10 Reasons I am Thankful for my Husband

He Makes Me Laugh

This may seem trivial, but in a long term relationship it is actually really important! I am so thankful that Dan can come up with goofy things to say that get to me to smile, especially when I am feeling down.

He Listens to Me

Simply put, when I really need him he is there for me.

He is a Hard Worker

I know he will always do whatever it takes to provide for his family.

He Keeps my Secrets.

Enough said.

He is Not Perfect

Yes, I am thankfully that he doens't always do everything right. I feel like enough of a failure without that to measure up to! He is human just like me.

He Doesn't Let Not Knowing How to Do Something Stop Him

I don't like to start something until I know what is going to happen every step of the way. He is really good about just going for it and figuring out what he needs to know along the way. I have been learning that sometimes it is ok for me to do that too!

I Can Pretty Much Tell Him Anything and He Won't be Totally Weirded Out

And I have told him some pretty weird stuff! .

He Likes High Tempuratures Outside and In

We don't fight about the thermostat. We will likely never live someplace that get's terribly cold.

He Takes Initive to Fix Things Around Our Home

I could go on and on about all the things he has improved!

God is Number One in His Life

No matter how hard I try he continues to keep God at the top.

Click on over to Newlywed's Bliss to read more 10 Reasons posts.

p.s. ManDan and I are in this Amazing Couples Contest and I would really like to win!

Would you mind taking a minute to vote for us?

Our entry is here: http://bit.ly/u8ehzk

What's for dinner?

Still alive! And I AM still dedicated to this blog. The last month and half was just filled with so much pain and fatigue I could barely function. Thankfully I have finally seen my wonderful Doctor back in Michigan and as of two days ago a new mattress. Feeling much better!

ManDan and I haven't celebrated Thanksgiving yet. We are doing that tomorrow with some friends. Yay! Putting together a menu and going grocery shopping after I get off work tonight. With that... here is a bit about how we ususally do dinner around our house.

Before we got married I was afraid I would be really awful at meal planning. I really wanted to have it all planned out before hand. Yes, before we even moved in to our apartment I wanted to have a two week plan. Well, that never happened.

We moved in. We did a bit of grocery shopping and then bam... we had enough dinners for three weeks straight! I haven't even been to the grocery store this week expect for a gallon of milk.

I am still not exactly sure how that happened, but I am really glad it did and I hope I can keep up the trend.

I wrote down every meal we had and put it up on the fridge. When it is time to make dinner I just check out the list, pick something, make it up and then cross it off the list. It is been working really well!

I don't even have to make lunch because we usually just eat leftovers. Maybe not the same thing the very next day, but everything pretty much get's eaten.

Do you make meal plans or tend to just eat whatever is on hand?

 I'd love to hear how you do dinner around your house!

DIY Dry Erase Board

A few weeks ago ManDan mentioned that he wanted a dry erase board in our kitchen... and my insides cringed. Dry erase boards may be practical, but they are so ugly. I did not want one in my kitchen or really anywhere in my house.

Then I had the brilliant idea of making a cute dry erase board. And that is exactly what I did.

If you want to make one too all you really need is a frame and some fabric.

16x20 seemed good for a medium size board. I really like the frames at Aaron Brothers because of lot of them, like this one, are actually real wood instead of plastic and the glass is glass. 

For the fabric I wanted something slightly textured and off white. 

This a linen/cotton blend. I got a half yard (that is a piece 44"x18")

Simply take the back out of the frame, fold the fabric in half (so now it is 22x18, two inches bigger than the inside dimensions of the frame), place the fabric inside and replace the back. 

*In this picture I have not yet replaced the back.*

Voila! Homemade dry erase board that is CUTE and functional. I was too excited to get it all together and see what it looked like so I didn't iron the fabric first hence the wrinkly look. Turns out ManDan actually liked it that way so I yay! no ironing. 

I also picked up some wired ribbon so maybe someday I will tie it in a bow and make it look like the board is hanging from the ribbon. (ahem... I don't own a kitchen trash can...) 

Shoutout to my little sis who helped me hang the board! Couldn't have done it without you!

Here I am with my new board! I finally figured out how to use the timer on my camera.  

I didn't read the instructions...

and almost melted dinner.

Apparently I was suppose to place the plastic dish on a baking sheet and then put it in the oven... I guess somehow that helps it not melt. I don't know. 

"beautiful"

Dan always introduces me to people as his "beautiful wife"and when he prays at mealtimes he often thanks God for his "beautiful wife." It make me feel really special and loved. 

Banana Pineapple Pancakes

This were somewhat of an experiment, but they turned out really well. I was inspired by two things. One) my cousin posted on facebook that he made banana cinnamon pancakes. Two) Years ago I had peanut butter pineapple pancakes at this first day of a summer job. I didn't have cinnamon in my house and I can no longer eat peanut butter... so the banana pineapple pancakes were born!

I just used regular pancake mix from a box, you know "add water. make pancakes". But I also added an egg and some vanilla. Then add the bananas and pineapples after pouring the mix in the skillet. These were delicious!

Now I gotta run and join my husband on his lunch break. :)

My husband bought a hat...

A fedora trilby actually and he looks incredibly dapper in it.

Picture from my cell phone.

After he bought the hat we went home and got all dressed up (sorry I don't have a pic of my outfit) and went out to eat.

Just before leaving.

 Our intention was to have dessert but everything on the menu had either nuts or chocolate in it, neither of which I can eat unless I want to suffer a migraine. So we ordered a full size meal (at Bucca di Beppos that means enough to feed three people) ate some and saved the rest for a later dinner.

He wore his gray vest and his gray suit pants. Why don't men dress like this more regularly!? 

And then... just so we could get $10 off our order I simply had to have a sangria. And Bucca di Beppos makes excellent sangrias (psst... they have brandy in them and they are soaked in fruit overnight).

After we ate we stopped by a local hotel and picked up a bunch of brochures for ideas on local things to do. You should do try this even if you aren't new to an area! You may discover somethings fun or interesting you never knew about.

A spontaneous night out with my husband, both of us dressed up, was incredibly delightful.

Oh oh oh! And I almost forgot! We used a coupon on the hat too! Yup, $10 off at Kohls. That hat cost us $7 (originally $24) and it was totally worth it.

Couponing

The first week ManDan and I were down here (Texas... we moved from Michigan) we saw these two ladies while grocery shopping that had these binders FULL of coupons. So, I stopped and asked them about their binders and how they get their coupons. They were really friendly and gave me some tips on getting started.

Now, I have a little binder of my own and I look forward to picking up a paper every Sunday to see what new coupons I can get.

This is what I got one of the very first times I used coupons:

Two spray air fresheners, two candles and one set and refresh for a grand total of $4.

I ended up throwing away the set and refresh because I didn't like how it smelled, but that is totally ok because one of those candles alone is regularly $6. I had a coupon for every item I bought and Target had a special going on where you buy five items and get a $5 gift card. 

That is one the tricks I learned about couponing. You gotta use your coupons when the items are on sale to get the best deal. Simple, but it is worth saying. 

I haven't burned the candles yet because it has been a little too hot down here to have my house smell like fall, but I am really looking forward to the autumn scent filling up our home. I think that will be soon now since the highs are only on the 90s now and I even saw some days next week where the highs were only in the 80s! 

ManDan and I went out to eat last night and we used a coupon. That post will be next. 

Engagement Pictures: What I learned

(I was totally trying to schedule this post for later this week... but that didn't work! I guess you get two posts today)

I had meant to finish writing this and post it before the wedding... but it as it turns out your very own wedding WILL turn you in to a crazy person a few weeks beforehand no matter how relaxed you thought you were. So, anyway...

Early on in the wedding planning I insisted on a hiring a photographer and I was going to be incredibly picky with regards to that photographer. Afterall, I graduated with a degree in photography and this is my wedding! There won't be a chance to do it over so I had better get good photos. Well, after hours of tears and searching I finally hired a photographer.

There was much rejoicing! I was going to get my pictures and they were going to be wonderful and we were going to look beautiful and perfect! And then we had our engagement session (a mere month before the wedding) and I learnerd... err... had to face reality.

Yeah, we can sorta look like blog people, but we are still really dorky (out of 50 pictures my photographer gave us I think I like maybe 5, those are the ones you see here) and I guess I don't actually like looking like blog people. It feels fake because it just not who we are. I like our real life.

We are so mushy! It is ridiculous. You would not believe we have been together 3.5 years. But hey, maybe that is a good thing too. I hope we never get sick of holding hands and kissing. I just wish we had some great pictures where were both looking at the camera.

I look so much younger than Dan! I think he looks his age and he is actually three years younger than me. Just yesterday someone thought I was in highschool. I get that a lot, but for some reason I didn't see it until I looked at our pictures. Of course everyone tells me this a good thing too. (I am sure it will be... it is just right now it is hard to get people to take you seriously when they think you are 16.)

So, in conclusion... I learned a lot. We are young and in love and have plenty of time to get our pictures done again. And even if we never do, we have a great life together that I wouldn't trade for a million perfect photos.

Dressers Before and After

We got this dresser and chest of drawer set at a thrift store. All in all they are pretty great. 

They are the perfect size. The drawers have quite a bit of a room inside and slide well. 

They are just kind of an ugly color...

Good thing: the tops, sides and drawer fronts are all solid wood. 

The unique handles really intrigued me. 

(this picture is on a workbench, not on the dresser)

Not so good thing: That trim on all the drawers... it is plastic.

At least the trim actually looks like wood and has a texture to it. 

It just can't be stripped and stained.

Not to worry! We got some special spray paint that fuses itself with the plastic. It took a really long time to dry (more than a week) till it stopped chipping and we had to move in to the apartment before then, but the chips are minimal and next time we know just how much time we need. 

I wanted all black dressers, but ManDan loves real wood. So we compromised and stained the tops and sides a dark brown. Here is the result...

This one is mine. It fits my clothes really well! My last dresser only had six drawers and so some drawers did double duty. With nine each drawer only has to have one kind of clothing and not a one is stuffed!

 ManDan's chest of drawers. 

Many thanks to ManDan who did quite a bit of sanding and also the spray painting! I do not have the endurance and patience required for such a job. I enjoy the staining. Anyway, my husband is great. ;-)

Bacon Grease Eggs

I didn't think I even liked eggs until ManDan cooked them for me. He is really great at making eggs and these eggs were off to a good start...

The good start. Saute onions and bell peppers. 

Also, tomatoes but make sure to do them separate since they tend to get all watery. 

Then fry up 8 strips of bacon and contemplate what to do with all the grease... decide to experiment and leave it all in the skillet. I am not the egg expert but I didn't think that was such a great idea. 

I don't know if all men are like this, but sometimes when ManDan wants to do something he is going to do it. It would simply be futile for me to tell him otherwise. This was one of those of times...

Pour in your eggs and then be amazed at just how much grease is in that skillet. 

Yeah... it is practically covering six eggs. 

Cook on low while stirring. Also, add cheese! 

(I don't think ManDan looks very happy in this picture... but this was after he told me the eggs had to go on the blog)

Look! They have veggies in them now! This means they are healthy right?

Waiit... look at all that grease still sitting in the pan.

Yes, these eggs are fully cooked. They are simply drowning in bacon grease. 

Alright, on a normal day we would be able to eat all those eggs. This time we couldn't even get down half. They were so mushy! And they just tasted like grease.  

Good Idea: Scramble eggs in left over bacon grease. 

Bad Idea: Scramble eggs in ALL the left over bacon grease. 

Oh well, we had a good time together and at least I know we will never be eating eggs like this again. :)

Truckloads of Furniture

One of our loads of furniture. 

Totally recommend the flat bed truck from Home Depot! 

More space in the back, plus the sides go up and down. So neat!

Since we secured an apartment we figured we needed some furniture. Being the poor folk that we are we spent a few days searching CraigsList and visited every Goodwill within a 25 mile radius. We picked out a few things (Craigslist had the best deals overall) then rented a truck and spent a whole day picking up our finds. 

I had to drive the truck since ManDan isn't 21 yet. I enjoyed it! It was the first time ManDan had ever actually seen me in a truck so I asked him how he liked me in a truck and he said, "It fits you. I can't explain it, but it fits you." This made me especially happy since he has been anti-truck since the day we met! 

Me next to the truck. 

My handsome husband.

A perfect plant table once I paint it black and place a tile on top. 

ManDan really wanted these lyre back chairs. I plan on re-upholstering them. 

Lamps. Need new shades. Where do you buy lamp shades???

Table. Needs some work. Will be restained or painted. 

We got this for free! We are thinking of painting it blue... not sure yet. 

Our bedroom dresser! We have already started refinishing this. Before and after post to come. 

The matching chest of drawers. It has a bottom drawer, ManDan was just working on it. 

Our couch! So pretty!

 Had a loose spring and a broken brace, but ManDan fixed it all up. 

I am so happy right now. I just feel that I am in at a really good place in life. I am loving being married.  I don't care that our furniture is used. I am really enjoying fixing it up together. Can't wait to get settled in the apartment! 

p.s. I added Blogs I Follow over there in the side bar if you are interested. 

Honeymoon ♥

Alright, my wedding was already a month ago today and it has been one busy month! I finally have a moment to sit down and blog a bit. Right now we are staying with ManDan's grandparents while we wait on our apartment to be ready to move in to. I can't wait!!! But more on that later...

My honeymoon was great! We took a two week road trip from Detroit down to Virginia Beach and Williamsburg. ManDan was incredibly good to me. I thought we were just going to Williamsburg, but he surprised me with tickets to Bush Gardens and Water Country USA. I was super excited to ride the coasters at Bush Gardens, but my favorite was the waterpark because ManDan rode all the rides with me there.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

We spent a lot of time in the car. 

We ate good food. 

We went to the beach. 

Our favorite things at Williamsburg: The Gardens

Most of all we enjoyed being together.