Painting, Day 1

Today we started painting. It is now 7:35pm and so far we've completed my study and the powder room, and have prepped and taped our bedroom. I really like the color I finally decided on for my study; it's Benjamin Moore's Waynesboro Taupe and it really warms up the room. I wanted a slate gray originally, but then decided that the furniture in the room was too brown for such a cool color. It turned out really well and I'm happy with it.

Now we are just resting up before we go to Rumba for dinner and then catch the 10:40 showing of Sicko.

Onion Truck

After we picked Alex up from the airport on Thursday, we saw this truck carrying onions on the highway. I just thought it was an odd thing to see while driving along, so I took a picture. So many onions...

Family Wash

We had dinner at the Family Wash on Wednesday with my Mom. It's a restaurant in East Nashville that used to be a laundromat. The food was so good; I had mac n' cheese, Steph had shephard's pie, and my Mom had roast chicken. After 9pm they also have live music. When we were there the band was pretty good. The lead singer's name was "Soup"...interesting. They also have a great beer selection...lots of interesting belgian brews and all sorts of stuff I'd never heard of before. We liked it so much that we went back with Alex on Thursday night!

Pineapple

There is an incredible nursery at the Farmer's Market called Gardens of Babylon. They sell awesome plants and they also do landscaping (they are the ones who are going to terrace our backyard). On our most recent trip to the market, I purchased this pineapple plant. Isn't it adorable? Apparently it's pretty easy to propagate as well. Exciting. We also bought another hanging plant while we were there. For some reason we're suckers for hanging plants.

(Tuesday June 26, 2007)

Another picture of the crazy hotel

On Monday I took Steph to the Opryland Hotel so she could see how ridiculous it is for herself. Like I said, you can't fully appreciate it without seeing it. This is a picture of the Cascades section of the hotel. There are gardens, a river with a riverboat cruise you can take, and light shows at night. CRAZY!

(Monday June 25, 2007)

Opryland Hotel

My Mom is staying at the Opryland Hotel until July 4th. On Sunday I took her to check in and get stuff ready for the pastry conference. We waited in line for over an hour to check-in. Here is a picture of the commotion in the lobby. They have about a billion conferences going on at once and the place is overrun with horrible teenagers. I have so much disdain for teenagers; I don't know why...it wasn't that long ago that I was one myself. Opryland is like Disney World. It took about 20 minutes to find my Mom's room. There is simply no way I could accurately describe how enormous and garish that place is.

(Sunday June 24, 2007)

Guest room

(Saturday June 23, 2007)

My Mom came to stay with us for the weekend. She is actually in town until July 4th for a pastry conference, but she left to stay in the hotel where the conference is taking place. Here are some pictures of our guest room. It may look familiar to some of you as it is basically a replica of our bedroom at the old house. As is my way, I filled the room with flowers, chocolates, fluffy towels, and lots of soaps and such. I love that kind of stuff.

It was nice having my Mom stay with us. I woke up in the morning on Sunday and she was making scones. They were delicious. Steph never cooks, so it was nice to have someone cook for me.

July issue!

I got the June issue of Bon Appetit yesterday-- so exciting. I read it last night and I am looking forward to trying out some of the recipes. I love Bon Appetit-- seriously, I earmarked practically every page. I think first I may try out the grilled clams with linguine.

Andrew, have you gotten this issue yet? Which recipe are you going to make first? Tee hee, I love cooking!

Make my backyard nice NOW!

Yesterday we had a landscaper come out to talk to us about the backyard, as well as a pool contractor. Steph and I would really like a pool, but I don't know how much sense it makes. I want to talk to the realtor for our neighborhood and ask her how many properties in our neighborhood have pools and if it is good for resale values. In some places having a pool is an asset, but in other areas that's not really true. I also want to call the insurance company and ask them how our home insurance would change with a pool. Lastly, I want to get an idea of how much it costs per year to keep a pool up. I think it would be great and we would use it a lot, but I hesitate to make a major addition like that without thoroughly researching the matter. In landscaping news, we are going to terrace the back and build a patio as well. I think once the hardscape is finished we can take over from there.

It is frustrating because I want all of this to be done TODAY, but it is going to take forever. If we decide to do the pool, that needs to be done first. Then we can put in the fence (which we had planned to do first), and after that the hardscape. Basically, it will probably all be done a year or so from now. AHH!

But at least we're making progress indoors. Alex is coming next week to visit and she's agreed to help us paint!

Another successful Bon Appetit recipe

Tonight we had Sweet Pea and Artichoke lasagna for dinner, courtesy of the June issue of Bon Appetit. It was delicious-- very quick and easy to make. I substituted canned artichokes because I couldn't find any frozen ones. Also, I added fresh, whole peas in each layer (in addition to the pureed peas in the ricotta mixture) in order to vary the texture. Andrew, you should make this. It's a great vegetarian recipe for a weekday and an interesting departure from the typical lasagna.

Finally, some rain

There has been a draught for the past month or so. Usually it rains quite a bit in our fair state, but we haven't received a significant rainfall in over a month. Well, this afternoon it started POURING. I tried to capture the rain as best I could with the camera. It was pouring like this for about an hour and then it stopped just as suddenly as it started. The weather channel said we got about 1/2 an inch. That is very exciting to me because our grass looks like dead stalks despite watering almost daily. Andrew and Chad, how is your grass doing, by the way? The front looks good because it's Kentucky Fescue, but the idiot builder seeded with Rye in the back and it's not a heat-tolerant grass. Sad that I now know such things, I know. We've just decided to deal with it though for now because we're hoping to do some serious landscaping in the back and there's no point in rescuing the grass when it will just be pulled up in the near future for better things.

Chi Chi

When Frenchi Chi puts his ears up like this I just think it's the cutest thing ever.

Pet Insurance

We had the good sense to purchase Pet Insurance for the dogs when Steph first started working at Vanderbilt. Vandy provides a discount and with all the dogs we have, it seemed like a good deal. Well, I am glad we had the foresight to do so because now all of Beignet's medical bills from her surgery and such will be paid for by the insurance company. Here is a copy of the claim form I had to fax in.

Mt. Juliet

People in TN are really into washing their cars. There are seriously at least a dozen car washes within a mile radius of our house. I'm not kidding. My personal favorite is the Super Speed Wash. This one has more of a down home kind of feel though. And really, who doesn't love Mt. Juliet?

Sonic

We had lunch at Sonic, Nicole's favorite fast-food restaurant. It really is so much better than the other fast-food chains. They have pretty tasty mozzarella sticks.

Here is the menu, as visible from the car.

Basket O Cat

Winston likes to hang out in the magazine basket. He is super adorable. The babies love to munch on his head and yesterday he and Katie took a nap together. Beignet is convalescing in the bathroom, recovering from her surgery. She has shown little to no interest in the cat when she's been out, but maybe that will change once she's feeling better.

Bath Time

I gave Winston a bath today. He didn't like it, but he was pretty good about it. He's pretty timid about new things, noises, and people.

I WIN

For YEARS I have been trying to convince Steph that we should get a cat. But no, she hates cats. I kept telling her that if we had one, she would love it. So on the flight back home yesterday (morning), I stated my case as to why we should have a cat. I mean, really, how can we be card carrying lesbians without a cat? It just isn't right. Well, it worked and I convinced her. So yesterday we adopted this adorable kitten. He is between 8-12 weeks old and we've name him Winston. Steph is obsessed with him. She wants to cuddle with him all the time and just adores him. He's a little frightened of the dogs, but is doing well. Last night he slept with us on the bed. Hehe, I win!

On this post you can also see me watching Tivo-ed epsiodes of The View. So sad. I just can't stop Tivoing it and watching it though. It's a sickness. Steph took this picture.

The Big Day

Scott (right) and his twin brother, Keith, wait for Maggie to come down the aisle. I wish the pictures we took of Maggie had come out better...we had trouble taking action shots with the digital camera; they all looked blurry.

The Wedding Rehearsal

Maggie and Scott's wedding rehearsal was last night. This little cutie pie is Scott's sister's son, Jack. She has the most GORGEOUS kids. In addition to Jack, she has twin 2-year old girls. Scott has a twin too. They have a long history of multiples in their family. I wonder if Maggie will have twins.

Thursday's Post

Steph installed this lovely storm door all by herself. It took forever, but it is beautiful and I like having the extra light during the day. Also, I think it's very Southern and friendly to have the door open all day.

Wednesday's post

This is a pretty candle on our kitchen table. We got it on one of our Target runs. Target is such a fun store. I am especially fond of the dollar bins.

Another Bon Appetit recipe

Tonight I made the Indian Grilled chicken with grilled mangoes and mango jasmine rice from the May issue of Bon Appetit. It was SOOO GOOD! Andrew, you must make it immediately.

Capresso

This is Capresso, Steph's new best friend. We snagged this lovely esspresso maker from my parents' house. It makes the best lattes.

Sunday's post

I love Crocs! I have a new obsession with them. I had four pairs, but now I have three because Beignet ate one of them. OH!!!

STACKED CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH SALSA VERDE AND CHEESE

As a gift to myself, and to inspire me to cook at home more often, I got a subscription to Bon Appetit last month. I found about 4 recipes in this month's issue that I want to try. Last night I made the first of these recipes, a variation on chicken enchiladas. It was delicious. Making the salsa was a little more involved than I would have preferred, and I substituted pulled grilled chicken instead of roasted chicken, but it was delicious and I would definitely make it again. Here is a picture of Steph enjoying the fruits of my labor.

If you'd like the recipe, go here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/238505

whiskey sours

Last night I made whiskey sours with fresh sour mix. They were delicious. We sat on the deck with some neighbors, had some drinks, and talked. Good times. Gentleman Jack is, in my opinion, the best whiskey for whiskey sours. It isn't too expensive and it tastes good with the sour mix.

(Friday June 1, 2007)

Help!

We've had all these paint chips hanging all over the house since we moved in (almost six months ago). I just can't decide on colors. Plus, it is going to cost an arm and a leg to have someone paint the house. Also, I hate hiring contractors; no one will care for your home the way you would. Steph and I hate painting and aren't very good at it.

So, I am offering you all the chance of a lifetime! Come and help us paint and Steph and I will pay for your airfare. Or, just be an awesome friend and do it for free pizza and beer.

(Thursday May 31, 2007)

Gnomes!

I LOVE gnomes. It's one of those quirky parts of my personality. I just think they are so adorable and mischevious. Here is a miniature gnome that Nicole bought for me. Right now he's living in my study, but I think he wants to move upstairs and be with my other indoor gnomes. I think he's lonely for friends.

(Wednesday May 30, 2007)

farm fresh flowers

Wilds Oats has "Farmer's Market Tuesdays", where farmers come and sell their goods. We picked up some beautiful flowers on the way out of the store. Here is a picture of one...I think it may be phlox, but I'm not sure.

(Tuesday May 29, 2007)

yummy soup

Matzo Ball soup at Noshville. I couldn't finish the bowl because it was so big. It still tasted good the next day though.

(Monday May 28, 2007)

City

City view from the car. I spent a lot of time in the car last weekend.

(Sunday May 27, 2007)

XM Channel 75 Hear Music is the best

When I get bored waiting for Steph to leave the hospital, I take pictures of the car. I love our XM radio. I am addicted to the Starbucks channel. I've gotten exposed to so much new music by listening to it.

(Saturday May 26, 2007)

Hot Air Balloon

Lately I've been taking pictures with my new phone. This one is of a hot air balloon I saw over the skyline after dropping Steph off at work in the morning. You rarely see hot air balloons anymore.

(Friday May 25, 2007)