Upgrading our love nest

 

Today during the long holiday weekend, Vic and I decided to check out the sales at a few furniture stores and find a new "grown-up" bedroom set for our home. In the past this hasn't been an easy task, due Vic's and my differing opinions on bed styles. He wanted a "Master of my domain", massive and manly sleigh bed---------->

and

 I wanted a beautiful flowy romantic sleigh bed we wouldn't get lost in. But the good news is we both really liked sleigh beds, so at least that was a common starting point. We had been searching for bedroom sets sporadically over the last six months and could never come to an agreement, that is until this weekend.

Now I don't know if all the stores we checked out before switched out all their previous inventory or if Vic and my tastes had changed, but we actually found quite a few we both really liked. I know surprising huh :). In all honesty I'm the picky one and I'm so lucky to have a wonderful husband who will do anything to make me happy, including agreeing on the bedroom set I fell in love with. Here it is...

The Jamestown collection at Bob's Discount Furniture. A great combination of what we both were looking for. Intricate romantic details for me and a "Master of My Domain" feeling for the man of the house :). Best of all it was priced right, so much that we decided to upgrade to a king, to have more room for our future family.(happy sigh)  However, now we created an immediate need for a king-sized mattress.

Now I don't know if you have ever gone mattress shopping before, but it's an experience in a class of it's own. First off, you go to a mattress store and talk to a sales associate who has you lie on different mattresses testing the comfort level, motion transfer, and overall "Ahhh feeling". Which would be fun, but we're talking testing out 10-15 mattresses within the course of 15 min, adding to that you don't really remember what the few before felt like, at which point you narrow it down to a couple you both like. Then you go from one to the other and back again to see which gives you the best "Ahhh that's nice" kind of feeling.

Once you think you have found the mattress of your dreams, if your like me, you'll want to comparison shop to make sure you get the highest quality for the best price, like we try to do with all our major purchases. But this time it's much different. Every store has different names associated with the exact same mattress, so you'll never know if the one you liked in the previous store is the one your currently laying on. It may feel similar, but honestly it's soo hard to tell. My advice...go to a store with the best reputation and has a sales person you can connect with. If you feel comfortable with the quality of the mattress and price range, then buy it.

Unfortunately I didn't take my own advice and my poor husband had to accompany me to three different stores all over New Hampshire, trying out mattress after mattress. Driving back and forth between stores when we found one per store we liked, and since one was offering a major deal, I still wanted to check out the very first store again to make sure it would be a great deal, only to get there and decide to forgo the other store's amazing sale, and buy one right then and there.  We spent HOURS driving and testing out mattresses just to end up with the one we originally loved. Go figure :)

But at least I know there wasn't something out there I was missing and come next weekend, all this hard work will pay off big time with a great night's sleep in our new master bed. :)



Challenge: Conquer the Crockpot

Now I don't know about you, but ever since I can remember, I've known the crock pot to be an essential and convenient device in the modern and busy family home. So when Vic and I received one as a wedding present you can believe that I was very excited. I browsed online trying to find the perfect recipe, looking over ingredients, reading blogs and reviews, until I made myself hungry. I finally came across one that was called "Amazing Chicken", with a name like that, and dozens of positive reviews, I thought I couldn't go wrong... boy was I ever disappointed.

Amazing chicken was anything but amazing. The flavor was flat, the consistency was thick, and the overall look was unappetizing. God love my husband, he at least gave it a shot and we ate it... only because there wasn't anything else in the house at the time, and threw the rest away. I really hate wasting food.

A few weeks after that I decided to give the crock pot another try. This time I tried a Martha Stewart recipe, Soy Ginger Chicken. The ingredients sounded great, nothing weird, no canned soup mix, and it was created by Martha Stewart after all, surely this was going to be great. I spent the work day thinking about the delicious meal that would be waiting for me and when I got home the house smelled delicious. Surely it worked this time right.. nope wrong again... the chicken was unflavorful and left much to be desired. I tried to save the dish by taking some of the sauce and sprucing it up with garlic, Cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and oyster sauce, which made a slight improvement, but the chicken was still dry, which I can't stand. So after we ate our supper and tossed the rest (grrr) my husband said that we just may have to put our crock pot away for good. I was also thinking the same thing, but didn't want to give up so easily, what kind of cook would I be if I couldn't master something as simple as crock pot cooking. Disheartened, the next day I scoured the Internet for in depth information on crock pot cooking, and I came across this....

I was so excited! I recently learned about America's test kitchen when my husband bought me "The New Best Recipe" for Christmas last year. I spent hours just reading the 350 pg manual, which not only had amazing sounding recipes, but a two page in-depth explanation about the dish's ingredients, preparation, and failures. I learned so much and fell in love with cooking by reading this book, I am now hooked on America's test kitchen and have bought many of their books this past month alone. I'm a bit of a cook book addict, but I figure their are much worse things to be addicted to :). When I read about this book I knew I had to add it to my collection. I thought if anything could save my quest for conquering the crock pot, this book would be it.

I was so excited when it arrived in the mail last week, I tore it open and looked for an easy recipe to make that week since it was short notice and decided to try.. Spicy Chicken and Chorizo Stew.

Ingredients

• 2tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 medium onions , minced
• 8 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 8 teaspoons)
• Salt
• 3pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs , trimmed
• 2cups low-sodium chicken broth , chilled
• 1(15.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes , drained and chilled
• 8ounces chorizo sausage , cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/4cup Minute Tapioca
• 1 - 3tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo
• 1tablespoon brown sugar
• 2cups frozen corn , thawed
• 1(14-ounce) can black beans , drained and rinsed
• 1/4cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
• Ground black pepper

Instructions

1. 1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the onions, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until the onions are softened and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. 2. Transfer the onion mixture to the slow cooker insert and stir in the chicken, broth, tomatoes, chorizo, tapioca, chipotles, and sugar until evenly combined. Cover and cook on low until the chicken is tender, 7 to 9 hours. (Alternatively, cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours.)
3. 3. Gently tilt the slow cooker insert and degrease as much fat as possible off the surface of the stew using a large flat spoon. Stir in the corn, beans, and cilantro and let stand until the corn and beans are heated through, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

 

Finally SUCCESS!!!!!  This meal was quite delicious and best of all my hubby and I ate it again the next night. No more wasted food!!! I'm looking forward to trying out another recipe next week. Stay tuned for more cooking adventures next week. :)

I can't believe I'm 30!

This past weekend I turned the big 3 0, and what do I have to show for it... At first I thought not much but that actually isn't the case at all. After much speculation and soul searching I came up with a list of accomplishments, that I did before I turned 30.. which turned out to be quite a list and made turning 30 not bad at all.

Before I turned 30 I....

Married the love of my life and best friend of 15 years, who after all that time still held a candle for me and wanted to be with me- I guess I can't be all that bad :)

Planned and financed with my hubby, the most beautiful wedding, down to every last special detail.

Purchased and financed a beautiful upscale condo with my hubby

Got my MBA, still don't know what I'm going to do with it just yet, but at least I have it.

Paid off my 2nd car in full (may not be a big deal to you, but definitely one for me)

Trekked the Western US over the course of two weeks with complete strangers, pretty adventerous!

Hiked 6 miles inside the grand canyon, hardest hike I have ever done. 102 degrees in the shade!

Vacationed in Antigua, Aruba, Bermuda, Grenada, Bahamas, St Kitts, St Thomas, and an island off the coast of Venezuela.

Found a passion in cooking, which will continue to grow as I become even better at it.

Now that I'm 30, I am looking forward to...

Starting a family with my wonderful loving husband Vic.

Finding a job I absolutely love, in an industry where I can make a difference in the world. Looking has been quite a chore.

Buying our next home, a single family house with a backyard where the kids and dog can play. We don't have either yet, but hope to within the next 5 years. My hubby will tell you I'm quite the future planner :).

But that's waaayyy down the line, so for now I'm going to focus on three goals...

1. Work on expanding my cooking skills and blog about my foodie adventures along the way

2. Research and do some soul searching to find out what I want to do for the rest of my life career wise, and go and get it.

3. Feather our little nest and get it ready for our future little family :) sigh

Guess I better get to work!

Have you missed me?

Hello my fellow bloggers. Its been quite awhile since my last blog post, so I hope you are still checking back every now and again.

To catch everyone up, here is what Casa de Marte has been up to over the last 6 months....

Our Wedding 4/30/2011: We did it!!!!! After all the time, effort, and obsessing over the tiniest detail, our wedding turned out to be the most romantic, fun, and emotional day of our lives. Our friends and family travelled from all over to attend and it meant the world to us to have them all there supporting us and our love for one another. We will never forget this day for as long as we live...

The honeymoon!!! We went to the beautiful island of Antigua and stayed at the most romantic resort in the world, the Sandals Grande Resort and Spa. First class service, 5 star cuisine, fun excursions, and just hanging out with my new hubby made our honeymoon unforgettable. We swam with stingrays and enjoyed two luxurious and VERY romantic spa sessions.... We were sad when it was time to go home, but the good news is we weren't going back to work until the following week. I wish I could say it was as wonderful as we planned it to be, but unfortunately, our honeymoon at home was spent running around getting my name changed, opening bank accounts, visiting the Dr, and tidying up. Oh well, it was still better than being at work away from my love :).





 

Now we are back to reality, it's time to start working on some projects on the house we have been putting off for after the wedding. It's time to get busy. Please stay tuned and follow us as we paint and decorate our home and make it suitable for house guests. I will also be posting about my fun in the kitchen and hope you will follow and experiment along with me. It's sure to be a great year and we can't wait for the adventures of casa de marte to begin :).