It's been a while!

Hey there! 

I'm back from my internet-less vacation, and I must admit I am slightly, er, highly addicted to technology, specifically internet. It was somewhat torturous once I used all of my data on my cell phone. However, what's past is past and now I have internet again and can once again blog to my hearts content! 

Update: 

We FINALLY got power, and the apartment is a balmy 76 degrees. :)

I'm trying to decide what to write about... This week has been an interesting roller coaster of fun. Learning a new city, and unpack boxes upon boxes to make this new place our home. I say that last part with utter excitement... 'Our Home' couldn't be a more truthful description of this new apartment. Scott and I have been living together for about a year now, but this is the first time it's really felt like our's. We're shopping for furniture together, spending time together before he goes to work and really just making an effort to make this place look and feel nice and homey, and that feeling is amazing. I cannot wait until we finally have a couch, and have all the boxes unpacked!

So I have been taking pictures of all the restaurants we've been eating at, and this post I want to discuss. This is especially great if you are going to be in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area and want some recommendations!

1. Sidetrack Bar and Grill              http://www.sidetrackbarandgrill.com/

• We went here on our first night out with my parents and some of Scott's family. This place was hopping, literally full of people. They had a number of accolades and a typical burger and fry menu.
• Food took a long time to come out, but that was probably because it was a packed house that night. As a result, the food was slightly cold by the time it got to us, but it was delicious.
• Cool Extra: You can season your french fries special! They were yummy!

2. The Bomber Restaurant                                 http://www.bomberrestaurant.net/

• This little hole in the wall was known for their 'Bomber Breakfast', a whopping meal with 4 eggs, 1 pound of break fast meat and 1 pound of hashbrowns... What do you know, Scott had to take on this challenge. 

• I looooved the hashbrowns! The flavor was amazing, and I cannot wait to come back here! 

3. Aubree's Pizzeria and Grill                 http://www.aubrees.com/

• As you can see we got a deep dish meat lovers pizza and it was amazing. The cheese bread is yummy and our waitress was really nice and accommodating
• Cool Extra: Flavor your pizza crust!! OMG Delicious and awesome. We got ours half and half because it wasn't that busy on a Sunday at 5pm, but sooo good.  

There you have it... Three places to try in Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor area. Enjoy!

~Amanda

The Struggles of Moving

You know, as far as moving goes, I'd say we did everything right. We called all of our major utilities, changed our address, and took care of all the major things, and still things have gone wrong.

Now I understand that things go wrong, but it seems a major issue for us as we are now into day 3 of our problems. 

Electricity

Now way back when I was in high school, there was a huge wind storm, which cause most of the city to lose power for 1-3 weeks. This was somewhat miserable, but it was September, and we were able to make it work. This was not the current problem, however, our problem is a singular issue.

The Issue

The issue spawns from the previous tenant, and their irresponsible behavior of not canceling their electric and not continuing to pay the bill. Due to their delinquent account, the power was shut off by the electric company. The apartment complex, did not take the necessary steps to ensure that the power was switched back into their name, since the tenants have been out of the apartment for over 2 months. Finally, when our power was supposed to be on, it wasn't. So here we are, at some McDonald's in Michigan enjoying the internet and air conditioning instead of unpacking. When the issue was brought to our attention, we called the company and have been given the run around and its now Monday and we won't have power until maybe 4:30pm... Hopefully, we don't have to sleep in the heat again tonight.


Frustration and tension is high. Hopefully, this is just a bad start to a wonderful adventure. 

Next Post will be about the wonderful food places we have found as a result of our powerless apartment.

~Amanda

Rainbow Vodka Slush

I was unsure as to whether I should post this in the Weekly Recipe section or not, because it's hardly food, so I decided to post it here. I was wandering through the maze that is Pinterest and I found this pin that took me to the blog of Ramlings from the Sunshine State, which showed me how to make this awesome rainbow slush in a triffle bowl with freeze pops. So I decided to test it out, and post my experience on my blog. Now the original instructions were made for a child's birthday party, however, I decided to add some 'adult' ingredients and I'll be serving this at Scott and I's going away party next week! 

To View the Original instructions, click above, I want to give credit to the master mind in this instance!

So I started with 100 Freeze Pops, and put them into bowls. I had 6 different colors and they were distributed fairly evenly. I originally had frozen them when I bought them, but I realized after the fact, that it may have been easier to leave them unfrozen and pour them in one at a time and freeze each layer, in any case, I had to let them thaw in the first place so I should have just left them liquid. I added one shot of Smirnoff's Melon flavored vodka, its just something I got on sale and I didn't feel like going out to buy rum.

I started off with the grape flavor, and I didn't like how chunky it seemed to be, plus I couldn't use all of it, there was too much. So like any smart mind, I decided to let it melt completely so it wouldn't be so chunky, and then I became impatient and put it in the Magic Bullet, and blended it all into a very soft slushie.

As you can see, I did that for the pink flavor too until Scott said that was a waste of time because I still had to wait for the grape to freeze. So anyway, I proceeded to put the grape liquid into the freezer and let it completely freeze, which takes a while.

In the mean time, my other flavors were sitting out, just melting.

Next, I added the pink and then the green and all was good until I became overly impatient with the orange. I poured the orange on top of the green before the green was completely frozen through and the orange somehow put a hole in the green and it immersed itself into the pink and purple, so I don't think I'll be seeing the orange. I know they say patience is a virtue, but damn I just wanted it to be finished now!

Anywho, I proceeded to add the red because I wanted light and dark colors alternating and orange screwed me over, finally, topping the rainbow with the lovely red. So now it will just sit in my freezer for a couple of days until my party. But it did make me think of how to change this recipe to fit holidays. Think, a red, white and blue one, with Kamakazi shots, I mean seriously?! YUM! Or a green and red one for Christmas, oooh and a orange and black one for Halloween. I think it could be fairly easy to make, even without freeze pops, instead maybe Kool-Aid? In any case, this gives me some ideas!!! And I LOOOVE ideas!

So all in all, the rainbow slush turned out quite nicely, I'm just going to leave it out for about an hour before the party so it can get a nice slush going.

A Few Changes to make from the original blog post.

• The Freeze Pop can be unfrozen, this might save some time.
• Add alcohol, I mean this is obvious.
• I made the freeze pop completely melted instead of chunky, this might change the quality.

Don't forget to be PATIENT!

UPDATE!!!!!

So I made the slush, but unfortunately realized how difficult it was when we finally sat it out to drink. 

1. The slush was too solid to make a slush.
2. We waited for hours for it to even be soft enough to put into a glass.
3. As it melted, it all turned a dark purple.
4. Didn't look as cool as expected.
5. The trifle leaked tons of condensation.

The saddest thing for me was my high expectations, but failed attempt I might try to follow the future directions more closely, but I might also leave this idea at home. 

~Amanda

Getting Ready for the Big Move

Its almost here, the big move to Michigan. It's weird that I'm not really nervous about it, just ready to finish this move. I've looked at all the wonderful moving ideas, but I'm just not excited to try them myself... Here's a cool little product though... Space bags. Now I know you've heard of them, these bags that are vacuum sealed, but they really are amazing. I got these ones below for a good deal and they are just amazing... We have put our pillows, and blankets and coats in these bags... and they just suck all the air out and its super flat! They can be expensive, but I shopped around and got a great deal on Amazon.com.

That is 6 pillows in a Jumbo bag. The decorative pillows in our extra bedroom were a perfect candidate for this wonder Space bag experiment and I am so happy that I bought them! I highly recommend them for moving, and even storage!

Blog Writing Can Be Discouraging.

So, I'm writing a blog and I just want people to read it, to be interested in it. I realize now how difficult it is to expect that. To advertise this on Facebook is one thing, then Pinterest, hoping that I'll gain a tiny following or something. I guess, its early, but I just want comments, and readers. Just more!

Wow, I sounds somewhat pitiful, but it's the truth and I'm sure those of you who have written a blog in the past know hoe discouraging it can be when you never have a comment or anything. I just have to believe that eventually this will get a following. In any case, I don't have much to say today.

Have a Happy weekend!!!

I'm going to a pottery painting place tomorrow and I am going to be making a tile mirror. I will be sure to post pictures next week when I pick it up!

Thanks for reading

~Amanda

New Pinterest Button

Hey Everyone!

So I've now added a Pin It! Button to all photos, so if you see something you'd like to pin to your Pinterest board, go for it!

This is a super exciting addition to my blog, so please take advantage of it! For instance, this picture Its a wonderful cake I made for Scott's birthday because he loves Batman!

I'll be showing you all how to make this delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake in the Recipe of the Week! 

Enjoy!

~Amanda

A New Look!

So I've been busy at work with Amy making our blog really look awesome! At the top of the page, you'll see 4 tabs, and you can get to some other posts that way.

Home: This will take you back to our original homepage, there isn't much here, but its the main page with links to our blogs.

Amy: This will take you to Amy's page, complete with all of her posts.

Weekly Recipes: Remember last week when I posted that yummy dish. Well, now all Thursday recipes will be at that new page. Enjoy!

Crafty Crafts: Things like that summer wreath will be here.

This page is going to be used as a chat/blog area for relationships, and daily thoughts. I think this will make it easier to get around, and I can have fun with the background! Check out those Jelly Beans!

In Other News!

Today I wanted to discuss the long-term serious relationship. If you're in one now, have been in one in the past, or just want to know what to expect, read on!

So Scott and I have been together about a year and a half and it has been a complete whirlwind. It was like, the minute we started dating, I knew, and so did he. (What did I know?) Well, thank you for asking, I knew he was 'the one' oh yes, the elusive one. :) He made everything better, and truly completed me from day 1. I know that to some nay-sayers, 1.5 years isn't that long, or long enough or whatever to be giving advice on the long-term relationships, however, that hardly matters because for me, 4 months was long enough. Long enough for me to know what I want.

Scott and I have been living together for almost a year now, and it has been phenomenal. This is something that could really be hit or miss for some couples, a breaking point for instance, but for us, it strengthen and matured our relationship. I mean, look where we are now, about to move across state lines together, and not concerned at all about our health as a couple.

That being said, we had some rough patches, what do you expect? I think everyone goes through some moments that make you stronger as a couple. Here are some things you may have battled with, or can expect to battle with, things that when they were happening, I wanted to know if they were normal and why they were happening, so listen up!

• Constant Butting Heads: Now Amy can attest to this because for the first 3 months of our relationship, we argued once a week. About stupid things, and we never stayed mad for long, but it drove me crazy. I didn't expect it to be this way, and this is something that not all couples experience, but because we were both such strong-willed people, we needed to do this so we could 'test the boundaries'. I mean I would never want to be with a man who didn't stand up to me and fight for what they want... this is important to me in the relationship, and it certainly equaled out, and we hardly ever fight now.
• Discussing taking the next step... Moving In: So for us, our move was somewhat unplanned until the last minute. My senior year roommate bailed on me right before we were signing a lease, and there was literally only two options left, live alone or move in with Scott. At first, I was really against this because I didn't think we had been dating that long, and that if it went sour, we'd be stuck in a lease together. This stressed me out, and I just didn't want to take that risk. Then again, financially, I was not in the best place, and moving in with Scott would lessen the rent, and we practically stayed with each other every night anyway. So we talked about this, and took the plunge. While a risky move, it worked out fabulously, and it is because we had a stable relationship full of communication.
• Learning to Live with your significant other: Now I didn't have to go through the ordeal of not being a lady in front of Scott because I never held back in the relationship. The first night we hung out, I remember being in my bedroom changing and I decided right there that I wasn't going to pretend to be someone that I wasn't, and that meant there weren't surprising personality traits he hadn't seen before. The biggest issue we experienced was learning how to be respectful of each other's living preferences. For example: It drives Scott crazy if damp towels are left on the floor, or if the sponge for the dishes is left in the sink, and so I made the necessary changes to make living better for the both of us, although it was a difficult adjustment.
• Romance: This is a BIG one for me and it still sometimes is. I think the thing is that our relationship has evolved so going on dates, and being romantic has kind of fallen to the wayside. That might be okay for some, but I love the romance, going on dates, getting dressed up, getting out of the house, nice gestures, just things that show affection and love. I'd like to think I do that for Scott more often than he does it for me, but at one point it was a big problem in our relationship because I felt like the effort that was made in the beginning of the relationship was gone, and devoted to something else that seemed more important than me. It was hard, and it kind of ebbs and flows, sometime its real romantic, and other times its certainly lacking. I try to be less expecting of it, and I talk to Scott when I'm feeling down about this and he listens and tries to make me feel more appreciated.

I think relationships take work, and its the work you do that makes it all worth it. Here's to the future with Scott, it looks bright as ever.

~Amanda