Burnt Apples

This is a classic example of everyday Megan. I thought I'd make my husband a big, delicious, southern lunch. The menu was fried chicken strips, gravy, mixed veggies, cooked apples, and garlic bread. I'd never made fried chicken strips before, so I was really pleased with how well they turned out. However, in the midst of keeping up with everything (or so I thought), I lost track of the apples...and apparently, the brown sugar I put on top caramelized just a little too much. The result? Burnt apples.

Some good did come out of this meal though. For one, I've been cooking mainly just easy meals since we've been home, like chili, baked potatoes, scrambled egg sandwiches, stuff like that, so this was my first complete meal I've made in our remodeled kitchen and the countertop space is unbelievable!!! I loved it and it totally put me in the mood to cook. For two, eating at the bar side of our new granite island is a lot of fun and makes any meal better! And three, despite the burnt apples, Ben still gave this meal a 10 out of 10. Thanks, babe!

Welcome to Everyday Megan!

Welcome to Everyday Megan! Here you can see what goes on in my everyday life. I fear that I won't have a lot to post about, given that my life can seem pretty boring at times...but I really enjoyed keeping our blog on Europe over the summer, so I decided to start my own anyway.

Since we've been back in the states, here are a few of the highlights of what has been going on. The day after we got back, I was the matron of honor is my best friend Ashley's wedding.

She was so beautiful!! Lovely wedding and reception...loved it all. Directly after the reception, Ben and I drove straight to Destin, Florida to spend the week with Ben's whole family - parents and all his siblings and their spouses and our adorable niece and nephew. "Uncle Bee-en" (as our niece Reagan says in a little country accent) loved playing with the kids, and our nephew Quint really took a liking to him. Ben carried him all around the outlet malls strapped to his chest. It was adorable! They look so much alike, I think people just assumed it was his little boy!

One day we rented a pontoon boat and 2 jet skis, which was a blast! The whole trip was awesome, and I'm so sad that it's over already!

We got back from Florida on Saturday night. That gave me one day to do some laundry and get myself prepared for starting in a new position at work the next day. Needless to say, after being gone all summer the house needs some cleaning. I feel like I missed spring cleaning, so I'm ready to go through and clean out all my drawers and get rid of old clothes and shoes. I should probably do this now before I lose my motivation - ha.

The biggest change coming home is that my dad started remodeling our kitchen a couple weeks before we got home. It looks AMAZING!! Now these are only some work-in-process pictures, so I'll post better, more detailed ones once the project is complete.

We got a new stove/oven, my dad put in a new hood over the stove, he tore out the half walls that made the doorway between the dining room and kitchen, he put in the island, he put in new countertops, he put the new backsplash up behind the stove, he vaulted part of the ceiling and put in a new light fixture...what didn't he do? What can I say...my dad is awesome!

He also tore out a little half wall between the living and dining rooms and built this column there himself. It really opens up the area and I love it!

Now to just get all the hardwood floors in! That will tie it all together and make it look really nice. Can't wait to see the finished product...I'll keep you updated!!