Finders Keepers

Edition: I hope they will be mine.

I've been eyeing this baby for over a year.

Le Creuset French Oven in Caribbean. Swoon.

Essie's new Winter Collection 

I dig them all, especially Incognito and Masquerade Belle. They come out November 1st!

Go here for some amazing Some Like It Hot icecream that will warm you up and cool you off all in one (chocolate meets cayenne). Or Red Velvet Elvis. Or the Peanut Butter Chocolate. 

Look. It was the best icecream ever, I wasn't about to deprive myself of tasting them!

 (Click on picture for a full menu of their concotions.) Delish. And Funky.

(Pied Piper Creamery on 11th St.)

This necklace

It has perfect and holiday parties written all over it.



And because I need another pair of boots about as much as Charlie Sheen needs another drink:

Dressed up with a funky skirt or dressed down with jeans or leggings. Perfection.

PS - Do you think Santa reads blogs???

xo dae

Writers Block

I have nothing to say.

Please get up off the floor now.
You think you are soooo funny.


As I was saying about having nothing to say; all I want to and will be doing is cooking. Canning. Baking. Making. Because I didn't have that problem enough before the Fall/Holiday season...

In between the color of the leaves, the spooky sweetness of Halloween festivities, chilly air, and breaking out my boots, there is no hope for me in resisting the call of the kitchen.

This weekend we made these. We being Kaelyn and I.   Kaelyn being the one that just ate chunks of cake and kept a hawk eye on me to make sure I didn't use it all.

Boo!

Today I went to Whole Foods, and after finding one elusive ingredient, I will be stepping into uknown territory and attempting my first batch of canned goods tonight. Stay tuned for dreamy Tomato-Chili Jam.

I hope. It may be a nightmare.

And also at Whole Foods, I found some of these.

source

Those are Asian persimmons, and something I haven't had since my last trip to Mom and Dad's. If luck and an old recipe are on my side, I will be having persimmon pudding (but it's really a cake) tomorrow. If I get it right I will cry. (Emotional tie to food example #3,967)

Lastly, I was going to make some apple pie pockets, but someone started stealing my ingredients.

She casts such a spell on me. The stinker.


xo dw

Beautiful and Bittersweet

This weekend was, in a word, full.

First, we soaked up all the Fall festivities one Saturday could handle. The Bell Buckle Craft Fair was our morning event on the list. It was great, we met up with Audra and the girls, walked... and, well, ... ok. No.  Squeezed our way through it was more like it. It was apparently the place to be that morning.
Really, it was a good time, but next time we will go on Sunday and without our massive stroller in tow. Trust me. I ran over more ankles than I would like to remember.

Kaelyn broke out of her newly found shy mode to enjoy the live music and get her groove on while we were there. C'mon, shoulders up! Down! Up! Down! Then we move it all around!

Whew. Oh, Water Booooy!!

Then it was the Fall Fest at her school, which was simply awesome. Bouncy house, petting zoo, pony rides. They had it all. Even a little passport for each child with their picture inside, and each room was decorated as a different country, and they got their passport stamped in each one. How fun is that?!?

The pig was by far the favorite, with Kaelyn even quoting the pig on the Geico commercial when she saw him ( I am not kidding. She quotes that durn pig every time we ask her what a pig says), until they took him out of his crate and he started squealing. Loud.   You could just see it all over her face. "That is NOT what you are suppose to sound like!"

Dude. Back away from the snake.

And don't let this picture fool you. She saw the other kids riding, was all about it, and when we put her up in that cute little saddle, she arched her back and swung her leg off before we could barely get in a yee-haw.





Which didn't make any sense, because she was all about the dog, and those two animals were the exact same size. 

 After all the outdoor fun, we headed home to take a nap.

Right.

Kaelyn and I took a nap, Ben said he was going to get his hair cut, and an hour later a house full of dear friends showed up to help Ben in throwing me a surprise birthday party for my 30th.  I had no clue (believe me, I had nap breath and bedhead), and it was so awesome.

We hung out with hot dogs, hamburgers, and even a cake and candles! You probably will not get that significance if you weren't at the party, but that's ok. You aren't missing much. Other than me being a total tool.

And ooooh, that cake. Five layer chocolate cherry with whipped cream icing. Words don't go near how good that thing was. Is. Was. I didn't eat all of it. I mean, Ben had another piece. Sort of. He had the rest of the piece I cut to give him that I didn't eat as I was walking into the living room to give to him.

And speaking of Ben - I just can't. Because this heart is left speechless. Thank you, babe, for making everything so special!

In all this sweetness and fun, there was and is a bittersweet note.

Ben's grandmama, Billie, passed away on Saturday. It is one of those things that I have a hard time finding the right words for. It wasn't sudden, but it was. She is no longer in pain, but the loss is still painful for the family. We know exactly where she is, and how happy she is to be there, but she will be missed. I know that I can barely begin to comprehend how someone, after our earthly body is released, is restored and renewed in Christ , but I do understand that she is exactly as she should be now. And I can imagine her smile.

She was one of the sweetest spirits I have ever met, and I can't begin to describe to you how everything about her was just kind. In her life, I know by knowing her children and grandchildren that she left one amazing legacy.  Heaven has one super sweet angel on their side now.

If you have an extra line on your prayer list, I would be grateful if you sent one up for her family this week.

love, dae xoxo

Retro

 Ben got a new phone. He is mildly obsessed with the Retro Camera app.

Which is a good thing, since it's all we have with us sometimes. Handy little things, these cell phones.

We went to a Fall Fest on Saturday, where Kaelyn got to pick out her own pumpkin.

And decorate it. 

And try to jump like the cool guys on the basketball court were doing. She was fascinated. 

She got her first taste of cotton candy.

She was not a fan. 

Her issues with food and texture are sort of wild. We can also add pudding, peanut butter, and mandarin oranges to the list. 

But at least she isn't confused about one thing. 

Don't mess with a girl's chocolate. 

xoxo dae

Recipe Request

For Rhondi :)
But I need to preface this with : this isn't really a recipe.
It's more like a : I threw stuff in a pan, sprinkled stuff on top, and baked it. Then added vanilla ice cream. Never, ever forget the ice cream.


I have guessed on the measurements here, so nothing is precise, but that means the good news is it can't really be messed up.

For the apples, I love a good Honey Crisp. Fuji also works well.

Apple Crisp

4 - 6 large apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
1/2 c. flour ( I have started using whole wheat and it works great)
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
some cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and a dash of cardamom if you're feeling fancy (fancy is good)
1/3 stick unsalted butter, chilled

Throw apples in a baking dish. I used a 9x9. (If you want it to be pretty, you can layer them in nice little rows).
Mix all dry ingredients with a fork. Cut in butter with a pastry knife until it looks like corn meal.
Sprinkle over apples.
Bake at 375 for 30 -40 minutes, until apples are tender but not mushy.
I like to change it up by sometimes mixing in a handful of chopped pecans or dry rolled oats into the crumb mixture before baking. Extra crunch is never a bad thing. And then I don't feel bad serving it as a breakfast. Fruit and Grain! Fall breakfast of champions.

xo dae

Busy Body

Here's the little dumpling in her favorite element. Pretty sure she would sleep outside if we let her.

 

That is unless she is in the mood to whip something up. Then this is where you will find her. (Umm, hello Mini Me?)

We bought her the little kitchen a couple weeks ago, and I'll be honest, I don't know who is more entertained, her or her parents.
(I had no idea she watches me like a hawk until she started tasting everything she was stirring, and threw the towel over her shoulder. I died.)

And she totally rocks the bedhead.

And she does her own grocery shopping. In her house shoes. With the bedhead.

Rock on, sister.

All food, all the time

These things make one thing very clear to me.
All I think about is food.

Here is my latest endeavor (as soon as I can get all the goods to start)

photo:tasteofhome.com

Thanks to SParker and her heavenly fig preserves, all I want to do now is make orange ginger marmalade, pickles, and apple pie filling.  And if you have never had fig preserves with a little extra sharp cheddar on a cracker, my heart goes out to you. Or maybe a Christmas jar of fig preserves will go out to you, if you're lucky. :)

And this stuff made me finally start viewing yogurt in a different light. http://www.fageusa.com/ 

The whole Greek yogurt thing. I don't like yogurt much, and fruit in yogurt. *gag* It creeps me out. The texture is weird. Kind of slimy. I tried so many times to make myself eat yogurt, and I'm still embarrassed about how much yogurt I would eventually just toss because my gag reflex was in overdrive. Unless it's in a smoothie, pass.

But this stuff. Holy Heaven of Yogurt. It's divine, and I haven't met a flavor I didn't like. The honey, mixed with a little granola if your in that sort of mood, is my go-to breakfast. The blueberry is unbelievable. And hi, fruit in your little side compartment over there. Genius.

And remember my little friend?

Well, we hadn't spent much time together in a while. And the other day I was trying to remember the last time Kaelyn had eaten a decent serving of vegetables, other than spaghetti sauce or gnawing on a carrot to sooth her gums, and I had a random mix of produce that needed to be used. Out comes carrot-spinach-apple juice.
We discovered that this child can chug. I don't think she came up for air for a good thirty seconds.
Ah, Juicer, I knew I loved you.

If you need a way to serve veggies on the sly, there ya' go.

And since it is October (Helllllooooooooo Fall!!!), I have my Autumn Harvest candles burning, my wreath on the door, a pile of leaves outside for Kaelyn to jump in, and an Apple Crisp in the oven.

I could just take this time of year and wrap it around me like an old quilt.

luv!
dae