Rustic Liquor Display

When we first moved into our townhouse, Michael tried to convince me that we needed a bar in our already tiny "man cave".  He wanted to buy a certain family member's bar but I politely declined for him :)  However, after having the liquor handles and accessories lining the floor and the TV stand, I was pretty fed up and wished we had a bar.  Being the crafty husband that he is, Michael came up with an awesome Christmas gift idea for our brother-in-law, Jason.  He made him a liquor and beer stein display made completely from an old pallet.  In the craziness of Christmas, I did not get a very good photo of it, but fortunately Michael loved it so much that he made one for himself!  Now our liquor bottles aren't cluttering up the TV stand and Michael's rock glasses have a great place to be displayed for everyone to see - and finally use!

Here it is all put together...

I was playing around with the different liquors and glasses, you will notice later that I did not put them in the correct display "order" for Michael :)

A close up of the awesome personalized glasses that Michael's sister, Becca, got him for Christmas

And here it is finally in use and in its true color...

What do you think?  Pretty nice for a small space!

Erin

Good Fortune in 2013!

Today has been a great day.  Not only did I get to celebrate (aka do same thing we do everyday but acknowledge the occasion) being married to the best husband ever for 9 months (!) but I also got to start a new job!  Last Monday I received a call to ask if I wanted to interview for a long term substitute teacher position and by Wednesday I had interviewed for and been offered the job.  Not only was I lucky enough to get a long term position - teaching Algebra 1 - it is for the rest of the year!  That means that I am essentially the teacher now and today was my first day and it was wonderful.  While I am not in a contracted position, I feel that this can only bring good things so I am enjoying the success for now :)  I am thankfully being eased in to the job this week with midterm exams and half days - which gives me plenty of time to get used to things and get ready to hit the ground running next week!  Nine months ago seems so long and a lot has changed since then.  I have so much to be thankful for and I am so excited for what this opportunity can bring to me.  Last week I was writing my bio for my blog and I wrote that I was an aspiring teacher and this week I AM a teacher!  Crazy how much can change in a week.  I want to say thank you to everyone (especially Michael) for supporting me and allowing me to pursue my new career.  I have a few classes left this semester and then I will be officially certified.  It hasn't always been easy but the hard times make the success that much sweeter.

-Erin

Happy Birthday to Michael!

Today is Michael's birthday, my best friend and new husband!  I was lucky enough to get the day off but he was not :( This morning I made him breakfast in bed, made his lunch, AND gave him his first birthday present before work - I am such an awesome wife! But seriously, I had a great time today surprising him by cleaning out the storage closet like he has wanted and cooking him an awesome meal of imitation Chick-Fil-A nuggets (and sauce!) and homemade potato chips!  The chips were from Paula Dean and were super simple and A-mazing, check out this two step recipe, here.  The nuggets were also great but I had a little too much breading to chicken ratio because I forgot to cut down the recipe for just two chicken breasts, whoops!  I found this recipe over on Table for Two.  The only thing I changed was that I marinated the chicken in pickle juice beforehand, something I had read somewhere else and it really did make them taste more authentic!  For the big finale, aka dessert, I made chocolate peanut butter Reeses cupcakes.  I actually made these yesterday because Michael wanted to bring them in to work, and they were a big hit!  The recipe was adapted from Chef in Training - I just love her recipe index!

The big thing I did differently was that I crushed up some Reeses cups and put them in the cupcake batter before baking - mmm :)

Check out the deliciousness in action!

Only put a little bit of batter in the bottom.

Smash up some Reeses

Add the Reeses to the batter and pour more batter on top.

Now on to my most favorite kitchen gadget!

 Homemade PB frosting = awesomeness.

I don't have a frosting piper so I improvised with some advice from my Mom. 

Messy but it worked! 

Perfect birthday cupcake!

Enjoy!!

Dreams Come True, One Day at a Time

Here is to trying something new!  Many things have changed in my life in the last couple months.  I got married.  I moved back (almost) home.  I quit my job.  I became a nanny.  I started school again.  So why not add something else? :)

Here is to exlporing the world of marriage together with my new husband, Michael, and making our dreams come true one day at a time.  I hope to share with friends and family far and near, old and hopefully new, and anyone else who may care to stop by.

There will be a bit of cooking, lots of baking, some DIY-ing, hopefully some traveling, and definitely some puppies :)  Join me while I travel on this road called marriage and real life.