Leaves are GONE!

A few weeks ago I posted about our yard work that was needing to be done.  A project we started but didn't finish thanks to Joe's brilliant idea to hire someone to do it for us.

As much as I love Fall and the beauty of fallen leaves, I'm happy to say our yard is leaf free!!

The yard looks beautiful and we were able to spare a few blisters from raking ourselves.

Halloween!

Last night we celebrated Halloween, since the actual day happens on a Wednesday this year.  Joe and I were a Bee and a Beekeeper.  We had some friends over for a little 'happy hour' prior to heading out to the bars.  We made some various appetizers, had some beers, and played some card games.  Then headed out to the bar.

I will say I was quite disappointed that not as many people were dressed up when we went out.  Regardless, it was a fun night.  Next year though, my costume preparation will begin early... I'm going for creativity next year, not what costumes were the cheapest.  Ha!

Next year I'd also like to actually get creative with some decorating of the house and food ideas.  This was about the extent of our creativity on that end...

Arboretum

Saturday morning we got up and headed to breakfast.  We tried out Maggie's Family Restaurant in Wayzata.  Very cozy, little diner with an awesome breakfast.  It's the type of family diner that makes you forget you're in the Twin Cities and more like you're in a tiny little country town.

After breakfast we decided to check out the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  I was a little hesitant about going since it didn't exactly look like it would be all that exciting but I am so glad we decided to check it out. The trails and the way nature was displayed was absolutely gorgeous.  I just wish we would have checked it out a little earlier in the fall when the colors were in their peak.  Next year... it is a must.  As will be spring and summer when all of the different flower exhibits will be in full bloom.

We're also now considering buying a yearly membership so we can go use the trails for walks and runs.  If you haven't ever checked this place out and enjoy experiencing the MN seasons, go check it out.

Pumpkin Carving Date Night

Friday night Joe and I decided to stay in, make dinner, have some beers, and carve pumpkins.  After spending what seemed like an hour at the pumpkin patch looking for the perfect pumpkins...we were all set.

I found an awesome idea for a pumpkin carving on Pinterest.  It was of a German Shorthair, so naturally I thought it would be fun and funny to give it a try.  To my surprise, it actually turned out looking like a dog.  It was a lot more difficult than I anticipated.  I will definitely be carving a generic idea next Halloween!
Here are mine and Joe's pumpkins:

I should mention that I also made us dinner.  Yes, that's right, I cooked.  AND it turned out pretty good for the most part.  I made Chicken Pot Pie from a recipe I found on Pinterest.  It was quick and most importantly, easy.  I will definitely be making this again in the future.

Ingredients

1  3 1/2- to 4-pound rotisserie chicken, meat shredded

1  10-ounce package  frozen mixed vegetables

1  10.75-ounce can  condensed cream-of-mushroom soup

1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt

1/4  teaspoon  black pepper

1  10-count tube  refrigerated biscuits

Directions

Heat oven to 400° F. Combine the chicken, vegetables, soup, salt, pepper, and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl.  Transfer the mixture to an oven-safe casserole, cover with foil, and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil, cover the filling with the biscuits, and bake until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Yardwork...blah.

Our yard is covered with leaves and while I normally don't mind yard work, this task was too big of a beast to tackle.  Joe tried to tell me it was easier to hire someone to do the fall clean-up in the yard but I argued.  I told him it was pointless to hire anyone and that we were fully capable of doing it on our own, together.  About an hour into the yard work, I quickly changed my mind.  Raking, leaf blowing, mowing... it was all too much to tackle on our yard.  It literally would have took 100-200 bags of leaves and who knows how many hours of work.  No thanks.

Instead, someone will be doing it for us.  Next year, I won't even attempt to argue when Joe wants to hire someone.  

Month by Month

Today marks the big 11 month Date-a-versary with Joe.  Yes, I have turned into THAT girl who pays attention to these things.  On that note, today I am extra thankful for having such a wonderful guy in my life.  A guy who tells me morning, noon, and night how in love with me he is.  A guy who checks the house for "scary things" when I hear random noises in the middle of the night.  A guy who has captured my heart in more ways than he'll ever know.

Also, my other favorite guy turned 7 months two days ago :)

 

Love them both to pieces.

Smiles

As I've mentioned many times before, Joe is great at knowing how to make me smile.  After running to get us dinner last night he came home with these...

For no other reason than to make me smile :) 

Love him to pieces.

Gordie's First Hunt!

As we all know, I am not an avid hunter, nor do I even pretend to like it.  So for this post, I went to Joe to ask if he'd write it for me :)

So here we have it... my very first blog with a "ghost writer"!

Joe and Gordie drove up to Deer River, MN to Campbell’s Lodge on Sand Lake this weekend to introduce Gordie to the hunting lifestyle.

Gordie is only a 7 month old German Shorthair puppy, so the expectations of what he would be able to do in the field at this time were fairly minimal with Joe.  The trip was more about just getting his feet (paws) wet and to begin the process of absorbing the smells, sights, and associations of what hunting is.

 The first day out was quite the adventure for little Gordie.  Though he had no idea what the hell he was doing, he was happy to get out and run around on the trails.  He did an incredible job of following commands of whoa, come, & run.  He also impressed with his natural instincts of using his nose to take everything in rather than his sight.  We were able to get some birds in the air and fire some shots over him early in the morning.  He was not aware of what was happening but it was good to see he wasn’t scared or apprehensive about the actions and noises going on around him.

 Day 2 brought new light to the trip.  Gordie headed out on the trails advancing his range into the wooded areas and gaining more confidence with what his abilities could produce.  About mid-morning Joe and his father were walking down the trail with Gordie about 15 yards in front of them when all of a sudden Gordie got a whiff of a smell he had just learned the day before.  He took a 90 degree turn and ran deeper into the wooded terrain and flushed out two grouse side by side.  Joe’s dad got both shots off hitting one of the birds.  A milestone for our little guy! His first bird flush.  He was very excited and it really got his adrenaline pumping.

This weekend marked Gordie introduction into the world of game hunting.  He has a long way to go, but it was a joy to see he how well he could adapt, and how well he learned.

Here's a picture of Gordie in his hunting gear....which I later found out is on backwards.  Oops, shows how much I know about hunting :)

Oh well, he still looks adorable, even if his "mom" put his clothes on him backwards!

Girls Night!

"A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world."

With the boys (Joe & Gordie) away, it was definitely the perfect time to have some of the girls over for a wine night.  As much as I love and enjoy my time with Joe, I also love time away with just the girls!

Kristen, Jen, and Gina came over last night and the only plan on the agenda... drive wine, eat, and gossip.  We decided we'd each bring an appetizer of sorts to snack on.  And snack we did... pretty sure we polished off almost all of the goodies.

I am learning today that I can no longer function off of a short amount of sleep.  Going to bed at 4:00am and getting up at 7:30am is not exactly ideal.  Joe and Gordie were home bright and early this morning and it's safe to say we'll all be in bed early tonight...

Here's what made it to the table...

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

Ingredients:
4-5 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 Bottle Archer Farms Hawaiian Style Barbecue Sauce (from Target)
1 20oz. can Pineapple Chunks, drained

Directions:

Spray the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray for an easy cleanup!  Place frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot and cover with sauce.  Empty can of drained pineapple chunks on top.  Cook on High for 2-3 hours or Low for 4-6 hours.  Shred chicken with two forks while still in the crock pot so the chicken will be well coated with sauce. 


Prosciutto, Goat Cheese & Asparagus Phyllo Bundles

Ingredients:
12 asparagus spears, blanched

4 large sheets of phyllo pastry, thawed

12 thin slices prosciutto
1 small round of goat cheese (I used stuff with herbs, but you can use plain.  Or used any other cheese you like: old cheddar, Swiss, etc.)

4 tbsp. melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F

To blanch the asparagus, heat a pot of boiling water.  Drop the asparagus in and cook one minute.  Have a bowl of ice water beside, and drop the hot asparagus into cold water.  When completely chilled, remove and drain on paper towels.

Lay first sheet of phyllo down on cutting board.  Brush with  butter.  Repeat for next 3 layers.  Cut into 12 squares.  Lay one piece of prosciutto on each square, then the cheese, then the asparagus.  Roll up tightly.  Place on a  parchment lined bake sheet, and brush with more butter.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Caprese Kabobs

Ingredients:
20 baby tomatoes, sliced in 1/2
1 fresh mozzarella sliced into cubes
Fresh basil
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
EVOO
Balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Using a skewer, put 1/2 tomato, cut side up, followed by a piece of mozzarella, basil, second piece of mozzarella and finish with another tomato half.  Season skewers with salt, pepper, oil and vinegar.

Taco Dip - Skinny Style

Ingredients:
8 oz 1/3 less fat Philadelphia cream cheese
8 oz reduced fat sour cream
16 oz jar mild salsa
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups lettuce, shredded
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, and taco seasoning.  Mix well with an
electric mixer. Spread on the bottom of a large dish.  Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and shredded cheese.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Brie Cups

Ingredients:
1 package (1.9 oz) frozen miniature phyllo tarts shells
2 ounces Brie cheese, chopped
1/3 cup orange marmalade

Directions:
Fill each tart shell with cheese.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Top with orange marmalade.   Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Autumn Clean-up

Autumn is definitely here to stay and by the feel of things, it may not last long.  It already seems colder than normal.  This is a sign there isn't a whole lot of time to accomplish fall clean up around the house.  The leaves are quickly covering the grass, the shrubs have been trimmed, the sprinkler system is being shut off, and the patio furniture is seeing it's last days on the patio.  I'm hoping over the next few weeks we'll be able to get out and enjoy some fall like activities.

The garage project is ALMOST complete.  All that is left is to get the walls painted and finish moving things back in and on the shelves.

Gifts...who doesn't love them?!

Joe's parents recently got back from a trip traveling Europe and to my surprise, came home with a few gifts for me.  And even better... I LOVE them!

They picked up a beautiful scarf and some perfume for me while in Paris.  I'm pretty impressed with their choices!!  I actually may have found a new favorite perfume thanks to Joe's mom!

Looking Forward to Normal

It's been over a month and I'm still not feeling back to normal.  I went back in to the hospital late last week and found out I also now have pleural effusion.  I guess the saying of, "it has to get worse before it gets better" runs true in this case.  Eek!!

It's not often that I let my guard down and admit defeat but this pneumonia has kicked my butt.  For the first time in a very long time I actually admitted I couldn't handle this much longer.  I asked Joe to take care of me while I'm sick.  I'm not sure that I've ever uttered those words or wanted anyone to take care of me.  So after being a little reluctant to give up his weekend to stay home with sick me, he did.  Needless to say, staying home all weekend sick is not exactly all that thrilling.  I'm definitely looking forward to feeling better and enjoying having a life again.

Smiles

When I'm having a crappy day or maybe just not a cheery one, there is always one thing that can make my day better...Joe.  He always has a way to make me smile or laugh. 

How can you not smile at a face this cute?!  :)

This post was more or less a reminder to myself to start today off with a smile, the stresses of the day can come after.

Sick Days...

This pneumonia is kicking my ass to say the least.  Last week I was out of work for three days.  If you knew my job, you'd know being sick couldn't have came at a worse time.  Back-to-School campaigns are in full swing which means my work life is beyond chaotic.  Add some pneumonia to the mix and this makes for one insanely stressed out Krystle.  Eek! 

Thankfully, last Thursday Joe stayed home from work with me to take care of me and keep me company.  Mainly to babysit me to make sure I got the rest the doctor ordered me to get.  Ha!

The worst part of it all is that while I would think I'd be feeling better by now, I actually woke up feeling the worst I have yet over all these weeks.  Nothing like taking 7 steps backwards.  I'm about to turn into a hippie and home remedy the crap out of the sickness. 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated at this point! :)

Garage Project

Although this isn't the most exciting remodel project, it is a much needed one.  As I type, the garage is currently getting re-done.  Since Joe bought the house the garage has always had some water issues.  In the spring or after heavy rain-fall, some water puddles would form on the garage floor.  After trying numerous different approaches of repositioning gutters, drains, and designing landscaping around water run-off...we're hoping this is the fix all problem.

Here are some pictures of the progress...

Perfect Day for a Ball Game

Besides being sick, I couldn't have asked for a better day for a ball game!  The weather was perfect and I was with a few of my favorite people.  My friend, Andy, was in town visiting from Alaska so we met up with him and his girlfriend, Leigh Ann, and a few others for a few beers and the game.  Lindsay also made the trip down which made it pretty comical to have me, her, and Andy all in the same room together.  I'm not sure that's happened since high school! 

This was also the first time Joe was able to meet Andy.  Andy is one of my oldest and dearest friends so I was definitely looking forward to seeing what his thoughts were of Joe, considering he's never approved of any other guy in my life before... things were about to get interesting!  Ha!  I was so worried they wouldn't like each other that I hadn't considered they might like each other a little too much.  The meet and greet quickly turned into the start of a bromance.  Here they are perfecting their take on the women's Olympic volleyball handshake.

All in all, it was so much fun to see everyone and have a chance to catch up.  Joe and I are now in the processing of planning our trip to AK to see them on their turf.

October

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

 

 

After going through my own scare, I can't help but be more aware of what this actually means.  It honestly takes less than a minute to check yourself out.  Taking a minute out of your day could save you a world of pain, heartache, and possibly your life.  No matter what your age or family history, it is never too early to start your self-exams.