my sad pumpkin pie :-(

When you forget to put the SUGAR in the pumpkin pie, this is what you have to do to it to make it edible...
1) cut a piece of pie to your desired size,
2) take a fork and smush the pumpkin filling,
3) sprinkle the sugar on top of the filling;
4) mix the filling and sugar together,
5) ENJOY! It now tastes like pumpkin pie instead of cardboard!

It's done!

I came home from work today to a completed backsplash! While we were at work, my dad manned the house while the installers grouted the backsplash. It looks amazing and totally changes the look of the kitchen. I am very impressed with the company's work and helpfulness. If anyone needs granite or tilework done, go to Venezia (in Ridgefield, CT and talk to Fabiano) or La Pietra (in Brookfield, CT and talk to Fabio). We worked with both companies (the owners are cousins) and they were very helpful.

an upclose look at the granite and backsplash together...

The granite is called Giallo Ornamental. The backsplash is travertine cushion 4x4 and 3x6 tiles, with a glass tile and natural stone inlay.

Behind the stove is a pattern of all glass/natural stone tiles...not too much glass tile,

but enough to make it look interesting and not "cookie cutter".

My talented sister...

Shana made this set of 3 prints for us. They are a picture of Riley from 4th of July and in her "artsy-fartsy" way, she turned them into some cool colored artwork! Thanks Shae!

New Backsplash!!!

Not totally done yet, but the tiles are all up! The installer will be back tomorrow to grout and it'll be all done!!!

Riley's Picture of the Day

Family picture :-)

The backsplash has arrived!

The materials arrived at 8:00 am along with the installer. The tiles are so pretty! As he was pulling the tiles out of the boxes, he informed me that there might not be enough tile for our pattern. We are using a combination of 3x6 subway tiles, glass tiles, and 4x4 tiles. The pattern which I thought we were still using was 2 rows of subway tiles, 3 rows of glass tiles, and the rest 4x4 tiles in a diamond pattern. Well, we were "mucho" short on the 3x6 tiles. Totally my mistake though, because really we had decided on only 1 row of 3x6 subway tiles, then the 3 rows of glass tiles, then the rest 4x4 tiles in a diamond shape. I truely almost had a heart attack! my amazing glass tiles (that I have a bit of an obsession with)
the materials laid out on the kitchen floor

**More pictures will be posted later.**

Pumpkin Shortage...OH NO!

My grandmother informed my mother, who informed me this morning at 6:40 am that there is a Nationwide Pumpkin Shortage. I had gone to two different grocery stores on Saturday and was in the mood for pumpkin pie and at either place there was NO pumpkin. Yesterday, Richie and I had to go back to the store to get dough to make homemade pizza and decided to check for pumpkin again. There happened to be 5 cans on the shelf, so we bought 3 of them. Now that I know there is a shortage I'm regretting not buying all 5! I enjoy making pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, and (now that I have a good recipe for it) pumpkin bread. So if you enjoy these treats like Richie and I do, my advice is to buy pumpkin when you see it...I know I will be now!

Mmmm....Pumpkin Spice coffee
my first pumpkin pie of the season
(which will probably end up in the garbage bc I forgot the sugar)

homemade white pizza with ricotta, mozzarella, bacon, and spinach

random picture of Riley and I while we were checking on the pizza!

G-Men are 3-0

How about those New York Giants!
1) We beat the Washington Redskins Week 1: 23-17
2) We go INTO the new Dallas Stadium and beat the Cowboys in their home opener 33-31
3) Yesterday we go to Tampa Bay and beat the Bucs 24-0

That's has the Giants at 3-0!!!
**now I probably jinxed them for the rest of the season...but hopefully not!**

Yes...I took pictures off the tv yesterday of the end of them game!!! LOL!

Osi Umenyiora

(he just happened to come up on the screen as I was taking pictures)

37 seconds left...David Carr takes a knee to end the game

this picture should have been the first one, but I'm too lazy to fix it...

Riley's First Ice Cream

Saturday night, Richie, my mom, dad, Shana, Moie, Riley and I went out for ice cream at the farm in Newtown (not sure the exact name). Although it was a bit chilly outside, the lines were long at the ice cream window! My favorite is their Pumpkin Pie ice cream...yummy! Riley thought the ice cream was good too! One of the offerings at the farm is a Pup Cup...vanilla ice cream with dog treats on top for the dogs! Check out these pictures of Riley enjoying her ice cream:

...oh and don't worry, we didn't let her eat all of it! She still has 3/4 of it left in our freezer at home.

Photo Credit: Shana's iPhone

Kitchen Remodel

Even though our house is only a year old, our kitchen definitely needed some upgrading! We had laminate countertops and shallow sink, and a bland backsplash. Well, the upgrading has begun! More pictures will be added as the upgrades continue, but here are just a few for now...

Riley helping Richie undo the plumbing to take the old sink out...

Another shot of Richie hard at work...

You can't tell from this picture, but we painted above the cabinets a tan color.
I think once the backsplash is in, it'll be a bit more noticable.



***NEW GRANITE COUNTERTOPS***
installed on 9/16...what a difference they make!

***NEW SINK AND FAUCET***

...Keep checking back for more pictures. The backsplash is scheduled to be installed on September 28th & 29th.

Destruction begins!

Destruction begins at our house...

Our backyard has minimal grass, so in order to actually grow some grass, we (well Richie) had to lay top soil, hay, and seed. Before this could take place, he had to take care of a massive rock that was in the center of our yard. Rental of a jackhammer and 4 or so hours of work and bye bye rock!!

Labor Day Picnic

Sunday, September 6th we had a Labor Day Picnic with our family and friends. There was a TON of food (you name it we probably had it), lots of socializing, poker playing, and domino playing. Thanks to everyone who helped out that day!