Moving Day

We did it! (Well, it was more like the two moving company guys who did it. But we deserve some credit for packing it all up!) Yesterday, our furniture and earthly belongings (which surprisingly fit into 34 boxes), were carefully transported the four miles to our new place! The whole process of loading, unloading and arranging took less than two hours.

While there are still many (OK, all) boxes left to unpack... I must admit, it felt pretty darn good waking up in OUR home for the first time ever this morning. I slept so soundly last night. I'm not sure if it was due to the last-minute running around before the move or the fact that I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning playing with our new toy, AT&T U-verse. (How did I manage to survive this long without DVR?)

Anyway, I'd like to say a heartfelt thank-you and good-bye to the little green house on Wallace. You've been very good to us. I only hope that whoever lives with you next has as many happy memories there as we do.

Vietnamese Steak Sandwich

With all of the work on the house and now packing for the move, we've developed quite an appetite! Because we don't really have a lot of time to devote to home-cooked meals these days, we've been choosing recipes that can pull double duty.

These Vietnamese Steak Sandwiches are one of our favorites to make with leftovers. The recipe is from, you guessed it, Everyday Food: Great Food Fast and can be made from the Flank Steak with Lime Marinade. Since the steak recipe serves four, and we're only cooking for two... we get two different meals out of it. Not bad!

Here's the recipe, courtesy of the fine folks at Martha Stewart:

Ingredients

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• ½ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 hero rolls (We used Chicago rolls from Publix)
• 1 pound sliced Flank Steak with Lime Marinade

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together garlic, sugar, red-pepper flakes, vinegar, and water.
2. In another bowl, toss together carrots, scallions, and cilantro leaves. Toss with half of the vinegar mixture.
3. Split and lightly toast hero rolls; dividing evenly, layer with carrot mixture and sliced flank steak. Drizzle with remaining vinegar mixture, if desired.
4. Enjoy!

(Serves 4)

What are some of your favorite double-duty pulling dishes?

Inheriting the Earth (and a few other things)

Before closing on our house, every single time we visited it (easily seven different occasions), there was a dingy old Jeep Wrangler in the garage. I'm not sure if it belonged to the seller or maybe even the realtor (that really wouldn't surprise me!). I definitely thought it was strange and after a while started to wonder if it was ever going to be removed.

Needless to say, the very first thing I did when we walked through the door as the new owners was check the garage. I was so relieved to find that the Jeep was finally gone! The sellers did leave us a few random items, though, including a filthy (but sturdy!) 8 ft. Husky ladder and a dusty old globe screwed onto a make-shift two-by-four wood base.

Here are a few other bonus items that came along with the house...

I found this collection of 13 pre-lit, glittery birthday candles in a drawer. I wonder who might have made a wish on these over the years.

This jack-o-lantern smiles at us from a shelf in the garage. Instead of containing candy, it held three dog-mauled tennis balls (which have since been disposed of).

We found this funky, critter-covered oven mitt behind the refrigerator. I'm a little scared of what may be living inside it.

These were among the more harmless things that we inherited with the house. (The electrical issues, on the other hand, are for a post of their own, ugh.) Right now, we're in the middle of packing for this weekend's big move. As soon as I have a chance, I'll share our paint options with you. (Opinions will definitely be welcome!)