Last First Day

Today is Mike's last first day of school...EVER!

Well maybe not EVER, but at least for the foreseeable future. In just 4 months time he'll have his Last last day, and within the next couple months we'll find out where we'll be living next year. I've certainly said it before, but it's really amazing how fast time has gone. 

I remember when we moved down here. It was very exciting at first. Moving to a brand new city. Finally living in the same place as my wonderful fiance. New apartment to decorate. New neighborhood to explore.

Our first place!

Too quickly the excitement of the brand new wore off. I missed my friends. I missed my family. I missed my old job. And I could not wait for Mike to graduate and for us to move back home. 

Fast forward a year and I found a new job and new friends to hang out with. I love our new apartment. I love our carpools in to work/school. I love our Moe Mondays. We've made a nice little life for ourselves down here in the ATL.

It's amazing that this time that we've been looking forward to has arrived so quickly. I can't believe that we could be moving in just 5 months. Or maybe we won't be...just have to wait to find out.

And Dave with the photobomb win. It's ok. It's his last first day too.

Happy Last First Day, Mike! 

Weekend Recap: Buzzy Rain

Hello Folks! Who else wishes it was any day but Monday?

Welcome back to the week! It's getting seriously fall-ish here. Downright chilly. I hesitate saying anything down here is cold after growing up in Wisconsin. Quick weather.com check....feels like 48...yup that qualifies as chilly. Maybe I'll let myself wear my fleece in tomorrow. 

Back home I had a rule that I would not wear my winter coat til after Thanksgiving. Really it's a rule out of necessity. Once you break out the winter coat, there's nothing left to turn to when January comes around with its -35 windchill. Brrrr. I'm getting cold just thinking about it.

As I have yet to wear my winter coat down here, my fleece has become my new winter coat...so I'm really really trying to hold out til Thanksgiving. Luckily Mike is equally stubborn about giving into coldness. Also he's usually the only one ready in time to walk Luca in the morning (these lashes won't curl themselves, dang) so he is my expert advice when it comes to bundling up for the day.

To sum it all up, I was extra thankful for heated seats this morning :)

Now for the recap:

We finally made it the entire one black walk to Cruzado. 

My drink was called the Lolita, and I didn't realize til I took my first sip that it had jalapeno tequilla in it. Probably won't be getting that one again.

At first I was disappointed by the lack of veg options on the menu, but then our waitress told us about there vegaterian dish where I could pick any 3 sides for $10. Niiiiicce. And maduros were an option. Win!

Saturday was game day. We met up with some peeps and tailgated beer pong and flip cup style. This is one area where GA Tech gameday wins over Badger gameday: you can drink all the way up to the gate! We seriously set up a table in one of the campus commons and played drinking games. Last year Mike and I did a serious double take when we saw people just walking around with beers all over the campus.

At the last minute Mike decided to leave his jacket in the car. We have some serious weather delusions in our house. 

The weather left something to be desired. It was chilly and grey all day and started sprinkling right before kick-off. Luckily the Yellow Jackets trounced Syracuse, and our entire group was in agreement to leave early. Last stop: Taco Mac.

Sunday Mike had to tutor first thing in the morning. I got up in time to make these babies:

Definitely a repeat. They disappeared way too quickly.

I think I'll be sharing that recipe with you soon.

After Mike left I went on a serious cleaning binge. It was much needed. I scrubbed the heck out of the bathroom. It's sparkling now. Lovely. I also tried out some stove-top potpourri from my friend H's blog.

Smelling very H-y in here :)

So while I was scrubbing away, this bad boy was filling our house with the delicious smells of fall. When Mike got home he wanted to drink it. I wish I had gotten a picture of his face as I explained that it was just for smelling, not for eating. Poor guy.

We also made it to TJ's to pick up some pumpkins. I have it set in my mind that we will carve them outside, so until it warms up this is the state the pumpkins will be in:

Our pre-Jacks

Monday night means Moe's for us!! Yay. Today was one of the Monday mornings that I needed an end of day treat to look forward to.

Happy Moe Monday to you too!

Married Moe Monday!

I've said it before, but it bears repeating. The best way to beat the Monday blues is to have a special treat waiting for you at the end of the day. For us it's $5 burritos at Moe's. They are delicious and not too unhealthy (the chips though, that's another story), and we can each get exactly what we want.

Moe Monday's became a tradition for us last winter. It started when I heard about a job with Moe's corporate offices. I had never been there so we decided to give it a try and were immediately hooked. By March it became part of our weekly routine.

First ever Married Moe Monday!

We continued the Mexican food theme once we got home with TortillaFest 2013. Mike makes tortillas disappear like no one I've ever met before. This used to mean weekly stops at the store to buy tortillas. It wasn't until our honeymoon in Belize that, while eating delicious handmade tortillas daily, the idea to make our own dawned on me. Growing up my mom always made fresh flour tortillas for us. In recent years she's upgraded to making corn ones. Last week I pulled out the family recipe (included below) and whipped up and batch to surprise Mike when he got home from orientation. He loved them, and as a result we made batch number 2 on Monday night.

You know any recipe written on an index card will be legit.

The process is very simple especially if you have one person rolling and one person manning the stove. We actually ran out of all-purpose flour so these are half whole wheat (bonus points for health!). We made a double batch resulting in 21 tortillas, and we quickly knocked that down to 18 :)

The Process: roll 'em, fry 'em, eat 'em.

The trick to making these is to roll them out very, very thin. They will poof a bit in the pan so you really want to take the time to get them as thin and you can manage. I found rolling one out, then flipping it over and rolling out even more on the other side worked best. The handmade thickness plus the addition of the whole wheat flour made these very hearty and perfect for non-Mexican food too, like wraps or gyros. My favorite way to munch: spread with hummus and add sriracha to your liking. Then roll it up and cut into delicious little pinwheel snacks. Yummmm.

Mom's Tortilla Recipe:
Yields about 10 tortillas

5 cups flour (all-purpose, wheat, or a mix will work)
2 tsps baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 cup warm water
3 Tbs shortening (softened)

Mix the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients, kneading to combine. Let dough rest. Heat skillet to medium heat and add a thin layer of oil. Roll out golf ball sized pieces of dough as thin as possible. Add to skillet one at a time. Cook 1-2 min. on each side. Be careful not to burn them! Add more oil as needed.