link love

We have stayed busy with trying to get this apartment all set-up to fit our lives. I promise to post pictures soon - just a few more details left.

As if we didn't already have enough going on right now Brett and I have been working through some big changes in our lives. I have been tossing around the idea of making a job change. Not exactly sure what I want to do yet and it probably won't happen in the near future but the idea is out there. I want to have more free time and my long commute everyday sucks away so much of my evenings. Meanwhile, I want to start making jewelry again. It will probably be bead type work at first, until I can gather up the supply and equipment to make more intricate pieces.

Even bigger news though is Brett is going to join the Army National Guard. Right out of high school he looked into joining and playing in the army band. He is a fantastic musician and since we live in an apartment he hasn't gotten to play since we got married. This is the perfect opportunity for him. He will have to go away to basic training for 9 weeks :( and afterward he will go to the Military School of Music where he will have personalized lessons and take classes such as music theory. I will miss him terrible while he is gone, but to keep myself busy I have already said that I will have 2 months of craft night. I plan to sew curtains, re-upholster furniture, bake until I have no-one left to feed, and anything else I can do to stay busy. He has his audition on Wednesday, and will probably leave for basic in January or February.

Now I move onto what my title is all about. I want to share some of my favorite bloggers with all you dear people. May you get as much enjoyment out of them as I do.

Some favorite bloggers:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/ - I posted this last week but just in case you missed it. She posts wonderful recipes and stories of her life, all accompanied by beautiful photos.
http://mattbites.com/ - This was the first food blog I really started to follow. He is a food photographer who will occasionally post a recipe - they are always delicious.
http://www.101cookbooks.com/ - This is a fairly new discovery for me. She only posts vegetarian dishes, but they have always been fantastic and have introduced Brett and me to so many new combinations and dishes.

cool weather and warm kitchens

It is starting to feel like fall around here. The weather is cooling off - though we didn't have much of a summer - and I am in the mood to start cooking again. While I love the warmth and adventures that summer brings there is nothing like cooking a warm meal when it is cool outside. Fall is my favorite season with all the beautiful colors and abundance of food. I plan to make the most of it, picking apples and pumpkins and whatever else I can find to pick. I also want to learn how to bake. I feel fairly confident in the kitchen when it come to cooking. Not afraid to try a new recipe or add a little of this or that, but baking is a whole different game. With baking you have to be precise, no just throwing things together - at least not at first. So expect some more baking recipes on here.

To start the season, I made a Tres Leche Cake (a spanish 3-milk cake). Brett has been asking for one and while browsing a new blog I found a delicious recipe for it. As I have never had Tres Leche before I am not sure if mine tasted right, but I thought it was good and everyone who tried it said it was authentic. Check out this blog for the recipe and if you have some time (it's long), read her story of how she meet her husband. I have never been one to read romance novels but I was completly enthraled in her story. I started reading it durning my lunch break and had trouble staying on task at work because I wanted to keep reading.

So other than baking and reading blogs what have I been up to?... Oh yea, we moved into our new apartment, my parents came to visit, and I ran my first 5k! As you can tell, life has been slow at the Hartford's :) The apartment is great and I will post picture soon, but right now it is still a disaster and we are slowing getting the apartment set-up to fit our life.

Having my parents here was wonderful. We were tourist for the weekend and completely wore ourselves out. We visited a vineyard, tasted chocolate in Hershey, PA, saw the statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, ran a 5k for Africa, accessorized and worked on the apartment a bit, and ventured all around NYC. Not bad for a 4 day weekend.

Now it is time to get ready to go on a hike with some friends from our life group. I will leave you with some pictures of our recent adventures.

My wonderful parents

Brett in Hershey

The wall of names at Ellis Island

Exchange students with Elvis

My running buddy

Team Hartford

Life group + Nate