We’re a little early for game day, but we wanted to share our favorite snack: guacamole. We are pretty sure both the Gophers and Vikings are going to get creamed this weekend, but even a defeat deserves a few good snacks. And thanks to Trader Joe’s, it is has gotten a lot easier for us to whip up some amazing guacamole for the amazing price of $3.69…way cheaper than that table side guac we enjoy when we’re out.
Prepping for a Weekend Project
On Tuesday we told you about our plans to insulate and organize our furnace room (which you can read here if you missed it). Today we took the first step towards insulation domination by cleaning everything out of the room, taking measurements, and heading to the Home Depot to purchase all of the supplies. And by we, I totally just mean Dain. This project is his brainchild, and $300 big ones later, he is ready to tackle this project over the weekend. And I have my fingers crossed that it’ll be done by Sunday as promised by my handyman.
Pretty in Paper
Ever wish you had some of those gorgeous coffee table books or that your books were beautiful enough to be on display? We do too, but since we like some of our not-so-visually-stunning books, we decided to just make them prettier so they are finally display-worthy. We have a small collection of bar books in our living room, and thanks to a sale on some incredible paper, they are now covered in oh-so-pretty maps and birds.
Warming Up Some Storage
As we mentioned yesterday, the weather around here isn’t getting any warmer, and we finally broke down this morning and turned on our furnace when our thermostat read a cool 58 degrees. We love Minnesota. After flipping the switch, Dain went down to our furnace room to make sure everything was running properly. The furnace was humming along just fine, but the room where it is housed is a different story. It’s, well…a little bit cluttered. And by cluttered I mean piles of crap everywhere, reminiscent of our garage earlier this summer.
Ready for Next Year
Now that the temperature has dropped about 20 degrees this week, our seemingly never ending sun porch projects have almost come to an end. Just in time for….next year. Today Dain put the finishing touches on the baseboards and trim, cleaned everything, and put our bistro set back in its home under our candle lanterns. It’s looking very whimsical in there, and we are looking forward to the day when we can enjoy a cocktail in there with the sun shining in.
Mojo Monkey Donuts
We’ve been hearing about a “donut renaissance” in the Twin Cities as of late. I question how there can really be a rebirth when donuts have never left our scene, but nonetheless, we thought we’d check out one of these new gourmet donut shops that just opened in St. Paul. Because we’ve pretty much never met a donut shop we don’t like. And Mojo Monkey Donuts is certainly not the exception. It’s actually probably a good thing we don’t live closer to this place because we would be regulars and then we’d have to switch to an all stretchy wardrobe (which is currently just reserved for weeknights and weekends).
70 Bulbs for the Future
According to our local weather channel, yesterday was the last 70 degree day that we will see until the middle of next April. That was our cue to get outside and plant the package of 70 tulip bulbs that we picked up at our local Sam’s Club for the bargain price of $14.88. Because we talked about planting bulbs last year, but we never got around to it. So this year, we decided to not just be big talkers.
Crayon Art
We were feeling a bit nostalgic today so we thought we’d pull out an old school art project for our ever-changing frame wall. How old school? Well, we hit up the crayola crayons circa grade school and worked a little crayon/wax paper/iron magic. And it works just like it did back in the day making a fun (and free) colorful piece for our wall.
Autumn Activity: Brewery Tours
Looking for a fun activity this fall? One of our favorites is brewery tours. Most of all because Dain is obsessed with beer, but even if you’re not that into brews, it’s still fascinating to see how it’s made. Luckily, the Midwest is teaming with breweries where you can learn all about the brewing and bottling process and taste a few finished products while you’re at it. Here’s a look at a few of our regional favorites.
TIM-BER
Ever feel like you married a lumberjack? I sure did on Saturday as I watched Dain whip out a chainsaw and knock down a forty foot tree in front of a small audience of onlooking neighbors. I was nervous about the whole situation and had visions of of the tree hitting something unexpected on its way down, but everyone else around (Dain and both of our dads) seemed to think they had a good plan. And sure enough, Dain executed the plan to perfection, and in a matter of minutes our last eyesore of a tree was down for the count.
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