fun. and food. and fun food.

first, fun.

 micah taking a bath. sir splash a lot.

oh, so many jokes that could be made.

so little time.

let's just say... he loves all sorts of milk jugs.

i apologize. i just couldn't help myself. he walked into that one, right?

 matt's an m.d. and has a cool white coat.

i got micah an art table. 

for an amazing price at a resale shop... 

even though it was brand new.

bam.

and i made an art piece for our living room!

lyrics from come thou fount.

one of my favorites... and we had it in our wedding!

i stenciled each letter on the canvas. 

one by one, taping them down.

with regular acrylic paint and a sponge brush.

you should make one.

but, beware, it takes a while.

now, food.

two new things...

1. baked fajitas.

so good! from here.

2. chocolate chip cookie bars.

i forgot to take a picture.

but holy cow... they're good. and a huge perk of cookie bars? one batch. so much easier than a bunch of batches of cookies!

i got the recipe from here.

last, but not least... fun food.

matt randomly got a night off. 

instant reaction: babysitter!

apparently, the restaurant is known for fried pickles.

i know.

but how could we not try them?

turns out... they're delicious.

but be warned. you will bloat. it may not be pretty. but it will be worth it.

 the burger we split?

topped with pulled pork, cheese, and coleslaw.

say whaaaat.

 as it turns out, life as a stay at home mom can be pretty grand.

phew.

craftaholic.

a lot of things put me in a good mood. mostly food related. but also crafts.

here are some of the things happening in my world...

recovering chairs from blue to tan

with my mom's help. this girl doesn't know how to use a staple gun safely.

(matt's parents had this table back when his dad was in residency at u of m. and now we have it and matt's in residency at u of m. love it.)

 the finished product! no wall decor yet, though. we'll get there eventually...

and maps of important life places for our bedroom. 

 a little heart on upland, indiana. 

where we met and fell in love. 

the date is the date we starting dating. 

(date date date. can i say it more?)

 a little heart on mishawaka, indiana. 

where we got married.

 a little heart on grosse pointe woods, mi. 

where we first brought micah home.

these are the shelves above our bed. 

the "e" i'm eventually going to wrap in some kind of yarn. 

so... a work in progress.

and speaking of things that make me happy...

my cheeseball has his own little adirondack chair.

(thanks, grandma and grandpa!)

 don't be confused. he doesn't actually play rugby, as his outfit may cause you to think. because he refuses to crawl. i hear moving is important in sports? i wouldn't know.

the calm before the storm.

i get nervous about transitions.

i am not good at change.

newest transition: from detroit to ypsi/aa with a baby, quit my job to be a stay at home mom, bought a house, husband becoming a medical resident... enormous change. daunting to think about.

so, for a week or so... we just didn't! instead, before all that gets going... we decided to do a bunch of date nights to prepare for the 80 hour work week that will begin... now.

fun bbq restaurant in downtown ann arbor.

blue tractor. incredible.

 cool coffee shop in depot town of ypsi.

ugly mugs. 

if you get a cup of coffee, it's in one of many ugly mugs. love it.

chocolates in aa.

gallup park.

walking the trails along the river.

sure, micah's there... but he fell asleep.

date.

whole foods. 

not a date, you say?

the food is delish. 

and we have a gift card.

and i got sushi.

and we did no grocery shopping.

date.

residency, we're ready.

a few new eats.

i have cooked a little in the new kitchen.

here are a few delicious new ones.

honey sesame chicken.

this one is straight from pinterest.

except i didn't have enough honey... so just know that it can be good with less honey.

i got the recipe from here.

it's a crock pot recipe. as it turns out, many crock pot recipes don't actually allow you to work all day and let things go at home. this one only cooked for a few hours... i'm still not sure how that's all supposed to work with crock pots.

but i digress.

 and peanut butter oatmeal cookies.

these were GOOD.

check it out. from here.

i've eaten more than any one person should.

but hey, i'm breastfeeding.

the more calories, the better. right?

enjoy!

decorating 101.

things i've learned whilst redoing rooms:

1. things always take longer than you expect.

2. things are always more expensive than you expect.

3. expect to go to lowe's a lot. a lot a lot.

4. let go of the idea of perfection if you're going to do it yourself.

things i've learned about houses:

1. carpet in kitchens is not ideal.

2. appliances can be difficult to move. once moved, you want them to stay for a while.

3. i hate bugs. and houses sometimes have them. especially in basements. i saw a millipede. and i nearly peed. 

4. houses can get really dirty. or the people before us lived very dirtily.

5. landscaping is time consuming to keep up.

6. i know nothing about landscaping.

7. i know nothing about most of the things i'm attempting to accomplish in a house.

so, want to see what we're working on?

here are a few rooms we've been spending some time in.

the kitchen before. 

pink paint, box light, giant appliances.

(we've changed the color, the appliances, the light so far... i want that carpet out soon!)

here's where we're at so far...

living room before. 

pink, crazy drape.

here's a little taste of the new living room...

this at least gives a taste of the color! it's now tan. with white trim.

still working on decor... obviously.

before upstairs bathroom.

 after! 

paint goes a long way. 

both literally and aesthetically.

before main floor bathroom. 

really grimy. and weird yellow (and i love me some yellow).

after! gray saved the day.

before basement.

was dirty and empty.

part of the after. 

this is one part. 

and then the man cave and the revamped storage area and laundry area.

that's all the changes so far. but many more to come! 

bedrooms, formal dining, family room, eat in kitchen. yikes.

owning a house is a lot of work.

plus, come to find out, you have to do outside work as well.

where to begin.

a few highlights from the past few months:

 matt graduated medical school.

i'd appreciate it if you called me dr. wife. to be expected.

kidding of course.

 first mother's day.

 first father's day.

 summer! in a house that we bought!

translation: a lot of root beer floats, ping pong tournaments, and baby pool time.

other items to note:

i'm done being a first grade teacher. crazy. 

on to stay at home mom-land and part time teaching in the fall. 

oh, the excitement begins.

spending time with the love of my life.

baking.

hanging out with friends. (hopefully making lots of them here in ann arbor!)

and cleaning and cooking and trying to not miss my very busy resident husband.

mostly all great things!

let's do this.

back in the ann arbor groove.

what's happened since I last blogged?

 

where to begin...

bought a house.

packed. and moved.

with a baby.

working full time.

but not for much longer.

 

so, starting next week, this blog will officially be back in action.

i'm in full decorating mode.

and almost-done-with-work mode.

and soon to be stay at home mom mode.

and summer mode.

and cooking mode.

and baking mode.

thus, blogging mode.

 

so, friends, never fear.

i'm back in the ann arbor groove.

(like new york, only even better).

 

stay tuned.