Cat fight

Last night Dan and I met at Atlantic Terminal Mall to go to Target.  In suburban terms it doesn't really qualify as a mall since it only has like 10 stores, but still.  The Target in Brooklyn is always crowded and it's like the first generation of Targets, no super center here.  While I was looking at cute summer dresses we heard some loud yelling and looked over to see two woman lunging at each other.  It was a full-on cat fight.  It took five men to pull them apart and the two scrawny Target security guys were no help.  One of the women walked away with her weave halfway pulled out.  It was bizarre and scary at the same time.  Dan and I just stood there in shock watching it.  Some other bystanders were taking video of it on their phones, no doubt to blast it all over the internet later.   

After Target we got McDonald's for dinner.  Because, people, let's face it...sometimes McD's just tastes soooo good. 

Then I suggested we walk back home which was like 80 blocks.  We decided to walk about 20 and then hop on the train.

And that was our romantic date night.

I have no full length mirror so Dan is forced to take pictures of me posing so I can see what things look like.  Sometimes it's a little ridiculous.

See that colorful chain in the background?  I'll explain that tomorrow!! 

Lessons learned from kids books

Does anyone remember The Berenstain Bears books? Also am I the only one that thought it was spelled BEAR-in-Stein? Mandy and I loved them so much and would get them from the library a lot.  I had a small Mama Bear figurine that I would carry around alla Rocky Pants style.  Geez I was a weird kid.  Anyways, so many life lessons learned from those books.

One of our favorites was The Bernstein Bears and the Messy Room.

Here is the summary: Brother and Sister have a disaster of a messy room.  Brother can't find things, toys are getting broken, fights happen, etc.  Brother and Sister get in trouble and Mama makes them clean their room.  So Mama, Papa, Sister, and Brother work together and organize everything.  At the end of the book there is this great illustration of the room all tidy with peg boards and labeled boxes.  I just loved looking at the details of the picture and seeing everything so neat and clean.  I literally feel excited just thinking about it. 

Thank the Lord for Google Images

Look at the Mama and her smug face!

That's how I like things.  Neat and clean. Always have.  Mandy and I would spend hours cleaning up the playroom in the basement and setting-up to play house and then would be too tired to actually play.  I wish I had a photo of the doll house in our room, it was an organized clutter masterpiece.

Seeing a clean space or participating in making things orderly is one of my favorite things.  And that feeling I got when I looked at the page from The Messy Room...that's exactly how I feel when I look at this:

On Sunday while Dan built the other dresser for the bedroom, I worked on combining his books and my books and other things to fill up my large bookshelf that we had hauled up to the apartment the day before.  Ahhhh.  It felt so nice to empty some boxes and put my stuff and his stuff together to make our stuff.  One thing to note, Dan does not own a single book that is not ministry related.  The guy doesn't "do" free reading.  But I have an inordinately large amount of youth group volunteering books so I can't complain about him.  

The thing about keeping things neat and clean is they don't even have to be "organized" just line things up in rough height order and run a duster over it once a week.  Blammo.  Step one for the guest room is done.

Handy DAN-dy

You know how I told you how much I hate allen wrenches?  Well, this weekend we accumulated at least five more because IKEA includes one, if not two wrenches in each piece of furniture. Yay!

After our long shopping trip and hauling boxes to our new place we got right to work assembling some of our purchases.  We started with one of the dressers because we knew it would be the most difficult.  We started at 4:45 and cruised along quite quickly in an organized team fashion until it came time to put the tracks on the drawers...

Then  we realized we assembled all six of the drawers wrong.  Classic!  That's when I quit the building process because this tired and hungry girl has no patience for that even on my most graceful day.   So I left Dan, with his abundant patience, to do the fixing.

Meanwhile, I set out to heat-up some dinner.  But that proved to be no simple task either because apparently Dan's microwave got damaged in transit during the move.  We both had to use our full strength together to pry the door open and then once I got things heated I realized we had no utensils to eat with.  So out of hunger desperation we shared a plate and ate with a meat serving fork.  Just makin' do that's all.    

Dan finished the dresser around four hours after we started and what a trooper he is for sticking it out through completion.  As a reward he got to unpack his suitcases and finally put his clothes away!

Now don't be thinking I was slacking after I abandoned Dan with the dresser.  I built a shoe rack for Dan's closet, found homes for the smaller trinkets from Ikea, cleaned some stuff, and put up a nice valance to complete the window treatment in the bedroom. 

Big difference right?

It was a long and exhausting day but we have a lot to show for it.  I love being able to see our work together turn the apartment into a home. 

Weekending it

I loved this weekend because we worked really hard, were very productive, and we went to one of my most favorite places on earth: IKEA!

It went like planned clockwork

By 10 am we picked up a van we borrowed from a family at church and loaded up some boxes and my giant bookshelf to take over to the new apartment.  Dan and I had a few moments of concern trying to get that 6 foot shelf down the stairs, into the van, and up the stairs again but we got it.  It reminded me of that episode of Friends when Ross, Rachel, and Chandler are trying to get Ross's couch up his NYC apartment stairs.  Pivot!

By 11 am we were at Lowes picking up a new medicine cabinet/mirror for the bathroom, a small A/C for the bedroom, and some other tid bit supplies.

At noon we pulled into the parking lot at IKEA and stopped for lunch in the cafeteria to power-up for our shopping.  Yum, Swedish meatballs.

See? I told you Rocky Pants came along for the journey

The key to IKEA is to know what furniture you want already.  We breezed through the showroom part so I could show Dan the dressers I picked and we browsed some kitchen table options.  My favorite part of IKEA is when you walk downstairs and can really get shopping by filling up your cart with all the little wonders.  I was restrained a bit and didn't go wild but I already have a list ready for our next trip!  We were in and out of that place in exactly 1 hour!! Record time.  

After we loaded the car we explored the abandoned dock area by IKEA which was pretty cool and very quiet.  We might go back sometime to stay longer.

Then we drove back to the apartment and made about 19 trips back and forth from the van down the block to the apartment carrying and pushing all our goods.  By 3 pm we headed  back to my old apartment to pick up another load and finally drop off the van.

If the day doesn't sound exhausting enough already we still had five more hours of work to go! 

An introduction to an old friend

So I've mentioned Rocky Pants before...He is an elephant desk critter with an appetite for adventure.  When I remember, he comes with us on trips to different places and makes appearances to document his presence.

His name is unique, and a story worth sharing.

When Dan and I first started dating we had this thing where we would ask each other three questions and the person got to choose two to answer.  After awhile we were running out of general questions so one time I asked "how many pairs of pants do you have?"  Dan replied by listing out something like "four pairs of jeans, five pairs of dress pants, three athletic pants, and one pair of Rocky pants."

Rocky pants?!?

I said, "what are Rocky pants?"  Dan said, "you know those pants that Rocky wears, I can't remember what they are called."  Confused, I asked, "Do you mean sweat pants???"  Dan said, "yeah, sweat pants."

I thought it was hilariously adorable so now sweat pants are called Rocky pants.

Several weeks later I was looking at this desk critter I had on at work that I got at Dave and Buster's one time.  He had yet to be named and when I looked at him I knew his name would be Rocky Pants.  One, because of his color and two, because he has that Rocky victory pose.

Am I right??

I tell you all of this because Rocky Pants joined Dan and I this weekend for our whirlwind trip of apartment moving, and building, and planning...I didn't want you all to be confused by the ridiculous toy we lugged around.  Weekending it post to come...

Lunch time

So in a relationship I've grown to understand the preciousness of both the big things and small things that your partner does for you.

The last two weeks Stephanie has made me lunch for when I'm at the church office.  A sandwich, cruncher, and a fruit or vegetable.  This is super helpful because I never think to bring lunch and I'm always running around and spending extra money on lunch.

The other cool thing is she puts in a napkin with sweet notes. 

 (This means I love you to the moon and back)

Little notes are such an encouragement on a hard day!  

Thanks Steph I love you

Weekending it

Holy post Monday! We have a lot to talk about.

This Monday's "weekending-it" post is brought to you by the allen wrench. Great first name, terrible tool.  Why does every piece of furniture come with one even though all tool sets come with a variety of sizes?  And why do I feel obligated to keep every one that comes with each assembly box? And it's really annoying when you can only spin it 45 degrees and then have to take it out, reset it in the socket, just to turn it only another 45 degrees and repeat?

The reason I am ranting about allen wrenches is because in addition to fixing the bathroom project, adding a second coat of paint to the walls, and generally pulling things together in the new apartment...we also assembled some furniture! 

First up, Dan's futon was assembled to make the living room seating.  It got a makeover with a new navy blue cover and bolster pillows and a super soft blanket.  Throw pillows to come!  This room also got a second coat of paint by Dan and I mopped the floors.

Then the biggest task was to assemble the two desks for the entryway.  My twin, Mandy, insisted we let her design and purchase the items for the entryway because I refused to let her plan a bridal shower.  Yeah, whatever...it makes her happy so we obliged.  She sent us a lovely corner desk and an entry table with matching accent lamps.

The construction on these pieces of furniture are great, real sturdy wood.  Dan and I worked together assembling them relatively quickly.  We are super excited about how they look and how the place is starting to feel like a home!  The room isn't nearly finished with the design plans Mandy made but they are our first pieces of furniture in the apartment so that's awesome.

And another perk of the new apartment is having laundry in the building.  We were both able to do a couple of loads without having to waste time going back and forth down the block to the laundromat.  Also the machines don't take quarters so you can load-up a card and forget about hunting pockets for change!  Cha ching!

hate, a blade, and elbow grease

So I attacked the bathroom at the new apartment on Saturday.  Like an all-out assault motivated by my hate for it. 

I researched how to remove caulking, how to clean grout, how to paint a sink stand, and purchased all necessary supplies during an hour and a half long date at Lowes on Friday.  

Ok, so here is the truth:  NYC apartment bathrooms are notorious for being gross and most people just live with it.  Everyone has mold. The grout is always ancient and falling out.  There are leaks.  The tubs are stained.  People know and accept this, turning blind eyes to the grossness in other people's apartments and ignoring the nasty every morning when they shower.  I've even done this at my current apartment.

But this new bathroom...it's unacceptable.  My mom can attest, compared to the rest of the apartment the bathroom is horrific. 

So I set out to fix it.  Or at least do a better job at hiding the nasty.

I removed the medicine cabinet/mirror as the hardware was fully rusted through and the exterior was peeling off.  We will be replacing it even though it will have to stay in place if we move. 

The caulking along the sink and tub was three layers thick.  I scrapped off the most recent white silicone layer clearly added to poorly "hide" the older layer beneath which was a peach colored rubber-ish ancient nasty.  The final layer was some sort of plaster.  Removing all of this took a caulk removing tool, goo gone, a screwdriver and flat head, a heck of a lot of arm power, sandpaper, and a the blade of an xacto knife.  There is still a lot there but it looks a lot better and now we have a relatively clean and smooth surface to apply new caulking.  Here is a before/after pic so you understand how bad it was and I'm not just being dramatic. 

The sink stand (or whatever you call it) is made of crappy particle board with a white paper covering.  This paper was peeling up at the bottom where there was evident water damage.  My theory is the previous tenant died in the bathtub which overflowed and flooded the floor and caused the sink stand to warp, mold, moisten the paper to causing peeling, and for the hardware to rust.  What other explanation is there?

I took the doors off and Dan helped to sand everything down, paint a coat of primer, sand again, and paint another coat of primer.  The next step is to paint the doors and stand green and re-do the caulking. 

Can't wait for the reveal! 

Sign of things to come? I sure hope not

So about four days after we signed the lease at the new apartment we discovered a leak in the bathroom ceiling.  Dun dun dun.

I am documenting the entire incident here in case we ever have to take our case before Judge Judy.  

We called the Super after discovering the leak and put a trash can under the drip.  When Dan went back the next day it was clear the Super hadn't been to the apartment because it looked like this:

Lovely

Dan called the Super again and he came and looked at the mess.  Apparently there was a leak coming from the apartment above ours.  Later that night we returned to find this:

You can bet how pleased I was about that.  Yeah, the bathroom wasn't sightly to begin with.  We called the Super again and he told us there was nothing more he could do and we'd have to call the Landlord/Development Company that owns the building.  That was early evening on July 3rd (a holiday weekend) so that meant we couldn't call until Monday.

I called Monday morning the 7th and used my "I'm annoyed don't mess with me voice" to communicate to the lady that this was unacceptable.  She told me that it had to sit a week to "dry out" before the contractor could come a put up a new ceiling.  She said the contractor would call me on Thursday or Friday.  I never got a call.

So I called back again Monday the 11th and spoke to the same lady and she was apologetic that the contractor never called.  Later that day we had an appointment for the workers to come the following day when Dan could be there to supervise.

Dan was also moving all of his stuff into the place on Tuesday so it was a little hectic for him but this is what it looked like when I came over on Tuesday night:

Yeah, I do not approve.  And they left plaster all over the bathroom walls. Terrible craftsmanship.  If I was paying out of pocket for this fix I would have refused to pay. 

They came back Thursday to "even things out" and paint.  This is what it looks like now:

It's acceptable but not quality.  The ceiling slopes.  But this weekend we worked really hard on fixing up the place and my special project was to attack the nasty bathroom with a vengeance.  To be continued...

Recipe: Super Easy Lasagna

So my mom makes amazing lasagna...this is NOT her recipe.  My mom's lasagna requires homemade spaghetti sauce which takes forever and a day to make and requires a kitchen larger than a closet so I have never made it since living in NYC.  Also her recipe uses the lasagna noodles that you have boil and cook ahead of time.  Girl has no patience for that...so this other recipe is perfect for me.  Jar tomato sauce, no-boil noodles, whip it together in less than 10 minutes and throw it in the oven to bake while you mop the floor.  Perfect.  Sorry mom, you are probably cringing. 

I first made this dish with one of the former teenagers in the youth group.  She would come over to my place on occasion and want to cook because I had pots and pans.  She found this recipe online and I have been making it ever since because it is so easy.  Also perfect to throw together and freeze to give to someone in need of a meal for whatever reason.

The stuff
- 1 package of frozen chopped spinach (the kind that comes in a square box)
- 1 container of Ricotta cheese
- 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 jar of pasta sauce (any variety)
- 4-6 of the no-boil lasagna noodles (see photo below)
- 1/4 cup of water

Get cookin'
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Defrost and drain the spinach (I usually just run the box under warm water until it thaws)
- Combine the ricotta cheese, spinich, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese
- In your casserole dish pour 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom and spread it out evenly
- Place 2-3 of the dry noodles on top of the sauce
- Add half of cheese/spinach on top of the noodles and spread it out evenly
- Repeat layers (sauce, noodles, cheese mixture), the top layer should be plain pasta sauce
- Pour 1/4 cup of water around the edges of the dish (this water is what cooks the noodles.  I usually put the water into the pasta sauce jar and shake it around to get all the sauce off and then the water is mixed in the layers.  Seems to work fine) 
- Cover and bake for 45 minutes
- Uncover and add 1 cup of mozzarella on top and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and brown
- Let cool and set for 10 minutes before cutting 

The Lost Week

Last Monday my mom came to NYC to help take care of me during recovery from surgery.

This is me before surgery, modeling my hospital wear.  Shhh, we kept that seersucker robe

The surgery was on Tuesday and after that I literally lost the week.  It disappeared out from under us and here we are into the third week of July and I don't know where the week before it went...actually I do.  My mom and I slept in every day.  Watched TV and movies and were generally unproductive.  And it was bliss.  She made me her homemade rice pudding which is my favorite and taught me how to embrioder.  The recovery wasn't sunshine and roses but it was bearable with my Momma and we had some good bonding time.

Dan was very helpful too.  He stayed with my Mom at the hospital waiting for 12 hours while I was in the surgery and recovery.  They picked me out a new buddy from the gift shop and gave her to me while I was still in a semi sedated state and literally couldn't keep my eyes open.  

I named her Clover and she has a packet of dried lavender in her bum that you can microwave to make her warm to snuggle with!   Dan also came over every night after he got off work to join the movie fest.  And after my Mom left he did his best to cheer me up as I missed her desperately.  He brought out all the buddies and lounged with me all weekend and was a real gentleman. 

I got a few cards from friends and a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my big sissy, Jessy, and her husband, my brudder Josh.  A girl could really get used to this...

But the band-aids are gone and I can stand on my own two feet so life is now back to normal and back to work. Bleh.

Recipe: Momma's Mac & Cheese

My Momma makes the best homemade macaroni and cheese.  I have many happy childhood memories that involve this recipe.  I even remember the glass casserole dish she would make it in and how most times we would it eat with kielbasa (yum!).  Since Dan and I started dating I have made this mac&cheese many times.  He is a fan of pretty much any cheese and noodle combination,  so here it is.  This recipe is supposed to serve 4 but those are side dish portions.  We knock the whole thing out in one setting so double as necessary.

The stuff
- 2 cups dry macaroni/elbow noodles
- 2 cups+ grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups of milk
- 3/4 a stick of butter
- salt, pepper, flour (3 tablespoons)

Get cookin'
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Boil pasta until al dente (with a bite).  Drain. Set aside
- In a casserole dish put 1/3 of the cooked pasta topped with 1/3 of the cheese
- Sprinkle salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon flour.  The flour combines with the milk/butter mixture during baking to make a roux which thickens the dish.  It's essential so don't leave it out because it sounds weird
- Repeat layers
- In a saucepan heat milk and butter until the butter is melted (don't boil)
- Pour the milk mixture over the pasta/cheese and bake, covered, for 30 minutes
- Remove the cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes to brown the top
- Let set for a few minutes before serving.

Disclaimer for the photos below: I accidentally forgot to add the salt and pepper to the layers so I just added it to the milk/butter mixture. 

The original source for this recipe is probably in the depths of the 1950s...wherever my grandma got it and passed to my mom.  

Color Run

So I used to be really big into running.  Then my knees started not working so good so I stopped for a long time.  Dan is a runner too and we went on a few jogs together before his foot started bothering him.

We signed up to do a Color Run in Brooklyn with a few other people from church and I was super excited because I had seen pictures of people at a color run and it looked SO fun.

First of all they give you a schwag bag filled with goodies like a free t-shirt and headband.  There was music and color and vendors giving out free stuff.  Dan and I got a ride from a family at church and they brought their two cute little boys.  Dan couldn't run so he took pictures and waited for me at the finish line.

I hadn't planned on running the whole time but once I got going I decided to huff it as much as I could and apparently finished in the top 30. The run was a blast because everyone was in a fun mood and it wasn't competitive or crazy.  When you ran under the color arches people would throw the colored cornstarch at you and by the end of the race you were a rainbow.

Then after several hundred people finished they gathered everyone by the stage and everyone threw packets of the color in a giant rainbow.  Dan caught some great pictures. 

I really enjoyed the experience and would totally do it again and hopefully Dan can do it too since I know he would have loved to participate.