Indian Summer in November?

So, J and I have been in our new home for a little over a week. We’ve gotten settled in and the cats have adjusted quite nicely to the new digs. There are a few things we want to do to the house, but nothing major that needs to be done right away. We’re going to start in the bathrooms; remove the wallpaper, paint and get a new sink for the master bath.

A few years ago, I mentioned to my parents & in-laws that once J and I bought a home, we would be hosting Thanksgiving dinner from that year forward. So this year, we’re doing it! I’m a bit overwhelmed, as Thanksgiving is in two and a half weeks, but I think I’ll survive. We decided on a potluck style Thanksgiving. J & I will be doing the bird, stuffing, mashed potatoes & green beans. My Mother will be doing carrots, pork pie & dessert. J’s Mom will be doing cranberry sauce (homemade), sweet potatoes & dessert. I think that will be more than enough food, with leftovers for 10 people.

In other news…
A friend taught me how to single crochet properly and ever since I’ve been practicing will all my small balls of leftover yarn. Yesterday, I taught myself the half double crochet and the double crochet. Since I’ve pretty much got it, I started this project on Ravelry. I’m having a hard time determining where my start row is, but other than that, I think I’m doing OK! I’ll post progress pictures on Flickr later.

Thanksgiving

We’re closing on our new home 10/30. I told both sets of parents that once J and I were in our own home, Thanksgiving will now and forever be at our house. We’re sick of driving everywhere! Plus we’ve always wanted to do a turkey, and now is the best time!

So I’ll finishing this post with a rough draft of Thanksgiving Potluck later on this week.

House…

So, we’ve pulled a snag in the house buying process. Hopefully everything will work out. Keep your fingers crossed!

Moving along like a well oiled machine

We bought a house! We looked at 4 houses on 9/23 and it was the last one we looked at. On Friday our realtor called me and told me there was another couple who was going to put in an offer and I knew we couldn’t let this house pass. So, I called J and we agreed to put in an offer. The Seller’s accepted our offer on Monday 9/28. We close on October 30th! This has all happened so fast, but we’re both very excited. We’ll still be living in Bristol, but the house is a single family rancher, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 4 detached garages facing the alley and it’s gas heat with central air. The basement is finished and we have more than enough space for storage!

In other news, I joined a new social networking web site called Ravelry. It’s a community for knitter & crocheters. So far I’m still learning the ropes, but I like it so far. Plus, I like to learn new things and actually started working on a single chain crochet blanket. I’ll start posting pictures of my projects of Flickr soon.

Planned Weekly Dinners

So, this is the second week that I’ve actually planned out dinners for the week, gone to the grocery store and spent less that $100!

Monday: Potato & Cheese Pierogies w/ Sausage
Tuesday: Chicken & Shallots w/ Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday: Chicken Noodle Soup (made from the chicken I slow cooked last week)
Thursday: Meatloaf w/ Mashed Potatoes & Broccoli

The Tuesday & Thursday recipes are ones from AllRecipes.com and have become two of my favorite, easy to make, “go-to” recipes. For the Chicken & Shallots, I like to add a little more garlic that recommended and to get the sauce consistency creamier, I add a bit more butter.
The only ingredient that I don’t use in the Meatloaf recipe is the rubbed sage. Still turns out really well and I never have leftovers for more than a day.