Apple Pie

Oh, and mark #23 off the list too. I baked this pie from all the apples we picked. (Regardless of the recipe you use, I highly recommend brushing the top crust with a little egg white and sprinkling it with a little cinnamon-sugar. It adds a little crisp to the crust.) Yummy!

Dar Williams

Dar Williams is another "girl with a guitar" that inspires me. She's fantastic live, because she is funny and folky and loves telling the stories behind her songs. She has a new album out - I haven't given it a listen yet, but it'll most likely make the car rotation next week once I get a chance to burn a CD. This video is her first single from the new album. The video is rather boring, but the song is good. Have a wonderful weekend!

Cute Ways to Reuse

I loved this post at OhDeeDoh about reusing clementine crates. A cute and simple and free(!) way of supplementing your kid storage and organizational efforts. Thanks to Lucky Beans for the photos!

Thanks, Mom!

Once again, my mom left my house much cleaner than she found it. You should see my fridge! It is CLEAN! And organized! No more moldy salsa hiding out in the back. All the dressings are together on one shelf. Amazing. The top of my stove, the inside of my microwave, the dust out of the corners... All that, and she took great care of the little boy as well so that Kevin & I could go relax in Vermont. Thank you thank you thank you!

*The little boy misses his "Mema", but I keep reminding him that we'll see her again in just a few short weeks. Thanksgiving at her house! Yeh!

Kitchen Inspiration

I haven't found a complete kitchen that I'm in love with. I will probably have to piece together 20 pictures that represent what we want to do with ours. The above picture portrays soapstone countertops. I like white cabinets, too, although I don't think I want super shiny drawer pulls like those. I'll keep looking...

Sailing Again....Some Day

*Sunrise over Jost Van Dyke. What a way to greet the day!

Several years ago, Kevin and I had the pleasure of going sailing. We are fortunate to have two friends who are certified sailors, so we chartered a boat from Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. We spent a week island-hopping and had an absolute blast.

We've gone twice so far, and we all have a strong desire to go back. In fact, our friend Matt is still on the mailing list from the sailing company and receives email advertisements all the time. Every now and then, he forwards one to us as a reminder that we need to start planning our next trip.

Babies (and expenses) have put a pause on our sailing adventures, but we're all looking forward to our next trip. I thought I'd share a few pictures of our previous trips. If you are trying to figure out where to go on your next vacation, I'd highly recommend sailing. Someday...

*Kev driving us to shore
*Great friends, chilling on the boat

*Sailing means you get to explore tiny little islands like this one

*I love sailing!

2009 Calendars

*Image from Modern Art Everyday

Okay, so the holidays are still a few months away, but it can't hurt to start collecting ideas. Calendars are always a good idea for a holiday gift, and I found a bunch of really cute ones on Etsy. I'd love a good desk calendar for work, and I prefer wall calendars at home, especially ones with a little space to write important dates/reminders.

Check out these Etsy sites for some fun 2009 calendars and start making your lists - the holidays will be here before you know it!

Nella Designs
HoneyBeeDesign
Modern Art Everyday
Sure As Blue

Be Happy Now

*Wall Calendar Image from Be Happy Now

One Step Closer

*Image from Boston.com

The Red Sox beat the Angels last night to advance to the ALCS. Woohoo! Go Sox!

Five Senses Weekend - Vermont Edition

See
- A billion stars in the clear night sky
- Gorgeous artwork behind the artists themselves at the Arts & Crafts Fair
Hear
- The relaxing sound of a waterfall
- Rustling leaves, blowing in the wind
- The happy chatter of little kids as they crowded around a magician
Taste
- Yummy local brews
- Salmon with Maine crabmeat, couscous, and asparagus
- Poached eggs, homemade tater tots, chard (I never knew chard could be so good!)
- Samples of cheese, chocolate, salsa, jam...
- Pancakes with blueberry-cinnamon compote
Touch
- An antique grandfather clock, until my husband grabbed my hand and said "it's $15,000 - stop touching it!"
Smell
- The smell of Fall - a fire burning in the fireplace, leaves
- Hot apple cider and cookies

A Few More Pictures from Vermont

At the End of a Country Road...

...is where you'll find me this weekend.

We're headed to Vermont. I love Vermont. Everything is brighter and more vibrant there. Activities will include: bubble baths, breakfast feasts, great red wine, outlet shopping, hiking, arts & crafts, maybe a few antique stores, and most of all, relaxing and enjoying quality time with my husband. I can't wait!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Jakob Dylan - On up the Mountain

Jakob Dylan Live. Not the greatest video quality, but I like this song better than the ones with original videos. It's all about the music!

What's the best dessert you've ever made?

*A's chocolate-cranberry torte. Amazing.

A few years ago, my in-laws decided to start a little competition during the holidays. The first year, it was really just a vote on who liked pumpkin pie better than apple pie, but our little "bake-off" has gotten much more sophisticated. We usually limit it to two or three entries, and this is a team sport. K and I are a team, and our key opponent is my sister-in-law, A. She is often accompanied by either my other SIL or my MIL.

K and I started out strong, and we won by keeping it simple and making a chocolate-pudding pie. It was heavenly, while the cake A & T made was....well, let's just say it wasn't. But A has come on strong lately, and she crushed us last year with an absolutely amazing dessert: chocolate-cranberry torte. This dessert was better than anything you've ever had at a restaurant. Seriously. Our entry was really good, too, and would've won any other year, but nothing could beat that torte.

A has chosen her entry for this year's contest, and she is already talking smack. So I need some inspiration. What is the absolutely best, most delicious dessert you've ever made? It doesn't have to be super complex, and if it involves a candy thermometer, I'll probably be too intimidated to make it. Sometimes simple is best.

Do you have any ideas for me? I want a yummy dessert for the holidays, but I also really want to beat my SIL. Winning is fun. :-)

*Presentation counts, too.

*It's a fun tradition.

I Love Boston #4: The Red Sox

I'd say I've been a baseball fan since late high school, but growing up in NC, I didn't have a home team. The moment I moved to Boston, I became a Red Sox fan. Fenway is one of the best places to watch a game, and I get to hate the Yankees. Good stuff.

A few of my best Fenway memories (so far) include:
- I took a week off when I moved up to Boston. The day after I unpacked, I spent an afternoon at Fenway Park. It was a gorgeous sunny day in early August, and this was back in the days when you could go to the ticket office and simply buy a ticket for the game. I went by myself, so I got a pretty good single ticket, along the first base line. I had a couple beers and enjoyed myself immensely.
- One of my first dates with my husband was at Fenway. It was the American League Championship Series in 1999 - Red Sox vs. Yankees. Incredibly expensive tickets, although I still don't know how much K ended up paying. I just know he was trying to impress me. It worked.
- My husband and I got to watch an almost-no-hitter by Mike Mussina (who was one of my favorite pitchers before he joined the dreaded Yankees). It was exciting to be there, until Carl Everett hit a single in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to break it up.

The baseball playoffs start today for the AL. It will be a little weird not having the Yankees in the mix, but I'll try to enjoy myself anyway. ;-) Go Sox!

Of course, I ended up marrying a Yankees fan, but hey, we can't all be perfect. At least he's recognized that he has no hope of corrupting our son.

Books, Clean Shirts, and Penguins

This week's Three Beautiful Things:

1. The little boy is addicted to books. He takes at least one (usually two or three) wherever he goes. At bedtime, he asks for a couple favorites, and they go into the crib with him. This week's favorites: Goodnight, Gorilla ("no-night goriya") and Go, Train, Go! ("choo-choo frain")

2. I button up a crisp and clean white shirt, excited that I still own some shirts without stains.

3. The rainy weekend provided us with excuses to hang out inside. The little boy and I watched March of the Penguins, which I had wanted to see for a while. It was lovely and sweet. A had fun watching the penguins march and swim and protect their eggs.

Kid's Clothes

*Image from MiniBoden

I remember before I had kids, I always said I'd only buy clothes from Target or yard sales, and I'd use hand-me-downs in a heartbeat. Kid's clothes are so expensive, and of course the kids grow so fast that they don't even get to wear them out! Well, now that I have a little one, I'm learning that there are times to stick with Target and times to splurge just a little.

Old Navy is my usual "go-to" store for kid's clothes. Still relatively cheap, but the quality is good enough, and there are some cute options, too. I shop the sale racks a season ahead, and I'm able to keep costs down.

Sometimes it's also good to spend a little more for high quality. Items such as coats - things that are worn every day - would fall into this category. And let's face it - sometimes it's just fun to splurge. For your own little ones, nieces and nephews, or friends. There are tons and tons of kid's clothing stores, but I thought I'd share one I like: MiniBoden. It's a little more, but the quality is great and the clothes are super-cute.

One other lesson learned, which all you parents will roll your eyes at because it's so obvious. Don't laugh - I just hadn't spent a lot of time around kids before my own. I honestly didn't understand why all kid's clothes had to be full of characters, animals, monsters, etc. Now I get it. The other day, I tried to put a plain blue t-shirt on the little boy, and he threw a fit. I asked him what was wrong, and he said "shark". He wanted to wear his shirt with the shark on it. Of course he did.

This Week's Menu

Roasted Chicken Thighs Provencal

Tomato and Parmesan Strata

Honey-glazed carrots

Salad

Black Bean, Corn, and Zucchini Enchiladas

Tortillas

Spinach Lasagna

Breadsticks

Salad

How Do You Wear Rain Boots?

*Image from Piper Lime

I'm serious. I've never owned a pair of rain boots. I am one of those people that wears regular shoes and then walks around with wet socks all day. So what do you do? Wear them to work but bring another pair of shoes to wear in the office? Seems like such a pain, but maybe it's better than wet socks, and I've seen a lot of really fun boots. I'm just curious. Help me on this one. Winter is coming fast, and Spring is right behind it.

34 Things To Do Before Turning 35

I read this post on Simple Lovely and Doobleh-vay and thought it was a fun idea. Essentially, the goal is to come up with a list of things to do before your next birthday. Not huge life-changing events - just small things to make life fun and happy. That's certainly in the spirit of this blog.

I will be turning 35 in March, so I will have less than half a year to accomplish mine. Of course some of these are things that I already planned on doing (I already have my ticket to Spain!), but putting all the items in a list may help motivate me to do some of the others (my gray really is out of control). And besides that, it's fun!

*Does this count as exercise?

1. Take more bubble baths**
2. Go apple picking
3. Create photo book in time to give it to my husband for Christmas
4. Visit Barcelona to meet my new nephew
5. Write letters to 3 friends (Christmas cards don't count!)
6. Sign up for a yoga class
7. Take a picture of all 3 of us for our holiday cards
8. Organize our office desk at home
9. Get dressed up and go to the Holiday Pops with K
10. Get rid of my wedding dress (if no takers on Craig's List, then donate)
11. Take the little boy to the library
12. Bake a yummy gift for the neighbors for the holidays
13. Make time to see old friends while home for Thanksgiving
14. Spiffy up my desk at the office - new family photos, new calendar, clean out files, etc.
15. Watch Fantasia again
16. Learn how to play a few new songs on the guitar
17. Do some lessons in my Spanish instruction book - work towards doing one per week
18. See a movie in the theater, complete with popcorn and raisinets
19. Use my still-unused spa gift card and get a pedicure
20. Host a brunch for some friends and little ones
21. Eat dinner at Blue Ginger, or maybe No. 9 Park if I'm really good
22. Go sledding with my boys
23. Bake a pie from scratch
24. Surprise my husband with homemade chocolate pudding
25. Organize my CDs
26. Get my hair colored at the salon
27. Organize drawers in the little boy's room
28. Tickle the boy and giggle every day*
29. Organize my recipe binder
30. Pick out window treatments for our new downstairs windows
31. Clean out nightstand drawers
32. Go to a museum
33. Do some sit-ups and push-ups and stretching while watching TV
34. Carve a jack-o-lantern out of one of our home-grown pumpkins - let the little boy make a huge mess with the insides

**I should seriously spend more time here!

Pearl Jam - Crazy Mary

Just because I love Pearl Jam and I love this song. Have a happy Friday!