Celebrating Mardi Gras in the West

Christmas is over. 2012 is here. Valentine's Day is around the corner. 


That must mean that king cake season is close at hand. 

For those of who you are unfamiliar with king cake and its consumption, check out this post from last year.  

Although Mardi Gras itself isn't until February 22nd, Matt and I decided to begin our king cake consumption early this year. 

Thanks to my new KitchenAid standing mixer, a fabulous Christmas gift from my grandparents, I was able to make my king cake this year without developing hand cramps (from all of the kneading of the dough). 

This is my third time making a king cake and I have continued to modify the recipe each time in an effort to create a king cake that rivals those sold in New Orleans.


I can dream, can't I?

I tend to create chaos when I bake, so I don't have any charming photos of the process but this is what the king cake looks like fresh out of the oven (and undecorated). 

Matt lent mission-critical support by helping me ice the king cake...

As well as helping me with the strategic sprinkling of purple, green, and yellow sugars.

The proud baker (I felt like I was holding a baby). 

 Matt savoring the king cake (with Mardi Gras beads on), with the iconic New Orleans radio station WWOZ playing in the background. 
Go here if you are interested in checking out the local Nawlins music scene (Click 'Listen Now'). 

 Matt with matching Mardi Gras cup!

Happy Mardi Gras season, everybody!

p.s. I am totally planning on one day posting photos of this entire process, along with my recipe. Just shoot me an email if you can't wait until then and want to try out my recipe! 

Welcome to Our Home!

Hellloooo! So glad that you could visit....please come inside. 

Would you like something to drink? 
Let me just run to the kitchen. 

We can sit here with our beverages of choice....

...And enjoy the view.

On second thought, let's sip our drinks on our huge, comfy couch. 

And, if the mood strikes us, we can grab a guitar, banjo, drum, or flute from our music corner.

Or maybe you would prefer to peruse our bookshelf. 

...And check out our taste in art (if you like this, check out the artist's totally cool blog).

Or our souvenirs from places near and dear to our hearts ...

Feeling a little tired, guest? Fancying a nap? 

Well, that's too bad. Because our guest bedroom...

...is under construction.

But feel free to take a nap in our room.

Which is slightly more put together.

What? Leaving so soon?

Make sure to visit the little boy/girl's room on the way out.

Thanks for stopping by! Come visit us again soon!

Love,

Nicole and Matt

Working Hard to Settle In

After unpacking everything from the moving truck, Matt and I hightailed it out of the apartment to celebrate Christmas a second time with my parents, brother, and grandparents and then to ring in the New Year with dear family friends.


After the weekend was over, it was time for us to head back to our new home...where we had a lot of unpacking, painting, and decorating to do.

Some people say that you develop a sense of husband/wife roles based on what you observed in your home (i.e. what your parents did). My dad was always (in my memory) pretty laid back about how things were decorated and seemed to let my mom make most of the decisions about paint colors, bathroom fixtures, couches, etc.

I am sure that my dad would have spoken up if my mom was contemplating something that he utterly detested but I don't think I can recall him ever having an extremely strong opinion on, say, the color or pattern of a duvet cover.


I expected that my husband would also be this way. That whoever I married would have more of a laissez-faire attitude...which would conveniently enable me to decorate any way that I saw fit.

Was I ever wrong! Matt has an opinion on everything. And his own vision of what our home should look like. And his own criteria for deciding on kitchen appliances, couches, wall paint colors....the list goes on.


He can deny it all he wants but, I assure you, I speak the truth. 

This drove me absolutely crazy when we were engaged and registering for our wedding gifts. 


But after 2.5 years of marriage, I have come to really appreciate that Matt cares about our home. 


Now, when I look around our apartment, I love that it is more "our" style rather than just my style. 

Check in a few days to see what "our" style looks like!

The Move to California, Part II: Moving In

Although I felt as though Matt and I had accomplished something of epic proportions by trekking across the country with all of our possessions in tow (go here if you want to read about it), and believed that we had earned the right to celebrate our achievement by lounging around in pajamas until noon for a few days, this is not how moving works. Alas. 


Fortunately for us, we had some help. Look at these muscle men!

My dad, brother, good friend David, and Matt did all of the heavy lifting. Between the four guys, the unloading went quickly and smoothly. Thanks so much, you guys! Meanwhile, my mom and I supervised. :)




Once we got everything into the apartment, we realized how much work was ahead of us, in terms of unpacking and setting up our apartment. This is what we saw:

 Entry

Kitchen

Living Room

Dining area

Guest bedroom

Our bedroom

As you can tell, these are the "before" pictures of the apartment. I will be posting the "during" and "after" photos within the next few days. 


Can you stand the suspense?! 

The Move to California, Part I: Road Trip Across the U.S. of A.

For those of you who don't already know, Matt and I drove across the country in a giant, 16 foot Penske moving truck. With his Jeep Cherokee in tow behind us. It looked something like this:

The moving truck was even longer in person than it looks in the photo, I assure you.


Matt and I left Princeton on December 21st, around 11:00 AM. Matt took the first driving shift and we blasted John Denver on the stereo (Country Roads, if you are curious).  I overcame my initial fear of the monstrous truck/Jeep in tow and we alternated driving every four hours or so, which corresponded to when we needed to gas up (you don't even want to know how much we supported the oil and gas industry on this road trip). 


It was pretty much a non-stop drive to Louisiana, where we were headed to spend Christmas with Matt's family. Matt was determined NOT to spend money on a motel and I decided that if Matt could be that hardcore, so could I. So we slept in the cab of the moving truck...in the parking lot of the Alabama welcome center. It was the first but not the last time we would sleep in the truck over the course of our journey. 


After spending glorious and refreshing days with Matt's family, we headed out to California, by way of Texas....or as I like to call it, the Land That Does Not End. I felt like we spent an eternity driving through the Lone Star State.


However, our drive through Texas did have its perks. First, we were able to spend time with good friends in Austin, Texas. After 8 hours on the road, it was so lovely to walk into the house of friends, enjoy a delicious meal, and hear anecdotes about their adorable toddler. 


We also discovered a restaurant called Chrome Cactus. It was there that I had one of the best burgers EVER. If you are passing through the middle of Texas, I highly recommend it. Be on the look out for this sign:

My burger had: a thin beef patty, bacon, onion rings, cheddar cheese, and lettuce with ranch dressing. Di-vine. (Jonny, if you are reading this, I think you would have rated this burger in the near vicinity of Hoagie Haven. A bold claim, I know, but it was that good.)


Over the course of our trip, we relied on one smart phone application called "Gas Buddy." As its name might suggest, it helps you locate gas along your route and advertises the prices. This is particularly important when your vehicle gets 6 to 10 miles a gallon. Yes, you read that correctly. 6 to 10 miles. Per. Gallon. 

However, we learned that it is important to refrain from putting all of your road trip eggs in the Gas Buddy basket. Why, you may ask? Because this is what happens:

You run out of gas on a deserted Texas highway because the gas station shown on Gas Buddy is out of business. 


Fortunately, some kind people took pity on Matt and me (as we ran down a highway towards the gas station 1 mile in the distance) and gave us a lift. Thank you, kind strangers! 

We ultimately got to California safe and sound (although we did have a brush with the seedy underbelly of El Paso, Texas). Praise God for protecting us.

Me in the seat of power.

Stay tuned for before and after pics of our new apartment!