Settling In

So we've been in our new home for two weeks now.  Wow, it feels like it's been a lot longer than that!

We've got most of the boxes unpacked, and we're slowly hanging things on the walls.  This is one of my favorite parts (and Jeff's least favorite), because I feel like it makes the house our home.  I'm especially pleased with how the wall next to the dining room turned out.  (I'm sorry that the picture quality isn't very good - my camera has been temporarily misplaced in the move, so I'm taking pictures on my iPod.)  It was especially tricky getting the large painting hung over the stairs without a ladder.

I'm really grateful that Cosette has adjusted so well.  She loves being in her "new home," and there are days when she just wants to stay inside all day.  This has made it a little tricky to run errands, and I have to reassure her that we're coming right back.  She loves jumping off of the stairs, having a play room, and she enjoys looking out the windows (they're nice and low throughout the house, just her height).  She also loves spending time outside in the yard, which she calls the "garden."  An appropriate name, since the previous owners named this home Golden Gardens.
I feel like I'm not quite staying on top of the yard work, but I try to do some every day.  Most days I get up early and work in the yard before Cosette gets up.  It's quiet and peaceful, and I really enjoy it.  Another fun thing I've discovered is making flower arrangements from yard clippings.  I try to only use those that I have to trim back anyway, not cutting any flowers just to put them in a vase.  I filled a few vases last week with roses, and this week I combined trumpet vine flowers with the leaves of a variegated dogwood.  I was pretty pleased with how it turned out, and I look forward to experimenting more in the future.

One downside to our new home is that we don't have air conditioning.  It got pretty brutal last week as we started getting up into the 90's and 100's, so I called a few companies to come out and give us bids on air conditioning.  We're not sure if it's going to be in the budget for this summer, but we hope to put it in in the next year or two.  And one really helpful thing I learned from the people who came to give the bids was how to properly run our swamp cooler.  I don't know a lot about swamp coolers, so I was doing it wrong and it was barely making a difference on the really hot days.  But now I've learned the secret of how many windows to open and how far they should be opened.  I feel like the house will be livable this summer, if not exactly comfortable.
I wanted to share a good recipe I tried out for the first time tonight.  We've started picking the first of the zucchini in our garden, and I know that there's a lot more to come.  So I decided to try fried zucchini for a side dish with our dinner tonight.  They were really good!

Here's the recipe for anyone who's interested:

Thinly slice 1 zucchini (this filled two of my frying pans, single layer)

Mix together cornmeal, flour, and seasonings to taste (I used garlic salt, seasoning salt, and italian seasoning).  I don't have exact amounts, but I ended up running out partway through making them, so I would say do a little more than you think you'll need, around 3/4 cup - 1 cup.

Heat olive oil in frying pan(s) over medium high heat until the oil is rippling but not smoking.

Dip zucchini slices into milk (could also do egg or an egg/milk mixture, but I was out of eggs and they turned out just fine with just milk), then dip in dry mixture.

Place in skillet in a single layer.  Fry until golden brown (about 3 minutes), then flip and brown on the other side.

This is all I did, but the recipe said you could sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and cook for 1-2 more minutes until the cheese melts.  I didn't try this since we're avoiding dairy for Jeff, and I thought they were fine without.  They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside - yum!  You can eat them plain or with tomato sauce or ranch dressing for dipping.

Well, we hope that everyone is enjoying their summer so far!  I'm going to continue to experiment with items from our garden.  The previous homeowners were generous enough to plant it for us before they moved, but I'm not sure what to do with all of these vegetables.  Please let me know if you have any favorite recipes that include the following:

zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, and pumpkins (they also planted green peppers, broccoli, spinach and carrots)

Our New Home

Jeff and I are now the proud owners of this beautiful home in West Jordan, Utah.  These first few pictures are from the listing - today there are a lot more leaves on the trees and flowers in the yard.  I don't want to post any indoor pictures until we're settled.

Although the materials are different, the general layout of the outside
of our home is very similar to my childhood home in Virginia.
(go to http://www.homesnap.com/VA/Springfield/6810-Gillings-Road)

Our home from the side

A view of the back yard

I love our bridge and garden!

We drove over to the house this afternoon to spend some time in the yard.  We set up a hammock in the patio space and had fun relaxing in the shade.

Trees along the back fence

I love the red foliage throughout the yard. 

Rose bushes under the bay window

Our flower bed in front of the house

I believe these are called Columbine flowers
(I'm going to have to study a lot to learn the names of everything)

Cosette having fun in the hammock

Relaxing in our backyard

Who will buy?

I'm thinking of that song from the movie Oliver, where everyone is singing about things that they're selling (ripe, strawberries ripe!).
Well, we put our condo on the market last week.  At the beginning of this month we decided that we were going to sell, so the past few weeks have been really busy, full of cleaning, sorting, projects, and putting a van load of stuff into a storage unit so our house looks as well as it possibly can.
Now it's a waiting game, waiting for the right buyer to come along.  I know there's someone out there who will love and enjoy our condo as much as we have.  It's been a good home for us the past few years, but it's time for us to move into a house.
Speaking of, we've found the home we'd like to move into, and we're under contract to buy it in June.  I don't want to say too much about it yet, though, in case something happens and the sale falls through (because in real estate, you never know).  Let me just say that it is a beautiful home in West Jordan: 4 bed, 2 bath, a little under 2000 square feet, with a gorgeously landscaped yard on a corner .32 acre lot.
Now we just need to sell our condo.  I pray that everything will work out, and I have a feeling that it's going to.

Cosette's Birthday

Well, we now have a two-year-old in our home.  Where did the time go?
Cosette enjoys reading books, going to the library once or twice a week, watching us play Wii Sports Resort, coloring, playing the piano, dancing, and playing outside.  Her favorite letter is W, or "dubba-duh" as she calls it, and she finds it everywhere - in books, in the store, on signs, etc.  Her favorite stuffed animal is Big Elmo, but she enjoys sleeping with half a dozen of her "friends" every night (Big Elmo, Little Elmo, Baby, DeeDee, Big Bear, Bubba, and Puppy).  She knows her letters, numbers (1-12), shapes, and colors.  She's starting to enjoy Nursery and play dates more and more.  Her vocabulary has exploded in the past few weeks, and she continually surprises me with the things she says.
For her birthday we gave her a few gifts: a small back pack/diaper bag that has plastic baby things like a small brush, baby powder, baby shampoo, etc; and a set of foam letters and numbers for her to play with in the bath.  She immediately latched on to the W (of course) and carried it around with her for most of the day.
I tried to fill the day with activities that she loves.  In the morning we went to Jump Around Utah, a fun place full of bounce houses and slides.  We spent most of the time on the giant bounce pillow in the middle of the room.  I invited a few friends from the ward to join us and made it a casual birthday party.

Titan and Almarie Wright

Love this face

Marsha and Nikki Resa

I didn't get any good pictures of Cosette at Jump Around Utah, but I took a short video.  She used to bounce around mostly on her knees or bum, but she's starting to jump on her feet and hold her own with the big kids.

In the afternoon the weather was nice enough for us to go on a walk outside and feed the ducks.  I think this was Cosette's favorite part of the day.

Happy to be playing outside

Going for a walk with her foam W and library DVD

Feeding the ducks

I love her Elmo shoes (found them at GoodWill for $2!)

We had a lot of fun throwing bread to the ducks.  Unfortunately, Cosette got mad when we ran out of bread, so she threw her foam W into the pond.  Of course, she wanted it back right away, but I couldn't reach it.  Luckily, the groundskeepers at the apartment complex we were at (this duck pond is in the center of the Country Lake Apartments, which are right down the street from us) had a net and were able to retrieve it for us.
On Saturday my parents drove up to play with Cosette and take us out to dinner, both for Cosette's birthday (March 1st) and Jeff's birthday (March 3rd).  We decided to eat at Zupa's, which is currently our favorite restaurant.
My parents gave Cosette two Sunday dresses, a few books, and a second set of foam letters and numbers for the bath.  I'm really glad to have two sets, because Cosette loves to carry them around and sleep with them in her crib, etc., and it's great to have a spare.  Plus, with both W's and M's, she gets four different "dubba-duhs" to play with!

Wearing a new dress from Grandma and Grandpa

Cosette's Month Pictures: Year 2

Here are the month pictures from the past year.  It's definitely getting harder to take good pictures of a wiggly toddler, but I'm still glad I'm doing it.

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

I think the biggest change happened between September and October.  She's growing up so fast!

Sharing Recipes

As promised, I'm sharing a few recipes I've come across and enjoyed in our quest to eat healthier.
A month or two ago we found out that Jeff is lactose intolerant, so we've gone dairy free.  And we're still trying to cut down on our meat intake.
I had a few meals I normally make that fit this criteria, but then I felt stuck.  I've decided to have soup one or two nights a week, because there are several soups we like that I can cycle through, but I was still having trouble filling the other days, so I went to the library to flip through cook books.
I started with several titles with the word "healthy" in them, but I was disappointed with their selection of recipes.  So many didn't fit my criteria!  But then I picked out a few Vegan cookbooks, and I found several promising recipes.  While we're not planning to ever be full-blown Vegans, it's a great place to look for dairy free and meat free meals.
Jeff and I had this one for breakfast this morning, and it was really good!

Peanut Butter Granola Wrap
2 Tbsp peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1 whole-wheat flour tortilla
2 Tbsp granola
1/2 banana, sliced thin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp raisins or craisins
1 tsp honey (optional)
Spread peanut butter down the center of the tortilla and layer granola and bananas on top [I did two layers].  Sprinkle with cinnamon and raisins, and drizzle with honey if desired.  Warm in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to slightly melt the peanut butter.
*I didn't sit and measure out the amounts, but I included them to give you a general idea.  And the original recipe called for agave nectar instead of honey, since it's a vegan cookbook.  I'm really glad I found this, because I'm always looking for healthy breakfast ideas.

We had this one for dinner last night, and I was surprised how much I liked it.  Jeff was surprised to discover that he likes the taste of avocado - this was the first time he's tried some.  I altered it a bit to fit my taste buds, though.  Below I've typed up the original recipe, and then I make note of what I did differently at the bottom.  It's funny - I've always avoided Mexican type dishes in the past, but I'm trying to branch out and try more things.  I will NEVER be open to hot sauce or jalapeño peppers, though.

Messy Taco Salad
2 heads iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup corn
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and sliced, or 2 Tbsp canned green chiles (optional)
1 can refried black beans
2 Tbsp taco sauce or 1 tsp hot sauce
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup mayonnaise
10-12 tortilla chips, crumbled
1 avocado, diced (optional)
Combine the lettuce, olives, corn, and jalapeño peppers in a large bowl.  Warm the beans slightly over the stove or in the microwave, just until softened.  Combine beans with taco sauce, salsa, and mayonnaise, breaking up the beans and mixing to form a thick sauce. Combine bean mixture with lettuce, stirring to combine as much as possible.  Add tortilla chips and avocado, and stir gently to combine. Add a dash or two of extra hot sauce, to taste.
*I used spinach and kale instead of iceberg lettuce, I used a can of corn, and I cut out the olives, jalapeños, and taco sauce.  I found a nice black bean and corn salsa at Walmart that wasn't too spicy.  I didn't measure out the salsa and mayo - I just put in an equal amount of the two.  I also didn't mix everything all together - I like everyone to have the option to put together their own salad in the ratios they prefer, so I laid out the tortilla chips, avocado, greens, and then the rest mixed together in four separate bowls.

The book had a great tip for making your own tortilla chips, something I had never thought about doing before.

Baked Tortilla Chips
Slice whole-wheat tortillas into strips or triangles, and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil for a crispier chip, and season with a bit of salt and garlic powder if you want, or just bake them plain.  Bake at 300 degrees for about 5-6 minutes on each side.
*I fit two tortillas on a baking sheet, and I sprayed it with non-stick spray first.  I did them plain for 5 minutes on each side, and they turned out great!  I found it helpful to use a toothpick and spatula when flipping them (bracing them with the spatula and flipping with the toothpick). I think this would be a good way to use up slightly stale tortillas, too.

Lastly, I wanted to share a yummy and easy fruit leather that I made with my dehydrator.  All you do is mix unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon (at a ratio of one cup applesauce:1/4 tsp cinnamon, or to taste, but I found this amount to be just right).  I have a small round dehydrator, and I filled one tray with two cups of cinnamon applesauce.  The house smelled SO good while it was drying, and the texture and taste of the finished product was just right!  I will definitely make it again in the future.

So there you go.  There are a few recipes and tips I've enjoyed recently.  I hope you enjoy them as well!

Two Elmos

One of Cosette's favorite toys for the past year has been a stuffed Elmo.  She sleeps with it, carries it around the house, feeds it food at the dinner table, brings it with us on shopping trips, etc.

Well, this past week she was given a second Elmo.  I didn't really want to deal with two and thought I could make the new one disappear without her caring/noticing, but no such luck.  Cosette LOVES having two Elmos.  She calls the new one "Big Elmo" and her old one "Little Elmo."  In the pictures below, Big Elmo is on the left and Little Elmo is on the right.  They're practically the same size, but Big Elmo is a little chubbier and a smidge taller.

Both Elmos originally had voice boxes in them, but I quickly removed them.  I was determined NOT to have a talking Elmo in my house.  But I kept the voice boxes and occasionally let her play with them.

As you can see in the pictures below, Cosette also enjoys playing with other stuffed animals and her boppy pillow.  She often likes to have 4-6 stuffed animals with her and enlists me in helping her carry them from room to room.  One day when she was taking a bath she had me line up Big Elmo, Little Elmo, Baby, Tiger, Big Bear, DeeDee, and Little Puppy along the cabinet to watch her take her bath (at first she wanted them in the bath with her, but I said no).

It was kind of fun playing around with some of the photo effects - I hope you don't mind.
A few days ago Cosette insisted that her Elmos needed socks and shoes before leaving the house.  So Big Elmo got to wear a pair of socks, and Little Elmo wore a pair of her baby shoes.  She is so funny!