Tuesday, November 10, 2009

You Know You're an Adult When...


appliances excite you more than new clothes...


Yes, we have hit the final week! We are hoping to close on our house Thursday and so this last week we went shopping for our refridgerator and washer and dryer. Wahoo right? Seriously though. Who would have ever thought these appliances could be so enticing? I gazed at some of those shiny, high-end appliances with glossy, hungry eyes the way I might look at a Prada bag. I guess I'm officially an adult. Or a dork. Or perhaps both?

Anyway, we did our final walk through last Thursday and have our rate locked in so now we just have to finalize stuff with our lender and our homeowner's insurance. Crazy! It's been an interesting, fun, and stressful process watching it go from a staked out lot to our home. Here are a few photos from the final walk through. Can't wait to move in!



Kitchen

Our walk-in closet and hallway

Master bathroom

Guest rooms with a mountain view :)
Ok...I've procrastinated packing enough for today. Better get started!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Bajan Honeymoon

We just got back from ten beautiful days of honeymooning in Barbados. We relaxed amongst the white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and coconut and almond trees. It was perfect :) While we were there we visited the capital, Bridgetown, ate lots of amazing fish (and I am NOT much of a fish eater, but it was delicious), swam with sea turtles and snorkeled on the coral reef. We also went on a great tour of the whole island and ate the local food.



























We sat and watched this gorgeous sunset pretty much every night.


















Bridgetown, Barbados





















On the catamaran





















Chillin on the beach in the shade of the almond trees because we both got fried on the catamaran. But it was worth it.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Two Hearts and Homemade Tomato Soup

Can you believe it is already fall? With summer acting like spring through June, my best friend getting married in August, and Nate and I getting married in September, I hardly noticed summer had even started and I certainly had no time to even consider fall. But here it is, beautiful and crisp and lovely as always. And what is better in the fall than a good bowl of homemade tomato soup, grilled cheese, and someone to snuggle with? Nate and I have long had an addiction to the fire-roasted tomato soup at Paradise Bakery so I decided to take a stab at the recipe and surprise him with a yummy dinner last night. I made my own version of fire-roasted tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches with herb butter, and chocolate pudding with mint leaves. As always, he had to bear with me photographing the whole thing. :) Here are the results.


Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup















1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
14 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
14 oz. can tomato sauce
6 oz. can tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock
4 t salt
1 t pepper (to taste)
2 t basil
2 cups milk
Sour cream, fresh basil, and tortilla chips to garnish (optional)

In a large pot, saute onion in olive oil. Add garlic and saute a few more minutes. Add tomatoes, sauce, paste, spices and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Add milk and continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes.


Chocolate Pudding with Mint Leaves



Here is the pudding. Yum!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

50 Steps to Planning My Dream Wedding

Well, today marks one week of wedded bliss! Nate and I are so excited to finally be married and we had a wonderful wedding day. Wedding pics are coming soon, but in the meantime, here is an album, 50 Steps to Planning My Dream Wedding, showing the last nine months of planning. Enjoy!


Friday, May 1, 2009

Celebrity Name: Nathangie

Like many famous celebrity couples (ie Brangelina, Bennifer, etc) Nate and I too have a celebrity couple name—Nathangie.  I usually have said Nathangela since that is both our full names, but well, Nathangie was the available url.  That being said, I have always thought it was a pretty good one because neither one of us has to compromise part of our name. For example, Brad drops the 'd' while Angelina keeps her full name and Jennifer drops the 'J' while Ben keeps his.  We, however, fit like a puzzle.  Hopefully that's a good indication of our future together.