Anything but Generic!

Where has the time gone? Life has sure been crazy lately. It is hard to believe that we are now entering November! I'd like to say things are going to slow down but unfortunately I am sure that won't happen until January! EEK!

August brought about school again, and put a quick end to sleeping in! I was ready to go back and get back into a routine again. I know it is silly but I am one who is ready to back after the first month off. :) September zoomed by. I am not really where I spent that month other than school or Hyvee! :) Sad when that happens.

At the end of the month, Eric and I (with the rest of his family) made the trek to Nashville, TN for Zach and Kate's wedding. It was a good trip, filled with lots of fun. :) It was a quick trip, but it was good to get back to the south for a weekend and get to some of the restaurants/stores I had been missing!

A week later, Eric and I went on our OFFICIAL honeymoon! :) We went to the Riviera Maya for a week. We had a fabulous time. The weather was perfect.... 90 degrees, hot, sunshine all day, gorgeous! Much better than the cold, rainy, sunless days we had been having before we left. Our day consisted of breakfast, pool, beach, lunch, pool, nap, supper, show entertainment, sleep. We were definitely living the hard life. We only went on one excursion to Chichen Itza, the Mayan pyramids. It was definitely amazing, and well worth it. It was just breathtaking. Unfortunately, living the dream life had to come to an end and we had to head back to reality. Reality I had prepared for, the 50 degree temperature change in a day, I was not ready for! ICK!

So now we are back, things are still crazy and hectic. And if we weren't busy enough as it was, we decided to buy a house!! Eric had been doing the initial look and had looked at this one a while back, but recently they dropped the price, and after checking it out we put an offer in and it was accepted! It is a cute little house, 2 bedrooms, 2 story house. It has a big backyard (hopefully for an addition later) and is landscaped and has gardens planted. It is about 15-20 minutes outside of Dubuque. We hope to close in the middle of November. YAY!

So lots of changes around here... but they are all good ones. Now if the snow would just hold off until we get moved!

PS. I will add pics later! :)

I am one lucky girl.....

and very thankful for parents who love me!

What causes this outburst of appreciation? Eric and I have really been wanting Taverns (sloppy joes) ,but they just aren't the same without Casey's Bakery Buns. There really aren't any buns that compare. I made a call to my mom Tuesday to see if she could send some our way.... and what shows up on my doorstep today?


I was so excited to see them sitting at my door. I anxiously peeled back the tape, and as soon as that tape was off the lovely waft of bakery goodness oozed out the box! YUMMY!

I see taverns in our future, and burgers, and even dried beef cheese spread! Who knows what else we will come up with!

So THANKS Mom and Dad!!

Who says I can't cook?

Up until two years ago, I had serious doubts about my cooking abilities. Nothing ever seemed to turn out right. The extent of my cooking was throwing something in the microwave or my super easy sausage casserole my friend Cindy taught me which has all of 3 ingredients. So when I moved to Dubuque, I realized that something had to change. Eric and I could not go out to eat every meal, nor did we want to. We started with breakfast (nothing too challenging) and worked our way up the scale. Soon my confidence started growing. And I must say, we come up with some pretty tasty dishes. Eric's ability is not quite as good as mine * ahem tatertotless casserole ahem* but he is an EXPERT when it comes to cutting onions and all the other chopping skills. My coordination fails me here.

So here are a few pictures for proof! And no...... there aren't any hidden takeout boxes, Mom! :)


Chicken Pesto Pizza. One of our favorites. It is not delivery or DiGiorno.... and yes, that crust is HOMEMADE! Not a Betty Crocker envelope either.... good old yeast and flour.


Tonight's supper--- Ribs! Eric had really been craving ribs, and I'm not too wild about meat still on the bone. ( I find too many gross things about it.) However, I am a sucker for some good barbecue sauce, so we tried it anyhow. They turned out great, although I think they would be better boneless. :)



The sauce was fantastic, and as you can see it made a lot---- 3 bowls worth. So you can slather it on!


And for Dessert--- Puff Pastries filled with Banana, Nutella, and walnuts.-- AKA Angry Man.

But how can he be so angry when he is filled with delicious goodness???

Tatertotless casserole anyone??

Eric and I have been working opposite schedules this summer. He works days, and I work nights. I feel like a bad wife not having anything in the house for Eric to warm up for supper, so I offered to make some tater tot casserole that he had to finish and put in the oven. Sounds simple right. So I browned the burger, added the onion and cream of mushroom soup. Added the corn. ( He wouldn't touch it if it had green beans.) I even layered the cheese slices. I didn't add the tots, because then they would sit in the fridge for 6 hrs. and I figured that wouldn't be good. I left him directions to cook in the oven until the tater tots were golden brown. So I am at work and I get a phone call from Eric. Saying I know this is a dumb question, but was I supposed to add tater tots before I cooked it in the oven? I laughed and said "yeah!" hehehe. Eric is a bit sore about it, and in his defense, he was tired and had a headache, but I still find it hilarious. :) So yes it is still edible, it just takes a little more planning and little more work to eat it!

In the heart of wedding season...

Eric and I have quite a hectic wedding season this year... kicked off by our own :) We have already celebrated our friend Emily's. ( YAY! ) This past weekend we celebrated Eric's cousin Brian's wedding. It was in the Gazebo on the Mississippi River with a reception at the Stone Cliff Winery tasting room in the Star Brewery. It was a gorgeous day, and we all had quite a bit of fun! Maybe a little too much fun in some cases. Eric's aunt and uncle from New Jersey were able to make the trip, and it was great to spend some time with them.

Here are a few pictures from the day!

EWWW!

This is a fishfly in all of its nastiness!

One year ago today....

Eric and I were looking for something to do since it was a beautiful July Sunday. We decided that we would go to our favorite spot along the river to sit, and watch the boats go by. We sat for quite awhile, got attacked by some June bugs, and didn't say a whole lot. I was deep in thought, getting my brain all worked up about marriage etc. So I proceeded to get upset. Go figure. We decided that it was time to go back, so we headed back to the car. I was still perturbed so I walked a little ahead of him. Apparently he had called my name a couple of times, but I had finally heard him, and turned around. And there under the gazebo was Eric standing with a ring. Yes standing. He did not get down on one knee, because a crowd of people walked into the gazebo right at that moment, and he didn't want to call attention to himself. I did find out this weekend however, that it must be a Kluesner thing. His Dad and both of his uncles did not get down on one knee.. hrmmm A word of warning I guess. :)
Needless to say I said yes, but it also meant I had to swallow my pride, because I was wrong, and REALLY don't like being wrong!

A year later I can't really say my patience is any better, or I am any better about being wrong... but we did have a fantastic wedding!



Underneath the gazebo where it all started!

19 Days! EEK!

Amazingly, that is it! Where has our time gone? Eric and I had picked April all the way back in July, thinking we had a lot of time to plan our wedding and get ready. Pretty soon it was Christmas, and now we are approaching Easter, and I am realizing there is not a whole lot of time left! Don't get me wrong, I am very excited and Have been waiting for this day, but you get in a little of a panic when you actually start counting the days, and you see the list of things to do start growing!

The wedding is getting a little more "real" everyday! I was able to bring my dress back with me yesterday (Snowstorm in all) so just knowing that is right there, and I can look at it whenever I want is just AWESOME! My apartment (and Kristina's basement) is filling up with shower presents. I am truly blessed to have such loving family and friends. Eric made the comment that I looked like a little kid opening my box of dishes! But I couldn't help it, I LOVE THEM!

I love my dishes, but I think I am more excited to spend the time with family and friends. It looks like it is going to be a mini family reunion! I have some family members coming I have not seen in while, and many of our family members are traveling from far away places-- Florida, Colorado, Tennesee, New Jersey-- and some are coming from not so far :) But it seems with Eric and my schedules' lately, we have seen just as much of the people close by as those that live far away!

I am speaking for Eric here, but WE are so excited not only to be married, but to celebrate with everyone! We hope you are getting just as excited!