2011

Here I am, at the end of 2011. Wow.

I follow so many blogs now, and feel I neglected my own blog this year. Truth is, I didn't often have the time or will power to post, but I hope this new year brings me a renewed desire to share my crafting, pictures, stories, and recipes with the world. (Maybe only a few family members and friends at this point, but maybe I'll post the next pinterest craze and get some new followers!)

Here's a few things I am grateful for this year.

1. Passing my qualifying exams. It was a process (over 8 months!), and had me question my desire to pursue a PhD more than once. But, now it's done, and I'm a cadidate!
2. My support system. Family and friends which have always been there for me, and my new-found professional/academic mentors and peers who helped me complete this past semester with a smile on my face.
3. My creativity. Some days, the most enjoyable part is crafting. Helps me stay sane.
4. My husband. Not number 1, you may ask? He's implied in the first three, and I love him more each day.
5. The positive outlook on 2012. I have a few goals in mind, and I am just excited for the new year!
6. My kitties. Love those little brats that wake me up every morning, because they are STARVING and can't let me forget to feed them.

New favorite recipes

This past weekend was out sister-in-law's birthday celebration. Bobby and I along with our neighbors and a few other friends celebrated her big 3-0 with a luau party! We all contributed to to the potluck dinner, and ended up with an amazing spread. I contributed two new recipes - crispy sweet potato "fries" and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Sweet potato fries are from a new blog I found, Forgiving Martha, and the recipe is truly amazing. No soggy sweet potatoes if you follow this recipe!

By the time I thought to take a picture they were already almost gone!

Halva/Halava/Halwa

My obsession with this cream-of-wheat based sweet pudding started a few months ago. I finally tried the vegetarian lunch served by the Hare Krishnas on campus (a UF tradition, and I was a bad student to not try it until my 8th year on campus). Their food is not only delicious and karma-free, but a great wallet friendly lunch when I forget to pack one for myself. And, it's just a great atmosphere... all those happy people serving/eating vegetarian lunches on the plaza. Anywho...

I searched and searched for a recipe to make my own sweet treat. Mistakenly made a sesame tahini fudge-like something or other first, and then found the cream of wheat based one and fell.in.love. And, here's where I admit that I am bad little blogger and have NO IDEA where I found the recipe. I wrote it down on a piece of note paper, and couldn't find it when I tried to search for it again. I adapted it a little anyways, and if I do find the original recipe I will be sure to give credit where it is due. Here it is for you to enjoy!

Weekend with friends

Bobby and I spent the Memorial Day long weekend in south Florida - visiting his family, and one of my best friends. It all culminated with the Race for the Pineapple 5K. I walked the entire 3.1 (no jogging at all... a first for me). So I now have a personal best for a walked 5K - 42:20.

I also was able to visit a dear friend of mine, one of my mommy-to-be friends, and we enjoyed catching up, eating delicious food, and some crafting projects! We also hung out with these lovely girls:

Such cuties!

I gave E her mommy-to-be present: (Same slipper pattern from a previous blog post)

And we worked on the decorations for another friend's baby shower:

A "flower bouquet" made from baby onesies, socks, washcloths, etc. 

The flowers were inspired by a google search for baby shower gifts. I've had a few requests for "how tos", but I didn't take any pictures at the time. I'll try to put together a post soon.

The Bubbas - A name evolution

I don't nearly talk as much about my cats, as I do talking to them. We have conversations every morning usually along the lines of...

Me: Did you sleep good last night? (and yes, I know it should be "well" and not "good")
Hazel: mrrrrow
Me: That's good to hear! Are you ready for breakfast?
Hazel: mmmyow, purr-rowa
Oliver: ea-ehh-eee-eh

A little later on that morning, Hazel and I usually talk about the birdies outside the kitchen window, and what our plans are for the day. Also, I initiate several more exchanges with their many variations of names. Before the time of Hazel, it was Oliver and Hootie, "the boys". That didn't work once Hazel came around, so it then morphed to "the bubbas".  Now, Oliver is the bubbs, Hazel is boo, and I am surprised they know I am talking to them and still come running when I call their names!

Anywho... they've been cuddly the last few days, so I've taken a few pictures and would like to share them with you

 Sleepy upside down Hazel-boo

Oliver-bubba getting his belly rubs!

Oliver must have sensed my loving thoughts about him. Because he laid right on my arm and in my lap while I was typing this post. Love that cuddle buddy!

Incredible Edible Cake

Our wedding cake was a-maz-ing! It froze so well and that yummy cake lasted all week! (I am tempted to buy another every time I go to publix).

 

The foil and saran wrapped cake

It was still dotted, but a big piece of icing was missing from our cake topper

We actually had to pry off the piece of plastic that was at the top of the cake. It was used to stabilize the cake for the topper, but had columns going into the cake itself, so it was cumbersome to remove.

Yummy!

I wish I could eat a piece right now! (Yes, at 8:30 in the morning).

Wedding Memories

Sunday is our first wedding anniversary. I can't believe a whole year has flown by already! I am working on a recap video and posting all the pictures I've never quite sorted through on facebook, but here's one of my favorites.

Alicia Biehl Photography

I know, it's not even a picture of me and my hubby. It's of the maid of honor and best man right before they made their entrance to the reception. I love the motion of Alix's dress as she's dancing, and Mike standing perfectly still making that ridiculous excited smiley face that my husband and all of his brothers make. That picture always makes me smile and think of how lucky I am to have been born into and married into such wonderful families!

Wedding Memories Video

I just remembered that I needed to share my complete wedding memories video with you all! Enjoy!


Wedding Memories from Brittany on Vimeo.

Paper Blueberry Anniversary

Today marks the beginning of our second year as husband and wife. It's our first anniversary, and according to the traditional anniversary gift list, it is our paper anniversary. Bobby and I both made each other presents this year, in hopes of saving a few extra dollars towards our to-be-determined summer vacation. Our paper presents were also both origami!

Bobby made me a beautiful bouquet

I created a poster, with "I love you" and a heart in origami letters.  No picture of that though..

 Today we went blueberry picking. The first batch of the season was ready for picking, and after we took a "scenic drive" (which may or may not be the same as "getting lost") we found the farm and ending up picking 7 pounds of berries!

 love him :)

Tonight we will be going to Napolatano's (who catered our reception... delicious italian food!) for dinner. For dessert is the top tier of our wedding cake, and our last bottle of wedding champagne. I will keep you all updated on whether or not our cake was edible :)

Crochet Lesson Learned: Always count your stitches

Since winter I have searched for a simple, yet still cute, knit or crochet pattern for slippers. I finally found one! My first pair was definitely practice... one, because I hope to make a pair for a friend as a gift, so I wanted to practice on a pair for myself. Two, because they didn't turn out quite like they should, so I have a few adjustments to make on the next pair.

I found the pattern via Ravelry, and was brought to ohmygoodknits! for the pattern. Super simple, and they probably would have come out perfect with a more experienced hand. My biggest lesson learned - always count my stitches. I ended up restarting my first slipper because somehow I added 20 or so extra stitches to the toe. :/

The adjustments I will make on the next pair:
- adjust the yarn/hook for tighter stitches
- perhaps not make the last increasing row in toe
- to adjust for the finishing border, leave more toe stitches unstitched, to allow for narrow feet and a wider space on top.
- when increasing rows for the size of your foot, make one less row than you think, because the yarn will stretch, and making it as long as your foot in the first place results in too-big slippers.

The dancer in me also thinks these would be great for dancing in. Changing the yarn would make them more or less slippery.

Agenda for today: house hunting! Bobby and I finally have an appointment to see a house we're interested in, so hopefully this marks the up swing of our house hunting adventure.

Fabulous Dinner Creation

Since my brother-in-law and his wife, M2 (read M-squared) moved back to Gainesville this past winter, we've started a tradition of Saturday dinners.  We are often joined by their neighbors, and my contribution to the dinners has always been dessert. I am the baker of the three wives, and my friends are definitely much more talented with the savory food items. I am often inspired by their farmer's market meals, so today I experimented for dinner with my fresh green beans and a purple pepper.

This idea originated from M, so I can't take the credit. And I did some recipe reviews on All Recipes to find some common ingredients. Here's the final result, and I must admit, that it is surprisingly delicious.

Honey Garlic Glazed Green Beans and Peppers with Orzo Pasta

I don't think I am going to veer from my love of baked goods, but I am excited to try a few new things in the kitchen :)

My recipe: Saute the peppers and green beans in a pan, add garlic and honey. Cook until the beans are crisply tender. Sprinkle with salt. Serve with al dente orzo pasta. Yum!

Twin Hats

My latest crochet project, twin hats for twin boys! My wonderful friend, E, recently found out that she had two little men on the way. My next trip to Michael's, I found some boy-colored Lily cotton yarn and found a simple pattern for crochet newborn hats.

I first found this pattern through Ravelry, and I was then brought to Imagine for the wonderfully easy pattern that this beginning crocheter needed. I highly recommend this pattern for an easy newborn hat. I am also looking for easy patterns for some matching booties, and I know I will find something on ravelry. I can't wait to meet the little men and see how handsome they are in their hats!

To many things to figure out

Hello all...

Here we are, end of the semester, and things should be winding down. However, it's just seemed to be more stressful than it should. My current to do list:
- Oral Qualifying exams on Tuesday
- Finishing teaching for the semester
- Find a house to move to for next year
- Figure out my summer academics and dissertation ideas

This house hunting thing is the most stressful at the moment. It's harder than I thought it would be to find a 3/2 in our price range... hopefully we can find something soon.

A time out

I have hit the most stressful part of my semester, and will be writing non-stop for the next 8 days. On April 1st, my qualifying exams are due, and then I will be able to celebrate. Until then, please forgive me if I take a time out from blogging :)

Motivated today...

I woke up this morning, motivated. That doesn't happen very often. Unfortunately, I wasn't motivated to write (which is what I should be doing all day), but I was motivated to go for a jog and begin to minimize my arm jiggle. Yes, arm jiggle. I noticed it on Thursday in dance class, and wasn't too happy about it. I don't want to have jiggly arms!

So I used my Nike+, went for a walk/jog, signed up for a 5K, and found an app to help me stay motivated in terms of my arm jiggle. I'll tell you all more about that later, since I want to see how I do first.

Today's plan is to make some soda bread and bake a cake for the dinner party tonight at M2's house. And, hopefully, get some cleaning and reading done!

Oh, Oliver.

Oliver has chosen the perfect time to start being as annoying as possible at 2am. (That's sarcasm there... in case it didn't read that way...)

He has decided to start scratching at the door in the middle of the night. Leaving nice little pulled up areas of the carpet and over all just being obnoxious. Now, the carpet is covered in tape and an extra throw rug to try and prevent any more awful activities. Oliver's favorite change (sarcasm again) is the soft paws he's now wearing.

They are little vinyl caps that are glued to his claws, so he can still go through the motion of scratching but not cause damage. However, he's decided his new hobby is trying to chew them off. (I'm hoping I'll get at least one scratch free night while he's busy de-manicurizing himself).

 

Such handsome paws :)

Bobby thinks he looks ridiculous... and that I should get clear ones next time. I like the blue. Oliver is a orange and blue gator fan! 

A Lazy Weekend

It's a lazy weekend here...

Alix is visiting for the end of her spring break. Unfortunately, I haven't made it that exciting. But we are going to do some shopping today and then go to The Wiz! The Wiz is the annual spring production of my dance studio's dance company. It should be a fun sister's night out.

Baby Knits - Booties

It's an exciting time for two of my very good friends, who are both expectant mommies. One, H, is expecting a little boy late this summer. Another, E, is expecting twins! I am so very excited for my friends, and anxiously looking forward to meeting my new baby friends!! I am using my new Ravelry membership extensively, while looking for baby knit and crochet projects. My first project was a set of booties, which I made with some of my Lily'n'cream yarn stash.

The color is "natural" (and may be a little too pink-ish for a baby boy), so I am going to work on a hat and incorporating some more obviously boy colors into it. The pattern is originally a Bernat creation. Pretty simple - the booties are knit in one piece, and a seam is sewn in the base, toe, and around the top of the booty.

Spring Break

I am in the midst of spring break, but have no fabulous plans to get tan or escape from my daily routine. I have too much to write, and patients to see. At least Gainesville is empty this week! And, I really shouldn't say that I have no plans... Alix is going to come up and stay a few days, and we're hoping to head over to Jax for some beach time. But the weather may not cooperate with us thin-blooded Floridians.

 Courtesy of weather.com

Not that I'm complaining about sunny and high 60s. That's gorgeous and fabulous. Just not for a usually windy beach. Maybe we'll go to the Jax zoo instead!

An Update

A little update:

Bobby and I have almost be married 10 months. That means we'll be able to eat the delicious top of our wedding cake soon! It's been taking up space in our freezer for a long time, and I hope it tastes good :)

Ph.D. land is a hectic for the next few weeks. My qualifying exams will be over at April 1st, but until then I'll be balancing teaching, clinic, and lots of writing.

We're currently looking at houses to move to this summer. Our little apartment is getting to be too little, and we need a bigger place to live for the rest of our time in Gainesville. Oh, and my sister may be joining us next year. She's just waiting to hear back from UF!

Oliver and Hazel are doing well :) Those little stinkers know just when I need a cuddle!

In the interest of minimal stuff to move I need to get rid of 99% of the "stuff" I've collected in my life. So, that's a huge project, which will probably take the rest of the spring to do. (Talk about spring cleaning!) While I'm cleaning I also will be organizing all of my DIY supplies and maybe starting an etsy store. I've been toying with the idea for awhile, so we'll see if it works out.

Honeymoon in Florida's Paradise :) part 4

New Year's resolution. Restart my blog with recaps, DIY projects, recipes, etc :) But, I noticed that I had never finished the honeymoon recaps, so, here it is. The finale!

Our last full day we went to see treasure, pirates, and enjoy our last night in Key West. First stop, the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Home of treasure. We got to lift the gold bar... and just a few weeks later found out that it was stolen. Not sure how anyone accomplished that. 

Outside the Mel Fisher Maritime (treasure) Museum. I think I was trying to be a scary pirate.

Next stop, the Pirate museum. Although both of these destinations were on our Honeymoon registry, and we loved the opportunity to go, I wouldn't recommend the pirate adventure to anyone. It was trying to be a Pirates of the Caribbean Disney ride without the boats. Kind of cheesy. While we were in the museum however, it started POURING. We ran to a gift shop, bought a rain poncho to protect our electronics (and me), and walked back to the B&B to dry out before dinner.

Bobby was prepared for the rain, wearing his bathing suit already.

 After we dried off and started getting hungry, we made our way back to Duval street and had Margaritaville one last time. This time we purchased our souvenir glasses to add to our collection.

After dinner we went back to the southern part of the island for the sunset.

And that's it. Our honeymoon. :)