Tomorrow's Timeline: The Hubb's Birthday!!

Tomorrow is the hubb's 26th birthday!! I think I'm more excited than he is as I've been planning his day for almost two weeks now. There's going to be good food, good company, and chocolate cake.

At first, I was going to cook one of his favorite meals, but then the guest list was getting a little out of hand so we opted for a restaurant instead. After dinner some friends are coming back to our place for chocolate cake. It's been a while since I've planned an event so here's my try at a timeline.

Morning
-Make hubbs chocolate chip pancakes
-Open gifts
-Relax a little bit, then tidy up the house.
-Wipe down guest bathroom
-Dust living room furniture

Afternoon
-Bake Chocolate Oreo Cake while hubbs is at band practice
-Set up dining room with decorations

Evening
-Get ready
-Eat out with friends
-Come back home and surprise hubbs with decorations and chocolate cake!

I hope he has an awesome day!

Today's Update: Our Thanksgiving Menu

I am very excited. Very excited to be hosting and cooking my FIRST Thanksgiving!! Since the hubbs and I can't fly down to Miami for both Christmas and Thanksgiving, we chose Christmas. When our lovely best friends found out about this, they immediately decided they were coming to see us for Thanksgiving.

I am beyond grateful.

So! After much debate over the menu, we have finally decided on what to serve! I insisted on having all the traditions; I don't care if it's just going to be the four of us, we'll have plenty to eat the rest of the week! As far as desserts she can tell you that I went back and forth for weeks until I settled on serving only two, not three.

Our Thanksgiving Menu

Main Course
-Maple Glazed Turkey
-Maple Sweet Potatoes
-Apple & Cranberry Stuffing
-Buttery Corn on the Cob
-Homemade Cornbread
-Sweet Cranberry Sauce
-Mushroom & Parsley Gravy

Dessert
-Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
-White Chocolate Cranberry Bars

Ahhh!! I am soo excited!! I hope everything turns out well as I have NEVER made a turkey, or sweet potatoes! I have been preparing by reading other blogs and watching plenty of episodes on the Food Network. I'll let you know how it goes!

How are your Thanksgiving plans coming along?

Today's Purchases: Christmas Presents!!

I'm extremely excited for Christmas. Not so much the decorating aspect, and that's only because I've exhausted myself with the Fall/Halloween decor in the house. Don't worry, this won't last very long.

I am really excited for the baking, cooking, and time I'll finally be able to spend with my family. The hubbs and I are flying down to Miami for Christmas and we'll be there for quite a few days. I am a bit envious of all of you who will be waking up to a white Christmas while I am suffocating in 85 degree weather. No, trust me, you don't want to trade! It does NOT feel like Christmas!

Anyhow, just because I'm not ready to redesign my home for the Holiday season, that doesn't mean I haven't started to buy anything. I contradict myself, I know. I've already purchased white lights to string around the house, the peace sign from the post below, and little hanging Santa's and reindeers for our TV shelfs. They are so cute.

I continued my Christmas shopping today! I went to Marshall's and Old Navy while the hubbs was in his laboratory cutting open a human hand. Eww. I could never be a doctor. I managed to cross off a few people, only to be discouraged at Marshall's. Every now and then I'll manage to score an awesome find, but most of the time, I end up second guessing myself and questioning whether it really is a good bargain. I walked out with nothing after having spent a good forty-five minutes staring at the torn, ripped, discarded toys in the children's section. Oh well.

My favorite purchase of the day had to be for the hubbs. I bought him a very nice jacket at Old Navy, (50% all outerwear this week) while I made mental notes of what I want for Christmas. Coming from Miami we really don't have a winter wardrobe, so I'd like to get lots of sweaters, boots, and jackets. As well as a crockpot. :)

Just because I can, here's a look at what I want for Christmas!



Nice, cozy sweaters.



I LOVE anything in white.



And just for fun...they look so comfy! Don't worry, I'll only wear them in the house. :)




Have you thought about what you want for Christmas this year? Have you started your Christmas shopping? What are you waiting for! It'll be here before you know it. :)

Today's Random Ramblings: Friday

In an effort to keep myself writing everyday, I'm going to be adding more to this blog. I've seen several blogs listing random thoughts and I like that idea. I don't want to have a separate blog just for ramblings, so I'll be incorporating different aspects of my life into this one. It is after all about our new home and sharing about our new lives feels appropriate. Enjoy!

1. I'm already thinking about Christmas. I've got my Christmas list written down and I'm searching the ads in the paper every Sunday, hoping to find something for someone on my list. I've already gotten something for my Mom, grandmother, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law. I hate getting people just one gift, especially these people in my life, so I might get them all an extra something.

2. One of my aspirations in life is to write a book. I've started to write what I would call a memoir. 20 pages in. I hope I can keep it up!

3. Another note about Christmas- I'm making my own Christmas cards this year. It's so much fun! My Cricut makes it even easier.

4. I can't wait for our besties to arrive for Thanksgiving. I'm planning a huge feast for them! We're going to have leftovers for weeks.

5. Despite the fact that I have been dead-set against substituting, I'm filling out the substitute application. I applied to a three-month maternity leave position as well. It's in my field, so I would LOVE to get it!

6. I miss Miami's hustle and bustle. I miss Cuban food. I miss waking up to beautiful, sunny days and summer thunderstorms. I miss my parent's house, my in-law's house. I miss my Grandmother's cooking. The hubbs and I have already demanded loads of Cuban food and trips to Moon, our favorite sushi restaurant. I can't WAIT!

7. My husband and I have become obsessed with apples. I made pork tenderloin the other night and garnished it with apples, after watching Rachel Ray do this on her show. It. Was. So. Good! You can find the recipe here.

8. I LOVE food blogs. If you've got one, leave me a comment!

9. I love my new home.

What would you like to share?

Today's Update: The Living Room

If you remember our living room, it has a fireplace. I've wanted a "mantle" for it the second we moved in. I've been looking for awhile and found a few, but they've all been too short. The hubbs and I went to several home improvement stores this weekend and finally found the perfect one.



We scored the "mantle" (which is actually a shelf, but who cares), at Lowe's. The mirror we found at Home Goods.



As you can see I didn't wait very long to put up some Fall decor. Remember my previous post gushing about Halloween decor? I bought all the decor on the same trip to Michaels.



I can't wait to decorate this spot for Christmas. It's going to be bea-u-ti-ful!!!

Any decor updates in your house?

Today's Purchases: Halloween Clearance & Holiday Decor

This year I completely forgot to check out the Halloween clearance. I went two days later. That might not sound like a big deal, but if you've ever shopped for holiday clearance, you know all the good stuff is gone in a matter of minutes. I have a serious problem when it comes to Halloween clearance. Or rather, ANY holiday clearance. I circle the aisles endlessly, thinking about everything I already have and contemplating whether I really want the item or not. At least I'm not an impulsive buyer. Then we'd seriously be in trouble.

Anyhow, I went to Meijer for my regular grocery shopping this week and went to see what was left over from Halloween. I really wanted to find pumpkin cookie cutters oranything related to baking. Halloween sprinkles or baking cups. They were all out, but I did manage to score this super cute haunted house cut out for my buffet spread next year.



The next day I went to Michaels. I wasn't even planning on going through their Halloween clearance. I was only there to find candlesticks for our new mantle. But there it was, as soon as I stepped into the store. All the leftover items were haphazardly thrown together on wire racks. I proceeded to spend a good thirty minutes going back and forth until I decided on two items.



This will go on our new mantle next year. And I found the pumpkin cookie cutters I wanted for only 39 cents!



I also stopped in the basket aisle as they were 40% (gotta love Michaels). Books have been sitting in a pile under our nightstands, driving me crazy, so I bought this basket for them. Now they're resting under our coffetable in the living room.



Last, but not least, Michaels has their Christmas decor already out on display. I'm not thinking about Christmas decor yet, but I did take a little look-see and found this pretty sign on sale. My first Christmas item of the season!



I didn't do that bad now, did I?



What have you bought lately?