This Kitchen is Well-Done!

Well at least WE think it is anyway. & with the recent addition of our new glass subway tile backspash, the kitchen went from Medium Well to Well Done - (Get it? You know? Meat?)

Here's a reminder of what the kitchen looked like back when it was "Rare"

And here is what we've come up with:

All opened up...

Drawers! Glorious Drawers! We went from have ZERO drawers in the Minneapolis house to having lots. Oh to be able to stash utensils where no one can see them....

yes, that IS in fact a Darth Vader Spatula...

And our new fridge is SO considerate...

  - Always offering to measure our water for us...

  - Providing nutrition information...

  - and has a handy-dandy fridge-drawer

It does everything but keep inventory of what we have in there. Wouldn't that be sweet though?

And we managed to add some of my favorite, cute kitchen items...

but don't worry, we found a way to add some of Kevin in here too...

includes custom Storm Trooper Trivet and Darth Vader Spoon Rest courtesy of Kevin's Mom.

Weekend Adventure in Lutsen!

This past weekend, we were up at the North Shore, in Lutsen, with friends Sara and Ian. It was so pretty up there! We encountered some really good eat'n, and some not so good... The Blue Fin and Betty's Pies were the best!
The guys went golfing, while the ladies relaxed :) We ate, drank, hiked, got massaged, golfed, swam, sat in the sun, played cards, made s'mores at a campfire, and hit the Alpine Slide.

We hit up a few "antique" shops on the way back home on Sunday - most of which were kind of just vintage-junk shops that were pretty stinky...
We stopped for lunch + dessert at Betty's Pies: oh man, so good.....

Here was the best part:

Elisa's French Strawberry Pie

Kevin's Banana Cream Pie

Sara's Apple Crunch Pie

Ian's Key Lime Pie

 Oh my!

Weekend In Review Part 2: more eating, Heidi's Bridal Shower, more eating...

Along with my sister-in-law, Anna, I co-hosted a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Heidi. We had 18 ladies in attendance including aunts, cousins, friends and even 2 out-of-towners who flew in just for the weekend (those Delta Aunts)...

Anna made raspberry filled cupcakes with little sugar monograms

And to help Heidi get used to ALL eyes being on her at the wedding, HERE is Heidi opening EVERY gift at the shower. All eyes on you, Heidi. Sorry. (Anna took every every single photo, so I just couldn't resist...)

Weekend in Review Part 1: Eating, PJ-Pizza Party Time, Eating...

This past weekend was super busy!
We spent most of the day Saturday cooking and prepping for our PJ-Pizza Party sleepover with Riley and Madeleine (Sat. night 5pm 'til ???) With the help of my Mom, we were able to get it all done in record time (PLUS! She does windows...)


PJ-Pizza Party Time!!
Before Madeleine heads off to college in Mankato, we had the "kids" over for a slumber party and homemade pizzas!

Kevin made 2 types of dough (in the bread machine): Fresh Garlic + Basil Dough, and "Regular" Dough. Toppings Options: Cheese (of course) Pepperoni, Sausage, Pineapple, Onions, Green Peppers, Tomatos, Basil, and Garlic AND a super special sweet surprise!

Here is what we came up with:

#1: "Rhonda" by Madeleine
(Sausage, Pineapple + Cheese)

#2: "The Border Battle" by Kevin + Riley
(1/2 Pepperoni + Cheese, 1/2 Pepperoni, Green Peppers, Tomatoes + Cheese)

#3 "Wanda" by Elisa
(Madeleine made what I was going to make - my FAV! - Sausage,Pineapple + Cheese
so! made a twinsy-pizza by a similar name)

#4 "The Big Top" by Kevin
(Bottom layer of Pepperoni, then Sausage, then a Circus Ring of Pepperoni on top + Cheese) 

#5 "The Jimmy Buffet" by Kevin
(Soooooooo good: Basil, Tomato and big chunks of Mozzarella) 

#6 "The Bachmann" (because it's CRAAAAAZY!!) by Kevin
(everything pizza) 

#7 "Lafonda" by Kevin
(one last meat + pinneapple pizza)

#8 "The Brooke McKenna" (because its so darn sweet!) by Kevin
(Dessert Pizza!!! My mom cooked up cinnamon apples + yummy crumble + Kevin's icing to top it all off. All baked up it's like Apple Crisp on crust - SOOO good)

The pizza turned out great and we ate a TON! We followed it all up with video games until Mad was falling asleep right there on the couch....

A place to hang your hat...and your coat, your tools, or anything else that might require hanging...

The new house has no shortage of decorative, outdoor peg hooks... you know, for hanging things. Let's count 'em shall we?

#1 on the deck - right outside the door - works out for grilling utensils.
#2 around the corner - like 5 ft away from #1
#3 by the back door ( and you get a good look at one of our lovely 1970's globe light fixtures...
#4 on the side of the garage.


That is 17 pegs and 2 shelves total. I think we're covered.


While we're outside counting, I am curious as to whether there are any designated locations to post a flag?? Let's see...

   2 flagpost on the deck - one on either end
+ 2 flagposts on the garage - one on either side of the garage door
+ 1 flagpost on the house
   5 posts for our flag and/or decorative wind-sock needs.


Watch out next Fourth of July!
Perhaps next time I show you all the power outlets installed in the garage (my dad counted 18 just on the inside alone)