Fill Yourself With Fall

I wore my first wool sweater of the season today.

It.Was.Itchy.

The cool weather got me craving something fallish. Lucky for me, mi Madre baked me a loaf of pumpkin bread!

Obviously the only natural thing for me to do is A) show you a picture of said loaf so you can drool and B) share the recipe for said loaf so you can get to filling yourself with some fall goodness!!!

(note: As you can tell via the above photo, Stone and I clearly filled ourselves with some fall goodness. We have eaten 3/4 of the loaf in a day...OOPS!)

Pumpkin Bread-mini loaf

Ingredients
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup oil
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
3 t vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans

How To
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Beat the eggs.
Add sugar, pumpkin, oil and vanilla to eggs and mix until creamed
Combine salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and flour.
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture...along with the chopped pecans.
Mix until everything in incorporated.
Pour raw ingredients into mini loaf pans and bake 35-40 minutes.....or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Place mini loaf pans on a cooling rack, let cool, then remove and ENJOY!

(note: can make into larger loaves or muffins...will need to adjust cooking time accordingly)

H.E. Double Hockey Sticks

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of removing wallpaper, knows what it is like. I am currently in hell. I brought it on myself, but all the same....it's still hell.

Wallpaper hell.

I'm trying to keep my eye on the prize. The prize being my freshly painted 'Deep Walnut' family room (with crown moulding to boot).

"I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I KNOW I CAN!" It's my mantra and I'm sticking to it! I'm 1/4 of the way through the project.

1.remove top layer of wallpaper...done

2.remove second layer of wallpaper

3.prime

4.paint

If I had the current address for the previous owner of our home...I think I would send her hate mail.

Wallpaper does not bring out the best in me.

On a happier note.

Mi madre brought me a tasty lunch to work the other day.

On the menu: chicken salad croissants, strawberry & spinach salad, buckeyes and raspberry lemonade.

I thought I would share the recipe for Strawberry & Spinach Salad

Strawberry & Spinach Salad
*1 ½ to 2 bunches of spinach
*1 pint of fresh strawberries (thinly sliced)
*sliced almonds (warm & stir in skillet in melted butter until toasted)
　
Dressing
(usually double the ingredients below)
*1/2 cup of sugar
*1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
*1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
*1 ½ teaspoon of minced onion
*1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
*1/4 teaspoon of paprika
*1/4 cup of cider vinegar
*1/2 cup of vegetable oil (sometimes use ¼ cup olive oil & ¼ cup vegetable oil
-How To-
Place all dressing ingredients except oil in a blender. Add oil in a slow steady stream with blender on low speed. Blend until creamy and thick.

(notes: sometimes we just put the dressing ingredients in a jar and 'shake shake shake!' until our hearts are content!)

Wash and dry spinach and place in a large salad bowl. Add strawberry slices, toasted almonds and toss all ingredients with the dressing.

ENJOY!!!!

more on dreaming....

The other night I woke myself up laughing.

I can't remember what the dream was about or why it was so funny, but what an awesome way to wake up!

Oh, and here is a shot of Katie Jean and I after 'game night' on Saturday ....

...snug as a bug in a rug.

PS: I'm officially the worst Jenga player ever.

ONE

Saskia sent me over a little diddy. I have to answer each of the following questions,with only one word.

1. Where is your cell phone? nightstand

2. Your hair? unruly

3. Your mother? cooking

4. Your father? laughing

5. Your favorite food? everything

6. Your dream last night? lost

7. Your favorite drink? fountain

8. Your dream/goal? contentment

9. What room are you in? guest

10. Your hobby? reading

11. Your fear? falling

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? preschool

13. Where were you last night? work

14. Something that you aren’t? prompt

15. Muffins? warm

16. Wish list item? sofa

17. Where did you grow up? Indianapolis

18. Last thing you did? snuggle

19. What are you wearing? boots

20. Your TV? modest

21. Your pets? bitchy

22. Friends? true

23. Your life? cozy

24. Your mood? relaxed

25. Missing someone? always

26. Vehicle? parked

27. Something you’re not wearing? brassiere

28. Your favorite store? Urban

29. Your favorite color? impossible!

30. When was the last time you laughed? earlier

31. Last time you cried? days

32. Your best friend? Bean

33. One place that I go to over and over? Target

34. One person who emails me regularly? Saskia

35. Favorite place to eat? out

Wanna try this little questionnaire????

Sweet Dreams

(photo of me borrowed from Kitty....I love that the pillow is hiding what most likely was a stream of drool hanging from my mouth.)

I found, on my two week staycation, that sleep didn't come to me so easily. I mean yes, blogging, reading Harry Potter, eating cheese quesadillas, driving to the gas station for a fountain drink, watching Matilda chase squirrels, catching up on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and sunbathing are all very tiresome things. But there is something to be said about an honest days work.

It's been so nice to actually feel tired when Stone and I go to bed.

And yes, Stone and I go to bed together....every night. If he is staying up late to watch a game, I 'take a nap' on the couch next to him until he is ready to go up to bed. I don't know why we do this, but I think it is sweet.

(possible reason why we do this: I am chicken little and don't like to go upstairs by myself at night? Maybe.....but I'm sticking with the 'it's because we are still smitten newlyweds' story)

Sweet dreams my lovelies.

The Great Debate

What is your stance on cinnamon toothpaste?

It goes against everything I believe in.

It's as if I'm brushing my teeth with a giant Cinnabon.

Call me crazy, but I think Cinnabons are the number one cause of cavities.

....well that and those candies that are just tubes of flavored sugar that you pour into your mouth.

Speaking of Cinnabon.....how about those Aunt Anne's Pretzels at the mall. Does it get any better than that? I was digging around in my purse this afternoon and happened upon a handful of salt which reminded me of the giant pretzel I had at the Kenny Chesney concert on Saturday. It didn't even come close to what Aunt Anne is selling.

(yeah, I stuffed a giant pretzel in my purse. so what?)

PS: don't even get me started on how the cinnamon toothpaste mixes with my MINT mouthwash

Who Knew?

I don't work on Mondays. I'm usually all 'yeah for not working on Mondays', but then sometimes I'm all 'everyone else is working on Mondays and I feel like a sloth if I sit around and watch Pirates of the Caribbean all day eating cantaloupe and drinking Diet Dr. Pepper'.

(whoa, that got really specific for a minute there...)

So today when everyone else was working I decided to slap on my domestic cap and scrub some bathrooms.

OK, so this is the part of the story where it gets a bit icky....but I'm gonna plow forward anyway.

So there I am scrubbing the tub, minding my own business, when I notice the water is going down a bit slow. Now on any ordinary day it would be Stone who cleans out the drain. Not me. I think it is icky. But today I decided to man up and meet the task head on. Well, let me tell you.

I.WAS.SHOCKED.

Mostly by how intrigued I was by the disgusting glob of my hair I pulled from the drain. It's one of those things that absolutely repulsed me....but I kind of can't wait to see how big the glob is the next time I clean the drain!

Sick. I know.

PS: Isn't Stone a gem for cleaning the drain every other time?...without me asking or him complaining. Perhaps he is a closet sicko, like myself, and the glob intrigues him??? There you have it. Proof we were made for each other.

PPS: I'm loving the refreshing ZING! this Softsoap has brought to my mornings.

Pity...

So....um.....yyyeaaaahhhh.

Katie Jean and I kind of sort of got caught attempting to smuggle food into the Kenny Chesney concert on Saturday.

(Don't judge. It's expensive to eat/drink at those types of things and we were definitely doing both!)

This is how it went down.

Before walking up to the venue, we each had shoved a snack size bag of chips and a beer in our purses. I did the right thing and put both pieces of contraband in the hidden zipper part of my purse. Katie Jean on the other hand, only did this with the beer. She left the bag of chips (Doritos if you must know) in the bottom of her bag.

We got up to the ticket 'check point' where a few young male security guards (SG's) were checking tickets and searching bags.

SG: (looking into Katie Jean's purse) Um, you can't bring that bag of chips into the stadium.

Katie Jean: Oh come one. It's just one little bag of chips. PLLLEEEEAAASSEEEE.....

SG: No. I'm sorry I could get into trouble if I let you in with them. You need to throw them away right here. (pointing to the trash can)

Court: Throw them away! No way.

I then proceed to dig in Katie Jean's purse, get the bag of chips, open them and start to eat them. As in...I am going to be eating the entire bag before walking into the stadium rather than let them go to waste. I get about two chips down when an older male security guard (OSG) walks up.

OSG: What seems to be the problem here?
SG: These two girls were trying to bring a bag of chips into the concert.
OSG: (looks us both up and down) Go ahead. Let them in.....they look hungry.
SG: With the chips?

OSG: Yeah, with the chips.

I guess it pays to take risks sometimes......

PS: Sugarland (who opened for Kenny) was awesome. They covered a song of one of my favorite artists, Edie Brickell. I thought I was going to pee my pants with excitement when she started singing "Circle". Kenny on the other hand was less than stellar. We left after about three of his songs.

PPS: For once I wasn't the one crying at a concert. Katie Jean shed a few tears when Sugarland sang "Want To".

Thank you Sweet Bean for a seriously silly Saturday!!!

Spines

If I tell you a secret, do you promise not to judge?

Sometimes, I judge a book by it's cover.

psssst....I do the same thing with wine!

(covering eyes)

I'm kinda freaked out by this.

I'm just sayin.....

I really wanna! (cue stomping of foot)

At this moment.

This very moment....

I am having to scream at myself "NO!...NO, NO, NO!!!!!"

I really really really wanna purchase:

'Rough & Tumble'

'Cutout Applique Headband'

'Lost in Paradise'

I'm actually having a minor panic attack from how badly I need (yes, need) the 'Lost in Paradise' dress.

I'm this close to yelling "budget shmudget!"

Not so fast.....

Do you have a 'go to meal'?

You know, that meal that if all else fails you always have the ingredients to make that meal?

I do. It's normally pasta. Pasta of any sort....spaghetti, ziti, rotini or even sometimes fusilli. And sauce. Oh, and always something to make garlic bread with. I'm not above using a hot dog bun.

A few Fridays ago Katie Jean and Babs came over for an impromptu hangout session. I rummaged through the fridge and cabinets and found that I had all the ingredients to make 'do it yourself quesadillas'. OK fine, I didn't have an onion. I had to have my guests stop and pick one up, but they were already stopping for beer so I don't think it counts.

What I did have was:
chicken (to be grilled)
cheese
jalapeno
green pepper
corn
black beans
tomato
tortillas
salsa
and last but certainly not least
sour cream

I was damn proud of my thrown together meal! I rode high on my wave of outstanding impromptu hostess. Rode high that is until my smugness crashed over my head attempting to drown me.

What caused this crash you ask? Oh, none other than the Barefoot Contessa.

Yup. I turned on the Food Network and there she was, whipping up things from ingredients she had just laying in her fridge and pantry.

Whipping up things like Spring Green Risotto with asparagus and leeks. How am I supposed to feel good about 'do it yourself quesadillas' when Ms. Perfectly Polished and Moisturized Tootsies is just 'whipping up' Spring Green Risotto?????????

Not Just Any Plant

Stone and I have a fern

a love fern if you will

My sister gifted it to us when we first joined our possessions.

you know, moved in together

For four years Stone has tended to our fern.

Tended to it with a care and thoughtfulness I can only imagine will mirror his life as a father.

....someday

PS: I can only hope and pray to the Gods that my track record (in regards to caring for our fern) will NOT mirror my life as a mother. GAH!

PPS: I don't think our plant is actually a fern, but 'love plant' sounds dumb.

SURPRISES!

So basically I have the best Madre in the world.

Yup, the whole wide world.

She is sweet, she is funny, she is a real peach!

(and we all know how much I love peaches so you can imagine how much I love mi Madre!)

Look what she brought me this afternoon!

A red velvet cupcake and a GIANT cookie*, both from The Flying Cupcake!!!

And a strawberry-banana (I think those are the flavors) smoothie!

Other than the extra junk added to my already bootylicious trunk, I think this is one of my all time favorite surprises!

Thank you Madre for making my afternoon shine!!!

PS:
(seriously, if you live in Indy or are going to visit, go to The Flying Cupcake...it is so tasty and too cute to boot!)

*she did not bring the cookie to me with bites out of it...I couldn't wait until after I took a picture to sample it. OOPS

whatevs

Mi madre mentioned a TV show to me a couple of months ago. I chuckled about the idea of it and then went about my merry day.

THEN, about two weeks ago I randomly caught it on the boob tube.

The show itself is only kind of funny (it has it's moments), but the idea of the show is HILARIOUS!

Martha Stewart's daughter and her daughter's best friend sit around and poke fun at her!

The friend is loud and kind of bubbly, but Martha's daughter is basically a mini version of Martha. Younger, a bit trendier and not crafty...but all in all she looks like Martha, she sounds like Martha, you know that deep womanly voice, and she is slightly cold like Martha.

Here is a taste for you. The two ladies have a few good one liners.

Peter Pipper

Tonight I took a walk and bought a pepper. Oh, and two peaches...we must not forget the two peaches. Sweet, furry, tender, plump little peaches!

But back to the pepper. Yes, I bought one pepper. One simple pepper.

A banana pepper if you must know, of the hot persuasion.

Did you know banana peppers came in the 'hot persuasion'? Neither did I. With a name like 'banana' I couldn't imagine anything less hot. But alas, the world is full of strange and wondrous things.

I grilled my pepper. I sliced my pepper. I added my pepper to my veggie quesadilla.

It.Was.Good.

PS:
I purchased 3 yards of this lovely vintage fabric the other day. I'm going to attempt to sew cafe curtains for our kitchen. Lucky for me Mama Stone is quite handy with a needle & thread....she has already offered to help me make them.

from here

PPS: and by 'help' I mean she will most likely end up doing all of the work.

The Family Dinner

In August we had an 'End of Summer Family Celebration' at our house.

It was lovely.
Hot, but lovely.

We ate. We drank. We laughed. We hugged. We were a family.

We went around the tables and each person said something nice about the person to their left, or something the person to their left accomplished this year. My personal favorites were:

1. Chloe informing mi Madre she had been " a really good grandma this year." (as opposed to every other year??? ha!)

2. Stone telling everyone my 'accomplishment' this year was successfully completing my first colonoscopy.

3. Les (my sister's husband) telling everyone Heather's 'accomplishment' this year is that she will have been married to him "the man of her dreams" (ha!) for 15 years.

It was so great to just be together as a family....and it not be a holiday. Does that make sense? We were all just there to celebrate each other. I'm so lucky to have been born into such a wonderfully chaotic family. So many people, so many personalities, so much love....it always makes for an interesting time!

Photos from the day for your viewing pleasure..... (note: I never take enough photos during the festivities. I always have the camera out at the beginning and then I set it down!)

CJ teaching Laney a magic trick....which she then continued to show us for the rest of the evening.

Heather, Jennie & me....Jennie & Chloe
PS: Jennie has a wee little bun in the oven! We are all VERY excited for her and CJ!!!

Rick & Hayleigh, Chloe & Madre, Hayleigh & Madre

The tables

The girls. (look at Laney's {far right} pose...hilarious!)

Hayleigh wasn't feeling 'the girls photo' so she hung out by the beverages.

Even Tilda had a good time!

Oink Oink

Friday night took us to Indy's Rib Fest.

I'm pretty sure this should be the poster for Rib Fest 2010. What do you think? Classy, no?




The boys got their fill....obviously.

Katie Jean, who is a flexatarian, dinned on beans,bread and beer...but seriously debated whether or not she should gnaw on a rib for a bit.

(note: a flexatarian is someone who for the most part is a vegetarian, but sometimes when a plate of chicken/pork/beef/fish passes before them that looks especially tasty...they have a bite)

Stone took this lovely photo of me after pointing out two interesting facts.

1. I wore a white shirt to a rib fest.....dumb decision on my part, but since I am a super suave eater, not a spec of BBQ sauce blemished my shirt's whiteness.

2. It was especially fitting that my pants were unbuttoned at a rib fest, where we happened to have passes to an all you could eat/drink tent.

(note: my pants were too big so I rolled the waist down and unbuttoned the top button...a girl does what she has to for fashion)

The BBQ joints took the competition very seriously. I thought this sign was pretty funny.

My favorite part is the anchor tattoo on the piglet to the far right.

This image will haunt my nightmares for months......EEK!

Thank you Sweet Bean! We had a blast with you and Babs!!!

and I still love him....(or perhaps it should be the other way around?)

I didn't have time to eat lunch while at my new J.O.B today.

(note: totally loving the new J.O.B by the way!)

When I got home at 4 it was decided we would head directly to the grocery store to beat the crowd.

Court: "Dude. I'm starving! Can we stop and get me a cheeseburger on the way to the store?"
(note: yes, I called Stone 'dude')
Stone: "Yeah, but I'll go in and get it. I just got my car washed today so we aren't rolling the windows down."
(another note: does anyone else have this obsession with not rolling the windows down after getting a car wash?....other than Stone and Katie Jean that is? It seriously baffles me.)

.....cut to us parking the car at the grocery store which is located in the same parking lot as the McDonalds.....

Stone: "Are you taking that cheeseburger into the grocery with you?"
Court: "Yeah"
Stone: "Really? Well then I'm gonna need you to walk slightly behind me....you are embarrassing."
Court: (laughs and takes a large bite while walking past the produce section)

.....cut to us driving home from the grocery store, when revenge is sweet (and mine)....

Court: "Hey Buddy, thank you for my burger. It.Was.Delicious."
Stone: "You are welcome. But you could have at least offered me a bite."
Court: "Maybe if I wasn't such an embarrassment I would have."

ZING!

Meryl = Love

Seriously? Is there anything that Meryl touches that isn't gold?

("it's gold Jerry. GOLD!"...name that show)

I love her!

Even when what she is doing is bad (Death Becomes Her or perhaps She Devil) it is still AWESOME!

I just saw Julie & Julia....LOVED it! 97% because Meryl's Julia was a saucy minx!

(perhaps Julia Child really was a saucy minx??? please let it be so!!!)

PS: Thank you sweet bean for the tixs!

Blueberry Bliss

With cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top.

The smell of the Blueberry Oat Muffins, I cooked yesterday afternoon, can still be found hiding in corners of our house.

Fresh blueberries bursting in the oven is a smell I would like to bottle. I will open my bottle of Blueberry Bliss when I am feeling down or missing my childhood home, and it's smell of something always cooking in the kitchen.