First spring

We finally got to see our first two flowers in the new house. We've spent so much time cleaning up leaves outside lately and it's exciting to finally see flowers!

We also held our first party, which meant we had to whip the house into shape. We decided to paint the kitchen which turned into a larger project. Doesn't it always? I'll post before and after pictures soon.

The party was a surprise birthday party for my mom. (shh, she turned 60) We invited my aunts and uncles, they all came. Which meant we didn't have enough chairs for everyone.

People liked the house inside and out. I think it was a success. Mom was certainly surprised.

A little snow?

We got a little snow and did a little shoveling. Notice how the driveway is nearly dry. Imagine how much had already melted. Killer icicles hanging from the eaves too.

Our first turkey and Christmas

Mike's company gave out free turkeys for Thanksgiving and he really wanted to cook it on Christmas Eve to start a new tradition with just us.

So, I found a simple recipe from Ina Garten, Mike made mashed potatoes, and it all worked out well! You always hear horror stories about young wives who forgot to take the giblets out, or forgot to defrost it, etc. I don't know if I'm ready to serve a big Thanksgiving dinner just yet, but I'd have no problem doing this next year.

And after we carved up the meat, I made some stock according to local food guy Michael Ruhlman's directions. I have about 8 ziplock bags of frozen turkey stock in 2 cup increments.

Christmas card

I know I'm a little behind in posting this, but here is what our Christmas cards looked like this year. I only sent about 10 out, mostly to people who sent us a card.

I wasn't going to do them at all but I figured that by next year no one will care about our wedding pictures or new house pictures.