Three Already?!

Dated:  November 16, 2013

It seriously seems like yesterday that my full-of-life, adorably spunky, little nephew, Brady was just born.  All of a sudden….he’s three!   His birthday party was colorful, fun and very memorable.  Thomas and Percy were in attendance, and the conductor, Brady, had an absolute blast.  It seems that this is the age where everything is noticed.  Every gift he opened was the greatest thing he’d ever seen, all the people at his party were known to him by either their name or whose mommy they were and of course, the bouncy castle (or jump, jump as Brady calls it) was definitely the hit of the party.  There was even a giant Thomas the Train piñata filled with so much candy that I almost dove in when it came pouring out.  My sister and brother-in-law really did throw a perfect party for the most precious 3 year old in the world. 

Brady invited all of his friends.  The Weber boys, Johnny and Parker, were such sweeties.  They were playful, but so protective of little Brady.  It was extra adorable.  Little Emma was such a delight.  Her soft blond hair shined in the sunlight and big, beautiful eyes sparkled as she tried to keep up with the rambunctious boys.  Also, Avinli , Victoria and Sophia, some of our party regulars, were there to celebrate with Brady.  They were such cuties…and have such innocent and playful imaginations.  The cutest part of them being at the party was when I found them dining in the clubhouse outside….just as happy as they could be with their cupcakes and conversation.  Of course, Brady’s buddies, Dax and Jax were there, too.  Jax’s baby brother was also there…and so was baby Gus!  Brady’s favorite guest was his baby brother and very best friend, Brysen.  Brady is a lucky little guy to have so many wonderful friends already.  I won’t name the adults…but he had lots of family and friends there to share his big day.

I made cupcakes for the party.  The tiers were full of bright and colorful cupcakes in all different flavors.  I made strawberry with vibrant, red frosting, banana chocolate chip with bright, yellow frosting and chocolate fudge caramel with “Thomas,” blue frosting.  We sang happy birthday to Brady and let all the kids (and adults) dig in. 

Our little Brady sure is growing up and getting smarter and smarter as the days pass.  His little personality is full of passion, happiness and love.  He is hilarious and a constant joker, too.  After all his guests went home for the night, Brady and all of his family remained.  He showed us what a smart boy he is by pointing at us and announcing all of our names, accurately counting us…and telling us all that we eat bugs. :)

That Special Day in November...

Date:  November 4, 2013

David and I were married on November 4, 2006.  That doesn't seem that long ago...and I go back there sometimes when life gets a little hard to face.  That day was perfect.  It was filled with family, friends, love, laughter and pure joy.  Above everything else that has gone on in my life as of late....I sure love that man.  He's frustrating, irritating and kind of helpless sometimes...but I'm absolutely in love with him.  He's adorable and sweet, funny and bratty.....and cuddly and lovable.  He's my David and just like that fall day back in 2006....we spent it this year...celebrating our marriage and life together.

It's always been a dream of mine to have a romantic date in Bisbee.  Old Bisbee, at night especially, is so enchanting and we had a wonderful evening there.  We ate dinner at Cafe Roka (yum!).  It was a wonderful experience and a delicious meal.  We had delicious pumpkin-squash soup, topped with fresh cream and scallions.  Then, came the mixed green salad topped with garlic cream balsamic dressing and cherry tomatoes.  After that, the main course arrived.  I chose the macadamia, herb crusted chicken breast and garlic whipped potatoes and tons of roasted veggies.  It was absolutely scrumptious.  I've never had such a flavorful, moist piece of chicken in my life!  David had the special which was swordfish, potatoes and veggies.  And last....we split the Nutella cheesecake.  Oh. My. Goodness.  It was heavenly!  It was a creamy, chocolate-hazelnut cheesecake with chocolate-graham crust and drizzled with caramel.  Best dessert ever!

On the way home, we talked about adventures we've been on together and the years we look forward to in the future.  It was a wonderful night.

Craft Season!!

Date:  November 2, 2013

Check out my posts on my craft website right here and here!  Craft season is the best time of year!!!

Halloween!

Date:  October 31, 2013

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  It's at my absolute favorite time of year, when the air outside is light and crisp and the excitement of the holidays begin.  The past 3 years on Halloween have been especially fun, because we now have nephews to share it with.  Brady's costume is always revealed when he rings our doorbell on Halloween night.  This year was extra-special, because it was Brysen's first Halloween!  My sister, Ginger and her husband, Kevin, also joined in on the costume fun this year.  I'm still not sure if Kevin's costume was a result of my sister's nagging...or if he secretly enjoyed it.  I think it's the latter. :) 

The Beaman family decided on a Disney theme this year.  Brady's past year's costumes were a cute sheep dog and Popeye the Sailor Man.  This year, the surprise at our door...(.though he tried spilling the beans to me early on by saying he was going as "Tito") was Pluto!  He was Disney's Pluto and Brysen was Mickey Mouse!  They were so adorable and just as Brady was about to recite his well rehearsed "Trick or Treat,"  I looked up to find Daisy Duck and Goofy!!  The whole family dressed up and they were absolutely adorable.  Here are some pictures to capture the fun-filled night. :)

Fun Halloween Recipe!

Dated:  October 31, 2013

I just wanted to share this fun Halloween trail mix recipe with you.  You can play around with the ingredients, but here's what I used:

4 cups of pretzels

6 cups of Chex cereal

2 cups of peanuts

1 bag of M&M's

1 bag of corn candy

1 package of Reese's Pieces

3 cups of small marshmallows

2 cups of mallow pumpkins

1 bag of white chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients, except the white chocolate chips, into a large bowl.  Melt the white chocolate chips and drizzle over the mixture in the bowl.  Mix with a rubber spatula and let it sit until the chocolate hardens.  Scoop into fun party cups and enjoy!!

Cutie Nephews!

I just wanted to post some pictures of how big my guys are getting!  They are the loves of my life!  

Faith in Pasta

Date:  October 16, 2013

I love food.  I love to cook and bake and find happiness and comfort in a meal.  I don't think we're supposed to do that, but when such passion is put into the simplest things...and these simple things can make me feel calm and happy...then I'm all for it.  Food just happens to be one of those simple things that definitely has my attention (more times than not) and is definitely one of my passions.  

My friend, Maria, had a idea.  She invited me over to cook with her.  We planned to cook something that we had never cooked before and that wasn't easy to prepare.  We wanted to challenge ourselves to make a meal that took creativity and patience...lots of patience.  Our friend, Heather, also joined us.  We decided on homemade (from scratch) linguine with vodka infused tomato cream sauce, a fresh, baby spinach salad with cherry tomatoes and balsamic blackberry vinaigrette.  Yum, right?  And it was!  But, not without some concerns, doubts and lots of laughing along the way.  

Maria, in charge of course, assigned me my task.  There, I found myself with a hallowed out volcano of flour on her marble counter, cracking eggs in my "well" one at a time.  I then proceeded to knead the dough for 45 minutes straight.  I believe the recipe specified that "if you think you've kneaded it long enough...think again...and knead it for another 15 minutes."  I thought it would never end.  I was ready to give up after the first 7 minutes and run down the street for the boxed stuff.  It wasn't fun at first, but I had the mothering voice of Heather to motivate me until the end.  The end wasn't pretty.  I ended up with a hard ball of dough, about the size of an orange.  I'll be honest...I was pretty concerned about the portion size of our meal.  I arrived hungry...and after almost an hour of kneading, as if I was an Italian grandmother in 1902, and the scrumptious aroma of garlic and tomatoes coming from the stove....you can imagine the stage of my starvation at that point.   I was already planning out my post meal stop at the Burger King drive through and we hadn't even cut the pasta yet!

Needless to say....we were all surprised when Maria pulled out her shiny, brand new pasta maker by Giada DeLaurentiis that she had bought at Target earlier that day.  Don't get me wrong...it wasn't an easy task, but the end result was absolutely amazing!  We had actually made enough pasta for 4 huge dinner portions, plus some left over!  Maria's vodka sauce was to die for and the salad was the perfect addition.  

After dinner, Heather made us all coffee and what came next still has me salivating.  Maria toasted up some whole grain bread and topped it with lots of sweet cream butter.  Then, she went into her pantry to pull out something that I can only describe as heavenly.  It was a mason jar, full of fig preserves.  Not jelly and not jam, folks!  Fig preserves are plump, sweet figs surrounded by thick, flavorful syrup, created by the natural sugars produced by the figs themselves.  Just looking at the adorable little mason jar filled with sugary figs instantly filled me with the desire to visit the South, bake pies and live the simple life.  She piled lots of fig preserves up on the toasted, buttery bread and it was the most delicious dessert I've ever had! 

It was a fun night catching up with great friends, having a lot of fun exploring in the kitchen and of course finding our happy place with a very tasty meal.  I can't wait until our next collaborative adventure.