Why I love him, version 367

Because he stops by one of the many Ann Arbor chocolate shops on frequent occasion to buy me yummy treats (white chocolate covered pretzels and turtles). That is love.

I say hotdish, you say WTF?

Hotdish. Yes. I'm from the Midwest. We don't use the word 'casserole'. It's hotdish, get it straight. Tonight I am taking down the culinary road of the hotdish, yes, the famed Tater Tot Hotdish is on le menu for this evening. And for all of you haters out there, just try it, you'll like it.

Tater Tot Hotdish:
Serves 4

2 cans green beans (I use 1 cut and 1 french style)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 8 oz. tub sour cream
1/2 package Lipton onion soup mix
1 lb ground beef
tater tots

Brown ground beef, rinse and drain. Combine all ingredients (minus the tater tots) in a bowl and stir until mixed. Place is baking dish and top single file with tater tots (lay them down, don't stand them up). Place is 400 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes until tots are brown and hotdish is HOT and bubbly. Scoop onto plate and enjoy!

Bon appetite

Pumpkins!

My company sponsered a day at a local pumpkin patch. Mike and I walked around, drank apple cider made fresh on the premisis, ate doughnuts, took a hayride and picked a HUGE 27 pound pumpkins. Watch for pictures to come from the carving to take place this week.


As you can see, Mike had a fantastic time.

Autumn

It's definitely here. The air is crisp, the leaves in Michigan are absolutely gorgeous, and it finally really feels like fall. This morning it was 36 degrees when I got to work, although it isn't suppose to be that cold again for some time. I am excited to dig out my scarves, wear my new pink wool coat and new leather gloves I bought this weekend.

I love fall clothing. There is just something about getting dressed in warm and comfortable fabrics like courdoroy, cashmere, wool and tweed. I look forward to wearing those clothes all year long.

I've been buying a lot of clothes again lately. It's just one of those phases where I hate everything in my closet and I want to replenish. I went to the Limited on Friday and found a very cute white dress shirt for 9.99. When I went to buy it the sales girl said "ohhhh" and proceeded to tell my that my steal of a shirt was a mistake. That shirt had just arrived and wasn't scheduled to be on the sales floor yet, and definitely not at that price. So, she gave it to me anyway, which was awesome! Nothing like a bargain to start your weekend off right.

Chicago

The Chicago trip was a blast. In 24 hours we checked out Buckingham Fountain, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, The Field Museum (one of the coolest marble buildings I've ever seen...see pic above of the ceiling), the Magnificent Mile and a Jason Mraz concert. It was a quick trip, but very fun and we had a blast.