An easy new shelf
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with delicious food, family and a whole lot of relaxing. Ours was just that, and also included a bunch of work around the house, because I get antsy and need something to do. One of the things we just finished was a new shelf above the TV in the basement. The wall was pretty bland, and needed a new touch.
So I went to the local hardware store and picked up an 8′ – 1″x4″ and an 8′ – 1″x2″ for under $6. I cut the boards in half so the shelf would be 4′ long, the same length as our entertainment stand. I used one of the 4′ – 1″x4″ plank as the back, and one as the actual shelf, and a 4′ 1″x2″ as the overhang to create the shelf. I used a countsink drill bit into the back of the back plank to adjoin the bottom and rear planks together, and so the screws wouldn’t be against the wall. I used 2″ finish nails to attach the front overhang to the bottom of the shelf.
Once the shelf was built, I tried to match the stain similar to our entertainment stand, but had no such luck. So I headed over to sherwin williams and was able to match the color with paint. Two coats later, the shelf was perfect. I simply counter sunk three screws into studs in the wall, and boom, the shelf was up.
I had bought some extra wood as well, and may build a few smaller but similar shelves to go next to this one. We haven’t decided on it quite yet, but it nice to have some extra shelf space in the basement. It has since been filled with christmas decorations. That should be no surprise.
Read MoreButternut Squash Soup
It’s almost Thanksgiving (say what!?), so I thought I would share a very simple recipe that I like to make for the holidays. I originally found this recipe on myrecipes.com so I won’t take any credit for coming up with it, I just made a minor alteration that is really nothing. Either way, it’s delicious with turkey, and even more delicious the next day with some homemade grilled cheese sandwiches.
I made this soup for a group of seven last weekend, so I’ll put my version of that here.
Butternut Squash Soup with shallots:
ingredients:
- 2 packages of pre cut butternut squash (a little over 2lbs).
- 4 large shallots cut in halves or quarters. (don’t cut too small or they will burn up). - Shallots are smallish onions, in case you didn’t know. The first time I looked for them, it took me forever to find. They are purple.
- 2 & 1/2 cups + a splash fat free chicken broth (or stock – I really don’t know the difference. I’ve used both).
- 1 teaspoon of ginger (I use the powered ginger, I seem to have it more often than fresh ginger)
- 2 tablespoons of chives (it’s basically a small pinch per bowl)
- tablespoon of olive oil
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cracked black pepper
Here’s what to do!
- Preheat your oven to 375°. (Wait for it to beep. BEEP – you are preheated.)
- Combine squash, shallots, olive oil, ginger, salt & pepper in a bowl or on a sheet pan.
- toss until ingredients are well incorporated and coated.
- Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Cool 10 minutes.
- Place half of the squash mixture and half of broth in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large saucepan. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture and broth. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with chives.
I screen, you screen! WE HAVE A SCREEN!
This summer, MC and I were bummed that our front storm door was all glass, and that we couldn’t leave it open without bugs flying in. I had thought that next spring I would bite the bullet and buy us a new screen door, so we could enjoy more of the weather.
At our old apartment, we rarely had the screen door open because we backed up to a shopping center parking lot and it was always noisy. Now, we’re in a quiet little neighborhood, and I would love to open the house up as much as I can.
I also noticed this weekend that whoever installed the storm door, did it wrong (shocker). The door never latched shut, so I took it upon myself to fix that. It was pretty easy, and lucky for me, all I had to do was move it down about half an inch, and in doing that, it covered up the original screw holes.
As I was putting the last screw in, I happen to look up, and noticed a screen rolled up in the top of the door. Well, that seemed odd, but then I looked a little closer and had never noticed this handle at the top of the door, or the small latch in the middle.
As I pushed the latch and pulled the handle, wouldn’t you know it, a screen appeared! You’re telling me we had a screen door this whole time!? I went from angry to realizing that I basically got a new door, for free (because I had it the whole time).
Too bad mother nature has decided that winter is already here, now I have to wait months to use my “new” door. Blasted!
Read MoreHanging out with Manny the manatee
Yesterday I mentioned that on our trip to Disney, that I needed to kill about 8-10 hours a day. With the pool infested with bugs and not wanting to sit in our room all day, I had to find a way to entertain myself. Enter the other “member” of our family, Manny the manatee.
First, a little back story on Manny. When MC and I first started dating, she wasn’t fond of Manatees, until we took our original trip to Florida and my friend Dave, who worked at Sea World, took us behind the scenes. There we met lots of animals like penguins, dolphins and one awesome baby manatee who was being rehabilitated. Imagine a manatee the size of an ordinary house cat, swimming around eating lettuce. He was adorable, and awesome and MC fell in love with manatees, particularly baby manatees. A few months later, for valentine’s day, I got her a stuffed baby manatee, and an ipod…she loved the baby manatee more. Since then, Manny the manatee goes on trips with us and has become a staple around the house. (look carefully, you’ll see him in random photos in various rooms).
Okay, back story complete. So, since I was alone most of this trip, I grabbed Manny and we went on adventures around the hotel. First, Manny got up and brushed his teeth:
And followed it up with a nice latte and some morning reading. He learned that you should probably brush your teeth AFTER the latte.
Then, he wanted to meet Mickey Mouse:
After that, he wanted to make a few phone calls to his fellow manatees while he was in Florida. I didn’t think that was a bad idea, but boy can that manatee talk forever on the phone.
After that, he wanted to ride the escalator up to the fourth floor, he heard there was an arcade there.
We even got in some time at the photo booth, but I seemingly lost track of where he went.
I found him trying on some clothes at the nearby gift shop. I guess he likes Buzz Lightyear
Then Manny really wanted to go outside. He said screw the bugs, we’re having a good time. He got a drink, played some ping-pong, hit on the local squirrels, and then had more to drink:
He ended the evening at the hotel bar, enjoying a nice glass of white wine.
And that my friends, is how you kill a LOT of time in a hotel when you are by yourself. Did I mention I was sending these photos to MC during her conference…and that I may have had a few drinks along with Manny. He’s one hell of a manatee.
PS – I realize I am a huge nerd, there is no need to point that out to me.
PPS – I think the ping-pong photo is my favorite. It also took the longest to set up while being attacked by those bugs.
Read MoreA Magical Place?
On our second major trip, a short time after our first, was to the wonderful state of Florida, and to Disney World. I’ll preface this whole post by telling you, the reason we were there was because of MC’s job. She had a conference to attend, and I decided to come along for the fun…and by fun, I mean to relax and sit by the pool all day. Seriously, that was my plan. MC loves Disney World, so this was a win/win for her. A great conference for work, and it’s at Disney.
We headed down to Florida on a Wednesday and thanks to the way MC’s sessions were laid out, we were able to hang out most early afternoons/evenings. I will tell you that we stayed at the Contemporary, the hotel that the Disney monorail goes through.
It’s the only time we would have ever stayed there thanks to this whole conference thing, and because honestly, it wasn’t that great. The rooms were very nice, much nicer than I am used to, but if you aren’t going to the Disney Park everyday (at nearly $100 a pop!), then there isn’t much to do. I know what you’re thinking, you’re looking at that pool and saying “what are you talking about!?” I needed to occupy myself for about 8-10 hours each day, and yes, my plan was to sit at this pool, or at this beach area and read.
That’s exactly what I did the first day I could. I literally sat out on this lounger for about 8 straight hours…and forgot to put on sunscreen. Bad move, lots of burning! Anyway, so day one, out in the sun, reading a book *which is something I rarely do). It was nice, until the next day. You see, for whatever reason, the next morning (after buying a small bottle of sunblock for $12), I walked out side and the entire resort had been overrun by small mosquito like bugs.
These bugs were everywhere. In the pool, on the chairs, on the sidewalk swarming you as you walked. If you stood still, they tried to take over your body, it was horrible. So, no more outside for me. They were there until the day we left, and they were unruly.
We did manage to have some fun, spending one afternoon in Downtown Disney, exploring the shops and eating at our favorite sandwich shop “Earl of Sandwich.” We even got in some time to try on some new hats.
Probably the coolest thing in the downtown area are the lego sculptures. I really missed my calling here. I loved legos as a kid, making huge elaborate piece, meticulously building the most symmetrical thing I could. I really should have invested more of my future in this, if I had known there was a future for it.
We did also manage to go to the Magic Kingdom (since it was next to our hotel), but I’ll tell you, that was a nightmare. First we had a hard time getting in thanks to the conference tickets we had purchased. If it weren’t for Trent in customer relations, our day would have been ruined. Trent saved the day, at least at that moment. The park was packed, and I mean PACKED. We had two rides break down on us, both of which as we were the next to get on the ride, and one had to schlep everyone out to get it fixed. Also, because we don’t have kids, we aren’t important to the other people who were at the park. We got shoved (literally) out of the way more times than I could count, or simply cut in front of by packs of 10+ people as they said they were holding a place for their family. It was rather rude, and really didn’t make the day fun at all. As night came down, we were looking for a place to watch the fireworks, but again, being shoved (literally) out of the way, we gave up. We watched the fireworks from the street outside the park, with two other random people. At least the castle looked neat.
The last day we were there was the most fun. We headed over to Fantasia Gardens mini golf near another Disney hotel (which was NOT infested with bugs) and played one of the most fun mini golf courses we’re ever been on. Seriously, it was awesome.
We love mini golf. It’s awesome. I want to build a mini golf hole in our tiny back yard. I hear “summer project!” Anyway, after our fun here, we went over to the Boardwalk and just relaxed. It was a great way to wrap up a meh trip. I’m leaving out A LOT of details here, but rest assured, it was not the Disney experience we’ve had in the past, sadly enough. Hopefully whenever we decide to go back (many years from now), things will be a bit better, and we’ll go on our own terms, which makes scheduling your day a lot easier.
Speaking of which, I said I had to kill a lot of time most days, and with the bugs infesting our area, I had to be creative. That’s for tomorrow.
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About Matt and MC
We just recently bought our first home, and we decided to share our story of our adventures with you. The ups and downs of home ownership, and all the fun we'll have in between. Ignore the typos and just have fun, that's what we're here for. 
