Halloween 2008

More pictures here.

Boo!

I'm just putting the finishing touches on Sophie's costume... she is going to be adorable, if I do say so myself!

Elliott has all the old pictures on his computer, so I hijacked it to put up some pictures from years past.

Antique Quilts

Some of the many antique quilts we saw while visiting Nauvoo...

(this was my favorite, and is actually not from Nauvoo, but rather Carl Sandberg's home)

Giveaway!

I'm not quilting right now. I had big plans, mind you... I wasn't going to do any cleaning or laundry this week, I was just going to spend time quilting, but last night I realized that would be gross. My house is a disaster and for some reason the laundry is once again piled up! :-)

But who wants a depressing post??? Not me!!

Look what I won in Mary's giveaway... aren't they all lovely?!?! I thought I was just getting fabric, but Mary included all these wonderful extras... a towel to embellish, two cute strawberry buttons, and sweet little retro coasters. She even included this extra pattern (that she designed!) because, well, I need all things Ginger! :-) Thanks Mary, you were so generous! Everything is so cute!

If you haven't been to Mary's blog, I would definitely add her to your google reader... her blog is beautiful and she has lots of lovely inspirations.

My motto has always been one good turn deserves another, so I am hosting my own giveaway!

Don't you love this apron pattern? This pattern will be so easy for you to whip up, especially since I am also giving you the fabrics to make it! These are the teal colorway from Tula Pink's newest line: Nest. They are manufactured by Moda... can you say scrumptious? Moda has the most beautiful looking and feeling fabrics.

It won't be hard to win, as there are only about 5 of you out there reading my blog! All you need to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment on this post with your email address before Friday night. On Saturday, one of my kids will pick a name out of a hat.

Happy Crafting!

Nauvoo

It is super windy outside as I type this post. We are getting a pretty exciting storm, in fact, there are snow showers in the forecast for tomorrow evening!

We are completely bored now that my parents have gone back home! While they were here we took a trip to Nauvoo and had a wonderful experience. The testimonies of the missionaries serving in Old Nauvoo were so strong, and I once again felt the spirit confirming my testimony of Jesus as the Christ and the truthfulness of the restored gospel. I am so grateful for the knowledge that through the blessings of the temple, my family can be together for eternity. (For those of you who have no clue as to what I am talking about, click here.)

I am posting a few pics here, but Blogger is such a dinosaur when it comes to posting any number of pictures that I have posted my favorites over at Facebook. Maybe Elliott or Dad will post more on one of their blogs...

Anyway, we all had a great time and were happy we got to share the fun with Grandma and Grandpa!

In front of the Mansion House.

Andrew learning how to make rope.

Emma enjoying a statue of Joseph and Emma in the visitor center garden. I love this place!

The Nauvoo Temple at night. It is so beautiful. We had a great view of the temple from our hotel room, and every morning Sophie loved looking out the window to see the "tumple".

Noblesville

Yesterday the girls and I took Grandma and Grampa to Noblesville, a quaint little town not too far from our home.

We had lunch and then walked around the downtown area.

This is the old courthouse, which was restored in the 1990's. A beautiful building!

Afterwards, we dropped by my favorite quilt shop... good thing it isn't closer. So many tempting fabrics!

I'm pretty sure it was my Dad's favorite part of the day! :-)

oH my gOSH, like totally, GaG mE with a SPOON!

Yeah, so in case you didn't know, we went to an eighties party on Friday...

Elliott was pretty dang hot as Magnum PI, if I do say so.
Andrew was an 80's rapper... remember RUN DMC??? How about those glasses!!!

The saddest part of the whole thing was that I got my outfit from Target, and so did one of my friends. They are selling all these awful clothes as real fashion of the day. No wonder so many stores are having hard times. It probably has less to do with the economy, and more to do with the current trends. Yuck!

Want to see more fabulous 80's styles? Click here.

Wrestlemania!

My baby turns 2!

Sophie turned 2 on Sunday.

I love that she still sucks her two fingers...

She wanted a "dasing pricess cake. bababa, bababa, bababa"
(translation: dancing princess cake. then she sings the tune from the movie)

She stared at her cake for a good 20 minutes while Elliott and Grandpa put together one of her presents.

Her sparkler candle... we got one for each of the kids when we were in England.

She has been fighting with Emma over Emma's apron, so she got her own!

Can you tell she adores her new baby?

She also got a new trike. She loves the bell...

And the compartment to hide her special things!
I'm not sure how we missed getting pictures of Grandma and Grandpa on here, but we can't wait for our trip to Nauvoo with them, and we will have lots to show then!

What's cooking in my kitchen

With Fall in full swing, I have been digging through some of my long forgotten recipes to come up with a new repertoire that matches the cooler weather. Looking back on all these recipes, I realized that when we were vegetarian, we ate much more exciting food. Or maybe that was before my kids had such strong opinions. Either way, I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you... hope you like them.

Tuscan Chickpea Soup (main dish)
adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
Serves 6

2 Tbl. olive oil
2 c. finely chopped onion
8 cloves garlic, minced
4 c. water
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes (do NOT drain)
2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese


Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the water, rosemary, salt, pepper, chickpeas, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for approx. 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until it is well blended and mostly smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can stick 2 cups of the soup at a time into your blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Stir in the vinegar, and bring soup back to a boil. Remove from heat and serve with a bit of Parmesan grated on top of each serving.



Couscous with Tomato-Mushroom Sauce (main dish)
Serves 4
(Sophie LOVES this!)

2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 c. sliced onion
3 c. thin sliced white mushrooms
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. sugar
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 1/4c. water
1 c. whole wheat couscous
1 tsp. butter
Parmesan Cheese

Heat oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onions, saute about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, saute about 3 minutes more (until mushrooms are tender). Stir in basil, oregano, garlic, sugar, and tomatoes. Cook about 5-6 minutes until the sauce begins to reduce a little bit. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, while the sauce is cooking, boil water and butter in a medium saucepan. As soon as water begins to boil, add couscous and put a tight fitting lid on the saucepan. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve sauce over couscous with a bit of Parmesan grated on top.


Mandarin and Romain Salad
serves 6
This salad goes really well with both of the above dishes.

3 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbl. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinager
1 tsp. honey
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
1 head Romain lettuce
1 small can mandarin oranges, drained and rinsed
3 super thin slices of red onion, rings separated and cut in half.
1/8 c. slivered roasted almonds
6 Tbl. crumbled feta cheese

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, vinager, honey, garlic in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Rinse and dry thoroughly the Romain leaves, and tear into bite size pieces. Place in a large bowl with the mandarin sections, onion, and almonds, and drizzle with olive oil dressing. Plate and serve immediately, sprinkling 1 Tbl. feta on each serving of salad.

I need to make a confession. Although I do on occasion enjoy making my own dressing, for everyday dinners, I really like to use Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinagrette as my salad dressing. It is SO good. So if you don't want to make your own dressing, just drizzle some of his stuff on your salad. Enjoy!

Generous Giveaway

Speaking of giveaways, I have been cleaning out my sewing room, and realized I have some things that someone else might actually use, unlike me who has too much stuff! I will be hosting a giveaway or two or maybe more, we'll see... check back soon for the first one.

Football

For family night on Monday we went to a local park and played football. It was so beautiful out. The leaves are really putting on a show this week. I hope there is some color left when my parents come out here this weekend.

Basically, you wanted to be on Elliott's team, not mine.


Sophie had her own opinions on how to play football...

The best part was going to Handle's afterwards for ice cream. Emma's favorite flavor: Blue Raspberry. Yum!