Rotella Bread, Dorothy Lynch Dressing, and Runza

So I've officially been a Nebraskan for over a week now.  In that time I have jumped right in and taken part in some of the things I love about Omaha...all of them being food! :)  We have a local bread bakery here-Rotella's Italian Bakery-and it is AMAZING!!!  They have the best bread, rolls, buns, etc.  The best part about it all is that the wholesale store is less than 5 minutes from our house.  The first weekend we were here we got a loaf of whole wheat bread, a loaf of raisin bread, and two bags of rolls for under $4!  LOVE IT! 
Another one of my first purchases here was Dorothy Lynch dressing.  A few of you have had the pleasure of experiencing my most favorite dressing, and now I am SO glad I can get it anytime I want.  We always had it at my grandparents' house, so not only is it delicious, it has sentimental value too.  And lastly...Runza!  Runza is a fast food chain up here that I have loved since I was a little girl.  Once again...sentimental value.  My grandparents just recently moved into an apartment from the home that they had lived in FOREVER.  They had a Runza just down the street from their house, so we used to walk down there when we were visiting to eat.  We would also spend 4th of July evening set up behind Runza because it was the prime fireworks watching spot (and you know how much I LOVE the 4th of July and all things related!!!).  So yes...we have already eaten Runza since being in town, and I am almost positive we will eat it again soon.  The funny part is, we don't even eat their "signature item", the Runza (Homemade dough made from scratch everyday — stuffed full of ground beef, onions, cabbage, and secret spices—and then baked fresh and served hot.)...we eat their burgers and frings!

Anyways...enough of my rambling about food.  I am going to try to do a better job keeping up with this blog now that we are so far away.  In other news, we are attempting the whole potty training thing with Lainey right now.  I HATE it!!!!  She goes every time we put her on the potty, but she's not a fan of telling us when she needs to go.  As with everything in her life, it has to be on her terms!  The good news is her preschool helps with potty training, so we'll be ready for that reinforcement when she starts next week! 

I have a lot more to tell about back to school and what not, but that will have to wait until another day.  I'm at Borders using their Wi Fi, and I'm thinking I will be kicked out in the very near future!  I did work in my classroom today and was reminded how much FUN it is to get the room ready for the year.  Oh how I have missed that the last two years!!  I met with my co-teacher the other day and met a few other teachers.  Everyone seems SO nice, and I really think I am going to like it at my new school.  It's fun to see how God is putting everything in order and has lined things up so nicely! 

Our New Home

I figured I would post pictures on here as opposed to posting them all over the Facebook world...

Getting ready to leave Memphis...

Arriving at our new home!  The first thing I did was put my "T" flag in the yard...this shouldn't surprise you!

DISCLAIMER::  I feel that I must tell you that we are renting this house for at least a year.  Those of you who are familiar with renting can empathize with me when I tell you that we are extrememly restricted as to what we can do to the house.  Forget that all the changes I want to make (paint, cabinets, light ixtures, mailbox, etc) would all IMPROVE the quality of the house...our landlord still feels the need to be stuck in 1970, and I guess I have to come to terms with the fact that it's his property-his rules!  That being said...ignore the WHITE walls and know that I will try to do all I can to work with these things I cannot change in the meantime! :)

THE DINING ROOM

This is my new Pottery Barn table that I have been wanting FOR-EV-ER!!!  The chairs were my parents that my mom repainted black.  I found fabric I love at Premier (of course!), and my mom took over from there.  She redid the chair pads, and she made the cute little window treatment for my lovely vertical blinds.  Some of you are undoubtedly laughing at my giant silverware.  I'm in love!  I found them at Hobby Lobby awhile back and have been dying to use them!  The end result...attaching them to mat board to somewhat achieve the look I was going for.  (Hopefully this light fixture will change in the near future!) 

GUEST/LAINEY'S BATHROOM

This is one of our two TINY bathrooms.  Although we've lived in an apartment for the last six years, we've had decent sized bathrooms.  This is an adjustment for the Tosics, but we are learning things we don't want in a house we buy!  Don't be fooled by the shower curtain...there is only a bathtub behind there, but I felt the need to use my pretty shower curtain I made, so there ya go!

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GUEST ROOM

I just smiled as I typed that!  It's been 3 years since we've had a guest room (obviously since the little blonde one came along), and let's just say it has been interesting seeing how many people we can fit in our tiny apartment when my family would come in town.  Now they all have somewhere to stay!!!  Lainey refers to this room as "Nana'sRoom" as she stayed with us the first few days and will hopefully be returning soon!!  This room (as with the whole house) is still a work in progress!

LIVING ROOM (a.k.a. my favorite)

So I've always dreamed of having a living room that's just for sitting and talking...no tv's, no toys, nothing!  I get that in this house, and I have loved every minute of it!  That blue chair has become my most favorite spot in the house.  I can sit there and look through the mail, read a book, work on school stuff, or simply stare out the window...all of this while still being able to hear Lainey downstairs playing.  It has been SO nice to have a "toy free" living room!  Any of you who have been to our old apartment(s) will notice a big change of color.  Insert AMAZING Mom here!!  While I was at New Teacher Orientation she was hard at work on these window panels and pillows!  She did such a good job!  Thanks, Mom!!  About the only thing I contributed to this room was the fabric/color choice, and I did the shade on my Goodwill find lamp.  The walls are bare, but they will be filled eventually...just not sure with what yet!

BASEMENT (otherwise known as the PLAYROOM & MAN CAVE)

Oh wow!  I mean, I knew having a basement was going to be great, but I did not know just how great until I finally got one!  We have put ALL of Lainey's toys downstairs and made the rule that they are not allowed anywhere else in the house.  She has tested that about twice in the last week, but I think she's catching on.  She LOVES her new playroom, and has "cooked" for us a lot more lately, ha!

Man Cave

So Jovan finally has a man cave!  He has to share with Lainey, but I'm sure he would tell you he doesn't mind one bit.  He has both TV's down there and his PS3 (which conveniently broke earlier this week).   Both of our DVD players also decided to stop working this week, but we have since replaced it.  Seeing as we have no cable and will not for awhile, we were in need of something for those rainy days! 

The lovely bachelor-looking furniture came from my grandparents' basement and will soon be reuphosltered once I can decide on a fabric.  You may also notice even though this is technically his man cave, I still get to have my Huskers and Tigers stuff in there too. :)

LAUNDRY ROOM/CRAFT ROOM

So this is a MUCH needed space for me!  My laundry room is an actual room with a good amount of extra space.  This room truly creeped me out until we fixed it up a little bit and got all my crafty stuff in it.  It's home to the heaters, the washer and dryer, and a constant drip.  The only lighting in here was a light bulb with a pull string...are you getting the creepy picture?! 

We have since added a little cute fabric, my old rug, and all of my crafting equipment.  It's made it much more homey, and I am no longer afraid of being in there!  Best part is, just as Lainey's toys were overtaking our space, so was my craft stuff...now it all has a place!

Hope you enjoyed installment #1 of pictures.  Kitchen, Master Bed, and outside pics to come!!