Non-Party

The other day I wrote about the "non-party" we had planned for the Ohio State game. Well that non-party was last night. We weren't calling it a party because apparently, it's bad luck to have a party for the games. But it really was a party. And apparently, pretending it wasn't a party did not help at all. Ohio State still lost. It was a close game, and we were ahead for most of it, but at the last minute we lost. Luckily no one seemed too bummed, which was a good thing!

So I think I had more fun getting ready for the non-party than anything else :-) That's because I got to put some of my new fall things out for the first time, and I also invented my own recipe! That's another thing I get to cross off of my 101 goals in 1001 days list! My recipe was pretty simple. But I invented it myself, and I was a little out of my comfort zone. I'm not one of those people who can just throw ingredients together and come up with something delicious. Not at all. I'm one of those follow-the-recipe-down-to-the-last-letter people.

The recipe I invented was simply a dip to be eaten with tortilla chips. I was planning on just throwing together 1 can Hormel chili (without beans) and a whole block of cream cheese. But at the grocery store, I ended up picking up some cheddar cheese and lime and cilantro Rotel too. I added about 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese, and the whole can of Rotel. I know, I know...I just put 4 ingredients in a bowl and microwaved it. hardly a recipe. But I came up with it myself...basically. And I thought it turned out to be pretty good! So I'm counting that as a success for my goal list :-)

The party (er, non-party) itself was fun. We had a pretty full house! My cousin came over, and she brought her knitting supplies with her. She told me she wants to knit Christmas presents during all the football games this year. I told her how I'd been wanting to learn to knit for awhile, and I already happened to have a pair of knitting needles and bunches of yarn from my sister. So she taught me how! I spent the entire game practicing while I watched. I kept messing up and having to start over, but I think I basically got the hang of it! I have no pictures yet, but I'll share some when I finish my first project, which will probably be a scarf. Learning to knit is also an item on my 101 goals list. I knocked out two goals in one night! Come to think of it, both of these goals are on my bucket list, too! What a successful night :-) I was hoping that I would be able to cross off the goal that says "Watch an entire football game with Luke without complaining," but in all honestly I was too busy chatting and knitting to pay too much attention to the game. I just watched at the very exciting moments when everyone was on the edge of their seats or screaming at the TV. I'll probably have to wait until next weekend to accomplish that goal.

Now on to pictures...

I had fun today trying to transform my house a little bit more for fall:
I thought these RED apples in my yellow Longaberger bowl looked pretty festive for harvest time
I got to display all of my new candles and candle holders...mulled cider scent. This is a close second to sweet cinnamon pumpkin :-)Put away all of my summer teas, and traded them out for the fall ones. (I bought a cute shelf at a garage sale for $2 and it has become my tea shelf). I've got a fun Christmas flavor waiting on deck for a few months from now! Who doesn't love a nice cup of tea after a long day?
And here is a picture of the dip I made. I know the picture's kinda boring, but I want to make sure I post pictures of everything on my list! (Like I said, knitting pic to come later!)
And I made chocolate chip cookies...this was an Ohio State tray, but you can't tell because the logo is covered up. I got it for Luke for Valentines day a few months before our wedding :-)
And I thought it would be appropriate since football is REALLY underway now to give you a tour of our Ohio State room. I've talked about it before, and talked about how obsessed Luke is with OSU, but I think actually seeing this will help you understand how much he really loves the Buckeyes.

Upon entering our OSU room, which fills most of the attic of the house, this is what you see on a little ledge:
(Buckopoly, and 4 pictures...one at Ohio Stadium, one of Lebron at The Q, and one of Jacobs Field. Luke's 3 favorite places. Oh, and in the corner is the picture collage I made Luke for Valentines Day this year of the night Luke's band opened for Remedy Drive.)

Here's one wall...Luke picked out the color. I secretly hate it. Or, maybe not so secretly :-P But I like all the stuff hanging on the wall.
One of his Christmas presents from me last year
Another wall (please ignore the ugly carpet...we hope to replace it someday)
I love these pictures:
Close-up of his shelf
Closer up...this is pretty special to us...it was placed by the groom's cake at our wedding. I think Luke was pretty excited about that! It has our wedding date on it and is signed by Jim Heacock. The only thing better would have been if it was signed by Jim Tressel, Himself :-)
The other is signed by Anthony Gonzalez (yeah, I can't read it, either! To me it looks like it says "Lily" something ;-))
He got this cool "countdown to beat Michigan" clock for Christmas last year
I think the little snowmen spelling out "O-H-I-O" are too cute!
Moving on to the TV wall:
I got Luke this Fathead for his birthday...did you know you could send in a picture of anything and get it made into a fathead? I don't know that I'd ever pay that much for a giant sticker again, but since it was for Luke's birthday, I guess it was okay :-P
Luke's sister had an Ohio State Build-a-Bear made for him for a wedding gift (or maybe it was a b'day gift, I can't remember)...too cute :-)
And he hates Michigan so much, he had this cover of Sports Illustrated framed from when Appalachian State beat Michigan...the "Alltime Upset." He bought an Appalachian State t-shirt too...it was a happy day for him :-P
And the final wall that is worth showing...just lots of scarlet and gray
Oh...can't forget to show the door to the closet. It's supposed to look like an aerial view of the players' helmets.
Hey, look! The book I'm reading totally blends in with the rest of the room! (scarlet, gray, black, and white)
Some finishing touches...this rug at the top of the steps:
And there are lots of little decals in random places
and there are many more little details all over the place, but you get the idea. Do you have a better picture of the extent of the obsession now?? I'm learning to love The Buckeyes, too. Good thing I'm not a Michigan fan...I know Luke never woulda married me ;-)

Sorry for the super-long post!