Mouthwatering Monday - Sushi

So last week I went out with a couple girls from work for dinner, and we went to fourty-five on Mass Avenue. They each ordered sushi, and so I decided to "grow a pair" and try it.



Sorry for the picture of a half eaten one...it was a little crazy with the seaweed. The whole one was actually pretty good.

This was a big step for me, so you should all be pretty proud of me! Maybe next Monday I'll have a more mouthwatering thing to share with you!!

Have a great thanksgiving everyone!


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Visit from Jen & Curt!!

This week has been a little crazy!!  Jen and Curt came for a visit last Friday and stayed until Sunday, and it certainly wore me out!! :)  Since moving to Indiana, you could say we've slowed down a little.  They got here Friday night at around 7:30.  We took them for dinner at Logan's Roadhouse and then out for drinks.  Except we haven't ever gone out for drinks in Plainfield, so we did some exploring with them.  The first place we went was KT's Pub.  It's a bar and grill place, but you have to be 21 to get in.  We decided that was for a different crowd than we were looking for, so we headed over to Firehouse Bar and Grill.  It's a small, older looking building, but it's closer to our apartment.  We ended up really liking it there.  Friday night is always karaoke night, so that was a good time.  And they have a couple pool tables and darts with plenty of room.  We ended up staying until around 2:30 and called it a night! 

We had a late start Saturday but went and had lunch at Dave and Busters.  I don't think they have them in Iowa, but it's a dinner/arcade for adults.  We spent a few hours there and then showed them around the city.  We had to make a stop at our favortie little ice cream shop on the way downtown, Brics!  If you ever come for a visit, we'll take you there! :)  Then I was able to take them up in my office building for a view of the city.  Then we headed back to plainfield.  We hung out at home for a while, and we decided to try another new bar to start the night off.  We headed to Bubba's Bar and Grill, which ended up being a primarily young crowd.  We stayed for a few hours and headed back to Fireside for the rest of the night.  When we got home, we decided to make a pizza and mac and cheese, but, of course, Jen and I were the only ones to eat it!!  Derrick and Curt were just going to take "little naps" while it cooked and then have some...but this is what happened!  (Curt at least chose the couch!)

Sunday we went out for breakfast at Bob Evans, and then Jen and Curt headed back to Iowa!  We're so happy they came for a visit!  We had a great time and can't wait to see them again when we're back in January!!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures!  Jen is the smart one that brought her camera!!! 

Swinging and Chillin' in the Recliner

Tuesday I babysat Miles for a few hours in the morning.  During that time, we got lots of playing in!  It has been really nice here (and I was sweating inside playing!), so we went outside for a swing.  After about 20 minutes, Miles got his hat off and looked like this.

Then we went inside and watched a little Sesame Street!  He LOVES the theme song.  If you play it, he will stop whatever he's doing, plop in front of the TV, and do a little dance for you!  It's too cute.  Today he climbed up in his recliner for the first time, so we watched lots of Sesame Street!



Wordless Wednesday

(Semi) Wordless Wednesday

Derrick got his new toy yesterday!

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Tutorial Tuesday - dying fabrics

I have been dying fabrics around here like crazy!  Kaylan and I did it earlier, which you can see here, and I still needed to dye a few more things. 

First I gathered all of my supplies. 

 Shirts and things to dye purple with the Rit powder dye.

 And shirts to dye "green" with the washing machine dye. 

You start by getting all of your fabric wet in hot water.  Then fill a sink with hot water, mix in salt (directions are on the package), and then place each piece of fabric in the dye.  You're supposed to stir this constantly  for 15-30 minutes.  You then have to wash and dry your fabrics.

 The washing machine dye is much easier.  You get your fabrics wet with hot water.  Then you fill your washing machine with hot water (only enough to cover all of your fabrics.)  You then have a packet to mix in with your water, and then add the fabrics.  I let mine sit in the washer for 15 minute, and then I start the wash cycle so it will mix all of it all by itself.  Then you just run the rest of the cycle and then re-wash your shirts with detergent to make sure they won't leak colors.  I then just run a bleach cycle in my washer to make sure all the color is gone. 

This is what I came up with when I was done.  The purple ones were tie-dye looking, which is not the look I was going for.  And the washer ones came out being nice and evenly colored but a neon yellow-green color, also not the look I was going for. 

 So I headed back to JoAnn Fabrics to pick up some more dye.  I decided to do just washing machine dye, since it turned out a lot better.  They make a "color remover" packet.  I picked one up, but ended up not using it and just dying right over the colors I already had. 

 After I went through the washing machine process a couple more times, this is what I came out with.  Nice purple and green fabric, just what I was hoping for!!

 

Mouthwatering Monday - Macaroni & Cheese Casserole

Last week Derrick and I made this mac and cheese casserole that I found here.  It's from Martha Stewart, and it was delicious!  Even Derrick, who isn't fond of pastas, thought it was good!

I should maybe brush up on my food picture taking skills.  I always forget to take a picture before we dig into it.  :)  We clearly had leftovers for a week!!

I also cut into our pumpkins last week to get the seeds.  I love pumpkin seeds for a snack, so this year I made two different recipes. 

The first one I made was the pumpkin seed recipe I was used to with olive oil and salt.  I found it here.
Then I also made a new yummy cinnamon & sugar version!  They were delicious too.  I found that recipe here.