Photography 101

Today Alex and I headed out to a local park, Minnehaha Falls, to work on our photography skills and to enjoy the AMAZING weather we are experiencing. It is March 17th and it was 80 degrees today. We absolutely deserve this preview of Summer since we still had a 7 foot drift of snow in our backyard last year about this time.

My camera does a pretty good job, considering it is a little point and shoot and I have no idea what to do with all of the settings. I was working on subject and composition. Of course, subject was a bit difficult because everything is dirty, gray and brown. I am looking forward to the greens and colors of spring which should be around the corner. My tulips are 3 inches out and my new birthday lilac bush (which Alex affectionately calls "The Stick") is starting to bloom.

Snug as a bug in a rug

Cider likes to make it difficult to make the bed sometimes. This time I decided to make the bed around her. I am not sure she knew what to do.

It's about time!

We have had an incredibly mild winter this year. I understand that has been the case across the United States. However, we are feeling a bit lucky. It is a nice break from last year's ridiculous snow accumulations.

We did get a scare last week but again lucked out with only 6-8 inches of snow. It was pretty . . . even though it was a bit messy.

Not to worry it has already melted and we are looking forward to our 60 degree weather next week.

Sieve! Sieve! Sieve! It's all your fault! It's all your fault!

In February, Alex and I made a quick visit back to Ohio. We had a cheap ticket we needed to use and thought what better way to use it than to visit our home. Coincidentally, Notre Dame Hockey was visiting Miami of Ohio Hockey that weekend and were able to get great tickets. 

Lucky for me, Alex has developed a genuine love of Notre Dame. However, when it comes to hockey, if the Irish are playing Miami of Ohio, his loyalty remains with his Redhawks. My family joined in the fun with us.

Unfortunately the Irish lost . . . badly. It was a bit of a bummer, but we had fun, even though the Student Body chanted "Sieve! Sieve! Sieve! It's all your fault! We want more goals!" a lot! Alex was obviously happy though for his Redhawks.

"Emily" Crocker

This winter I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. For some reason, I am actually enjoying it a bit more than usual. I think I have finally have found a way to incorporate my love of design and order to bake/cook goodies with love!

My Super Bowl Sunday cookies were a hit at a friend's party. I made the cookies and icing from scratch and spent a lot of time decorating them to match the team's helmets and footballs.

All Alex asked for his birthday was to check out a new local Greek restaurant and a yellow cake with white frosting. Easy enough! Alex was surprised to see the festive decorations.

I decided to make Alex dinner for Valentine's Day. It certainly beats long waits in the restaurants. Lobster tails and twice baked potatoes with a side of amazing Oyster House corn bread (ordered via the internet and delivered on Valentine's Day!) 

What will I make next?

Merry Cider-mas!

For Christmas this year, we packed up the car and headed home to Ohio to spend it with our families. We dreaded the 12 hour drive but were excited to get home for a week of relaxation. Fortunately, we had great weather and did not miss out on a White Minnesota Christmas. In fact we have only had 10 inches or so compared to last years 50+ inches that we had by this time of year.

I knew Cider would be great in the car. Alex was a bit apprehensive. However, Cider did amazing. We were able to make a few stops to get her out and about for a quick walk and potty break. She did not lie down once in the car. She preferred to sit in the back and stare at us. I think she wondered where we were going.

For Christmas, Cider received her very own Chewy Vuitton and she loves it! We are twinsies.

My mom outdid herself this year with the Christmas dinner. It was quite a spread and very tasty.

The visit consisted of spending lots of time with my family, sleeping, laying around, run around, visiting friends and playing with Cider. She did awesome with my parents things too. A few mishaps but for the most part she was great. It was nice to have 3 extra helpers with Cider too. She enjoyed the attention. She did however earn herself more freedom our house as a reward.

The drive back seemed a lot longer although we made it back to Minnesota in 12 hours. Cider finally laid down to sleep which was nice.

We are already missing Ohio.

New Thanksgiving Traditions

Alex and I stayed in the Twin Cities for Thanksgiving. We had a few invitations this year to spend it with friends, however, we declined. We have gotten used to and actually enjoy our Thanksgivings together, just the two of us. Well, three of us.

This year, I came home from work with beautiful flowers from Alex to kick off the holiday weekend.

I wanted to do something a bit different for our Thanksgiving dinner this year. So I searched high and low for a popover pan to make popovers. We loved them so much that they will become a new traditional item to add to our Thanksgiving feast.

I love using our wedding china for these special dinners.

 Another big and juicy turkey. I picked out a 16 pounder for the two of us. We didn't eat all of it, but saved the leftovers for future tasty dinners.

We didn't want to make a big dessert that we would eat the entire weekend. So we opted for individual desserts that we would eat in one sitting. They were tasty.

Our After Thanksgiving Dinner Movie tradition continued with a viewing of Hugo. It was the perfect way to start the holiday season.