The countdown begins

I took the first part of my prelims today! This about sums it up...

via PhD comics

via Huffington Post

Now I have 1 week to finish the take-home exam (which is a series of essays) and then I'll be done!!

New Christmas Tradition

Dan and I cut down our very first Christmas tree this weekend!

Ever since I can remember, my family has always had an artificial tree, so I was SUPER excited to get a real one this year. We decided to go to a tree farm and cut one down for ourselves and make it our new family tradition. After Christmas last year I bought a bunch of holiday decorations and ornaments on sale, so I've been planning for our first tree for a while.

The tree farm was really cute and had a bunch of wreaths, garland, and pre-cut trees to choose from as well as several fields of trees to cut down. They even had complimentary cider in their Christmas shop (which was really convenient, since we went on one of the coldest days this year!)

We walked the rows of trees for a bit and found one we liked right off the bat, but wanted to keep looking. Next year we'll have to bring flags or ribbon or something because it probably took us twice as long to go back and find the one we originally picked. They all started to look the same!

The winner! We decided on a petite 5 1/2 ft Balsam Fir. 

Dan making the first cut.

Next we brought it back to be shook and baled. We were going to tie it on top of our car, but since we picked a smaller one it fit nicely in the back with our seat down. Now our car smells amazing!

Abbey isn't too sure about our new addition! We bought a pretty sturdy stand, so hopefully we won't wake up to a tipped over tree. So far she's more interested in the water at the base than the actual tree.

I bought a bunch of preppy ornaments last winter, so we have a lot of stripes, dots, and plaid going on. I'm hoping to get a plaid tree skirt at some point too.

Stockings! We don't have a mantle over our fireplace (and I don't want these to catch fire). The tiny plaid one in the middle is for Abbey.

Our front door wreath.

I made these last year out of baby popsicle sticks and red paint. I'm actually surprised they are still intact, since they are pretty fragile. 

Our place is very cozy now and it smells SO good! I'm so glad we got a real tree this year and I think we'll cut one down every year as our little family tradition.

Christmas is coming!

Office Make-Over

This semester I moved into a different office. It was a hot mess. I need my workspace to be peaceful and organized and pretty. It just makes life better. So my first task when we got back from Norway was to settle into this new space.

The before pictures:

Whoa. Where to even begin. I first painted over the writing on the walls, brought in my plants and curtains, painted my new desk black, got rid of a bunch of crap, cleaned and organized and then cleaned and organized again. I also bought a couch. Here is where I ended up:

RA space #1

RA space #2

Kitchen area in the middle

My desk area.

Stacy's desk area (other graduate student). 

Artwork curtesy of Stacy's adorable kids.

Couch in the middle, right when you walk in.

It is Muuuuuuch better! The little couch is velvety and the "vintage" look goes well with the other outdated pieces in the room. I'm calling it my therapy couch. This inexpensive make-over has made the countless hours studying in this windowless room infinitely better. Now I just need to ace my prelim exams in December!

Pie Making

To continue my quest for domesticity, I decided I should learn how to make an apple pie from scratch.  I've never made a pie crust from scratch on my own and I figured I should start with the all-American apple pie. I ended up slicing my finger while cutting an apple, but other than that the process wasn't too bad. It did take quite a while though. 

We received a beautiful pie dish as a wedding present (thanks Ward Tatge!), but I had been using it as decoration on our coffee table. So I literally dusted the dish off and began the process. I used a recipe for the crust that didn't require Crisco or butter, since those have hydrogenated oils and Dan says those are slowly killing us. The filling was a recipe from Pioneer Woman. 

(Pardon the asymmetrical vents. I apparently need to hone my slicing skills.)

It was of course delicious, but it took me about 2 hours of prep time, so I don't think I'll be making pies on a regular basis. I'm glad I finally used our pie dish though!

Bread Making

When we were in Oklahoma to pick up Abbey, I went to a few thrift stores with my dad and found a bread maker for $1.50. Yep. That cheap. It was marked down from $7, so it was a really good deal. Though, I probably would have paid the full 7. I love this thing. Ask any of my former roommates about my love affair with bread and they'll tell you some embarrassing stories. Bread making (and bread eating) is my new hobby and I think it is the perfect hobby for winter. Plus our apartment smells amazing. All the time. And let's face it, I needed to up my domestic skills after the laundry incident.

It is SO easy. Having a bread machine makes the whole process less scary. When I was little, my mom would occasionally make bread with us. I've been told I liked to compare the soft dough to my baby sister's tummy. I remember it being very messy, flour all over the counter, and then you had to find that perfect spot to let it rise. The bread machine does all that for you. Seriously, all you do is put in all the ingredients and 4 hours later your house smells amazing and you have a loaf of bread.

I've experimented with different wheat recipes, but so far I haven't found one that made a great wheat loaf. The white loaf is delicious though!

I've also made pizza dough and dough for chicken and dumplings!

I told Dan we're never buying store bought bread again. We'll see how long my new hobby lasts.

Mishaps

This is why communication in a marriage is important:

Last night I came home from seeing the musical Chicago with one of my friends. Dan was at the gym. I've been in the process of whitening all of our white linens, since they were becoming a little drab. So I decided to whiten our white duvet cover next. I fill the washer half full with water and then pour in the bleach. I let it fill all the way to the top, before I stuff in our king sized cover. Dan comes home from the gym and asks if I dried his clothes already. Um no. Apparently, before Dan went to the gym he decided to do a load of his favorite shirts (emphasis on favorite) and I poured bleach all over them. And now we have to go shopping for a new wardrobe for Dan. Lesson learned.

Train to Oslo

The train to Oslo from Bergen takes about 7 hours, but the scenery along the way is beautiful! We rode along several fjords and passed through central Norway.

Voss water anyone?

Snow!

The water is so clear you can see the bottom in many parts.

Krakow, Poland

When we arrived in Krakow we immediately checked into our hotel and took a nap. We visited the Divine Mercy Sanctuary, Auschwitz, and toured downtown Krakow. We decided not to take pictures at Auschwitz and I don't think I'm going to blog about it, mostly because I'm not even sure how to put the experience into words.

Dan has been reading the diary of Saint Faustina, so visiting the Divine Mercy Sanctuary on his birthday was really special for him (he turned 30 by the way! Crazy!) The grounds are made up of several buildings, including the basilica, the chapel which contains the original painting, and the convent of nuns. The basilica has an observation tower with great views of Krakow and the surrounding area.

Downtown was beautiful and I hope we get to come back to enjoy it for longer. We also had a really amazing dinner here of some sort of cheese dumplings. 

Then it was back on a plane to Bergen with a layover in Copenhagen. Dan was able to get some great pictures from the air.

We arrived in Bergen around midnight and soon discovered our building did not have power, which is a problem when we have to use an electronic key card to get in. Luckily a security van passed by shortly after we were considering sleeping in my office and let us in. The power came back on sometime while we were sleeping. We were in Bergen for less than 24 hours, before jumping on a train to Oslo.