What's Up? Chicken butt!

So as you know, one of my goals this year was to get more creative in the kitchen. I've talked at length about my insecurities in the kitchen, how my Type-A personality really just wants to follow directions to the eighth of a teaspoon. The idea of a "dash of this" or "salt to taste" makes me break out in hives. It's all terribly ironic that I find myself cooking for twelve people every week, but I've gotten by with my standard five recipes that I can cook blindfolded and no one has complained about yet.

But. I'm trying to stretch myself this year. Trying to get out of my comfort zone. Trying to get creative. And nothing says creative like dealing with an entire chicken. At least for me. If you're a defeathering, impaling on a beer can, trussing pro, you can just read this with gentle amusement and an eye roll or two.

Anyway, the goal: Martha Stewart's Whole Roasted Mustard Chicken, as featured in this month's M.S. Living magazine. It looked simple enough (entire recipe fit on an index card) yet scary enough (um, whole chicken) to qualify for my little project.

Here's what we're shooting for.

Step one: obtain ingredients. This was accomplished after dropping Annie at daycare this morning. Thank you all US Presidents all for granting me the day off. The whole chicken was found, the rosemary thyme was procured, the cashier offered lots of encouragement when I showed her the recipe.

Reading through the recipe, I noticed that the chicken was supposed to be at room temperature. This creeped me out. Leave some raw chicken to hang out on the counter for a few hours? I'm no cook, but I feel like this flies in the face of all food safety laws out there. But whatever, I let the bird sit out while I watched an old episode of X-Files (hello Netflix streaming, I love you).

Step two: slice up ingredients. Easy.

Step three: deal with chicken. Here's how it went down. First, I wrestled the chicken out of its packaging. There were... parts... that needed to come out of the body cavity. I tried not to look too closely as I rinsed it out. Then I had to "pat dry" so I made a nice little bed of paper towels to lay the thing on. Once it was nice and dry, I washed my hands. Safety first. The next instructions were to salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. But how to hold the thing open while simultaneously operating the pepper grinder, all the while not contaminating anything with my raw chicken-infected hands? I settled for making a little seasoning dish with the salt and pepper. Then I had to stuff two lemons and the thyme up in there. And then I washed my hands. I placed the chicken on the vegetables. And washed my hands again. Now I had to rub oil all over the body, followed by brushing on the mustard, then more salt and pepper. I tried to touch as little as possible. I had my right hand covered in chicken, my left hand attempting to rub and brush and sprinkle (in retrospect, those hands should have been reversed). And then I washed those hands. Oh yeah, but I still had to tie the sucker up. I'm sure there's an official, nifty way to tie up a chicken, but my method of winding my fancy twine (which may or may not have silver sparkles on it) around that bad girl until she can't move seemed to work fine.

AND THEN I WASHED MY FREAKING HANDS. AGAIN.

Step four: into the oven. Finally. I was so exhausted I had to go lie down in the dark bedroom and rub lotion on my poor, chapped hands. All that work, all that hand washing, and the thing could still kill us with its underdoneness. Oh Martha, why do you do this to me?

All tied up and ready to go.

But lo and behold, what felt an hour and a half later (because it probably was), Matt arrived to pull this baby out of the oven! The veggies were a little overdone (not a hint of green left on those brussels sprouts, I'm afraid) but the chicken was mercifully cooked through. I let him have the honor of carving her up and I'm not going to lie, I soaked up every one of his compliments to the chef. And there you have it, folks. I roasted my first whole chicken and lived to tell the tale.

Who's hungry?

Credit where credit is due... 

Thank you Martha for the recipe. None of this would have been possible without Kim's roasting pan and meat thermometer - thanks for making sure my meat was cooked to a sufficient doneness. And thanks for leaving me the key to your house so I can go plunder your kitchen for the necessary tools I lack. Thank you to my supportive husband for his kind words and carving skills. Thank you to my kids for eating the chicken (I didn't even bother them with the veggies). Thank you to the lovely Publix cashier who gave me the confidence boost I needed while I waited in line. And finally, thank you to the internet, for teaching me that the correct name is brussels sprouts, not brussel sprouts, as I've been calling those suckers for years. Feeling simultaneously smarter and more idiotic now. (And for the rest of you whose minds I just blew with that little fact, you're welcome.)

Breakfast

This post is going to start the same way all these posts do - the rush of getting out the door in the morning, the temptation to grab a non-healthy breakfast item for the car, the sugar crash a couple hours in, the feeling of self-loathing for being such a horrible wife/mom/human being for not providing a nutritious, quick, easy breakfast that rivals Fruit Loops in your children's eyes.

Enter the solution - baked oatmeal muffins. Perhaps you've seen them on your own daily self-loathing trips to pinterest in search of solutions. And while these haven't solved the problem of missing shoes and toothpaste in the hair, it has worked for my routine. I can't say the kids are ready to give up their Fruit Loops for chai seeds and unsweetened applesauce, but I played around with various recipes until I found one that the husband finally agreed was edible. (That is, until he started making his own smoothies with kale, DHA oil and freshly grated ginger. Talk about a show-off.)

So good. Even at 10 at night.

Here's the thing I like about these muffins. I make a 12-batch and freeze everything in big ziplock bags. The night before, I can pull one out and let it thaw in the fridge. Come morning, I either zap it for 20-30 seconds for a delicious, warm breakfast. Or (more likely in this place), I can toss it in my bag until I finally get around to remembering/eating it, usually in front of my first graders during reading groups. (Don't worry, they are used to this behavior. We often play "find Mrs. Loughman's coffee cup" as I continuously set it down and forget where I left it.) Honestly, I could and have pulled these babies straight out of the freezer (because I forgot to thaw the night before) and by the time I remember to eat it, it has thawed itself to room temperature just fine.

Had to make sure you caught a glance at my smug organic fare. This is the batter before the milk.

A few things you should know about this recipe: For one, it is not very sweet. These aren't going to be your grandma's muffins or a muffin-shaped oatmeal cookie. The applesauce is unsweetened, there is no added sugar (although some recipes I've seen call for brown sugar). You will use a good-sized dollop of honey, and because I'm fancy like that, I used my sister-in-law's organic raw honey infused with organic elderberries (can you feel the smugness rolling off that last sentence?)

Makes 12 dense, little bites of health and happiness, plus some extra.

But because I like sweet things (I'm only human), I prefer to opt into the chocolate chips that get sprinkled on top. They make things just a bit yummier, especially if you warm things up. Blueberries work too, but it's okay to just go for it with the chocolate. No one is judging.

Baked Oatmeal Muffins
makes 12 plus some leftover
adapted from here

1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
2 bananas, mashed
1/4 cup honey 
2 1/2 cups, Old Fashioned rolled oats 
1/8 cup chai seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon flax seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk 
Optional toppings: blueberries, raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips, pomegranate seeds, etc.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix egg, vanilla, applesauce, banana and honey together in a bowl.
Add in oats, seeds (if using), cinnamon, baking powder, salt and mix well with wet ingredients.
Finally pour in milk and combine. Mixture will appear loose, but don't freak out. It will set up fine in the oven.
Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. (I spray the paper with cooking spray - it seems to help the muffins slide out of their wrapping just a bit easier.)
Divide mixture evenly into muffin tin cups. I use a 1/4 measuring cup and fill to almost the top. Any extra batter I'll pour into a ramekin to bake alongside the muffins.
Add the toppings. Obviously chocolate chip is the least healthy, but also my favorite because it adds a touch of sweetness you won't get from the muffins themselves.
Bake 30 minutes. Cool, eat, freeze, you choose!

All Good Things...

All good things must come to an end, and that includes this summer. I'll be honest, I was prepared for this summer to be kinda meh. I figured the pool would be tough with two kids. We didn't have our traditional beach trip with the neighbors planned. I thought battling boredom, tv obsessions and non-stop snack whining would be in the cards for sure.

But I've been pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. The summer has been great! And now it's almost over.

On Thursday I leave the kids with Matt and head to a... Bible study weekend? Spiritual retreat? Cult gathering? To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I'm in for, other than I can't bring a cell phone. Or a watch. No technology of any kind is allowed. I'm terrified looking forward to being unplugged from it all for three days.

And when I get back, that's it. Bye bye summer. Annie starts daycare and I head back to the "office". I'm going to try to get my classroom ready in the three days before preplanning starts that Thursday. (Cue husband rolling eyes at the fact that I use unpaid time to get things ready. But the amount of meetings and things we have on the schedule before the kids show up really doesn't give much choice.)

So to make myself feel better about the end of summer, I thought I'd go through and list the accomplishments and activities we enjoyed these last eight weeks. Here goes!

Books read: 12 (I know, that seems like a lot even for me! I got in some trashy romance set in the Scottish Highlands, a couple detective novels set in a pre-astroid apocolyptic world, some John Green soon-to-be-a-movie YA, Amazon's Book of the Year, amongst others.)

Vacations taken: 2 (although with a stop at the beach and the Great Wolf Lodge, I almost want to count this one trip as two vacations).

Day camps for Violet: 2 (Definitely looking to increase this next year! Camps have been a blast!)

Sleepovers for Violet: 2

Times Annie peed on potty: 2

Vegetables harvested from garden: 3 peppers, 6 and counting cucumbers, lots 'o cherry tomatoes, basil out our ears

Baseball games attended: 0 (This one makes me sad.)

Number of school ideas pinned to Pinterest: 0 (Seriously, I try to really take time off in the summer. Plus Pinterest has started to stress me out.)

Miscellaneous accomplishments: got new glasses, finished my Invisalign braces, bought a new Kindle after mine died, converted Annie's crib (not sure this should be listed as "accomplishment"), rearranged playroom

And there you have it! Not a bad summer, if I say so myself. It's been so nice to get up in the morning without having to jump immediately into the shower and onto the day. I've actually had time to think about things and not make snap decisions, time to consider and mull things over. What a luxury! I'm trying to hold onto this feeling, soak it in while it lasts, before works takes over everything again. We have a couple last playdates, I'm sure there's at least one more trip to the pool in our future, we're goign to keep this one good to the last drop.

Going Organic

Along with my new beauty routine, another change slowly taking place this summer has been at the grocery. More and more of my grocery picks are of the organic variety.

You're probably rolling your eyes right now. Either because you practically have stock in Whole Foods and have been buying organic, cage-free, nitrate-free, grass-fed, locally-sourced, minimally-processed whole-grain super foods for the past decade, or because you refuse to buy into the over-priced hype that is "organic," whatever that label means.

Just a few months ago, I fell firmly into the latter category. I mean, no one can really argue that food with fewer pesticides and hormone injections is worse for you. But is it really better for you? And it certainly isn't better for your wallet. I basically lived by the rule of "when I win the lottery, sure I'll buy organic".

But then my neighbor Kim had to do a persuasive speech as part of a class assignment and I was invited to be part of the audience. (Yep, she had to do the speech for an audience, and film us to prove we were there listening attentively. Side note - I totally wanted to punk her professor and show up in costume or something. Oddly, Kim refused to let us...) As part of the assignment, she had to pick a side: organic or not worth it. And as often happens, in the course of her researching and writing and persuading, she actually convinced herself. Not only that organic is better (no one really argues there), but that it's also worth the increased cost. To put her money where her mouth was, she decided to buy all organic for a month. And as her neighbor, I benefited once a week from this shopping decision. I then proceeded to get brainwashed by her enthusiasm.

Now that organic products are relatively easy to find, and sloooowly coming down in price, I've started making a few switches. Now we buy organic milk. (Gulp. I get SO mad when the girls waste it. Talk about crying over spilt milk. I haven't been this sensitive about milk consumption since I was nursing/pumping. If breastmilk is liquid gold, organic milk is liquid silver.)

I bought organic chicken the other day. My eggs are cage-free. The girls have organic mac and cheese, animal crackers, apple sauce and juice boxes. We haven't made a complete switch yet, though. I can't seem to bring myself to buy organic cheese. And it's hard to buy organic fruit when the in-season produce is finally so cheap. Organic pasta, is it really necessary?

So, baby steps. I can't say I've noticed any radical differences, other than feeling more smug and superior when I roll through the aisles of Publix. But as Kim oh so persuasively pointed out, the more we (the universal we) buy organic, the greater the demand, the lower prices will drop, you get the economic picture.

But until then, you can find me crying into my (organic) milk.

One of Those Women

This summer, I've picked up some new habits. A few things, I never thought I'd be doing. A few, I should have been doing long ago.

For starters, I've finally become a grown up and started washing my face every night. With actual facial products. Anti-aging products. Products that cost more than my weekly grocery list (don't worry, I get a sweet discount through a lovely contact).

But surely you've been taking care of your skin all along, you say in horror! You're in your mid-thirties, for crying out loud! You're doing 55 down a one-way highway to Wrinkletown! Well, I'd like to say yes. But there have been many a nights I've reached for a baby wipe and made a half-hearted swipe at my face before passing out in bed. There have been many more nights where I've fallen asleep, make-up still smeared about, giving me a Walking Dead fright when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror the next morning. Washing my face every night is right up there with flossing: I know I should do it, I believe I should do it, I just can't seem to make myself religiously follow through with my good intentions. Until now.

So what has changed, you ask? Well, I finally invested in some good products, thanks to a generous friend. When she heard about my beauty "routine," she practically dragged me to her car and foisted a bag of samples on me, making me promise to ditch the baby wipes. I agreed, abashed. Hey, if it didn't work out, I'd have a drawer of freebies to gather dust, no sweat off my (wrinkled) brow.

To my amazement, however, taking care of my skin has become my new thing. Forcing myself to wash my face, slather on my moisturizer, dab on my eye cream, it's given me a self-imposed ten minutes of "me time" (hahaha, me time! Remember that?!) Do I see a difference? Well, I do! Although whether it's from the formula (words like longevity, rejuvenation potential and vitality can't hurt) or the fact that anything would be an improvement over my last skin care regimen, is still out for debate. But I'm afraid I've gotten myself thoroughly hooked. I've started making sure I wash my face right after putting the girls to sleep, ensuring I don't end up too exhausted to drag myself to the sink after binge-watching the latest season of Veep. But it hasn't been hard to start this new habit. I find I so look forward to the mini-face massage of cleansing and rich, buttery night moisturizer (yep, I have a night moisturizer and a day moisturizer. I'm one of those women now) that making time for it hasn't been a problem. What used to seem like such a huge chore is now easy.

Now flossing, that's still an insurmountable bedtime obstacle.

If Walls Could Talk

Who named this?

So this is happening...

...They would be so relieved to be getting a fresh coat of paint! These walls have desperately needed a facelift and I can't believe it's actually happening. Talk about an intimidating job. These guys are pros, however, with their scary tall ladders and paint brushes. Better them than me! Think they'll change the lightbulbs for me while they're up there?

World's longest paintbrush.

Christmas Time is Here

The stockings are hung by the fireplace with care (gotta get one more!)

We've decided this is the best tree we've ever had!

Annie during her required tummy time - the tree seems to help.

Introducing Penny the Elf! She got into Violet's hairbows one night, silly thing!

Violet's Room

We have been hard at work redoing the nursery this weekend, but before I show you the progress, I realized I haven't officially debuted Violet's big girl room yet. It's been a steady work in progress for the past few months, but I think it's finally done. Just excuse the dark photos... using my phone as my camera is convenient but has its drawbacks!

Once you step through the door...

We left the purple paint because, hey, Violet likes purple for now. The furniture is Ikea. The bedding is from Land of Nod, as is the garland. I really wanted something nice and bright to pop on the purple walls and with all the white furniture. This definitely did the trick, and I think Violet will be able to keep it for a while. I framed some random scrapbook paper and reclaimed the mirror and cabinet from elsewhere in the house.

Close up of the dresser. Love the print from Naptime Diaries.

Reading nook (sorry for the crappy photo quality).

The reading corner features curtains from Target, two little chairs from Ikea, and spice racks turned book shelves, also Ikea. The "read" sign I got at Hobby Lobby. Thanks, pinterest, for the inspiration! The shelves are nice because they keep the books way more organized that a regular bookshelf, and it puts a limit on the amount of books Violet can keep in her room, so we're not overrun.

Read all about it!

How it all fits together...

And there you have it! I'm pleased with how it turned out, considering I have zero decorating sense or style. Violet seems pretty content with it, too. Now if only we could keep it this neat and clean on a regular basis!

Big Girl Room

Now that Violet is going to be a big sister, one of my goals for spring break was getting her in a big girl room. Conveniently, our guest room came painted purple when we bought the house, so it was a no-brainer to pick this for Violet's new space.

The guest room.

 Matt and I set a pretty high bar for ourselves on Tuesday. We left the house at 9 a.m. with a goal of getting everything we needed at Ikea in one day. By the end of our shopping spree, we had a full cart including a new bed and mattress, dresser, end table, lamp, and some random do-dads. I was happy everything we wanted was in stock and even more thrilled that it all fit in our car for the ride home.

Ready to pack the car!

Once home, we tackled the boxes and lovely illustrated Ikea directions. Everything went smoothly. It was much like putting together Violet's nursery (oh, so long ago! The memories!) except on a much larger scale. My primary job was counting all the pieces and turning the pages of the instruction booklet. I like to think I was an invaluable part of the team.

Matt helps to test out the new bed - just right for some bedtime book reading!

A mere four or five hours later (it started to run together there at the end), we were done! I still need to find a bedding set (I'm having trouble finding a fun, colorful one), bright curtains, and some fun little accessories to finish off the project. But not bad for one day's work!

Shrimp and Grits, Ya'll

I know what you're thinking. Three posts in a row, Kristine? What's going on? Well, that's what happens when this girl is on vacay - time to breath, time to think, time to get the creative juices going!

Time off from work also means I get brave enough to tool around in the kitchen. Usually when it's my turn to host the neighbors, I stick with one of my tried and true recipes that I'm super comfortable with. But today I worked up the nerve to try something new. Two somethings new, in fact.

Believe it or not, I have never cooked shrimp. Or grits. And certainly not the two together. In fact, I barely eat grits. I'm not a Southern girl, it's just not how I was raised. That would be Italian and Swedish, if you don't know. But my pal Emily raved about a super easy recipe that seemed simple enough for even this kitchen klutz. And I'm pleased to report that it was easy. And delicious. And passed the test of my very Southern neighbor. So there you have it. Shrimp and grits, ya'll. Enjoy!

Yum, right?

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Grits

1 cup quick cook grits
Salt (I used kosher) and Pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus wedges for serving
2 Tablespoons roughly chopped parsley

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, covered. Uncover and slowly whisk in the grits, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic and cayenne, if using, and cook, tossing until the shrimp are pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 2 tablespoons water, the lemon juice and parsley; stir to coat the shrimp with the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

3. Divide the grits among shallow bowls and top with the shrimp and sauce. Serve with lemon wedges.

Up Against the Wall

I was inspired this weekend to make a new photo collage on our walls. Some of these pictures were previously up in our sunroom, but as we've been gradually converting that space into Violet's playroom, they just don't go with the decor any longer. So with a few new pieces in hand and some pinterest inspiration, I got to work.

First I found an arrangement I liked.

Then I traced the frames onto butcher paper and taped them to the wall.

Finally, I hired a handyman (and handygirl) to put them up. Matt nailed right through the paper to ensure perfect placement.

The finished product! With some room to grow!

A better look at the actual arrangement.

Paint Chips Ahoy!

Remember when I made the paint chip coasters? Well, I was originally inspired by this idea for a paint chip calendar. Seeing as the first project turned out well, I decided to get crafty once more.

While the original idea just involves gluing a bunch of paint chips to paper for each month, I don't have the time, patience, or guts to take a year's worth of paint chips from my local home improvement store. So I decided to modify a bit and make a reusable version. Here's how it all went down.

Assemble the palette.

First I had to procure enough coordinating paint chips. This involved me skulking around Home Depot surreptitiously slipping paint chips in my pocket. I'm not sure if they would be mad at me taking 35 paint chips, but I decided not to care (or advertise the fact). I decided to go with a cool blue and purple palette that would hopefully look good with my kitchen.
 

Cut to size.

Next up, I had to trim the paint chips into squares and then arrange the chips into a pleasing pattern. I didn't want the same colors ever touching, and I kind of did a light-to-dark color thing, but other than that, this was all eye-balling to see what looked right.

Arrange the grid.

Finished design.

Once I had it in a pattern I liked, it was time to glue it down. I used a 14x18 frame and just flipped over the faux family picture insert it came with to give myself a white background. I drew a line around the edge of where the chips would go, just to give myself something to follow. If I was super crafty and a perfectionist, I guess I would have drawn the entire grid, but I decided to just eyeball the spacing, and it seemed to work out. ( I also left more room at the top so I could write in the name of the month, just so you know.)

Glue those babies down.

I started gluing from the bottom, and added each row above, again, just eye-balling the placement of each square. A glue stick worked fine, and since the whole thing is going under glass, I wasn't too worried about getting the corners down perfectly. Then the whole thing went into the frame. I used a vis-a-vis marker to fill in the dates (although once school starts I'll find a black or blue marker in my stash - it would look better than the green). And there you have it!

Calendar? Or modern art? You decide!

Bring it on, July!

Coasting Along

Now that I'm home from the beach, I'm feeling the need to be productive. And not just in the "I've got to clean up this house" way. I'm talking about producing - making something new. I was bumming around on Pinterest and I stumbled on these cute coasters and decided to try my hand at them. A trip to Home Depot coincided perfectly and I was able to pick up the supplies I needed. And now I present you with a quick and fun 2-and-a-half minute DIY project. (Original tutorial here.)

First up, gather supplies:
4 white tiles (I got mine at Home Depot for 16 cents each)
4 paint chips (again, Home Depot, free, already cut in these cute leaf/fish shapes)
Package of self-stick felt circles for the coasters' feet (2.97 for 75 - I can make a lot more coasters!)
Mod Podge
Sponge brush

The supplies

Step 1:
Brush the tile with mod podge.
Position the paint chip on the tile and brush more mod podge over the top.

Make sure to completely cover the paint chip. I used the wooden end of the brush to push down the edges of the paint chip that kept trying to peel up. Like the original tutorial suggested, I kept all the paint strokes going the same direction, since you'll be able to see the grain once it dries.

Painting done, now it's ready to dry.

Step 2:
Let it dry. It dries quickly, in just 20 minutes or so, but I left mine over lunch just to be on the safe side. Remember, it will dry clear, so you'll still be able to see the writing on the paint chip. But the paint names are rather fitting - "darkest grape," anyone?

Step 3:
Once dry, flip tile over and apply felt circles. These will serve as the feet and keep the coasters from scratching the table surface.

Felt "feet" applied.

Step 4:
Drink up!

Disclosure: wine glass is empty because I shot this at 10:30 a.m. and even I have standards.

Taking out the cost of the mod podge and sponge brush because I already had these supplies, the coasters only cost me 32 cents each and took roughly 2-and-a-half minutes to make (minus drying time). So fun and easy!

At the Door

See this face? This is the face of someone off to their last day of the first year of teaching first grade. (Notice the bags under my eyes?) Yep, I survived. The kids are safely off to the loving (and I imagine, quickly exasperated) arms of their parents. I have two days of post-planning/moving classrooms and then my summer will officially start. I can't wait!

In the meantime, listen to this interesting story. The other day a little old man rang our doorbell. This is odd because first off, no one ever rings our doorbell. Our visitors usually pound on the back door (or more than likely, just let themselves in). Secondly, when the doorbell does ring, it's never a little old man standing there.

This little old man also happened to be clutching an extremely gaudy gold picture frame with an ugly faded purple matting. "I have something for you," he announced, thrusting the frame into Matt's arms. As it turns out, our home's first owner was standing on the front steps. He told us that all the original owners in the neighborhood received a special gift upon moving in - an aerial shot of their home. He and his wife discovered the old picture as they were cleaning out their current home in preparation to move and he took the time to drive it over and bequeath it to us.

Not something that happens every day, I dare say.

So I promptly discarded the ugly frame and faded matting, classed it up a bit, and look!

Our house, from the sky!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

I needed a quick treat I could whip up for a Wednesday night small group. Our food theme (because we're fun like that!) was "meats and sweets" and I was obviously going the sweet direction. I remembered this easy breezy recipe (I overheard it in the teachers' lounge and let's face it, it's not to hard to keep the ingredients straight) and decided to try it out.

And just for the record, I do not love to cook (I tolerate it because I must nourish my body somehow and my neighbors' feed me if I feed them). I especially do not like to cook new recipes. Ah, the fear of the unknown! But I was so pleased by how these little cuties turned out that I made another batch almost immediately.

Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Assemble the troops.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (or muffins, if that makes you feel better)

Ingredients:
1 box of spice cake mix
1 can of pumpkin

(see, I told you it would be easy to remember)

Directions:
Combine cake mix and pumpkin.
Stir. Hard. The batter will get super thick. You could probably add up to a half cup of water just to make it easier, but I use this as my exercise for the day. Besides, you'll be wanting to burn off the calories later. Bake according to box directions.

So thick the spoon sticks straight up in the batter.

I poured my batter into a mini cupcake pan, making 24 mouthfuls of deliciousness, with some batter left over. Regular sized would work too. Just note that the batter is way thick - these babies aren't going to spread and settle down in the pan. However you get them in there is pretty much how they will come out, crazy peaks and lumps and all.

Out of the oven.

And speaking of the calories I just mentioned, these cupcakes as is are not bad for you at all. You have omitted the heavy hitters of eggs and oil, so you can eat these pretty guilt-free. That is, until you add the homemade cream cheese frosting.

Bad, bad frosting ingredients.

Cream Cheese Frosting (worth it, trust me - remember all the calories you saved on those healthy cupcakes?)

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter (I know, I know, but still so good!)
4 oz cream cheese (half a package)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Cream together the room-temperature (or briefly microwaved for lazy-dazies like me) butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar, a bit at a time, beat until nice and fluffy. Frost those babies. Dare yourself to eat just one.

With an artistic bit of cinnamon sprinkling.

Tempting close-up of these bad boys!

Birthday Girl

Let's get it started...

We celebrated Violet's second birthday in style this weekend. While she won't officially turn two until Wednesday, the luxury of a long weekend to recover from the festivities was too good to pass up. And let me tell you, when you plan a doughnut and jammies party that starts at 10:30 a.m., you'd better have a long weekend to recover, because you'll be racing around like mad the night before trying to get everything in place!

Craft time!

We kicked off the party with the craft (don't ask me why I decided to do a craft, much less one involving paint... it must be the first grade teacher in me) and it actually turned out great! Moms were on  hand to help the little ones, but the boys took charge themselves, decorating and stuffing their own pillow. My theory is, if you're going to bother doing a craft, it might as well be something useful and not just crap that will get thrown away as soon as the kid arrives home. Hopefully the pillows will be a cute little reminder of Violet's big day. These pillows were 12x12 (not too big), zipped closed (easy access) and had a photo pocket on front (the photo we used was a thank you from Violet).

Pillow in progress.

 After crafts, we ate from a menu that included rainbow fruit skewers, mini muffins, sugared bacon and teddy grahams. There was plenty of juice for the kids and mimosas for the adults. We took a quick break to open presents. The theme of the day seemed to be Minnie Mouse and all things paint and art - finger paints, bathtub crayons, coloring books, the works. I can't wait to get a chance to play with it all! Then it was cake time.

Singing Happy Birthday.

This was my favorite moment of the day. All morning long Violet was running around, playing with the friends, tearing into her presents, but the minute we started singing Happy Birthday, it was as though she finally realized the whole day was all about her. With the spotlight shining on her, my sweet girl turned shy. You could tell she was amazed that the whole room was singing to her.

She's two!

For the record, doughnut cakes are genius. I never realized it until we had one ourselves. Other than the necessary early morning pick-up, they are perfect. No one argues about who gets the bigger slice. There's less messy icing to deal with. Everyone loves them. It was perfect.

Besties.

Going for it.

Violet and her two best friends from school. You should have seen the attempts we moms made to get a picture where they were all smiling. This was the best I could do. Such sweeties! I loved seeing them playing with each other.

And the whole party was over in time to send everyone home for lunch and a much needed nap. Well, my own child refused the nap, but what can you do? She's a big girl now!

The party was great, compliments abounded, and I have to give credit where it's due. I had so much help from everyone to make the day special. The grandmas did the heavy lifting when it came to food, 90 percent of the decorations came from my neighbors, Matt fetched and poured and took pictures like a pro backstage manager, and it all came together seamlessly. So thanks everyone!

Thank you for coming! Love, Violet