March 16, 2014

Filling Our Weekends

Here is what we've been up to!

First of all, I got the new camera body Andrew gave me for my birthday and I am loving practicing with it. Of course, so far I still only have one model, so here are some more Moose pictures. I pull my camera out and I sweat she just poses. She is a wonderful model... the treats she gets probably help too!


These are taken with my phone, but all special memories.
 In the top left corner is Moose and I snuggling. We've had more time to snuggle every night because Andrew has started using his exercise bike at night now. I go down, sit on the couch, and we watch some TV show [currently watching CSI: New York]. Moose isn't allowed on the couch upstairs, but she can come and play on the one downstairs. 
In the top right corner is Moose and I snuggling again, but this time I was working from home and she just was so comfy and content just laying there in my arms. Makes my heart melt thinking about how much her life has changed since we got her. 
In the bottom left corner, I took her on a ride to Starbucks with me and she LOVED the warm weather. She stuck her nose out as far as she could! I didn't want to roll the window down too much though because I've heard horror stories of dogs jumping out and that is something my mischievous dog would do. 
In the bottom right corner is Moose sleeping and avoiding the sun at all costs. What dog hates the sun?! Ours. She's silly and weird, but that just goes to show how well she fits into our little family. 

Okay, last picture of Moose (I swear!) 

On to cooking! 
I know! Cooking! You may be saying "But Emily... you don't cook" and to that I say "True!", but this week, I (well, really we) have cooked new recipes! 

A while ago I had asked my mom for her beef stroganoff recipe because I had a craving for it and thought it wouldn't be too hard to make. I bought egg noodles and then... looked at the egg noodles every few weeks thinking to myself... hmm, I should really make that. Finally, after not having enough room in our cabinets, I decided to make some stroganoff. 
It turned out pretty good! Since Andrew is lactose intolerant, I switched out the sour cream for yogurt. I think this change made it a little sweeter than I was used to and it was a little harder to smooth all together, but still good. I also didn't add onions (or mushrooms, but that was intentional) and next time I make this, it will definitely have onions. We love onions. 
Then, the other night I was flipping through a cookook since we were tired of having the same meals over and over each week and Andrew saw the scalloped potatoes recipe. Yum.
 Well, again, I switched out the milk for lactose-free milk and let me tell you... these were delicious. It had been a while since having scalloped potatoes, but I think these will definitely make a come back to our dinner plate. We had it with a lump of ham and well, I now have lunch for the next week. I love meals that keep on giving!

Next thing, the major thing that has been taking up a lot of time, is our house! 
Let's see... what has been updated? We added this baker's rack to our dining room/kitchen area. It is great to have more storage, especially for my cook books. It mainly holds Moose's things and napkins. We randomly have a lot of napkins. 


It's been a long time since I updated on house stuff! We finished the office area! I made the curtains and they add a much needed lively vibe. They are also perfect for hiding the outside world, but still letting in the sunlight. I still want to put up a bulletin board and maybe a white board, but it is so nice to have an office to put our documents and have Andrew be downstairs when working late.  

Today, we got started hanging things on our walls! Here is s sneak preview of above our couch. There will be more pictures added, but I will have to get a shot of the whole room after we put all the pictures up. This room is much brighter than when we first got the house.  

I love getting to test my skills at decorating. I am particularly proud of the office, but I think the living room may be becoming my new favorite decorated room with the photos up. My next skill to test out: gardening! I'll try to remember to keep you updated. I have to start planning very shortly.