Snowed In

I have to admit, the snow is pretty, but it sure puts a damper in any plans one might have. We didn't leave the house at all on Sunday. I was supposed to have an interpreting job that night but had to cancel  and yesterday me and the boys were stuck at home too.
But we made the most of our time inside. Chris and Charles went out in the snow and made a snowman and snow angels. We drank hot chocolate, stayed in our sweat pants, colored, and baked. Who can complain??
I took these pictures of the boys from the warmth of our apartment. Lucky thing we live on the first floor.
  
Behold, Pioneer Woman's French Breakfast Puffs. If you haven't tried them, please don't waste any time and go make them now.

Movember Moustaches and Morning Cafés

Auntie Rachel came to visit over Thanksgiving and brought these super cute bearded hats she made for Lawrence and Max. They are sooo cute!

  

This was Lawrence's first time meeting Auntie Rachel

I know I speak for Jess too when I say we are so happy our boys have Rachel for an 'Auntie' and that we miss her loads and loads. Ray and Jess took me out for a delicious birthday breakfast (and the best vanilla latte ever) at People's Organic Cafe that was so special to be the three of us together. Thank you friends. I wish we had gotten a picture! dang. I guess we'll just have to go again over Christmas. (right girls?)

While she was here we made a morning trip to Isles with Charles' other special 'Uncle' Ishabor for some puppy tails. YUM.

 

 I love my friends and I love cafés and when the two come together it is truly a wonderful thing. 

Love at First Scoop

I love pumpkin. It' one of the best things about fall. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin scones, pumpkin butter, pumpkin PIE! The only thing I don't really like pumpkin in is drinks- not a fan of pumpkin spiced lattes. I'll stick with my dirty chai thankyouverymuch.
Last fall I discovered another pumpkin love. Pilgrim Joe's Pumpkin Ice Cream from Trader Joe's.



Now, don't misunderstand me. I have had pumpkin ice cream before and loved it. It's one of those seasonal things I look forward to every fall. But THIS pumpkin ice cream blows all the others out of the water. or the park. or whatever..

I bought some last October and knew I had found something amazing the first second it touched my tongue. The rich creamy texture, the spices, and the amazing pumpkin flavor, all partying together in my mouth. Like a perfect waltz. I made a mistake, though, that has haunted me ever since. I only bought one carton. Thinking that it would be around at least through Thanksgiving I figured that I would be able to get another when we finished the first. Wrong. They  had completely sold out by the end of October! WHAT?? So I was left to only dream about this wonderful frozen goodness and cry myself to sleep at night wishing I could have just one more spoonful.. ok, maybe not that bad.

Anyway, as the cooler weather approached this year I was anxiously waiting to see if they would have it again, and when. About a week ago we got our newsletter from TJ's and I rushed to the store as fast as I could. Behold! There it was! and pretty well stocked, for now. Not wanting to make the same mistake as last year I quickly put three in my basket and headed home. Yes, that's right. I bought three. I am not ashamed. I am determined to make them last as long as I can. Or at least until Thanksgiving. To be honest, I don't know if I should even be sharing this with you because if you know whats good for ya, you would run out and get some as well. But then there will be less for me.. if I cant control myself. which I can.



Ya know what, forget it. Forget everything I just said. It's not that good. honest.

Fourth of July

This was our first fourth of July back in Minneapolis and boy was it a hot one! A whopping 101 degrees to be exact! We left the comfort of our air conditioned apartment and headed to a friends house to bbq. Luckily there were water balloons, squirt guns, and just plain old buckets of water to keep us cool.

 

This was the first fourth of July in four years I think that I didn't make 'my' flag cake (I say 'my' because I got the recipe from Pioneer Woman who got it from Barefoot Contessa.) In reality, with this heat, the icing stripes would have melted away within a few minutes. Instead I made chocolate chip cookies and lemonade cookies, both of which have been part of my cravings as of late. When it comes to cravings I have been wanting chocolate chip cookies and lemon dessert-y stuff. yum yum yummm.

While I don't have a picture of the cookies, I do have a photo of Chris' three meat creation.
Behold, a bacon wrapped burger stuffed with shrimp. oh yes

 

Despite the heat, we had a really good time. We are thankful to be back with old friends and for the new friends we have here too.
As the evening went on we could hear people setting off fireworks and Charles didn't really like the loud noise. He wanted to see them but not hear them. We got home just when the real fireworks were starting and could see some from the front of our building but after a few minutes he wanted to go back in. Perhaps next year he will be more into it.

 

"nothings says 'U.S.A.'s the bomb' quite like a bomb pop".. S. Kirby

The Big Reveal

When I was pregnant with Charles we waited until he was born to know if he was a boy or girl. I loved not knowing and having the surprise at his birth. With this baby we decided to find out what we were having. After the ultrasound Chris and I kept it to ourselves for two and a half weeks (!!!) until we could have family and close friends over to tell them first.
On Sunday we had a 'reveal party' to share the big news.. Boy or Girl??
When guests arrived they were asked to wear their guess by pinning either a mustache or a bow on their shirts.



Later we read through some old wive's tales about how to tell if it's a boy or girl. You know, if you're carrying high it's a girl, low it's a boy. If your face gets fat or pimply it's a girl. If your hands are really dry it's a boy. If you have bad morning sickness it's a girl. If you crave salty foods it's a boy, sweets it's a girl. We even hung a ring on a string over my belly to see if it swung left to right (boy) or rotated (girl).
The option was given to change their guess if they wanted. Then it was time for the big reveal.

Team 'boy'

Team 'girl'

(we obviously already knew what we were having but we wanted to be in the pictures too)

I had made a cake the day before and dyed the batter, the icing concealed the secret so that when it was cut into it showed either blue or pink :)







BLUE! We are having another boy! I am so excited for Charles to have a little brother. I am almost 23 weeks along and hoping the summer goes by fast. We can't wait to meet our little guy!


this photo is from a few weeks ago already.. 19 weeks along

Happy Christmas

Our first Christmas back in Minneapolis was pretty nice. The weather has been amazing- much like a NYC winter- and I am so Thankful for it. Who would have thought Minnesota could pull a 45 on Christmas Day??
We had made ornaments with Charles for gifts this year. So fun and easy!

 

Christmas Eve we spent with Margaret and Anthony. We stayed until midnight so we could see Anthony open his gift from Margaret.. he was sure excited about it! 

I finished my ABC book for Charles. 

But to be honest, after opening his gift from Nana and Papa he wasn't really interested in anything else. Every morning since then he has woken up and asked to play with his train first thing in the morning. When we were out at a friend's house the other night he wanted to come home and play with his train. Needless to say, I think he likes it!

   

As part of our new family Christmas tradition we made a birthday cake for baby Jesus and sang happy birthday. 

All in all it was a good day. Time with family, good food, and celebrating the birth of our Lord. How was your Christmas?

'tis the season...

for eggnog. Eggnog bread to be exact.

Last week I stopped into a little cafe near the U called Bordertown. They have amazing breads. I first discovered this about a month ago when I tried their vegan blueberry almond bread. wow. Since then I have had their pumpkin bread (the best pumpkin bread I have ever had. With a crumble crust. I love crumble.) and then last week.. eggnog bread. Both so so SO amazing. wow.

So, me being me, and both wanting to save money and bake something new, I went on a search for eggnog bread recipes to make my own. I found this recipe and gave it a try. So GOOD. Chris gave it a 4.5 out of 5. And he's a tough critic.
The first time around I didn't make the glaze, but since Bordertown's Eggnog bread had a glaze I decided to make it this time and I am so happy I did! If you like eggnog, or just the flavor of it, I highly recommend making this. Right now.


I apologize for the quality of this photo. It was taken on my phone, late last night, in a poorly lit kitchen. 


Glazed Eggnog Bread

For the Bread:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup eggnog (low fat is fine)
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla (or eggnog extract, if you have it)
1/2 teaspoon rum extract, optional

EGGNOG ICING
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
2 to 3 teaspoons eggnog

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, eggnog, melted butter, vanilla, and rum extract (if using). Add egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy).

4. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. Check for done-ness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the loaf -- it should come out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a rack.

5. Prepare icing: Combine sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg. Stir in enough eggnog to reach drizzling consistency. Drizzle cooled loaf with icing. Grate a little bit of fresh nutmeg over the icing, then let icing set completely before wrapping loaf.

Recipe courtesy of recipegirl.com

cut-out cookies

Growing up my family had a certain tradition that fell between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Usually right after Thanksgiving actually if I remember correctly. We would make cut out sugar cookies for Christmas. I remember standing around my Grandmother's kitchen table rolling and cutting out the cookies (and sneaking bites of dough) and then my favorite part, decorating them! This is something I have always and enjoyed and continued to do with out friends in Brooklyn.

Last night the tradition continued in our kitchen here with us and my parents. (missed you Grandma but will save you some cookies)

Charles helped press the cookie cutters and even frosted a few. His favorite was the polar bear. Perhaps not the traditional Christmas cookie shape but hey, he liked it.