9.26.2009

New Bedroom Furniture







We finally feel like grown ups with a complete matching bedroom set. It took numerous stores and online searching but we found the perfect one. It's dark brown wood (or Merlot to be exact) made by one of the few remaining American made furniture companies, Vaughn Basset. There are two night stands, a head board, a foot board, a triple dresser (meaning it's taller than average) and a mirror. We love it!

9.20.2009

Happy Birthday Jen!


Jen turned 25 today! We had a quite celebration at home and enjoyed our day off together. We plan to celebrate in style on an upcoming 3 day stint off together.

9.17.2009

Thank you


As a thank you gift/early Happy Birthday Jen present Jill and Nathan gave us this fire pit. We have gotten many uses out of it so far. We have eaten dinners on the swing, while looking at the stars in front of the fire. Romantic. We also have laid the back of the swing down to create a bed. Nice to snuggle by the fire under the stars. Oh and we did s'mores too...yummy! Thanks Jill & Nathan:)

9.12.2009

Lazy Saturday







Rusty loves his backyard...whether chasing bugs or lying in the shade, he'd rather be out there than inside.

9.09.2009

BBQ


Every other night we trade off cooking with Jill and Nathan. This particular night I decided to do sis kabobs and a recipe that Nathan and I had seen Bobby Flay grill on the Food Network. They're spicy garlic grilled potato wedges. They're delicious...check out the receipt below if interested.



Ingredients
6 russet potatoes, scrubbed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions
Put the potatoes in a pot of cold water, add 2 tablespoons of salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook the potatoes until tender, but still firm, about 40 minutes. The potatoes must be cooked through and fork tender, but still holding their shape. Drain and put on a cutting board. Let cool, then cut each potato lengthwise into 4-8 wedges.
Heat grill to medium-high.
Brush the potatoes with the canola oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan until it begins to shimmer. Remove from the heat and immediately add the garlic, red chili flakes and parsley and let sit for 1 minute. Season the oil with salt and pepper, to taste, and drizzle over the potatoes. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve immediately.

9.08.2009

Test Garden




:) I have been wanting to plant a herb garden in the backyard for awhile but Mike thinks Rusty will destroy it. So, being the genius I am, I decided to prove him wrong. I constructed a test garden. I planted oregano, parsley and basil in one planter and in the other I planted two cilantro bushes. Mike was right, unfortunately. Rusty destroyed the cilantro:( He hasn't touched the herbs though. I think it was the smell of fresh cilantro that intrigued him so I am not totally discouraged. Cilantro just won't make it into my bigger garden.

9.06.2009

Geocaching In River Park North













We spent the afternoon geocaching along the Tar River just a couple of minutes from our house. Along one of the trails, Nathan spotted a ginormous spider. We didn't have any luck locating our cache on the North side of the river but had better luck in the South side. Yea! Great weather for geocaching!Afterwards, we headed to Sheetz (gas station/fresh fast food) to share an appetizer sampler. Yummy!

9.02.2009

Seed Ticks-YUCK!




Jill and Nathan, friends of ours, are staying the month with us. The first week they were here, we decided to take them to Goose Creek State Park in Washington, NC (about 25 minutes from our house) for a quick hike/walk and then to dinner along the Pamlico River. The park is huge with lots of trails through the gorgeous woods. After we reached our turn around point I felt like something was biting my ankle so I lifted my pant leg up and there were tons (like hundreds) of seed ticks (baby ticks) crawling up my legs. My scream led everyone else to check their legs too. Everyone found the same thing I had. We took off our socks and shoes and darted to the car. Luckily, we had brought a change of cloths with us for dinner. So after we picked off these little buggers we changed. At the restaurant, Jill found more on her which freaked all of us out. The restaurant by the way was nice...we ate on the deck with live music. We decided to strip in the laundry room when we got home, place all of our clothes in the washer and run for the showers! The next day I vacuumed out the car. Yuck! After researching seed ticks, I found that we shouldn't be stomping around in the woods in the summer (hot summer months are when these things infest the woods). Oops...won't make that mistake again:(