Face Lift

Not sure if any of you follow my recipe blog but, just in case, I've decided to give it a face lift. I've had it a little over a year now and it's in desperate need of some pizazz! I've been dedicating a bit more time lately to it and it's turned more into a food blog rather than just a recipe collection; well, those are my hopes anyway. It's been so much fun for me; basically my only creative outlet that I've been able to pursue while raising two spirited little girls.

My posts in the beginning didn't have any pictures, so I plan on adding a lot more. I don't profess to be a great picture-taker, I don't even own a really nice camera, but I"ll do my best with what I have; maybe one day I'll get there.

I'm also changing the blog title to "Sweet Luvin' in the Kitchen," thanks Ben, he came up with it. The new URL will be sweetluvininthkitchen.blogspot.com and will be up and running Monday, January 4.

Hope you'll stop by and check it out; just click the link in the left column. I would also welcome any advice you more-experienced bloggers may have for me!

ERIN

Every time I look, I just giggle.

Lights at Temple Square

We finally made it to see the lights this year at Temple Square. I've been wanting to do this every year since I moved back here but I think I've only made it down once. Hopefully we can continue the tradition though for years to come. We went with all my family that lives here.

It's kind of crazy because there are so many people at Temple Square. We luckily came early enough to find great parking but the temple grounds were already packed. We stuck the girls in their snowsuits and they rode in the stroller; well, I guess I should say Erin rode in the stroller because Shelby only lasted about 10 minutes. She just couldn't sit still and wanted to be with her best cousin, Kate. Here is our first pit stop for pictures.

Erin was snug as a bug and hardly made a peep the whole time. She was happy though.

Unfortunately, I think there was just too much stimulation for Shelby, she kept trying to run off. About half way through our stroll, Ben ran to get her and we were separated until we went back to the car.

Next year, we'll have to remember a leash.

After we all got back to our cars, we popped open the trunks and shared goodies. Grandpa made hot chocolate, grandma brought her it's-not-Christmas-without-sugar-cookies, and I brought a new treat, egg nog cupcakes, because we're a little bit fiendish about egg nog in our family. Everything was de-lish and warmed us right up.

Shelby enjoying the goods. Ben said she cried for half an hour, saying, "I lost my mommy," until I finally met them back at the car. It made my heart sob that she was so upset and even the thought of her getting lost for real. We kept telling each other all the way home we were so happy we found each other. I love my family, I don't know what I would do without them.

One Christmas tradition that will never die!

For as long as I remember, I have been eating these babies at Christmas time. They are my all-time favorite seasonal candy. Brach's Christmas Peppermint Nougats. My parents started putting them in my stocking when I was little, kept sending me some when I went away to college and they even sent them to me on my mission. Now that I'm married and have my own family I have to buy them for myself. I think I made Ben buy me some one year, though, and put them in my stocking! I could eat the whole bag.

Over the years, I have also come across these Wintergreen Christmas Nougats, which are equally good. I could eat a whole bag of these too.
But, today, I found these gems at the grocery store. That's right, now they have cinnamon! I couldn't wait to get out to the car and rip the bag open. I snuck one while the girls weren't looking and it was oh-so-delish!
These are the best candy ever made. I have loved all the flavors that I have come across. It will never be Christmas without Brach's Nougats


On a side note, I don't know why I even go down the Christmas candy aisle when I go grocery shopping. After looking at food blogs all day and seeing the YUMMY Christmas treats everyone is making, like these Festive Candy Cane Centered Brownie Bites, and these Egg Nog Cupcakes, oh and don't forget these Chocaholic Mint Truffle Kissed Biscotti, that's all I want to buy. So, instead of just going in for the milk and a couple necessary items, I got to the register loaded with eggnog, cinnamon nougats and Hershey's Mint Truffle Filled Kisses and forgot the milk. Thankfully the bagger ran back and got it for me so I didn't have to brave the crowd again. Anyone need some Christmas goodies?

What is your favorite store-bought Christmas candy? What homemade goodies do you make this time of year?

Birthday, Part 2

We had a small family party for Erin's birthday on Sunday. My parents and sister were here and Ben's parents and a couple of siblings actually drove down to join us as well. We were happy they were all there. Dinner was simple but I agonized for weeks about Erin's cake, don't ask me why. I think I'm dilusional because she will probably only remember what we show her in the pictures. Anyway, I finally decided to combine a couple of recipes to make this sort of layered apple spice cream cake with apple cider frosting and dulce de leche in the middle. Erin loves apples so I though it would be fun for her. The cake actually turned out yummy and moist, which I wanted, and it wasn't too sweet. My favorite part was the filling though-you just don't get any better than dulce de leche. I decided not to frost it and instead try my hand at marshmallow fondant-you've got to try everything once right? Although it was a fun endeavor in which I learned a few things, I'm not sure I'll use it again. I'll have to get better at frosting things the old fashioned way, I guess. Here's my attempt at fondant:
























MMMMM cake....

And on a side note, Erin had her 1 year check up yesterday. She is a whopping 18.25 lbs and 29 inches long. She's happy and healthy, well mostly healthy, and the doc says she's perfect! Well, we think so anyway.

Happy Birthday to Erin!

I can't believe my baby turned 1 today! Time sure flies.


It seems just like yesterday we were rushing to the hospital (a month early) for her birth. If you missed the birth story, you can read it here.


Then, just like that we were home,


cuddling our 5lb little preemie.


Oh the hair...


Then the helmet...read about her helmet here.


Life on the farm. She wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up, I can tell.


Summer turns to fall...


Fall = apples, Erin + apples = heaven!


Good morning birthday girl. Love you babe!

A Sneak Peak...

Garland of Gratitude

Last night for family night we made this garland of gratitude. I got the idea from Family Fun magazine and adapted it to our family. Since Shelby is still too young to read and write, we cut pictures out of our church magazines and glued them to different fall-colored leaves and then hung them on some string in the window next to our table. We went through the magazines together and decided on the things that we were thankful for and we talked about each one so that Shelby would understand and remember. I thought Shelby's attention span might be too short to finish the whole activity in one night but she was great and seemed to really enjoy it.

I am so thankful that Shelby is beginning to grasp gospel principles and that she is so eager to learn and understand. This morning while we were eating breakfast, Shelby looked over at our garland of gratitude and began telling me the things we were thankful for. (That's the good stuff right there!)

My Thankful List

I can't believe it is already Thanksgiving week. As I sat and thought about it, I knew that I had a lot to be thankful for. I've actually been trying to embrace the "attitude of gratitude" longer than just this week and the results have been wonderful and amazing. I am thankful for so many things.

1) I am thankful for my God and His great plan. Even though at times I may not know or understand things, I know He sees the big picture and allows me His tender mercies as I work through life's difficulties.

2)I am thankful for my husband. I probably don't tell him as often as I should but he works so hard for our family so he can be a good provider and we have always had sufficient for our needs.

3)I am thankful for my two beautiful daughters. They are my joy. They make me laugh. They make me cry. They make me scream, sing, dance and play. I'm learning so much by being their mother; love, compassion, kindness & gentleness, patience and much more.

4)I am thankful for good neighbors. We live in such a wonderful neighborhood where selfless people regularly give service to those around them; service that we have also been on the receiving end of. It has been a great example to me.

5)I am thankful for trials. Maybe this sounds odd, but I've had a few trials this year that were, at times, pretty difficult for me to handle. However, once I started giving up my pride and stubbornness, I was able to learn from them and my weak things were starting to become strong.

What are you thankful for?

Poop Sausage

I just couldn't resist this!

Shelby: Mom, what are you making?
Mom: Sausage.
Shelby: Mom, that's poop sausage

Shelby took this picture.

Oh the drama!

I've been told that raising girls was a lot of drama. I didn't think that I'd be experiencing it this early but BOY have we been in the thick of it this week. Something just clicked in Shelby the other day, I have no idea what it is but she seems to be crying at ANYTHING! I keep telling her to get a grip (cause I don't have much patience for stuff like that)-maybe I should be a little more compassionate though. Erin has been a little more cranky than normal too but I'm attributing it to her second round of teeth coming in. I think I need a time out.

Here's Shelby's new style. She's been sporting that headband for the past couple of days. She also decided to color, with marker, her already beautifully painted red fingernails. Now her "pretties" have pretties.

Great Deal On Disney Pixar's Up Movie

Here's a link for the printable coupon for $10 off when you buy the combo pack (Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy)of UP. I believe the combo pack is only $19.99, so with the coupon it's only $9.99. The promotion only lasts until the 14th (tomorrow) even though the coupon says it doesn't expire until the 17th.

UP Coupon Offer

Bonding over brownies

That's what Ben called it last night as he walked over to find Shelby and I devouring our hot-out-of-the-oven Betty Crocker brownies. Mmmm, they were so good. I love brownies so much I could probably eat half a pan in one sitting. There's just something about Sunday evenings that makes me want to make cookies or brownies or whatever. Put aside my counting the 132 calories a day I'm supposed to eat or the 5,000 calories I have to burn on the treadmill each day, because calories don't count on Sunday's right? Maybe it's because growing up we almost always made treats on either Sunday afternoon or evening; me and my mom, me and my sister or just me. It's a fun thing to do together and it gets you in the kitchen, which I love, and am trying to teach Shelby little by little. We sure enjoyed giggling over those brownines.

Fall Pics

It's been a tradition of our family's for the past few years to go up the canyon and take family pictures. We've been pretty successful, two times previous taking a tripod and taking our own pictures and capturing the beautiful colors of fall. This year I'm totally disappointed. 1-we didn't make it up the canyon early enough before it got cold and most of the leaves started falling off the trees and 2-we couldn't even get Ben and I in some pictures together (or apart for that matter). I was going back through my pictures of this year and I can probably count on 1 hand the pictures of Ben and I together. SAD! That's now my new picture-taking goal for next year, to snuggle up more to Ben and snap away.

Anyway I did get some decent pictures of the girls out back around the farm and at a park close by. Shelby was totally uncooperative and for the life of me I couldn't get her to pose with Erin and be nice, so most of the pictures are of them separate. The day we took pictures on the farm was really windy which made it feel colder than it was; don't look to closely at those or you'll see Erin's nose dripping.




I love these of Shelby.




We happened to be out where the sheep were grazing and while I was snapping shots of Erin, Shelby walked over to them. Shelby's not really afraid of the sheep since she's been around them a lot, but, the next thing I know she's turned around running back towards me crying because they're following her-they're followers ya know. I thought it was pretty funny, but I'm sure she didn't at the time.








This is Shelby trying to tell me that she's done.


Here's a couple from the park. Shelby kept running off here. I only got one picture of her by herself and it wasn't even that great.






Better luck for the whole family next year.