musical carseats

sully and tagg's favorite trick is to switch carseats. they think they are hilarious.

friends thanksgiving

my friends and i thought it would be fun to get together and do our own little thanksgiving. most of us have family here, in seattle, so we don't get the chance to put on a thanksgiving meal all by ourselves.

i volunteered to cook the turkey. and after some minor panic attacks (had NO idea the bird was supposed to thaw in the fridge for THREE days prior to the meal) and a couple meltdowns.....

i had my first thanksgiving turkey. i was just a little proud. (i may or may not have made craig go over the greatness of the turkey while we laid in bed last nite....)

wonderful friends, the moultons and the hefferons.

always up for a party, the thompsons sported the great turkey hats emily had made. tagg was feeling festive too.

it was such a fun nite. great food and great friends.

acorn garland

i was lacking some thanksgiving-ish decor in my family room so i made this little acorn garland. i am basically doing anything to delay putting up my christmas decorations (i can't wait!). hopefully this holiday-appropriate garland will hold me over until i can deck the halls.

pop's chili

my grandma put together a cookbook several years ago that holds all of our favorite recipes. the best part of the cookbook is the anecdotes she put before each recipe explaining fond memories associated with it. a couple of years ago, i came across this recipe for chili. my grandma explained that my grandpa, Pop, had clipped the recipe out of a magazine because he thought it sounded delicious. and it is delicious. during the winter, i make it for my family at least once a week. it has the perfect balance of spice and sweetness. kind of like my Pop, who passed away last week. this chili will always be pop's chili.

pop's chili

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

2 16 ounce cans bush's best chili beans

1 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes

1 6 ounce can tomato paste

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 heaping tablespoon chili powder

1 heaping teaspoon sugar

shredded medium cheddar cheese

sour cream

chopped green onions

in a large pan, cook beef and onion until meat is browned. drain any excess grease. stir in remaining ingredients. bring to boil. cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 25 minutes.

garnish with cheese, sour cream and green onions.

my cousin, tyler (who passed away from cancer 11 years ago) and pop. i am sad to lose loved ones but grateful for my faith that i will be together with them again.

halloween nite

we started off halloween nite like we always do, at the jones' for tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. then we wrestled tagg down to get a few family shots in before trick or treating.

the boys with momo and ga. (and yes, we realize how incredibly horrid those names are. but thats what tagg came up with. and it has stuck.)

tagg was so excited to go trick or treating with his friends. it was so cute to watch him try to keep up with the big kids. he had a fantastic time.

sully watched from the comfort of his stroller. it was a verrrrrry cold nite!

sully loved halloween.

tagg had a great time too! but don't worry, we are already discussing next year's costume......

cowboys and indians

it was really hard for me... but i put down the skeleton long johns (what my boys alllllllways wear for halloween) and ventured out into costume land. tagg chose his costume according to what weapon he would get to carry (pirate:sword, cowboy:gun). guns always win.

he was happy with his decision.

i found these legitimate cowboy boots at a local antique shop. they were only $12 and fit tagg perfectly. i love them.

by default, sully was the indian. i couldn't find a cute baby indian costume so i bought a pair of girls' pajamas from gap, turned them inside out and added the trimmings.

um. i told sully he was lucky he isn't a girl because i would make him wear things on his head more than just once a year. such a baby.

he chilled out long enough for me to get a cute little shot.

last nite, craig and i went to a halloween party. we don't usually dress up, but since it was a costume party i felt like we ought to. let me introduce you to steve jobs and his iphone.

happy halloween.

browned butter pumpkin cupcakes

i love any recipe that calls for browned butter. or pumpkin. or buttermilk. so when i found this recipe for browned butter pumpkin cake i was little excited. a quick cream cheese frosting tops off this perfect autumn treat.

browned butter pumpkin cake

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

3/4 cups butter

2 eggs

1/3 cup buttermilk

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cups packed brown sugar

preheat oven to 350 degrees. melt butter in saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until it is golden brown and has a nutty aroma (about 4 minutes). remove butter from heat and let cool. in a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. in a separate, larger, bowl mix together pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and buttermilk until well combined. stir the dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until just combined. then stir in the browned butter. bake cupcakes/cake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

cream cheese frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

about 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

about 1/4 cup whole milk

mix all ingredients together until smooth. add powdered sugar or milk to get desired consistency.