Thank You, Margaret!!

I think blogging about the awesome housewarming gifts my Aunt Margaret got me during her recent visit to PA is a great way to say THANK YOU!!  And also to show these great gifts in their new setting.  Seriously, these two items are truly appreciated as I've been needing a spoon holder forever and the avocado dish will be used frequently since my love for guacamole is probably greater than average.  THANK YOU Margaret!!

Welcome Back, Winter!

It feels nice to have a real winter once again after years of very mild seasons with hardly any snow.  The storm on Saturday left us with inches of powdery snow on the ground to play in and shovel.  Tom and I celebrated by sledding down the hills outside our home again and again and again!

Where are My Christmas Cards?!!?!!

My Christmas cards are lost in-transit.  I ordered them over two weeks ago and they still have not arrived.  I've been on the phone with both UPS and USPS for the last week trying to get an idea of where they are and when they are expected to arrive.  Apparently both services don't communicate with the other even though they share the responsibility to deliver orders.  At this point, I'm ready to give up and send out generic xmas cards...

I'm Thrilled to Have a...

...PANTRY!!

I have a proper pantry for the first time in my life!  This feature of our new apartment absolutely excites me beyond comprehension.  It's one of those things that I never really gave thought to until I started living on my own.  After living in a few places where I had makeshift pantries or none at all, I can fully appreciate the one I have now.  It was the first area of the apartment to be organized, by subject of course!  The librarian in me couldn't allow it to be organized any other way.  So, my subject specific shelves are as follows from top to bottom: cooking appliances/storage, pasta/dip and salad dressing packets, everyday items, baking/cooking staples, paper supplies, and finally reusable grocery bags on the very bottom.

Adventures in Cooking: Crepes

I'm sure everyone knows this, but crepes are super easy to make.  I had Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread and wanted to have some for breakfast, so I found a good crepe recipe online and got to it!  The result:

Happy Belated Birthday to Carter!

Carter turned 9 years old last week and from what I heard, he had a pretty good time celebrating with friends. I can't believe he's 9 years old!! Where did the time go?? We had a dual celebration - one for Carter's birthday and a "welcome to our new apartment" dinner with my family, Bema, Grandma, and Val.

Snow and Nicklaous Day

Snow!  Our first snowfall of the year came and went last Saturday.  The snow on the ground was really pretty and it lasted into Sunday and Monday.  When we toured apartments in October, we noted the hills next to our current apartment would be fun to sled down when it snows... and they are fun!  We watched children sled down the snowy hills all day Sunday.  Can't wait to get more snow!!

Nicklaous Day is a German tradition that happens every year on December 6th.  Children put their boots outside in the evening of December 5th and depending on whether they were good or bad that year, Nicklaous gives or doesn't give them sweets.  Tom and I continue this tradition for fun... and it looks like were were good this year...

Thanksgiving Recap

We spent Thanksgiving morning packing up our apartment before going over to Grandma Sherry's house for dinner.  Over at Grandma Sherry's house we enjoyed seeing family and ate a delicious turkey dinner.  Gavin and Vivian, my younger cousins on my mother's side, are always a pleasure to see.  Gavin is a riot and Vivian is a sweetheart.  My aunt Allisson made place tags with her children's help for the table using hand cutout turkeys.  Everyone's turkey represented their personality and interests.  They were fabulous!

Turkey Place Tag

Melissa's Turkey Hand

Ivy's Turkey Hand

We Moved!

We've officially moved into our new place!  Ben, Carter, Tom, and I moved our belongings from Philadelphia to Pottstown.  It took hours of hard work to get the job done, but we did it!  We wouldn't have been able to do it without Ben; without his help, Tom and I would still be moving.  Carter was also a huge help - he was still buzzing with energy at 8pm when the rest of us could barely move.

Our new place is a modern townhome style apartment.  It's larger than our old apartment and it has a washer and dryer in unit (something our old place didn't have).  Doing laundry isn't a task I typically look forward to, but it is now fun and something I don't mind doing because I can do it in my own home!  NO MORE washing card, hauling loads of laundry down the hall, sliding detergent down the hall with my foot while carrying baskets of laundry under both arms...  no more!

We are continuing to settle in and make our new place feel homey and comfortable.  The plan is to paint one or two walls and hang pictures this weekend.  More updates to come...

Here are two pictures: one of us in the living room at our old place and one of our new kitchen the morning after our move (it doesn't look like this any more).