Trash to Treasure

I am so excited to share my most recent craft because it was so easy and CHEAP! I found this frame on the side of the road (yes folks, you read that correctly - ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD) and decided it would make the perfect chalk board frame. It was pretty beat up, but it was a nice solid oak frame. I bought a large piece of matting from the craft store (essentially super thick poster board) to use as the backing.

A can of this:

And a bottle of this:

And now I have this:

It hangs perfectly in the kitchen on the laundry room door to remind of things like what day of the week it is, who I am, and to remind me to tighten the screws that attach my head to my neck. I knew the sidewalk chalk we put in Jack's Easter basket would get put to good use.

And in completely unrelated news (and for the sake of cuteness) we trekked out to the Corn Maize at Temple Hall Farm over the weekend (with the Shepherd clan, obvi.) Here is Jack preparing to fearlessly get us completely lost lead us through the maize.

What is black and white and orange all over?

Pumpkins!! A few weeks ago I saw this adorable black and white pumpkin and instantly knew how I would be decorating our pumpkins this year. I hit up the craft store and stocked up on black paint and several different types of black and white ribbon. You could replicate these with pretty much any color you want - I'm thinking maybe purple glitter paint next year...

This also gave me a great excuse to hit up the pumpkin patch. No, the fact that I have an 18 month old is obviously not reason enough.... Jack had such a great time and we got some pretty great pumpkins.

Here is stinky boy going down the hay slide for the 1000000th time. He hated it, as you can see.

And here are my completed black and white pumpkins - I think they turned out pretty cute!

"You said I Do - And I did too"

I can't believe we have been married for an entire year! It's actually frightening how fast this last year has gone by. You always hear people say "Oh, the first year of marriage is the hardest" - I couldn't disagree more. I know, we have an unfair advantage that we pretty much jumped all the hurdles before we tied the knot (long distance relationship, multiple moves, living together, buying a house, merging finances, having a baby) but I don't think that makes our first year any less of a success story. We have had so much fun creating our nest and settling into our new roles as Mr. and Mrs. and I can't wait to see what the next year has to offer.

Since I don't talk much about The Mister here on the blog - I thought I'd take some time to share some of my favorite things about my Perfectly Imperfect Partner-In-Crime: 

- He's a true Man's Man. He likes beer from a can, knows things about tools, can grill like Bobby Flay, and wears a baseball hat whenever possible - all while working in the yard and fixing my car.

- He knows EVERYTHING about sports. And we're not talking just the standard baseball/football trivia. Got a question about Curling? He's your man. Need to know the rules of Badminton? Just ask Johnny. I sometimes pretend that it annoys me, but I actually think it's pretty sexy that he can give 99% of men a run for their money in any sports discussion.

- He's a creative romantic. Our first two dates consisted of going to a legit drive-in move theater (in his Dad's antique pick-up that he borrowed for the night), and a fully prepared picnic at Great Falls. He had flowers sent to my office twice that week. To this day, he still opens every door, holds my hand, and surprises me with my favorite Ben & Jerry's.

- He tells me I'm beautiful even when I know for a fact that I'm not. Like when we've spent the entire night in the emergency room with our sick baby, or after a long sweaty run. And I know he means it.

- He is an amazing father. He changes poopy diapers without being asked, makes bath time a breeze, folds hundreds of tiny outfits, and makes Jack laugh so hard he can hardly breathe. Our son is so lucky to have such an incredible, hands-on dad. 

Here are a few of my favorite pics of us throughout the years:

Here's to another year of laughing so hard we cry, smiling so much it hurts, and loving like we're dying. I love you JCH. 

Multi-task.

Last night I ran (literally) into quite a dilemma. Tuesdays are Mom's Wine Night on Kinvarra Place. Me, Meg, and Stef (and now sometimes Mel) get together religiously at 8 o'clock for some mom-detox time. We each bring a bottle of wine and we have a few hours of child/husband free time to watch painfully girly shows (Pregnant in Heels, Teen Mom, and Rachel Zoe are our usuals) gossip, bitch about life, and generally just relax for the first time all week. It's glorious.

As I'm scrambling home last night it dawns on me that I don't have a single bottle of wine to contribute to the evenings festivities. The thought of the three of us having to share only TWO bottles of wine is too painful to bear. I'm trying to rush home so I can squeeze in my nightly run before it starts to get dark out. (I have a pretty unreal fear of dying in the back of some freak's trunk... running at night only increases that likelihood). If I have to stop at the store before going home, I might miss the last few minutes of viable sunlight. What a conundrum. Wine or run? After pondering the options I decided that I could indeed put my super-mom powers to work and accomplish both tasks.

 Yes, that is Jack contently snuggled into the Jogger with my bottle of wine firmly held in the cup holder. Coincidence that a bottle of wine fits so perfectly into the cup holder? I think not. I ran the whole way back from the store like this. Mother of the year - right here. Submit your votes now.

Pumpkin Season!

One of my favorite things about Fall is being able to make pumpkin EVERYTHING. Lattes, pancakes, cookies - if pumpkin can be added in one way or another, I will do it. Last weekend I was given the opportunity to make one of my most delicious pumpkin recipes - pumpkin spice layer cake with cream cheese icing. I stumbled upon this recipe last year after my good friend Keeney asked me to make her wedding cake (no pressure!!) They were getting married in October so she decided pumpkin was they way to go. This cake is super moist and the cream cheese icing isn't too sugary-sweet.

Here's Keen and Ron on their wedding day with my cake masterpiece! Ok, maybe not a masterpiece. It was made to be delicious, not a culinary work of art. 

 The lovebirds celebrated their first anniversary over the weekend - and everyone knows it's not a real first anniversary without wedding cake (technically, I think it's supposed to be year-old freezer cake, but we'll let this one slide.) I was excited to give this recipe another whirl (NO, not because it resulted in enough extra batter for one dozen cupcakes for myself....) and happy to be a part of their first anniversary. Happy one-year Keeney and Ron!!

So here is the recipe - don't be intimidated by all the ingredients. It's super easy and SO GOOD. Perfect for your next fall gathering!

Spiced Pumpkin Layer Cake

3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 (15 oz) can pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 T. grated orange peel

Frosting

1 block of sotened cream cheese
1 stick of softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 of a box of powdered sugar

Mix the first nine ingredients in a medium bowl with a whisk. In a large bowl, blend the pumpkin, sugar, and oil. Add eggs, then orange peel. Slowly mix in the flour mixture. Pour into two (greased and floured) 9-inch pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 - or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely, and frost generously. (For frosting, mix butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until blended - slowly add powdered sugar)


Editors Note - If you haven't already, be sure to check out the link for Keeney's new blog!! She chronicles their messy, crazy adventures in marriage and home ownership. In case you missed it above, here's the link again: MessyCrazyWonderful

Happy Friday!

Three things I love: Princesses, Nicki Manaj, and this this little girl. Happy Friday everyone!!

Until Next Time....

I had to wait a day or so to blog about my big South Carolina trip because I didn't want my horrific trek back to influence my review of the weekend. It truly was an amazing, unforgettable weekend - and United Airlines (and whatever vendetta they have against me) made it their personal mission to ruin my life on Monday. But more on that later.

I arrived in Charleston just before midnight on Thursday. Vanessa scooped me and the adventure began. The initial plan was to go straight out but we were both so exhausted that we opted for a girls night in. We got back to her place, changed into sweats, and talked about everyone. we. know. We had so much gossiping catching-up to do - we were like 12 year-olds at a slumber party. It was so great to hear about all the awesome things going on her life.

We woke up Friday and immediately threw our plans out the window. We slept in late (glorious) ate an amazing breakfast at The Boulevard (delectable) and immediately went back home to our PJs. We finally mustered up the energy to get dressed and made our way downtown.

We window shopped and made our way into a few of the unique boutiques downtown Charleston has to offer. My goal was to find something for Johnny but I failed miserably. I did however pick up this adorable vintage Carolina tee for myself:

I'm thinking my next gameday outfit will look something like this (plus my sweet new tee):

No, I don't own the black onyx David Yurman ring.... but I would definitely wear it with this outfit if I did.

So anyways - after some light shopping we met up with Marialice at Fleet Landing for a few cocktails on the water. We had the best seat in the house and it was the perfect night to sit outside.

Flash Fail.

We made it an early night because the next day was GAMEDAY! After a quick stop at River Street Sweets for some of their world famous Pralines it was off to bed we went.

Saturday was such a blur (and I swear that has nothing to do with the Fireball) It was so great to be back in Columbia and I would be a liar if I said I didn't experience some serious nostalgia. The tailgating was just as amazing as I remembered, the PJ just as sweet, and cheering just as loud. Just as we were starting to feel like college kids again, some 19 year old girls in the bathroom line told us we "looked great for 25" (as if we were 50) and asked what kind of skincare regimen we use. FML.

So here is the four of us before we left for tailgate:

Our 50 yd line seats:

And Nessy and I at the game like old times.... Marialice should be in this picture but she bailed after the first quarter to TAKE A NAP. Ohhh Marialice.

Gameday came and went. It was a sad loss for the Gamecocks and I will swear on my deathbed that we still had 1 second left - enough time to attempt a game-tying field goal. But there is no going back.... onto Kentucky.

My last day in South Carolina was spent stuffing our faces. I was super excited for our dinner reservations Sunday night. Bon Apetiete Magazine had recently named Husk as the #1 best new restaurant in America and that's where we were headed. The meal was creative and modern, yet still authentically southern. I got the braised duck (I can't turn down duck anywhere - ever. Let's pray McD's doesn't come out with a McDuck or I'm screwed). They create their menu daily based on what's fresh and local at the time so you never know what you're gonna get. I got my fried green tomato fix (served with pimento cheese and thinly shaved Virginia ham) and everyone at the table was pleasantly stuffed. Given the chance, you should check this place out - definitely a keeper.

So after an amazing weekend of girl time, amazing food, and Carolina football, it was time to leave my former life behind and head home to the loves of my life. Ness dropped me off promptly at 5am for my 6am flight. They told me at check-in the flight was being delayed an hour. Well one hour turned to two, and two turned to three until I heard the man sitting behind me having a coronary over his phone conversation with United. Apparently the flight had been CANCELLED and they weren't planning on telling anyone. We had all sat there for three hours with hopes of boarding at any minute only to hear (from another passenger) we were all stranded. We had missed the next flight, connections to Charlotte were booked, and since my bag had already been sent to no-where land I had no choice but to wait for whatever next available flight they could find... which ended up being at TWO THIRTY. So I waited, and sat, and walked around (all 600 sq ft of the Charleston airport...) read 36 a few magazines and waited some more. Nine hours after my scheduled arrival I finally set foot back in good ol' VA. I was so excited to see Jack I could hardly breathe. I practically ran to the baggage carousel and waited some more... all for nothing. My bag was gone. At this point I was so past the point of caring. I dropped my name and contact information with customer service (who couldn't have cared less) and left to see my boys. My bag magically arrived on my doorstep 24 hours later.

I'm currently drafting a strongly worded letter to United.