Scene:  B and I are sitting on the couch, I'm checking my email, Junie is in between us, and B has the remote control (SYT is upstairs asleep)

Background music on the tv is Leona Lewis's "Keep Bleeding"

Me:  "What are we watching?"

Him:  "America's got Talent"

Me:  "Wow, we've sunken to a new low."

Him (after one minute of watching):  "Um, this is horrid.  I've got to switch over to Bourdain"

Moral of the Story?  Please, please fall television, come back soon.  This household can't watch any more awful tv!!!!

No sleep for the sick

My little buddy is sick for the first time.  It's heartbreaking, you guys!  He had a really awful runny nose yesterday, but I didn't think much of it.  Overnight however, he couldn't sleep because he had so much snot that was keeping him from breathing.  He also has his first fever (101.2), isn't nursing well, and is WAY overtired.  He pretty much would only sleep if laying on my chest or propped up next to me on the pillow.  He is now asleep in the boppy (it's been 1.5 hours- yea!) and I'm hoping he will nap well today to catch up a bit and get his little body better.  Oh, and allow me to take a nap as well! 

Kudos to the blue snot sucker.  It has worked it's magic over the course of the night.  Counting down the years until he can blow his nose!!

(Gap Curvy)

I bought these pants during the Gap Give and Get event.  I desperately needed new black pants as mine developed a hole near the back pockets at some point during my pregnancy (!?!?).  I'm not kidding when I say these pants were designed with me in mind.  I've never had a pair of pants fit so well in my entire life.  I have a feeling I'll end up back there getting the gray pair as well.  If you have time today and the 30% off coupon, head out my friends to try on the new line of black pants.  There are 7 different fits, and I have to imagine you'll find a pair that fits you as well as these fit me. 

While I normally don't love the skull and crossbones look (way to rock and roll/metalheadish for me), this outfit caught my eye when I was there today, and I think SYT might just have to have it.  I love that it's a navy  sweater knit with the intarsia design- just the right amount of preppy and rock and roll together.  Plus, it'll be perfect for the Halloween season.  I received a 40% off coupon yesterday when I bought my pants, so it'll be $20 rather than $34.  Totally justifiable, don't you think? 

Organizing blogger

I have a question for you all.  Hopefully one of you can give me some good suggestions for my insanely disorganized "Starred List" in blogger!

Okay, so many of you post wonderful ideas, recipes, books, decor photos, kids stuff, etc and if I like it, I star it and it heads over to that folder.  Great, except now my starred items folder is huge and for the life of me I cannot find a way to move things around or create subfolders within the starred items.  Is there a way to do this?  How do you all handle keeping track of things you like?  Do you transfer everything over to folders in your computer?  I have at least 10 folders I'd like to create, yet am struggling in figuring this out. 

Anyone out there have an answer for me?  I'd love, love, love some help with this :)

Gratzi!

Christmas gifts, anyone?

I know it's really early to start thinking about Christmas, but Totsy is having a great sale on Melissa and Doug toys today.  I love this line as they are wooden, most often educational, and don't make constant noise!! 

A few of my favorites are below................

(I think all families should have an easel.  It's a great gift if you have a family gift you need to give.  Great for creativity, playing school, learning, etc)

There are also kitchens, activity tables, and car tracks that would be awesome gifts for the 1-6 year old. 

Click here if you need an invite to Totsy.  I will say it's a lot of kids clothing, but they also have maternity wear, bedding, and toys on a regular basis.  Even if you are not a mom, it's a great site for gift giving!!

Thank you, Piperlime

My Piperlime email this morning made me drool over a few lustworthy items........

Thank you, Marc Jacobs!

Sooooo gorgeous!  Now, can it just come in diaper bag format?

Love this coat.  It also comes in black, but I think this color combo is much more stunning.  The bow at the waist is a perfect juxtaposition with the more military styling of the buttons.

This top would look great with dark jeans and puple, navy or black heels.  I can also see it paired well with a pencil skirt from J Crack.    I love the bow that cascades to ruffles, and the color, while bold, works nicely with many of the fall/winter items in my closet.

That's my lust list for today.  What's on yours??

Mini peppers

We have one plant in our garden growing mini peppers.  They are way too cute!  They taste just like regular peppers but are tiny.  B thinks they aren't worth it as they still have a ton of seeds, but the seeds are edible, so you can basically pop it all in your mouth and take in all the seeds or eat around the outsides like an apple which keeps most of the seeds out of your system.  I'm glad we're growing regular bell peppers as well, but these are just so cute and they make me so happy!

Here they are in comparison to a regular green bell pepper.

Anyone else growing these?  Or anything else that is a little more off the beaten path?  We're starting to think about what we are going to grow next spring as we already know we need to do a few thing differently, so I'd love to hear what is flourishing in your garden!!

Summer salad

A few weeks ago I mentioned that we had one of our dinner club dinners and the theme was "Farm Fresh".  We were in charge of the salad, so we headed down to the farmers market to see what was available.  We knew we needed a salad that would work with a homemade raspberry vinagrette as we have raspberry bushes in our backyard and we wanted to feature them in the salad somehow.

The farmer's market had TONS of peaches, and we decided grilling the peaches would take away enough of the sweetness to make the salad just perfect.  The purple strips you see are a purple pepper- tastes the same as a red or yellow, just a different color and perhaps a little less tender. 

We also added a cucumber scored with a fork to make it pretty, candied pecans (so easy!), green leaf lettuce, and feta. 

(close up of the grilled peach and pecans)

The salad received rave reviews and almost everyone went back for seconds.  We were really pleased with the taste and the presentation!

If you ever want to add grilled peaches to your salad, I would highly recommend getting freestone peaches.  Ours ended up being the clingstone variety, and it was NOT a fun experience trying to get them into decent looking slices.

Let me know if you want the recipe for the vinagrette.  It's muy delicioso!

SYT is 3 months old!

And I finally got him to smile for the camera!  Yep, a very, very happy boy showed up for his momma's photo shoot Sunday. 

(his playful, coy smile)

He definitely is getting bigger every day.  He's also "talking" more and more and went he wants our attention, he'll start babbling in order to make us look at him.  Normally once we're looking he'll just smile and smile and jabber away some more.  It's precious.  He's also belly laughing a lot and continuing to practice his rolling from front to back. 

He's a terrible napper at day care, but not too bad when he's home on the weekends.  He's "catching up", I think.  I'm sure the noise and all the commotion at daycare aren't the most conducive to sleep, plus he wants to be involved in everything and has a hard time winding down.  He is sleeping for 6-9.5 hours at a stretch each night which is great! 

(his best skill is drooling!)

He had to start on a medication twice a day for reflux because he was waking up in the middle of the night coughing, gagging, and choking on his own spit up.  As a nurse practitioner, I see this happen a lot, but it doesn't make it any less scary when it's your own kid and it wakes you out of a deep sleep!  He's still spitting up a lot, but he's a happy spitter, so I'm not too worried.  It does keep me busy with the laundry though!

So, that's my update on my little buddy.  Lovin' him, for sure!!

For the discerning diaperer....

Monogrammed diapers. 

At $1.50 each, they're pricey, but could be a darling addition to a baby gift. 

Lobster party- family pics

This last one is my favorite (though I look quite wide in the chest region!!)

These dunes are where you will see many, many families taking pictures on lobster party night.  We won't be using any of these for our Christmas card this year as SYT will change so much between now and then, but I'm sure one year our picture will come from this party!!  It's just a great, gorgeous, simple spot to get a family snapshot.  I mean, really, can you beat the blue sky against the reed grass?  Gorgeous!

Lobster party- SYT

SYT joined us for the first half of the Lobster Party and then my mom came to pick him up around 8:30 (his bedtime!)  It was wonderful to have him there and be able to show him off.  He loves being passed around and smiling at whomever is holding him.  Too bad we have yet to capture his amazing smile on camera. 

(outfit by Petit Bateau from Aunt H)

Loving the lobster print sunhat!  It was a little big on him, so he didn't wear it very long.  It'll be great for next summer though.

Getting some love from Aunt E

And more love from Uncle A!

Lobster party- appetizer

Seriously, this is WAY yummy and way healthy.  And still so incredibly pretty on a plate. 

Recipe:

Cucumber (fresh from the garden)

Watermelon (we used yellow, pink would be just as cute)

Feta (the block kind, not the crumbled kind)

Mint

Cracked black pepper

Peel the cuke, score with fork and slice.  Place on skewer.  Chunk the watermelon, place on skewer.  Cut the feta into squares, place on skewer.  Be careful with the feta as it is soft and will crumble easily.  Mince the mint and sprinkle over top.  Grind some pepper over top.  Serve on a white tray with extra mint for garnish.  Done! 

I got a ton of compliments on this- you will too!

Lobster party- attire

At this party, there are the people who wear lobsters...

And the people who wear Lilly

And those who wear white dresses or seersucker- quintessencial summertime.

Which would you be and why?

Lobster Party- the set up

So, here starts the lobster party.

The tables are set with checked tableclothes, lanterns, buckets for lobster and clam shells, and table names to tell you where to sit.  The beach is cleared and just waiting for all the excitement.

Let the cocktailing begin.  The cocktail "hour" usually lasts about two, and it's a chance for all those who come for this part of the summer to catch up or get reaquainted.  It's also a chance to check out who's wearing what, hear all the latest gossip, and to get family pictures for the Christmas card by the dunes.  Appetizers and drinks are brought by each family as they await their lobster and filet dinner (the best part of this year's dinner was definitely the sweet corn- no butter, no salt, no pepper, just the perfect ear of corn).

After the delish dinner, the dancing begins.  The Jelly Roll Blues Band plays ever year, and they couldn't be more fantastic.  Kids, adults, grandparents- everyone hits the dance floor and enjoys the amazing summer night.  The just barely chilly air makes you feel alive, and the band sings Van Morrison as you dance with your dad, your mom, your husband, your newest baby. 

It's always a night to remember.  Thanks H&D for sharing it with us year after year!!

ETA: There were about 400 people this year.  Last year it was 550, the biggest ever.  It really is a HUGE deal.

2 years ago today

We stood in this chapel vowing our love and lives to one another in front of our families and friends.

We danced to this song (please jump over and listen- you won't regret it!!)

And we became partners for life

I wouldn't have it any other way, my dear B. 

Lots and lots,

forever and ever,

with all my cells.