Our Week in Photos

Oh my goodness, y'all, this has been such a long week.  I've got a post coming up about the horrendous  road trip back to GA that August and I went through on Tuesday and Wednesday, which put a massive kink in our productivity these past few days.  In the meantime, here are the high points from the last 7 days!

 August can (sometimes) hold his own tiny bottle!  Already such a big boy.

 We had a playdate last week, and I was able to fit into some pre-pregnancy, non-stretchy pants!  The smile is totally genuine.

 Is there anything sweeter than chunky baby toes?

 Last Saturday morning, JP, August, and I ventured up to Cumming to check out Dutch Monkey Doughnuts.  Um, we might have enjoyed it a smidge.

 We got an assortment of flavors: coconut lime, chocolate passionfruit, Aztec chocolate, banana and chocolate, etc.  Soooo tasty!

 Holding hands.  Be still my heart.

 This is his, 'Mama, stop taking pictures.  I'm trying to concentrate on my sweet potatoes and peas' face.

 August and I took our first solo trip to visit Haley in Tallahassee Sunday!  Hello, Florida!

 Hein read August some poetry before dinner on Sunday night; he liked Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  Good taste.

 Big smiles!

 Auntie Haley was an excellent hostess, and also a wonderful back support for August.

 Prior to leaving on Tuesday, the little man took a quick nap with his Hein.  They looked so cozy wrapped in a blanket!

When in Tally, we must wear our FSU sweaters.  How adorable is this little fan?

How to Watch TV Like Haley

Psych:

This is by far and away my favorite show.  It's about Shawn, a hyper-observant slacker man-child, and his best friend, Gus, a straight-laced pharmaceutical salesman.  Shawn accidentally gives the Santa Barbara Police Department the idea that he is psychic, and they start employing him as a psychic detective on cases.  Shawn and Gus have been friends since grade school, and the show is laced with early 80s references, silly nicknames, and crazy cases.  Matt and I love love love this show!

New Girl:

You have all probably heard about this show, and maybe you watched it in the first season.  I'm here to tell you, it was a little weird in the first season.  The main character is awkward and annoying, and you just have to stick it out.  It gets so so much more funny and really gets its sea legs in the second season.  Jess is a teacher, whose heart gets broken and she moves into an apartment with three boys who don't know what to do with a female roommate.  Jess is unabashedly girly, loves polka dots and baking, and doing arts and crafts, and the boys are the typical boys that you'd expect.  Somehow, though, they take each other under their wings and become buds.  It's silly, and awesome.  Matt even likes it, which is saying something.

Grimm:

I was too scared to watch this show, because it's honestly a bit creepy until you get to know it.  Nick, a homicide detective in Portland, discovers that he is a Grimm, a type of guardian who protects humans from Wesen, creatures from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.  In this show, they are all around us, but only Grimms have the unique ability to distinguish them and stop the dangerous ones from harming us poor innocent humans.  His partner eventually is let in on the secret, and he makes friends with a non-dangerous Wesen, who helps him investigate and make sense of this new world he has discovered.  It's a little dark, but surprisingly engaging, and there are all kinds of story lines involving not only fairy tales, but international societies, love, and friendship.  

Haley's Week in Photos

This week started with an outing to the Square Grouper, where we had some delicious drinks and took some pictures for Local Behavior.  Have you ever had a Bushwacker?  It is a little like an alcoholic chocolate milkshake, and very dangerous on a Sunday afternoon at a tiki bar.

I bought this little sweater for Abbi's wedding, and love the detail on the back!  It's a very light fabric, with a pleated chiffon panel on the back, and it's so sweet and airy.  

Layla is only ever allowed on the beds in our house if its thundering outside, so summertime in South Florida is her favorite thing.  She gets frightened in storms, but we are pretty sure that she secretly looks forward to them so that she can cuddle like this while I'm on the computer.

I LOVE my new Keds!  They come with white laces, too, but why not kick in some color there?  I'm planning on wearing them around Chicago when we visit next weekend, so I've been breaking them in and wearing them all the time.  Layla approves. 

...and speaking of thunderstorms, this was the sky when I left work the other day.  Driving home through this was daunting, and very much like driving through a 10-mile car wash, but I made it home safely!  What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?

Up this weekend: one of my best friend's bachelorette party, and craft day with Nesi, Andrea, and Laura--I promise a more exciting wrap-up next Friday!

Haley's Week in Photos

Last weekend was pretty exciting!  My very very good friend, Cari, whom I met while we were studying in Ireland, came to visit for the day!  We haven't seen each other in 4 years (since we left Ireland!), and it was so refreshing to see her again; we reminisced, I showed her around Jupiter, and we had lunch at Guanabana, even though the weather was pretty wretched.  She has now officially joined the Air Force as a flight nurse, so I was really happy to be able to see her before she starts traveling all over the world, saving lives!

Matt and his brother and friends are starting a company, Local Behavior, and they just got their first order of shirts in.  We went down to the river to do a photo shoot, in beautiful weather, and the photos turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself!  So proud of Matt!

Here is part of something that I made, Apple Sharlotka, that I forgot to take finished pictures of, because I was so excited to just EAT it!  You basically fill a springform pan with apple chunks, then pour a batter over it to fill in the cracks and bake it!  It's delicious, and I'll have to make it again, so I can post the recipe. Darn.

No really, I love this thing.  

My breakfast spot this morning--I really can't complain.  

Layla very sweetly supervised me eating breakfast, to be sure that I did not drop some poached egg or toast.  She is so helpful.

How adorable are these napkins that Mommi made Matt and I for part of my birthday present!  Each one is different, and they match our place mats so perfectly!  Thanks, Mommi!!

Haley's Week in Photos

Well, Abbi posted all of the exciting pictures from last week.  But I will say that we have a fabulous time--even just killing time at Starbucks was fun with Mommi and Abbi!  We had so much fun trying on wedding dresses, and going through Abbi's baby stuff, and eating.  Lots and lots of eating.  Abbi and JP really know how to show a girl a good time and help her gain a couple extra pounds.

How cute is this picture??  John Paul had just felt the Churro kicking like a ninja, and it had hurt his hand.  This was at a ceviche restaurant on Canton Street (I think), and the food was delicious!  JP and I both had Mexican Mules (a tequila, citrus, ginger drink), which just may be my new summer drink!

Mia is so alert!  This was on our way to walk around Roswell Park. 

My birthday dinner was something else!  Here are all three people who contributed to the steak and collard greens and sweet potatoes and wine and peanut butter cake!  They are so sweet to me.

How adorable is this happy birthday cake plate that I got to use?!  This cake was delicious, and we may or may not have had it for breakfasts, snacks, and additional desserts.  Only Mia knows the truth, and she ain't telling.

So, Abbi mentioned that we went to Sweetwater, but she did not tell you about the line to get in.  No joke.  But it was totally worth the wait, as this was the one thing that I truly wanted to check off my list while I was in Atlanta (besides finding my wedding dress, of course!).  

I leave you with a glimpse of my Easter outfit from Sunday.  Mommi gave me the beautiful scarf for my birthday, and the gold (and spiky!) earrings are from Abbi!  They know me so well...

Happy Birthday to Haley!! (Also, a chocolate buttercream frosting)

Take a good, hard look at the face in the photo above.  

That face is 25 years old today.  

Has 25 ever looked so impossibly wonderful, cute, and sweet?!  

Happiest, most wonderful, heartfelt birthday wishes for my incredible younger sister, who has somehow scored in both the personality AND looks department.  I couldn't be more glad that you were born!

Haley (and Mom!!) came up to Atlanta last week (I cannot wait to share photos with you; there was a lot of cuteness to be had), so we celebrated the birthday a couple of days early.  How could you not want to bake a wonderful cake for that cutie pie?  Inside of that frosting is a peanut butter cake, but the real star of the dessert was a chocolate buttercream frosting from Joy the Baker.  All of us may have taken turns licking the bowl, spatula, and beaters; there is no photographic proof, though, so good luck pinning it on us.
Slather this frosting on top of any cake, celebratory or not.  Its rich, dimensional flavor and velvety smooth texture will make anything taste good.  I'm tempted to make a batch and use it as dip for apple and pear slices.
Of course, it is best when showing the people close to us that we love them.

Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from Joy the Baker Cookbook, 2012
3/4 c. butter, room temperature
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/3 c. Ovaltine powder

1. Cream together butter, cocoa powder and salt. Butter mixture will be very thick. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add powdered sugar. 

2. Turn mixer on low and mix in powdered sugar while adding milk and vanilla extract. As the sugar incorporates, raise the speed of the mixer to beat the frosting. Beat until smooth. 

3. In a 2 cup measuring glass, stir together heavy cream and Ovaltine. Turn mixer speed to medium and pour cream mixture into frosting in a slow, steady stream until you’ve reached your desired consistency.  You may not need the full amount of Ovaltine and cream.  (I used it all, for whatever that's worth.)

Happy birthday, Face.  I wish I could bake you cakes every day to show you how awesome you are!  

Haley's Week in Photos

You know how I said last Friday was officially one year until Matt and I got married?  Well, we celebrated by going to our venue and having a pic-nic!  Matt was sweet and came home with some wine, and we had bread and spinach-artichoke dip and pasta salad and sfogliatelle (Italian puff pastries with a sweet ricotta filling).  It was an absolutely perfect day, and it was really nice to get to catch up with each other and have little dream-sessions about our wedding day!

And speaking of weddings, we went to a bridal fair at the South Florida Fairgrounds last weekend.  It wasn't as impressive as I thought it would have been, but we found some good vendors and ideas, so it wasn't a total bust!

The bridal fair was followed by tacos and margaritas at Rocco's Tacos, a really great restaurant and tequila bar down here.  This was St. Patrick's day, so I felt a little guilty for not going all-out Irish for this meal, but I made up for it with dinner...

...which was corned beef, colcannon, and a Magners.  Do you know what colcannon is?  It's smashed potatoes, with bacon and cabbage mixed in, and it is delightful!  I will post the recipe soon, because it's just not fair of me to share.  Also, Magners is a cider from Ireland (although, in Ireland they call it "Bulmers"), and it was basically all that I drank while I studied over there.  It is usually served in a pint glass over ice, but I was too impatient for that!

If we ever eat anything on the couch, Layla supervises very closely, just in case we make a mess that she has to clean up.  She really keeps us in line.

Y'all.  I have discovered red cabbage.  It's not something that we really grew up with, so I never used it, but I needed some for the colcannon, and now I'm wild over it.  Not only is it so incredibly beautiful when you cut it, like some kind of abstract art, but it's pretty tasty, too!

The finished guest room!  It took awhile for us to decide what should art should go where, but I am so happy with the way it has turned out!  You can see my little mirror up over the bed, along with a portrait of an elephant in a suit (thanks, Abbi!), some student artwork that either Mommi or Abbi did eons ago, and a poster of Dinotopia (my favorite book growing up) that Mommi had signed by the illustrator for me!

This artwork, however, has not yet been lucky enough to find a home.  Matt and I are still trying to decide where in our room this will go, so it's doing one of those chic "leaning against the wall" things.

And finally, I will admit that I have a problem, and that problem is rosemary bread.  I know that there are other kinds of breads and herbs that could go together splendidly, but why mess with a good thing?  This is a new recipe that I have tried, to go with a salmon nicoise salad for dinner tonight.  I don't see how we could go wrong!

Haley's Week in Photos

I'll be honest here, I have not done much this week that warrants a picture.  I made a ton of (delicious) pasta sauce with Nesi, worked, went to Gander Mountain, and did some arts and crafts.  Perhaps I can interest you in a sneak peek of my upcoming Tuesday posts?

I found a very clever trick to making paint look distressed!  More on that next Tuesday, where you will see my ADORABLE re-painted frame and where it now lives.

Matt and I have been searching searching searching for artwork for the walls in our room, and have just not found a thing.  Either the colors don't work, or the piece is too small, or it's way too generic.  Also, I read this silly thing on feng shui about how having depictions of water in your bedroom invites robbery, and the majority of original artwork that you can buy around here is of the beach or the river, and now the whole "water=robbery" thing is stuck in my head.  It's been difficult.  The moral of the story is that I have taken it up on myself to create artwork to go on the wall, and here is an in-progress picture.  Maybe I'll share the finished product next week!  I'm pretty stoked with how they turned out. 

Finally, not to get all mushy or anything, but I get to become this guy's wife exactly one year from today!  Let the countdown begin!