5 Years!

As of today, it's been 5 years since we got married! The time flew by.

We got engaged on Friday the 13th (of July), and then married on Sat., Sept. 13 the following year. That makes this anniversary extra special - it's our anniversary on Friday the 13th!

We have had a lot of adventures in the last 5 years together. I'm so thankful for every second we've had.

And also for those years before we were married, when we were so happy to see each other during college breaks & summers. Look at those cheesy grins. :-D

To my Bup - thanks for always making me smile, for taking care of me, & for all the love you give. Here's to the rest of our lives!

Still Under Construction

We're getting there! Saturday was priming day.

Somehow this photo merged itself & when I was sorting through what I had, I was really confused. It's kinda cool though. W watching himself work...

Sunday was ceiling day.

Tuesday evening was living room walls. I was so excited to paint the gray! We love it!

There was a crazy grasshopper that kept leaping up at the windows. It hit the top ones! Tink loved watching, and it kept her occupied instead of being underfoot. She thinks she's helping, but she's wrong! :-)

It's cool to watch it dry. You can see the different shades here. I was edging while W followed behind with the roller.

One wall finished! Actually, the whole room is painting now. We have the baseboards & wood-work for the other windows painted & ready to hang. Then we'll finish painting the den. Whew!

Big thanks to my parents who came over twice each to help paint. We'd still be painting the living room if it weren't for their help.

Under Construction

For the past several days, when I walk into the house from the garage, this is the view. Very barren & kind dusty...

Here's a view from the top of the ladder. You can sort of see the light that's in the top of the beam. All of the wooden beams have that. Once we paint, we're going to stain them a darker brown to match the fireplace.

This is the far corner, above the fireplace. W is going to put up stone on the plywood, then our tv hangs there. I'm super excited to see the stone up! It'll look like a real fireplace.

Here's the living room from the opposite end. I like seeing all the light that comes in through the windows in the back half. We're painting the room a light gray & I think that'll make it even more bright & airy.

Once you go through the doorway (in the first picture, it has a sheet hanging on it) into the rest of the house, you can see that the next room is also under construction! After all the painting, we're having a new carpet put in, so W ripped out all the old carpet. This floor used to be hardwood! It's covered in a gluey tar though, so we aren't trying to refinish it.

We are refinishing the wood floor in the hall, which is just outside this room. Right now, it's bare floor that W has sanded down. It's ready for the varnish, but we have to stay off of it when he does that. That will be tricky enough, since we can't get to the bedroom or bathroom without using that hall, but it'll be even more tricky to keep the cat off of it! She's crazy!

I can't wait for all of this to be done! We're in the final stages, but living in this film of dust isn't fun. It does make cleaning easier...I just don't do much of it! Why dust when in a few hours it'll need to be dusted again? :-)

Plants & Campfires

Our hens & chicks are looking beautiful! This is the first year that their purple hues have really come out. I love how they multiply each year. They remind me of warm weather.

When I was a kid, we had a small patch of them on a rock at our cabin. I thought they were my pets, so I'd water them when we were there. Now I have my own patch & it's at least 5 times the size. I don't water them at all & they are flourishing. Nature really knows what it's doing.

On Sunday night, we had our first cookout of the season! I can't wait to have more. We decided that now that we started, we have to have one every Sunday that we're home. I'm excited to try some new ideas for things to cook over the fire. It was pretty chilly, so we started early, before it got dark. Bup installed another patio light for when we have fires after dark. It's nice to sit by the fire in the dark, but when we're trying to assemble/cook food, it's tough without a light!

I'm super excited about our new fire pit. The old one finally rusted through the bottom, so we couldn't use it anymore. I think this new one is a little more durable. We're going to bring the insert inside between fires so that it doesn't get rusty as soon. This was also our first time using our mountain pie makers. We borrowed my parents' last year & they gave us these for Christmas. One is a double-wide...that's a lot of sandwich!

Bring on the campfires!!

A Ceiling in the Works

It's Christmastime! This year, we have one of the biggest, nicest trees we've had in awhile. We're choosing to embrace its natural beauty - as you can see, our ornaments are a bit sparse!

The main reason we originally thought to go light on the ornaments was because we weren't sure how Tink would react to the tree. She's been really good, though! We hung up a mini stocking for her. :-)

We're under construction!

It turns out it was a good thing we didn't put the lights on the tree, because it's already been moved all over the living room. Everytime I go in there it seems like the furniture is in a different spot. We're planning so that once all of the construction is complete in the living room & den, we can get new carpet. This one has been through a lot (plus it's ugly!).

My amazing husband is redoing our ceiling. Originally, it had ceiling tiles over the insulation pictured above. It was a very low ceiling, so we really had to watch when we turned on the ceiling fan. I hit my hands many times doing yoga in there!

He removed all the tiles & insulation & we're going to have a vaulted ceiling now. I'm so excited!

Right now, we have either bare wood or the pieces that keep the insulation from molding as our barriers from the cold. I'm thankful that we've had a mini-warm-spell since he is doing the majority of the work this week.

This end, the sunroom, has insulation up already. It's amazing how much difference it makes in the temperatures. He's also working on lighting, which so far looks great. It will be hidden in the beams, causing the light to bounce off the ceiling.

I can't wait for the finished product. I'm so thankful to have such a handy husband!

 

Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce with Oranges

Are you getting excited for Thanksgiving? What do you have to give thanks for this year?

I'm giving thanks for many things...

• Brisk fall mornings that warm up into sunny days
• Kale & Brussels sprouts still growing in my garden
• Sipping hot chocolate in the evenings
• Hugs from my love
• A soft kitten to cuddle
• Warm soups, filled with nourishing foods
• Pretty leaves falling from the trees
• Fall/winter fruits, like cranberries & oranges
• Loving friends & family 
• Chances to learn more & hopefully use it in life!
• Fuzzy socks
• Pumpkin scented candles

With Thanksgiving coming up, I kept thinking about my dad's cranberry sauce. He handed me a packet of recipes he has been compiling, with one on top labeled "Best Cranberry Sauce." Over the years, he had tried many recipes, pulling the best of them all into one go-to recipe. It's a good one.

His recipe calls for orange juice, which we usually have, but we were out when I went to make this. Instead, I used apple cider. I didn't notice a huge difference, although this does have a very fall-ish feel to it. Cider has a nice sweet/crisp flavor that pairs well with cranberries.

The best part of the whole thing is that I get the entire batch to myself! The Bup isn't much into cranberries, so he took one bite & that was enough. YAY!

If you are looking for something to add to your Thanksgiving dinner, this is the good stuff! It's quick to make, too, so it's easy to fit into your busy cooking schedule.



Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce with Oranges

Serves 6-8

12 oz. bag of cranberries (fresh or frozen), washed

1 c apple cider

2/3 c sucanat (or brown sugar)*

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

zest of 1 orange

1 orange, peeled & segmented

1/4 c Triple Sec

walnuts, to garnish (optional)

In a medium pot, heat cranberries, apple cider, sucanat & ginger. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries pop & mixture thickens. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. While the cranberries cook, chop orange segments into 3-4 pieces each.

Once it is done cooking, remove cranberry mixture from heat. Stir in zest, orange pieces, & Triple Sec. Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Best served cold, although it is also good right from the pot (just don't burn your tongue like I did!).

*More sucanat may be needed, depending on your preferred level of sweetness. I like to taste some of the tartness from the cranberries, so I kept the sugar on the low end. If you prefer your cranberry sauce to be sweeter, add up to 1/2 c more, tasting as you go.

More Thanksgiving Ideas:

Quick & Easy Stuffed Potatoes

Roasted Beets

Champagne Roasted Cauliflower

Cinnamon Sugar Skillet Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Curried Butternut Squash

Roasted Curried Root Veggies

Roasted Squash with Kale

Cranberry, Beet & Pear Salad

Peach, Walnut & Roasted Beet Salad

Red Cabbage & Pear Salad with Mango Dressing

Vibrant Lemon & Avocado Kale Salad

Apple Pumpkin Beer Bread

Garlic-Onion Wheat Bread

Chewy Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Spiced Latte

Vegan Toasted Almond Drink

4 Years + a Kitten

Today we are celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary! I couldn't ask for a more loving & supportive husband. We have had an amazing 4 years & I can't wait for all the adventures to come!

Last Saturday, we added a new member to our family - a kitten! Her name is Tink. Last night we weighed her: 1.2 pounds. She's super tiny, but I didn't know she was so light!

She's already spoiled rotten. We made her a little home in the kitchen for when we aren't around. It's wonderful to come home & have her waiting to greet us. She knows when we come down the hall & starts mewing. Then she attacks our feet. :-)

If you look closely in the picture, the whiskers on the left are white & the right are black. So cute!

It's so fun to see her exploring when we take her to different rooms of the house. For now, if I set her on the bed, sofa, etc., she'll stay there because the jump down looks very far. I'm sure that won't last long! I'm excited to watch her grow up!

The Gorgeous Sky

Only God can create beauty like this!