We have officially signed our new lease for our brand new apartment. I am beyond thrilled. On top of everything I’ve already told you about the new place, we finally got to meet with the landlord in person and he told us that he built the building himself less than two years ago. I can’t believe we were lucky enough to find such a new place in such a great location! I knew it was new, but not that new. I can’t remember the last time I was inside of a building that was less than 15 years old. No more creaky floors that feel like a fun house mirror when you walk on them, no more leaky sinks, no more windows that don’t open all the way, and no more doors that shake in the wind. Right now, we have an entrance to the roof through one of our rooms and the door just barely stays shut – it makes the most awful noise on even just semi-windy days and nights. Our current building is going through quite a time – it’s actually in foreclosure at the moment. Our landlords keep insisting that we are to pay rent to them, while the paperwork we’ve been given by a representative tells us to pay rent to a receiver, and that receiver keeps telling us that he cannot advise us at this time and to just do nothing. I feel really uncomfortable with the situation and I am so happy that we will be out of here soon. People have even started scrawling messages on the walls and windows in the front of the building near the mailboxes. They’ve been writing notes such as “Don’t pay rent!” or “Max (the building’s owner) is a liar!” It’s unsettling, knowing that you’re living in a place that isn’t completely secure. By the way, one of those notes was painted onto the wall with cigarette ashes – how lovely! My new building, on the other hand, only has ten apartments in the entire building and is very well kept and clean. Now, all we have to do is pack.

I made these Peanut Butter Cheesecake Oreo Bites as a quick dessert to bring to my sister-in-law’s apartment on Christmas Day. As I explained before, she hosted a little “Festivus” celebration for us, her boyfriend, and a neighbor of theirs. I brought Split Pea Soup, but she really went all out and made a ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pasta, cinnamon rolls and an amazing apple pie with a beautiful crust. I didn’t want to come over with just soup, so I whipped these up in about 30 minutes. They’re very simple and will please just about anyone, as all they are composed of is cream cheese, peanut butter and Oreos. They are essentially a 10-year-old’s dream come true (or in my case, my 23-year-old husband’s dream come true). I used crunchy peanut butter for some extra texture (be honest, the only good peanut butter is crunchy peanut butter) and mixed that with some regular cream cheese, placed a dollop of the mixture on top of some Oreos, baked the whole thing, and ta-da! I had a little bite-sized dessert ready to go. I don’t know a single soul who can turn his or her nose up at an Oreo, especially when they’re topped with peanut butter.





Your ingredients. I couldn’t help opening up the package for a treat while baking!



Line your tins with muffin cups and place an Oreo inside of each.



Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy, about 3 minutes.



Add in the peanut butter, beat until combined, then add in the egg and vanilla, and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.



Place dollops (about 2-3 tablespoons) of the cream cheese mixture on top of each Oreo.



Crush up the 7 Oreos you had set aside.



Sprinkle the tops of the peanut butter-cream cheese mixture with the Oreo crumbs, pressing down a bit to be sure that they stick. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, until just barely turning golden.



Allow to cool before removing.