decisions made!

Thanks for all the advice, my loyal readers! I received comments, emails, and phone calls from friends with their ideas about how to spend our gift cards. Thanks for weighing in on these decisions, I know it's not the biggest deal but we want to spend our money wisely. And thanks for all of our wedding gifts and gift cards that made these purchases possible! I've gone from having the most ill-equipped kitchen of my life (Kijabe) to a very nicely stocked kitchen! I feel pretty thrilled and undeserving.

Last night I calculated our gift cards and figured out how to work the system to get the most bang for our buck. I went out on a big mission today to Macy's and the helpful staff helped me choose...

a blender:

And my mixer!
Isn't it lovely? I almost got the red one . . . but then this NEW chrome was there, shining in all of its matte-finished glory. It's the new "architect" version of the classic artisian 5qt. The finish is described as cocoa-silver and it was a little darker than the classic chrome. I knew it was the one for me. AND they still gave me 10% off, even though it wasn't the exact one from the registry.

And yes, I couldn't wait, I already made some super-healthy "throw-it-all-in-there" zucchini muffins. Or rather, more elegantly, Erica's Whole Wheat Oatmeal Zucchini Muffins with Cinnamon Topping. But really, I just threw it all in there and hoovered around the oven until they were done. That's the problem with made up recipes, you never know when they'll be done baking.

Anyway, after Macy's it was back to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get . . . the vacuum!


Such a sleek, attractive design.
Such powerful suction.
So . . . exactly like my mother's.

Which is why I know it works.

Wait, who's in the background of that photo above?

That would be one VERY unhappy dog.

Moose did not love the vacuum as much as I did.

Oh, no.

He hated it.


He barked a lot. And that dog has quite the powerful bark. It was after that last picture above, the one with the pleading, pained expression, that I quit laughing at him and put the camera down and attempted to comfort the poor beast. I hugged him. I spoke gently and encouragingly. I patted him and the vacuum at the same time. I lugged his big butt over to it and showed him it was a friend.

And then I got dog hair all over myself and felt a bit exasperated.

But as I'm the boss around here, I took him outside to calm down and then vacuumed a bit. It was worth it. Not pictured: the amount of junk it sucked up from just two rooms.

Never a dull moment in the Yezerski household.

Help?

To my loyal blog readers:

We are trying to make some important decisions that will impact our finances and overall happiness of the home. I would appreciate your advice on the following two points:

1) What color KitchenAid should we purchase?
Here's the available color wheel. I'm not super trendy, mind you. But I'm open to thoughts.

2) What vacuum should we purchase?
We have hardwood floors and rugs. It needs to go up and down steps with ease. We also have a pet doggy.

So, if you ever dreamed of commenting, comment now. I want to spend lots of money tomorrow.

Honeymooners

1) Savannah, GA

We spent the weekend in Savannah, getting our fill of the South.

Our beautiful hotel/art gallery, filled with paintings and statues.

Yummy dinner. Our waiter was so thrilled that he had two honeymooning couples that he brought the other couple over for a toast.

I knew we would be in Savannah until Monday but I didn't know where we were headed next, besides "the beach." Sunday afternoon Matt told me we were headed to. . .

2) Aruba! Surprise!!

*Surprise: A little business class action.

Hello my beautiful white sand beaches.

Honeymooners

Matt assisting our hibachi chef in preparing dinner.
We love choppy choppy.

Cheesin it up.

The pool and the palms.

Aruba was fantastic because it was warm and sunny and perfect for relaxing. I didn't realize how tired I was until we slowed down for a minute. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed some of the best meals of my life . . . besides tasty seafood dishes and sunset dinners on the beach, I also had this beef wellington dish that I don't think I'll ever forget . . . who knew beef wellington was so magical?

After sufficient time of wedding recovery (lying by the ocean for several days), it was time for home. So we boarded the plane for NY and our home in Long Island . . .

or did we?
*Surprise again! Instead of driving to the train station, our taxi stopped at the W in ...

3) New York City

I was definitely clueless enough about NYC geography that I was truly surprised by the turn of events and thrilled that our honeymoon was not over yet! Activities in the Big Apple included some time on Broadway:

Chicago
(I'm on the phone with ERIN squealing as she told me how BEN PROPOSED!
CONGRATULATIONS!)

Mary Poppins
Gifted by friends in NY

God of Carnage
A play starring Jeff Daniels, James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay Harden, and Hope Davis
As if the cast wasn't enough star sighting we also sat a row away from Al Roker.

Cathedrals and skyscrapers, the UN and cupcakes, Chelsea market and the Waldorf-Astoria, comedy clubs and hotdogs at midnight . . . there's plenty to see in NYC.

THEN it was really time to head to the train station and hitch a ride to Setauket, NY.
{home}

Picnic

My sister gave me a picnic basket before we got married. I suppose it's a tradition because my aunt gave my mother a picnic basket 28 years ago for a wedding gift. We used ours Friday night down by the beach.

This looks like a good spot.

Pictures with the doggy:
Family Picture:

Checking In

So, sorry it's been a while, but you see . . . I had to go and GET MARRIED!


Which took a lot of planning, and then we had to go on a honeymoon, and now I can't believe September is almost over. But it is. And much has happened which I'd love to talk about all over this blog but the days are still busy. Buuut . . . you have to start somewhere.

So, we'll just start with today:

I went to the Farmer's Market.
Which is next to the the port.

I live a very dreamy life.

The stash:

Green beans, sweet potatoes, apples, cucumber, zucchinis, several peppers, and tomatoes. All for $16. Not sure if that's a good deal or not but I am happy to support the local famers AND use my Kenyan basket.

Then I came home and did less glamorous things like . . . cleaned the bathrooms. And now, I'm off to Costco.

But I just wanted to say HI.