Wednesday, November 28, 2012

24

Hooray, I'm 24!

And yesterday was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. I wasn't really looking forward to my birthday during the weeks prior, what with being away from family and my good friends in VA and all. But actually it was completely wonderful. 
All I have to say, is that Joey is the most incredible husband, and more than I could've imagined. Even with his hectic schedule, he made me feel so important on my special day.

I woke up to a cute sign on our bathroom mirror and a bottle of frizzante in the fridge with such a sweet note. 

When I came home from work, Joey had gotten me flowers (I love fresh flowers!) and made me dinner---crab cakes with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. It was delish! Absolutely awesome. I was so impressed!

And for dessert? He made me chocolate cupcakes with a fudge center and peanut butter frosting! Just like my favorite Chocolate PB Fudge cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake--one of our favorite places to stop by at when we would go to the Temple in Washington DC.

I just love this. Look at his cute package and the drawn on ribbon and bow!

And an awesome gift--these hot new shoes! Gosh I was so surprised when I opened the box; I wasn't expecting something like this at all! Joey knows I've never really had a nice pair of flats and I'd feel guilty buying some for myself, so it was incredibly sweet of him to get these for me. He also got me some beautiful new metal measuring cups that I've been pining for over the past several months. He is too good to me!


Thank you also to my friends and family who texted me or called me, it meant a lot to hear from you! Definitely one of the best birthdays I've had.

Here's to another great year!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Just a Little Fun

Hey Everyone!

So, who's excited about the holiday weekend?! Even though Joey has to study today (as well as Friday and Saturday, pout pout), I'm so excited to have one whole day with him on Thanksgiving---our first Thanksgiving! It'll be different not spending the holiday with our families, but we've got some great friends from our ward and a couple of Joey's brother rats from VMI joining us, and I think its going to be wonderful. 

In other news, I got a job! I'm going to be an Administrative Specialist at Trident Technical College and I'm really looking forward to having something to do a few hours every day, and bringing in some extra money is always a plus!

Well, I have to say, I've been lacking in blogging content lately--I guess not too much is going on and my creative spark has fizzled a little (though I am working on some neat projects for our first Christmas together), but I thought I'd share this fun little sequence Joey and I did at the store a few weeks ago. 

Remember Warheads candy? You do now.


Now off to bake pies and rolls and other yummy things for Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Just the Two of Us: Life With Marley

I've noticed over the past few days that, the time I get to spend with Joey is inversely proportional to the number of Marley photos I take. Basically, having less time with my husband means more time with my crazy cat. And when you don't have a car for most of the week, your photo material is significantly limited--has anyone else noticed that my last few Instagram posts are all of her? But darn it, she always does the goofiest things, like play fetch, accidentally fall in the toilet, or parkour (this is all I can think of when I think of Parkour) off the walls, and I just can't help myself. Last week, she taught me how to commandeer anything during the time it takes to watch an episode of 30 Rock on Netflix, in only six moves.


Saturday, November 10, 2012

Our Bridal Photo Shoot!

couple months ago, I mentioned that I did some work for Brinn Willis of BMW Photography and redesigned her blog. Isn't her work great?? We were so pleased with our engagement photos we took with her last fall, and lucky for Joey and me, I was able to trade a new blog design for another photo shoot! So two weeks before we left Virginia (tear tear, sniffle sniffle), Joey and I got all gussied up in our wedding attire again and traipsed through a sun soaked field with our awesome friend, Brinn!


And doesn't Joey look so sharp in his Navy uniform?? I sure do love my officer :)

Monday, November 5, 2012

Pear Pie with Cinnamon & Nutmeg

One thing I've loved about Charleston is having an Earth Fare. Since Joey and I started eating organic meat, dairy, and produce, we've found that we get the best prices and quality there on organic items, but  we also come away with amazing deals on those items with their great coupons. I tried getting into the whole crazy coupon thing, but I found that most coupons are for prepackaged foods, not really whole foods. Earth Fare, however, sends out coupons for those whole foods---when we signed up for weekly coupons, we even got one for a free whole chicken! We've also gotten apples, a whole pineapple, and even saw coupons for lobster tails. Pretty dang awesome. Well, last week I got a coupon for three pounds of Bosc pears, for only one dollar! Along with the fact that I found gas for $3.09 that morning, my day was pretty much made. 

Since Joey has never really liked plain pears, I decided to try making something that he might like: Pie. Ohhhh yeah. Who doesn't love pie? And it was a hit. I was nervous about the pears getting too soft and mushy, but their texture was perfect. For those who like apple pie, it was very similar in taste and texture.


Pear Pie with Cinnamon & Nutmeg
I adapted this from Better Homes & Gardens

Crust:
(from Better Homes & Gardens, but feel free to use your own single crust recipe)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (we use unbleached)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter, cut up (or shortening, if you prefer)
1/4-1/2 cup ice water

Filling:
6 cups peeled, cored, and thinly sliced pears (I used 6 pears)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
heaping 1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
We like a lot of spice, so feel free to adjust the cinnamon and nutmeg if its too much.
Adjust the sugar and flour levels depending on the sweetness and juiciness of your pears

Crumb Topping:
2/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup honey

For the Crust
Stir together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the shortening and butter with a pastry blender until incorporated. Add the water one tablespoon at a time and mix with a fork until the flour mixture is moistened. Gather into a bowl and knead gently until it holds together. 
On a pastry cloth or a lightly floured surface, gently roll dough into a 12 inch circle. Transfer to the pie dish by wrapping the dough circle onto a rolling pin and unrolling into the dish. Lightly press into the dish.
Trim the dough to half an inch over the pie dish edge. Fold the extra dough under so its even with the plate. Finish the edges. Next, I like to blind bake the shell for about 7 minutes at 450, just to make sure any filling (especially if its too  juicy) won't make the crust too soggy, but you don't have to.

For the Filling
Peel, core, and thinly slice the pears and place in a bowl. Add the flour, sugar, and spices. Mix well. You'll notice the dry ingredients will coat the fruit and a little sauce/filling will start to form.
Spoon filling into the pie crust.

For the Crumb Topping
Mix oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Cut in the butter using a fork or a pastry blender. Gradually add in the honey until the mixture forms clumpy crumbs--you may use less or more honey. Top the fruit filling with the crumb mixture. 

Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake another 25-30 minutes until golden. Let pie cool on a rack. 

Add a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, and you're good to go!

Friday, November 2, 2012

Some Photos + Some Thoughts

Last week I took Joey on one last date before Power School started---and the majority of our together-time ended. We had a beautiful, windy afternoon in downtown Charleston!


There are two culinary institutes in Charleston, and each have restaurants run by the students as part of their training. Basically, people can go to the restaurant, have a three course meal for less than fifteen dollars (a steal!), and then fill out a survey about the food and service. So we decided to try 24 North Market, the restaurant at the Art Institute. Boy it was wonderful! Talk about delicious. Joey and I loved our southern inspired dishes--perfect portions, perfect flavor, and an unbelievable price.


And for those who love her, here are some photos of our crazy Marley. 
She has a thing about sticking her head in glasses---that kitty sure has no shame!


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Like I said, Joey has started Power School, which means I have a lot of time to myself now---and its only going to increase as he gets deeper into his classes and needs to study more. And while he is my whole world and he does so much for me, any power school wife will tell you that during this time, you kind of just have to live your life on your own a little. And this ridiculous abundance of time is leaving me feeling a little useless, lost, and lonely, desperate for purpose and friendship. I am making an effort to fill that time, but those efforts haven't quite yielded a result yet. And I'm having a hard time right now. 
But for now, I'm going to focus on the weekend's arrival, which means spending time with Joey and forgetting those worries for a moment. I don't know what I'd do without that boy. He sure is wonderful.

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