Friday, February 27, 2015

Macaroni & Corn Bake: Recipe

Today's Food Friday brings you one of my favorite comfort food meals of all time. Seriously, this one takes the cake. It's so good, but watch out - you may just want to eat the entire pan at once. I have to portion it out as soon as it's out of the oven so I don't eat too much at once.


If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know how much I love macaroni and cheese. You can check out my favorite side dish mac & cheese here and the mac & cheese burritos with green chilies that I loved here. But today is all about the macaroni and corn. Mmmmm.

I've been making this since college. It's actually one of the first recipes I ever mastered, and it's what I would take with me whenever there was a social get-together. (This or zucchini casserole, which I'll hopefully be sharing soon as well). It's such a crowd pleaser, and it's something not everyone thinks of.

Seriously - just check out the cheesiness. It's so ooey-gooey good.

And the best part? You can use whatever cheese you like best OR whatever cheese you happen to have in your fridge! It doesn't matter (though I do like it best with sharp cheddar myself, but this one has Swiss and mozzarella added in as well because I had annoying amounts of it left in my fridge, just waiting to be used up).


I know, I know. You're dying for the recipe now. Well, here it is. Enjoy... and I mean it!


  • Do you like macaroni and cheese?
  • What's your favorite thing to mix with it?
  • What is your all-time favorite comfort food?


    

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Six Years Together

Six years ago tonight, Dan and I went on our first real date.

We had been friends for several months, and we hung out a lot... but our first DATE was on February 25th, 2009. He took me to get hibachi for dinner about 45 minutes away from our college campus, and then we went to a comedy show.

It was a blast, and we never looked back!

I can't believe we've been together for so long. And we're FINALLY MARRIED now! Nothing beats that - it's pretty awesome! AND we're expecting our first baby.

I can already tell this year is going to be an amazing one with such a wonderful man by my side.




How long have you been with your significant other?


    

Monday, February 23, 2015

How I Shared the News With My Husband

Before I begin, I want to remind you about my "Ask Me Anything" post from last Friday. Please send in more questions! I have several awesome questions already, but I would love to break down the questions and answers into different categories, and I don't think I have enough quite yet... so if you haven't already, please submit your questions for me!

How I Told My Husband that We're Having a Baby

As I shared in this post, I took my first (of soooo many) pregnancy tests on December 30th, 2014. The line was so faint that I didn't even believe it. I went to bed curious but NOT thinking, "Oh, wow, I'm pregnant!"

When I took two more (on December 31st, 2014), and I could still see faint lines, I knew that all three couldn't be wrong. But I went to the store on January 1st, 2015 to buy a digital test anyway, just because that's the kind of person I am. I took it, and the word "pregnant" appeared almost immediately.

I knew at that moment that everything was real. I knew I needed to come up with a plan to tell my husband. I always wanted to tell him in a cute way, so luckily, I had already made a custom onesie that I designed and had it stashed away in a drawer. Convenient, right?

That said, I was TERRIFIED. I didn't know how he was going to react because I had only been off of my birth control for one month. We didn't expect to be pregnant so soon, and I was pretty nervous about telling him.

I did what all nervous people do I always do when I'm nervous about something: I wrote Dan a letter. I thought about being a super big chicken and just leaving the letter on his desk... but I decided I did want to see his face when he read it.

He opened the letter, confused, and skipped straight to the last line... the one that said, "We are going to be parents." He looked at me funny, and then he read the entire letter. I was curious as to how he was going to react, but I had no reason to be anxious. Dan immediately said, "That's cool!" and jumped up and kissed me.

I gave him the adorable onesie I had made, and he loved it. He couldn't wait to show it off, and he wanted to tell everyone right away - but of course I explained why he couldn't just then.

We then watched an episode of the TV show we were in the middle of (Breaking Bad). About half way through the episode, it really sank in for Dan. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Well, I took FOUR tests, and they all say positive," I replied. Silence.

And then he went into overdrive. He has made lists, bought (a ton of) books, gone crazy shopping on Craigslist, accumulating things from friends, and being a master budgeter. He is super excited to be a dad. And I absolutely cannot wait to see him in his new role come September!

Dan has been flying for more than ten years. He competed on the flying team in college, and he heads to Air Force pilot training next spring. This was the PERFECT way to let him know he's going to be a dad! 

His first "dad" book! 

  • How do you share big news with your significant other? 


Friday, February 20, 2015

Ask Me Anything

I have seen several bloggers doing this over the past few weeks, and I thought it would be fun.

This is your opportunity to get to know me a little better. Ask me anything you want - and I will post answers sometime next week. I won't be making a vlog, though... I hate how my voice sounds when it's recorded.



Simply leave your questions in the comment section here, e-mail me, or message me on my Facebook page.

PLEASE ask questions, though. If I only have a couple to answer, it's going to be really weird making an entire post out of that... so do you want to know about my marriage with Dan? Our time together when he was at the Academy? Baby Cookie? The marathon I ran last year? Teaching? My Etsy shop? Recipes / meal planning? Seriously - ask me whatever you want!

What do YOU want to know?

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Jupiter

On Monday, February 16th, I lost a special girl.

My cat, Jupiter, who I got the summer I turned 15 (I'm 27 now), lost her two year battle to cancer.

She lived with my family in Kansas City, but she was the first pet we ever had that was truly "mine" and not the family pet.

It's tough losing a pet. They're members of our families too, after all. I knew it was coming, so I'm glad I got to say my goodbyes when I saw her over Christmas, but that doesn't make things any easier.

For now, I'm cuddling my two kitties on overdrive and trying to remember all of the good memories I had with Jupiter throughout high school and college.


I will miss my little (big) Jupie Green Eyes, but I'm glad she is not suffering anymore.

And yes, she was named after the Train song Drops of Jupiter.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Baby Cookie Details

If you missed my post last Friday about our big announcement, you'll probably want to read it before this!

*First, I would like to thank each and every one of you who commented on my announcement post congratulating us! We appreciate all of the wonderful comments and well wishes. I TRIED to reply to each of you individually, but I could not reply to some of you because A) you are a no-reply blogger, so you do not get email replies, or B) your comments never came through to my email (yes, I checked the spam folder). I'm not ignoring anyone purposefully, though - we appreciate ALL of your comments!*



This all started when we were driving back from Missouri to Ohio after Christmas. I was feeling a bit "off" and knew something was up. It wasn't time for me to take a test yet, though (nor did I have any with me while we were traveling), so I waited. I didn't mention any of this to Dan because I didn't want to worry him.

When we arrived in Dayton, I finally decided to test, assuming I would get a negative result right away.

Instead, I saw a VERY faint line. I was unsure of how to process that. I couldn't get excited yet because I didn't know what it meant. I read the instructions, and they said that ANY line is a line... but I was still skeptical. I waited another day and took two more. They were also faint.

By this time, it was New Year's Eve. I was pretty sure all those faint lines couldn't be mistakes, but you never know. I went out to dinner with Dan for our annual Thai food on New Year's Eve, making small talk but avoiding the subject because I wanted to tell him in a different way. After dinner, friends came over to celebrate the new year, so I held it in all night, making my own drinks so no one would know (NOjitos for the win!) and toasting only a teeny tiny sip of champagne at midnight.

By the end of all of this, I took several tests - even more than what's pictured - oops. Before I could share the news with Dan, I wanted to be positive. I just did not trust those faint lines... so I offered to pick him up a bunch of kale that he needed for a recipe and set out to buy a digital test, which I took as soon as I got home and which came back immediately with the word "positive".



I knew after the digital test that I had to tell Dan... but I was pretty nervous. This isn't exactly something we planned on happening so soon. I stopped taking the pill at the end of November, but we both know so many couples who have taken several months to get pregnant that we thought for sure it would be a while. 

Nope. One month later, everyone. One month. It can happen - so don't assume it won't like we did. 

We are super excited to parents, though, and we welcome this opportunity! Our families are ecstatic, and we just can't wait for September to get here so we can welcome Baby "Cookie" to the family! 

Soon, I will post about how I ended up sharing the news with Dan. Until then, I'll leave you a little preview: I knew in 2014, and he didn't find out until 2015. I'm awful, I know. 
  • How long did you wait to tell your husband you were pregnant?
  • Would you be able to keep it a secret?

Friday, February 13, 2015

Our Surprise Valentine

Dan and I are so excited to announce...


Baby "Cookie" will be here sometime around September 9th, 2015! We are thrilled and nervous!

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Time is Flying

The past few weeks seem to have flown by, and with my DIY posts and recipe posts, I feel like I have hardly talked about my own life on this little blog of mine... so prepare for photos as part of a "catch-up".

I haven't even been up to much, which is why it's so weird to me that time is passing so quickly. I work on my Etsy shop during the days while Dan is in class. We have dinner together each night, and sometimes we hang out, while other times he has homework to get done. I go to the gym some days and walk on the treadmill (because it's still too cold here to walk outside, and my leg still hurts too much to run). We have spent time with friends, baby-sat Tyler overnight when his parents had something going on, worked with our church youth group on Wednesday nights, and played games with friends.

Tyler loved his yogurt for breakfast.

I made football cupcakes for our Superbowl party - the one on the left is regulation size, while the one on the right is Brady's deflated ball...








Sorry for all the pet pictures... it's like they're always begging to have their picture taken. ;-)

  • What have you been up to lately?
  • Do you take way too many photos of your pets too?

Monday, February 9, 2015

Weekend Happenings & Facebook Page

Happy Monday, everyone!

Okay, okay, so Monday isn't a favorite of mine either. But I do love starting each new week fresh.

This weekend was pretty low-key for Dan and me. We spent Friday night in watching a movie on Amazon Prime. On Saturday, we organized our kitchen pantries and went to a game night with some new friends (and stayed out WAY too late). Sunday morning was spent at church, followed by thrift store shopping, a Chinese buffet (ugh - so good), and a two hour nap (staying out late is hard these days).

A couple weeks ago, I started a Facebook page for my blog - finally! It was one of my New Year's Goals, so I'm happy to have accomplished CREATING it in January. I finally got around to inviting some friends and family to 'like' it in February, and now I'm asking you guys. I would super appreciate a 'like' on my page, and I will of course 'like' yours in return - just leave me a link to it!



If you'd like to follow Come Fly With Us Blog on Facebook, you may do so here. Thanks so much, friends!

Have a wonderful week!

Friday, February 6, 2015

Easy Red Velvet Cookies: Recipe

When I first decided that I was going to do the 12 Days of Christmas for my husband, I knew that day one would entail something he loves: baked goods! I didn't want to be that mean lady and just give him ONE, though, just because it was day one... so I made him ONE batch of cookies.

He loves red velvet everything, so I knew these would be a hit. Little did I know that they'd be a hit with me too - because of how simple they are to make! Seriously!


Easy Red Velvet Cookies

Ingredients
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 box red velvet cake mix 
• 2 eggs (beaten)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375ยบ.
2. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, cake mix, and eggs.
4. Roll into one inch balls.
5. Roll balls in powdered sugar mixture.
6. Place balls on baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10-11 minutes - until set. 
8. Store in a Ziploc container.


Make these. Seriously. It'll take you less than 20 minutes, and they are just incredible. 

  • Do you like red velvet goodies?
  • What is your favorite type of cookie?