December 2, 2013

Weekly Menu Dec 2


This week we have:
Amazing Oven BBQ Chicken 
Roasted Cauliflower with Lime & Spices
Apple Cider Caramels
Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

For today, Dec 2 ...


Outside my window... Oh what a blustery day! It's nearly 60 degrees and sunny as can be, but the wind is hinting at weather drama approaching. It's supposed to start snowing tomorrow night, through Wednesday, and by the weekend we'll be down in the 'teens! My thrill-ed-ness is tempered just the tiniest bit by the fact that we'll be moving in those temperatures, but... Oh well!!

I am thinking... FIVE DAYS!! Five days until we move into our house! Yesterday was the first time we were able to spend time in our house ALL ALONE, completely empty, and it finally felt like our house! Bracken met some of the neighbor dogs, all very nice, she's going to be in heaven! One of them can hop the fence... I have a feeling she'll be in our yard a lot... I can't wait to start taking treats of plates to the neighbors! It felt SO good. These are going to be the longest five days ever... Luckily there is a lot to keep me busy this week!

I am thankful... For this move, I am grateful that we're moving only a few streets away! I'm grateful that we can take our time, that we HAVE time, and that we can afford help. But I'm also grateful for the missionaries who volunteered to help too! I'm beyond excited to move, and can't wait to get out of this apartment, but I am also grateful for this apartment. It has been a gorgeous, comfortable, friendly place to live for a year. I love my life.

Source: Polyvore
I am learning... I always thought I was too "curvy" to wear skinny jeans, and the very few times I tried a pair on (just to prove the Geologist wrong, I admit) they proved me right. Turns out I was just trying on the wrong jeans! I went shopping with friends a few weeks ago, my first shopping trip in about 6 years! And guess what? We found skinnies that look GREAT on me!! I was so thrilled that I now own three pairs! One dark denim, one forest green, and one burgundy. I can't remember the last time I owned three pairs of jeans. It's been a long time coming, and I am in love. Yay for clothes. And stylish friends. :)

I am going... Okay, here's the deal. Tomorrow night is the dress rehearsal for our Christmas concert, Thursday and Friday are the performances, Saturday we move. Every evening in between, we pack. Every day in between, I clean things and put away the Christmas tree. We're taking small loads of boxes over to the house through the week, it will make the big move on Saturday much shorter and easier. This week is going to fly by! At least, I hope so!

Source: Pinterest
Around the house... Planning all of my home makeovers. French doors in the back, beadboard in the kitchen, new carpet... still haven't decided on wall colors yet. Waiting to see what all of our furniture looks like in the house. Of course I already know exactly what I want in the kitchen! We were starting to make crazy plans about turning one of the upstairs bedrooms into a music room, and turning the study downstairs into a bedroom, but we're nixing those plans. The study is bright enough to be a music room/library, and as long as it isn't a grand, we can get a piano down the stairs!

In the kitchen... Not much going on in the kitchen this week, too much else going on! I'm planning easy, quick meals, so I can pack most of my kitchen (and I don't have time for much else!) though I am making a double batch of my favorite cookies today... I'm addicted... Don't worry, you get that recipe this week. I was lucky enough to rack up quite a pile of back-up recipes to post, so you won't miss out!

One of my favorite things... These Danish butter cookies that come in a tin (usually blue around here) and only seem to appear around the holidays. I should really learn to make them myself... i could eat the whole tin! I confess I harbor a hope every year that the Geologist will get me one for Christmas... I'm pretty easy to please. My favorite are the little pretzel-shaped ones with that chunky crunchy sugar on top. Yum!!

A peek into my day... Today is the one day I can relax, just a bit. So we're having a lazy day. Blogging, reading, watching movies, catching up on sleep. I do have an errand to run this afternoon, but it shouldn't take long. A day to breathe, before the chaos begins!

Something new about me... I'm an Air Force Brat! Not a fan of the term "brat", but my Dad is a JAG in the Air Force and we did move every three years. Most of the time it was fun! My siblings and I all agree that we each had a hardest move, and it was usually about age 14. Mine was from Colorado to Missouri. But that turned out pretty well, considering I met my husband there! I was born in Utah and have lived in Michigan (the UP), Las Vegas, Colorado, Missouri, Tucson, back to Colorado. From there I was married, and my family continued on to Alaska, Texas, and Washington DC without me. Colorado was my favorite place to live (lucky me, to come back!) but Alaska was my favorite place to visit. I would move there in... well, maybe not a heartbeat, but definitely no more than a few heartbeats!

Try your own Daybook! Get ideas here!

11 comments :

  1. What a gorgeous line up!
    Mary x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mary! I think this is a pretty stellar week too :)
      ~April

      Delete
  2. It all sounds so exciting! Is the new house in Denver?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep! Lakewood, technically, Green Mountain. If you're ever up here you should drop by!!
      ~April

      Delete
    2. Will do! And same to you if you are in the Springs (I'm home Dec 15th through Jan 22nd)!

      Delete
  3. April, I Love the little pretzel shaped ones best of all too! We are working on our third tin here. We are so bad! Loving your recipe lineup and wishing you all the best in the move. You will have to send me your new address!! xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  4. PS - I was an airforce brat too, and then the wife of a soldier for 22 years. Thankfully my father had a trade where we didn't have to move too often. It was hard as a mom though . . . shifting five children and the house at regular intervals. 16 moves in 22 years. The hardest moves were the last few because we left children behind each time. :-(

    ReplyDelete
  5. Man oh man, I'm a sucker for those Danish butter cookies, too. We're on our second tin already! I never buy store-bought cookies, but something about the butter cookies at Christmastime seems totally ok. :) Can't wait to see photos of your new place!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here! They're just about the only store-bought cookies I go nuts for! I can't wait to share pictures with you guys! :)
      ~April

      Delete
  6. Cook Illustrated has a recipe for French Butter Cookies that reminded me of the blue tin cookies (they have 6 variations including the pretzel shaped ones, so I think that's what they were imitating). I've made them twice and they're quite good. They also call them Sables with an accent sign :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, I'm definitely going to have to try that!! Although then I wouldn't get the pretty tin... We have a lot in common, have you realized this??

      Delete

Your comments really DO make my day, and I promise to try and reply to each and every one, either through email or on here :)