Life is a highway, i wanna ride it all night long!

So we finally decided to get the bikes out this weekend!  We hit the trail around 8 am on Sunday and rode for 9 miles.  Not bad for our first time out this year!  It was a beautiful morning and not too warm out.  I would say overall it was a successful trip considering it was my first time clipping in and out of my pedals.  I actually made it the whole 9 miles without falling until we got to the car to pack up the bikes and my foot wouldn't clip out and I tumbled to the ground.  Needless to say I was very angry with myself!  We are heading out again tonight for another ride....wish me luck!

Gormet meal in the new kitchen

So I am so excited to have a brand new kitchen that I decided I would make a yummy gormet meal for John.  I had been wanting to make homemade ravioli and finally was able to now that I had a stove.  It turned out pretty yummy.  Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try it out for themselves!  Really wasn't very hard just extremely time consuming.  Would be very simple if you used wonton wrappers that you can find in the freezer section of your grocery store.  I was unable to find all the mushrooms listed below so I just doubled up on what I could find.  The sauce I made I did not love it was a gouda based sauce.  I will definitely just do a basic alfredo next time.  I did however use some of the leftover mushrooms and just chopped those up into the sauce so add some chunks to it. 

WILD MUSHROOM RAVIOLI!!!

Ingredients

For the Filling

1/4 cup sliced shiitake mushroom
1/4 cup sliced oyster mushroom
1/2 cup sliced cremini mushroom (baby portabella)
1/2 cup sliced white button mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped mixed mushrooms

For the RaviolI
3 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup water

Directions
1THE FILLING.
2Melt butter in pan.
3Add olive oil to melted butter.
4Add mushrooms.
5Let mushrooms sweat until they release their juices.
6Add pepper, salt, and onion/garlic powder.
7Add 1/8 cup beef broth and let mixture reduce.
8Once reduced, remove from heat and let cool.
9Add cheeses to blender/food processor.
10Add cooled mushroom mixture to cheese.
11Blend together until smooth.
12Add more broth if mixture is too thick.
13Remove mixture to bowl stir in 1/2 cup of mixed mushrooms.
14Set aside.
15THE DOUGH: Sift flour and salt together.
16Place flour mixture on a board, making a well in the center of the flour.
17Drop eggs into the flour well, using your hand or a fork, break the yolks and beat eggs slightly.
18Combine the eggs and flour together, gradually adding enough warm water to make a stiff dough.
19Knead dough well, until smooth; cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
20Cut dough in half and roll each half of the dough out on a floured board, into a very thin sheet (about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick).
21FILLING THE RAVIOLI: Drop about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of filling about 1 1/2 inches apart all along the dough.
22When the sheet of dough is fully dotted with dabs of filling mixture, cover filling with other sheet of dough.
23Using your fingers, gently press dough between each dab of filling to seal it.
24Cut ravioli into squares with a pastry cutter, or very sharp knife.
25DRYING THE RAVIOLI: Allow ravioli to dry for one hour before cooking.
26COOKING THE RAVIOLI: Drop ravioli into 6 to 8 quarts of boiling, salted water and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until dough is tender.
27Remove cooked ravioli from pot carefully with a skimmer or a large slotted spoon, and drain well.
28Serve hot and enjoy with your favorite cream sauce.

3 months after signing the contract...WE'RE FINISHED!

The day finally came...the day when John and I could just sit on the couch and relax.  This weekend we pretty much wrapped up working on the house.  There are still a few minor things we need to do (fill nail holes, put up a few pieces of trim, organize etc) but for the most part we have a fully functional house!

Looking back I am absolutly amazed at what we (mostly john) accomplished in 3 months.  Here is a list of everything that was done.

New paint, carpet, hardwood floors, new cabinets, countertop, bathroom vanity all new light fixtures as well as a handful of plumbing fixes!  Wow I am exhausted just listing that out.  Not sure how we managed to get through it with only minimal disagreements but we did!  Take a look at some kitchen before and after shots!


Kitchen before had wallpaper, yellow walls, linolium floor, oak cabinets, formica countertop and a mismatch or appliances!

We started with a fresh coat of paint and tore off all of the wallpaper (we were not sad to see that go).  We also tore out the linolium and prepared it for hickory floors.

We found new cherry cabinets and John and the guys did a wonderful job installing them

We went with a corinthian countertop (similar to corian) and got all new appliances and here it is..the finished product!   

A weekend away from it all...

Last weekend/week John and I headed to Boston, MA.  I had a work conference out there and John and I decided we would make a mini vacation out of it and take a break from the home remodeling to enjoy ourselves (not that all this remodeling isn't enjoyable haha). 

Our first day in Boston we headed to the oldest restaurant in the United States, Union St. Oyster House, and had a bowl of clam chowder...delicious!  We then were so excited to meet up with Meredith and her husband John for SEVERAL drinks :-)  They had both never met John so it was great to finally get to introduce him...we had a blast to say the least.  I would insert a photo here form the night however NOT ONE photo was taken..Meredith how did we let that happen??

Day 2...John and I went to the New England Aquarium for the morning and then went to Boston Common and sat underneath a tree listening to live music that was playing in the park.  I think we sat there for a good 2-3 hours just hanging out.  I can't remember the last time we just kicked up our feet and relaxed...IT WAS AMAZING!

The rest of the week was spent with me going to the conference which was very informative and John touring Boston on his own during the day.  We also were able to head to Fenway to see a Red Sox game which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip!