That's All Folks!

Life Lesson #3

We made the decision to travel for the holidays and keep it local for New Years Eve and it doesn't get  more local than staying in the comfort of your own home. 

On the menu...

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos 

These little babies were hot (burn your mouth) and hot (kept too many seeds in the jalapenos) hot!

Mussels in Tomato and Chorizo Sauce (topped with kale for the picture because it looks pretty)

We also grilled a T-Bone steak to share and it was perfectly delicious...but you don't need a picture of that...it looked like a delicious steak. The real fun was in trying out the jalapeno and mussel recipes. Here's Chris cleaning the mussels, right before he ran outside to a grill bursting with flames. Don't worry, we had it under control. 

Because they were so delicious, let's have another look...

This little monkey "helped" us make dinner and help is a loose term. Since starting to crawl she has been into everything. So between prepping, cooking and grilling we also spent a good amount of time keeping her from the dog food, away from the hot stove, and away from the stairs. 

2012 was certainly a year we won't forget any time soon. We hit every high with the birth of Sloane, every bit of uncertainty with selling our home in Appleton, two job changes, a move to Waukesha, purchasing a home, and a move to Plainfield. Along with all the good came the bad. We lost my mom's father (my Papa) and my dad's father (my grandpa), I continued to struggle with postpartum depression which gets better every day, and also learned the upsettings news of an inoperable tumor on the brain stem of our good friends young son. Having Sloane puts their whole story into another level of understanding for us.

In the new year we are going to welcome our newest niece Macy, I'll be heading back to work and as my brother put it, we'll be spending more time enjoying the gifts we've already received instead of working so hard for more. Here's to enjoying our little lady, our new home, less family losses and a fresh clean slate in 2013! Much love to all our friends and family!