Utah here we come...

We will be in Utah tomorrow and both Bear and I are so EXCITED!!

A State of Emergency!!

Warning... Warning... New Jersey and New York is in a state of emergency, well last Monday they were. There was 2 inches of snow and our entire state including New York was in a weather emergency. All the schools were closed, most businesses were closed, and most grocery stores were CLOSED. Bear and I just laughed; this would be an everyday snow fall if we were living in Utah but for the east coast this was way too much to handle. Don’t get me wrong, we are not complaining. We loved having a snow day. We watched movies, took a walk in the winter wonderland, and enjoyed the extra day off.

I guess it comes with being married,

Bear and I have been married for 8 months and six days exactly. These past months have been very exciting for us, as we ventured to the east coast and started calling New Jersey home. Who knows what the next 8 months have in store for us but whatever it may be I are ready and knowing that I have Bear by my side makes me feel like I can accomplish anything. This move and lifestyle change has really impacted our relationship for the better. Bear has always been my best friend but recently he has become my bestest friend in the whole world. I see our relationship growing each day and it brings such a huge smile to my face. The bond that we have created is something that I never thought was possible with two human beings.

Valentines Day

I am a Lucky Girl

Valentines Day is just another day and the fact that on just that day you are suppose to be romantic and cute has never been something that I have been very fond of. Bear and I had agreed that this year we were not going to do anything special and just enjoy the day together. Was I in for a BIG surprise. 

I woke up to a decorated kitchen with beautiful flowers and candles neatly arranged in a heart shape. 

Blueberry pancakes made by the one and only chef hubby. 

An agenda filled with a full day of surprises. 

1st Surprise 

Ice Skating outside

2nd Surprise

A fun lunch 

3rd Surprise 

Bear brought me to a spa to get a massage 

4th Surprise 

A wonderful dinner made by Bear that consisted of: Shrimp scampi and pancetta fennel salad

5th Surprise 

Laughing and talking by our fire place

 

And last but not least..... I did do something for Bear. I bought him a bear statue and a bag of skittles, hidden in the skittles was 100 reasons why I love Bear. I had tied a balloon to it and put it outside in front of our window for Bear to discover.  

Out with the old, in with the new.

A couple weeks ago I got a wild hair to re-design our extra bedroom/bears office.  On my way home from work I spotted ace hardware. On a whim i pulled into the parking lot, walked in, and realized I new nothing about paint. What does high gloss, flat, and satin mean? All I wanted was grey paint that would go on my wall. The nice workers at ace hardware realized that I was unsure and guided me through the process of buying paint. Stormy grey was the color and I was headed home to try to convince the hubby that this was a GREAT idea. He knew something was up when I walked in the house with a bucket of paint and some brushes but after a little sweet talking he was onboard and even offered to help (what a good husband I have. He supports me though all my crazy ideas). Now that I got my paint and Bear was supporting this ideas I was on my way of creating a functional yet vintage design that both Bear and I could enjoy (along with all of our guest that come and visit). 

I am sorry that we don't have any good pictures. I guess that means you will have to come visit to see the room yourself :) 

Before: 

After:

I painted two walls in the extra bedroom and on part of the wall we painted vintage looking flowers. 

I covered the chair bottom with fabric and cushion. 

The dresser that I repainted. (Mom this is the dresser we bought at that awesome estate sale)

Here is a video that kinda gives you an idea of what it looks like. I am sorry that it is sideways. 

I'm in LOVE 

with these two 

    

Katrina's Saturday Consisted of.....

Sewing a Baby Blanket
Spray Painting our dresser black

Baking a Sour Cream Lemon Pie

SOUR CREAM LEMON PIE

1 c. sugar

3 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. lemon rind, grated

1/2 c. fresh lemon juice3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 c. milk

1/4 c. butter

1 c. cultured sour cream

1 baked pie shell

1 c. heavy whipping cream

whippedLemon twists for garnish

Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon rind, juice, egg yolks and milk in heavy saucepan; cook over medium heat until thick. Stir in butter and cool mixture to room temperature. Stir in sour cream and pour filling into pie shell. Cover with whipped cream and garnish with lemon twists. Store in refrigerator

Enjoy :)

Here’s to new beginnings.

Through out the day yesterday I watched the inauguration of our first African American President along with the many balls that the Obama’s attended. As I was watching or listening to what was being said all I could think about is how blessed we all should be to be in this generation that has witnessed such a change in history .

Mini Adventures: Part One

I try so hard to get caught up in this blogging thing and I never seem to be able to do so. I am sorry about that. I will keep trying and one day everything will be in order and not a month behind.  This post is a little out of order because tomorrow I am hoping that I will be able to post all about our mini adventures through out the Christmas Holiday. The following, however, was this past week and weekend. 

First: MIAMI 

I flew to Miami for business but it felt more like a vacation. 

I was in Miami for a week for our annual meeting with everyone from our company. It was a great trip (minus the fact that I missed Bear terribly) and a wonderful experience. I was able to enjoy the sun and the beach. Our hotel was right on the ocean so every morning I got up and went and hug out on my balcony and watched all the many people already enjoying everything the beach had to offer. I ate wonderful food, got a little bit of sun, and enjoyed being out of New Jersey for a little while. 

The Hotel entrance 

                                 Myself and one of my co-workers (Liz) at our final dinner. 

Second: Baltimore

The weekend before school started up again we took a short trip to Baltimore to visit Jack and his girlfriend Brittney. It was great to spend time with Jack again and also to get to know Brittney. We miss our friends, so anytime we have the chance to visit them we make sure to take advantage of it. We were only there one night but we managed to have a drink at a cool little bar by the harbor, patron a two-story Barnes & Noble, and spend all Saturday afternoon touring the Baltimore aquarium. The aquarium was really quite amazing. The four storied building was packed full of hundreds of species of animals ranging from the exotic from all across the world to the more familiar found within the Chesapeake Bay. Highlights included a walk-through atrium with species of birds found only in the Amazon basin, a small scale recreation of Amazon River plant and animal life (the Amazon River, stretching over 4,000 miles long and containing 2/3 of the world's fresh water, is also home to more species of fish than found within all of the Atlantic Ocean), and an open water aquarium containing a variety of full size sharks. I (Bear) left with a far better appreciation of the world's natural diversity and am thankful we made the trip. 
                                                        Give me a kiss, said the fish. 
                              Jack, Brittney, and Bear all waiting for the dolphin show to start 


                   There was a monkey that was just hanging out in the trees. Sadly, over 95% of his natural habitat has been destroyed by logging and development.

Christmas in New Jersey

Merry Christmas from New Jersey ( A little late) 

 Christmas morning was a little different for both Bear and I. We spent it without our families for the first time. It was a little sad and very quite but we made the best of it and enjoyed it together. We were able to sleep in and take our time opening all of our wonderful gifts. I have to admit that I had so much fun Christmas shopping this year. Shopping is a lot different when you grow up and have a husband to buy for and seeing his face when he opened the gifts was the best part. He is such a little kid at heart and gets so excited and I love it. I thank my husband for  making this Christmas so much fun.