To Move, or Not to Move?

When we went apartment hunting back in January of last year, we were originally looking for a place where Nathan could stay for 6 months. Then, when we were married, we would get a two bedroom apartment somewhere about halfway in between my work and Nathan's. However, every apartment we looked at charged so much extra for a 6 month lease, or even transferring to a two bedroom apartment halfway through the lease term, that we decided it would be best to just get a 12 month lease for a two bedroom apartment. I figured I could handle a 20 mile commute for 6 months until we could move somewhere in between. Well, those 6 months have passed, so we're now free to move...or not move.

Reasons to Move

• As I mentioned, I drive 20 miles both ways to work. It could be worse, but that's still 5 hours a week (or more) spent in the car.
• We don't have a washer and dryer in our unit, or even hookups. The apartment laundry facility is far enough away that I can't walk there while carrying two loads of laundry, so it's a hassle. And a lot of quarters.
• We have limited counter space and extremely limited cabinet space. I know this is typical of most apartments, but my last apartment had a pantry that could hold all the food I had and more. 
• Since we live on the second story, it's a little inconvenient to let Nenya out. The residents in the first story apartments here have a small fenced-in area and can just open the door for their dogs. (There were no first story apartments available when Nathan moved in.)
• Parking can be a bit limited at times. The apartment I had in college was much worse (I once parked in the only available spot in the entire complex, a visitor spot, and got ticketed), but sometimes it can be difficult to find a spot.

Reasons to stay put

• Moving isn't fun, especially in January. Just look at how Nathan's move went last year. Renting a U-Haul is a bit of an expense, but the time involved is the worst part. After living in 4 different places in the past 2 years, I'm not in a hurry to move again.
• Other than being 30 minutes away from work for me, we're in an excellent location. Nathan gets to work in about 10 minutes. We're also really close to multiple grocery stores, other shopping, a library, and a fantastic walking/biking trial.
• Our apartment complex pays the gas bill. We have a gas furnace, water heater, and stove, so that's huge, especially this time of year.
• We have plenty of square footage in a layout that works for us. All our furniture fits without it feeling the least bit crammed. We have a living area long enough to basically be divided into the living room, office, and dining room, and it doesn't even look that weird.
• Finally, the price. Our rent, including the pet fee, gas, water, and trash is around 15% of our take home pay, and all the slightly nicer places I've seen would cost a lot more. While we could afford to spend more, it's nice having the extra money to attack our debt with a vengeance.

Can you tell what we decided? What would you do?

Fondue Date Night

Nathan and I try to have a date night one night each week, usually on Saturdays. Sometimes we'll go out to eat or do something like bowling, but often we just have fun at home. The main point is to spend that time focused on the other person and enjoy each other's company. With so much of Nathan's time devoted to classes, we aren't able to spend a whole lot of quality time together during the week (although living together in itself is still pretty awesome).

For our most recent date night, we used our fondue pot for the first time. I'd only had fondue once previously (with my friend Carly, who gave us our fondue pot for our wedding), and it was a new experience for Nathan.

This was the spread we had had for our first fondue feast.

I made the cheese fondue based on this recipe, but I decided it had too much garlic. This led to several more additions, and I think we ended up with four different kinds of cheese. Amazingly, it was still good. I guess you can't go wrong with cheese.

We had cauliflower, Granny Smith apples, French bread, and summer sausage. I had read that Granny Smith apples were really good with cheese fondue, but I thought they were just okay. Nathan didn't even try one. 

Nathan had the idea to boil red potatoes and eggs to dip in the fondue. The eggs kind of fell apart and had to be fished out, but the red potatoes were excellent.

 Taking the first dip

 

Nenya got in on the action too.

I had originally planned this as a fondue and game night, but we ended up spending so much time preparing everything that Nathan had to get back to reading by the time we were finished eating. We still had lots of fun just with the fondue, and we're looking forward to trying chocolate next time!

Some Days

Budgets are wonderful things. Menu plans are too. They allow you to save money and have some order and control in life. But some days, not everything goes according to plan. Some days work is a little rough. Some days when you finally leave work, it's snowing, and it takes an extra 20 minutes to get home. Some days this isn't a problem because you planned on your husband cooking dinner that night. However, some days, your husband's car won't start during his lunch break, and although he gets a ride back to work, no one is able to take him home. Some days he has to stay at work for almost an extra hour while he waits for you to pick him up. Some days by the time you get home and get settled, it's already 6:30. Some days you decide that, despite the fact that you've already gone $2 over your eating out budget, you just want to have Arby's for dinner. Some days, you do. And some days, you don't really regret it.

Budgets and menu plans are wonderful things, but having a little flexibility in life is pretty nice too.

My Attempt at Making Red Lobster at Home

Red Lobster is one of my top five favorite restaurants. Nathan isn't a huge fish fan, but he enjoys the crispy fish and chicken they have for lunch, and of course we both love their Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I decided to try to make my own "imitation Red Lobster" dinner this week of fish and cheddar biscuits.

I used this recipe for the biscuits.

After baking,I brushed the garlic and butter on top. I was pretty happy when I saw them. They certainly looked like the real thing! The taste, however...not quite right. The texture wasn't fluffy enough, and they just didn't have as much flavor as Red Lobster's. This was only my second attempt at making biscuits from scratch though, and they turned out much better than my first attempt (which Nenya wouldn't even eat). 

For the fish, I decided to try broiling for the first time ever. Ooh, pretty flame!

I used this recipe, only with pollock instead of tilapia. Pollock was half as cheap as tilapia at Kroger, and based on a quick comparison of the nutrition facts it looked healthier.

After broiling for a few minutes on both sides, I put the topping on and broiled a few more minutes.

 

It turned out pretty well, but dealing with taking the broiler pan in and out was a little annoying. I think I'll stick with baking.

Although it wasn't as flavorful as a meal at Red Lobster, it was much cheaper, and probably healthier at least in terms of sodium. Nathan didn't have any major complaints. I think the biscuit recipe is worth another try.

Any tips on making biscuits or fish?

Our Amazing Guard Dog

We don't know what other breeds our corgi mix has in her, but we know she isn't a hunting dog!