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Weekend Date

2012-02-03T16:22:00.000-05:00

It is officially the weekend and I'm ready for it. This Saturday promises to be pretty low key with house upkeep the only thing on our schedule. Last Saturday, however, was a fun date day which started with sleeping in and then heading to an Indian buffet for lunch! They have a huge vegetarian selection for their Saturday buffet and it is always so good.

Afterwards, we headed over to the Chrysler Museum and strolled around. I particularly enjoyed the marble statues room where I creeped myself out by getting up close and staring into the statutes' faces. It fascinated me that the details on many of these statues could be so intricate down to their fingernails and knuckle wrinkles and then the artist would leave their eyes blank.

We finished our day with salted dark chocolates and the BBC series, Robin Hood, on Netflix. I would be very happy to put last weekend on repeat...

Snip Snip

2012-01-23T22:30:00.000-05:00

I got in the shower this morning and didn't know what to do with all the extra shampoo I squirted into my hand. I really should visit the salon more than twice a year, as evidenced by the top two photos...

The Smart's Build a House

2012-01-21T16:19:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, while up in Richmond celebrating my birthday with family, Tim and I headed out to visit Hattie and Brad and to sneak a peek at the progress on their brand new house!

Hattie and Brad have been living in this adorable chicken coop turned house for almost 5 years now. It's a charming little space on the family land, but it is starting to show it's age and they are excited to move into a sturdier and larger home. This was actually the house that Hattie's parents lived in for many years before they built and moved into their home. Now, after many years of saving their pennies, Hattie and Brad are doing the same and are only a few months away from moving into their beautiful new craftsmen style home!

Hattie welcomes us in through the front door to take a tour! Now let's just use a little imagination to see how these rooms will be used...

Brad and Hattie warm their hands over the fireplace angled into their living room.

I select a book while Hattie reads in the library located across from the living room.

We pull up a chair to enjoy our dinner in the dining room which is located between the living room and kitchen.

Hattie is most excited about having a dishwasher for the first time in many years (though I wouldn't mind scrubbing a few pans in the sink when the windows look out on views like the one below!)

Scrub a dub-dub, Brad shows off the downstairs tub.

Tim and Brad get excited about the game in the "man cave" located in their basement.

Upstairs, Hattie and Brad enjoy a restful nap in the master bedroom where they will use their large window as a header for their bed.

We had a lot of fun touring the house and peeking at all the little details, and I look forward to staying as guests! I'm so excited to see their beautiful home finished, painted and decorated. Hop over to Hattie's blog to see the weekly progress of their new home and ooh and ahhh over it (like I do).

Ups

2012-01-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

Jana answered my request for a group jumping shot by sending this little gem. :) Fun stuff- thanks Jana.

Why, Hello 2012

2012-01-09T19:31:00.001-05:00

Well, that snuck up on me. Are we really already into our second week of 2012? I must confess that this post will be rather picture heavy as I have a ton of Christmas, New Years, and birthday photos hanging around on my camera. Here's a recap of the wonderful past few of weeks.

We spent the 23rd and 24th of December in Richmond with my dad's side of the family, which included playing with a lot of little cuties running around. There were games of pool played and the occasional fall out on the floor breakdown. Which we all took very seriously, obviously.

We left Richmond with my family and headed home to attend Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church, which was beautiful as always. Tim and I woke up bright and early on Christmas morning and headed over to my family's house, arriving by 7:30 in our p.j.'s and with our car loaded down with presents. We spent a good 3 hours unwrapping gifts, eating a big breakfast and laughing lots. Later we celebrated with my mom's side of the family over Christmas dinner and I somehow took not a single picture. Suffice it to say that my dinner plate was full, our dirty Santa game was a success and we had a truly lovely time spent with family.

We spent several days following Christmas playing on Dad's new Wii Fit before tearing ourselves away and heading down to Corolla, NC for our traditional New Years vacation with friends. We enjoyed unseasonably warm weather allowing for quite a bit of playtime on the beach.

There may have been a bit of sand eating going on with the below 3 crowd. And several attempts to get a shot where all 11 of us had our eyes open and were looking at the camera. *Jana- this is where I need to insert your fun jumping shots! ;)

I had to head back to work on my birthday but got lots of sweet birthday wishes from my kids (and coworkers) at school. That evening we celebrated with a birthday dinner courtesy of mom (loved this dish and highly recommend it!) and thoughtful presents (a new cookbook, tea towels, the first book in Anne of Green Gables and cozy tights). I received an awesome birthday gift from Andrew and immediately cashed one of my coupons in.

This is my last year in my 20's and somehow Mom managed to squeeze all 29 candles on my birthday cake. And it took 3 people to light them all. And I couldn't blow them out in one breath. I guess that this is the official sign of old age? Goodbye youth and strong lungs. Hello to another awesome year with my wonderful husband, family and friends.

Our Christmas Card

2011-12-23T11:51:00.000-05:00

I never got around to buying Christmas cards this year (oh, the shame). However, in lieu of a card, I created a Christmas video to share with you some of the cozy things that make it feel like Christmastime around the Masterson house. Merry, joyous, wonderful Christmas to you!

*The video may be a bit grainy because I was only able to get these shots when I got home from work- aka: darkness. But it makes the lights twinkle all the more, right?

Salt Dough Tags

2011-12-18T14:31:00.000-05:00

Instead of buying gift tags this year, I've been stenciling names and messages onto my brown paper packages tied up with string. However, after running out of my brown craft paper I pulled out some wrapping paper from Christmases past and I didn't think stenciling on them would look very pretty.

I decided instead to try a recipe for salt dough ornaments and use them as gift tags to pretty up the package. All you need to do is mix 1 cup of salt, 2 cups of all purpose flour, and 1 cup of luke warm water to create your dough. I rolled mine into balls and squashed them into imperfect circles but you could also cut them into shapes with a cookie cutter. Leave them sitting out to dry (flipping once the top is dry so that the back hardens too). Paint, glitter, stamp or stencil your message or name onto the dough, loop some string through a hole and you have a gift tag that can be repurposed as a Christmas ornament.

Fun and Games

2011-12-15T21:31:00.000-05:00

Wednesday fun and games night with Erin, Stephen, Luke and Michelle started with a pretty spread on the table. And look- I got photos. Not the highest quality, granted, but at least I snapped some to share the beautiful Christmas decor around the Clay's home. And the beautiful faces of dear friends.

Hot cider and a spirited game of Buzz Word made for a happy Tracy. I love word games and the girls managed to pull out a comeback victory during the last round. So glad for evenings like this...

A Little Twinkle

2011-12-09T21:09:00.001-05:00

Why, hello December. It's been almost two months since I've shared anything on the blog but it hasn't been for a lack of activities. I've just been lazy with the whole photo taking thing. We've gone to a homecoming game, hosted several friends at our place, been to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving, had an early Christmas with Tim's family and enjoyed everyday life in between all the trips. Somehow, my camera just hasn't come out for any of it. However, I did manage to whip out my cell phone camera to grab a few pictures around the house as we've been slowly breaking out the twinkle for Christmas. We didn't decorate at all last year, so it's been especially nice to have the lights on in the morning and evening and see everything all aglow. Plus Christmas tunes playing 24/7. Here's a peek at Christmas around the house.

And I have to throw in a picture of Andrew and I with the birthday boy. Dad celebrated year 57 yesterday and we all got together for dinner out, the movies, a little tour of lights, and cupcakes and candles. We went to an evening showing of Hugo and had the whole theater to ourselves- I mean, obviously we rented out the entire place for Dad. Only the best for Hollowell birthday parties. ;) I'm thankful beyond words for each year I've been blessed with my amazing father. Here's to many more birthdays in the future and to enjoying all the days between the yearly celebrations. Love you!

Nascar Experience

2011-10-07T23:03:00.000-04:00

Who is that cool guy all geared up and ready to race? Why, I believe that's Dad M cutting a dashing figure by the car he drove around the track at the Richmond International Raceway.

For Kevin's birthday last year, all the siblings went in together to buy him the Nascar experience. This allowed him to take several laps around the track with an instructor as his passenger.

We had a little cheering section going on from beside the pit lanes.

We were joined by this fine fellow who was obviously a race track regular. He spent time mingling with us, watching the cars zoom by on the track and taking the occasional break to chill out in the shade.

Here's Kevin prepping to leave the pit...

... and here's the after. Look at that smile!

It was a ton of fun watching him race around the track and I'd say by the look on his face that he had fun too.

Typical Tuesday Evening

2011-09-28T06:24:00.000-04:00

For the past month or so, after our delicious Tuesday dinner at my parent's house, we've been hitting the roads for an evening bike ride. This is something Mom and Dad do every evening and it's been fun to join them. I whipped out my iPhone for some (blurry- I was riding, what do you expect) pictures of the ride.

This Week's Meals

2011-09-25T20:52:00.000-04:00

I've recently started a new project/challenge focused on our weekly dinner menu. It grew out of the desire to add some new meals into the rather small recipe rotation that I was stuck in. That and out of Tim's desperate pleas for some better thought out meals. If left to me, dinner would consist of cereal or sandwiches or a can of soup. Maybe on my fancy days I'd whip up some pancakes. However, Tim's desire for real meals (and my acknowledgement that a bowl of Cheerios isn't a well rounded meal) led me to challenge myself to get creative and organized about what was on the dinner menu each week.

That is how This Week's Meals came about. Each week, I'm posting a grocery list of items needed to make 5 dinners for the following week. Posting it holds me accountable to not fall back into old patterns of not planning out my meals and it adds to my repertoire of recipes. Though I've just started posting to the website, I've actually been putting this into practice for a little over 5 weeks and so far so good. We've had a different meal each night and the Mr. is a happier man. :) If you want to join in the fun or just grab a few recipes from the site, stop on in at www.ThisWeeksMeals.com. And if you have any great recipes I should try out, by all means, share!

Spicy Shrimp and Fast Computers!

2011-09-13T06:08:00.000-04:00

Tim bought and installed more memory for our computer and it is now running like a dream! You are a rockstar, husband. I am excited to once again work on the blog and I've got a few projects to share with you. Before I get to those, I thought I'd share a delicious spicy shrimp noodle recipe that I made a couple of weeks ago which I'm now craving just looking at these pictures.

I found the recipe from a website called, Suzie the Foodie. You'll obviously need:

1 lb. shrimp
8 oz. noodles

For the marinade on the shrimp you'll need:

1/2 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp. lime juice
6 large cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp. canola oil (or peanut oil)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (less if you are not a fan of spice)

The shrimp should marinate in this in the fridge for an hour. For the spicy Thai noodles you'll need:

1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
dash of hot sauce (we used Sriracha because Suzie recommended it and we had it)

Add these ingredients together and whisk until it becomes smooth and creamy. The recipe calls for you to use 8 oz. of spaghetti noodles but you can use less (or make more sauce) if you want your noodles to be less dry and more saucy.

Cook your noodles according to package directions. While that's cooking, cook your shrimp in a hot pan until it is pink on both sides (about 2 minutes per side with our small shrimp). Drain your noodles and then add them to your sauce mixture, topping with your spicy shrimp. Yummers! Enjoy.

San Francisco

2011-08-20T14:24:00.000-04:00

Monday, Day 4:

Our last full day in California was spent touring downtown San Francisco. We arrived at Pier 39 and did a little walking by the waterfront, enjoying the sites and sounds of the docks and Fishermans Wharf.

Here's one of those famed red trolleys! Though it was cute, I was more smitten with the classy looking trams they had running throughout the city. Because most of the public transportation runs connected to cable lines (like the ones below) there is a lot less diesel exhaust pollution. Overall, Tim and I agreed that San Francisco was a lot cleaner (and quieter) than our experience in New York City last year.

This is SF's capital building, home to Grace and Kelly, two falcons that keep pesky pigeons from pooping all over the dome. This fun fact came from our guide on the double decker tour bus that we took throughout the city. It was very chilly sitting on top but we had fantastic views of all the downtown sights.

My favorite stop of the day was at The Ferry Building which overlooked the bay. Tim and I enjoyed lunch at Il Cane Rosso and shared a brisket sandwich and a side of sweet corn polenta. It was hot and delicious. We strolled around the building which is home to small food markets, pastry shops, artisan cheese factories and a few charming small stores.

At the end of the day, Tim and I stopped by the Boudin Bakery to pick up a snack from their fun selection of breads. While we didn't buy a turtle or alligator loaf, we were satisfied by a large chocolate chip cookie which gave us the energy we needed to walk to the end of Pier 39 to hang out with the sea lions. They apparently always sun on these floating docks, making a lot of noise with their funny antics as they flopped over and onto each other. It was a nice way to end a full day in San Francisco.

Day in Mt. View

2011-08-17T22:49:00.026-04:00

Sunday, Day 3:

Sunday found us enjoying a sunny day in Mt. View, the charming city where Patrick and Jenelle live just outside of San Francisco. The weather was perfect for our stroll through the downtown area full of shops and restaurants.

Patrick and Jenelle introduced us to the fun that is Dim Sum for brunch. Chinese appetizers are wheeled around on carts and you can choose different dishes for your table to share and enjoy. I really loved the pork balls, fresh steamed broccoli and dumplings. I was a little slow working with the chopsticks but everything somehow made it to my mouth.

After brunch, we continued a couple of blocks more to the most amazing farmer's market that I have seen in my life! Row upon row of fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, breads, pastries, eggs, jams, cheeses, and flowers in the most brilliant colors you could imagine awaited us. We tried lots of samples of mouth watering fruits and preserves and bought a couple of pluots and peaches to enjoy for snacking later on. I must admit that I am super jealous of the abundant selection of fresh, beautiful, and local foods that the California Mastersons have a selection of.

Peaches, you are coming home with me!

On our walk back home, Jenelle took us through a beautiful neighborhood where Janet and I picked out our future houses (ha! $$$) and where I snapped pics of the cool palm trees growing in peoples front yards. I guess they're kind of like our pine trees back in Virginia, but it still seems so odd to see these big, tropical trees (as well as orange and lemon trees) just growing on the street corner. Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.

Napa

2011-08-16T23:34:00.002-04:00

Saturday, Day 2

For our second full day in California, the whole family took a trip to Napa Valley to tour vineyards, enjoy some wine tasting and good food, and soak in the beautiful views. Our first stop was at a small tasting room that served wine from Janet and Kevin's favorite wine company, Folie a Deux. They sampled a variety of the vineyard's other wine selections but came away agreeing that their usual red was still their favorite.

We next stopped by Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing, a company that Mom and Dad M. purchase their olive oil through. The store was papered in business cards attached on the walls, ceilings, door frames and even dangling down on twine. There were glorious rows upon rows of oils in all different flavors, Italian meats, fresh cheese, vats of olives and all the miscellaneous cooking supplies that one could possibly need for an Italian feast.

Kevin even got to pose with the lady who packages and sends out his olive oil for its cross country trip to Virginia. She showed us the olive press in the middle of the store where the oil was originally made, though it is now produced off site. She also shared samples of her oils, including a balsamic that tasted like sweet grape juice.

We made our way to Sterling Vineyards where we took a sky lift up the mountain to see how their wine was processed. We sampled wines along the tour of the facility and enjoyed a lovely terrace top view of the mountain.

We ended our day on a sweet note- quite literally. Patrick and Jenelle made sure we didn't miss out on Bouchon- a bakery that they say is one of the best ever. It did not disappoint. After standing in a line down the sidewalk for over thirty minutes, we left with macarons, pretzel croissants (my fav!), chocolate tarts, fresh bread, eclairs, s'mores cups, and their gussied up version of the Oreo cookie. The sugar high gave us enough energy to get back to Mountain View and crash after another amazing day in California.

California Dreaming

2011-08-15T23:46:00.001-04:00

These past few weeks have been very busy with two home renovation projects and a trip to San Francisco to visit Tim's brother, Patrick, and his wife Jenelle. Most of my traveling experience has been up and down the East Coast via car so I was excited to go on my second airplane ride ever.

We packed in a lot during our four full days there so I'll break down the trip into each day.
Friday, Day 1:

On Friday, Jenelle played tour guide and took us to several awesome destinations, beginning with a stop to see the Golden Gate Bridge. The air was cold and foggy at the observation point but we still had a beautiful view of the bay, including a glimpse of Alcatraz.

We stopped for lunch at a delicious restaurant on the bay called, Fish. We dined on fresh seafood while eating al fresco and overlooking the beautiful boats docked nearby.

After lunch, we strolled through downtown Sausalito and peeked in bakeries, antique shops and boutiques. The weather here was perfect- sunny, cool and comfortable, despite the fact that it was mere minutes away from the Golden Gate Bridge with its rolling, cold fog. Jenelle says that the saying in San Francisco goes, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes". We certainly experienced the fluctuating temps on our trip!

We next stopped at a small beach not too far from Sausalito so that Tim and I could touch the Pacific for the first time!

Kevin got his feet wet in the Pacific too. Well, kind of. More like just his shoes got wet.

The last stop of the day was at Muir Woods, home of the famous Redwood trees. Pictures cannot do justice to the size of the trees in this beautiful park. We all just kept staring up in awe at the bigness of them.

Seeing a national icon, eating at a charming bayside restaurant, strolling a quaint downtown district, touching the Pacific and gawking at Redwoods left us all pretty tired but very satisfied with our day's sightseeing. Thanks, Jenelle, for kicking off our trip in such a big fashion.

Juicing

2011-07-25T08:54:00.000-04:00

While at the beach this summer, Tim, his brother Patrick and I watched a documentary called, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", about a man dealing with health issues due to his weight who decides to start juicing to get healthy. He only drinks fruit and veggie juice for 60(!) days straight and by the end of that time, not only has he lost the excess weight, but he is also off all of his medication for his health problems.

The story was inspiring to say the least, and Tim and I went back home determined to do some juicing of our own. We borrowed my parents juicer and Tim went on a 10 day juice fast that is supposed to cleanse your body of the toxins that we take in from eating so many processed and unhealthy foods. He started a little blog about his 10 days juicing and he plans to continue to blog (along with his brothers) as he changes some habits to make healthier lifestyle choices.

I juiced with him for some of my meals though I did not participate in the fast. I did find myself integrating a ton more fruits and veggies into my regular meals since we had stocked up on so many of them for the juicing. My favorite juices were the ones that mixed fruits (of any kind) with kale and spinach so that you get the micronutrients from the greens but the sweet of the fruit. (Try a green lemonade- 1 lemon, 2 green apples, large handfuls of spinach and kale).

We did put together a few gazpacho type juices that were pretty decent as well, adding some cumin, salt and pepper to give it a bit of a spicy flavor. Tim finished his 10 days successfully and I'm so proud of him and impressed by his determination and willpower. We are now incorporating juicing into our everyday lives by either replacing a meal like breakfast or lunch with juice or simply having juice as a true pick-me-up snack during the day. It's such a fantastic way to get a high amount of nutrients into your diet that you couldn't fit in just by noshing on raw fruit and veggies alone. A big thanks to Patrick for sharing the movie with us- it's been an inspiration!

Tilly

2011-07-21T11:30:00.001-04:00

Hi, my name is Chantilly, but you can call me Tilly. I went on an exciting adventure yesterday when I escaped from my owners during a scary thunderstorm. I kept walking and walking and I discovered this really cool neighborhood down the road and across the street that I wanted to explore, so I kept walking and walking some more. I eventually decided to rest, so I stopped at this nice house and sat down in the yard until these two people came out and saw that they had a guest.

The girl kept admiring my pretty collar and looking for something called "tags". I didn't know what she was talking about, but when she went to go back inside I took that as my invitation and I followed her right in. I'm an air conditioned kind of girl.

My hosts were rather enamored by my beauty, so they took my picture and placed it on some posters which they hung up around the neighborhood. I knew I was born to be famous! I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with my hosts- sitting on the deck, enjoying some food and drink, getting my belly scratched. It was a rather enjoyable stay...

...except that their bed was a little flat. I missed my own cushion. But isn't that always the way it is when you travel?

I was such a popular guest that I received visitors the next day. My hostess's mother dropped in to do some more oohing and ahhing over me and she even gave me a treat for being such a "good girl". They all seemed a bit sad to say goodbye when I was whisked off by three friendly, uniformed escorts taking me to what I can only assume was an exclusive club for handsome animals like myself. But my hosts didn't have to be sad for long because my family came and picked me up shortly after my brief visit to the kennel club. My hostess was very relieved to know that I made it back home safe and sound after my exciting adventure and she said was very happy to have met me. But who wouldn't be? I'm so sweet, charming and lovable, after all.

xo,

Tilly

Happy Birthday

2011-07-19T16:05:00.007-04:00

A very special someone celebrated her birthday this weekend and I would be remiss not to mention how much I love her and am so glad I got to celebrate with her. My mother is quite possibly one of the sweetest people you will ever meet- always going out of her way to do for others. We celebrated her birthday on Saturday by furniture shopping for fun (and some inspiration) and then swinging by a local kitchen shop to check out gadgets and pretty things. Dad and Andrew took her out for a big lunch and afterwards they went to see Harry Potter together.

I dressed up our house a little and then they swung by after the movie for dessert (Ghirardelli double chocolate brownies with ice cream and toppings) and for a little present opening. Mom, I certainly hope your day was filled with all you wished for. I love you so much!

TN inspiration

2011-07-18T09:38:00.003-04:00

During our trip to TN, we stayed in the most opulent and beautiful house that I've ever seen. Each room was decorated down to the finest detail, and while I would say that the owner's style is a little more formal than my own, it was all very exquisite. I wanted to share a few of my favorite design and style elements that inspired me during our visit.

Gilded Frames: My taste is ever evolving, however it has taken me by complete surprise as of late to discover that I am drawn to rich oil paintings in gilded frames like the one above. It pairs perfectly with this large antique buffet and its worn wood keeps the whole look from seeming too "fussy". I even like the look of the gilded mirror in the top picture though it comes across much more formal when paired with that gorgeous mirrored dresser.

I started noticing that I loved the dark wood/gilded painting combo about the time I started following the blogs, For the Love of a House and A Country Farmhouse. Two of my favorite examples of this look are found in each of these ladies' kitchens, one a bit more minimal and the other full and cozy.

Unique Doorknobs: There was not a doorknob in this house that wasn't in some way beautifully detailed. Here's another gilded example. What's happening to me? :) Instead of going generic in the little details, these choices really enhanced the beauty of each room.

Light Loving Doors: I love windows in doors. I love windows around doors. I love windows over doors. It's the best thing ever (especially if your house isn't particularly close to your neighbors so they can't see your every move). The side doors were certainly impressive, but did I mention that every room upstairs had a transom glass window you could open and close?! It.Was.Awesome.

Dark Wood Antiques: I love white wood. Love it. And when repainting pieces of furniture I usually turn to a gallon of white paint to make things right. However, I love the way these dark wood antiques make the room feel sophisticated and balanced with the lighter colored pieces.

Rich, Bold Patterned Rugs: Again, another style choice that is totally unusual for me. I love jute and sisal rugs. The most color I might bring into a room with my rug would be the neutral colored border around the woven jute. However, I adore the pattern and colors in the rug above. Paired with the dark wood antiques it just works for me. Gilded frames and colored rugs?? Things are getting crazy up in here.

Details: Nothing too specific to say here other than I wanted to share a few more shots of some pretty spaces around the house. Unique sinks, pretty lace curtains and classic lanterns all add rich detail to a house. They certainly all added up to make our stay feel super luxurious and special- a real getaway. And it certainly helps to have views from outside the window that are as beautiful as the views inside.

The Ten Club

2011-07-13T08:48:00.001-04:00

Have I ever mentioned how much fun this family is? And that we have a family club with secret meetings. And that we each have an assigned family number and fancy club shirts.

Yeah, these people rock.

Beach Snapshots

2011-07-11T22:33:00.001-04:00

Tim and I just got back from two (!) weeks at the beach. Spoiled rotten, I know, but after being lucky enough to do this several years in a row there's just no going back to one week, I tell ya. I didn't want to lug my nice camera onto the beach so I just grabbed my phone and had fun snapping some shots through different filters.

The O'Hara cousins generously set up a fun tiki bar on the beach one evening and made specialty drinks for both the adults and the kids. Everyone came down to participate which made for a huge dunes party. Did I mention that we had almost 70 people in our group this year?

Emmy was such a ham for the cameras this year. She would give impromptu modeling poses for the group when asked to and even strut down her imaginary catwalk. Here she convinced Katie to give some model face with her. Good job, Kate.

We enjoyed some pool time, though mostly in the day after lunch when all the little kids from our group would play in the pool after a morning on the beach. However, some evenings it was enjoyable to grab a pool chair and enjoy the breeze.

We drove into the cute little town of Swansboro to peruse their touristy shops and enjoy a walk about at the end of our vacation.

Tim celebrated his 30th birthday at the beach this year. Per tradition, he had a large slice of pound cake topped with strawberries and whipped cream. His favorite.

I think that I could live at the beach but we certainly had a nice long time to relax in the sun, swim in the waves, eat plenty of beach food and enjoy being with family. Yay, beach 2011! Already can't wait for next year.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T23:03:00.001-04:00

Hope everyone's fourth was a blast! Happy birthday, America.

A Tennessee Trip

2011-07-03T10:13:00.000-04:00

I suppose that it's time to share a bit about our Tennessee road trip. We traveled with our good friends and TN natives, JT and Lydia (and their cute as a bug daughter, Leah, who is a Virginian by birth but who I'm sure will grow to love this beautiful state).

We packed a lot into our 6 day trip so I thought that I'd break it into sections of scenic views, amazing accommodations, delightful eats and fun activities.

It seemed like everywhere we looked we saw the most breathtaking views of mountains, or lakes and mountains, or sunsets and mountains. Basically, gorgeous mountain vistas were everywhere you turned.

The amazing bed and breakfast where we stayed was a mansion on a 140 acres with a view from the top of a mountain. I have never seen a house this grand before (more posts of house ideas and inspiration from this 1,200 foot beauty to come). There were amazing outdoor spaces to enjoy the view from and an extravagant pool area with fountains, a fireplace and pergola covered porch. Our room was my favorite spot in the house with it's beautiful blue walls, dark wood furniture and cozy desk area from which to read my favorite blogs in the morning.

The eats!! Oh, the eats! We had out of this world bar-b-que at a place called Ridgewood, rich pizza, tasty Japanese (a first for me) and some fast food from a TN fast food chain called Pals. We would stuff ourselves and then go home and swim it off in the pool so we could have some more. :)

The Blalock's also took us on some fun adventures around the Tri-City area that weren't all about food. We caught a double feature at a drive-in movie theater in Bristol, stopped by the lakeside cabin where Lydia and JT had their wedding reception, spent a day playing in Dollywood and took daily morning walks around the bed and breakfast property with the adorable dog, Quincy. We capped off the week with a last night dinner of hot dogs and s'mores roasted over the outdoor fireplace after a full day of playing in the pool (Tim taught me to dive!)

We had so much fun meeting Lydia and JT's families and seeing some of the sites and tastes of the Tri-Cities area. The amazing digs where we stayed really made the trip a 5 star experience and we had a blast, y'all. ;)

6 Years

2011-06-26T23:31:00.000-04:00

Tim and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on Saturday. Where have the years flown? They've been really good ones and I feel so lucky that I have spent them with my best friend and love. Life is just more fun when I'm with Tim.

My parents treated us to a Greek feast at one of our favorite Norfolk spots, Orapax. We happily stuffed our faces with the gigantic sampler platter of all of their best entrees called "the Boss", as well as a delicious pizza. Thanks for the treat, Mom and Dad! Tim and I have both been so blessed to have two sets of parents to show us what a loving marriage look like and it was fun to be able to celebrate with them.

I'm looking forward to many more wonderful years with my favorite guy, but here's hoping they slow down a little bit!

Scenes from TN

2011-06-21T22:39:00.000-04:00

Tim and I are on a short road trip to TN with our good friends, the Blalocks. It's been an amazing trip with scenic views of mountains and lakes, the most incredible home I've ever seen (not to mention stayed in), companionable pets, amazing eats and even an amusement park trip. I'll post some pictures from our other camera soon, but for now I'll share some quick shots taken over the past few days via my phone.

More details to come after I've recuperated from walking in the heat all day from roller coaster to roller coaster. TN is a blast, y'all!

Father's Day

2011-06-19T07:26:00.001-04:00

Dad and me, circa 1983

Tim and his dad, circa 1982

Strong and capable, our dad's made our childhoods feel safe. They taught us how to ride bikes and check our oil and work hard. They made us feel loved. They are good men and wonderful fathers.

My father works with oil and grease and engines and I have always loved the smell of an auto garage because it makes me think of him. And though his hands often have dirt under the nails and are roughed up with callouses and cuts, his heart is tender towards those he loves. His hugs are hard to beat. He is wise and giving of his time. He prays for us and with us.

I got lucky enough to marry into a family where I gained a second wonderful father. Kevin loves, supports and cheers on his family in all they do. He is generous and funny. He's got a fantastic green thumb. I see a lot of him in Tim- especially in the way they work hard at a given job. And in the jokes that they crack. :)

Happy Father's Day to two wonderful dad's who have helped us learn and grow as children and who continue to help us learn and grow as adults. We love you both beyond words!

Growing Garden

2011-06-18T17:02:00.000-04:00

Since we began our garden process back in March, our garden has come a long way in growing and producing from the tiny seeds we planted. You can see that some of our tomato plants are almost as tall as Dan!

Miles must feel like he's in a jungle when he explores what's growing in each row. Let's take a peek at what's going on in our green garden.

Our lettuce is growing in massive quantities. We are swimming in salads! :)

Right now we are harvesting some of our peppers, cucumbers, radishes, onions, garlic, lettuce and a few cherry tomatoes. Mmm- it tastes so fresh and good!

It's kind of hard to believe that this once empty lot is now bursting with green. I'm looking forward to an abundant tomato season (fingers crossed) as well as some fresh corn on the cob. Gardening is delicious.

Pi Squared

2011-06-10T17:42:00.000-04:00

It was a two pie night at the Masterson's- of the pizza and mixed berry variety. (The pie crust is store bought and the recipe used for the filling only- and believe the instructions when they say to let the pie cool for over an hour or you will end up with mixed berry cobbler).

Wedding Brunch

2011-06-08T21:21:00.000-04:00

The Sunday following Shannon and Matt's wedding, Mom M hosted a post wedding brunch. This has become a special tradition in the Masterson household and is a wonderful way in which to spend some relaxed time chatting with out of town visitors and recalling favorite parts of the ceremony and reception.

The menu was full of delightful items such as mini quiche lorraine, apple and sausage quiche, waffles, spanakopita, mixed fruit, assorted cheese and french toast casserole.

We decorated the house with beautiful hydrangea arrangements used at the previous nights reception.

Peach belleni was the brunch cocktail of choice along with the traditional orange juice and champagne combination.

We snapped some couples pictures because I was there and pestered everyone too, as usual. :)

And I had to cap off the photos with this one of our smallest (and cutest) guest, Amelie, who is the niece of the bride. She was the star of the wedding party after being pulled down the aisle in a be-ribboned Red Flyer wagon, and she stole the show on Sunday as well with her sweet and giggly disposition. Much fun and love was shared together, which is after all, the best part of weddings.

A Wedding!

2011-06-06T22:33:00.001-04:00

A very dear friend of Tim's family got married this weekend and we were invited to celebrate with them. We got fancied up and headed down to the church for the ceremony on a beautiful and balmy Saturday evening.

You wouldn't be able to tell it from this photo, but Dad M had just undergone a heart procedure 3 days prior. He recovered remarkably well and though he was still tired and in some discomfort he donned his Sunday best and pushed through. Impressive- it must be that Irish blood.

I wanted to get a shot with these gorgeous Masterson women before the wedding. Janet is best friends with the bride's mother and Katie and Maggie grew up playing with the bride, Shannon, so this was an extra special event for them.

The wedding was held at a beautiful church with many gardens, walkways, arches and intricate detailing. It was a feast for the eyes!

Shannon is a first grade teacher and invited her entire class to the wedding. Every single child showed up and eagerly looked on from the balcony. You should have seen them ferociously waving as the bride and groom walked down the aisle at the end of the ceremony!

After the ceremony, we made our way to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in downtown Richmond. We walked past incredible sculptures, tapestries and artwork to get to the area where the reception was held.

I don't know if Maggie and Katie are listening to someone or if they are just looking around in amazement at the setting for this reception. It was definitely a lavish and cool atmosphere to throw a party in.

Something's funny! I wish I knew the joke but I love the scrunched up face of a good laugh.

What handsome couples- Katie brought Jimmy along as her date while Maggie invited Joel. They were a fun group to hang out with all weekend.

Tim got a quick picture with the beautiful bride as she made the rounds to greet friends and family.

Shannon and Matt also played the shoe game- a funny version of the Newlywed game where they were asked questions about themselves as a couple (who controls the checkbook, who takes longer to get ready, etc...) and they had to choose the appropriate shoe to answer. It made for a lot of laughs.

As the evening came to a close, we enjoyed one last look at the beautiful venue as we headed to our car. It was a such a fun and lovely wedding and we wish the bride and groom many years of happiness and love!

Total Integrated Mobile

2011-05-30T17:33:00.002-04:00

I'm long overdue to share the huge change that has occurred in our family this past winter. I mentioned briefly in a previous post that Tim left his 9-5 job back in December to pursue full time work in the company he created, Total Integrated Mobile. He works with a small team- our friend JT programs with him in our office upstairs, while the company's graphic designer, Chris, creates amazing images from his home.

Tim has been interested in using his creativity combined with his computer skills to create apps for mobile devices for quite awhile. He originally started his company back in the fall of '09 and worked on his projects on the side in addition to his regular full time job. A little over a year later, Tim knew that if the company was to succeed, he needed to focus his attention and energy solely on Total Integrated Mobile.

Obviously this was a major decision for our little family and we spent a great deal of time in prayer about it. Tim's income was both a steady and generous one that kept us quite comfortable. However, we also realized that if we were to take this "risky" step into the unknown, now was the time to do it. With no children and both of us working, it wouldn't be hard to cut back in some areas to make this work off of just one steady income.

After several months of praying for wisdom, crunching the numbers and intense planning, Tim said goodbye to his colleagues and ventured out on his own. Since that time, his company has created mobile apps for several clients as well as some apps of their own. Their newest release is their first game for the iPhone and iPad, Cometkaze. They are actually blogging the stats for their game during it's first month of release so that other app developers (and curious gamers) can see what happens when an indie developer releases their first game. We're all eagerly watching it's release.

Tim is one of the hardest workers I know and he puts so much of his passion and energy into making this company successful. He is blessed to work with two other talented and dedicated guys who care about the success of the company as well.

I continue to pray for wisdom and good leadership on Tim's part and that the choices we make as a family and that Tim makes as the head of his company would please the Lord. My hope is that Tim will continue to work on things that inspire and excite him in the years to come, whether that be mobile technology or the next big techie thing. For now, I am super excited to watch him use his talents in a way that he is passionate about all from our little office upstairs!

Holy Moly!

2011-05-26T07:04:00.000-04:00

We had a bit of a storm on Tuesday night resulting in some damage around the area. Nothing nearly as extreme as what's happened in Alabama and Oklahoma but it certainly gives you perspective on what must be happening in those tornado destroyed areas. My prayers are certainly with those going through so much worse right now.

Some scenes from my iPhone via a car on the move (in other words, please excuse the blurriness).

So grateful that our power is back on and that there was no major and lasting damage caused. And to think that we're only preparing to enter hurricane season!

Birthday Parties

2011-05-23T07:07:00.000-04:00

What!? Did you say it was somebody's birthday?

We celebrated a lot of friends' birthdays this month, starting with an early b-day party for Leah- her first one ever!

Lydia and JT invited a group over to share in some dinner and fete the girl of honor. I got to snap a little photo shoot in the yard to capture her one year old cuteness.

Leah was dressed all pretty in pink for her party and was such a good sport.

Some of the party guests included Miles, who kindly sang "Happy Birthday" to Leah all throughout the evening.

His baby sister, Allie, was not able to join in the singing yet but she looked on quite contentedly from her mama's arms.

Leah may have helped to blow out her candle on the strawberry ColdStone cake but she celebrated by smashing up a cupcake mom made for her.

Michelle and I had some fun with the party girl and her birthday party toys.

A couple of days later was Michelle's birthday. Although we didn't officially gather with cake and presents, we did make it a party by heading out to the annual Norfolk Greek festival. There was singing, dancing and a couple of jewelry vendors but the reason that so many people flock to the festival is for the authentic Greek food.

We went specifically for the loukoumades- little Greek fried doughnuts. We stood in a long line to wait for those honey covered goodies. Here a new batch is being poured into the machines that would shape them into perfect bite sized portions.

They were fried, covered in honey, scooped into their boxes and were being sold faster than you can say loukoumades! These can count as Michelle's birthday cake, right?

We also celebrated another dear friends birthday a bit early with a trip up to the Little Red Roost. Hattie hosted us for a potluck party dinner with delicious grilled food and fun folks to chat up.

And of course there was delicious cake courtesy of Brad.

And, of course, being at the crafty Hattie's meant that she had some sweet homemade party decor including this "Party Time" banner.

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all of our dear friends celebrating this month. Each of you is so special to me and I'm blessed to know you and share in your life. Here's to many more birthday celebrations together!

Babette's Feast

2011-05-03T16:34:00.016-04:00

The What: A 6 course, French inspired meal at the Deboer's house followed by a viewing of the movie "Babette's Feast"

The Who:

Erin and Stephen, who graciously opened up their house and let us eat the inaugural dinner in their beautiful dining room.

Michelle and Luke, who seem to appear on this blog almost as much as Tim and I. :)

And us, of course. :)

We dug into our first course of hors d'oeuvres while Stephen grilled some yummy flank steak on the deck.

Dinner (course 2) was served with grilled asparagus and focaccia bread with dipping sauce. It was followed by a palette cleanser (course 3) of raspberry sorbet which was surprisingly more refreshing than I had anticipated. (Look for the Haagen Daz sorbet at your grocery store if you're interested.)

A pear and avocado salad (course 4) was followed by a cheese and fruit platter (course 5). We tried a creamy brie, some jarlsburg swiss and a smoky, rich gouda. Why do we not have a cheese course at every dinner? We might need to change this. Chicken and rice, course 1? Cheese platter, course 2. Spaghetti, course 1? Cheese platter, course 2.

We finished off with a fruit tart which I amazingly had no problem putting down even though it was course 6. Very impressive, Mr. Stomach. Way to take one for the team.

This photo was obviously taken earlier in the evening, as by the time our 3(!) hour eating fest was over it was very late and very dark. In fact, we may have lost a couple of movie viewers *cough- Clays- cough* early into the movie. Dim lights, full tummy, comfy couch, subtitles= heavy eyelids but a satisfyingly fun evening with lovely friends.

Spring Break

2011-04-26T07:02:00.000-04:00

I may have to start posting pics via Tim's fast computer as the picture program on our family computer is so slow that it has kept me away from blogging for far too long. I was finally able to unload and upload a few photos from my wonderful week of spring break! Woo hoo!

It started off with some delicious watermelon- one of my favorite fruits that signifies to me that warm weather is officially here to stay. :) In fact, much of my week was spent in the kitchen where I experimented with lots of new recipes. This is something I hardly ever do during the work week as I'm just too tired to be much interested in anything cooking related.

We had a fun couple of days with my brother starting early in the week. Monday evening we were invited to a baseball game by our friends Luke and Michelle. We brought Andrew along to cheer on the Tides and enjoy the perfect evening breeze blowing off the river into Harbor Park.

The Clay's had tickets for awesome seats right behind home base and we caught an exciting game- 4 home runs by our team, a pickle and a triple. It was one of the more action packed games I've caught at the park.

Luke and Michelle even brought in peanuts to share for a traditional baseball snack. :) I love the sounds and smells of a ball game! Andrew also got a lesson in how to heckle from all the people sitting around us- it was quite entertaining.

The next day Tim, Andrew and I headed to Busch Gardens to ride the rides and eat the amazing bar-b-que in the French Canada district of the park. Here we all are in front of the Loch Ness roller coaster- Tim, me and Andrew's finger. :) We got most of our roller coaster riding done before the big crowds hit at lunch time.

We celebrated Easter with my family here in town this year. We grabbed a traditional family shot in our front yard before we left for a non-traditional Easter dinner of chicken cordon bleu.

After lunch, the kiddos hunted for Easter eggs hidden around my aunt and uncle's yard- can you spot a few? It was such a warm day, and a warm week for spring break, actually. I couldn't have asked for a better way to recharge my batteries and energize me through the rest of the school year.

Tilling

2011-04-03T18:16:00.000-04:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted anything (slacker!) and so I'm playing a little catch up here. Two weekends ago a big cold front came through our area. Alas, we had already scheduled a tilling day out in the garden so we moved forward with our plans and just layered up. The guys borrowed Dad M's tiller and went to work moving it up and down the garden rows. It was a pretty exhausting task but they finished shortly after lunch.

It was then time to plant some of the onions and garlic that would be lining the perimeter of our garden.

Lydia had already generated a layout of where plants would be located in the garden and the distance needed between them. She consulted our gardening book again to double check on when certain bulbs and seeds could be planted.

Next, we walked the length of the garden, measuring rows and paths and sticking in markers to note where each plant would be located.

Lydia and I pose pre-planting in a close huddle to ward off the chill. Post-planting our fingers were frozen from the cold soil and our knees were caked in mud but it was satisfying to have completed 3/4 of our garden's perimeter. Bring on the warmer weather for more garden planting!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now in other, totally unrelated catch up news...

A big belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all my Masterson sibs! We celebrated an early b-day with Maggie and Katie at the Bier Garden after they awesomely completed their first half marathon! You gals rock. Also celebrating birthdays during the big Masterson b-day week were Tom and Patrick- though halfway across the world and on the other side of the country, respectively. A big hug and slice of cake to Katie, Maggie, Tom and Patrick! We love you.

The Week in Camera Phone Pics

2011-03-19T08:15:00.001-04:00

This has been a super busy week and I used my little camera phone to capture some pics of our many little adventures along the way. On Tuesday, Tim gave a talk on mobile technology at our alma mater. We stopped at our very favorite sub place for dinner as it's right across the street from the university.

These are the best subs ever, dripping with secret special sauce and toasted to perfection.

We both finished off whole subs by ourselves with no problem.

Afterwards, Tim gave his talk to a room of about 15-20 people, both students and professors. He did such a nice job and it was fun to see our old stomping grounds again.

Spring has come to our area. Our beautiful trees outside the school are starting to bloom (and give off a lovely smell). Yay, bartlett pears!

On Wednesday, our school had a "dress as a book character" day. I was Nate the Great, boy detective and my clerk, Andrea, was Little Red Riding Hood. She came complete with real cookies in her basket and everything!

My friend, Liz, was the chipper Mary Poppins. She came complete with an English accent and won the best character dressed teacher award.

Thursday was St. Patty's day and our small group gathered to enjoy a Carbon Leaf concert over in Newport News.

There they are under the tent- I promise. :) Tim and I used to go to their concerts all the time in college but it's been a few years since we've seen them. It was fun to hear them play their Irish pub songs and some old favorites.

On Friday, we ate a St. Patty's day meal at Dan and Jana's. Leah took her first step on Friday and showed off her new wobbly skill for us that night. So that is the week in pictures- filled to the brim with friends and fun!

Gardening

2011-03-13T19:33:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our community garden...

... or farm. When working in a garden measuring 63 x 38 you start to feel like you should have an ox and plow with you. The idea for creating our very own community garden came while talking with our friends about the fresh fruits and vegetables we were looking forward to having during the summer. The Blalock's offered up the use of part of their huge back yard which used to be a garden when JT's grandparents lived in the house. So, together with the White's, we decided to share the cost, time and energy to make this work.

A couple of weekends ago we went to work pulling up two small trees and a huge bush that were taking up space and blocking light. This past Saturday we designated a work day for cutting up sod to prepare the ground for tilling in a couple of weeks. We rented a sod cutter which Dan used to separate the sod from the dirt.

As Dan cut, the men rolled the sod into pinwheels (which made me crave those delightful Little Debbie cakes) and loaded them into wheelbarrows. And just like Little Debbies, those sod rolls sure packed on the pounds. The average roll probably weighed in at around 30 lbs.

The sod was wheeled over to Lydia and I and we unrolled them (dirt side up) and packed them down into low spaces around the rest of the yard. (And, of course, none of the guys stopped to grab a picture of us to prove we did our part!) :)

We rested and refueled with a delicious lunch before heading back out. These little clubs were devoured in minutes.

After over eight hours of work we had finally cleaned up almost all of the 2,394 sq. feet of garden. Lydia and I kept our morale up by talking of tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and peppers and all the yummy ways that we could imagine eating them in the summer! It was exhausting but also satisfying to work the land and do it with good friends. I can't wait to watch this space transform!

A Dresser

2011-03-08T16:46:00.000-05:00

This post could have been titled, "Just sitting there". Because we bought this dresser back in the summer from a second hand store and then it just sat in our garage for months until January.

Then I finally got up the oomph to sand and prime and paint it, but after it was done drying it was too heavy for just Tim and I to carry up the stairs. It needed two men for the job. So it just sat there for another month waiting. Then Tim and JT hauled it up the stairs and it sat there for another couple of weeks waiting for me to put the handles on it, line it with paper and fill it with clothes.

And now I've finally gotten around to taking pictures of it and sharing it with you. I had a really hard time figuring out how to decorate the top so I went with the "less is more" angle.

I added some family photos of my grandparents at a dance and my mom's graduation picture for sentimental purposes. Antique dresser= antique photos (not that I'm suggesting that my mom is old enough to be considered an antique, of course!)

I love the white in the room (since when do I not like white?) and though I would have loved to keep the dresser the beautiful wood color it was originally, there were too many spots and stains on it. The white paint was honestly just easier and I knew I'd like it just as much.

I'm glad to finally get rid of our cheap hand me down dresser and tidy up the look of the room. And believe it or not, most of these drawers belong to Tim! ;)

A Valentine...

2011-02-14T17:40:00.000-05:00

I made this for you... so if you like me just check the box that says yes. ;) Happy Valentine's Day!

Tasty Tuesday: French Onion Soup

2011-02-08T20:00:00.000-05:00

French onion soup is not really my thing. But Tim loves it so in the hopes of scoring wife brownie points I made a batch specially for him. And I have to admit that while I'm not into the salty flavor of this meal I love the aroma it creates in the house.

It must be the amazing smell of crazy amounts of butter and sauteed onions- it almost gave me a change of heart about the meal. So here's what you'll need:

1/4 cup butter
3 onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup red wine
2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed beef broth
1 French baguette
8 ounces sliced Swiss cheese

Melt your butter in a large saucepan and then add your sugar. Cook the onion over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until they are golden brown. Add your flour and making sure it is well stirred in. Add the liquids- your water, wine and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer, covered for 10 minutes.

Cut your baguette into generous slices and toast at 325 until golden (around 10 minutes). Ladle your soup into oven safe bowls, cover with a piece of bread and load on the cheese. You may want to place your bowls on a cookie sheet to make transferring it in and out of the oven easier. Bake at 425 until cheese has melted (another 10 minutes or so).

Here's the unbaked version right before you pop it into the oven for a few minutes...

And voila! Here is the pretty finished product. I could go for the baked cheesy bread on top. And the soup underneath was good as well according to my taste tester. Enjoy!

February Mantle

2011-02-04T12:57:00.000-05:00

My poor mantle has been really neglected since my Christmas nativity was cleaned up by the 1st of January. In fact, it has been empty save for one tiny, lonely vase sitting on it. I decided I needed to work with what I had around the house and gussy up my mantle in time for Valentines Day.

I made one of my art pieces by using the material from an old pair of Tim's pants (they were my favorite) which had been severely ripped. (You may remember I used the same fabric for another project...) Some white yarn and a few small pins later and I had a sweet sentiment to share with others.

I borrowed the black mirror from its perch in the upstairs bathroom (which has yet to be made over so the mirror has yet to actually be attached to the wall). I decided to go with a more angular look than I've had in the past with my round mirror.

I used my botanical book to choose some red floral pictures in honor of the month of love. An old curtain that came with the house was cut to size and used as the backing for the print.

And here she is in all her glory. I'm still learning how to decorate the mantle and have yet to do something that I completely love, but this is certainly better than having it just sit all empty and sad. Let's call it my little valentine for our living room.

Pink Eyes...

2011-02-03T15:48:00.002-05:00

My pink eye "vacation" has extended to its third day thanks to the infection traveling to my other eye. What can I say- I'm an overachiever. It's pretty miserable stuff and I suppose that I'm lucky to have not contracted it before now seeing that I work with around 500 children on a daily basis. The mornings are the worst because I have to pry my eyelashes apart from the oozy goop that glues them shut- but I'll save you the rest of the gory details. :)

On the upside, I've had a restful and quiet 3 days at home and have gotten to read a little (in between hot compresses), blog a little and get inspired by some things I've stumbled across on the internet.

I've become infatuated with this blog by Jenny Steffens, an event planner with impeccable style and taste. Be sure to check out her adorable home and some amazing looking recipes.
Cute doggies, anyone? Yes, please.

Um, we're not expecting but I'll let you in on a secret. I LOVE imagining baby names which makes this site a huge time vacuum.
Oh boy, another one of those fun online magazines to lose myself in...

And though I've been content to flip through my favorite sites and read my favorite books and drink coffee and tea all day long, I am feeling a bit lonely as the only person that I see is Tim (no family dinner night, no small group, no nothing...). Tim has taken to only blowing me kisses though I do get a quick pat on the back- after which he promptly scrubs down. Can't say that I blame him but I look forward to human contact again soon. Until then, you may find me on the couch immersed in one of my library books. Please don't interrupt me or I may squirt poisonous eye juice at you...

Why, hello again!

2011-02-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

(...and a quick January recap)

Happy February, dear readers (if any of you are still there). My father-in-law was apparently getting very worried about me since I disappeared from blog land for such a long while. So I'll dedicate this post to Dad M. :)

I really don't have an excuse for my long absence other than it was nice to take a break from being stuck to a posting schedule for the past month. Our computer has unexplainably (and very inconsiderately) decided to slow to a crawl whenever I try to load and work on my photos which made posting a stressful and time consuming ordeal. All is not totally fixed on that point but I think I'm officially rested enough to give it another go.

So what has been happening in the Masterson household this past January? Apparently a lot of eating according to these pictures...

I celebrated my birthday in early January with a plethora of delicious chocolate cakes- the amazing example above made by my mother. Mmm mmm. It's a miracle I haven't gained 20 lbs. with all the goodies my friends and family lovingly made for me!

In other big life changes:

Tim left his job and started working on his business full time which I'll post about in more detail later. We celebrated by going out to eat Mexican food.
We said goodbye to my brother and sister-in-law as they moved from Va. out to Ca. Again, we celebrated (somewhat tearfully) by gathering around the family dinner table for a farewell feast.
We are anticipating the arrival (anytime now) of a new baby for our good friends, Daniel and Jana. This celebration included a fun food-on-a-stick theme.

So that somewhat sums up January- one giant celebratory pig out. February is starting off strong with a case of pink eye for me (which is why I'm home writing this post in the middle of a Tuesday). I'll hopefully kick this soon and create some new posts with pictures of things besides food on them. I'm feeling blog refreshed and am looking forward once again to documenting life in our little family.

Ringing in the New Year

2011-01-04T17:55:00.021-05:00

We spent our New Year's, per tradition, down at the beach. It has become a much anticipated time to relax and unwind with friends. I can't think of a better way to usher in the new year.

There is always someone on the couch reading, or being read to if you are a wee one, during our beach time. Tim received a Nook for Christmas which made for light packing of several "books". I am reading through Anne of Green Gables and have found myself laughing out loud at the dramatic Anne. However, I informed Tim that I would still prefer to have the story in traditional book format instead of as only an e-book.

Games were a staple of our daily activity. Jana enjoys some quiet time to herself as she works a super involved puzzle. Most games were not quite so solitaire.

Delicious and indulgent food was also part of our daily menu. On a recommendation we picked up some made to order Duck donuts and quickly inhaled them. My favorites? The chocolate iced and the glazed. Oh yeah.

We also had much fun playing with the babies. Leah is at a sweet age where she loves being held and practicing her jumping. Hard to believe that she is the age that Miles was last year at the beach. Miles is now quite the explorer and full of smiles and words. We look forward to next year when his little sister will join the group!

Of course no beach trip is complete without a little walk on the beach. Lydia and Michelle found two hermit crabs in their shells and had a bit of fun with them. We contemplated bringing back one as a pet for Leah...

The weather, which had started out so chilly during the first few days of our trip, warmed up considerably so that we were able to stroll the beach sans heavy coats!

We love the beach and can't wait to visit again- though next time will find us in bathing suits and shorts!

Looking Forward to Another Year...

2010-12-31T17:51:00.000-05:00

From here at the beach to wherever you may be, here's hoping that you have the happiest of new years. I'm so excited for all the new paths that 2011 may take us down!

Christmas Morning! aka- Sleepy Face

2010-12-27T20:23:00.001-05:00

Isn't this a fantastic face? I really wish I knew what Mom was so surprised about. Anyway, she looks cute in her snow p.j.'s. :) Christmas morning Tim and I woke up bright and early to make it over to my parent's house by 7:30 a.m. Meaning that pajama's were left on and hair was barely brushed- well, for me at least. Tim took his morning shower because he's proactive like that.

So we got there with a couple of minutes to spare- because I knew if we were even a minute past 7:30 we would never hear the end of it from my brother who had been up and waiting for us forever by the time we finally got there. He very generously allowed us to sleep in until almost 7:00- he probably would have preferred us there by 5:30 so that he could wrangle Tim into playing some of his new video games as early as possible.

Mom received her new scrap booking super tool, the Silhouette. I think she's pleased... She's giving lots of good faces this morning.

After a few rounds of present unwrapping, Mom and I hit the kitchen to whip up breakfast. Mom cooked up some bacon and eggs while I tried out a caramel monkey bread mix. Yes, it was all very tasty. Christmas breakfast is always one of my favorite parts of the day.

Tim was happy with his new extremely warm hat and demonstrated his pleasure by putting it on immediately. He has yet to take it off which is only a slight problem during his daily shower routine.

And aren't these the happy faces of Christmas... I certainly love my family! Hope everyone had just as wonderful a day spent close to the ones they love.

Christmas Pt. 2

2010-12-26T19:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas Pt. 2 was also celebrated in Richmond on Christmas Eve. The Hollowell/Masterson's were there...

The Martin's hosted us in their gorgeous home...

And the Roper's brought over their adorable kids as well as some yummy sides to our Christmas feast.

We spent a lot of time laughing and playing with the kiddos. Cameron puts on quite the fun magic show for his niece, Kayla.

Now that all of the tots are mobile they kept us on our toes making sure they didn't climb up the tree or into the chimney.

As this was our first time meeting little Lynda Grace, we spent a lot of time fussing over her. She was a bit overwhelmed with all of the activity and found it hard to get to sleep. Well, obviously, who wouldn't rather stay up and hang out with a group as fun as us?

After nap time, she was better able to enjoy the festivities of her first Christmas! And isn't she so sweet in her Santa hat and plaid jumper?

I snuck in as many kisses as I could on her sweet cheeks. What a fantastic Christmas gift she is to our family! And how fun to be surrounded by so many loved ones on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas- Pt. 1

2010-12-20T21:32:00.000-05:00

Ho, ho, ho! Christmas came a week early for the Masterson clan as we celebrated with Tim's family up in Richmond this past weekend. Mom M had her sparkly Christmas decorations all around the house to set the festive atmosphere.

Who needs mistletoe when you have such a sweet face to prompt a kiss? We spent most of Saturday hanging around the house...

...snuggling in front of the fireplace (with our traditional Saint Nick gift- bottled cokes).

We also got our puppy love on with this cutie. He's such a people dog and stayed close by everyone all day long. Of course, I would hang out with us too if I got all the rubs and attention (and even scraps of food) that he gets. :)

Saturday evening we sat down to a beautifully set table and feasted on turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and a delightful warm pear salad. I enjoyed the seconds just as much as the first.

After dinner, we gathered around the fireplace for a few family pics. These are two of my beautiful sisters in law, Maggie and Katie.

And here are the matriarch and patriarch of the Masterson family looking oh-so sweet together.

We are missing Tom and Hayden as they are basking in the Australian sun for Christmas, but they made sure to Skype in for our Christmas gift exchange. We got to do a bit of catching up with them and our whole family posed for a picture- pretty impressive for two groups of Masterson's on the opposite sides of the earth! I wish that we could have celebrated with everyone for longer than the weekend but I had such a wonderful time and am excited for our second Christmas celebration with family this coming week.

Sweet

2010-12-17T18:09:00.000-05:00

I made these as a Christmas thank you for our fantastic library volunteers. Each week we have a core of 9 ladies who come in and help us shelve and cover books, assist our kids and generally lend a hand where needed. I love getting to know them and have a few that return even long after their children have left the school. So this will be our small token to say that we think they are sweet!

On another happy school note, today a student enthusiastically proclaimed that I was- and I quote- "the best librarian in the whole wide world"! And take it from me, 6 year olds know what they are talking about, right? ;) And, though I would highly doubt that he's ever met any other librarians, his enthusiasm and sweet smile totally made my day.

White Stuff

2010-12-13T22:36:00.000-05:00

Look what came down all day today! Tim kissed me goodbye for work this morning and a couple minutes later he was back upstairs telling me to look out our window. Needless to say I was excited to see pretty white flakes already covering the ground and cars outside. And I was doubly glad to have my car toasty warm inside our garage with no scraping required.

It snowed rather steadily all day long and I kept running out of my windowless library to the foyer to peek out our front doors and make sure it was still coming down. The kids at school were dying to get out and play in it- we don't see a lot of this mysterious white stuff here in Va. At least not the kind that sticks.

I stomped outside to grab some pictures of our backyard- you can see that we have a couple of inches that accumulated on our deck posts.

Now I'm just going to keep chanting my mantra of "ice and snow, ice and snow" and hope that our hypersensitive school systems give us a couple of hours off tomorrow. :) One can hope, right?

Ornamental

2010-12-09T19:33:00.000-05:00

During our Thanksgiving trip, a group of us Masterson ladies headed to downtown Cinci to check out a museum exhibit. While we were there, we stopped to look at the lovely Christmas display that was decking their halls and oogled the pretty ornaments they had for sale.

They were hand painted and so sparkly and unique. I was particular to this leafy green one- perhaps a pear tree minus one partridge?

I also enjoyed this Father Winter looking Santa. Perhaps it comes from all the old timey Santa figures my mom displayed at Christmas when I was growing up, but I really liked him. He reminds me of one of them with this rosy cheeks and swirling beard.

Sorry for the blurriness- I wish this one was clearer because it sparked a great idea from my sister-in-law who suggested that Mom M (a talented artist) paint an ornament of Grandma's house. How cool would it be to have a personalized winter scape ornament!

So pretty and delicate. I like the pink amidst all the blues and greens hanging on the tree.

I like the tree that this ornament is displayed on just as much, if not more than, the ornament itself. I'd like a Swarovski covered tree- not that this one is covered in Swarovski crystals. But wouldn't that be a merry little Christmas tree?

What's your favorite ornament hanging on your tree this year?

December in Williamsburg

2010-12-07T20:10:00.000-05:00

How did December get here so quickly? This past weekend was Williamsburg's annual Grand Illumination and Tim and I carpooled with my family to enjoy the festivities.

We bundled up tightly as the day was a chilly one and enjoyed taking in the seasonal decor in the colonial area.

One of my favorite things to gawk at are the gorgeous wreaths made with dried flowers, fruits and even cotton. We stopped at a little colonial market and garden that sells all the dried wreath embellishments.

We also enjoyed window shopping in Merchant's Square and looking at the swaths of garland and ribbon on the windows and doorways. Hot chocolate and cider were sold on the street corners for a dollar to keep shoppers' fingers from freezing.

I even found my Lloyd inside Binns Fashion Shop. He's such a good doggy- obedient and cute!

A very humorous thirty minute production of Dicken's classic, A Christmas Carol, was performed by a three man company outside in Merchant's Square. We loved it so much last year that it was worth a repeat showing- and we were pleasantly surprised by a few new revisions they had made.

As tradition, we met up with Hattie and Brad and headed on over for some food at Paul's Deli.

We enjoyed un-layering and defrosting over hot subs and french fries.

The night ended with a bang as we watched the amazing fireworks display over the governor's palace. A chilly ending to a chilly day but I was warm on the inside hanging out with some of my very favorite people at one of the prettiest Christmas spots around. Aww, that's so mushy, isn't it?

A Cincinnati Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T13:45:00.000-05:00

I've finally gotten enough rest and some time to sit down and share a little of our Thanksgiving trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. It was a 12 hour drive which we split up on the way there (one night spent in Charleston, WV) but the drive home took us from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and we were totally wiped. Believe it or not, I don't have a single picture from Thanksgiving day (!?!) but that was not the only reason we made the long trek to Cinci.

Tim's grandmother was having her 90th birthday and much of the family traveled to celebrate with her. Here she is with 5 of her 6 children, Tim's fabulous aunts and uncles.

And here is almost all of the Masterson clan, minus our Aussie contingent, with Grandma. (We missed you lots, Tom and Hayden!)

We celebrated with balloons, cupcakes and shared memories of Grandma. We also included a list of things Grandma is older than- the most impressive item being sliced bread. :)

And of course there was some joking around and lots of laughing.

We ended the evening at the Hofbrauhaus, a German restaurant in downtown Cinci where there was a live German band, singing, food and a bit of dancing on table benches. The band even gave a b-day shout out to Grandma.

On Saturday, Mom M took the girls to a museum exhibit of historical bridal gowns. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed in the exhibit but there were beautiful gowns ranging from the early 1800's to some modern Vera Wang's and Monique Lhuillier's. Queen Victoria's wedding dress was also on display and quite impressive with all it's intricate lace work.

We spent Saturday evening hanging out with family at Grandma's house talking and of course eating. There are certain dining experiences that must be visited on a trip to Cincinnati including my two favorites...

Skyline Chili (though I prefer mine as a 4 way with beans on spaghetti)...

...and the ever amazing Graeter's ice cream with their decadent hot fudge. I followed Maggie's inclination and went with the mint chocolate with fudge. Oh. My.

So there you have it. One wonderful, indulgent and fun filled trip to Ohio. Hope your Thanksgiving was just as fun and full of love.

Sooo Tired...

2010-11-30T06:38:00.000-05:00

Hello, dear readers. I haven't totally disappeared on you, but one long road trip + a 12 hour drive home + a super slow computer + longer work hours = no fun posts for you. Sorry about having disappeared but I'll be back in a couple of days with some highlights from our trip to Cincinnati! Here's a small idea of what we did while we were there (eat, eat and eat).

Kitchen Makeover: Pt. 2

2010-11-24T06:44:00.000-05:00

Our kitchen makeover is going to be a slow and continuous project as we save the money to do bigger things like knock down walls, move appliances around and create new storage space. However, I am excited about the steps we've taken so far to lighten the space up and I'm excited to share part two of our kitchen makeover with you!

Here's our kitchen last winter during one of our snow days. :) We were using our little rectangle table that we bought on the (super) cheap from someone selling it in their front yard.

There was also this fan which I was not, pardon the pun, a huge fan of. I think it had to do with the four speckled and wavy light globes. Just not my thing.

Enter a new light fixture (bought on sale this summer and hanging out in a box upstairs this whole time) and a new hand me down table.

The round table fits the space really well and was a gift from Tim's parents. It had been stored in their basement for years and we were happy to take it off their hands. It originally had a really heavy and highly glossy varnish which we sanded off and I rubbed on some mineral oil to protect the surface.

Speaking of love... I'd been eyeing circular pendant lights for awhile and was excited when some went on sale at West Elm. Tim didn't like my original choice so we compromised with this one and I couldn't be happier.

The dining area of the kitchen wasn't the only makeover we completed. We also upgraded our island. It used to have a non-working griddle smack in the middle of the counter which really cut down on our workspace. Not to mention that the duct work underneath the island took up a ton of storage space as well. Tim and Dad lifted it out and got rid of all the junk hooked up under it.

Here is the shell of our island with a coat of oil based primer on it. It was my first time working with oil based paint and, while it was a little messy, it wasn't nearly as bad as I feared it would be.

My family came over to help sand and paint on a couple of different occasions. Mom and Tim are painting the island cabinets their new color, Mourning Dove from Martha Stewart's paint line.

And here it is in all it's new glory. Notice the new top? Well that just happens to be our little rectangle table's top sanded down and mineral oiled up! That was my dad's inventive and money saving idea and it's a great temporary solution as we budget for new kitchen countertops. Until then, I think I will highly enjoy our new look.

A Thanksgiving Table

2010-11-20T17:02:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Tim and I had some of our friends over to celebrate an early Thanksgiving together. We got the idea for this Thanksgiving potluck from Tim's sisters who hold an annual "Friendsgiving" with their closest friends each year. In preparation for our celebration, I decided to get our table prettied up to make the event a little more special.

Some simple twine around a glass candle holder feels like fall to me. It also adds a bit of texture to the mix. I also bought a long piece of burlap to use as a table runner since I couldn't find anything long enough on it's own to buy. I simply folded it over to my desired width and ironed it flat.

To add more interest to the centerpiece, my crafty friend Hattie brought along an old dictionary she picked up from a thrift store that had lovely, yellowed pages. We picked up a couple of leaves from outside and traced around them on the pages.

We simply cut around the outline and, voila, we had some adorable and vintage-y looking leaves.

We twisted their ends around some twine and looped the twine up and down the runner for a pretty effect.

With the centerpiece in place, I next added my grandmother's china and tucked in some silverware at each seat.

Candles are lit and the table is almost all ready! I might also mention that I picked up scentless candles so as not to distract from the delicious aromas and tastes of the food we were eating.

Hattie generously shared these really cool alphabet stickers which we made into initial place cards. Some folded card stock cut to fit our plates finished off the table.

Now, just add friends and amazing food and you have the perfect Thanksgiving feast! We had a fantastic evening of food, games and lots of laughter. What a wonderful jumpstart on a great holiday season!

Kitchen Makeover: Pt. 1

2010-11-12T17:51:00.000-05:00

I haven't disappeared on you, dear readers. I've just been a bit preoccupied with this kitchen project- oh yeah, and that pesky thing known as my regular day job too. ;) So we started off with delicate floral wallpaper and dark trim all over our kitchen. The wallpaper came off a few weeks ago on a whim to see how easy it was to take down. (In our case, it was super easy- insert big cheer).

Next, my mommy dearest came over a couple of weekends ago and helped me sand the trim. After much sanding, dust cleaning, priming and priming some more, I was ready to paint.

I painted all the trim earlier this week and yesterday came the fun part- painting the walls and seeing that big transformation!

And unfortunately, with evening coming so much earlier these days, this was the best shot I could get this afternoon. Still, it makes me ever so happy and looks even better in person!

You'll get to see more pictures later on and I promise I'll take them in better light. Looking ahead, I have a table and island to sand down, primer and paint this weekend. Wish me luck!

Gungor

2010-11-07T16:13:00.002-05:00

I've been a busy bee this weekend working on our kitchen (!!) and making a Trader Joe's run (which is not located near us which means we have to make a special trip to go to it). No peeking ahead at the kitchen but I am getting excited that the room's starting to lighten up without all of my dark wood trim sucking out the light like a black hole. Or a glossy, red cherrywood hole...

Since you are waiting so patiently for kitchen redo pics, I did want to leave you with a little something to look at and listen to. My mom introduced me to this group called Gungor- formerly known as the Michael Gungor band. I really appreciated what they shared about their group here and I've posted below a group of their videos along with the song that my mother loves so much called, Beautiful Things. You can hear a few more over at their website.

Grandma's China

2010-11-05T06:45:00.000-04:00

Grandma Hollowell passed away when I was 16 years old and when the family went through her belongings no one wanted or needed more china in their cabinets. I was the youngest (besides my baby brother, of course) and didn't have china of my own so we saved it for future me who would hopefully set up house one day.

We packed it all up, double wrapping it in paper towels and newspaper to ensure that it stayed in good condition. I received two different sets of china from Grandma, neither one a complete set, but both full enough to entertain a small crowd with. This orchid? lily? (sorry, don't know my flowers all that well) china was my favorite at 16 though it was the least complete of the two sets.

However, this delicate green pattern is my favorite 11 years later and I'm so glad that I chose to take both sets. I'll need them for an upcoming fancy Thanksgiving dinner with friends and I'm looking forward to using them on the table. A memory of Grandma.

And just as a fun aside, I found this advertisement in one of the old newspaper wrappings from Dec. of '98. It just happens to be one of my very favorite rom com's but this was well before I saw it as I didn't watch it in the theaters. Yay for fun surprises in the midst of unwrapping and washing china for a couple of hours.

Tasty Tuesday: Caramel Apples

2010-11-02T21:26:00.001-04:00

Nothing says "fall treat" quite like a caramel apple. I have to thank my friend, Michelle, for giving me the idea to make these. She served them to our small group one night and I've been dying to make a batch of my own since then. Luckily, it was super easy. Here's what you'll need:

5-6 medium apples
1 bag of caramel candies
2 tbsp. water
sticks to spear your apples with (we used chop sticks)

Heat your caramels and water over medium heat and stir till everything is nice and melty. Clean and spear apples and dip into mixture. Place on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper that has been greased with butter. Place apples in the fridge and let them harden for an hour. After that, they are all yours to enjoy. Sweet and chewy caramels over a crisp apple- who knew fruit could taste so good? ;)

Halloween Block Party

2010-11-01T18:30:00.001-04:00

Yes, my halloween decorations were to a minimum this year and were more on the harvest side rather than the spooky side. But hey, at least I got something out on the steps (even though one of my pumpkins was stolen by someone who was more into tricks than treats).

Our friends brought over adorable baby Leah and we strolled her down the street to our neighborhood's block party.

There was pizza and plenty of decked out kids (and dogs) to look at. We then walked through the neighborhood to check out all the spooky decorations on the houses- people here really go all out.

We actually gave away all of our candy this year- including some leftover goods from last year. :) Hooray for no drawer full of sugary temptation all year long. And just in case you were wondering, this miniature Harry Potter was my favorite costume of the evening. What was the best costume you saw?

Homecoming

2010-10-31T20:14:00.000-04:00

This weekend, Tim and I went back to our alma mater to celebrate our homecoming. I can't believe that it's been five years since we've graduated. Where did that time go? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was a student living in these dorms and walking this campus?

After a brunch reunion with some friends from InterVarsity Fellowship, we headed over for more food and fun with Tim's computer science department. Each year they set up the tastiest b-b-que tailgate and they get a good turnout of alumni and current students.

We had along our usual CNU sidekicks and best-ies, Hattie and Brad, who drove down from Richmond on Friday to stay with us and make it a fun weekend trip.

Our friends, Erin and Mike, also joined us for the tailgate party as well as to cheer on the Captain's from the stands. Erin very sportingly cheers on CNU even though she graduated from ODU. :)

Before the game started, we got to see the band and homecoming court parade in through the campus to the field. Clubs and organizations had decorated golf carts and passed out candy to parade watchers.

Once in the stands, we showed our spirit by unfurling our Captains banners and screaming until we went hoarse. Tim's voice had dropped a couple of octaves by the time we left the game.

But all the cheering was worth it as CNU pulled out a victory over Ferrum College, 27-21! We had a great time chatting up old friends and watching a tight game and we can't wait until next year to do it again. Go blue and silver!

Holy Mackerel, Batman!

2010-10-28T20:27:00.000-04:00

Or should I say, "holy omega-3 fatty acids", it's a fish oil supplement that's sweet and chewy!

My family has a bad heart history (and I don't have a great personal heart record either), so I would very occasionally take fish oil supplements. I mean, they're as large as horse pills and a little icky. Who wants to burp up fish all night? Not this girl. Enter my sister in law, Jenelle. She introduced me to Omega-3 gummy fish which I believe she purchases at Costco. I've had my eyes open for them down around my way and lo and behold, I stumbled upon some on sale in Target the other week. Cue a little store aisle dancing.

A sugar coated, fruity treat is much more appealing than Goliath sized fish capsules that we've frozen to keep the fish taste to a minimum. So far, Tim hasn't shown much interest in my gummies so I can enjoy eating this whole bottle of ~~candy~~ very healthy for my heart fish pills all by myself. Maybe Tim will finish off that other bottle of stuff in the freezer.

Tasty Tuesday: Pumpkin Pancakes

2010-10-26T22:32:00.000-04:00

I know that I have been MIA since my last tasty Tuesday. For now though, let's just move onto the next recipe. :) Thanks to Martha Stewart for these delicious and easy made-from-scratch pancakes that are just the thing for fall! Here's what you'll need:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
1 cup milk
6 tbsp. canned pumpin puree
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 egg

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately and then fold wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Melt some butter in a skillet and start pouring batter in for your yummy pancakes. Serve with butter and syrup for a treat that's definitely got more zing and taste than your everyday pancake!

Tasty Tuesday: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas

2010-10-19T23:40:00.000-04:00

I love working with sweet potatoes in the fall- they have such a sweet, rich flavor and color that fits the season well. This sweet potato and black bean quesadilla is a nice twist to the usual cheesy version. The sweet and savory combo is delish and the potatoes and beans add some heartiness to this recipe. Here's what you'll need:

2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapenos, chopped
3-4 diced tomatoes
15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
large handful of fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 small red onion
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
8 whole wheat tortillas

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spread cubed sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and place in oven for 20 minutes until tender. Remove from oven (leaving oven on). Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat, adding onions and jalepenos. Saute until garlic begins to brown. Add tomatoes, beans, lime juice, salt, pepper and cilantro. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and add in onion, feta and sweet potato. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange tortillas on a baking sheet and heat for 2 minutes, then take back out and place quesadilla mixture on top and add another tortilla over mixture. Place back in oven for 5 minutes, or until tortilla is golden brown. Take out and serve with salsa, sour cream, avocado or other side of your choice. Yes, please. Enjoy!

Going once, going twice

2010-10-17T22:33:00.001-04:00

I went to my very first auction on Saturday evening along with my mom, dad, brother and a family friend. This particular auction was filled with items from an estate and had a few interesting pieces going up for bidding.

This old cabinet made me think of an old farmhouse kitchen. I'm into it's punchy red knobs.

My friend has one of these food weights in her kitchen and I've always loved it. So charming.

There's something about old time pieces to set around the house that I love. The size, shape and typography of the numbers used are just perfect.

These were perhaps my favorite items. I could see these as cute decor on a deck used for holding plants or filled with ice and glass soda bottles. Or perhaps bring one into a large bathroom and fill it with fresh towels. We didn't stay around for the whole auction and I'm curious as to how much they sold for.

Mom and Janice got paddles just in case they wanted to bid. They never did but we sure did enjoy listening to the auctioneer whip right through the prices. We saw quite a few boxes of stuff like frames and glassware sell for $2.50. What a fun experience and definitely something I'd enjoy doing again- this time with a paddle of my own!

Check and check

2010-10-16T22:37:00.000-04:00

Remember waaaay back when I was working on finishing up a couple of projects?

Well, guess who has an awesome family who snuck into her house and used their man power to hoist and hang my big mirror in my guest bedroom while I was out of town? This girl does! (Thanks to Dad and Andrew for their big muscles and Mom for her eye leveling skills).

No more big blank wall! Because the glass is really antiqued, I thought I would run with that theme and stick in a few black and white family photos in the side. Just as an aside, don't you wish that prints still came in nice square shapes with white scalloped trim? I do.

And that deck paint job that we started back in August? Yeah, finished that on Saturday too. Feels good to finally get some things crossed off the to do list. Hopefully, next weekend I can stay on a roll. There's a hallway that's half painted and a dresser that could use a little attention.

Happy List

2010-10-14T19:38:00.001-04:00

Okay, so major fail on Tasty Tuesday for the second week in a row. I just haven't stopped to grab a picture of our soup and make the post. Sorry! However, I did want to share a few pics of things that I'm really into right now or at least have been drooling over. Let's start with the cutest, shall we...

I want this dog. Tim and I have both gotten the dog bug. Hmmm... that sounds as if I'm suggesting fleas, perhaps I should rephrase that as "dog fever". After spending three straight weekends with really sweet and obedient dogs we are wanting one of our own to follow us around, get under our feet and look at us with loving, loyal eyes. :) We are particularly fond of golden retrievers and anytime we see one we get super excited and point it out to each other. I think that we've made the situation worse by already naming this imaginary companion Lloyd and talking about how good he'll be (he never poops in inappropriate places or has high vet bills). But this won't be happening anytime soon, if at all. We may revisit this subject in the early summer. *sigh*

Onto a more obtainable and less life altering obsession: Good Earth's Sweet & Spicy tea. Hattie got me hooked on this stuff when she brought it along on our recent camping trip. She is a fellow tea junkie and downs it all day at work to keep warm (libraries are cold everywhere, people). She told me it was the first tea she'd ever tasted where you honestly didn't have to add any sugar at all. I was skeptical but she was right and this is the perfect solution for making at work. No need to carry around my squeeze jar of honey or feel guilty about shoveling so much sugar into my system each day. You can find this at Trader Joe's and if it's not nearby (like mine) you may want to grab multiple boxes seeing as you'll probably go through them pretty quickly- at least if you like the flavor of sweet red hots like I do.

As a librarian, I get asked a lot about what good books I've read lately that I recommend. I always feel so unprepared for this question because I spend my day surrounded by picture books and I know more about kids and YA lit than I do adult material. I've recently resolved to spend less time on blogs and more time back in books from my local library. I just picked up this compilation of Flannery O'Connor stories and (while I haven't finished the book) I've enjoyed the few short stories that I've read. It's not exactly fluffy reading (I got a "writer's memoir of his dog" kind of book for that- fueling preoccupation #1 on this list) but I had read some interesting and thought provoking O'Connor stories in college and had been meaning to pick up more stuff by her (for, er, you know, like the last 5 years).

Okay, back to the "dreaming of" portion of my happy list. These will probably make it onto my Christmas wish list. Last year's secret Santa bought me my favorite initial charm necklace from Stella and Dot and I continue to oooh and ahhh over their jewelry. Normally I'm not a big "bling" kind of girl- I tend to forget to accessorize. But I almost always have on my initial necklace and there is just something about their designs that seem to go with everything. I love all three of these stackable rings and think they would look great together but I'm particularly fond of the circular and triangular ones. Oh, I don't know- I love that oval one too- arg!

And last but not least, here is one of my inspirations for what I would love to have built into our kitchen (whenever that long anticipated overhaul takes place). Instead of drawers on the bottom it would be more practical for us to have cabinets to use as pantry storage but I'm just in love with the weathered and sturdy look of this Restoration Hardware piece... and the way they have so nicely displayed their hordes of white dinnerware. :)

So that's my list of happy things that I've been eyeing/enjoying recently. What's at the top of your happy list?