Syrus meets Colby

Syrus and Colby are so adorable and Love each other most of the time

Every time Syrus get's a bath Colby sticks around to play big brother and make sure nothing bad happens.

My favorite picture EVER of Syrus

This is one of his first pictures

I haven't updated in a LONG while cause we don't have the internet… life is so strange without the internet!!! No more shopping and internet banking and bill pay oh my.

Did I mention we moved into our lovely happy home. :O) . I know, I know, I really need to get some pictures of the final product so ya'll can see. It's all I could ever wished for and more, It has a roof a couple bedrooms a bathroom and best of all a kitchen where we spend most of our time.

I bet you'd never guess but one of Doug's favorite pass time is cooking. He love's to make new thing and we've made some awesome meals and treats since we've been in the house. One of which has become my all time favorite dessert and I wont have hurt feelings if you want to try them also.

Chocolate-Raspberry Tassies
Better Homes & Garden Dec. 2009 issue·

Prep: 40 minutes Bake: 12 minutes Cool: 10 minutes already saved


Ingredients·
1 recipe Chocolate Pastry, (recipe below) ·
6 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (1 cup) ·
2 Tbsp. butter ·
1 large egg, lightly beaten ·
1/3 cup granulated sugar ·
1 Tbsp. raspberry liqueur or raspberry-flavored syrup ·
2 tsp. vanilla ·
1 recipe Chocolate Butter cream, (recipe below) (optional)

Directions
1. Prepare Chocolate Pastry. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Divide pastry in 24 balls. Evenly press each ball on bottom and sides of 24 ungreased 1-3/4-inch muffin cups, using floured fingers if necessary; set aside.
2. For filling, in small saucepan heat and stir chocolate and butter over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in egg, sugar, liqueur, and vanilla. Spoon 1 scant tablespoon filling in each pastry shell.
3. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until pastry is firm and filling is puffed. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Run sharp thin-blade knife around tassie edges; carefully remove from pans. Cool on wire rack. Pipe or dollop on a small amount of Chocolate Butter cream.
4. To store, refrigerate tassies in single layer in airtight container up to 3 days. Makes 24 tarts.

Chocolate Pastry: In food processor combine 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, and dash of salt; pulse to combine. Add 1/2 cup cold butter, cut up. Cover; process until crumbly. In small bowl whisk together 1 egg yolk and 2 tablespoons cold water. Add to processor; pulse until a dough ball forms (add water if dry). If needed, cover and refrigerate until easy to handle.

Chocolate Butter cream: In a medium mixing bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter on medium-high for 30 seconds. Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Beat in 2 tablespoons milk. Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar until piping consistency.

Doug's Suggestion: Dust with confectioner sugar and top with 1-3 raspberries

Yesterday Mom kept calling and calling and finally she left a message on my phone that we had to come over tonight for dinner and brownies.

Well this is my LONG story made super short… Mom surprised Doug and I with an early birthday gift. A little black puff ball of a puppy. He is the same breed as Colby so hopefully after he gets past his antsy jealous stage they will be two pees in a pod.

As Doug and I were laying in bed listening to the puppy whine about being in his kennel alone, we threw out names like Billy, Bongo and Joe. I said jokingly that we should name him Syrus and immediately Doug said "That’s it, that's his name" I laughed thinking is he really serious?!?! That is too strong of a name for this cute cuddly puppy that doesn't even know how to bark yet. I'm pretty sure I fell a sleep right away and there was no more chat about that.

It does sound pretty cute... doesn't it?

I Love Wall Art

I have this adorable friend named Shannon who is a awesome artist. She has been painting 5x7 water colors to make thank you cards for the people who help her while she is on a trip to Europe. She took multiple copies of them and offered me 2 ocean scapes, which I LOVE!!!

So I made a little project out of them. I really wanted a simple matted frame and didn't want to pay a whole lot for them, but I also wanted the frames color to fit in with my home.
Immediately I was on a quest to find the right frame at a yard sale.

They were a buck each with the mat and picture included which was an awesome price tag for what I had in store.

I pulled out my handy dandy spray paint and went to town. The frame was transformed to a soft ocean blue and the mat is a sandy tan to go with the beach atmosphere. When all was said and done they looked a thousand times better and the color pops on my wall.

Whirl Wind of an Adventure

It has been so long since I've blogged about anything but here is our life in a nut shell… Go to work, come home and work some more… and there you have it :)

Here is a short version of what we have been working on at the house since the middle of July.

This is a before of the flower beds...

And now the yard no longer looks like a jungle

The kitchen cabinets were so quickly hung in the garage by Doug's brother Steve and his Dad Dave.

Doug framed in what used to be the pantry.

The leaking window was fixed and the drywall was replaced.

Then came the fun of painting. We had so many people over for a few days to paint that it really didn't take that long to paint the whole house.

Here is my shout out to all those folks, THANKS!!!

Dad pulled up a little tile from the front door landing.

Then came the long hard pull of laying the kitchen floor till 2:30 in the morning but it was well worth it.

.One of my favorite elements of the house is the paneling we hung in the frontroom, kitchen & hall.

I recently saw a picture of stripes in a bathroom and loved it so much that we figured out how to do it.

~Drawing perfectly straight lines wasn't Doug's favorite task but he really likes it~

The finished stripes are so fun. Doesn't it look phenomenal.

I love the fun yellow we painted the craft/creative room downstairs. Isn't it fabo?

Wow, as if that isn't enough… The little odds and ends keep adding up.

We finally got carpet and it makes the house feel like a home.

Doug and Colby absolutely LOVE it!

Dave (Doug's Dad) works for Re-Bath so he had them come take care of the old shower. They did a fantastic job! I would recommend them to anyone.

*Just let me know if you need a new shower cause I know a guy*

Do you remember my cute clearance mirror from Lowes?!? Well here it is hung on the bathroom wall. Doesn't it look lovely!!!

Well thanks for joining us on our whirl wind of an adventure.

See you soon...

I'm so HAPPY to have a Hubby who is willing to work all day long and immediately turn around and work 4 to 5 more hours on our little project called "the house"

It's really a new adventure for the both of us… Neither of us know what we're doing. Doug borrows a few tools from Dad and gets a few pointers here and there and then he's off to figure things out on his own.

Last night Doug started cutting sheet rock and while he finishes up tonight Dad is going to start on the mud and tape, the most unexciting part of the whole process. A whole lot of waiting, and sanding, and reapplying the mud over and over again.

But no worries cause when the sheetrock is done were gonna be flying through the rest of our projects SUPER FAST!!!

little arms

Michelle came to help with yard work last night after the big rain storms. while we were in the garden planting my bunny tail grass

She giggled, and picked up a snail

He had a tiny stick that was stuck to his little belly and it made him looked like he had little arms.