finally fall...

Isn't fall the greatest?  I've always loved the cozy feeling that fall brings.  I just want to throw on a big warm sweater.  With our 80 degree weather, I'll probably wait on that one.  But, I've decided I can't wait any longer to bring out the fall recipes.

Sunday brought the first official day of fall and we celebrated with pumpkin scones.

They sure are delicious and they make the house smell perfectly fall-ish.


Carson even joined in the seasonal fun and whipped up his own version.

Spiced pumpkin scones with a double glaze

Ingredients
Pumpkin scones
2 cups flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons milk (I use nonfat because we always have it)
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla

Simple sugar glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1+ tablespoons milk

Spiced pumpkin glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin puree
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1+ tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 400.  In the bowl of a food processor combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all spices together.  Next, add the butter, cut into small cubes, and pulse until combined (it will end up looking like crumbs).  If you don't have a food processor you can do this by hand!

In a large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, syrup, milk, vanilla and egg.

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir by hand until a soft dough forms. 

Transfer the dough to a floured surface then knead it a couple of times until it's nice and smooth.

Roll the dough out and cut into triangles/squares/whatever shape scones you like.

Bake 10-12 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Once cool, make the glazes.  No need to heat, just mix sugar and 1 tablespoon milk in a bowl (add the spices for the second glaze).  Add small amounts of milk until you reach the desired consistency.  For the first glaze, I just dip the scone in to completely cover it.  For the second glaze I drizzle it on.

Wait until the glaze has set (if you can) and Enjoy!

Happy Fall!

Look what's on the way...

I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like and I'd love to say that's going to change in the near future, but I just haven't had as much energy as usual.

Probably because...

 HOORAY!!

We couldn't be more excited to welcome a new addition to the family on (or around) Valentine's Day, 2014.
We plan to find out if it's a sister or a brother at a gender reveal party mid-October.  We'll keep you posted!

For details on Carson's homemade shirt check out this post!

the good, the bad and the ugly

I'm talking bugs, of course.  We've waged war against the bad guys, but it's a long road.  Over the past couple of years (since Carson came along) we've switched almost completely to organic gardening methods.  It's tough.  Sometimes I REALLY want to grab a bottle of Spectracide insect killer.  But, the organic method is a battle that I'm determined to win.

I've got my go-to methods for all my different pests.  We've got BT for the caterpillars, beer (and salt) for the slugs and snails, diatomaceous earth for the ants and earwigs and ladybugs for the aphids.

But, this summer brought an unwelcome invader that had me completely stumped.  Something was feasting on our ivy.
Nothing eats ivy, right?
Wrong.

One night, I took our dog out for a late walk (10pm) and something in the ivy caught my eye.   Upon closer inspection, I found hundreds of...
walking stick bugs!

one of our walking stick bugs (the bad guys)

They're actually kind of cute and apparently they make good pets.  In fact, they aren't native to Southern California but there have been quite a few reports of infestations here.  Sounds like they were originally someone's pets, they got tired of them, released them and that caused a BIG problem.  I've been studying up on these little terrors and it turns out San Diego has a major stick bug problem.

Long story short, the only recommended way to get rid of them is Orthene (a broad spectrum insect killer) and I just wasn't willing to go that route.  So, I've spent a lot of nights with my flashlight and my clippers snipping walking sticks in half (sorry, I know it's gruesome).

But, I've also got a secret weapon (that's the helpful part of this post), praying mantids.   They sell them at our local nursery (or you can order them online!) and they eat LOTS of other bugs, including walking sticks!  We started raising (?) them months ago and now we've got quite a few of them hanging around.  To raise them you simple hang a little nest (looks like a tiny beehive) in the yard and wait for it to hatch).

one of our praying mantids (the good guys)

They are amazing!  My yard has never looked better!  I don't have aphids.  No caterpillars.  Haven't seen an earwig in weeks.  I still have a few stick bugs, but it's SO much better.

So, my suggestion for all my gardening friends: GET PRAYING MANTIDS.  I know many people are bug shy, but do it anyway.   They're completely harmless to people and they don't eat plants at all, only bugs.  I promise you'll learn to love 'em!

country livin'

We're back from a perfect couple of weeks in the beautiful northwest.  I've always loved visiting the christmas tree farm where I grew up.  Reminiscing about the good times we had as kids sure is good for the soul.  But, there's something even better about watching your own little one enjoy those very same things.

Farm life sure is fun...

 4 wheelin',

farm animals,

 

peach pickin',

and plenty of time just enjoying the great outdoors.

 Here's to even better memories next time!

give that guy a haircut!

I apologize for the lack of posts lately!  We've got a lot of summertime fun goin' on around our house and no time for working!

We're busy gardening (always) and finally harvesting, we've got some construction underway in the office, and of course, we're working on a few smaller projects here and there.

Here's a cute, quick and easy little craft project that provides for a bit of daily entertainment. 

All you need to create this cute little fella is:
an empty yogurt container (I used Yo Baby)
a few small pieces of felt (two colors is ideal)
googly eyes
glue
dirt
and
some sort of seeds

 

First, we cleaned our yogurt container, removed the paper,

 and cut off the top ledge.

I measured one piece of felt to cover the whole yogurt container.  Then I sketched a few more pieces for ears and a trunk.  I did this super quickly.  Elephants with two different sized ears have more character, right?

 We stuck the pieces together with a little craft glue and added our dirt and grass seed. 

 Then we waited...and waited...and waited...

5 whole days, 

until we saw teeny tiny pieces of "hair"!  Carson LOVED checking elephant's hair every morning.  The grass grows so fast that it's a great change from day to day.  Now he loves telling me when it's time for a haircut!

Looks like it's time for a trim!

a healthy summer treat

It's been HOT at our house!  That means lots of time in the sprinklers and plenty of frozen treats.  This is one of our favorite treats on a summer day (and it just happens to be healthy)!
If you're a banana fan you must give this a try.  It's perfect for kids.  Carson just loves it!

All you need is ripe bananas and a Cuisinart (or blender).

 First, freeze the bananas in slices.  We usually leave them over night but a couple of hours would probably do the trick.

 Throw the frozen slices in the Cuisinart and blend.

You can always get creative and throw in an extra treat.  We like a little nutella.

It makes perfect soft serve ice cream (or keep it in the freezer for a harder ice cream).

It couldn't be simpler...or tastier!

let freedom ring!

Happy 4th of July!
We just love this holiday and we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves today.

Riding around in town in style

Racing in the "Independence Day Diaper Derby"

Daddy is so proud...

of his 2nd place finisher!

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful day.
Here's to the land of the free!