Some things I love about fall and one thing I hate...

1. This soft, blousy plaid shirt I found at Old Navy for $8.00! It's double lined so there's blue gingham inside when you roll up the sleeves. What says fall more than plaid?!

2. Corduroy Skirts: I found one in this style at Old Navy in plum corduroy for $5.00! Perfect with my brown leather boots! I love plum and pockets!

3. Fall Nail Polish: Deep, rich colors that you can't pull off in the warm weather. This is called Miami Beet, a great color and a vegetable pun. Ha!

4. I love Thanksgiving and this cute, funny long-sleeved onesie I got for Baby P today! The turkey is felt and corduroy.

 5. Stew. Like this one that I'll share with you tomorrow! Bistro Beef Stew. Readers: (i.e. Ashley, Sarah, Brittany, Caris ) It will knock your socks off!

6. Fall foliage, of course, and that fall smell of wet leaves, crushed acorns on the ground and chilly air.

7. Fried Green Tomato BLT's at Stella's with friends. 'Tis the season for green tomatoes and they were amazing breaded and fried with delish bacon, mayo and lettuce.  

8. Halloween: I love Halloween candy. I've had a bowl on my coffee table for two weeks in preparation for trick or treaters. Seasonal candy (like Christmas, Easter, Halloween) is always better tasting than normal. I love costumes on little children. Are you looking forward to Baby P's costume unveiling?!

9. Fall tablescapes: Cornucopia, mini mums, silver pheasant (a wedding gift), an owl candle (Thanks, Sally), apples, pomegranates, magnolia leaves and cones, and last year's runner from Pier 1 found on clearance.

 

 10. Outside fall decorations like this wreath. I love rootling around the basement for it and sticking it on the door.

11. My flower chair. In the summer that bucket is full of colorful impatiens, last year I put out a potted mum, this year I didn't want to deal with watering so I rolled up my fall garland from Michaels and stuck it in. It's fake, obviously so no maintenance but I love the colors.

12. My fake pumpkin. It's made out of some real things like twigs and pine cones, but has fake acorns and leaves. I've also used this on the dining room table before, it's very cute.

NOW FOR THE THING THAT I HATE. I HATE THE PSYCHO, DESTRUCTIVE SQUIRRELS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. HERE ARE THE CHARGES :

1) Two years ago they ate my carved pumpkins. They ate the big, chunky teeth right out of their goofy pumpkin faces, but did stop there.

2) Last fall they destroyed the beautiful Indian corn I put out...dragged it all over the porch, nibbled off all the kernels, made a huge mess...

3) This summer I got a package in the mail from one of W's co-workers. It was on the porch for a couple of hours. I went outside and the entire corner of the box was gone, a bag of chocolate chip cookies was open and mostly eaten and a baby outfit was pulled halfway out of the chewed hole. WHAT kind of squirrel chews through a cardboard box and pulls things out to reach its goal?! They were good cookies (there was another untouched bag, I don't eat after squirrels).

4) Remember those beautiful pumpkins we carved in September? Within a day the designs were completely gone and the pumpkins collapsed in a pulpy mess (they were thrown in the trash before I could photograph, sorry). Sick!

5) So, after the pumpkins were destroyed, I thought I'd be smart and stick with fake decor. Good idea, right?! Freaking squirrels!! Take a closer look.

What kind of nutso squirrel (haha, nutso) eats styrofoam berries? They don't even look like something you'd find in nature! There are berries all over the floor today and they haven't stopped trying to eat them.  

My poor, cute little pumpkin! Dang squirrels ate the fake acorns on top. What? That's all I can say. What, what, what?!

Ok, I'll be heading out now to pick up a pellet rifle. Squirrels are going down.

Making my Monday a little brighter...

Spinach, Ham, Cheddar and Chevre Omelet

You'll need:
    two eggs
    milk or half 'n' half
    ham (I use deli honey ham)
    a slice of sharp cheddar
    a bit of goat cheese/chevre
    butter
    a big handful of baby spinach
    a small bowl and fork or
           whisk
    a small omelet pan
    a spatula
    a plate

I like to keep my breakfast to one pan so I start by melting a half a tablespoon to a tablespoon of butter in a small omelet pan. Add a slice or two of ham and the spinach -keep the heat low. This looks like a lot of spinach but it cooks down significantly.

Meanwhile, slightly beat the eggs and a little milk or half 'n' half together. 

Turn the ham and stir the spinach. It cooks quickly this way and is much better than putting cold ingredients into the omelet--that always results in overcooked eggs.

 

Put the ham and spinach to the side while you cook your eggs.

 

Pour the beaten eggs and milk or cream into the same omelet pan (still on low/medium heat) and cover. If too hot, the bottom will burn and you'll have lots of raw eggs on top. Depending on your temperature, this could take 5-10 minutes. Turn up the edge to check. The less raw egg left on top, the better looking your omelet will be and it's also much easier to flip.

 

Here, the eggs are easily separating from the pan. Loosen them around the edges with a spatula, shake the omelet loose with a circular motion then flip it. You can also try to flip with the spatula but will probably have holes.

 

This is far from a perfect flip, but it's good enough for government work or a Monday morning breakfast. Using butter may give you a little brown color, cooking spray is also an option.

 

Immediately after flipping, top half of the omelet with the cheddar, ham and spinach, then the chevre crumbles on top of that. The cheese will be melted on both sides by the hot eggs. The second side only takes a minute or two so try to do this quickly. Fold the eggs over then dump it on a plate and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

 

Yum! Tangy, creamy chevre...melty, sharp cheddar...delicious sauteed spinach (lots of good vitamins)...a little sweet ham...and of course the incredible, edible egg... What a fabulous combination! My husband loves this omelet as well and it can be a great, quick dinner with some fruit or a salad. Omelets are also a great way to use odds and ends of leftover ingredients from the fridge or pantry. You could start by frying up some bacon then adding chopped onions of any kind, mushrooms, thin slices of potato, asparagus, and topping off with cheese (again any kind of cheese will work). Shredded leftover chicken with cheese, and a couple spoonfuls of salsa would be a yummy Mexican omelet. The possibilities are endless...

Friends

            Last weekend, we got the "old gang" together. We've known each other since high school or college and some of us even elementary school-we're going on eleven years or more of great friendship. We've been through a lot together and I couldn't do without these girls. When I was in the hospital for 8 weeks on bedrest with Baby P they visited, brought me lunch, sent flowers, called, emailed, sent care packages, prayed like the dickens and were so supportive. Last week was the first time in years that all six of us have been together in a long time and we had so much fun. We don't do it often enough!

We have hundreds of pictures like this one, the people at the table next to us actually got up from their seats (all four of them) to take this picture for us. Cheers to them!

We took lots of pics of these neat handpainted horses in downtown Lex. After looking at this one, I realized I probably should have worn heels and then had a nightmare about short legs chasing me around the house with a pair of stilettos...

Hey there, movie star! Where's your BF Dean Martin?

Sarah really wanted to feed the horses and the only thing handy was a her little leather clutch, yum! And it matches!

Weird story involving a policeman directing traffic after a Nickelback concert. We are huge fans, by the way, of Nickelback and that friendly policeman who led us over to a dark corner of a park to give us contraband concert memorabilia (C went home with 3!!).

I feel like there should be a scary Halloween story to go with this picture...something like: the woman who drank so much caffeine she jittered away into nothing and could never be photographed again...

Baby P loves his aunties! Obviously :)

That's better, maybe it was just Sarah that made him cry...

LOL...No, really, laugh out loud!

                     So our new favorite thing is finding ways to make Baby P laugh out loud! It is so fun and you will not be able to help L'ingOL yourself when you watch this video!

Told ya! And yes, my husband is speaking another language part of the time so unless you 'praat Afrikaans' rewinding and listening again will not help you out much. Also, what is it about a giggling baby that is just totally irresistable?!

The things I have to do to get out of the house...

             With a baby, leaving the house is not simple. In fact, it should be an Olympic event. Unlike the days of slinging on some clothes, swiping on some mascara, grabbing my keys and running out the door, it's a combination of juggling a 9 pound carseat with a 14 pound baby in it (that's 23 pounds for us non-math peeps), plus all his gear, my purse, phone, and whatever else is necessary for where we are going.

Baby P's gear:
carseat
stroller
diaper bag stocked with:
       -3 or 4 diapers (I've tried leaving the house with just 2 and it was NOT good)
       -wipes (lots!! for the obvious uses and the not so obvious-wiping P's hands after crazy
        people touch them, cleaning our clothes after Baby P spits up on both of us, cleaning
        the carseat in case of a diaper mishap, cleaning gunk off the car cupholders...)
       -a change of clothes for Baby P
       -spare burp cloths
       -changing mat so that Baby P's cute little hiney won't touch anything dirty...or is it
        so that he won't get clean things dirty with his cute little hiney...one or the other
pacifiers (2: one on a strap attached to his shirt and one in a pouch on his carseat in case
        of disaster, i.e. losing the shirt paci)
blanket (in case it's cold inside or outside)
nursing cover (if nursing)
toy  (if Baby P is going to be awake and needs to be entertained)
if staying at the grandparents:
         bottle, frozen milk
         thick blanket for playing on the floor
         bouncy seat or play mat
         books (don't laugh, my 4 month old loves to read)
         Kindle (oh, wait, that's my thing...)

All of this to say, I love that big huge purses are in style! Speaking of, I think I need a new one...

Has TLC gone too far?

Take a look at this picture. Could be a normal wedding. Maybe bride and groom in the center and bridesmaids or friends or sisters surrounding...NO!!!!          

          TLC has gone too far this time! I, like much of America, have been sucked into the TLC family reality shows at one time or another. It started with "Jon and Kate...", the Duggars, "Little People, Big World" followed by "Little Couple: Just Married" and I think there are a couple of new ones with many, many children that I can't bring myself to watch. Last night, flipping channels, I stumbled upon the new TLC addition to family reality entertainment.

                                                            SISTER WIVES!!!!

Yes, that's wives plural. A reality show about a Mormon polygamous marriage! Three wives, a fiancee, one husband and 13 children...I'm 'gobsmacked' (to use a little Shopaholic lingo). My mouth is still hanging open.  Take a look here  for video clips, pictures and full bios of the crazy people involved in this nightmare. TLC has reached a new level of weirdness. All the wives are insecure and jealous about relationships with the husband, Kody, who looks like a surfer dude. While we were staring open-mouthed at the TV, I asked 'How can they buy into this type of lifestyle?' W said, 'I can see why he's going for it, but how he talked these women into it I'll never understand.' At first I agreed, then asked 'Wait just a minute, with what part of this can you sympathize?!' Luckily we can joke about this kind of thing, but these poor people are living it.

I've done a little reading on the Mormon philosophy/theology behind polygamous marriage, and it seems to be related to achieving a higher status in the afterlife based on number of offspring. Brigham Young, a forefather of Mormonism, had 56 wives and 56 children with 19 of these wives. Joseph Smith had many wives and also 'experimented with polyandry' (marrying women who were already married to someone else!!!!). Most Mormons today believe that a faithful, lifelong, monogamous marriage is enough to be exalted in the afterlife, but that in Heaven there will be polygamy. Look here for a history of Mormon polygamy.

Anyway, I think this TLC circus will probably be a hit. I can't imagine any more drama than a man with three wives (one pregnant) with a girlfriend/fiancee and many, many children...at least TLC's keeping it consistent.

Trick or Treat!

               I am so excited this year for Halloween! I get to dress up Baby P for the first time and there is nothing cuter than a little baby in a costume! I've been shopping for a while and have it ruled down to a few.

Here are the finalists:

Monkey and cow...I know, aren't you just dying over the cuteness?!?

Fruit and vegetables? What could be better? I'm a little obsessed with the peas in a pod.

I know, I know! Irridescent wings, but still boyish! Too much cuteness to go around, help me and vote!