Photos Galore: Current Apartment, New Apartment and Easter Dinner!

Hello all!

First of all, I have to admit that I am HORRIBLE about taking pictures.  In fact, I don't even know why I have a digital camera because all it does is sit in my drawer.  How ever, I justify my purchase by insisting that my camera be the house camera after Chad's finally dies.  And... not only am I horrible about pictures... but the pictures I take are horrible.

With that said, I'd like to share a few photo-stories with you.

The first one is called, Our First Apartment. Catchy, I know.

Here's a peek into our bedroom.  Love our bedroom set from Pottery Barn.  It makes me happy :)  The quilt on the foot of the bed was handmade and given to us as a wedding present from one of Chad's great-aunts!

Our dresser.  That mirror is over 100 years old and has been housed in the first married homes of my great-grandmother, grandmother, parents and sisters.  So neat to think about how many faces have peered into its reflective glass!

My TINY closet.  You'll see in the next photo-story, why I am so excited about our new apartment!   Chad and I tried sharing a closet, but then my shoes took over.  So now Chad's closet is in the office.  And yes, I do color code my closet.  But now I see that a pesky pink shirt is trying to mingle with the purple and blue shirts.  I will fix that immediately.

 

Our least aesthetically appealing and constantly messy office.  See my beautiful iMac? I'm obsessed.

Our cozy bathroom.  Again, another reason why I'm excited about our new place.

 
Our dining area.  Pardon the vacuum chord.  At least I documented proof that we do, in fact, vacuum.  On the very top shelf of the crowded bookshelf is Chad's wedding present to me.  He hand carved and painted BANKA for us to display :)  Also, the hutch behind our table is another family heirloom.  It first belonged to my grandmother in her antique store in Mississippi but has been housed in both of my sisters' first houses.  And see that curtain hanging in the background??  I'm going to let you in on a secret...

It's our pantry!


And for the third reason why I'm so excited to move to our new apartment...

The kitchen!  Look at the floor.... it's CARPET!  Who's bright idea was it to put CARPET in a KITCHEN?  Oh well, I still love my little kitchen and will miss the fridge that really freezes and the microwave that only reheats the center of the plate...

The back and front views of our living room area that merges with the dining room.  Another reason why I love having a big family: the pink chair is courtesy of Chad's family, the couch is courtesy of my sister, the painting courtesy of my parents, and the table is courtesy of Good Will :)  And somehow it all matches perfectly! We're so fortunate to have a loving and giving family to provide us with excellent furniture while Chad and I start our meager beginnings! 

And now to the top reasons why I am excited for our new apartment!

It has an attached garage!!  See me in the side-view mirror?

The kitchen is HUGE! Newer appliances with hopefully a fridge that doesn't freeze and a microwave that heats food evenly.  And see the door behind me?  That's a full PANTRY!  No longer will I have to hide a bookshelf with a curtain :)


And the piece de la resistance... drum roll please....

A gigantic walk-in closet that can fit a twin bed!  Finally, Chad and I will be able to share a closet!

I promise to post more pictures of our fantastic new home as soon as we move in mid-May as we weren't able to capture every nuance of the apartment (without furniture, it's quite boring lol). 

Now on to Chad's an my first Easter meal together.  Pot Roast, roasted asparagus and baby-butt rolls (you'll see why).

First of all, if you don't have this cookbook: Pioneer Woman Cooks; or subscribe to her blog (pioneerwoman.com) then you must do so now.  As a beginning cook, I love that Ree explains things step by step and shows pictures of exactly what your food should look like when.  I've learned such sophisticated things as: julienning a pepper; perfecting a roux and deglazing sauce through her carefully constructed recipes.  She is my go-to girl for any meal and I haven't been disappointed all year.  Tonight I decided to cook her Perfect Pot Roast... and let me tell you... it is AMAZING!

See the little baby butt rolls starting to rise?  Aren't they cute?  These are so simple to make.  Just grab Rhodes frozen dinner rolls, generously spray the muffin tin with butter flavored cooking spray, stick two of those frozen roll guys in a cup, cover them with greased clear-wrap, patiently wait for around 4 hours while they rise, gently brush them with melted butter, and then pop them in an preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  Chad likes the baby-butt version of these rolls, where I like a single roll, drenched in butter, fresh rosemary and sea salt.  So I blended the two recipes this year.  Three of the rolls got brushed with butter, sprinkled with fresh rosemary and sea salt prior to entering the inferno.

This is what they look like when they're done.  See the rosemary?  Mmmmm....

Here's the pot roast, roasting in the pot in the oven :)  I sincerely apologize for the disgusting nature of my oven.  It's incredible what you see when a flash is involved.  I vow to you, my four readers, that my oven will be properly cleaned... today!  I love this cast-iron enameled pot.  While making Chad's favorite potato soup recipe and other slow cooking recipes, I was dismayed when I continuously burnt out the bottom of my pans.  It got so bad that I was literally dreaming about Le Creuset pots to solve my culinary conundrum.  In order to satiate my absurd aspirations, my mother bought me a 2.5 quart Le Creuset pot for Valentines day.  I was in love.  The 2.5 quart pot is perfect for sauces and my mac 'n cheese I made the other night, it is too small for the potato soup or this perfect pot roast.  As a result, I bought a 6.5 quart Lodge pot at Walmart for $65.  Considerably cheaper than its $400 Le Creuset counterpart.  And again, I'm in love.  I use this pot for pretty much everything. 

And here's the finished product!  I must admit that I am proud of myself.  When Chad and I first met, I prided myself on my ability to make cereal and scrambled eggs.  Last year, I moved on to more sophisticated things like boxed pasta and various chili dishes.  Now, I can make pretty much anything... as long as a recipe is involved.  I have yet to elevate to the ranks of culinary genius where I can whip up a 5-star meal with obscure ingredients.  But don't you worry, I will continue to try :) The asparagus is really easy to cook too.  Cut off the woody ends of the stalk, grab a skillet, drizzle it with EVOO, toss in the asparagus, sprinkle it with Greek Seasoning or any other seasoning that goes well with veggies, cook on a relatively high heat until done.  For those of you still in the KC area, you MUST go to the Tasteful Olive in old Overland Park (and Penzey's Spices while you're at it... I will really miss that store).  They have the most AMAZING infused olive oils and vinegars you will ever taste in your life.  My mom has a Tuscan herb olive oil that is absolutely to die for when sprinkled on the asparagus.

Our first Easter Dinner :)

Miss you all!

Movin' on Up... To the West Side?

By now I'm sure most of you have heard either through Facebook or other social media outlets, but Chad and I are moving to Wichita on May 17th!  Chad was offered a job with a fantastic engineering firm last week and he accepted!  This means that both of us had to decline our job offers in Kansas City, but I have full faith that we are doing what's best for both of us.  Not only will Chad be happier with this job, but he'll get to achieve his life goals (becoming a Professional Engineer) sooner.

Today we're heading there directly after Chad finishes his test to complete a whirlwind viewing of various apartments and duplexes in the area so that we can sign a lease and start focusing on wrapping up school.

I have to admit that I am a bit scared.  I'm moving away from everything I know to a city that I've only visited once (twice after today).  And, after talking with the company, Chad feels assured that this has strong potential to be a permanent move.  Although I am scared, I am also incredibly excited to start this new journey where Chad and I get to plant our roots and start a family (not any time soon, but it will happen).

While Chad works this summer, I'll wrap up my last 10 hours of graduate school work, hopefully get back to a more routine workout schedule, and get acquainted with the Wichita area.... oh and look for a job!  Depending on how today goes... we might be adding a furry friend to our family :)  I am SOOOOOOO pumped for that.  I have never had a puppy or a kitten; they've always been older animals.  If that comes to fruition... you'll definitely stay updated :)


Well, I need to run so I can get ready to leave, but I wanted to know what y'all were cooking or planning to do this weekend?  We're unable to go back to KC this weekend, so we'll be having a dinner just the two of us.  I'm thinking: brisket; asparagus; rolls; and some sort of cute dessert.


May the good Lord bless and keep you this beautiful Easter weekend.

All my love.