peanut butter chocolate dessert

I made this recipe a month or two ago, and it was pretty much amazing! However, I don't think I'd make it again unless we were having a bunch of people over because it made so much and was so rich that we couldn't eat too much at a time. Also, I think that either layer by itself would be really yummy if you didn't feel like making the whole thing.

Ingredients:

20 Oreos

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. peanut butter

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 carton (16 oz) Cool Whip, thawed

15 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped

1 c. cold milk

1 pkg (3.9 oz) instant chocolate fudge pudding mix

Instructions:

Crush 16 cookies; toss with the butter. Press into an ungreased 9 in. square dish.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and 1 c. powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in half of the cool whip. Spread over crust. Sprinkle with peanut butter cups.

In another mixing bowl, beat the milk, pudding mix, and remaining powdered sugar on low speed for 2 minutes. Fold in remaining whipped topping. Spread over peanut butter cups. Crush remaining cookies; sprinkle over the top. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours.

new car

About a week ago, Thomas and I purchased our first car! Neither of us have ever owned a vehicle before, so we are really excited to have one and not have to bum rides off of people anymore. It's a 2005 Chevy Malibu, and even though the color was not my first choice, we are really happy with it. It is in really good shape, and we got a pretty good deal.

My friend April's birthday was a few weeks ago, and she decided she wanted to have an 80s themed party. We had a lot of fun dressing up for it...80s styles fascinate me. You can't see it in the picture, but I was also wearing my sweet pink high top Chucks and black leg warmers.

On Easter, we found that the Easter Bunny (aka Thomas's mom) had left us a surprise outside our door!

We had Easter dinner with Thomas's family and family friends and then had dinner with my family the following day. Both evenings were enjoyable, and we were especially grateful for a day off of school (which we spent car shopping).

Thomas spent the latter part of last week in Wisconsin at NCUR (the National Conference of Undergraduate Research). He is obviously not an undergrad, but he presented a paper from an undergraduate class. About 50 Truman students presented at the conference, so they all drove up together. Truman paid for travel, hotel, and food, which is nice (Thomas really likes going to conferences, but sometimes they can get pricy). He had a really good time.

We only have a week and a half left of school (not counting finals...but neither of us really have finals anymore, just papers). I'm so excited for this school year to be over. It's been a really long one. I've only got one year left til I finish my master's and then I'm done forever! My summer plans include working a lot (though I'm not sure where yet), beginning to work on my master's thesis, and trying to get back into shape. Thomas will be spending 7 weeks at Notre Dame taking an intensive Greek class. I am sure going to miss him, but it will make him more attractive to PhD programs, which he'll be applying to in the fall. Right now we're just hoping to survive the end of the semester and all of the work and grading that come along with it!

our apartment

We moved to our current apartment in August, and we love it! It was quite an upgrade from the apartment we lived in when we first got married, which was basically a glorified dorm room (at least size-wise). Our only complaints are the lack of dishwasher and washer/dryer in the apartment, and it could use a little more storage, but other than that it's great, and our rent couldn't be better. I thought I'd give everyone a little tour:

living room

view from the other side

dining area

kitchen (with all of our awesome appliances we got for the wedding)

hallway through kitchen to bathroom/bedroom

bathroom--pretty basic

bedroom (please ignore the unmade bed...but do take note of our sweet closets, both of which are twice as big as the one that we had before)

more views

There you have it! In other news...there isn't much to report. Just school and...more school. But only 1 month left before summer break!

Thomas being ridiculous on St. Patrick's Day :)