm ready for another day off and more picnicking!

a father's day (early) post

My dad is the best dad ever. I know, I know, everyone says that. But really. It's my dad.

My dad is creative, musical, artistic, hilarious and my best friend. We have always had a special bond; me helping him fix things, handing him his tools, playing Legos with him. I've had the privilege of working side by side with him in our Children's Church program (Captain Bill and Volley Galore!) and singing and dancing beside him at various concerts.

We have a sense of humor that engulfs us (and my sister) to tears while the "Americans" (mom, Brian and now Josh) look at us like we're nuts. My dad is supportive of me and is always there when I need him. I know he prays for Josh and I, that we would be happy, successful, blessed and fulfilled in life. He has been a great father and leader of our family.

Happy Fathers Day to my dad! I love you, Daddio! I will always be your little Ame.

easter weekend

our Easter was a pretty simple ordeal.

i made cake balls - chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and white vanilla candy coating.

Josh and I slept in late Friday and lounged around until our church's Good Friday service.

Easter Sunday we had church then spent the afternoon at his gram's house.

 look at my sexy husband!

this is max. Josh calls him maxi-pad.

 not sure why i made this face.

much better.

Josh's birthday cake...balls.

 max wants one!

Josh and Olivia, the cutest dog ever!

i hope you all had awesome times with family and friends, lots of food and lots of love!!

easter week

if you're in Erie and looking for somewhere to go this Easter...

and don't forget about the Good Friday Service, April 22 6:30pm @ Grace McKean.

 prayer | worship | communion

 

 

http://whoisgrace.com/

happy valentine's day!

happy valentine's day, lovely blog readers! i hope you have a fun time planned with family, friends or a loved one.

when josh and i first started dating, we selected valentine's day to be our "anniversary" so we wouldn't have to remember or celebrate twice. it was also our first "real" date, so it worked on many levels.

now that we're married, we both have agreed that gifts and going out for a fancy dinner aren't really necessary for valentine's day, so i'm planning a relaxing night at home with homemade sauce and meatballs, fresh italian bread (not baked by me, i just don't feel like it) and something scrumptious for dessert (chocolate melting cakes). we did get each other little gifts (slippers for me, chocolates i bought for him and ate most of) and cards (haven't exchanged them yet), but i'm just looking forward to spending the evening with my handsome husband!

if you're still searching for something fun to make for valentine's day, here are a few decadent sweets from some of my favorite foodie blogs:

cakepop kisses from bakerella
oreo truffle kisses from bakerella
red velvet whoopie pies from annie's eats
conversation heart cookies from annie's eats
white and dark heart brownies from smitten kitchen
beautiful strawberry tart from cafe fernando
the best chocolate mousse of your life under 5 minutes from cafe fernando

Lisa Jones Studio

have a great valentine's day!

spice cupcakes & cream cheese frosting

for Thanksgiving, i made cupcakes. i used this recipe here Applesauce Spice Cupcakes, but didn't have enough applesauce for a double batch so i added some vegetable oil. they weren't quite as moist as i would have liked, but they still turned out good. i also didn't have any nutmeg and might have added too much clove.

for the frosting, i used one of my favorites - Robin from Big Red Kitchen's browned butter cream cheese frosting. the first time i ever made this (two years ago) it turned out perfect. this time, i burned the butter and had to restart. then, i didn't really brown it enough and i made way too much so i had a massive container left over (and had to make brownies to use some of the rest of it).

all in all the cupcakes were still delish and eaten up, though i did end up throwing a few away after they sat for several days being uneaten.

brownie recipe was found online, something random that didn't need butter but used oil (had no butter). still turned out pretty decent, not quite as moist and fudgy as i prefer.

holy holidays!

and just like that, christmas is over! always goes so quickly and leaves me depressed for the rest of the winter...until valentine's day and my birthday show up, then spring and summer and vacations then fall and holidays again! oh, how the time flies (and even more so as we get older it seems...)

christmas was as enjoyable as ever this year. christmas eve morning was spent with the newer tradition of breakfast with the SKANK girls and a secret santa gift exchange. staci had me and got me a new volleyball (yay!), a Rachael Ray cookbook and a cute "our first christmas" ornament. love all the gifts from her! the rest of christmas eve was spent prepping for the following day's dishes i was bringing as well as our service at church and celebrations with Josh's family including more fun gifts, ornaments and gift cards and lots of food. Josh and i also exchanged our gifts to each other. he had already bought me my awesome laptop a few months ago when mine broke. he also bought me some ornaments (very special because he's been commenting that we have enough ornaments, but got me some anyway b/c he knows how much i love it!). he also got me some cookie cutters, a new brita water filter, chapsticks, teas and an awesome travel mug!

okay, okay, i know you all don't care about my gifts, but i was truly blessed. i should point out that i received another Rachael Ray cookbook as well as a 7-piece set of knives (including holder). i gave our major set and my three-piece away to my mum (since their knives suck).

we spent Christmas evening at Josh's aunt's house with his dad's side of the family. Dec 26, boxing day for us Englishfolk, was spent at my "aunts" where we do Englishy things like eat cold meat, more trifle, millions of desserts, drink tea and watch football (um, real football. soccer, that is. seriously, american football should be renamed).

currently i'm waiting for my cousin to come over so i can make breakfast and some coffee. my feet are cold but i don't feel like wearing socks.

okay! i'll try to post the dishes i made for christmas soon (which i never did for thanksgiving...whoops!)

update on life

things are busy and crazy here, which is actually a little unusual for the holiday season. business is usually slower as many customers are on vacation and many of our vendors have weeks off b/w christmas and new years. however, we are fairly busy, which is good. just helps to propel us into the holiday season and vacation time of my own!

i'm very excited for the holiday this year. josh and i decorated our tree together and i'm excited to spend vacation days and holidays with him and his family. plus we have our new baby Chloe (okay, she's almost 9 months...not really "new" anymore), but Christmas should be so fun with her! plus my sister's in-laws are joining us for the holiday, so we'll have a full table which is going to be great. isn't Chloe the cutest ever?? i mean, really, she is. photo by rachel (www.puremotif.com).

other things going on:

• i was rear-ended after leaving work last week. it turns out my car is totaled, though worth more than i thought. the prospect of getting a new car is very exciting (i've had my sweet civic Genevieve...or Guinevere...i can't remember what i named her...for almost 8 years now). josh and i plan on looking in the next few days for a new mode of transportation! we knew my car wasn't going to last too much longer, but this was definitely sooner than anticipated.
• next weekend is our SKANK girls weekend (staci, kristen, amy, nicole & katie). we are going to Staci's mother-in-law's cabin in Chautauqua and i'm very excited! we are planning on hitting up some wineries, hanging out with games and movies and making a Mexican themed dinner one of the nights.

i guess that is about it for now, there are many holiday things going on that are exciting (to me) but not really post-worthy!

thanksgiving wrap-up

i'll start this post off with saying that i severely overate this holiday. at least three nights i was laying in bed feeling utterly full and not wanting to roll to my side or my stomach for fear of it bursting. not a good feeling and i'm really NOT proud of myself for that!! i'm hoping i can cut out the overeating, start up the exercising (hey, i did do wii fit [once] last week) and shed a few pounds before the remainder of the holidays. it's either that or a new wardrobe and i know josh won't like that option (hey, and neither do i).

josh and i had a great Thanksgiving at his Gram's house. they are cooking fiends there - when josh's mom cooks, she cooks for the thousands. no one will go hungry! of course everything was amazing a delicious, with josh's mom & gram's turkey, stuffing, mashies, gravy and many vegetables, not to mention josh's sister-in-law's yummy yams w/ marshmallows and green bean casserole. later in the evening we stopped over at my aunt & uncle's where my parents, cousin and great uncle were still hanging out. josh and i hung out with Bekah and had fun playing ping pong and rock band. i made a few yummy desserts for the occasion (Spice Cake [with applesauce] Cupcakes with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and some brownies [to use the leftover frosting]). everything was yummy though we have several cupcakes and lots of brownies still leftover. josh and i discussed just pitching them [since i'm most likely to eat them all...] stay tuned for pics and recipe links in a later post...

anyway, we had a great weekend with family, some of my girlfriends &  their hubbies came over Friday night and Saturday was a great day of Christmas movies, decorating and lounging. could not have asked for a better holiday, though i must say i'm not ready to be back at work!!

(i think our tree could use a few more ornaments...)

t-day holiday plans

so what does everyone have planned for this glorious holiday weekend? i can't believe it is already here! josh and i have some fun friend & family events plus lots of R&R i hope!

our/my plans include:

wednesday:
getting out of work early, grabbing an early christmas present for Josh, baking Spice Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting and relaxing in-between laundry and cleaning.
thursday:
SLEEPING IN!!! thanksgiving dinner with Josh's family @ his gram's house, then stopping to see my family around dessert if there is time. not sure if we need to see Josh's other gram in there too.
friday:
SLEEPING IN!!! that's right - no early AM black friday shopping for me. probably need to make a trip to the liquor store, then cooking, cleaning and getting ready for some fun with friends coming over to our place in the evening. maybe i'll do some online shopping in the afternoon.
saturday:
more sleeping in of course. planning on a big yummy breakfast with Josh (eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns, coffee), christmas movies & music, hot chocolate and decorating the tree. we don't have a big tree (or a lot of ornaments & other decorations...) so i doubt it will take long. i'm excited to start new traditions decorating our place together. we both are on for band at church this weekend, so we have practice in the evening.
sunday:
i assume this day will be dedicated to church and naps. possibly out to the east side to visit my parents and help put up their tree like i do every year.


i hope you all have a great holiday and remember all the things you are thankful for this year! i'm thankful for an understanding family who gives me no grief on spending thanksgiving dinner w/ my husband's family. i'm thankful for his family, who loves and accepts me right in. i'm thankful for friends, food and fun-and combining that all together to form a great evening. i'm thankful for my flexible job and days off! i'm ever so thankful for my amazing, talented, loving, caring and super-fun husband to spend the holiday (and days off) with. happy thanksgiving!

halloween decorations

i love getting Real Simple tips and recipe emails in my inbox (though i get them like 10x a day and it does get a little overwhelming at times).

this is my fav from my latest email - "9 Halloween Decorations for Under $35." i wonder if Josh would let me have this since it wouldn't be "in the house" exactly...

 

halloween doormat

$16.99 at HSN

unfortunately sold out :(

valentine's day foods

like i posted last week, i made dinner for Josh and i for valentine's day. i made my famous homemade lasagna (ok, it's not famous, but my mom likes it!) and some ooey gooey delicious brownies thanks to Robin's recipe at Big Red Kitchen.

excuse my pictures, i seem to be losing talent in the photography area :( i better start taking more pics! actually, i should have photographed the cut brownies and used my fancy flash (as i got it a year ago on v-day!). but, alas, i did not. so here you are.

i've only made lasagna two times, but i've used the same basic recipe for each. my sauce is based off of my Gramma's sauce (her parents were both 100% Italian and she was famous in the family for her sauce and meatballs) and some other recipes i've found online. i like to make a meat sauce for lasagna and i've used ground turkey both times. i definitely like it, though i'll have to try ground beef next time to see which i prefer. i also used fresh basil and parsley this time, which was really great in the sauce. i don't like buying a bunch of fresh herbs for one dish, so i usually use the flakes, but i figured the occasion was special enough for it :). also, this time i used a big can of tomoato puree, a big can of crushed tomatoes and some chicken stock and water (last time i used a small can of each and some tomato paste. DEF like the puree & crushed cans better). i follow Gramma's tradition and added about a tablespoon of sugar and a bag of (i used 1/4 bag) Italian blend cheeses (that's right - right to the sauce). i let the whole thing simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour; not like you have to, but i definitely had the time.

the "brownies" were an awesome ending to the meal, with lots of gooey caramel and soft chocolate chips. the batter was a little dry (um, i lost some of the liquid in the microwave when it was melting...), and this caused them to crumble a lot after they were baked. when i make them again, i'll make sure to moisten the batter a little more.

we had a great valentine's day together, hanging around, eating and playing mario kart. we exchanged cards, didn't really do gifts (we each bought something at best buy last month and we called that our vday present! plus, i cooked, so that was part of my gift to him as well).

hope you all had a great valentine's day and a great week. i'm SO glad it's friday. i've been exhausted all week! tomorrow i get to meet up with my bridesmaids and they'll be trying on and purchasing their dresses for the wedding!! yay!!

v-day plans

i'm excited for valentine's day this year. josh and i already "gave" each other our presents (ok, really, we both bought things for ourselves at Best Buy and pretended like we gave them to each other. much easier). i'm staying at my aunt and uncle's* so i have access to there gigantic and amazing kitchen and their formal-ish dining room. i'm planning on lasagna for josh and i, plus i need to make some fancy Italian dessert and get some fancy yummy wine to go with it all. my guess is we'll watch a movie and eat all night, and that's fine with me!

writing that note about my "aunt and uncle" makes me really want to share the story of how my parents met. it is pretty amazing and i really think it could be made into a movie (although i'm sure it would get some embellishments...)

photo taken by josh for me during his trip to NY last year

*not really my aunt and uncle. mum's cousin and her husband. see post here.

holidayz!

my holiday has be great so far! i'm back to work for a few days (hopefully only two, but we'll see) and house-sitting at my sister's this whole week. josh doesn't have any lessons, so he'll be out early every day too! yippee! :)

Christmas was awesome - Christmas Eve morning we had our 2nd annual SKANK gift exchange & breakfast. then i sang at both our Christmas Eve services, then met Josh at his gram's house. it works out perfect for Christmas - we can attend pretty much all our family events together because nothing overlaps. Christmas Eve is at Josh's mum's house, then Christmas early afternoon at my mum's, evening at Josh's other gram's and Boxing Day (day after Christmas) we spend with some of our "English" family (my mum's cousin and her English hubby).

before we ate our "early dinner" Christmas afternoon, i read this passage in honor of Gramma Betty Jane Koos, who passed in June of this year. she would read "My Utmost for His Highest," by Oswald Chambers daily - and if you looked in her worn book, you would see the notes she kept in there - marking our birthdays every year, when we'd leave for trips to England, when family members had surgeries or past away. Gramma was an amazing and godly woman, and i wanted us to stop and remember her and Christ on His birthday.

His Birth in History. ". . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.

i had a great time this Christmas and got some fun gifts - Bethany & I exchanged first, the week before christmas, but everything she got me i had picked out and knew about already, haha. Josh bought me new perfume that i wanted, Nicole - my secret SKANK santa got me some new sharpie fine points (LOVE!) and two books - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters. very excited about both of these books. sissy & bri got me a cute tote, sweater and socks, mum and dad bought me a variety of cute things (including a GIANT book of Jane Austen novels, chocolate, new mugs, earrings, Sims3 World Adventures and some other fun things). Also received a bunch of bridal stuff from my Aunt, some gift cards, and of course - cash!

i'm excited for the rest of the week to be relaxing (we were running around all weekend). we don't have much planned but one New Year's Eve party we were invited to, but other than that i was planning on celebrating the two of us and doing pretty much nothing all day!

hope everyone had an awesome Christmas with family and friends!

holidays!

i hope everyone had an awesome holiday and vacation! of course, it went too quickly, but it was great nonetheless.

we had a great Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt and uncle's house. lots of food, watching The Office wedding, Rock Band and ping pong. I made a Chocolate Chocolate Chip bundt cake (Daisy Sour Cream Recipe - good though a little too rich/dark chocolate for my tastes), Veggie Casserole (broccoli, carrots & cauliflower - lost the recipe so i did this from memory and was still good!) and Corn Pudding thanks to Big Red Kitchen's awesome recipe.

my sister's baby shower is coming up in little over a month!! mum asked me to make cupcakes for it. i made some awesome ones for a baby shower earlier this year and i plan on doing the same ones. i believe they were lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting and i piped "baby" in white chocolate (in blue and pink - they weren't finding out the sex until the birth). mmm can't wait!!

mid-month mess-up

ah, bethany coined that lovely phrase. we're on day 15 of Making the Cut and both of us failed pretty miserably this weekend. i mean, it could have been worse, but...

time to get back on track for this week. i suffered (suffered is NOT the correct term. indulged is probably better) the weekend due to a wedding, birthdays, memorial day fun, and spending most of my time at Josh's, leaving the option for cooking unavailable. but, i had a great weekend, got some sun yesterday, hung out with family most of the weekend, and had a lot of fun.

yesterday i made a "picnic" for Josh and i which we ate at the beach. we were going to fly a kite, but both of us didn't feel like going to buy one, though when we hit the beach and felt the wind i think we were both a little bummed we didn't get one. we both got a little sun, which is awesome, then hung out with bri & rach for the rest of the day, indoors, playing video games (and eating more unhealthy food *sad face*). Josh was there keeping me accountable to my diet, or try to, but i wasn't very responsive.

fun spot by the pretty grass and soft, warm sand

look at that cute boy!


chicken salad croissants, pasta salad, and fruit salad!
a day of salads, but not the healthiest of salads...


windy. i love us!

oh! and i forgot to mention one of the best parts of the weekend. Saturday night Josh offered to drive us around the Peninsula, and on our way back out we stopped at Waldameer. it was pretty busy due to the holiday and impending fireworks, but we rode the Tilt-a-Whirl and the Scrambler (there were no lines on the rides though!), and it was seriously so much fun. we were laughing so hard, i loved it! :)