Halloween

I know it's a little late, but thought we would share our Halloween pictures. We've been busy working on our new house (!) and haven't had extra time to post lately.

On Saturday, two days before Halloween, we headed out to Turkey Run State Park to trick-or-treat at the campground with Kyle's brothers and sister. We had such a great time: the weather was perfect and the kids had a blast. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

All the kids!

Kyle and Ninja Derek

Will and I for our annual Halloween picture (he's a ninja, too)

On Monday, Halloween, we went to Kyle's mom's house on West Main. Zayden went trick-or-treating and Sawyer stayed with us while we handed out candy. We had soooo many trick-or-treaters that we ran out of candy at 7!

Zayden/Lightening McQueen and Sawyer the Parrot

Priebe's Pumpkin Patch

On Sunday, Kyle and I headed out to Priebe's Pumpkin Patch. It's in the little town of Garfield, which is in between Crawfordsville and Darlington. It was a warm, fall afternoon and it was so nice to be outside.

There was a corn maze, a nature trail, and a pumpkin patch.

 There were so many pumpkins to choose from...

...but I think we found the perfect one!

Farm Valentino

Yesterday, we visited Valentino's, a produce farm, just outside of Crawfordsville on US 136. They always have the most beautiful looking produce at the Farmer's Market.

A few weeks ago we visited the farm to pick up some pumpkins. Saturday afternoon turned out to be a perfect fall day to head out there to pick up some produce. We love discovering local places and supporting local business. Below are some pictures from our trip.

I forgot to take any pictures of the produce! We bought some fresh green beans and butternut squash. We'll have meatloaf and green beans this week and I'm making butternut squash soup for the first time. If it turns out, I'll share that with you.

And, since Saturday was my birthday, we had to take a picture together:

If you're looking for fresh produce (and miss the Saturday farmer's market), make sure to visit Valentino's!

Boiler Time

Hey everyone!  It's September, and in the Gobel house that means one thing: Purdue football. The Boilers opened the season last Saturday with a home game against Middle Tennessee State University. Erin and I talked for weeks about going to the game, but the day before, we wimped out. It was supposed to be about 95 degrees and rainy, so we decided to enjoy the first game from the air-conditioned comfort of my mom's living room.

The Boilers got new jerseys this year.  I like them.

Well, "enjoy" didn't turn out to be an accurate description of our experience watching the game. The Boilers, behind their third-string, first-time-starter quarterback, struggled for three quarters. However, Caleb TerBush orchestrated a clutch fourth quarter touchdown drive to put the Boilers up 27-24, and big-time sophomore cornerback Ricardo Allen blocked a potential game-tying field goal to seal the win. It wasn't an ideal start to the season, but the Boilers did some good things (Ralph Bolden rushed for 120 yards in his first game back from an ACL tear), and Purdue fans will take the win. It certainly could have been worse--just ask the Hoosiers and the Irish.

Ricardo saves the day.

Erin and I definitely plan on making it to a few games this season. We know we are going to the Notre Dame game for Erin's birthday, and we've talked about making it up to West Lafayette for a few more. Nothing beats a college football Saturday!

Big Woods Brewing Co.

Kyle and I escaped to Nashville on Saturday. We always love going there, especially in the fall. Our October calendar is looking busy, so we decided to go a little early. We went there for part of our honeymoon, and it's just sort of our place. We love walking around and looking at the little shops, although we never buy much of anything. But, we always struggle finding a place to eat. On Saturday, though, we discovered the Big Woods Brewing Company.

Big Woods Brewing Company, 60 Molly Lane

I was starving by the time we got lunch, so I would have eaten anything at this point. The menu had sandwiches and pizza, and several vegetarian options. It all looked good!

Kyle chose a salad and a grilled buffalo chicken sandwich. I went out on a limb and tried the mini black bean burgers with an avocado dressing. The food was fantastic! It was fresh and some of it was local, which is always a plus.

Kyle's (small) side salad with local Tootie Frootie dressing

Kyle's sandwich

My black bean burger (I even ate the little pieces of corn!)

 I hope I can find a way to make my own black bean burgers. To drink, Kyle had the Possum Trot Pale Ale. He said it was great; I didn't like it, though.

My diet coke and Kyle's beer

We finally found a restaurant that we love and will definitely go back the next time we are in Brown County. I can't wait to try the pizza next time!

Kyle's Birthday Weekend

Friday, the 12th, was Kyle's birthday. He took a vacation day and we spent the day shopping in Indy. Then, we headed to Fishers, to our friends' home. The four of us had planned on going to the Def Leppard/Heart concert for awhile. No, not for Def Leppard or Heart, though!

One of Kyle's good friends, Evan Watson, got a gig opening for Def Leppard this summer. He has a band, but he's touring solo this summer. Here's a link to his myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/evanwatsonmusic. I got two pictures of Evan before my camera died (I hadn't charged it since vacation!):

We met up with Evan afterward, and he took us backstage. We got to shake hands with Rick Allen, Def Leppard's drummer! It was a great evening and so exciting to see one of Kyle's friends on the big stage!

I finally got to give Kyle his presents, too. He's been wanting movie posters for his future movie room. Since real movie posters are way too expensive, I've been searching Etsy for something more reasonable. So many artists make these fantastic movie/television posters. I had trouble picking a few out because there's so many. I finally settled on this shop: http://www.etsy.com/people/TheArtOfAdamJuresko?ref=ls_profile. I chose three posters, all three ended up being television shows, not movies, though. Here are the three I chose:

Buffy, the show we're currently watching

Freaks and Geeks, one of our favorite shows

Twin Peaks, Kyle's favorite show

These posters look amazing and I like the fact that they are unique and hand-made. Plus they will look awesome in our future house!

The Bottom Five

A couple of weeks back I wrote about my New Year's resolution: to watch 100 movies in 2011 that I had never seen prior to this year. When you set out to watch 100 new movies in one year, there are bound to be some duds. Here are some movies that I watched this year that didn't really do anything for me.

5. Black Christmas (1974)

I have a love/hate relationship with horror movies. The horror movies I love (Halloween, The Fog, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream, to name a few) are among my absolute favorite movies. However, when I watch a horror movie that I end up not liking, I generally hate it. That was my experience with Black Christmas. Directed by Bob Clark (who, oddly enough, directed the beloved, decidedly non-horror A Christmas Story), Black Christmas is considered by some to be a genre classic and is thought to have been a major influence on Halloween and the "slasher" films that followed. I really didn't like it at all. It's not so much scary as completely unpleasant. It's an important film so I'm glad I watched it once, but I don't think I'd ever watch it again.

4. Insidious (2011)

Insidious is an exception to my typical love/hate horror movie experience. I certainly didn't hate it. In fact, the first 3/4 of the film is actually genuinely scary and pretty fun. However, in the last 1/4 of the movie, Insidious flies completely off the rails. The last half hour is so laughably terrible that it retroactively ruined my enjoyment of the earlier portions. If you ever watch it, turn it off around the time that the dad starts to, like, enter another dimension or something. You'll be glad you did.

This dude is coming to ruin the end of your movie.

 3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

In late 2010, Erin and I started watching the acclaimed television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We got the first season from the library, and then we just ended up buying the whole series. We've torn through five seasons so far, and we are a few episodes into the sixth season. The show is wonderful. It's funny and scary and exciting and sad, oftentimes within the same episode. The movie, however, is none of these things. It's terrible. Paul Reubens is pretty great as a one-armed vampire, but that's about all this one has going for it. Skip the movie and go straight to the series.

Not even a one-armed Paul Reubens can save this one.

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

I love Steven Spielberg. I love E.T. I love Jaws. I really like Close Encounters and Raiders of the Lost Ark. I love some of the films he's produced, like Gremlins, Back to the Future, and Super 8. But the fourth Indiana Jones installment is really, really terrible. The story is absurd, and the ending is insane. And it's not Harrison Ford's fault that he's gotten older, but Spielberg has to use CGI to make Indiana Jones jump. It's pretty embarassing.

1. Teen Wolf (1985)

People think they like Teen Wolf. The premise is amusing, and everyone loves Michael J. Fox. But if you actually sit down and watch Teen Wolf, you will realize that it is truly a bad movie. For one thing, it may be the slightest movie I've ever seen; I think it was about forty-five minutes long. Secondly, I assumed that there was a scene near the beginning of the film in which Michael J. Fox is bitten by a werewolf. However, this never happens. He just starts turning into a werewolf, and then his father explains that it's a family curse or something, and that the father is also a werewolf. Michael J. Fox's friend "Stiles" wears a t-shirt that says "What are you looking at dicknose" (which is, admittedly, sort of awesome), but the sentence, which is clearly a question, does not have a question mark at the end, which drove me crazy. Michael J. Fox's nemesis (who, oddly enough, looks more like a wolfman than Michael J. Fox dressed as a wolfman) is allowed to stand under the hoop when Michael J. Fox shoots technical foul free throws, which would never be allowed. What a terrible movie. There is, however, one big laugh, which I've included below. I should've tried this tactic in high school.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cake

I tried a chocolate zucchini bread recipe a few weeks ago that I wasn't too impressed with. The loaf stuck to the pan (even though it was greased). A friend made this version a couple of years ago, and I decided to give it a try. We still have zucchini by the way...

Here's the recipe:

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cake
1/2 C margarine
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C buttermilk
2 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp cocoa
2 C shredded zucchini
1 C chocolate chips
1 C nuts (I used English walnuts)

Cream margarine, oil, and sugar.

Mix in eggs, buttermilk, flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and cocoa. Mix in zucchini. Pour into greased and floured 9 X 13 pan.

Bake at 325-350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 C chocolate chips and 1 C nuts while still warm.

I thought it was better the day after I baked it. It's so moist and delicious! I've been eating it for breakfast (it does have vegetables in it, after all!). I still think Kristy and Lou make this recipe better than I do, maybe they have a secret ingredient? Anyways, thanks to the West's for sharing!

Summer Lasagna from the Garden

We've been bad bloggers this week. But, we've been soooooooo busy: three softball games, house shopping, and trying to keep up with the garden. My garden and my kitchen are overflowing with zucchini and tomatoes. I love this Everyday Food recipe: No-Bake Summer Lasagna. Lasagna without the baking! Plus it uses zucchini, tomatoes, and basil: all in my garden.

I made it once last summer and we had it a few weeks ago. I think it's a little hard to cut and eat. So, tonight I decided to make it with linguine noodles.

It was delicious and easier to eat. I should have quartered the tomatoes, though. I actually ate them tonight, too. I've never liked tomatoes, but these were pretty decent (maybe it was the olive oil, ricotta, and parm on top!).

Garden State

Our garden has been going absolutely crazy. I had a lot of help this year from Kyle's grandpa and this was our first attempt at a garden. I haven't really kept up on weeding and I had to get rid of the cilantro (it went to seed), but it's mostly been a success. We are growing peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, and a few herbs. Our garden also has beautiful wild flowers that just keep growing.

Our zucchini has been growing the last few weeks, which I've already discussed. Finally, this week, we have tomatoes, lots of tomatoes:

Kyle said they were delicious and I actually ate cooked ones on Tuesday. They were ok. I haven't tried a raw one yet; I've just never liked them.

We also have banana peppers, Anaheim peppers (mildly hot), and bell peppers. I have no idea what to do with banana peppers, any ideas?

I wasn't sure our bell peppers were going to actually come in. But, today I found this:

It's not very big, but it's a start. Bell peppers are one of my fav foods, so I sure hope they grow.

I also found a few mysteries today. I have no idea what this thing is. It was growing on one of the zucchini plants. Weird, huh?

I also found this squash-looking thing growing on one of the cucumber plants. It was green on one side and white on the other. I really have no idea about this one either...

We've loved growing (some) of our own food and we hope to have a garden in our next home, too!

Peaches 'N' Cream Ice Pops

I had to buy the new special summer issue of Everyday Food (it's my fav magazine, anyway).

There's a whole section in there about making your own ice cream and popsicles. I was even inspired to consider purchasing an ice cream maker for next summer.

I had to give these "Peaches 'N' Cream Ice Pops" a try. They looked delicious and easy! The recipe isn't up online yet, so here it is:

1 1/4 C vanilla ice cream (I used vanilla frozen yogurt)
1 pound frozen peaches, thawed
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C 100% white grape juice

You'll also need 6 of each: 3 oz disposable cups and 6 oz cups (I could only find 5 oz) and popsicle sticks.

First, put three tablespoons of ice cream/yogurt into the 3 oz cup and put a popsicle stick in each. Freeze this for 1 hour. Meanwhile, mix peaches, sugar, and juice in a blender.

Pour 1 tablespoon of puree in each 6 oz cup and freeze for one hour.
Then, unmold the ice cream/yogurt and place in larger (6 oz cup):

Pour puree over top. My puree didn't really pour, I had to spoon/force it around the ice cream.

Freeze for at least 4 hours. Peel off paper cup and enjoy!

Everyday Food's picture looks a little more icy than mine. My puree turned out pretty creamy. But, it tasted great. Kyle said it was his favorite food.

And the best part? It only has 159 calories! Since I used frozen yogurt, mine should have had a little less.

Homemade laundry detergent

I spent most of the day organizing the office, cleaning out old papers, and doing several chores around the house. I found this "recipe" a few years ago (I don't remember where, sorry!). To save a little money each month, I make my own laundry detergent. It's really easy and involves just three ingredients, ivory soap, borax, and baking soda. I double the original recipe so I don't have to make it as often.

Here's my recipe:

1 C baking soda
1 C Borax
2 bars Ivory soap, grated

I just grate the soap bars on the old cheese grater. It should look something like this:

Then, I mix all three ingredients together, usually by hand, until it looks like this:

Looks like what you buy in the store, doesn't it? I store my detergent in an old plastic container. Best of all, you only need 1 tsp. for a load of laundry.

The only trouble I've had with it is that it sometimes doesn't dissolve well when the water is really cold in the winter. I have to dissolve it in water before putting it in the washer. Or, you could just use warm water to wash your clothes!

Pinterest

Since it's been so incredibly hot the last week, we've both found ourselves dreaming of fall. I was starting to look for craft ideas for Halloween and fall and was having trouble keeping track of it all (I've found some great ideas on several blogs).

I had heard about Pinterest (mainly from Brittany) and I thought that I should check it out. Turns out it's a great solution to my problem. I can "pin" pictures of things I like to different boards. It's so easy! I just started a Halloween idea board to keep track of things I plan to buy, things I might create/craft myself, and just things that I like. And it saves links to the original articles, blogs, or websites.

I hope to use Pinterest in the future to keep track of decorating ideas, furniture, and crafts in our future house.

Here's a link to my first board: Halloween Decorating Ideas. How do you use Pinterest?

Kyle's New Year's Resolution Update

This year, I had a New Year's resolution epiphany:  I needed to make a resolution that I wanted to keep (instead of, like, run 5 miles a day, or don't eat desserts).  Therefore, I resolved that, in 2011, I would watch 100 movies that I had never seen before.  I absolutely love movies, and I was pretty embarrassed that there was some absolutely essential stuff that I missed during my first 26 1/2 years on earth.  So in 2011, my goal was to patch some of the holes in my film knowledge.

As of July 23, I have watched 55 movies in 2011 that I had never seen prior to this year.  I think I'm a couple of movies off the pace, but I'm pretty confident I can pull it off.  I won't bore you with the entire list (I only bore Erin with the entire list--she keeps it on her computer for me) but I thought I would give you a top ten list.  Let me know what you think.

1.  The Third Man (1949)

Directed by Carol Reed and starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten.  Really an incredible movie (check out Roger Ebert's Great Movies essay on it; he can explain why it's so great much better than I ever could).  The Blu-Ray/DVD is really expensive, but it's streaming on Netflix.  Check it out.

Orson Welles being awesome.

 2.  Casablanca (1942)

Yes, prior to 2011 I had never seen Casablanca.  Thus the New Year's resolution.

3.  The Red Shoes (1948)

It's about ballet, so it makes a great companion piece to Black Swan (which I also loved).  Not as creepy as Black Swan, but an amazing-looking movie.  Also streaming on Netflix.

4.  A Serious Man (2009)

A fantastic Coen brothers film.  I'm going to have to watch it about five more times to really wrap my head around it, but I totally plan on doing that.

5.  Winter's Bone (2010)

Reminds me of the television show Justified (which is pretty easily my favorite currently-airing television show).  John Hawkes (a/k/a Kenny Powers' brother, a/k/a Deadwood's Sol Star) gives a chilling performance.

Teardrop is a scary dude.

6.  Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) / Escape From New York (1981)

Both are awesome John Carpenter films, so I'm counting them as one.  Assault is pretty bloody, but check it out if you're into that sort of thing.  Escape is a total blast.  Carpenter directed Halloween, my all-time favorite film.  These two aren't on the same level, but they're close.  (I also watched Carpenter's They Live, which is a fun movie and pretty interesting, but not one of my favorites.)

Don't mess with Snake Plissken.

7.  Super 8 (2011)

Directed by J.J. Abrams.  Not on the same level as the movies it's emulating (E.T., Close Encounters, etc.), but it's a lot of fun, and it's so, so much better than almost everything that makes it into mainstream theaters these days.  I wish ten movies like this came out every year.

8.  Horrible Bosses (2011)

The funniest movie I've seen in a long time.  I liked Bridesmaids and Bad Teacher, but Horrible Bosses topped them both pretty easily for me.  If you like R-rated comedies, see this one.

9.  True Grit (2010)

Probably my fifth or sixth favorite Coen brothers movie, but the films above it (No Country For Old Men, Fargo, etc.) are hard to top.

10.  Adventureland (2009)

A great little movie starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart.  About college-age kids that, unlike most movie characters, actually seem like real college-age kids.

(As a side-note, if Erin's New Year's resolution had been to watch the entire series of The Hills in 2011, she would've accomplished it with about eight months to go.)