I Wrastled a Cat Once...

I know my photos of Jack and Charlotte have been lacking lately, so I took this video last night of their evening antics.

Enjoy, and happy Friday!

Kinsey

2011 Taxes: Check

Can you imagine sitting at home on a cool, cloudy February Saturday, with this going on in the background while you try to file your taxes (for the first time as a married couple)?

I didn't think so.

I'm proud to say, however, that our 2011 taxes are complete! Now, on to celebrate my birthday tonight:]

Enjoy your 3 day weekend!

Kinsey

Valentine's Delight

Hi there!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Last week was crazy, and this weekend I didn't find the time or topics to blog about until it was too late! Oh well, fortunately this week will have lots of blog worthy subject matter, as Valentine's Day and my birthday are only one day apart:]

This Sunday, I got a wild hare to make homemade Valentine's. Fortunately, I have an amazingly sweet husband who gladly cooperated--even when I decided we needed to make Valentine's to and from Jack and Charlotte too.

Here's what we did:

First, we gathered the supplies. My Mother-in-Law has an amazing amount of fabric stored up from years of collecting. I'm really envious of her collection, but I realized while crafting this weekend that I have a similarly stocked craft supply selection. Just look at all of the stickers...and these are only the ones that applied to V-Day!

Here's the card Charlotte made for Jack. Two little known facts: Jack's (made up) middle name is Keats, and Charlotte has amazing handwriting.

Here's Charlotte's card from Jack. Turns out Jack has sad handwriting, and writes lots of his letters backwards. The paw print in the middle of the heart is really his (proof below).

Don't worry, animal people--the paint was non-toxic and safe.

Here is Jack's Valentine from us (Thomas hand painted it!)

And, here is Charlotte's Valentine from us, made with leftover paper from our envelope liners.

The others (ours to each other) are still a surprise as we won't be exchanging until tonight. Even if you aren't into Valentine's Day as a commercial, spendy holiday, we had lots of fun making all of these cards for free and spending time together doing it.

Enjoy your day!

-T, K, J & C

Peanut Butter Cookies

Hey there!

This week, Thomas has been begging me to bake. So, finally, I agreed that if he would be my photographer, I would bake up some peanut butter cookies.

I love peanut butter, and this recipe is super super easy. I think I finished these cookies faster than any I've ever baked--the process took less than 45 minutes total.

You'll need:

First, soften the butter.

Next, mix the dry ingredients.

Blend together the butter and peanut butter, then add the sugars.

Add the egg.

Next, gradually add the dry ingredients.

The dough will be fairly sticky, and should form a ball.

Scoop the dough in 3/4 inch rounds onto an ungreased baking sheet, then gently press it down with a fork.

Sprinkle the raw cookies with sugar (I used sugar in the raw) and bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Cream softened butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and egg. Gradually add dry ingredients. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet an inch apart. Flatten the cookies slightly with a fork, then bake for 8-10 minutes at 350F.

Enjoy!

Kinsey

p.s. Charlotte is a coat keeper.

Tail Wars

Below is a scene from a completely regular Monday night at the Mahan house. It all starts with a game of tail wars.

Jealous?

One small step for man...

This weekend was a big one for us as we joined the rest of the world and had a DVR installed!

It's something we've wanted to do for months now, but couldn't justify spending wise. Fortunately we got some Christmas money this year that--instead of spending it right away--we deposited into our bank account as a "this will cover the DVR upgrade for the next 12 months" kind of thing. As an added bonus, we upgraded to the U-200 package (we have U-Verse), which got us around 70 more channels and a DVR for only $10 more per month!

One of our favorite new channels is the Cooking channel. We absolutely love the show Two Fat Ladies, mostly because the fat ladies remind us of Jack and Charlotte (or how we think they would be if they could talk). Here's an excerpt, if you haven't seen the show:

Funnily enough, now that we have a DVR, we keep forgetting to use it. As soon as the commercials start, Thomas will revert to his usual habit of flipping channels and a few seconds will go by before the lightbulb of "oh wait we have a DVR now" comes on. Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll end up wondering how we ever lived without it for so long.

I hope you're having an excellent Sunday--here are some cute animal photos to tide you over until next week.

-Kinsey

Chester the Garm-ester

Last week was quite the long and stressful one. I'm so glad it's behind me, and I have to say, 2012 can only get better.

Thomas finished up his internship this Friday, and will now be looking for full-time work. He has been searching, but finding a job in his industry in this economy is tough. Fortunately we have amazing connections, and I know he'll find something soon. He is going to do some freelance work for the studio where he's been interning, and he's super excited to be doing 'real audio guy stuff.'

One exciting development this week was the delivery of my new Garmin Nüvi. I always thought the idea of having a GPS was kind of pointless (I mean, I have an iPhone, duh) but having moved to Atlanta and gotten lost while trying to get on the highway/look at a tiny iPhone screen one too many times, I decided that--for the safety of myself and the city at large--I would much rather have a device that yells directions at me.

So, Chester the Garmin was born. I searched for him over the holiday while Thomas' dad was here (we have the same passion for bargain hunting, but he has more experience) and found a great deal on Amazon. I decided on the Nüvi 1350LMT, which comes with lifetime maps and traffic updates (hence the LMT at the end--that one took me a while to figure out). The 1350LMT model is regularly priced at $209, but I got it for a mere $118! BONUS.

I have to say, even though it's been less than a week, I already know that my favorite feature on this particular model is the lane-assist capability. I think one of the hardest things about driving in an unfamiliar place is figuring out after making a left turn what you'll be doing next, and changing lanes accordingly. With Chester, it's easy! He's like "turn left here, then turn right" and I'm all "Got it. THANKS CHESTER!"

I've used Chester to find my way around all weekend, and I'm proud to say that I haven't gotten lost once! One important thing to mention is that I'm actually using the "Jill" aka female voice to yell directions, but Chester seemed like a fitting name anyway. Here we are on our first ride together:

Here are a few other fun pictures from this week:

Charlotte's typical morning antics. She's a dirty beggar.

A big ol' couch full of girls. Here we are posing before heading out to celebrate Julie's birthday. 

Addy, Julie, and I at the Koo Koo Room in Midtown. [See if you can spot B-Spears in the background.]

The brunch of champions--Thomas and I shared the chili cheese slaw dog at Home Grown and met up with some friends visiting from Lubbock.

I hope that you all have an excellent week and that the new year isn't getting the best of you just yet.

-T, K, J, & C

Santa Doggie

On the first night Thomas' family was here, we had a Christmas present palooza! They got us a ton of great gifts, some of our favorites being:

Some deliciously warm house booties.

A really fun helicopter (quite difficult to fly, but Jacker loves chasing it).

A beautiful leaf wrap ring from Sundance (also, if you're wondering, the nail polish in this photo is Glitzerland by OPI).

And some adorable matching pajamas (as well as other clothing I'm sure you'll see in future pictures).

I have to say, though, one of the most fun gifts was Jack's present--an adorable Santa suit! Last night when I attempted to take pictures of the suit, Jack wasn't cooperating. As a bribe, Thomas took the opportunity to give him his heartworm pill (in a hearty spoonful of peanut butter of course). Here are the antics that ensued:

(Please notice Charlotte creepin behind the tree).

Another amazing gift was the stocking Thomas' mom made for me. She collected birds from his dad's baby blanket when they were first married, and has saved them since then to make custom stockings for each child and their future spouse. I have to say that this stocking is one of the most beautiful and thoughtful gifts I've ever received. I love it! Fiiiine, I'll stop yammering on and just show you already.

Here is Thomas' as well. Isn't it cute?! I love the star theme.

Well, this marks the last Christmas/New Years/family visit post. We're sad to see the holiday season go, but we are looking forward to what's the come in the new year and getting back into our now familiar routine. We have lots going on this week and weekend, but I hope to keep up with posting as much as possible. If I don't though, what can I say? I'm probably just sitting around photographing my dog in a Santa suit.

-T, K, J, & C

2011 Recap

2011 was a great year. We accomplished lots of things, went lots of places, and met lots of people. If I had a bucket list, I would have kicked lots of the things on it as of this year.

Lets recap a bit about what went on, shall we?

The 21st birthday

The engagement photos

The showers

The graduation(s)

The wedding

The move

The tree

The kitty

The job(s)

It was a scary, exciting, adventurous, memorable, out-of-our-comfort zone type of year! And do you want to hear my new years resolution? To spend 2012 napping and recovering.

I hope you all have a safe and fun New Years Eve, and that 2012 finds you happy, healthy, and hopeful.

-T, K, J, & C