All settled!!!

It feels so wonderful to finally be settled in our little place! My house is clean (mostly... the bathroom still needs some attention) and I am organized and all unpacked. Yahoo!!! This little basement suite definitely feels like home! It has been fairly busy the last couple days... busy but fun though. I've gone grocery shopping several times, organized and cleaned the bedroom, kitchen, living room, unpacked boxes and boxes of stuff, and done about 5 loads of laundry. I've also spent lots of time snuggling with my hubby on the couch and we did sleep in til 10:30 this morning... so I wasn't that terribly busy. :)

I've had the most fun making use of my new kitchen! I've always shared a kitchen with Mom and Becky, which is fun... (cooking with Mom is still one my favorite things to do) but there is something that just feels really good about organizing it exactly how I want and not having to bump into someone else every couple seconds. (If JC comes into the kitchen I do usually end up bumping into him, but for some reason I don't mind at all) :) I think JC is also really enjoying the fact that I like my kitchen, cause I keep making him treats... Carrot cake with cream cheese icing, chocolate chip cookies, homemade salsa, waffles with raspberry sauce, veggie and cheese omelets, roasted lime and basil potatoes, and there is currently a pot of Hungarian goulash simmering on the stove as we speak. This kitchen is definitely encouraging my creative side! :)

Oh, on a side note, in response to Lisa's request, here is my recipe for roasted basil and lime potatoes: (I never have used a recipe for this, it's always just whatever amount looks right to me, but these are just the amounts I ended up using yesterday... feel free to modify as you like :)

7 c. diced potatoes (I usually do pieces about 1/2" to 1"... somewhere in that range)
1/3 c. chopped fresh basil (can use more if you want)
Juice from 2 limes
4 garlic cloves, finely minced.
4 tbsp. olive oil
Pour the olive oil over the diced potatoes and stir until they're coated. Add the basil, lime and garlic and stir well. I sometimes sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on top too. Bake for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees or until the potatoes are tender. I put the broiler on after that for about 15 minutes, stirring the potatoes every 5 mins, just to make them a bit crisp. You can roast the potatoes normally and then just add the lime and basil before you serve them, but I find the potatoes absorb more of the flavor if you roast them in the lime and basil.


Now that we're all settled, we have one more day and then it's back to normal life again. I am not looking forward to going back to work after 2.5 weeks of holidays, but I am somewhat wanting the routine that my workweek brings. We'll get to see how we both handle "normal" life as a married couple. It will definitely be different!

Well, my wonderful man is sitting on the couch looking very handsome and irresistible... I think it's time to go join him! :D