Here are a couple pictures of our progress:

Our new kitchen table from HOM. It came with the four chairs and has two leaves which will allow us to seat up to 12. Yippee for dinner parties, book clubs, and BBQ’s.

Justin has been quite the handy man. This weekend he put together an end table, bench, and bookcase.

One of the finished products. I ran to TARGET to get another one of these canvas bins (the second bin isn’t in the picture). I figure in the summer they can hold sunscreen and flip flops. The winter will be for hats, gloves, and scarves. Two cheers for organizing!

Tomorrow we have a day off from school so I will begin tackling all the rocks in the backyard. I’ll blog about the progress on that soon.

Any good home tips?

Smiles,
Erica

It’s official… We have started moving into our house. After closing on Tuesday… We began hauling all of our stuff over.

We have successfully unpacked the whole kitchen, transferred my closet, and brought over the office bits and pieces. Tonight we will move Justin’s closet.

On Saturday the movers come and will move all the furniture.

Yippee!
Erica

Tomorrow is Justin and my 6 year Anniversary. It’s amazing how time has flown by and how much has changed in these 6 years. We moved from Indiana to Alabama and now to Minnesota. We have lived in 5 apartments together and are finally taking a big step and closing on our first house in a week. We have changed jobs, hair color, and even tastes in foods (Justin now likes feta and beets ) The one thing that hasn’t changed is our relationship. I am so lucky to have found someone who is always there for me and who continues to support me and keep me laughing throughout life.

(I got lucky and signed up for a cake decorating class at Cooks of Crocus Hill for the day before our anniversary. I still need to work on my piping skills but I was quite happy with my border. There was no question….It had to be a GREEN cake)

Happy 6 years Justin!

Erica

When we hopped in the car Friday morning there was no question as to where we would be heading when we got to Duluth… New Scenic Cafe. We LOVED this place last year and have been wanting to go back. I was impressed that some of the same stuff was on the menu this year (no reason to change a good thing).
Here are some of our lunch pictures.

Appetizer: Artichoke Slather

Salad: Roasted Beet Salad

Entree: Lobster Bisque

Justin and I were joking before we ordered that he always orders the same thing at restaurants. He told me he was going to try something new and order the Prime Rib Dip. After we ordered I remembered I had blogged our trip last year. Anyways the point of my story is I looked at my previous entry while we were waiting for our meal and I found out that Justin ordered the same sandwich for lunch. (So… I did not snap a picture of his sandwich) He did want me to tell y’all it was just as good as last year.

Here are some links to some other spots we checked out while in Duluth.

1. Cooter Pottery
2. Blue Heron Trading Company
3. Duluth Kitchen Company

Happy Weekend!

Erica

Maybe it’s me but I feel like March has flown by! This weekend I decided to celebrate my favorite color, green. Nope I’m not Irish but why not celebrate spring. I picked up green sprinkled cinnamon twists from Isles Bun on Saturday to bring over to my friends house for dinner last night. Today I ran by Sephora and snagged the Pantone Universe Emerald Nail polish trio . I painted 8 of my nails the plain green and used the sparkly green as an accent nail for my pointers. This evening we are having Justin’s sisters over for dinner and I decided to make a green treat: LuckyCharm Treats. I ended up using the Limited Edition Green Clover Lucky Charms. I think they turned out pretty cute.

Happy Spring!

Erica

Don’t worry this post is not about eating turtles but is about a great Turtle Cake. Cafe Latte is a restaurant in St Paul that is known for its friendly cozy cafe feel. It also is known for its killer desserts. My mom and I are head over heels for their almond fruit tart (marzipan in the filling..amazing). Anyways I had heard from my friend, Kat that on Cafe Latte’s website. I decided that it was time to try making my first 3 layer chocolate cake. Thanks Cafe Latte for providing the recipe for your Turtle Cake.

Justin’s verdict- I loved it. It tasted pretty good for breakfast too.

Happy Sunday!

Erica

Here we have Pesto, Frenchy, and Black Widow

Desert Heat was a favorite of the group.

Here is Szechwan and Ranch. Ranch was one of my favorites.

Then we have Muy Thai, Salsa Verde, Buffalo, and Asian BBQ.

After that came Teriyaki. (I didn’t try that one…side note 8 people were at dinner and most of the wings came in orders of 6.)

Darren sent us complimentary dessert wings. This was Spicy Caramel and Snackers.

Last but not least. My friend, Mike whose part of the blog Two Happy Cooks decided he could not leave Dspot without trying the wings from the spicier part of the menu. He ordered the El Loco which are described as ridiculously HOT and for the extremist only! They even came with a can of green tea. All I can say is I have known Mike for about 4 years and this is the first time I saw him have tears in his eyes and I can promise you they were not for joy.

Darren and Mike, the fearless wing eater!

I will definitely be back to try some more options and have some more Ranch wings. It was a great night with lots of laughter and wings!!!

Happy Weekend!
Erica

It all started with a bowl of granola… I don’t think I ever would start a sentence like that. I like granola but it is never what I would choose to order for brunch. I tend to go for omelets or blueberry pancakes. I met my friend, Naomi for brunch on Sunday at Kenwood. I had been told by another friend that I should check this place. I am so glad I did. I perused the menu and stopped at the granola. Why not break out of my shell and have granola at brunch? So I did, and it was the best bowl of granola I have ever had. It came in a bowl with plain Greek yogurt, a drizzle of Ames Honey, and some fresh blackberries and pineapple. I made Naomi try it too and she agreed it was DELISH. The only problem was when I finished it I was left wanting to recreate it. When I told our waitress how much I liked it she responded with how it’s a well known recipe from Eleven Madison Park. I’ve never been to this restaurant but I was also told I could find the recipe online. Guess what? I found the recipe on Sunday and I made the granola TONIGHT! Justin just ate a bowl of it for dessert…yes, dessert.. So the verdict… He loved it!

Smiles,
Erica

Let’s rewind to the Super Bowl… The amazing Beyonce halftime show, Destiny Chold performing together, and these cookies.

The guy that made these cookies sent me the link. I waited a month and have finally gotten around to making them. They are AMAZING. Yes, a bit of effort goes into browning butter and waiting for the dough to chill in the fridge, however, it’s so worth it. I managed to send home some cookies with my friend, Lindsey and I will be packaging the rest up for more friends.

Happy Weekend!

Erica

On Friday night I attempted to make hamantaschen (Purim triangle cookie) for the second time on my own. I have helped out filling hamantaschen before at synagogue but this was the second time I had made them from scratch. Previously my mom and I had attempted to make them when I was in high school and it was an inedible fail.

My director at the preschool I work at gave me her recipe for hamantaschen. I made the dough on Thursday night and let it sit covered in the fridge for 24 hours. My end result was Purim Perfection. I handed out some to friends and I stuck a couple in the freezer for Justin to enjoy when he gets back from Hong Kong. I would highly recommend this recipe and am so happy that my director shared it with me.

1 cup butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Beat butter and sugar together until smooth.
Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Mix dry mixture to wet mixture until incorporated.
Chill dough for 24 hours

Dust surface with flour to keep from sticking.
Roll the dough to about ¼ inch think.
Use a round cookie cutter, and cut out pieces.
Fill each round with your favorite filling (I used strawberry preserves and apricot preserves.)
Pinch corners together and place on cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Bake for 7-9 minutes. Let cool and be careful they are dangerously hot.

Chag Purim Sameach, Happy Purim, and Happy Weekend

Erica