ch-ch-ch-changes!

Yes, you read that correctly. The blog has been moved to a new url. We are still using the Blogger platform, but after almost three years here, we felt that it was time for a new name -or a new identity- for this little blog. Pictures and Paragraphs is just something I said out of the blue one day and Shawn said it sounded like a good name for a blog. The wheels in my head started turning and I couldn't get the thought out of my mind, so after a few weeks of pondering it, I went ahead and made the change. But don't worry! It's just the name and the look of the blog that have changed - the content will remain the same. It's been mostly me posting the last year or so anyway, so although Shawn will still be on the forefront of the blog content, he won't be writing any posts (unless he wants to!). Thank you so much for following us here, and I really hope you follow us over to our new home on the interwebs!

Psst. You'll find a gift guide/wishlist over at Pictures & Paragraphs, if you're looking for it.

All Moved In

It's been a busy week, hence the lack of new posts, but we are finally all moved in and have been enjoying being back in NJ since last Saturday! The move went unbelievably well; my friend's trailer was able to fit every last thing left in the apartment and since she got a bit of a head start driving back, by the time Shawn and I got to the house she and my brother had already finished unloading everything into the downstairs room - we were ever so thankful because we had already spent the two days prior moving things up and down stairs, so it was a (literal) load off our shoulders.

I took a few days off between jobs to relax and get some housework done. We've spent time clearing up various rooms and ends of the house, making space for our furniture and things and just doing some general cleaning tasks. Shawn has been doing some yard work too but it's been tough due to the gloomy rainy weather we've had all week. We've also been seeing a lot of old friends and eating copious amounts of food from places we've missed the last two years - you can never underestimate the power of good food and great friends! And when you combine the two, there's just nothing better.


Speaking of food, it's so much more pleasant to cook in this much (much!) larger kitchen. We've been doing plenty of that lately. Shawn has perfected his breaded chicken and is working his way through different meats. I think pork is next on the 'perfect this' list...



We've been grilling a lot too - we underestimated how much we would appreciate having a grill at our disposal. This was a collaborative effort - my friend Christine bought and brought the food over and we all pitched in to turn it into a meal. We're always happy to share our kitchen with people who enjoy a tasty meal - and Christine was just as happy to share her bacon potato hash with us.



It's also been fun hanging out with these two on a more regular basis; they've finally gotten used to having us around permanently now that all the moving of furniture has ceased. Oh, and did I not tell you about Mushu's homecoming gifts? He loves us so much that he brought us not one, but TWO chipmunks! He was so proud of himself; despite the gross factor of being 'given' a chipmunk, it was hard not to praise him for his efforts.



Unfortunately, the first chipmunk didn't make it... I think Mushu snapped his neck before bringing him in. We must not have seemed appreciative enough though because the second chipmunk he brought us was alive, just in shock. Shawn was even able to hold him!



It's not often you get to hold a live chipmunk in your hand. Shawn let him out in the front yard but Mushu was watching him the entire time. I'm not sure if the chipmunk made it after all that, but we're happy to report that was the last of Mushu's gift giving, at least for now.


And that ends the round-up of our first week back.
It's delightful to be home again.

We're Almost On The Move...

Saturday is the big day! Moving day, to be specific. Some friends are swinging by to help us move the bigger items like the couch, bed, and our desks... things that won't fit in my tiny hatchback. Aside from that, most other things are already at the house. Our now-minimalistic apartment is actually kind of sad... the walls are bare, the fridge is almost empty, and there's nothing left in any of the many closets. We've spent two years here and all we really have to show for it are a couple of pictures and some memories. This move is bittersweet - I'm sad to leave the job and people that I've gotten to know for the last two years, but I'm really excited to see what happens next, and to be back amongst old friends.

We made two trips this past weekend; our usual Friday night-Saturday trip, and another ride out Monday-Tuesday to celebrate my brother's birthday. I made him a key lime cheesecake on Monday night, along with some candied lime zest (...which would have turned out slightly more attractive had I not forgotten to pick up some superfine sugar and ended up having to use granulated cane sugar instead) I don't make cheesecake very often because it's usually too rich for my tastes, but I was happy to oblige at my brother's request.



The pre-cheesecake scene... siblings and cats; I love looking at the living room from this arial view:



Speaking of the cats, I've shown you plenty of photos of them already but never introduced them on the blog...


They are Mushu and Bamboo; they both enjoy lounging in the sun and being pet often, and Mushu also likes to get in your way when you're trying to get any sort of work done. They're my parents' cats but I think they may be staying with us once the rest of the family moves to Switzerland... they were confined to the top floor of the house when the dogs were around, and they've really been enjoying having full reign again since the dogs were moved. Either way, we're happy to have them around.

Bamboo gets grumpy when Shawn picks him up though... why so grumpy, kitty?



Here's a strange sight from Tuesday afternoon:


I heard the sound of something hitting one of the windows by the deck, and found these two birds lying there. Upon closer inspection, it looks like they may have been mating and didn't realize that they came upon a window. Poor things...


But, to end this post on a bit of a happier note - I made brown sugar from scratch the other day! I've been out of brown sugar for a while now but haven't bought more since we're trying to work our way through everything in the apartment. It's surprisingly easy to make your own - for every one cup of white sugar add 1 tablespoon of molasses and whisk it until all of the molasses is incorporated (that took about 5-6 minutes with my kitchen aid). What a difference it makes! The sugar itself was so incredibly fluffy, and the cookies I made with it were by far the chewiest cookies I've ever made. I might just start making my own brown sugar from now on - why spend the money on it when I always have the ingredients on hand to make it?



Next time I post, it will be from my desk in New Jersey!

Another Weekend

Things have been quiet on the blog lately because life in general hasn't been very exciting. Our weekends consist of gradually moving things from the apartment to the house, and my weekdays are consumed with the last of my work days at the coffee shop. So between coffee, baking, and spending time in a nearly empty apartment (we're moving all our electronics and smaller furniture this weekend, leaving us with a bed, couch, and some empty desks) and weekends spent organizing and cleaning things at the house... every day is just a waiting game until the end of the month.


We can't wait to be back in New Jersey for good! These last few weeks have felt just like this time two years ago... a period of being in limbo and not quite feeling like we're living anywhere anymore. We're both ready to just be done with all this moving. Can we please just skip forward to one and half weeks from now?

Cats and Burgers

...that's mainly what this last weekend consisted of. Along with a good ol' Jersey diner breakfast with friends, moving various furniture around, organizing things in the kitchen, and some deep cleaning of the pantry. I didn't get pictures of the latter though; you really don't want to know what the pantry looked like before we attacked it with cleaning products....



25 Burgers are the best of the fast-food burgers; don't even try to argue otherwise.



These cats needed some spring-time grooming!



They woke us up at 7am demanding to be fed.
Waking up that early is so much more pleasant when cats are involved though.

We've already moved most of our odds and ends from the apartment to the house; all we have left to move is all of our furniture, clothes, electronics, and various kitchen things. In less than twenty days we should be all moved in! There's still so much cleaning to do though, on both ends!

The Weekend Is Finally Here!

It's been a busy week, to say the least. Today is my first real day off since last Wednesday... I actually had Wednesday off this week too but I spent the entire day (from 7:30am - 9:30pm) running driving around New Jersey. Needless to say, I am exhausted and happy to sit around and not do much of anything on this drearily grey Satur-day.

Oh, and seasonal allergies have been getting the best of me since Tuesday morning, so sleep has been minimal and I've gone through almost two full boxes of tissues already. I finally picked up some Benadryl Thursday night and it seems to be helping because last night was the first night I was able to sleep straight through without waking up to blow my nose every half hour. I love spring, but I hate the sickness it brings.

Here are a few photos taken with my phone during my travels on Wednesday:



Keyport Yacht Club pier - it figures that my first day going to the 'beach' in over two years was a cloudy rainy day... beautiful photo though!




Lemon cupcake with lemon buttercream and sprinkles - can you believe it's entirely vegan?! It inspired me to make something similar for the shop (lemon raspberry cupcakes - yummy!).




Luna, one more time - I know I said two weeks ago that it was the last time seeing the dogs, but I was wrong. Wednesday was actually my last time seeing the dogs for a while. My parents and the two furry friends arrived safely in Switzerland yesterday.

Shawn and I have been busy packing our Pennsylvania life into various boxes all week too. Oh, didn't I tell you? We're moving back to New Jersey at the end of April! With my family moving to Switzerland, we're moving into the New Jersey house as 'care-takers' but also as a young couple who just wants to save some money so we can buy our own place one day. But that's all I'm going to say about that right now.

Here's to Saturday; a day of rest, good movies, and maybe a delicious homemade meal if we get around to it.

Scenes From A NJ Road Trip

Last week we took a trip out to New Jersey to visit our families. Despite some bad news that put a slight damper on the day, we had a delicious lunch with my parents and siblings and then visited Shawn's mom at her equally delicious workplace. Our families treat us so well when we visit... sesame chicken salad for lunch, a homemade pear & chocolate tart for dessert, and a bag of locally roasted coffee? How come we don't visit more often?!

I'm pretty sure everyone who reads this blog is either family or friend and already knows this, but just in case I'm wrong, here's a small tidbit of information that I haven't mentioned before... over the next few months my family is gradually moving to Switzerland for a few years (and leaving Shawn and I behind, those bastards!). They're taking the dogs and the cats with them too, and since the dogs are scheduled to fly out next week, this was our last chance to see them for a while. Not that I don't love seeing my family too, but I know they'll be able to travel back to visit more often than the dogs will.

Shawn and the dogs have a special relationship - he used to housesit them when my family would go on vacation - in fact, I think they're usually happier to see him than they are to see me!



Check out that bear face. (It's no wonder we call him a big bear...) Kusko was growling right before these were taken, but don't mistake that for unhappiness - his smile will tell you otherwise. Malamutes make such interesting noises!




Shawn loves Luna, Luna loves Shawn.




I caught a Luna smile on camera! It's nearly impossible!

.....

And, on a completely different note, here's another photo from that day...



Shawn wears a beanie pretty much all the time, so whenever he takes it off his hair tends to be a crazy mess of Kramer hair. After arriving home from our road trip though it looked more like Ace Ventura hair, so he had me snap a photo.


Between the three of them, this turned out to be a very hairy post indeed.

Thoughts on Moving - Part 2 - The Pieces Fit?!

Alright, picking up where I left off...

A few months into the city search we set our sights on Philadelphia. I know, I know, I shot the idea down at first but somehow Shawn eventually convinced me to at least consider it. And with a reluctant sigh, I did. Now, you're probably wondering why I was so against the idea of moving to Philadelphia at first. You are, aren't you? Well, I used to be of the belief that Philly is dirty and dangerous and too long of a drive to get to because of traffic. Why? I don't know, I guess other people's opinions of the city led me to believe as such. Well, I must say I've been proven wrong.

My only real complaint about Philly and its surrounding areas is that driving anywhere sucks! The highways are always backed up and getting in and out of the city is nearly impossible at most hours of the day. But it gets a little better once you get closer to the suburbs, where we are.

But I'm getting side tracked here - lets get back to the point, about how it all came together. We visited Philly a few times and I started looking for jobs on craigslist… and that's how I met Tim Noble, of Town Hall Coffee in Merion Station. The place was still being put together at the time, but he liked me enough to guarantee me a job whenever Shawn and I could find a place to live. And so the apartment hunt began.

We initially looked at some places in center city but then decided it'd be best to find a place closer to my job. It only took three tries before we found it, and when we saw the place we immediately knew that was it, it just felt right. So after an agonizing two weeks of feeling like we were in limbo (between finding out the place was ours, to the day we picked up the keys), and then an even more agonizing unexpected three days wait that forced us to move in over 2 days instead of 4… and after several trips to Ikea and Target and local grocery stores, we finally, finally, feel completely moved in. I'd say I feel at home too, but I honestly feel like I'm on vacation in someone else's home with all my belongings in it… it's slowly dawning on me that we live here and all this is ours, and it's just us, and it's fantastic!

And the job? It's awesome! The guys I work with are great and I love being able to interact with customers again. It's great to be a part of something so new! And I get to bake scones too! It's all very exciting.

And so, finally, after months of searching, much frustration, an overabundance of stress, and a lot of patience, the pieces fit.

:)


Italian hoagies for lunch on the makeshift table; Day Two

Thoughts on Moving - Part 1 - How it All Started

Alright, it's finally time for a Marine post :)

Shawn and I have been ready to move for weeks now - boxes have been gradually getting packed since we were approved for our apartment, but we've been mentally prepared to move since the first few setbacks we encountered. Now, if you've never moved from one city to another, you might not know what I mean by 'setbacks'… let me tell you a story and then give you some examples.

A few months ago Shawn and I looked at each other and decided it was time we start looking for a place to live together; we've both been living at our parents' houses for a few years now and it's just time to get out and start creating our own life. Of course the first question on our minds was - Where do we even start looking? You might not believe it, but we kinda love New Jersey, and it's really hard to leave! In the same token, the cost of living in NJ is completely ridiculous and way out of our means, so we knew we had to look elsewhere. Shawn's first suggestion was Philadelphia, and I shot that down pretty quickly (come on, we're from Jersey! We hate PA!) Other cities were then considered: Providence, Washington DC, Boston, etc… one thing was clear, we wanted to stay on the east coast.

Moving on to the second question on our minds - What about jobs? It's one thing to throw some money down and move somewhere, but don't you want to make sure you're moving somewhere with the ability to support yourself after the move? Here began the endless craigslist searches for not just apartments but also job opportunities - with no specific location in mind yet. At one point, with the help of a little social networking, I was able to line up a job interview near DC, but that plan flew out the window with the uncanny timing of the east coast's first big snowstorm - both canceling my interview and my desire to work there, and also succeeding in convincing us we really didn't want to move down there anyway.

The rest of the job search consisted of countless email responses to craigslist ads, with an unfortunate amount of "It's a pity you don't know when you'll be moving/can't start immediately" responses. It was a little heartbreaking at first, but we trudged through. At some point, we finally set our sights on Philadelphia, and that's when the fun really began and it all started to really come together…

But I'll cut this short (ha!) and continue in another post.

Stay tuned for: Thoughts on Moving - Part 2 - The Pieces Fit?!

:)