Monday: Brian's 21st Birthday

21st Birthday Urban Dictionary Definition (classy, I know): The individual whose birthday it is, gets completely and totally intoxicated with the help of friends/family that eventually leads to uncontrollable actions and the loss of self-respect and any dignity the individual has.


Brian's 21st birthday is this coming up Wednesday - and since I'm not 21, I obviously couldn't buy him a bottle of wine or a bottle of champagne to help him celebrate...So instead, I bought him different types of glasses that he can use for drinks.

We already have one wine glass (originally we had two, but one broke when we moved into our apartment, so now we just have one) - so I bought him a matching wine glass. I also bought two 20 oz wine glasses....These things are HUGE, and I mean that literally. "Normal" wine glasses are 10.5 oz - so the bigger glass is almost twice the size. Additionally, I bought him two martini glasses, they are pretty standard at 6 oz each. Also, I bought two champagne flutes (I can't remember the ounces, but they are small-ish).

Brian absolutely loved his present - and I loved the expressions on his face. Here are a few of my favorite expressions when he was unwrapping everything:

Now, you have to realize that Brian's been talking about getting glasses for the last few days. I'm not even kidding you - easily once a day he would say "I really gotta think about when I'm going to get glasses so that I have them before my birthday". Little did he know that I was already planning on getting him glasses :)

Here's a picture of all of the glasses as well as the happy birthday man:

(If you're curious, his shirt says "Participation. Empowerment. Change. We are the SSI")

What's been your favorite gift to give someone on their 21st birthday? What has been the worst gift you've given, or have received? Let me know in the comments!

Foodie Friday: Cream O' Mushroom Soup Rice

I meant to post this yesterday (Friday), but I kept forgetting to upload the pictures from my iPod to my laptop.

For the last week or so, Brian has been sick with a cold of some sort, so he's been eating what in our house "sick people food" (chicken noodle soup, rice, fruits, etc). Because of this, I haven't been eating the same thing as him which makes meals a little harder since I'm not used to have to make two different meals for us.

Last night, I looked in our fridge, freezer, and cupboards and I couldn't find two different things for us, so I found something that we could both eat, and something that was tasty.

I made one of my mom's "go-to" dinners and removed one ingredient and it was DELICIOUS! My mom usually makes "Cream of Mushroom soup Chicken" - but since we didn't have any chicken, I just made Cream O' Mushroom Soup Rice. Here's the recipe:


Ingredients

1 Family sized can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 Cups dry brown rice (yields about 6 cups cooked, use what ever type of rice you prefer)
2-3 Cups frozen corn (depending on how much you want)
Salt and Pepper to taste


How to do it

1. Cook soup according to can, but instead of adding 1 can of water, simply use 1 cup of water
2. Cook rice on the stove or in a rice cooker
3. Cook corn
4. Combine soup, rice and corn
5. Serve immediately
6. Salt and Pepper to taste

(Blame my Ipod touch for the bad camera quality!)

(It was seriously delicious though!)

Cost

We had all of the ingredients needed to make the dish, but if we were to buy everything - it would be under $10 for the entire dish. With Both Brian and I eating the meal, we have made it last for dinner last night and lunch today.



This is something that you can almost make in a dorm room (just need a stove) and keeps pretty well. Not much preparation is needed and you don't need to be an awesome cook in order to make it.


Happy cooking and post in the comments any variations that you've made!

Work Day Wednesday: Living Room & Kitchen Make Over

Yesterday, August 14th, Brian and I drove from Corvallis to Portland. Brian's 21st birthday is next Wednesday, so we went up to visit both of our moms and my younger brother. We also picked up alot - and I mean ALOT of stuff from my room at home. I had about 30 books at home, and I've been wanting them all summer - so of course that is something that we picked up. Along with a headboard for our bed, some food from my mom, a bookcase, among other various little things.

Now, Brian and I's apartment is pretty big for a one bedroom - at least I think it's big :) We already had two futon couches (one with 3 seats and one with 2 seats - both pull out into futons) a coffee table, and an entertainment stand. This morning when I woke up, I looked in the living room and wanted to arrange it in a way that would have a nice flow and would look nice as well as function for us. Below are the pictures before moving things around (I forgot to take a picture before I put the bookcase up and filled it with books, as I was so excited to actually have a bookcase to put books on!)

(We put my animal tank [we have two Japanese algae Shrimp, one African Dwarf Frog, one Black Inca Snail, and two Rosy Red Minnows] in the kitchen originally because it was the only solid surface we could find)

(We had the two couches in an "L" shape with the coffee table in the middle [that's Brian working away as I take pictures] )

(The bookcase is up and being used, and the brown entertainment stand was up against the back wall. We only kept speakers, newspaper, dictionaries, and electronic cords in there)

Andddddd here's what we changed

(We moved the entertainment stand from the back wall to the front wall in order to free up space back here, as well as to put the animal tank ontop of to create a focal point in the living room)

(Now the entertainment stand is on the front wall with the animal tank ontop)

(We also pulled the 3 seat couch back so that the living room didn't feel cramped)

(The entire view of the new arrangement)

(We now have all of this free space which is where the animal tank used to be)

(Finally, the animal's tank - they are so happy over there now, being out in the open - things to look at)

It took me about 2 hours to get everything the way that I wanted it, and I still have about 1-2 hours of organizing to do, but at least for now all of the furniture is in its new home and isn't going anywhere for a while.

What would you have done differently? Where would you have moved things? Let me know in the comments!