Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween everyone! We got back from Disney last night and we had a blast; I will be posting pictures and putting together a post in the next couple of days.

Take a look at our little bumble bee! He will be helping pass out the candy this year.

Blog Break

Well, I didn't get to writing those book reviews. I will do a full review including what I read on vacation when we get back.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Disney! We are so excited. The limo is coming to pick us up at 5:30 am so this will be the last you here of me. We won't be back until Halloween. I will be back soon with a full report and tons of pictures!

I'll leave you with a picture from our Disney trip last November. This is Michael and I in France in the Epcot World Showcase modeling our berets...

Weekend Recap

Well tomorrow is Monday again....but that's ok. I only have to work Monday and Tuesday this week and then we are leaving for Disney on Thursday!!! I can't wait; we really need a vacation.

This weekend was pretty quiet, which was really nice. Saturday we went and picked up Michael's new car. A 2009 Toyota Venza. It's really nice and he is so excited. He ended up getting the metallic gray like in the picture below which was his first color choice. It's a sharp looking car.

Saturday night we went out for dinner for Sweetest day at Bonefish grill in Schaumburg and it was delicious as usual. We love their bang bang spicy shrimp and ahi tuna sashimi, so good!

Sunday we went for breakfast but no grocery shopping this week since we are only going to be home for 3 days and then be gone for 9 days. So no menu Monday this week; we're gonna just use up stuff in the freezer and pantry. I got a lot of laundry and packing done today and will finish everything up on Wednesday since I'm off work. I love taking the day before a trip off and having time off before you go back to work too. We come home on a Friday so we'll have Saturday and Sunday to relax before having to go back to reality.

I am working on my book review posts and will get those posted this week before we leave.

For the love of reading...

I have loved reading books ever since my dad taught me when I was 3. I read everything I could get my hands on. Growing up I loved all the classics from Dr. Seuss to Little Women but I also loved fun series like The Babysitters Club, Nancy Drew or Sweet Valley High. There is something about a series where you can really commit to the characters because you know there will be another story to follow.

I’ve read all the Harry Potter books, which I just couldn’t stop reading until I finished and I’ve re-read all them multiple times. They are also fantastic movies; whenever I am flipping through the guide on TV, if I see one that is on I look just to see what part it is at and somehow end up watching the rest of it!

I got bit by the vampire bug with the Twilight series. I devoured every page of those books. I was so sad when it was over that I didn’t know what to read next. I really struggled trying to find something that would hold my attention like Twilight did. I need to re-read New Moon before the movie comes out next month!

Luckily I discovered Charlaine Harris and her great Southern Vampire Sookie Stackhouse series. These are the books that the True Blood series is based on HBO. There are 8 books so far in the series with the 9th coming out next May. They are definitely more adult vampire stories than Twilight, and if you’ve seen True Blood you already know that. Charlaine Harris has several other series that I’ve read as well. They always revolve around a heroine. I’ve read the Lily Bard series and I’m starting the Aurora Teagarden series next.

Along with reading series, I also enjoy autobiographies. I am currently reading Kathy Griffin’s book, Official book club selection, and it is hilarious. She has a really interesting story that I never knew. Now don’t judge, but two of my favorites are by Tori Spelling. Her books Storitelling and Mommywood were fantastic and extremely honest, especially Mommywood. She was very honest about her struggles adjusting to becoming a mom that very few moms would ever admit to.

I will have to start posting what I am currently reading from now on. I read a lot since I am on the train for almost 2 hours every day. Thank god for my Kindle! It seriously is the best tech device I’ve purchased. I’d choose it over my iPod any day. It is great for trips too. When I would go on vacation before I would bring 2-4 books with me depending how long I was going for and now I just have to bring my Kindle. It is so easy to buy books either on Amazon or on your Kindle and they are delivered in 60 seconds wirelessly! They are cheaper as well. A new release hardcover book is usually $25 in stores or $16 on Amazon and new release Kindle books are only $9.99. If the book has been out for a while it is usually around $6.

I will start posting weekly what I’m reading since I usually go through 1 – 2 books a week. I finished Dan Brown’s latest, The Lost Symbol a couple of weeks ago so I’ll post a review on that as well as the Kathy Griffin autobiography I’m reading.

Menu Monday!

Here is our menu for the week. I swear I will finally make the puff pastry boursin chicken if it kills me. It has been on the menu for weeks and somehow it never gets made, it's really good too!

Monday: Take-out (I have to work a 14 hour day today so cooking is not an option)
Tuesday: Katsudon - one of our favorite asian dishes that we are going to try and replicate
Wednesday: Fresh polish sausage and pierogis
Thursday: Hash brown turkey tenderloins (one of Michael's favorites)
Friday: Puff Pastry boursin cheese chicken

Weekend Recap

Well another weekend has come and gone. They always seem to go by so fast. Luckily we had a pretty low key weekend which is always nice. On Saturday we did a bunch of running around and went to look at new cars for Michael. He is getting a new business car since his lease is almost up and the deals are so great right now. He really needs something bigger and more comfortable since he is in the car a lot for work. So after a few test rides and thinking we were going to get the Toyota Rav4, we discovered the Toyota Venza. It is one of their newer models and it is a crossover SUV. It is super comfortable, luxe and spacious for hauling everything he needs. He is really excited; he should hopefully get it this week. They are just trying to find one in the colors he likes. They only had red or white and he wants the metallic grey like in the picture below or black.

So after a few hours at the dealer and lunch we came home and took a nice little nap...Porkchop decided to join in!

Today we did our usual Sunday routine of breakfast and grocery shopping, I will post my menu later. Then we came home and carved our pumpkins that we got last week at the pumpkin farm! Michael is in a Disney mood since we are going to be there in 10 days! I replicated a cute owl that I saw in a magazine and Porkchop got a fun pumpkin decorated with the power drill.

The before shot:

The after:

 

 

Vacation Countdown!

I am so excited; two weeks from today we will be on vacation! Michael and I, along with my parents, and my sister and her fiance are heading to Orlando and Walt Disney World for 8 days. To be honest I would go to Iowa at this point, because I need a vacation so bad, but honestly Disney is one of our favorite places! I have been there about 15 times. My parents belong to the Disney Vacation club so we are lucky to be able to go a lot and it costs very little. I know not everyone gets the Disney thing, but we love it. It's just one of the few places that brings back so many memories for me and makes you feel like a kid again. I can't wait until we have kids and can bring them there. The parks are all decked out for Halloween right now and we are going to this special event called Mickey's Halloween Party one of the nights. Last year we were there for Christmas and went to the Mickey's Christmas Party and it was awesome, so I am really looking forward to that. I am also excited to be celebrating my birthday there for the first time, especially since my sisters' birthday is on the same day! I will have tons of pictures when we get back and will make sure to post them.

Giraffes at a pumpkin farm?

We had a blast today at Goebbert's farm in South Barrington. We went for pumpkins and ended up feeding some giraffes while we were there! We went to Goebberts last year for pumpkins but we only walked around the pumpkin patch thinking the animal farm just had smelly goats and things like that. But they had everything from zebras to bengal tigers, kangaroos, giraffes, it was awesome! They had all the typical petting zoo animals as well. They also had pig races which is always fun and a corn maze. I would definitely recommend checking it out, there is plenty to see. It was pretty cheap as well, it's free to get in and park and only $7 a person and $3 for kids to enter the animal farm which gets you access to all the animals (there are 3 tents), pig races, haunted house, corn maze, and hayride. We did get our pumpkins but we're not carving them until sometime this week or next weekend. I'll post pictures when we're finished carving. Here are some pictures from today.

 

 

 

The weekend is here!

So happy the weekend is here!! We don't have a ton of things planned for this weekend and I am pretty excited about it. After last weekend's craziness of Oktoberfest and then a baby shower on Sunday, we can use a relaxing weekend.

Today we went to breakfast and did some grocery shopping and that is pretty much all we have to do today. We are going out for sushi tonight for dinner which I'm excited about because we are trying a new place. We tend to go to the same few places all the time so hopefully we will find a new favorite.

Tomorrow we are going to Goebbert's pumpkin farm to get our pumpkins for carving! We plan to spend the rest of the day just relaxing and watching football. Michael and I bet each week on football picks and whoever has the most correct picks wins that week. At the end of the year whoever wins the most weeks wins for the year and we each have our prize picked out. So far this year, I'm 3-0 so I'm hoping to keep my undefeated streak alive! Because if I win I get this beauty from Tiffany!

Since we did our grocery shopping today the menu is already planned for the week so I'll post it a few days early.

Saturday dinner: Sushi Ya (Schaumburg)
Sunday dinner: Pesto Parmesan crusted pork tenderloin
Monday: Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Tuesday: Hamburgers
Wednesday: Lasagne
Thursday: Chicken puff pastry pockets (this has been pushed off for 3 weeks for some reason)
Friday: Pizza night

Menu Monday

I did not end up cooking at all last week because every night when I came home from work I was trying to get some tasks and food prep done for the Oktoberfest party so take out was unfortunately all we had last week. We are getting back to cooking this week thank goodness!

Monday: Italian sausage patty sandwiches
Tuesday: Chicken puff pastry packets with boursin cheese
Wednesday: Baked Mostaccioli with homemade sauce
Thursday: Beer battered chicken tenders
Friday: Pesto chicken pasta (our last fresh pesto of the season, sad!)

4th annual Oktoberfest

We hosted our 4th annual Oktoberfest yesterday and it was perfect. We thought for sure that it was going to rain all day but the sun came out and no rain drops ever fell. We were even able to get the baggo set out and toss some bean bags around. We had around 35 people and it was a great time.

Personally, and probably because I'm biased since I made most of it, but I thought the food was the best part! Michael tells me every year that I make too much food but this year we had almost nothing left! Everything was a hit so I was really happy. The biggest crowd pleasers this year were the reuben eggrolls and the stuffed mushrooms I made. I will have to increase the number I make next year or find a few new appetizers.

Next year will be our 5th year hosting this party so we'll have to come up with some even better ideas to make it our best one yet.

Fall tour of our home...

I finally got around to taking pictures of the house all decked out for fall. I took way too many pictures so I just posted a small sampling.

Oktoberfest Menu

I am in full planning mode for our 4th annual Oktoberfest party on Saturday. I am making lots of lists of things to do, cook, bake, shop for, etc.

I think I have finally have my menu set. I have many items that I've had before, but I try to introduce some new items every year as well.

Oktoberfest Menu:
Vegetable crudite with dill dip
Three Pounders on pumpernickel bread
Cheese from the farmers market and crackers
Stuffed Mushrooms
Homemade soft pretzels
Reuben eggrolls
Potato salad
Beer and onion brats
Sauerkraut
Chicken Satays
Ghost cake pops
Apple bars
Pumpkin roll
Chocolate pretzels

We'll see how it goes and what everyone's favorites are this year!

It's been awhile...

I know I haven't posted in a while. It's been a very busy past few weeks. Between long hours at work, this past weekend I went on a scrapbooking weekend for 4 days. Michael's birthday is Wednesday, and our 4th annual Oktoberfest is Saturday; so needless to say its been a bit hectic!

I am taking Friday off work to get everything prepped and ready for our Oktoberfest on Saturday. I will finally take some pictures of the whole house decked out and some pictures from the party.

I'll leave you with a sneak peek of the decorations with a picture of the Halloween Tree!

Menu Monday

I will post pictures of all the fall decorating I have been doing for the past few days. I am still finishing some things up.

Here's the menu breakdown for the week. You'll notice some repeats because they didn't end up getting made last week.

Monday: Labor Day Picnic at Michael's Aunt and Uncles'
Tuesday: Turkey Sloppy Joes for Michael; Buffalo Chicken Bake for Sara
Wednesday: Fish and chips with fresh Walleye
Thursday: Pesto Pasta
Friday: Lou Malnati's for pizza

A pile of stuff...

I am enjoying Day 1 of 5 that I have off this weekend by starting the fall decorating process of the house. Oktoberfest is only 3 weeks away so I need to get moving!

Last night I brought up all the tubs and unpacked everything on the dining room table. Today I am cleaning and placing everything in the house.

What was a pile of stuff will become a cozy, fall themed home. Pictures of the final product to come!

Our Weekly Menu

Even though I worked a ton of hours last week, somehow we still managed to cook quite a bit. This week, I'm opening to keep it going, especially with only a 3-day work week. We made a pot of homemade marinara sauce with our overflowing supply of homegrown tomatoes. So we plan on using the sauce a few times this week and freezing the rest.

Sunday Dinner: Baked Mostaccioli with homemade sauce
Monday: Chicken Parmigiana Paninis with homemade sauce
Tuesday: Turkey Tacos
Wednesday: Pizza Night
Thursday: Hashbrown Turkey
Friday: Sloppy Joes for Michael; Pad Thai for Sara

A restful and relaxing weekend...

Well I survived another 70 hour work week. Things have been so crazy at work the past few months. This is our busiest time until about December. We have had a wonderful weekend though, we had nothing planned and it was wonderful. I worked out Saturday and Sunday, we did some cleaning around the house and had a nice date night last night. We went out to dinner and played mini golf, it was a nice night out. Today we went to our favorite breakfast spot and did our weekly grocery shopping and have enjoyed spending the rest of the day just hanging out around home. I have to do some work for several hours but at least I'm wearing jogging pants!

This week, I am only working Monday - Wednesday and I am going to have a 5 day holiday weekend. I cannot wait! I could really used a few days off. I'm even more excited because we have no plans as of yet. The only plans I have is going to Schaumburgfest on Saturday and I'm going to start putting up our fall decorations. I know it's a little early but I'm going to be really busy in September and this is the best time to do it. We are having out Oktoberfest early this year too so I have less weeks to prepare for it. I will make sure to post pictures of the house in all it's fall decorated glory!

Menu Monday!

I didn't end up cooking very much last week. With being sick, I was pretty much eating chicken noodle soup almost everyday.

This week I want to get back into the kitchen.
Monday: Turkey Meatball Sandwiches
Tuesday: Chicken Pesto Pasta
Wednesday: Gourmet Burger night
Thursday: Chicken tenders and fresh cut fries
Friday: Date Night

Julie & Julia

It's been a busy week, I am finally feeling better. Still not 100% but much better than a week ago.

I did get out last weekend to see Julie & Julia. We absolutely loved it. Meryl Streep was amazing as Julia Child. Michael was talking like Julia Child the rest of the day! It was a really well put together movie. It was funny, heartwarming and inspiring. A lot of people said the Julie story wasn't as strong as the Julia Child story, but I really liked the Julie story. I think its a story more younger people can relate to. All in all, I think its hard not to leave the movie feeling inspired. Inspired to cook, inspired to follow your true dream or passion. I will definitely be buying this movie when it comes out on DVD.

I heard that Julie Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking has been selling out everywhere. They even sold out of it on Amazon! It's like a whole new generation has been introduced to Julia Child and French cooking. I wonder what Julia Child would think of all this?