Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Family Portraits

We got our amazing pictures back today, taken by my dear friend Jeff.  He's an amazing photographer and an awesome friend.  He is also one of my oldest friends.  Not as in old man, but longest time. =)

I will be taking a little hiatus from blogging.  I will still blog when I find the time, but I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately.  If I want to continue to strive to be a supermom, something has to give.  Unfortunately my blog is on the bottom of my priority list these days as I am currently preparing for an art show at the beginning of November.  My posts will be a little more sporadic.

Consider these photos as my sincere apology.




Friday, September 16, 2011

Fashion Weekend

I am calling this post "Fashion Weekend" because it is going up so late.  We were out of town and just got back.  I didn't expect to be home so late....blah blah blah.  I slacked and its just now going up.  AWFUL!  I thought I'd extend beautiful Averie's Fashion Friday to the entire weekend!!!  
Averie's stepmother is a friend of mine from living in Atlanta.  We have both moved on from there now. Tiffany is so stylish and it surely shows in her picks for Averie's sweet wardrobe.  I am SO jealous of her Van's collection.  I have a feeling there are more where these came from.  Introducing Sweet Averie, and her Awesome stepmom, Tiffany:

____________________________________________________________________________

Hi.  This is Averie Luella.  She gets her beautiful middle name from her grandmother.  I take complete responsibility for Averie's wardrobe (with the help of Aves herself and her Dad's approval of course) because I can't stop shopping for her.  My husband says I have a problem.
My name is Tiffany.  I am a hairstylist at a salon called Alchemy and my husband, Todd is a numbers guy.  We live in Orlando, Fl., but couldn't be more removed from Disney.
Aves is mine thru marriage. :) Her father and I have been together since Averie was just a year old.  Since Aves has lived with him from the beginning, she immediately became a constant in my life that I wouldn't have any other way.  A purple coat and a tiny pair of Vans were the first thing I ever bought for her upon our first meeting and it's all been downhill from there.  The boots Averie is wearing have basically become her house slippers.  They are constantly appearing on her feet.  Other than that, she's pretty much a sneakerhead just like her Daddy. :)  Enjoy!

Monday
 Top & Shorts: Target
Jelly Sandals: Gap

Tuesday

 Top: Target
Skirt: Gap 1969
Sneakers: Nike AF1

Wednesday

 Top: Zara
Leggings: Nicole Miller
Sneakers: Vans x Hello Kitty

Thursday
 Tank Top: Zara
Tutu: Grandma
Boots: Target

Friday


Dress: Zara
Sneakers:Vans

Thank you Tiffany and Averie for contributing.  Winona's got some nice fashion idols!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Ginger Buttermilk Pie

Okay, So this pie is da bomb!  No.  Really.  When I first heard of a buttermilk pie, the idea of it was strange.  The reality of it is uh-maze-ing!!  Jake has me make it for cookouts and dinner parties quite often. The only downside is I rarely get to eat as much as I'd like!
 Ingredients
2 Tbsp flour
1 Cup Sugar
3 Large eggs, beaten
4 oz. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 Cup cultured buttermilk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground ginger (I use 1 1/2 in my pies)
Premade pie crust or homemade pie crust

Preheat oven to 425° F.
 Combine sugar and remaining 2 tbsp of flour, add the eggs, melted butter, buttermilk, lemon juice, and ginger.  Mix very briefly.  Don't let it get frothy.

Pour filling into pie shell and bake for 10 minutes.  Reduce the temp to 350° F and bake about 20 minutes longer, until a fork comes out clean.  Let cool for about an hour and serve at room temp.
For some reason I didn't snap a picture of the final products.  Booooo.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Afternoon at the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum

 It has been a rainy mess here for days and days.  We really felt like we had been cooped up in the house for way too long, so Saturday we took a trip to the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum.  We had been once before but Winona was still crawling so it wasn't nearly as much fun.  This time she was able to roam freely and play til her heart content.
They have many different rooms.  One room is set up with a ton of roller coaster attachments and a couple hundred balls.  She really loved this room because she really loves balls.  (hehe)
There is another room with a Native American yurt-like structure made of tree bark.  Inside the yurt it is set up so that you can play and pretend you are an Indian!!!  There is a little fire and beds with animal skins.
My favorite room is the hospital room with hospital beds and xrays and xray illuminator.  I love to hold the x-rays up and try to diagnose the broken bones.




Obviously we were really into the mirrors.  Winona thought it was so cool that there were so many "Mamas" and "Papas".


Overall, we had a great time.  It was well worth it for the two hours that she ran around and got some energy out.  We will surely be going back.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Fashion Friday

This weeks Fashion Friday guest is so close to my heart!  Sweet Magnolia Grace is Winona's bestie (yes, we have pre-arranged a best friendship here) and her Mama and Daddy are very dear friends of ours.  I promise that if you don't already have baby fever, you will after you view these pictures.  (And I guess as a warning, if you don't want your ovaries to swoon, then maybe you shouldn't look.)  LOOK! LOOK!  You can read about some of our family adventures with the Conners on my Carolina Weekend Adventures Post.  So without further ado, I present to you FASHION FRIDAY!!!!  (giant applause :)

Hello fashion forward mamas and bebehs! I'm Elizabeth, a stay at home mama to sweet Magnolia Grace. I was so excited to be invited over to Country Babies by my sweet real life friend, Bethy! She clearly has one of the best dressed little babies and knows a thing or two about styling little ladies. When I found out I was pregnant I was not-so-secretly hoping for the little girl I had always dreamed of. Magnolia's style is basically anything I think I would wear if I was squeezed into an itty bitty baby body! Dresses and ruffles and vintage and skulls and everything in between! I am a bit crafty and like to make wittle baby accessories for the girl. You'll see some soft shoes I made before I even found out I was pregnant and a headband I made just for Maggie. I plan to add some of these things to my etsy store, HunnyPotConner, eventually. But currently I have all natural fabric teething necklaces! Super chic and babies love them! I have a lil blog by the name of Magnolia's Graces, but I'm absolutely the WORST blogger. So feel free to add me and perhaps I'll surprise with a blog post every now and then! :) Things have been hectic for us because our family is in the middle of a move, but I hope you enjoy our outfits we threw together for you this week! Thanks for having us, Bethy! We love you!

Monday
 Top- No Tag (thrifted)
    Bloomers- Carter's
    Shoes- Handmade by me
    Headband- Target

Tuesday
 Top- Baby Gap
    Leggings- 77kids by American Eagle
    Shoes- Faded Glory (Wal-Mart)
    Socks & Onsie- Gifted
    Headband- Target

Wednesday
 Top & Leggings- Children's Place
    Headband- Target

Thursday
Dress- Vintage (thrifted)
    Bloomers- Vintage (thrifted)

Friday
Top- Carter's
    Skinny Jeans- Baby Gap
    Shark Shoes- Converse
    Headband- Handmade by me
Glasses- Gymboree

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Penne with Acorn Squash and Pancetta

We were given two beautiful acorn squash and new we needed to do something glorious with it.  Jake had been asking me to do something with them for a few days and honestly, I wasn't feeling very creative.  He found a great recipe online and cooked a fabulous meal.  I'm so glad my man can cook!!  Whoop! Whoop!

When I took the ingredients picture, we had set out sheeps milk cheese.  Jake initially wanted to use goats milk cheese but there wasn't any at the market, so he got the sheeps milk cheese with the hopes that it would be similiar.  It tastes a lot like feta, very salty.  After we cooked up the pancetta, it occured to us that the dish would be overly salty if we used the sheeps milk cheese so we used Parmesan.  Parmesan was the cheese that was in the recipe.  We keep a big block of it on hand.
This dish will be made again because we moaned the entire time we were eating it.  It was heavenly.  And I'm sure very fattening.  Even with the wheat pasta.  I do what I want!  And because I love food so much I am currently blowing up like a Thanksgiving blimp.  
Ingredients:
1 acorn squash
1 small head of garlic
1/2 pound penne
2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for coating squash and garlic
1/2 pound pancetta, sliced 1/4-inch thick and diced
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon chopped, fresh rosemary
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

 Preheat the oven to 400º F.
 Slice the squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon.  Cut each half crosswise into wedges, about 1/2-inch thick.  Toss the wedges with a splash of olive oil until coated, and spread on a baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper.
 Slice the top off of the garlic head so that the tops of the cloves are exposed.  Drizzle on a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and wrap in aluminum foil.  Place on the edge of the baking sheet with the squash.

Bake the squash and garlic for about 30 minutes, turning the squash once, until both are soft and slightly caramelized.  (Depending on how big the head of garlic is, it make take longer.  Leave it in the oven while you peel and chop the squash.)

Allow the squash to cool slightly.  In the meantime, bring a pot of water to boil (for the pasta).  Then, peel each wedge of squash and cut into large chunks.
 Heat the 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat in a medium stock pot or large, wide sauce pan (you'll add the pasta to this pan at the end).  Sauté the pancetta until most of the fat is rendered and the meat is crispy, about 15 minutes.  About halfway through, cook the pasta, making sure to salt the water.

When the pancetta is finished coking, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom.  Stir in the rosemary and about four cloves of the roasted garlic mashing them up in the liquid with the back of a spoon or spatula.
 Add the chunks of squash and pancetta to the pan.  Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and add the pasta to the squash/pancetta mixture.  Toss everything to coat, then stir in the Parmesan.  Add a bit of the pasta water if the mixture seems too dry.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Friday, September 2, 2011

Fashion Friday

Hi All!  It's that time of week again.  Fashion Friday and it seems it snuck up on me faster than usual.  I have been such a blogging slacker.  I sincerely apologize.  Maybe I'll start cooking again and have a recipe to blog.
I am so happy to introduce my next Fashion Friday model.  Beautiful Willow has the prettiest blue eyes and gorgeous head of ginger hair.  I just can't get enough of her infectious smile and cute baby fashion.  
Her mama Lindsey is an amazing artist.  She has her own website here, and an etsy store where she sells her artwork.  Check them out.  You won't be sorry you did.  
And here is sweet Willow.

Monday
Dress: OshKosh Hand-me-down
Leggings: I Play Organics

Tuesday
Top: Old Navy
Shorts: Old Navy
Baby Legs

Wednesday
Top: Old Navy
Shorts: Carters- Target

Thursday
Top: Old Navy
Pants: Zutano

Friday
Jacket: Please Mum
Top: Hand-me-down
Skirt and Leggings: H&M