this week in a moment

[a friday ritual: the week captured in a single moment to pause and remember always. something that made us smile, reflect, love more fully]...inspired by soulemama.

this week in a moment

[a friday ritual: the week captured in a single moment to pause and remember always. something that made us smile, reflect, love more fully]...inspired by soulemama.

p.s. if you don't have this app, you might want to think about investing.

The Perks of Pregnancy

Today was my test for gestational diabetes. At New Dawn, pregnant women get a choice. Option 1: fast for 12 hours, come in and drink a super sweet orange drink and then get your blood drawn an hour later. Option 2: fast 12 hours, get blood drawn, go out to eat wherever you want and indulge in as sweet a breakfast as you want, come back in 2 hours later and again get your blood drawn. Needless to say, both pregnancies I've went with option 2.

This year Sam took the morning off work and finally got to go to one of the prenatal visits with us. After 20 or so minutes of drawing blood (I'm a difficult stick), we headed downtown to Tupelo Honey. Most people have heard of this restaurant, even if they don't live here. Tourists don't leave Asheville without eating here. Usually, Sam and I opt for something else as the line is around the block most days and hours. Today, we walked right in a got a table. Good start for a fasting pregnant woman.

It was delicious. I gorged on the homemade black raspberry jam and biscuits along with a large glass of OJ (I threw in some protein here and there). I think the happiest out of our bunch was Kedzie who ate an entire biscuit (loaded with jam) and then got the kids order of sweet potato pancakes (once again loaded with jam). He was a sticky mess.

We had to wait a couple hours before I could get my blood drawn, so we walked around town a bit. Lovely day with my lovies.

hope your day is lovely.

n.

homemade food is good.

As Kedzie naps and my house fills with the sweet aroma of homemade granola, I had this overwhelming urge to share this recipe with you all. It's a recipe that Sam got from one of our friends (thanks Heidi) who got the recipe from a summer camp she worked at. It doesn't sound too spectacular at first, but then you make it and tweak it to fit you, and then it ends up being your favorite breakfast. Mine includes a bit of plain yogurt, fresh fruit and a sprinkling of chocolate chips...you CANNOT go wrong.

Let me just preface this by saying, I was not a granola eater. Never. It was always way too crunchy and not quite delicious enough. It had raisins (yuck) or weird seeds I just wasn't interested in consuming. Then, Sam made this. It doesn't get all stuck together, it has just the right amount of sweet and salty and is only packed with outrageously good for you things. Give it a whirl and let me know what you think.

Oh, and as you can see from the picture of the granola roasting in our turkey roasting pan, this recipe makes a lot. 1/2 it or give some away. As for the two of us, we keep it in a huge mason jar and run out every 3-4 weeks. Kedzie's even started to enjoy it (now that he has some molars!).

GRANOLA (adapted from recipe from Covenant Point):

Mix all of the following ingredients together:
3 oz. brown sugar
7 oz. slivered almonds
2 oz. sesame seeds
4 oz. sunflower seeds
2 oz. flax seeds (we added this)
1/2 oz. wheat germ (I've omitted this when I didn't have any on hand)
5 oz. shredded coconut (we use unsweetened and the granola is still plenty sweet)
1/2 T. salt
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1 t. pure almond extract
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup salad oil (we've used evoo and canola oil, both are delicious...we've stuck with canola lately to keep costs down)

Once all this is mixed then add:
1 lb. 5 oz. rolled oats (the original recipe calls for quick oats but we use regular rolled oats without a problem)

Spread the mixture on pans 1/2 inch deep. (Like I said, we use the turkey roasting pan and I think it might be deeper than 1/2 inch). Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour (usually takes 1 1/4 hours for my thickness of granola) or until golden brown. Stir every 15 minutes while baking.

Hope you enjoy!
n.

First Haircut

First, let me just say, I didn't think it'd be as difficult a decision as it was. I mean, boys need haircuts, right? Those sweet curls and baby soft hair lasted for 17 months...but recently the humidity and sweaty head got me thinking more seriously about a haircut.

Sam needed one also, so we headed to our local salon and got both boys matching appointments. (No, Kedzie was not allowed to indulge in the free pabst...although, you'll see he did enjoy his first sucker).

BEFORE:

DURING: (note the rad retro barber chairs)

AFTER:

Such a little man now. When I'm out in public with him I have to do a double take and make sure he's my child...I'm so used to the back of his head being full of curls.

Square in Squares Gender Neutral Baby Quilt

Square in Squares Gender Neutral Baby Quilt
Originally uploaded by handmadebyalissa

This quilt is so super duper sweet and eye pleasing. I LOVE it.

I may have to work on one of these for the coming bun in the oven. That is, if the nesting ever starts happening. (our house is such a mess, I'm completely overwhelmed). Or...it would look super cute on Kedzie's new big boy bed (the bed he'll be moving into when the baby needs a crib...hopefully?)