Macaroni Muffin Sunday

Sunday morning started slowly and in the kitchen on this fine morning, I finally found the perfect bran muffin recipe! Thank you Rachel for introducing me to the wonder of Smitten Kitchen. Try this recipe. Like quickly. I mean seriously, muffins that are good for the body? I am in.

The day was quiet and hot. So I did loads and loads of laundry, hung twinkle lights in the backyard and tried to organize the garage for the fifty millionth time in an effort to find my buried Halloween decorations.

Found em'!

After that dirty mess, I decided to indulge Ryan's request for homemade macaroni and cheese... How could I decline? I love him and pasta and cheese. A lot.



Discovering my food processor's ability to grade (or is it grate?) breadcrumbs and over 18 ounces of hard cheese lickety split? Priceless.




Is there a better smell than that of whole fat dairy and nutty Gruyere cheese melting together? Doubt it.

I even managed to dirty nearly every pot and pan in the process. But its cool. Worth it.

The end result was cheesy and cozy and would have been perfect had the temperature outside been, oh, say, thirty degrees cooler.

But that's ok, the batch was HUGE and there is a frozen version waiting in the freezer for a chilly, rainy Sunday...

...can't wait.

P.S. Isn't it funny that all my blog posts are about events that occur on the weekends...I guess my weekday life is pretty boring ordinary. As in "the grind" ordinary.

A pumpkin for you, and a pumpkin for me.

How rare it is to find myself in Napa on a Saturday, with my Darling in the car, and two hours to burn....ahhhh.

We immediately decided on an iced mocha and a country drive...

The evening hours found us at Casa de Serf.Erika.Ever for a dinner party. Remember this lil' fella?

After hugs and kisses, we played with trucks and sidewalk chalk. We had a group jam session. We talked about our trip to Yosemite and began planning a new adventures. We listened to Serf's demo and nearly died at his talent. We discussed how to wear boots with skirts. We admired Erika's new bangs and Ever's longer limbs.

Oh how I had missed this sweet face...And Ever smiles for pictures now-how grown up!

*Photo credit to Ever, who took the first two pictures on the left - me likey!


Dinner was magnificent...white wine, poached salmon, summer corn salad, crab cakes, rice, green salad and carrots. And we all ate at the table, in one big circle. Ever fed me carrots. What a treat...

After supper, we hit the sidewalk for a long walk and it was heavenly. I am convinced that nothing beats a walk after a meal, especially when a huge, golden moon lights your path.

*My apologies for the horrible nighttime photos...someday I will learn how to take pictures in darkness. And for the record, Serf just may be my favorite poser EVER.

We ended the night with coffee, icee treats and story time. And as I sat next to Ever and his big boy bed and read to him, I thought about when his mama and I changed his diaper when he just a day old and giggled at his skinny little birdie legs. His legs are long and sturdy now...so different than they once were. The entire night just warmed my heart.

But my favorite part of the evening? Erika and I had both bought mini pumpkins to give to one another as gifts. I got a pale orange stripey pumpkin and they got a white one.

Is that cosmic or what?

Godparents

On a sunny September day, a little boy named Logan asked his nearest and dearest to gather in the garden as his godparents were officially appointed...

He planned and decorated...

And carefully thought about his outfit.

His loyal parents were so proud...

And so were his Tantes - all four of them!

A special day for Lisa - little Logan's Dinha.




Little Logan put on his best party face and survived being passed and bounced around by all who love him...and nary a whimper escaped from those sweet lips.

His mama is very good at drawing a smile from the dear boy... she has the same effect on me.

And AJ got to work shoving rocks in his pockets. I have a rock collection too, AJ!

Four generations of Cabral... or, errrrr... Caldbral.

...ending with a little baby boy who we all love so very much.

Little Logan's smile grew and grew when his Godfather arrived-glee, nothing but glee to see his Pining's face... melted my heart.

Little Logan's parents read a lovely speech as we all looked on, remarking on the love in the air, noting the importance of family, and thinking with mixed emotions about how very fleeting "time" is. And of course, I cried. Because I cry at every Caldbral event. Especially when it involves a "right of passage". While I cried, Emily tried on little Logan's bib.

Uncle Joe picked me a fresh fig from their tree...Don't mind if I do!

And of course, the food was as delicious as little Logan is perfect...

And then, we took a shot in little Logan's honor as he looked on with a confused and disapproving look on his face... "Cheers! To Logan!" we shouted.

While I can be counted on to love Little Logan for the rest of my days, Jagermeister will never find a place in my heart.

And my dear Dinha...one of the kindest, most loving women I know. She cares about everyone who crosses her path...

Especially her little Logan...

And all her pumpkins.

What a wonderful family she and my Uncle Joe have cultivated...

And how lucky I am to be a pumpkin in her garden.

Here is to little Logan...a very little boy with a very big heart. We love you and can't wait to watch you grow little one!

Sunday Funday

Last Sunday, the Abernethy family, plus G-ma, came to Casa de Kelly for taco party!

We gave a home tour (all 900 sq. feet!), played in the backyard, watched football, and Mama taught me how to make her world famous taco shells. Well actually, she just did the work for me. Sweet gal.

While Rachel chopped tomatoes, Emily looked after crazy kitty, mom plucked cilantro, Ryan manned the BBQ, Dad trimmed the Oleander, and I scurried about as we chatted in my retro kitchen about antiques and floor plans, cast iron pans and cakes, babies and football. It was glorious. And I giggled a lot.

We ate in the mancave, Emily and Rachel performed a Vanilla Ice song (because they are cool like that-should I share the video ladies?) and then we played a mean game of family big ball-my k-9 niece Annie even scored a spot on the team!

Then we had dessert.

As we stood on the stoop, waving goodbye, Ryan said, "your family is fun". I nodded in agreement, as a satisfied smile crept over my face. And then I kissed him.

love note

This is what I found in my car this morning.


My man had etch-a-sketched a sweet little message in big block letters.


It made my morning.


I wonder how long it took him...?


Swooooon.

28 days...

That is how long we lasted without cable.

Perhaps you remember this post? I was so ambitious. And so very wrong.



Life without cable is rough. Especially when football season and Brothers and Sisters is scheduled to return.



After realizing how much we were spending at Blockbuster, I threw myself down to the ground in a fit and told Ryan that I just couldn't bear another day without cable. He said that I acting like a five year old and smiled. Most of the time Ryan finds my antics and drama amusing: which is reason number 541 why I married him. I think he may have missed cable just a smidgen too



A call to Dish Network was made and within ten hours, I was flipping through the channels with my feet on the coffee table and a giant grin on my face.

Crawfish Boil

Saturday morning, the boys headed to Iselton to pack 12 pounds of crawdads into a coffin ice chest with big plans in their heads for a feast in the evening...

Jimmy had been talking about a craw fish boil for weeks and we were very excited to be a part of it...

In true southern fashion, we hung on the driveway, watching the fish and corn boil and talked about summer's end and fish. I considered adopting a Georgian accent for the night, just to fit in with the party's theme, but didn't want to the weird one in the group. Which I most often am.

Those little suckers were chill and calm in their ice chest, but as they were being moved to the boiler, panic in their little community ensued...I thought they had quickly realized their fate, but then Jimmy told me that actually the ice had put them in a comatose state. Good to know. I quickly put the thought of squirming crustaceans out of my head and instead began dreaming of cocktail sauce...




The presentation of the feast really knocked my socks off: newspaper for a tablecloth, a roll of paper towels and one ginormous pile of southern boiled goodness...we quickly went to town. I was sure that we wouldn't even begin to make a dent in the pile of goodness...but the boys took it very seriously and soon the pile began to look a bit more like a scatter of goodness.

By the end of the night, our tummies were full and our fingers were sore from all that craw fish crackin'...

But our smiles were large...

Thanks to the Wedick's for a perfect Southern Saturday!

It is here...

Summer's end. Fall's beginning.


What better way to celebrate than with homemade salsa, courtesy of tomatoes from Casa de Awesome, and taco salad...





We headed to the back yard to soak up the sunset - it was a special sunset, as if the clouds and sun knew that this night was a night to celebrate change. Fall may have been hours away...but a little game of big ball seemed like a good way to toast to a good summer.





Our celebration ended with milkshakes and over slurps and milky mustaches, we talked about what a busy and fun-filled summer it had been - a wedding, a honeymoon and a big move. I am tired just talking about it. A good summer indeed...one that I will never forget.

But this girl is always ready for fall...

Leaves outside = leaves inside.

And time for boots and booties...




...corduroy, leather and scarves...




...PUMPKINS...




And warm, cozy comfort food. I am dreaming of all the recipes that we will experiment with in this pot...





Kitty looks ready to pack up and head somewhere tropical-she isn't so sure about the changing of the seasons...





But I am. And the harvest moon was calling to me last night. It whispered: "I am back." And I politely replied: "Hello, old friend. I have been waiting."




Happy Autumnal Equinox, dear readers.



Do tell...what is your favorite part of Fall?



P.S. After spending 45 minutes in the store, trying to decide, I bought both-booties and boots. However, back to school shopping mandates only one new pair of kicks per person-which pair should I choose??? Any thoughts on the matter?

78 years of special.

Papa had a birthday. And we love him.

And in this family, no birthday passes without a celebration for those we love.

Welcome to Casa de Abuelos:





When I walk into Papa and Grandma's house, the first thing that hits me is pure nostalgia and the memory of many Christmas' past. The second thing that hits me? The smell. It is the cleanest smell I know. A combination of Clorox, clothes dried in the sun, with a hint of sweetness. I love it.


But even better than the smell, is the people that make this house turn into a party house. Tantes (aunts), uncles, cousins, parents, sisters and grandparents. It makes me all tingly inside just thinking about it and blows my mind that this very same combination of people never gets old. Ever since I can remember, these same faces have gathered around the table for birthdays and holidays and good banter and lots of laughs just continue to flow.


And Papa. Dear Papa. Never was there a wiser or more selfless gentleman. He has so much history (fitting for a former history teacher) in his bones: he has been all over the world, has fought in a war, delivered a baby, suffered loss, has mastered spaghetti sauce, can groove and is such a skilled craftsman.



And one of his best accomplishments: he loves my grandma fiercely.






So to celebrate 78 years of Papa, we ate pizza on the patio accompanied by salad (Grandma's salads are something to write home about) and fresh tomatoes from their garden.

As for desssert? We had ice cream. Why? Because it's Papa's favorite.


Happy, happy Birthday Papa. I love you so.

Under the Freeway - Part III

Here we are yet again...

But this time, these two besties were the stars of the show! They had their very own booth at the Sacramento Antique Flea Market-wow! Famous!

I felt so proud when I stumbled upon their booth. IT WAS DARLING!! I knew there would be some treasures, but I wasn't expecting it to be all that it was. I should have known better...these two have such great style and are so talented.

And look at all their items...

Even their price tags were adorable! And I am so crazy for succulents right now...

Talk about eye candy...

I even walked away with that precious little sour cream cookbook, a beautiful cake plate and some cardboard beer mug decorations...they look perfect in Ryan's man cave. Muchas gracias, chicas!

Such a wonderful thing it is to turn something you love into a way to make a few dollars.

Bravo, ladies!