Norwegian House Slippers

I recently had to say good bye to my torn hole-y slippers that I loved. They were very comfy and had a good run, but they were so frayed they left piece of their fuzzy insides all over the floor every time I wore them. When a good friend of mine from Germany told me about felting, I knew what I wanted to try to make! Slippers!
Felting is basically hand-knitting a project using wool yarn and washing it in the washing machine so that it shrinks and gets nice and fuzzy. I found a pattern for these Norwegian House Slippers and thought they were really cute. They were SUPER easy to make and fun to watch shrink. They're actually really comfy and nice and warm too. So, now I don't have to buy new slippers, I can just make a pair. :)

A Not-So-Stuffy Theologian on the Love of God

It has been too long since there was a post on this blog from Mr. Strom, so I thought I would give a little food for thought, since there has been plenty of examples of food for eating.

These four things in the highest manner commend the love of God towards us: (1) the majesty of the lover; (2) the poverty and unworthiness of the loved; (3) the worth of him in whom we are loved; (4) the multitude and excellence of the gifts which flow out from that love to us. (a) God loves us (who, constituted in the highest preeeminence and happiness, needs us not and is not bound to love us; indeed can most justly hate and destroy us if he so willed). (b) Men are beloved, not only as empty and week creatures, but as sinners and guilty, rebellious servants, who so far from deserving it, are on the other hand most worthy of hatred and punishment. (c) He in whom they are beloved is Christ (Eph. 1:5-6), the delight of his heavenly Father and the "express image of his person" (Heb. 1:3), than whom he could give nothing more excellent, nothing dearer, even if he had given the whole universe. (d) The effects of his love are both man in number and great in value (viz., all the benefits by which salvation is begun in this life and perfected in the other and, what is the crown and sum of all the blessings, the gift of God himself, who imparts himself to us as an object of fruition both in grace and in glory). --Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology

What manner of love is this?!

Running Again!

Running season is here!!! Actually, it started a few weeks ago for me. I am currently training for the Philadelphia Broad Street 10 mile run, and very very excited about it. Our treadmill has been the means to my continued running this winter, which I am grateful for. Come January, I decided it was time to sign up for a race. The Broad Street Run is the largest 10 mile race in the country, reaching 30,000 participants in recent years. In February, my official training began, and my week now consists of 5-6 days of running, currently reaching 25-30 miles per week - 2 days of speedwork, 1 long run, and 2-3 days of easy recovery days. Just 5 more weeks to race day! I'm already plotting for a potential marathon this fall...... :)

New Wall Art

Until now, the hallway in our apartment contained one large very empty wall. I decided to tap into as much creativity as I could muster and make something with which to decorate that hallway. I am always frustrated with how expensive wall art is at stores, because I always think to myself, "You could make that yourself for so much cheaper..."
So here was my attempt at being an artist. It works for now, and the hallway isn't as empty. :) All the supplies were from Michael's (love that store).

Christmas 2010 - A Little Different

Christmas this past year was a little different for Nathan and I. It is the first Christmas we spent in Philadelphia and without our families. We were so blessed to have Nathan's family visit for Thanksgiving, which was really exciting. It was a great comfort to show them our apartment and home, and the city in which we live. We went to see an Amish village and the National Christmas Center, both of which were tons of fun.

Christmas was a little more difficult. It was tough to be so far away from home and our families in MN. We worked a lot (gotta love the retail schedule) and didn't have a whole lot of energy or money to plan anything extravagant. We didn't do Christmas presents, except for one very small (almost accidental) gift that we each got for each other. :)

However, this year was also very special in a lot of ways. We took the time to drive around and look at Christmas lights, and of course, the list of food I wanted to make this year was a mile long. :) I settled on spiced ham, cheesy twiced baked potatoes, homemade dinner rolls, and a variety of homemade Christmas goodies for dessert.

While all of that was nice, we also learned some things this year. We had to set aside our material and selfish desires, and spend some time evaluating what was really important to us this year. While presents and traditions are fun, the hardest thing to give up this year was being with our families. Our Christmas was very low key and quiet, which gave us time to think about how grateful we are for God's blessings in our lives. Reflecting on the fact that Jesus came to die for us while we were still sinners, while we still struggle with prioritizing earthly things over Him, yet he still came to save us, that made all the difference this year. Even though we weren't with our families, what a blessing it is that God has put such wonderful people in our lives and granted us close enough relationships with them that it is hard to be apart; that really is a gift. I am grateful that God gave Nathan and I a Christmas this year to grow closer to Him and to each other, to cling to one another and enjoy being together. So, even though it was difficult, it was a good Christmas, and we are so blessed.

P.S. By far, my new favorite Christmas cookie recipe is Peppermint Snowballs.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Nathan and I had a couple from church over for dinner one night, and I was so excited to make this Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake. It pretty much took all day to make, but it turned out great. Each layer is made one at a time, chilled, and set, before you chill the whole cake hours before serving. But it was worth it. It's really rich, but very light at the same time, and each layer has its own flavor and texture. I will definitely be making it again, maybe for Christmas.....I will have to add it to the list of about 50 desserts that are on the "possible Christmas dessert" list. :)

Scarves at the bookstore

These are pictures of the scarves that are now sold at the bookstore. The line is called "Knits of Grace."

Here they are, up on the wall and ready to be sold.

My hand-knit scarves now to be sold at your local Christian bookstore!

I have been knitting and crocheting since I was a little girl when my Grandma B taught me how. I have so many memories of her lessons and the different things I would come up with to try to make. When I was 12 it was headbands and belts that were the "cool" things I made, even though most of them looked awful. :) Now it is scarves, mittens, and sweaters in my file of patterns. A few weeks ago, I saw some scarves come in with a clothing order at the Christian bookstore where I work. My adrenaline level must have shot through the roof with how excited I was when I attempted to convince the manager of the store that I could knit a scarf just as beautiful (and for much less money) as the scarves that were ordered. I was absolutely thrilled when he encouraged me to bring my scarves in to be sold at the store. So, for the last few weeks, I have been knitting non-stop, trying to make scarves and mittens in time for the cool weather fast approaching.
I do not know how well the scarves will sell, or how many years I will have this opportunity, but I'm trying to make the most of this season. These are just a few pictures of what I've been working on. I wish my Grandma B were still alive to see this happen, but I still treasure the sweet memories of her knitting lessons.

I loooooove Cheesecake

Cheesecake is definitely one of the best things this world has to offer. My two favorite cheesecake recipes so far are Oreo Cheesecake and White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. So, I was thinking, what would be cuter than mini cheesecakes for serving or hosting or.....well pretty much anything. I also was thinking it would be a great idea to come up with a recipe to make two different kinds at the same time. So, as bold as it might sound, I wrote my own cheesecake recipe. I looked at a ton of recipes in my cookbooks and online and came up with a base that would work for both the oreo and white chocolate raspberry recipes and baked them in my muffin pans. I just needed to divide the cheesecake in half towards the end and add a couple of individual ingredients. I was really careful while baking them, and I discovered something that surprised me. Even though they were pretty much the same recipe (except for a couple of things), the oreo cheesecakes baked slightly quicker than the white chocolate raspberry. Go figure.....They were all delicious, but because they were so different, I decided they shouldn't be baked together. So, instead of one recipe, I have two now, and I kind of wrote them both myself, I guess...... :) Next time, I'll know what to do differently.

Date night 10-02-10

Nathan and I had our date night on Saturday! We had some wine, and for dinner, pork loin stuffed with apple stuffing, seasoned potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Then we went for a walk around the grounds by our apartment. We live by a castle! So it was fun to look around, but too dark to get any good pictures. After that, we came back and had chocolate souffle for dessert and watched a movie. It was a great night. We love being together!

Pumpkin Cake Roll

A while back, my mom made this pumpkin cake roll, and I remembered it being amazing. So, for our church small group lunch tomorrow, I thought it would be a great fall dessert. Plus, it's so pretty. :) Not to mention, I now have a new holiday dessert recipe. Nathan and I tried a little piece of it, and it is really good. Hopefully, it will hold up until lunch after sitting in the car during church tomorrow morning....

Our new couch cover! Yay!

New York Marathon canceled

Sad news!
I will not be running the New York Marathon this year. As the time drew closer, the process and cost involved in getting to NYC for the race (as well as the day before to get my race packet) were becoming very complicated. I am hoping to do a race in the spring, and perhaps New York will work out next year. I am disappointed, but I know I will enjoy the race more when things work out to make it happen.
In the meantime, I will keep running and build a solid base for the next race I decide to run.
This weekend I will definitely fit in a good run on Saturday, and the rest of the day will be spent preparing for my date night in with Nathan.
I told him I will cook something amazing for us to eat. I enjoy cooking so much, having the time to actually make an extravagant meal will be fun. Not to mention, save us some money by not eating out. :) I am making stuffed pork tenderloin, seasoned potatoes, and chocolate souffle. I am really excited about it. With Nathan in classes, we don't get the chance to plan much time together, so this should be fun. :)

So, I love this time of year, when all the apple and pumpkin recipes are floating around. A new one I wanted to to try was Mini Apple Crostatas with Caramel Sauce. I found it on Pillsbury's website. I found a homemade caramel recipe too. These were really yummy, and so cute looking.

The new pumpkin recipe I want to try this year is a Pumpkin Cake roll with Cream Cheese filling. My mom has made it before and it is absolutely delicious and pretty too. That one is soon to come. :)

French Silk Pie

I spent a long time trying to come up with a good French Silk Pie Recipe. True French Silk Pie has raw eggs in it, about 4, which is a lot. Considering the recent egg recalls, I was hesistant to try using raw eggs. So, I finally found a recipe that heated the eggs in a saucapan over low heat, just until warm enough to cook out any bacteria, but not enough to compromise the pie recipe. This particular recipe had heavy cream in it, so it was pretty creamy and absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making it again.

Look what I made!

Chicken and dumpling soup. Mmmm.

Time with our families in MN

Nathan and I finally went home to Minnesota at the end of August! I can't even describe how wonderful it was to spend time with our families. We spent the first 5 days with my family and another 5 days with Nathan's family. One of my brothers from California and my sister-in-law and niece were also visiting, which was fun. Plus my newest nephew was born 9 days before we got there, so it was great to see him. We were able to connect with a few friends, which was also great. We mostly just hung out with our families, which is exactly what we wanted. However, the time still went by too fast and we're back in Philadelphia now. Being back in MN made us realize how much we've missed it and how different things are from out here.
When we got back Nathan started classes at Westminster, which we are both really excited about. It helps us feel more purposeful in why we're living here and what we're working towards (with the grace of God to help us).
It is scary to be starting a phase in our lives that has so many unknowns. It is also scary to know that there will most likely be some very difficult things to deal with along the way. But we feel secure in that even though we might fail, God is gracious and faithful.

Grocery Shopping at ALDI

So, I have officially decided that I am going to do my grocery shopping at ALDI from now on.
There is an ALDI close by to our new apartment, and I had been meaning to go there for quite some time. So, on my day off from work, I finally had the chance to go. I got everything on my list, quite quickly seeing how ALDI is a pretty small store. When I was finished, I went to check out and the total came to $49. I was psyched. Until I swiped my debit card and it didn't go through. So, I tried again. The lady at the checkout asked me what type of card it was. So, I asked if I could ring it through as credit, seeing how that's what normally has been the case since we moved to Philadelphia. Then she told me, as she sat in her chair eating strawberries while talking to me (kind of weird, I thought), that they only take debit or cash. When I told her my card was in fact a debit card, she saw that it was Wells Fargo, and told me that's an unknown bank......interesting......(welcome to the east coast, huh). However, I knew it wasn't her fault and there was no point in complaining about it. So, I asked her if I could just leave my cart and she nodded, so I left. Then I had to drive over to the oversized, crazy, busy, Shoprite across the street and get my groceries. It took 3 times as long and cost $83 dollars for the same things on my grocery list.
So, after an entire afternoon of grocery shopping, and seeing the obvious difference it makes to our budget to shop at ALDI, that is where I'll be doing my grocery shopping from now on.
Now, if I could only locate and ATM nearby.......

4th of July in Philadelphia

I know these are poor pictures, but they're all we've got.
On the 4th of July this year, Nathan and I went to Penn's landing in downtown Philly to watch the fireworks and listen to the Philadelphia Orchestra play.

Braciole

I love cooking! There is an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" where Debra makes braciole and everyone loves it. So, I looked the recipe up online. It is a pounded out slab of beef, stuffed with seasonings, currants, pine nuts, provolone, and prosciutto, and then simmered in a tomato/red wine sauce. It turned out really well and was very yummy, but it was kind of a complicated and lengthy process.
The bruschetta was amazing too. Nathan said, "I love it when you make this!" And that recipe I made up myself. :)