Thursday, November 4, 2010

Ramble On...

Love that song by Led Zeppelin and that is exactly what this post will consist of, my brain rambling! :-)

Last time I blogged I was headed to met Mr. Parker Moore for the 1st time. He was perfect in every way! He was so good while Michelle and I visited for the day. Lindsey is the 1st out of our college group of girls to have a baby so us "Aunts" have been filled with excitement since the moment we found out we were expecting our little "panda".  As you can tell from this post here.
(Side note: we call him a panda because that was our sorority's mascot in college, AOII! Dorky, we know!)
He was about 2 weeks old when we met him and all he did was sleep, eat and tinkle! (all over his clothes just like most little boys do!) We even were able to go out to lunch with him.
Michelle and I loved spending the day with Parker and mom and can't wait to do it again!


Look at those sweet lips!

Last weekend was Halloween so we headed up to good ole C-town, Cullman, AL. We figured since we didn't have any kiddos of our own we would go enjoy the holiday with the fam and see little MG.  Of course this also consisted of Bella Baby tagging along for all the fun! She loves her step-sister, Bren,but  am not sure how much Bren loves Bella!

We also did a little pumpkin carving. Every year Ted and I have a little contest to see who's pumpkin is better. Last year we weren't home so we just sent pictures via text. Mine won. This year Ted was thought for sure he would bet me. The judge, MG! We would ask her which one she liked better when she got there and you can't argue with a 3 year old because they always tell the truth. I went a little more artist and did and owl sitting on a tree, with a pattern of course. And I will be honest, it was one of those that you can't really tell until it is night and lit up. So I just knew MG wouldn't know what it was. Ted had a funny looking little face that was pretty cute. Not to mention Ted's was on a big pumpkin and mine was on a smaller one. We all know kids like the "big ones" so I thought for sure Ted had won it this year. A little while later MG came bouncing in the door and Mimi said MG, did you see the pumpkins outside.
MG: yes
Mimi: Well, which one did you like better?
MG: as she is rolling around her little eyes Um...The OWL!!!
She wins me over very time!

MG was Cinderella! She loved getting dressed up and I loved watching!







And in case you noticed in the picture above... I got a new toy! The , other, love of my life... a Canon EOS Rebel T2i WITH an extra lens.
Needless to say I am in LOVE! There is nothing better than a good picture. One thing I love, love, love in houses are photographs everywhere! It is what makes it a home. So I know I will get my money's worth through the years. Now, I just have to convince Ted of that! ;-)



Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Wordless Wednesday...

New Blog Design....
Happy Hump Day!
(Blog catching up is rising to the top of the To Do List!)

Friday, October 22, 2010

Sugar & Spice...

And PUMPKIN!...
That is what pumpkin bread is made of!

I am headed down to Opelika tomorrow to meet the first of our college group's, baby boy, Mr, Charles Parker Moore! I can't wait to snuggle wuggle with him! In preparation for this little journey I thought what better way to let the Moore's know how much we care about them as to bring them some goodies, just as any southern lady would do! (including wine for the new mom!) So I decided to get out the ole' Kitchen Aid mixer and whip up a few loaves of pumpkin bread! I have come a long way in my cooking over the past few years, but baking is a skill I am still trying to master. However I must say, this turned out to be a success!

Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
31/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground all spice
(I used pumpkin pie spice because I had it)
1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnut or pecans)
1 tsp baking power


Directions:
1. Combine pumpkin, oil and eggs. Sift together dry ingredients. Combine the 2 mixtures, blending thoroughly.

Which will look similar to this:



2. Pour into 2 greased 9X5 inch loaf pans and bake at 300 for 1 hour.

Here is the fun part.. I went to Michael's the other day and found these cute little mini loaf pans for 60 cents a piece. So I decided to get them and then fix up a cute little bags of mini loaves to take to the Moore family as well as pass along to my neighbors.



How cute are those!?!?!?
(Ted had to have a little sample... that one will stay at the Baker's!)

I am going to wrap them in foil for extra protection then then put them in this cute little bag


Along with putting the recipe inside.
(also found these cute little fall recipe cards at Michael's... $1 for 20 of them!)

Hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making them!
Happy weekend everyone!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wordless Wednesday...

Fall at The Baker's!



Happy Fall Y'all!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Oh the places you will go...

I love that Dr. Seuss classic and the title is the reason I have been missing in action the past few weeks! 
New Orleans to Houston to Chicago all in the past two weeks can really wear a girl out! Mixing work and play can most certainly wear a girl out! Especially this one, but they were all GREAT trips!  I can't tell you my excitement of being back home!

I love Fall and I love to be home decorating, cooking and doing any other craftiness I can get into to. One of my favorite reasons I love fall is the color change. And as much as I love the great state of Alabama there is just no comparsion to the season change that northern states get. Here are a few photos from the Chicago suburbs.




My Chicago trip was the first, of hopefully many, mother/daughter trips. There was a total of 6 of us that went and enjoyed the wonderful city of Chicago. I also incorporated a bit of work in the trip that lead me to have to rent a car which is why I have the lovely pictures of the suburbs. Let's just say that was the 1st time driving in a major city and I hope it is the last. Me and cab drivers do not get along while I am not in the back of their cabs! Geez...

After that stress was over I could continue the trip stress free and enjoy the time we all got to spend together. We enjoyed dinner at Gibson's, Gene and Georgetti's and Shaw's Crab House while there. As well as going on an architectual tour, Second City Comedy Show, hitting up a few stores, lunch at the John Hancock Buildng in the Signature Room (on the 95th floor) and most importantly having a great memory with our moms! This was my mom's 1st time to fly in 20 years!!!



The whole gang.

Mom and I at lunch at the Signature Room.

Cheers to a great trip!

View from the 95th floor!

The past few weeks have been busy, fun and exhausting. I am glad to be back in a routine and home with my lit family.
Warning: random blogs ahead... trying to catch up on all my thoughts! :-)



Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Where are you Fall?!?!?

The first official day of Fall on the calender is this Thursday, Sept 23rd but with the heat we are having, I am having a hard time believing that! Please hurry up and get here!!!

This past weekend I headed to the great small town of Cullman,AL. It is always nice to visit home. I often think that Ted and I would love to move back there one day and raise a family but I think for now it is just too boring slow pace for us!
Where else will you see a street sign reminding people to "Be Polite"? How cute is that?

Nothing says the beginning of Fall to me more than the fair!

Last year I convinced Ted to take me to the Tuscaloosa County Fair and lets just say,
it was no Cullman Fair!
There were no pie contests, livestock exhibits, local company booths, pageants... it just wasn't the same as the one I knew growing up!
The fair is heading into town this week so of course I wanted to attend the fair parade! I was Little Miss Cullman County Fair in 1986!
(I will have to round up a picture of that!)

We took MG and she had a ball!

Aunt "K" with MG

MG and her mama





Did I mention that Cullman is the only city that celebrates a DRY Octoberfest?!?!?

Go Bearcats!!!

She loved all the "princesses"!
(local beauty pageant winners)

And LOVED the horses!

With over 250 entries I would say an hour and 15 min parade is pretty good for small town USA!


Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Wordless Wednesday...


Bella is ready another long weekend!
This is the face she gave me when I tried to put her in her crate this morning!
I feel ya Bella! Hurry up weekend!
(Catch up posts coming soon!)