Our First Anniversary

Happy New Year! I'm hoping to shock everyone with a new post. I'm on vacation this week so it's the least I can do. Plus, I need to commemorate a special occasion. Edwin and I celebrated one year of marriage yesterday! Very exciting!

Backing up a bit, we had a fabulous time in Wisconsin over Christmas and New Years. It was such a good time, in fact, that our bodies couldn't handle it and both of us came down with bad colds. Edwin stayed home on Friday, and the past 3 days have been the laziest in recent memory. We watched lots of movies (Dark Knight Rises, Looper, Liberal Arts & Beasts of the Southern Wild- we liked 'em all) and took naps. Thankfully, R&R is what the doctor ordered and we are on the mend. 6 boxes of Kleenex, 2 bags of cough drops and many glasses of water later. Yikes. 

We shelved some of our anniversary plans because of our colds, but we still had a wonderfully special day. We're still planning to go to a great Italian restaurant on South Congress once we're fully healed and can taste everything. In the morning, Edwin made me bacon and peanut butter banana pancakes. Delicious! We exchanged mushy cards and then watched our wedding video and read our guest book. We cried. Well, I cried- Edwin claims his eyes were watery because of the cold. I kid, I kid. We had so much fun remembering our wedding and reflecting on our first year of marriage. We deem it a great success! 

Later in the day we made a fabulous dinner. Cooking together is one of our very favorite things- especially while munching on good bread and cheese. We had steak and mushroom & pea risotto. Delicious!! After dinner we got fancied up and went out for dessert and bubbly. Edwin had chocolate creme brulee and I had chocolate marscapone pie. Both were excellent. 

It was a wonderful way to celebrate our first anniversary. 

Flip flops in December?!

I like the weather, but it doesn't exactly make it feel like Christmas! Last week of classes, and then I'm off for a full 5 weeks!! In just over 2 weeks we'll be in Wisconsin, and we'll hopefully get all the cold weather we want!

Halloween 2012

I have to say, Halloween is not something I look forward to every year. In college, and still today, it was always kind of a pain coming up with a costume every year. Last minute-don't want to buy a nice costume-i'll look in my closet to see what I can make-kind of thing. Last year Edwin and I set the bar high with our homemade Flinstones costumes. This year we moved the bar back down. Last night we went to our friend Alan's party- hence the need for costumes.  I have to say I was pretty pleased with our last minute, low budget costumes. 

  I was a deviled egg. Edwin was a geek. 

Leigh is amazingly crafty and made these costumes!!!! WITH NO SEWING MACHINE!!! 

Just iron on tape. That is skill. 

Edwin and I had a lot of fun taking pictures of him in character. Please enjoy :) 

That's all folks! We have not bought any candy, nor do we expect any trick or treaters. 

I'd say our Halloween is over for this year! 

super easy no-bake energy bites

I interrupt this regularly scheduled lull in our blog to bring you a great recipe!! I found this gem on Pinterest (where else) and have made them a few times. They are best cold and work great as a mid-morning snack! Best of all, they taste like they should be dessert! I've changed up the recipe a bit depending on what we have, but here's the original (via http://gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/)

1 cup dry oatmeal
2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes (I don't add these)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I'm out of these now so I use craisins)
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix everything up, refrigerate for 1/2 hour, and then form into little balls. Easy, peasy!!

Catch-up

Time to play catch up! Here's a sampling of the past few weeks: 

Sweet Brady at Andrea's band concert

In Wisconsin, I got to celebrate my birthday which was very exciting!! 26! Can you believe it??? That sounds dangerously close to 30 :) 

When I came back from Wisconsin, I found these beautiful flowers! My wonderful husband planned a fabulous birthday for me. The day after I got back, on Saturday, I went to get pampered, ala Edwin's planning. When I arrived at the boutique they said they had something for me. Edwin had left me a bottle of wine to enjoy with a sweet note. Don't worry, I didn't drink it all! I got my eyebrows threaded (amazing), a facial and my makeup done. So fun. 

Edwin got his wisdom teeth taken out on August 24th. He started at the dentist, where they took out 2 1/2 wisdom teeth. The 3rd tooth broke off and Edwin saw it fly across the room. He knew he was in for a long evening. They sent him to the closest oral surgeon to finish the job. I was at training for my new internship, so our wonderful friends Ted & Leigh brought Edwin to the surgeon and kept him company until I got there. That Friday night was pretty rough on the pain front, but things gradually improved. Lots of mashed potatoes, chicken broth, jello and pudding. Edwin is now nearly fully healed and the doc says things are lookin good.  

Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Houston to visit Edwin's family. We spent lots of time with Jafet, who is a very sweet and energetic little boy. On Saturday Edwin's mom made pupusas, which are a Salvadorian treat, and we all went to a park. 

The semester started last week, and I'm easing into my fall schedule. I am loving my new internship as a Career Counseling Intern. I'm currently observing the other counselors, and am confident that I'm in the right spot. 

That's all for now! We've been watching the DNC the past 2 nights- Michelle was pretty great last night, huh?! Toodles!

Week in Wisconsin

I'm back in Texas, y'all!! I spent last week in Wisconsin and had a wonderful week. Here are some pics from Saturday and Sunday. I'll post the rest of the week later! 

The B man turned 3, which is just crazy. I just adore this little boy. So much joy and personality packed into one little body! 

During the week I kept Edwin up to date with lots of iphone pics. Here's one I sent of Adam and our delicious taco dinner. 

Grandma and Kate. This picture is so sweet! 

CATAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jenna came out as the victor. 

The fam 

The kiddos and the grandmas 

Chicken Rollatini

Edwin and I get a lot of our recipes from skinnytaste.com. Last night we made Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini and Mozzarella. It was SO GOOD!!! Here's the link: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/08/chicken-rollatini-stuffed-with-zucchini.html

Seriously, it was amazing. You roll up the chicken cutlet with shredded zucchini and mozzarella, then dip it in a mix of lemon juice and olive oil, and then in breadcrumbs. It tasted like restaurant quality!!