We interrupt this regularly scheduled wedding recap to bring you the apparent storm of the century. Scratch that – this century is not that old. How about the worst storm in 70 YEARS?
That is not normal.
I am a big baby when it comes to storms. So when they talk about the Great Lakes Cyclone and hurricane force winds, I’m not really jumping for joy in my swaying apartment building. If you see me tweeting frantically about these fears tomorrow morning, feel free to disregard.
Phew. Glad I got that off my chest. 😉
Moving on, the recap of the reception is coming, but I’m waiting to get the rest of our pictures and some video first! The night was truly amazing and I hope to share some fun sights and sounds.
In the meantime, I wanted to share our attempts at getting back to “normal” around here. While getting married has definitely changed us emotionally in many wonderful ways, our day-to-day routine hasn’t changed too much…and we don’t mind.
Even as we bask in the newlywed glow, we can’t help but meander back toward our usual habits.
That photo alone tells you just how “normal” things are getting. 😉
We celebrated our one-week anniversary as a married couple with a fantastic dinner Saturday night.
Our usual chicken stir-fry was taken up a notch with the addition of asparagus to the veggies and a heaping helping of brown rice on the side. But first, a lovely appetizer of salted edamame.
We capped off the meal with a bottle of Ménage à Trois Red. Oh, how I missed red wine! We swore off it a few weeks before the wedding in an attempt to have stainless pearly whites for our pictures! 
But it’s back in our lives now – and will definitely play a big role in our upcoming honeymoon!
We enjoyed every last bite of our meal while watching Angels & Demons. Unfortunately, the movie itself was not as enjoyable. Tom Hanks is just not Robert Langdon. No offense, Tom.
The next morning we woke with the normal cravings for a spiced up Sunday breakfast and decided to satisfy them by breaking out our new griddle pan!
Papa Bender recently gave me this Harry & David Apple-Cinnamon Pancake Mix.
It looked absolutely delish, so we decided to give it a try! Just add water…a very simple instruction.
We heated up the griddle plan and used 1/4 cup batter per pancake. Sizzle…and flip!
It took a little getting used to our new griddle. Some burnt pancakes may have been involved, but fortunately I like ’em that way. The first batch turned out splendidly, though!
The apple-cinnamon flavoring was hinted throughout. We were definitely fans of the mix! Thanks, PB!!
Later that afternoon, we caught up on The Office and Bobby made us fresh sandwiches.
He used two slices of Arnold whole wheat bread with sliced deli turkey, Swiss cheese, mushrooms, cucumbers and spinach. A little honey mustard was thrown on top for a kick and a fresh honeycrisp apple adorned the sides of the plate – er, towel. Bobby also chose the dishware, clearly. 😉
We also split a bag of Multigrain chips from Food Should Taste Good, which were one of the goodies featured in our wedding gift bags (more to come on that in a future post)! I really love this brand. The sweet potato and olive varieties are even more amazing!
Our last bit of normalcy came on Sunday night after Bobby came home from his usual evening soccer game. We brought out the Annie’s Whole Wheat Shells & White Cheddar and added shrimp for some protein. A definite favorite meal – I love that powdered cheese!
Though I’ve been talking a lot about what’s considered normal for us in this post, you may have noticed an unusual figure lurking in the background of one of my lunch sandwich pictures.
Yes, we created an astronaut costume for the bear – who is appropriately named “Bear” – I’ve had since birth. Yes, this was in honor of the upcoming Halloween weekend. Yes, this may be considered strange by many people, yourself included.
No, this is not actually unusual. In fact, this is just par for the course in our neck of the woods.
But if this is “normal,” then I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What “normal” activities are you up to this week?
Abrazos,
not gonna lie, astronaut bear kind of makes my day.
hope you stay dry!
It sounds like married life is going so well for you both. Love that you guys are settling in so nicely together.
I love that wine! The white is also fantastic. 😉
Glad things are going well! I love Bear-I wish my childhood toy had been able to tough it out until my 20’s. Unfortunately, “Clownie” had a shorter life expectancy than Bear…
Those pancakes look awesome! I just bought some nut butter at H & D last weekend. Loove the astronaut costume- too cute!
Glad you guys are getting back in the swing of things 🙂 Isn’t is so fun to use all of your new wedding presents? The pancakes look very yum. I think fruit in pancakes should be a requirement!! Those food should taste good chips are my favorite. I think thats so cute that you get a costume for your bear. Hope the rest of your week is wonderful. Normal things this week- work, cooking, baking, gym action 😉
I’m laughing that they are calling it Stormageddon!!!! Though driving to work this morning was a challenge even here in NW Indiana! Bad accident closed Rt 30 (not good during rush hour) so I had to wind through back roads. THEN I find out that 125 flights thus far have been cancelled at O’hare! Thankfully we don’t fly out until this afternoon…out of Midway! Whew!
Ah, Heather! I was thinking of you this morning – thank goodness you fly out of Midway! Good luck and HAVE FUN! I’m sure it will be an amazing trip. 🙂
Wow, no red wine before the wedding? That’s dedication, my dear! 🙂 Sounds like a relaxing and fun weekend- I’m sure you needed it after the wedding celebrations!
Ahh we got the storm last night. I couldn’t sleep…just waiting for the tornado sirens to sound!!
This week is the usual workout/work/dinner/bed routine, with a few exceptions. GLEE is back, I’m giving up mindless handfuls of sweets, and I get to visit my boyfriend in Florida on THURSDAY!
Congratulations again –can’t wait for the reception recap!
I’m terrified of storms/tornadoes as well 🙁 Currently, we’re under a tornado watch and I’m contemplating where in this office building is the safest spot…
HEE !! I HAVE THE VERY SAME PLATES ! (paper towels!) 😉
I LOVE Food Should Taste Good !!
stay safe – I hope the storm is not too freaky – I totally know what you mean, but I will not tell you stories NOW. 🙂 just stock up on the red wine, you’ll be FINE !
Congrats on the wedding! Its always nice to get back to normal things! If that includes red wine, even better! : )
Odd as it may sound, I kind of crave normalcy after a period of celebration–I’m such a creature of habit, I need my routines back!
Lovin those pancakes:)
omg i want that stir fry! i saw it while i was out in the field this morning and it was all i could think about! too bad i failed to remember it for dinner tonight. boo. tomorrow FO SHO!
<3 you and hope that storm isn't as bad as they let it out to be. flashlights and candles everywhere!!!
Aww, Bear! Reminds me of my pet mouse, which i named mouser… lol. looks like you’ve settled in to a nice little routine there 🙂 manage a trois and all!! 😉
Glad you’re doing well! Trammell and I are huge fans of Menage a Trois–I actually went to their vineyard when I was in Napa last year!
Thank you SO much for the tip on Menage a Trois! Love that you and Jen are fans – and Bobby and I have added it to our list of places to visit when we go to Napa in November! If you have any other tips, I’d love to hear them. 🙂
I love storms! Something about listening to the wind and rain, with the threat of the power going out, all while being inside and warm and dry. Sure, power outages suck in some respects, but they are also kind of liberating at the same time.
You are a much braver woman than me! 🙂 I like your attitude, though. I should take a page out of your book!
[…] no secret that I love making chicken. We buy it in bulk from Costco and use it in pastas, stir-frys and baked all by itself. Well, I kid you not – this time, it was the best chicken I have EVER […]