Time for a date

It happened! We went out for fun! This is a cause for a celebration! We decided to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art for their free admission day and go out to eat.  We got off the T at the aquarium stop and walked down Seaboard Drive to our destination.

 I love the ice chunks! 

 Walking over the drawbridge

 Some of the paths were nicely shoveled and some were definitely not and we were just walking in the street.  We ate at the No Name Restaurant by recommendation by our friends Rachel and Job. It was our first time eating seafood by ourselves since we have been together, so that was kinda exciting.  

The No Name Restaurant is a cute little seafood place on the fish peir.  We had a seat by the windows and we just watched the fishermen drawing up their nets for the night (see picture above(sorry about the glare))  Since we went at night I couldn't get a good picture of the view so I stole the picture below from Rachel to show you the loveliness.

Afterwards we headed to the museum and had fun making fun of people shooting groceries with bows and arrows and calling it art. We couldn't get any pictures of the art because the security guards wouldn't let us. The exhibit was mainly this guy called Mark Bradford.  He glues paper together  into huge map collages.  

Here are our illegally snapped pictures

Below is our refection at the museum and the city over the harbor.  

 Here is a cool optical illusion for you.  A room that is not in perspective.  It was my favorite part of the museum.

 I love the great glass elevator.  We didn't see Willy Wonka. :(

fun fun fun

Valances

Since we moved here I have wanted to have valances put up in the kitchen. I looked around for some I liked but I could not find anything.  It seems all the stores have these days are panels, or if I was lucky enough to find a valance it was made out of ugly fabric.  So I waited until JoAnns had a sale on their patterns and got one I liked.  Then I waited until fabric was on sale and I got that too.  I found it very difficult to settle on one fabric. So here is the before picture.

I sewed it with my new sewing machine and was so fun! I am probably going to go crazy with the sewing for the next little while.  Sewing with a pattern was new to me and I had to sit and think about the directions for several hours before I actually knew what they were talking about.

Here is the finished product and I love it.  Eventually I will get some cool napkin rings to put each tab through for extra bling but I haven't found them yet.  

Now I wish I could lower the picture frame to break up that brown line but the huge hole from the porch light (that was there previously) makes that impossible.  Oh well. But I love my VALANCES!! whoo hooo!

Birthday for my love

I made McKay a birthday cake since I will be gone (bringing home the bacon) on his real birthday.  Yeah it sucks, but you have to do what you have to do, right? This was my first time using the family secret recipe for making the perfect cake.  Behold...

 Apparently McKay's favorite cake is Black Forest Cake, a recipe from his mom and the Four Ingredient Cookbook.  It has cherry filling, pudding/cool whip frosting, and lots of chocolate cake.

Yumm!

Snow Day

Even as a grown up there is nothing more cool than a snow day.  McKay's school was canceled and we just spent the day hanging out without any responsibilities.  I'm sure we should have gone sledding or something, but I have no idea where an undeveloped hill is. The snow was coming down pretty dang hard.  It's a good thing McKay got snow boots for Christmas.

Snow slowing down to flurries.  

        

 That evening McKay and I shoveled out the walk and hoped that school was canceled tomorrow as well.  It wasn't. So we declared it an unofficial snow day and stayed in again.

       

Felt Garland

I finished the flowery garland I was working on and I think it looks great in our Alice in Wonderland style hallway.  It took FOREVER.  Mainly because I was trying to cut felt without fabric scissors but towards the end I eventually broke down and bought them (and it was worth it.) It's too bad that I didn't make in in time for Christmas but I am keeping it up so I can enjoy it.  

Christmas card

Every year I think about doing a christmas card but never actually get around to doing it.  So this year I tried, but I was too late. So here we are at Peirs Park.

I think this first picture looks like Braiden... ALOT.  It kinda creeps me out actually.

This is the optometry picture with the glasses 

 And finally, us.

 Merry Christmas! Maybe next year I will get cards sent. hah!

Christmas

This year for Christmas we went skiing in West Virginia.  McKay taught me and my brothers how to snowboard.  Of course they picked it up in two seconds where as I had an aching wrist and really sore butt for a couple days.  Accidentally catching your back edge in the snow is very traumatizing.  It took me the whole day just to go down the hill TWICE! ugh. I'm so pathetic.  But the second day I was much better and went down 50 million times.

The deer around our hotel were basically domesticated and would lick your hands.  It was pretty disgusting. but funny.  Grandma even came with us and she watched their whole herd go door to door for food.