dinner : inspired

Am always eager to try new recipes that are both simple and scrumptious. Let me tell you, I have high standards when it comes to both categories, so finding dishes that truly fit the bill is quite a delight. While home visiting last weekend, I swiped my mom's December Real Simple for a little eye candy on our drive home. I flipped to this Cuban Braised Beef recipe yesterday and flipped my crock pot on this morning. Tonight our tastebuds gave this quickie dish rave reviews. In fact, 5 stars, to be exact. Con mucho gusto, am adding it to my permanent recipe records. So if you're feeling a little pressed for time between now and Dec. 25, give this a try. I highly recommend. And its red+green color scheme is a little pre-Christmas bonus. :)

family photos

Last weekend, we headed to the great outdoors for a few quick family photos. Hard to believe we were worried about it getting too dark at 4pm! Winter, grrr. But lucky us the lighting turned out perfect and it wasn't too cold to plant Mr. G. in the grass for 15 minutes. I love an easy peasy photo shoot. The tricky part will be narrowing it down for our Christmas cards! Here's a sneak peak:By the way, I've been lazy...Graham is 7 1/2 months already and I haven't shared any pics of him or highlighted his big milestones. And so far it's been a big month for this big baby boy...
These days, he's:
*Sleeping through the night (for 2 straight weeks!) Hoping this time it's for real. If so, it would be nothing short of a pre-Christmas miracle.
*Rocking the solids and has the proper poos to prove it. (We are still loving our baby-led weaning and cloth dipes!)
*Lunging forward and getting up on all 4s. I am so not ready to childproof. Am crossing my fingers that the crawling will wait 'til after the Christmas tree comes down.
*Saying "dadadadadadadadadaa." It's the best thing yet. But I must admit, I am green with envy and find myself responding "mamamama" every chance I get. :) Our sweet little bean has finally added a word to his growling and spitting repertoire!We are heading to my parents' tomorrow for a big turkey bash. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Will be back on Friday to share my latest Christmas craft.

diy button ponytail holder

This little craft is a one minute wonder!! I'm not even kidding, from start--to finish--to snug in your pretty locks, this is a true quickie. Now that I am back at work and barely finding enough time to keep the floors clean and the socks folded, I am embracing instant crafts like this. Plus, not a day goes by without my hair winding up in a pony. Imagine that! Now I can sport my usual 'do with a bit of flair.
Ready, get set, go:
1. Gather up your goodies: you'll need a small scrap of your favorite fabric, an elastic ponytail holder and a metal button covering kit (any size will do--I chose a 1" diameter)
2. Following your kit instructions, trim fabric to size, place over button, press, and ta-da! You've created your custom look.3. Take your pony holder and loop+swoop it through the eye of the button. I found that using an old pony with over-stretched elastic was the perfect trick to easily advance it through the button. Of course your results will depend on the size of buttons and elastics you use, but you get the idea!
4. Admire your darling finished product, tie back your hair, and go greet the day!

a toy for the boy

'Tis the season for holiday list making and gift giving. We're attempting to stick to a slim budget this year, but want to invest in one nice toy for Mr. G. Since he'll be right around the standing age come Dec. 25, I would love for him to have a little walker. This one is awesome because it has a wagon and seat so he can cart around his favorite little stuffed friends.

All of the early bird shopping this year really prompted Jeff and I to have a conversation about being mindful of the toys we bring into our home over the years. In an age of consumerism and a nation of abundance (despite the recession, wouldn't you say that we're still doing pretty well for ourselves?) it's easy to get swept up in crazy Christmas spending and blur the lines between wants and needs. Of course we want to give generously to Graham, and in so doing, nurture a spirit of generosity and gratefulness in him, but I digress. Instead of quantity, we want to try to choose quality toys. Things that are great quality and can withstand years of bangs and busyness. Things that he can learn to value and take care of (and not throw away). Things that a Grandpa Graham could reuse and share with his grandkids. We want to get back to the basics and invest in toys that are simple, solid, and natural. Things that will spark his curiosity and challenge his big imagination. By the way, I LOVE the fact that wooden toys are making a comeback!

digging this ukulele...

Train - Hey, Soul Sister (Official Music Video) -

Am pretty much obsessed with this song right now. It's making me very happy on a gloomy weekend. :)
{and nm the little commercial at the beginning...sorry.}

to the great up north

Am finally getting around to sharing pics from our mini vacation to the great up north a few weekends ago. One of Jeff's lifelong friends tied the knot in a beautiful outdoor wedding on the shores of Lake Superior. If you know Minnesota, you know that weather-wise, Late October can be a dicey/blizzarding time of year at this latitude. In Two Harbors, the leaves had already fallen and there was a chance of snow in the forecast all weekend. Lucky lucky, the day turned out to be a crisp 40 degrees and sunshiny--am just thankful I didn't have to sport a sleeveless gown like the bride + bridesmaids! This was our first wedding this year without the pressure of playing photographer so we really kicked back and enjoyed it!!
We kicked the day off by bundling up and taking a trip to see Split Rock Lighthouse. We were a little bummed that the lighthouse itself is closed for tours in the off season--so instead we took a little hike down to the beach to get some great panoramic views. Man, what a scenic place!

And no trip to Northern Minnesota is complete without a trip to Betty's.
Seriously, her pie is legendary.
We stopped there for brunch, for a chance to warm up, and for this slice of mouthwatering raspberry rhubarb pie: Even G got a taste of its gooey goodness!

falling back

The end of Daylight Savings is perhaps one of my favorite days on the calendar. It ranks right up there with Christmas and birthdays--because for one day a year there truly are enough hours in the day. An extra hour for sleeping in, crossing off one more thing on your to-do list, or to get to where you are going. How did you spend your extra hour today?

I am sinking my spare hour into my poor, neglected blog. I'm plopped down, cozy on the couch, watching G monkey around on the floor, inching his way closer to crawling. :) October was absolutely nuts around here and I am long overdue for sharing a few good posts!

I started my new Peds ICU job 3 weeks ago. So far, so good--it feels great to get back to the nurse world, but at the same time, it's been pretty heartbreaking to be away from G. I will just be working part-time, but even that seems like too much! Right now there's just so much to get used to: commuting, pumping, juggling two schedules, and still keeping up with the rest of the world. We are so blessed that Jeff can have a flexible schedule between a restaurant job and the photo biz. We are doing our best to work opposite schedules to keep G out of daycare and home with one of us. Am hoping we don't burn out and that we can squeeze in quality time for our threesome from week to week.

And speaking of the photo biz, we are in awe of how well things are picking up, having done little to no marketing. We've had about as many photo shots as we can handle already! God is so good! In the last month, Jeff did 2 engagement sessions, 2 kiddos, 1 senior, + 1 wedding. I have been able to tag along and help out w/ all of the shoots. It has been so unbelievably fun! We're just getting caught up w/ all of the editing and orders and we'll be updating Flickr and FB this week, so stay tuned for some peeks. :)

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! I think we wore the chicken out with all of the festivities. Just can't resist sharing: