The Haggard Herald

Matt and I went looking for sofas on Saturday. Right now we have a large leather arm chair, a peach-colored one-man sofa from the previous owner, and a bench. So we decided maybe its time to invest in some seating. We looked around and were aiming for something dark (Matt was thinking blue), long, detachable back pillows, soft arm rests for resting your head on (Matt likes to do that), and a textured-look in the fabric. And an accompanying love seat or oversized chair. So we looked around and found one or two that was partly what we wanted, but nothing we loved. I felt like it was a successful trip though, because we didn't really know what we wanted before we started looking and at least now we had a good idea. On our way out of the store, we saw this beautiful sofa right in the entry way. It really popped and looked great. So we sat down and it was really comfortable. The arms were low and soft, and the back pillows were detachable (one thing I love about Joe and Juli...

...are some of the best neighbors there could ever be. I was writing them a thank you card a couple weeks ago and realized there were a dozen or more things to thank them for just in the past couple of months. And then they brought over dinner on Sunday because Matt had a cold. That's just how they are. Matt and I have been planning to decorate their balcony for months and last week we finally did. Ever since Matt moved in here last summer they've decorated the front porch with a variety of stuffed animals. When we got home from our honeymoon, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus were hanging up outside our front door. But we got them back. Take a look at what we did. :) We used the balloons that you can shape into animals but we shaped them into flowers and grass and vines. I think we looked a little conspicuous to the other neighbors when we ran across the street: Matt had the latter fully extended and I had two large black trash bags. Unfortunately it was a windy week and s...

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith This was a great book. Matt has the series and has read the first 5-6. He was interested in them because they take place in Botswana, near Zimbabwe, where he served his mission. The cultural details and descriptions of places are accurate, Matt says. It made him miss being there especially in his favorite city, Boloweo (sp? that's at least how its pronounced). It's partly detective stories and also a lot about normal life in Botswana. There was one surprisingly violent and sad episode. I needed someone to talk to after I read it. Everything is resolved eventually, as a good detective book ought to end. It's a pretty fast read, and you'll want to read the second one when you finish this one, at least I did. View all my reviews

There isn't anything hard about making chicken pot pie Haggard-style. It's actually really easy. And its one of Matt's and my favorite dinners. Here you go: Ingredients: Homemade or store-bought pie crust 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, green beans, etc.) 2 cans cream of potato soup 1/2 can milk 1 chicken breast Instructions: Make or thaw the pie crust. Cut up the chicken breast into chunky bite-size pieces and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Add just a little bit of olive oil so that they don't stick to the pan. Meanwhile, mix the frozen vegetables, cans of soup, and milk together. Add the chicken pieces once they are cooked, along with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the oven up to 400, pour all the pie contents into the crust, cover it with the remaining crust, and seal it with a little water and your fingers or a fork. Poke several holes in the top with a fork so that it can vent. Bake it at 400 degrees for about 40-45...

Hello all, Matt introduced me to a new recipe called carbonera. Maybe you've heard of it but I hadn't until recently. Melory used to have it growing up. It's the equivalent of macaroni and cheese to italians (when she was little she lived all over Europe). Here's the simple version: Ingredients: 4 servings pasta (your choice) 2 or 3 eggs 8-10 slices bacon Directions: Bring water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions. While that is started, fry the bacon up. Keep the bacon grease on the side and crumble up the bacon. Once the pasta is cooked drain the water and put the noodles back in the pot. Beat the eggs and then add it to the pasta while stirring quickly. The heat from the pasta will help to cook the egg. Then once the egg is all mixed in, pour the bacon grease on top and stir in thoroughly. This helps the egg to finish cooking. Add the crumbled up bacon. It sounds simple but it is really good. If you don't like the idea of using ...

The other day Matt made "Timpanogos" for breakfast. Timpanogos is a mixture of egg, flour, sugar, salt, and milk I think. And it's baked. Other aliases for it are german pancakes or houtinanny pancakes. It takes almost 20 minutes to bake so after he assembled it I went back to the bathroom and dried my hair. Ten minutes later, half-way through baking, I found this: Alisa, does this resemble anyone else to you? :) Matt's nephew, Lincoln, was in this exact same position and Alisa got a couple pictures of it. Lincoln was watching his cookies bake. Did Lincoln ever stop looking at them until they came out, Alisa? Matt literally stayed there the whole 20 minutes and watched Timpanogos rise up out of the pan. My apologies for the blurriness of the pictures. Matt wouldn't let me just take pictures of him. I had to sneak up and try to take them quickly before he'd make a silly face. He has waited a long time for it to finish by this point. And this is the end ...