McApple Pie

I baked an apple pie yesterday afternoon.  I used the same recipe as the rhubarb pie except for the addition of cinnamon and substitution of apples.  I served it warm with vanilla ice cream.  Perfect fall dessert.

Reunited (& it Feels So Good)

This weekend we celebrated our good friend Brian's 40th Birthday. His wife, Stephanie, had asked our friends Brian and Will if they would like to join in. They currently live in Atlanta and Roanoke, respectively. Brian said 'yes' right away and Steph was stoked to surprise Brian. Will initially said 'no' but then changed his mind. So, Will surprised both Brian and Steph on Saturday night with our help.

Will arrived Friday morning and Brian arrived Friday afternoon. They both stayed with us on Friday night and we dined at Root Down, one of our very favorite restaurants. On Saturday morning, we had breakfast at the house (thanks for the Egg Bake recipe, mom!) and then headed into Boulder. We stayed at the Hotel Boulderado and spent some time on The Mall.

Saturday night entailed about 20 of us getting together for dinner at The Med where we saw the Sklar brothers - they ate a couple tables away from us) and then out on the town. We met up with Brian and Steph in the hotel lobby before hand where the surprise occurred. Seeing Steph & Brian's faces and hearing Steph shriek in surprise was priceless.

It has been a fun filled weekend and it is so good seeing everyone. We are both very lucky to have some really great friends. We don't get to see each other as often as we would like, but when we do, we always pick up right where we left off the last time.

We are relaxing at the house right now and hopefully for the rest of the weekend :) We take Will to the airport bright and early in the morning.

From L-R: Brian, Steph, Brian (birthday boy), Will, Ivan, Chris, Joy, Erica

Snow Day!

First snow of the season.  It started last night and it is still coming down.  This is a picture from our dining room window.  There is a tree/bush right outside, against the house, and it is currently laying down in the driveway because of all the snow.  Although my car is trapped right now, I am very happy - I hate that tree/bush and it was on my list to take down.  It looks like it might have to be taken down right now!  

We are both working from home today.  I am in the wine room and Chris is at the dining room table.  We turned on the heated floors in the kitchen/wine room today and they are awesome!

Bathroom Before & After

Before 

After

Squash Casserole

Yesterday, Erica roasted a pie pumpkin, the Yugoslavian Finger Squash and the Hubbard Squash in the oven.  She used the Yugo in a Squash Casserole.  The recipe is from Paula Deen.  Usually her recipes are avoided as they are high calorie and fat.  But, this recipe isn't so bad and Chris liked it.  It was good.

There were only a few crackers on hand, so in addition, crushed pretzels were added for the topping.  Non-fat plain yogurt was substituted for the sour cream as well.

Ingredients

• 6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini
• Vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon House seasoning, recipe follows
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Ritz)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside.

In a medium size skillet, saute the onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

House Seasoning:

• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

What Actually Happened Today

Chris finished the fence

Another view of the fence

Chris fabricated a tool so that he could turn off the water to the front yard sprinkler system. The valve is about 7 feet  below ground in a 2 inch diameter PVC pipe.

Erica finished her work in the bathroom.

What's Happenin' Today

Chris is putting all of the slats on the fence. He is at Home Depot right now picking up 62 slats. He put the posts in last Sunday and the cross supports were erected yesterday.  Cannot wait to get the fence back up so all of the neighbors junk is out of sight.  Chris met them yesterday. They have been remodeling their house going on 15 years now (!!).  Chris was invited in for a tour and he said the entire place is a complete mess.  It looks really cute from the street at least. 

In the bathroom, Erica the Spackle Artiste, put the first coat on a couple weeks ago, did a round of wet sanding a week after that, put on the second coat yesterday, and is now dry sanding. She also patched the hole from the old light this morning. First coat of spackle is drying right now, hence the pretty pink color up at the top.  Yesterday she spent 3 hours organizing her downstairs walk in closet and getting the attached bedroom in order.  It is almost ready for guests in December!  Pictures to follow sometime this week.

Etsy Art

We got this awesome oil on canvas from Jolina Anthony, an artist in Germany. We founds her online shop on the Etsy website. We bought the piece in September and it has been in the capable, but terribly slow, hands of the world famous framers at the local Michael's until today. Three days to ship from Germany and one month to stretch. It took a long time and a lot of patience on our part, but it was totally worth it. We love it!

SQUASH!!!

The little orange guys are Golden Nugget Squash.  We had these for dinner this week.  They had the consistency of sweet potatoes but were not as sweet.  

The white squash is a Yugoslavian Finger Squash. You cook it with the skin on like a summer squash.  I have read that they have the consistency of a potato with a hint of pumpkin flavor.  

The big olive colored squash is a Hubbard Squash.  Chris figures it is 5-8 pounds.

We got these in our CSA shares.  I think Chris is getting vegetabled out.  I did make beet biscuits this week that he really liked.  I threw some roasted beets in the food processor and added them to Bisquick batter.  They were really moist and a pretty red color.

25 Ways to Wear a Scarf

It is getting to be that time of year and scarves are more popular than ever.

Wine Room Update

Last Sunday we ventured to Ikea.  We decided when it first opened that we were not going anywhere near the place until the flocks of people died down, but we had been hearing reports that it was not that bad.  We made it a point to be there pretty close to the time the doors opened and had a good experience.  We were finally able to pick up our Ikea Family card and got our free ice cream cone for joining.

We picked up a rug and new chairs for the wine room while we were there.  We had our old bar stools from the old house around the table and they were not ideal.  We weren't 100% sure the colors of the rug would work, but now that it is in place, we really like it.  It ties into the giraffe chair and the cream and yellow lines match the tile floor.  Plus, the pattern of the rug makes a perfect spot for the table.  

Erica thought she loved the room before, imagine how she feels now!  When she works from home, she sits in the giraffe chair at the built in desk.  

Since we had new chairs, we sold the bar stools on Craigslist today.  We also sold 2 new-in-box tub/shower faucet sets that we never installed at the Fort Collins house.  

We found dark wood blinds online from Home Depot that were half off with free shipping.  They will arrive this coming week, and the color matches the dark cabinetry in the room and adjoining kitchen.  Once they are installed all that is left to do is paint the trim.

Face Lift

It was time to give the blog a make over, so Erica whipped up a new Header last night. We aren't quite sure if this will be the final product yet.  Erica really wanted to put the Little Man Ice Cream building in the picture.  For now we will have to settle with the Cash Register Building, Denver Art Museum, and Capitol.

Beet, Cheddar, & Apple Tarts

Chris really liked these.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into six 4 1/2-inch rounds
• 3/4 cup shredded white cheddar (3 ounces)
• 1 small apple, cored and very thinly sliced
• 1 small beet, scrubbed, peeled, and very thinly sliced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pastry rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Divide half the cheese among pastry rounds. Top each with 2 to 3 apple slices. Tuck 2 to 3 beet slices among apple slices and top with remaining cheese. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with thyme. Bake until pastry is golden brown and slightly puffed, 13 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature

http://www.marthastewart.com/331822/beet-cheddar-and-apple-tarts

Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Bzzzzzz

Today we received Green Mountain Coffee K-Cup love in the mail courtesy of BzzAgent!!  We each had a cup immediately, as it is only 10:30am on a leisurely Saturday.  Chris enjoyed the Sumatran Reserve Fair Trade Extra Bold.  We like strong, dark coffees and this one fit the bill.  Not for the faint of heart.  Erica tried the Fair Trade Vermont Country Blend.  It was very smooth drinking, but still had nice flavor. More of an everyday coffee than the Sumatran.  We also received a box of Colombian Fair Trade Select that we have yet to try.

I had never even heard of Green Mountain Coffee until we bought our Keurig last month.  They offer the largest selection of Fair Trade Certified coffees in the U.S.  Fair Trade promotes farming communities with fair prices for coffee harvests, sustainable growing practices, and is environmentally friendly.  In order to become Fair Trade Certified, farmers must protect water resources and cannot use pesticides and certain chemicals.  

Green Mountain Coffee offers K-Cups as well as bag coffee.  We have $1 off coupons we would love to share.  The coupons are valid in grocery stores only.  Leave a comment and we will be sure you get a coupon!  Or stop by the casa for a cup sometime :)

I almost forgot, you can enter to win K-Cups for life.  Enter at www.PerfectKCup.com.  They are also giving away K-Cup packs daily as well as a Keurig Platinum brewer every month.

Thar She Blows!!

Working from home to the sound of the howling wind. It is crazy out there.  Had to give a presentation today where I gave a disclaimer that if they heard any loud noises, it was just the patio furniture being tossed around.  

We do have a patio chair down. We also have a fence down...

And finally after a lot more wind, and a little rain:

Chris took a look at it when he got home from work tonight.  His diagnosis: the fence is toast.  One of the 4x4 fence posts snapped.  It didn't help that the back neighbor had some really heavy old windows leaning on their side of the fence.  Oh the joys of living near other people.

Grillin' our First Steaks!

Flat Iron steaks on the left, potato wedges on the right.  The potatoes were cooked directly on the grill after being tossed in olive oil and a slew of spices. 5 minutes each side on high, and an additional 5 minutes on a low burner.

We don't have any light by the grill.  Chris has to wear his headlamp. A light on the back of the garage is on the to-do list.

Broncos vs Packers

Roger had a great idea. He and Chris should place a little wager on the Broncos Packers game. Of course, Roger got the Packers and Chris got the Broncos. Roger was kind enough to give Chris 8 points, which Chris knew would be of no use. All Chris wanted to know was what he was going to have to give Roger. The wager was a 12 pack (or 2 six packs) of beer.

So, Roger gave Chris 8 points. Vegas gave the Broncos 13 points. In the end, the Broncos gave the Packers 26 points. Roger gets the beer!

Lucky for Roger he will be in Colorado in December so Chris will be able to hand over the beers in person. Maybe Roger will share :)

Sealed

The finished product. We are so happy with the way it turned out!