If You Pass Go! Collect $200!

We have been playing Monopoly since... Monday, I believe. Today is Thursday. It takes up our kitchen table so we eat dinner at the coffee table in the living room on the nights the game is still on. :) It's kind of amusing actually. It's been so much fun playing but it does take us a few days to finish, usually. I think I am winning... Dom has way more money than I do - or at least he has a big stack of the golden 500 dollar bills. There shouldn't be too much more of the game left because we both just made a deal and traded properties so that we could purchase houses and eventually put hotels on our spaces. I traded him Park Place to go with his Boardwalk for my Pacific Place to go with my other two greens. He took the deal but later realized he shouldn't have given me the one he did cause I have three houses on it now and he lands on it almost everytime around - AND he only has two properties with houses on them where as now I have three that he could land on. Anyway, thought I would share. :) We have LIFE too but have only played that once. I picked that up at a thrift store and its the older version that is what I grew up playing. However, if you have played the slightly newer version and are used to it... this one seems kinda confusing. I actually like the newer one better. I also picked up Balderdash which is such a fun game to play. We haven't played it yet but, if you've played before you know, it's definitely not a two person game. We need to have a game night soon and play it. If you haven't played it before you are missing out on hours of fun and laughter! Another fun one we have that we have played a lot is Battleship. I have never played it at all until I got married...I remember my brother had it and played it a lot but I never played it. I thought it was wierd and boring...little did I know - it's great fun! I also learned how to play a new card game (I think I played it once before) called Skip Bo. It's my new favorite card game! My mother-in-law taught me how to play it last week while I was waiting for my laundry to be done (we don't have a washer or dryer here in the apartment). It is so much fun! She kicked my butt of course but a lot of the game is purely luck - however, there is a good portion where you do need to have a strategy or at least a good strategy would be helpful.

Okay, enough game talk for me. What are some of your favorite games? Have you played any recently?

My Homemade Apple Pie

This is "my" apple pie. I say "my" because I con-cockted the the ingredients for the filling. I used a Martha Stewart pie crust recipe, with a few twists of my own, and mmmm it is so, so delicious. (if I may say so myself!) Here is the before baking and after baking picture. :) Yes Genevieve, I made it completely from scratch (except I didn't grow and pick the apples)!

I had a bag of apples I had to use for something so I did some reading up on making pie crust and different techniques as well as the "do's & don't" all morning to find good, logical sounding advice on making the perfect pie crust. Of course I didn't use them all but took some from here and there and I think it turned out to be a really, really, good pie crust.

Some of the Tips I Got:

• Key note it to let your dough chill before you roll it out and put it in your pie dish (I chilled mine for four hours). This allows the glutens to rest which will result in a more tender crust.
• After the dough is in your pie dish, let chill an additional 15 minutes - Apparently, this reduces shrinkage in your dough while baking. (mine didn't shrink so... I think it works)
• Start with a higher temperature of 400 degrees for the first half and then turn down to 350 degrees in the second half.
• Brushing the top crust with egg whites creates a nice shining top with a nice crisp. I sprinkled sugar over top of it as well.
• Chill your pie after it bakes - yes, don't just dive into the warm, delicious pie and let all your juices run free! By letting your pie sit for at least a half hour it allows your juices to thicken up a bit and makes it so they don't go running all over the dish and your plate. It definitely worked for me and I let it sit no longer than half hour.
• ENJOY!

OUTSIDE THE PAGES: II

“The Mother” by: Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty

I have always heard this book was “the best book ever” and “this is one you should definitely read.” I had a copy at one point that I found off ebay but never read it because at the time I figured, I was single and not dating so why read it now? So, a friend of mine got married and I decided to give her the book because I knew it had great things said about it and wanted to share it with her. Now, I am married and God willing, one day will be a mother.

After browsing through the bookstore here I came across the book, “The Mother “ (among many others I was carrying in my arms…). After looking through and seriously contemplating each book I had in the pile I had collected, I decided on this one. I got it about a month or so ago and began to read it. I have not gotten far yet but already it is an amazing and inspiring book.

“The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She needs not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral- a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body… The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God’s creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation… What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?” (from the jacket of the book)

Can You Believe This is in Kansas?

These are the Mounument Rocks also known as "Chalk Pyramids" right here in Kansas! Can you believe it? I still can't!
They are located in Western Kansas... Of course you have to drive through the Flat Lands (which I haven't done yet) in order to get there but look how beautiful the sceanery is there! I am so excited to see them one of these days... It is a few hours from where we are though but it would definietly make a nice little weekend or day trip. Just wanted to share - I thought they were beautiful!

Books, Books, & More Books!

I have had an empty bookcase in the livingroom for the past three months - well it had a few random things on it and a couple of photos but that was it. In our spare room I had boxes of books. Those boxes eventually made it to the living room and sat there for a few days... then I pulled them out and tried to sort them, hence they sat on the floor in piles for a few more days. Well, finally Friday came and I decided I had to give them a home. I managed to motivate myself enough to finish sorting all the books and find them a space on the bookcase and pack some of the extra ones away. Deo Gratias! Slowly but surely it is becoming more "home-ish" in our little apartment. Here's the before and after :)

Little Things: Julia A. Fletcher

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the plesant land.
Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.

BRRRrrrrrr!

It's cold enough to bring out the comfy - warm slipper boots!

Fresh Paint

I went to Topeka the other day with Kim and got a pretty new toe polish! It's a beautiful, rich, red-ish color that definintely stands out on my toes. I was so excited to get it - sounds silly huh? Well, I have been wanting to get a red for a good couple of weeks now. I was stuck with a pinkish - orange color that just did not to the trick. Isn't it a nice color? Now my toes feel pretty! :)

Pork Soup

Have you ever heard of soup made from a pork bone? I have not. Dom and I made homemade sausage on Saturday, which is really delicious, and I decided to keep the bone to make soup on Monday. I was very excited to try something new. I googled some recipes - or at least tried - and found some wierd asian recipes with exotic roots and herbs and they all said how gross the pork bone smelled when cooking.... hmmm well I decided I was still going to try it and just made my own! I will admit, when the pork bone was boiling at first it didn't smell the best but wasn't horrible either. However, once I had a broth and started the seasoning process ... it tasted absolutely tasteless and just blah... I was like, "man, how am I going to fix this!?" So, with patience and perseverence, I conquered the pork bone! :) It took a lot of seasoning and time to simmer but in the end it turned out delicious and the broth was definitely a nice change from your chicken or beef. It was very light and almost refreshing. I made it simple with potatoes and carrots and green peppers, onions and some seasonings. It was definitely a neat thing to tackle and I'm glad I wanted to be adventurous and try to make something completely unknown to me and in the end have a good outcome.

A Terrific Tuesday

Yesterday morning I went to a friends for coffee and good company. I had such a fun time and can't wait to do it again! Anyway, I made cinnamon rolls and brought some to share with the girls - ahem, here you go Ginny! I finally made some and thought of you the entire time! However, these were not homemade from "scratch"... I had a mix but I did have to add all but the dry ingredients together and had to let it rise and roll the dough and make my own cinnamon sugar mixture and icing, etc... so it sort of felt like I was making them from scratch. They were very yummy! Can you guess what is warmed up and tastes delicious with my coffee this morning??? :)

A Good Find

I have eaten and made many oatmeal - raisin cookies and the other day I found a recipe that definintely is staying in my recipe box! They are so yummy... very chewy and on the thicker side - all considering... most recipes bake out flat - I had thought they may turn out a little thicker but I like the thickness they are now. However, I have been planning to make them again soon and will experiment to make them a little thicker. MMMMmmmm they are so, so delicious!

~

1/2 cup butter softened (I didn't use it all as butter, I added some shortening to it)

2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup flour (I added a handful extra once it was all mixed because I thought it needed it)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I add a little shake extra just because :) )

1/4 teaspoon salt (i usually just add a dash from the shaker)

3/4 cup raisins (or you can add more or less to your liking)

1/2 walnuts (I didn't use any this time but they are optional)

~

Preheat overn to 350. Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl (or one big measuring cup like I do) mix together flour, soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the butter mixture (I always start to add my raisins and oatmeal at this point because I think they mix so much better into the mixture than waiting until its all thick and mixed - it just makes for it being well incorporated into your batter, thats all.) Stir in rasins and oats. You can bake your cookies now, if you are impatient, or let your dough chill before you bake them. It seems that by chilling the dough the cookies will be thicker and not bake out flat. I just put my bowl in the freezer for like 15 minutes then took them out to make into dough balls. Bake at 350 for 10 - 12 minutes... you want to bake them only until the edges just get a little brown and the tops will look slightly under cooked... but they aren't, so no worries. :) Also, this is only a half recipe so it makes about 2 dozen or so which has been good for Dom and I because I have just enough to put in his lunches. I do think I will double the recipe and make more next time because then I will have enough to snack on! Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

OUTSIDE THE PAGES: I

Married Saints and Blesseds Through the Centuries
By: Ferdinand Holbock

This is a great book that Dominic and I are reading together. It’s a book of the lives of, not just saints – but married saints. I never even really thought about before I saw the book, but realizing that you never really do hear about married saints. However, this books starts at the beginning with Our Blessed Mother, Mary & Saint Joseph and then continues through time telling the stories of the lives of holy married couples and their children and how they became great saints in the eyes of the Church. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone but especially to those of you who are married and looking for great examples to follow. We all read lives of the saints as children and adults to see how we can imitate their holy virtues but when it comes to entering a new state in life… you need new models to look to for their examples in living life in the same state you are striving to perfect; Thus, I think it’s a great find and hope you will give it a look.

Bavarian Pretzels

The ingredients you will need for this spendid receipe are:

1- 1/2 cups of very warm water

1 Tblsp. Yeast

1/4 cup sugar

3-4 cups flour

4 Tblsp. baking soda

10 cups water

1 egg white

1/4 course kosher salt

First add the yeast, warm water and sugar. Mix and let sit until it gets foamy (about 1-2 mins).

Then add 3 cups of the flour and mix until it is no longer sticky - add more if need be.

Keep an eye on it and make sure you don't make too big of a mess!

Then take a palm sized amount to a lightly floured surface.

Roll out until it is about 12 inches long.

Then twist into pretzel shape (I made a couple twists and a bunch of nuggets too).

Let rest and rise until all the dough is made into pretzels.

Add your baking soda to your water pot and bring to boil. This is a good time to get your lightly greased pan ready as well.

Add pretzels to boiling water for about 15 seconds each - then place on greased pan and brush with your egg wash; then sprinkle with salt (i didn't have the course kind so I used regular table salt). Next step - put into your pre-heated oven of 475 degrees for about 10 minutes or until they are as dark or light as you so desire.

This is what the twists and nuggets looked like when I took them out of the oven!

Here is a plate of the pretzels, twists and nuggets!

Enjoy!

Lunch Notes

Here’s an idea for you: Make little lunch notes to put in the hubby’s lunch box (or a brown paper bag like Dom has) to remind him how much you love him or that you’re thinking of him, etc… of course they know we love them but after a hard morning of work - come lunch break, it’s a nice little surprise to find a note reminding them. Really, you could put anything (even quotes) – on anything…I started out leaving a little note or just an “I love you!” on his napkin…. Then I had a tiny note pad paper on the counter that I would quick jot a note on and toss it in his bag before he came to the kitchen in the morning… now, I’ve decided to take it a notch up. Of course I won’t always be able to make cute little, colorful notes but for now while I can I may as well… but I am sure I will use the trusty napkin every now and then as well.

Who Needs to Buy Expensive Foaming Soaps When You Can Make Them at Home?

I learned something new today! It's pretty cool, actually. You know those foaming soap dispensers? Well, instead of buying new soaps - dispensers everytime you run out (if you prefere the foaming kind, like I do) you can use your old dispenser and make your own foam soap!

It's quite simple - Step One: Add approx 2 tablespoons of dish soap; Step Two: Fill with water; Step Three: Screw cap back on; Step Four: Press pump to make foam! There you have it! Not quiet sure how to make it without the foaming dispenser pump yet... :) but this works for me for the time being so I thought I would share!

LoVe LeTtErS

Yesturday I spent the day cleaning and organizing some of my "junk" aka all my stuff that I have to find a home for... and I stumbled upon some old photos and some letters. However, these are not your ordinary letters - these were lOvE lEtTeRs. They were the letters written from the heart and full of love from the love of my life... my husband, Dominic.

I decided these were very special to me and that they needed a special place (I would NEVER throw them away); a place where they would be kept safe and cherished. I made a special box for them. I took an old perfume box and dug out some neat fabric from my collection of scraps and hot glued the fabric to the box. Then I cut out letters from fabric and glued them on as well. I then filled the box with the letters I had and put our engagement photo inside as well as another of my favorites with the date and description written on the backs. It's definitely a keepsake that I can keep all my little notes I get over time... as I do get some sweet little notes every now and then... and always be reminded of how lucky I am to have such a darling and loving husband as Dominic, who I surely don't know how I deserve!

Pumpkin Pickin in the Patch

The other day I went with some friends to the Pumpkin Patch out in Lawrence. We got a hay ride, a walk in the pumpkin fields, visited all the animals, went through the maze and went down the slide. After we all found the perfect pumpkin we went to the Fruit Farm on the way home and had some delicious apple cider....MMMMmmmm It still makes my taste buds smile just thinking about it!

The Five O'Clock Bell

The five o'clock bell rings (for four or whenever your hubby is done work) and what do you do? Is there anything special you do just before the hubby comes home? Share your thoughts with me, I am just curious thats all.

For me, I simply spray a smidge of perfume on, just to smell fresh and good for the hubby when he comes through the door and gives me a hug and a smooch. Nothing special or eleaborate...even if I am still in the sweats from cleaning or doing grundge work all day... I just think it pays to smell pretty even if you don't look your best. That is just my opinion though and I've found that I do it almost everyday and just wondered if there was anything special or unique that anyone else did. So, please share your thoughts! :)

Sad Farewells Left with Lots of Yarn

My dear friend Genevieve is moving this week.... Makes me very sad to have her leave but am superly excited and happy for her to start her new adventure in life. Best of Luck & Many Prayers Ginny! (the picture was taken a year ago)

So, Ginny had a yard sale a few weeks back trying to get rid of her "junk" aka another man's treasure. It was a big success and I had the pleasure of helping her (and waking her up ten past when the sale was suppose to start! ) and enjoying coffee and cinnamin rolls (ahem, they were store bought, NOT homemade like I was expecting...) However, they were just as delicious (well maybe not exactly but...) cause they were bought from the store with love. :) So, after helping till about noon I left and she sent me home with some goods that weren't in the junk pile... which of course I love and use everyday and think of her everytime. Now, to get to the point of this topic besides Ginny leaving and having a yard sale. So, since she is moving she is getting rid of lots of random things that she doesn't need or doesn't want to store...amoung those things is yarn... and she gave it all to me! I love yarn, its just so pretty all wound up in these colorful balls and wrapped up so snuggly and tight together!

I was bored the other Sunday morning and the pile of yarn that I got is still sitting the the rocker chair where I left it when Ginny brought it over. It was staring me down so I decided to look through the bag and check out all the cool colors and textures that were just waiting for me to do something with. I also found a sweet surprise of knitting needles in the bag too! So, I googled, "How to Knit" and of course a million and one options came up. I found one that seemed to have the basics of making a "slip knot" and "casting" - pictures included (a plus)! So, I tried to "knit" for about ten minutes... and tried to do the steps about five times...then decided it was too complex for a relaxing sunday morning on the couch - i decided it was probably easier to have someone actually show me how to do it.

So, I decided that I would find my crocet hook (that I know how to do) which I know I saw just the other day and would play around with that. Well, after searching for about 15 minutes for the stupid hook I finally found it! Yay! So, I worked on it for about a half hour or so and did a little more during the football game later... I think I have a good start and am going to make a blanket. It will probably take a while but I figure if I do it about an hour a day I should, theoretically, have it done in no time at all!

Love of Cute Aprons and a Darling Strand of Pearls!

I have finally decided to come back to the blogger world as a happily married wife. I am finally settled in our new home in Kansas and am enjoying the married life immensly. I hope my friends who are interested in my life and what I am up to will enjoy reading my posts as I hope to keep up with it.

Some friends have blogs and have encouraged me to become a blogger too. I started one a few months ago, which some of you may have followed and may already know about, but I decided I needed one to reflect my new life as a wife and, God-willing, a mother someday. So, I called it "Aprons & Pearls" simply because I love cute aprons and I love pearls! However, I did name it that with a another meaning as well. I figure being a housewife you have your apron for cooking, cleaning and tending to the duties of the house but also wearing that darling strand of pearls to make you look and feel great while you're doing it. Of course the idea of wearing cute lil heels while you're vacumming is a great idea and one which I think would be neat to do, even though I don't, especially if the hubby was home while I was cleaning...but in general, no heels while vacuuming for me.