And it begins...

Am I the peer-pressure blogger?  Yes.  

I guess I have never been great at keeping track of everyone in my ever-widening social sphere, so this is my humble attempt at letting all y'all know what I've been up to.  Seeing as I am apparently the last member of the CSS Class of 2002 who has yet to pop out a kid or three, perhaps my blog will be a bit different...  I am thinking some news about me, but mostly entries about the food, music, books, events, shopping, and hobbies that make my life interesting.

So where to start... News?

I've been married for just over 2 years now to the same guy I've been with since 1999.  We are on the verge of moving into the most adorable (and way to big for the two of us) house in South MPLS.  It is right on the light rail, which hubby will be using to commute every day.  I only wish that the train ran all the way to the second or third-ring suburb where I work.  For those of you not in the know, I am in my sixth year of teaching high school English in a wonderful smallish-suburban district.  My better half is working as a graphic designer (mostly web) in downtown MPLS.  

Back to the house.  

It is a well-maintained nearly 100-year-old beauty with tons of character.  Four bedrooms, a sun room, three-season porch, a great back yard, and the rest of the typical details.  Some bonuses include all original, newly refinished hardwood floors throughout, central air (which NO house in the area has), and a brand new patio in the back.  I have been having constant nightmares about crumbling walls and flooded basements ever since our offer was accepted, but once we close and move, I'm sure everything will be great.  Moving from a 500-square-foot apartment into the house has its own set of challenges.  Right now, one can hardly walk in our box-filled living space.  Once we move, the new place will seem especially cavernous with its lack of furniture.  The big day is next Wednesday, and we've taken the next couple days off to move, paint, and get settled.

One thing I'm also looking forward to is my monthly dinner night with the girls.  Dining out is one of my true passions, and so I love being able to share my favorite places with friends.  This month, I have been given the honors of choosing the restaurant and I finally decided upon the Sample Room in Northeast.  It's a quaint, candle-lit bar/restaurant that specializes in 100% homemade comfort foods.  I'm not kidding about the 100% thing; even the ketchup is made in-house!  Half of the menu is "Sample Plates" which one could eat as appetizers or combine for an entire meal.  In the sampling vein, there are also several wine and liquor flights available, too. When B and I went a while ago, we both had entrees.  Me: the meatloaf (mmmm) Him: the sausage platter.  The bonus?  We get to use our MemberCard that comes with a membership to the best media out there: Minnesota Public Radio.

Well soon I'll be meeting up with my sisters for dinner, so I'd better get out of my dirty packing clothes and make myself presentable.

Ciao!