Happy Halloween!

I didn't dress up this year.  I had to work late and I think I missed most of the trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.  So, it was kind of a bummer.  But we did have a pumpkin decorating contest at work today.  It was not what I expected at all.  Those people mean business...

Here are the winners.  

And Happy Halloween from the Kendi Haus!

Third place

Second Place - "How Pumpkin Pies are Made"

First Place

There were science themed pumpkins too, but the judges didn't like them.  We're just a research institute after all...

Kendi's Kitchen: One Pan Sausage and Veggies

This is another recipe found on Pinterest.  The picture is what sold me.  It's pretty straight forward but a little time consuming.  I recommend making this as a nice Sunday dinner.  I tried it again during the week for dinner and it was a little stressful.  We ate kinda late that night.

Cheers!

One Pan Sausage and Veggies

4 sausages (beef or pork - we use mild Italian)
1 pound potatoes
1/2 pound carrots
1/2 bell pepper
1 large onion
1 fennel bulb
2 garlic cloves (I use like 5)
2 tbsp oil
freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs
1/2 cup chicken broth (we used the powdered bouillon)
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I added some more after the first 45 minutes)

**Note:  You can use what ever veggies you like.  The original recipe lists the veggies I have hear and I followed what she did.  But I'm sure you could switch it up with different stuff and it would taste just as good.**

Chop and peel all the veggies and garlic.  Put all the veggies in a roasting pan.  Make sure they are mixed up.  In a bowl, mix oil, garlic, chicken broth and Italian herbs.  Pour mixture over veggies and toss them a little.  Try to coat as many as possible, but don't be too serious about it.  Salt and pepper the top.  Cover with foil and bake in oven for 45 minutes at 450.  While veggies are cooking, brown the sausage in a pan.  You don't have to cook them completely, just get them brown.  Cut the sausages in half.  After 45 minutes, the veggies should be fork tender.  If not, put them back in the oven for a few more minutes.  Place sausage on top of veggies and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over everything.  Put back in over, uncovered for 25-30 minutes.  After 15 minutes, flip sausage and get some of the juices in the bottom of pan and pour over everything again (I just grab the balsamic again and drizzle everything again).  Cook for remaining time.  

To me, this is Fall in a pan.  And it makes the most amazing leftovers.  Enjoy!

Stats:
Time: 2 hrs
Cost:  around $8 depending on veggie prices and what you like
Servings:  4
Leftovers:  yes

Ingredients

Adding the sausage to the cooked veggies

Crazy

Just us.  Being silly.  Way before that whole Miley Cyrus tongue thing.

Cheers!

One Stop Shop

The PSL civic center has a One Stop Shop every month in the parking garage.  I went to check it out today.  I thought it would be bigger.  I thought there would be more crafts.  I was hoping to get some Christmas shopping done.  I didn't get anything that I was looking for, mainly a new furniture DIY, but I did take home this cute mini globe for $2.  It looks great with our leather bound books and antique bookcase.  And it reminds me of my Aunt Karen.  She loves globes.  :)

Cheers!

I-75 Highlights

We've been traveling up and down 75 a lot lately.  I've been down this road so many times in my life, I know it by heart.  With the invention of Instagram, I decided to pass the drive by taking pics of all the fun things I see from the freeway.  Here's what caught my eye...

Cheers!

TN

Florence, KY

KY

Lima, OH.  For all the Gleeks.

KY

TN mountains

 

No road trip is complete without the The Barrel

OH

OH

 TN

 And my favorite highlight...

Couch 2 5K - Week 2

Last week we completed the second set of running in our couch to 5K program.  I had moments where the running was easy and moments when it wasn't.  Not sure that I will be "a runner" when this is all over, but I enjoy the time with Kevin.  We haven't really lost weight yet, but we haven't gained anything either, so I guess that's a win.  :)

Cheers!

Week 2

Food Truck Invasion

Every second Friday of the month is the Food Truck Invasion at the PSL Civic Center.  While in ATL, I wanted to go to the food truck park but never had the chance.  Well, I wasn't going to miss this opportunity in FL.  Food trucks have really upped their game.  It's not fair food anymore.  Sure, you still get elephant ears and pizza and fries, but you can now get BBQ, fish, wraps, Mediterranean, Mexican food and so much more.  There were so many choices, I had a hard time deciding.  And the food trucks change every month.  There is also a DJ.  It seems like people in PSL like to get together and hang out and the Civic Center provides a lot of opportunities for them to so.  I can't wait to have visitors so we can go and check out the food trucks.  :)

Cheers!

Retro Halloween

Every third Saturday of the month, the Minsky Gym near our house has a community garage sale.  Since Kevin had to work yesterday, I went to check it out.  I love garage sales.  I had high hopes of finding some treasures to decorate with.  It was smaller than I was hoping and I wasn't having any luck until the very last booth, where I saw these...

Vintage paper Halloween decorations!  I remember my mom putting these up in our house in Taylor.  And I know they are getting more popular now, which means they are getting expensive.  The lady sold them to me for 10 cents each.  I didn't even have to bargain!  I almost feel guilty about the price since they go for much more on Ebay.  I got $1.50 worth.  I decorated when I got home.  :)  

Learned this from my MIL.  She decorates the windows and cabinets of her house like this.

Love this skeleton

Here's the outside!  Now, all I need are Trick-or-Treaters!  PS: those ghosts glow in the dark

You'll notice Chester peeking out the window.  He and Freeman do that a lot.  And it's about time I introduce Pepe, our albino flamingo and Louis, our bookworm turtle.  They have been with us since our first house in GA.  I'm hoping to get a girl for Pepe soon.  And please ignore the weeds.  We're taking care of them today.  :)

Cheers!

Happy Sweetest Day!

It may be a holiday that only MI celebrates, but I love the tradition.  It started in a very special way and I like that it's such a MI thing.  We were able celebrate with candy from MI too!  I found some Sanders candies at TJ Maxx and we have a Kilwins not far from home.  I love that we are able to get MI things while we are on the other side of the country...

Cheers!

Things I will miss about GA

Needless to say, there is a reason(s) I left GA.  But, there are things I really enjoyed and will miss.  Here is my list of things I wish I could take with me or that I would recommend to people.

Cheers!


Your Dekalb Farmer's Market

I've talked about this place many times here on Haus of Kendi.  It saved us lots of money, helped us lose 50 lbs last summer and has made us healthier.  All things that are important to me.  I will somehow find a way to make it to this market when I head up north.  Even if I have to go out of my way, it's that good.

The Local 7

Best burgers in GA.  Small little place in Tucker but the staff was always nice and they always had the game on.  If you go, get the sliders with the Local 7 sauce.  You won't regret it.

Mellow Mushroom

I know it's a chain, but it's still amazing pizza and you can't get it outside GA (or there are very few locations outside GA).  For around $20, Kevin and I would get a medium pizza with green peppers and onions and the cheesy bread.  We always had leftovers for lunch the next day.  Bonus.

Stone Mountain

It's just an awesome place to be outside.  There is something for everyone and I've never meet a person that hates it.  Climbing the mountain is a right of passage for all who live in GA.

Scott's Antique Market

Another deal, this time for the home.  We found so many good things here each month.  Sometimes, we just went to look around and get ideas.  If you love antiques, this is a must for you.  It happens the second weekend of the month and it's huge.  Another thing I will go out of my way to visit in the future.

Kudzu Antique Market

If you're on your way to YDFM, make a stop at Kudzu.  It's another antique store but with a lot of character.  We went there a lot to get ideas and find gifts.  I was really sorry to say goodbye to this place...

Chick-Fil-A

If you've been here you know.  If you haven't been here, than you need to find out. 

QwikTrip

It's more than a gas station, it's an experience.  If you're on the road or running late, you don't have to worry about getting a crappy meal here quickly.  They have nice food like sandwiches and salads, yogurt and bakery items.  I prefer to go here to grab something fast than any where else.  So many choices, you forget you're at a gas station.  And you can tell the staff really like their jobs.

Consignment

There are LOTS of consignment stores in ATL.  And they are good.  I found many a deal on Saturdays spent going through all the racks of clothes.  And I probably made over $500 selling clothes to them over a year...

Our Rental House

It was big and beautiful and made me feel like a grown up.  The yard was perfect for the dogs and the neighborhood was old and quiet with lots of trees.  If we would have stayed in GA, I would have considered buying it.  It needed some love, but I will definitely miss you 314 Sassafras Ln...
 

But what I will miss the most are all the new friends we made.  We will be ready for visitors soon and I hope you all will make a trip down here to go to the beach.  See you soon!

Oktoberfesting 2013

It's Oktoberfest!  Since we are still new to the area, we are checking out all Oktoberfest celebrations we can find.  Our fab civic center was the first one we went to.  It was hosted by the German American Club of PSL and it was free.  There were food trucks and German food and music.  We got there kinda late and missed the "Frankenmuth" beer, but Kevin got another German beer that he liked.  They also had some amazing bratwurst with sauerkraut.  I'm not usually a fan of kraut, but I tried some on the brat and it was pretty good.  We didn't stay for too long, but had a good time none the less.

Got his German beer.  He's a happy boy.

Brat, kraut and beer.  Nom nom nom...

What do I get at Oktoberfest?  An empanada.

The following weekend we went to the Palm Beach Oktoberfest.  I found a groupon that got us half off admission and a beer each.  Not bad for $13.  Kevin brought his Hofbrau boot to fill up and wore his Oktoberfest t-shirt.  He was ready to go!  This Oktoberfest was hosted by the German American Club of Palm Beach.  They are a bigger club and have a nice clubhouse.  It looks like the buildings in Frankenmuth, MI.  We were really excited when we walked in.  The outside pavilion is surrounded by a bunch of small German bars.  The music is loud and piped into the other seating section in the food area.  They went "kid-friendly" this year with a carnival and play area.  They also open the clubhouse to the public and have food, beer and dancing in there.  That's were I went to escape the heat.  We caught the adult dance troupe performance and the bagpipes.  The food was also amazing!  More German food than I'd ever seen any where.  Kevin was super excited to get sauerbraten (his favorite German dish) and I had some really good potato pancakes.  We saw the tapping of the keg and parade of flags.  Kevin enjoyed everything so much, he has decided to join the club.  Maybe next year, I will be slinging beer with the rest of the ladies...

Cheers!

 

Getting his boot filled with Hofbrau

Full on Oktoberfesting!

No one wants wine at Oktoberfest!

Frankenmuth, MI represent!

Ordering his favorite German meal, sauerbraten

What do I get for Oktoberfest, round 2?  Mashed potatoes.  :)

German dancing

One Last Climb

Right before I left Atlanta, I got together one last time with my Emory friends and climbed Stone Mountain.  It was perfect because it was free and we got to be outside and exercise.  Climbing with friends is so much fun.  Stone Mountain is one of the things I will miss most from GA.  It's a really nice park with lots to offer people.  There are a ton of hiking trails, some lakes, a large road for bikes and sidewalks for walking.  They do festivals on the weekends and people seem to always be BBQing there.  And of course, there is the mountain.  I highly recommend a trip to the park if you're ever in Atlanta.  People will ask you, "Did you climb Stone Mountain?"

Cheers!

Don't drop that $5 Icee!

First weeks in FL...

Here are some highlights from my first weeks in FL.

Cheers!

First trip to Bealls.  Mom will be excited about the outlet...

This faucet at work changes colors depending on the temp

PSL has the prettiest sunsets every night

View from our lunchroom

I work with another Spartan.  We are everywhere.  Go Green!

These guys are EVERYWHERE!  I love them.  I want to hold one...

These are Sand Hill Cranes.  They come up to my waist and are all over the place, including the Target parking lot and outside eating area at work.  They intimidate the hell out of me.

So, this happens a lot.  On windows at work, our house, while we're driving home...