happy new year!

I know we're half way through January already, but better late than never!  We're finally getting back into the swing of things after spending the holidays in the Northwest.
We couldn't have asked for a better time.  I know I've heard this said before, but I now can completely confirm, that the only thing better than being a child at Christmastime is watching your child enjoy Christmastime. 

We made so many great memories this year.  Now, we're just looking forward to meeting our new little one (due in a month) and all that lies ahead in 2014!

thanksgiving already?!

I can't believe it's that wonderful time of year again!  I always feel like I need an extra month just to prepare for the holidays and enjoy all the great times that this season brings.  Of course, I'm not getting an extra month, so we're just cramming in as much fun and festivity as our little family can handle.

With thanksgiving being next week, I'm off to the market to buy the necessary goodies.  We're enjoying a nice family celebration as usual, and everyone brings their specialty.  With my sweet tooth, I'm in charge of dessert.

I know I'd be in BIG trouble if I skipped the apple pie (I better share that recipe soon - it's REALLY good) so it stays.  But, this year I think I'll be swapping the good ol' pumpkin pie for a lemon meringue.  Our family just isn't crazy about pumpkin pie and my meyer lemon tree has SO many ripe lemons right now, it just feels like the right thing to do.

Plus, I've got my grandma's lemon meringue pie recipe that just can't be beat.

Here are the delicious directions:

for the lemon filling:

10 tablespoons cornstarch

4 cups water

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 egg yolks (whites reserved for the meringue)

4 tablespoons butter

10 tablespoons lemon juice (I usually use 4 large lemons)

 4 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1. In a saucepan whisk together cornstarch, sugar and salt.  Gradually add 1 cup water and heat until smooth

2. Stir in lemon juice, zest, and remaining water.

3. Stir often until mixture come to a boil.

4. Stir in butter.

5. Beat yolks and gradually add in 1/2 cup of the hot sugar mixture.

6. THEN add eggs to the mixture.

7.Whisk egg yolk mixture back into sugar mixture.

8. Bring to a boil and continue to stir constantly until thick.

9. Remove from heat, cool and add mixture into baked shell.

for the meringue:

1. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until stiff. 

2. Add 6 tablespoons of sugar.  

3. Place on pie (swirl it around with the back of a spoon to make decorative peaks and valleys).  

Bake at  325* for 10 or so minutes until meringue is golden on tips.

ENJOY!

happy halloween

We've been counting down the days...
it's finally halloween!

We've visited the pumpkin patch,

 

found the perfect pumpkin,

 and made a few new friends along the way.

Now it's time to debut the perfect costumes (the banana's behind the camera),

 and get us some CANDY (just what a 2 year old needs)!

I hope everyone has a fun filled halloween!

pumpkin practice

 We've had a warm October here in California (as usual), so we're not quite ready to carve our pumpkins yet.  But that doesn't mean we're not practicing and planning our perfect jack o' lantern face every day!

I found these really inexpensive wood pumpkins at Michaels, painted them with a batch of homemade chalkboard paint (recipe below), and we've been practicing our decorating ever since.

All you need to make your own chalkboard paint is:

• latex paint (any color, any finish)
• unsanded grout

Mix one Tablespoon of grout for each 1/2 cup of paint (you don't need to be exact).  Simply mix the ingredients together until the big lumps are gone and get painting.  Two coats should work just fine.

it's a . . .

GIRL!

We spent the WHOLE weekend celebrating!  Saturday it was all about Carson. We celebrated with an afternoon picnic (details to come). 

And Sunday it was all about the newest member of our growing family.  One of my very best friends threw us an amazing gender reveal party.  She planned every detail perfectly and we couldn't have been happier and more surprised.  It was well documented too (since she's a pro-photographer).  I've shared lots of her photos, but I can't say enough great things about her work, so check it out!  I'm sure I'll have more great party photos to share soon.

I've been on cloud 9 all day and I'm sure I will be all week.  It's so exciting to share such amazing moments with friends and family.  This will be one lucky little lady!

it's starting to feel a little spooky around here.

Life is busy, busy, busy as usual.

We're in the midst of prepping for a big Birthday party (Carson's #2) and a gender reveal party this weekend (for baby #2)!  Much more to come on those festivities...

But, we can't let October pass without some spooky fall crafts.

This project was quick, easy and perfect for a toddler.

All you need are:

• a few styrofoam balls of any size
• a paint pen (I used black and Carson chose red and yellow)
• small eye hooks 
• cheese cloth (we found it at the 99 cent store!).

Just draw eyes with your paint pen
(and if you're 2 and that's not enough, add whatever else you'd like).

 Then cover with cheese cloth (we used two layers per ghost) and screw in the eye hook.

 Now we've got a whole lineup of ghosts in our front room!

 And a few more watching over the front porch.

Carson even has a very special "Trojan triceratops ghost" watching over his bedroom (he's proving to be a very dedicated USC fan despite the rocky football season).

Happy Haunting!

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!