Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Apple Pie & the March Girls!

*
"Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life becomes a beautiful success, in spite of poverty."
~One of Marmee's life lessons to her girls.


today, beckham asked, "mommy, why does daddy go to work? Is it to buy me a house, and food, and toys?!"

ha. yes, he learned that answer from us, minus the toy part which was added by peyton when she used to ask us that same question. it just stuck. we loved it. we laugh when he says it and assure him that yes, daddy works hard to provide for us the things we need.

at some point, it dawned on me to start teaching the kids about other people that may not have as much as we do. i say that some children don't have the things they need to eat or to keep warm. i am always met with big eyes and many, many questions. i am always at the crossroads of Teaching Them Things about the World and How Much Should I Share with a Three & Five Year Old?

so we try to live our lives doing our small part to help people in need. we could do better.
***

i watched little women recently. oh, how i long to live in a time that in a lot of ways was much simpler than it is now. a time of hard work and honest living, simplicity, and family values. a time when collecting wildflowers in a nearby meadow was a pastime enjoyed by women and children. a time when picnics and afternoon tea was the entertainment and not the television. when a stolen kiss between young love was the big gossip. a piano and a family full of voices was the 'radio.'

Petticoats, bonnets, crumpets...oh my!

I am sure i am romanticizing this period, as i only know what i know through a few movies and books i love and adore...
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i went a little crazy on the images, but i was having fun finding them.

a couple of weeks ago we went to our friend's lake house near jackson, mi. they have worked so hard and just a
couple of weeks after finishing the renovation of their little beloved cottage on the lake, they invited us to share it with them.

they gave us the grand tour, taking us to a famous ice cream parlour and a michigan vineyard. but one of my favorite
places was a farm called, meckley's flavor fruit farm.

i have many photos to post of that lovely weekend with tony & jenn, but first, the little town they stay in that reminds me
of these movies and stories. no, there aren't horse and buggies or women with parasol in hand but there are some
qualities that i admire and long my children to be a part of more and more. there is something about having babies that
makes me want to ditch the city and envelope them in a big field of horses. ha. that cracked me up a little.

homemade pies and freshly baked goods. little towns where people are full of pride for their homes. neighbors that
know and speak to their neighbors. elderly couples sit on their porches and smile at the people on the street.

where little bonfires sprinkled the lake and little italian grandmothers prepare too much delicious food (okay, tony's mom did spoil us a bit),
and a where an early morning jaunt to the fruit farm rewarded our senses with fresh donuts and coffee!

i wish i could share this place with you. when you walk in, sugar and flour, pepperoni, and cinnamon. coffee and warmth
consume you. i felt drugged at the charming barn-like building we were standing it. eye-candy everywhere. i snapped away
not noticing the good people of the town trying to enjoy their cup of joe, but when i noticed some
people looking, i smiled as if saying 'thank you for sharing your place with an outsider like me.' they would
smile back and when the shop owner looked at us, i think i saw the pride on his face as we asked if he
minded that we take pictures of sweet, eighty year-old store.
i am currently intoxicated with small town life and these damn donuts. I think i stopped eating donuts except on special
occasions before i graduated college, but donuts are back in my life...at least when i make my visits to this place.

penny candy buried in original bins and homemade goods hung from the walls.

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the pies. oh the pies were divine. there were so many of them and we were told that they would sell out before the afternoon...
can you imagine? i had a bite of a berry pie and it was...heavenly. butter & flour therapy.
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and for good measure, they threw in some baby animals that we could feed out of an ice cream cone.
hello, a little heaven on earth here in michigan. we have isle of capri in florida and meckley's in michigan among others.
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I URGE you to drive one hour in any direction of your home and find your capri or fruit farm. i know you will find something you love and
you will want to share it with family and friends. in my case, it's the feeling of this little place that i am attracted to. i'm sure we'll only visit
it once a year, but it's something to look forward to. a feeling that recharges who we are or what we want from this precious life. ramble
ending soon, promise!

okay, so non-stop obsessing over baked goods got me itching to make something homemade and new...for me. i didn't have my mom's
crust recipe, so we did it a little healthier and did a graham cracker topping instead. not as good, because there is nothing better than that
buttery and salty flaky crust...but this was still a treat and hopefully didn't contribute as badly to my waistline.

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Elaina's Fresh Apple Crumble

*preheat 425 degrees

you will need:
I/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (i crumbed my own in a ziploc bag with a glass cup)
juice from half a lemon (soften the lemon by rolling it on the countertop first)
3 pounds or about 7 cups of thinly sliced apple slices. I used granny smith, but macintosh apples are the kind that i prefer most.
3 (or 5) tablespoons of cold butter cut into half inch slices
3 teaspoons of cinnamon, divided. (sprinkle to taste. I used more than perhaps I should have but i think it needed it as the apples were really
tart. the same rule applies for the sugar.
1/8 of teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided.
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup of granulated sugar ( you can use splenda, about 1/3 cup) again, i used more sugar than i wanted, but my apples were really tart. be sure you
taste your apples. remember, you may serve it with vanilla ice cream which will add some sweetness as well.
8 tablespoons of rolled oats and not the instant version.

In a large bowl, mix the oats, a 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of flour (optional), and
one teaspoon of the cinnamon. CUT in the butter using a pastry blender or by using two butter knives to 'cut' or mix it together causing it
to look like like little crumbles.

in a large bowl, toss the apples with the remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour, the remaining cinnamon, nutmeg, and the lemon juice. let
the apples macerate (sweat) the mixture for about fifteen minutes so the juices are pulled from the apples a bit.

pour mixture into buttered dish, put topping on top, randomly put butter slices on the top, put in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes...or longer.
it took mine about 40 minutes.
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i baked it until the top was golden brown and crunchy. i served it warm with vanilla bean ice cream. even the hubby liked it and he's
not really into dessert.

peyton and beckham were my little helpers and they did a fab job of cutting the butter in and smashing the graham crackers.
elaina, my sister, did the real job of slicing the apples. i got off easy running after the kids and trying to make them lunch...whew.
baking is not easy to do while trying to run a household. i kinda suck at it, so i was super happy with the help. bottom line:
if your doing this with fresh apples, do it with a friend and give her half of it when it's finished. more fun and easier this way.

***
jeff and sito took peyton and beckham to their first detroit tiger's game!!!
i can't believe my babies are so big. what amazing little souls i have for kids.
they remind me everyday to take time out and enjoy the day.
like really enjoy it. facials one minute in peyton's spa and rocket ship rides the next with becks.
hello, rocket ship rides! how amazing children are!
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thank you for giving me time to work sito and daddy! XOXO
XOXOXO
next post, a giveaway!!!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

freedom & procrastination are best friends. didn't you know?


hi·ber·nate

[hi-ber-neyt]
–verb (used without object), -nat·ed, -nat·ing.
1.
Zoology . to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormantcondition, as bears and certain otheanimals.
2.
to withdraw or be in seclusion; retire.
3.
to winter in a place with a milder climate: Each winter finds us hibernating in Florida.

*dictionary.com

i have been in my version of hibernation this past week. a few my close friends can figure this out on their own by a few subtle clues, or one...i lay low. very low. kelle will call, "are in caving it out? Hmmm, i thought so. me too."

we all do it. today my friend jenn told me that all she has wanted to do in the last week was try new recipes and maybe throw in a workout or two. i get it. it's our way of staying sane. no guilt. just family and hobby's. hibernation. heidi style.

i think it's a subconscious decision. one that i don't know is happening until a few days in or when i decide to stick my head out of my cave and consider dipping my toes in the water of my regular routine of life.

it's not a sadness thing. i mean it can be but it wasn't this week. this week, i enjoyed my being 'a little lazy.' i slept in longer than i usually do, meaning the kids ate granola bars for breakfast a couple of times but they don't mind that. those chocolate covered granola and oat rectangular bars of goodness make them quite happy.

on the weekends, my wonderful in-laws love them up and have had them fed and out for a morning walk before my feet touch the wood floors. by 9, the kids are resting and beckham's eyes are heavy again.

i'm enveloped in comfort and i have been content to work for a few hours a day and then do something fun with the kids or visit with my mom or one of my four sisters. little evie is pretty much in love with becks. it's so sweet.
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our days have been filled with practice 'homework' for peyton (kinder coming up. we are practicing our sounds, letter recognition, listening for direction).

we have finally watched toy story's 1 and 2, and jeff took the kids to see 3. my brother-in-law cried at the 3rd one and we wanted to know what that was about. ha.

we've had days that we are slammed busy and others that we aren't. it's been great.

it feels so free to let go sometime that i think everyone should do it! i was looking for a some wonderful, inspiring quote to go along with my 'feeling free' post. i didn't look long and decided i wasn't going to post any that popped up after i did a google search.

so instead of some warm and fuzzy feel good poetic verse of chicken soup for the soul, i give you...entertainment instead. hey, freedom and intellectual entertainment is close enough. ha.

~josh mcDowell


~angelina jolie

so, in fighting the feeling of being overwhelmed, i decided to start with little things to get my post start flowing, things like...

*i sat down and powered on my mac.
*i stared at my mac.
*i edited a few photos from a session that i need to have done in a few says.
*i took a break and ate graham crackers and whipped cream (it's a weight watchers snack my friend told me about. only 4 points i hear;)
*i sat back in front of my mac.
*i got up to break up a little-weight match between the beckham (little brother coming into his own) and big sister (getting what's been coming to her since big brother was born) ha. no, it's more like ear-piercing screams and two bodies running around after one another. it's never ending these days.
*logged into blogger. yes, first step. then, logged into to facebook and changed my profile pic. I mean seriously, i change that thing once every 6-9 months but apparently i thought it couldn't wait one more day.
* logged into itunes and made a list of songs i want for my blog post.
*logged into this little bit of website heaven. because by this time i needed to be thinking about dinner.
*went to the bathroom, talked to my sister on the phone three times about what i was making for dinner.
*did a load of laundry, played cards with beckham, hair salon with peyton, sat back down, edited, put out another match-peyton won that one, made a call, did my nails, curled my hair, tried out my new mascara, googled red havaiana's for little girls. i didn't find red ones, but i did find these super cute flops, but of course i didn't buy them. twenty bucks seemed like a lot to spend on flips for a little girl even if they are thee most comfortable flip flop under fifty bucks.
*beckham saw sat on my lap, saw me online shopping and asked for superman 'flips' too.
do you know that they have them??!!! i was shocked. i didnt' buy them, but they're on my list for his birthday providing he's ready to keep them on his feet by then.

okay, you get the point, i'm at the crossroads of procrastination & laziness (i mean freedom;). hey, but it feels good to let go.

i know we all need a break sometime. most times we pressure ourselves to move forward, ignoring that need to free ourselves from the monotony of our everyday lives.

it's fun to ignore obligations sometimes. it's fun to sip our coffee and look out the window instead of chugging it down and rushing out the door. it's good to stay in our pj's until noon. it's a good thing to be selfish...once in a while. do it. I'm not talking about naked streaking down your street. no, that's a little too free and although your neighbors would probably enjoy the show...you'd hate yourself in the morning. lol!

i've missed you though and although i have lots to catch you up on, this was the first folder i grabbed. jeff's birthday was last week and we celebrated daddy with a phenom dinner and an after party with tunes by michael jackson and dance stylings by beckham d.

happy birthday, daddy! we love you lots.

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okay. mama busted a move too!
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thanks for the pics, auntie hi-o!

but before all of this, we made the cake...
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and mommy wanted to make it really special, so she tried a new frosting recipe. it looked easy enough...
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*note: ghiradelli chocolate won taste awards and is highly recommended for use in baking. i second that. can i get an amen? it is divine.

BUT, we all know that baking isn't my strong suit, nor is making frosting. I made a critical error by adding the one cup of cream to the
pan after the chocolate had melted. my sister said i should have taken the choc off of of the heat and then slowly added the cream.

i didn't listen to her and this is what we got...
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it would't stiffen up but it was soooooo good. my sister told me to throw it away. WHAT? i don't think so.
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then, we made an app of grapes, herbed gournay cheese(kids LOVE this cheese with wheat thins), white prosciutto, firm and seedless red grapes,
imported olive oil, and multi-grain
baguette. all from costco and the easiest, quickest way to ease hunger rumbles before the main course!
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then, sito and i prepared the lobster tails which we had never done before. i was freaked out and the kids were amused. we don't eat a lot
of lobster around here and when we do encounter it, we like to have fun with them.
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they were so good. linnie cooked them prefectly and then we buttered and lemoned them up. it was a great treat!

and then, some little girls collapse on the kitchen floor out of pure exhaustion and then mama grabs her first chance of the day to
capture her little angelic baby face without the threat of escape. she's kind of at that age.

what is it about watching your babies sleep that catapult you back to day one? when staring at your baby was a favorite past time.
i feel like i know every single line in her lips, freckle on her face, and lash on her eyes. my beautiful girl. love these kids so much it hurts.
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***

and then there are the days when we don't know what to do with a perfect summer's night and a simple walk won't cut it...

we have some family over and we break out a bushes beans can, fill it with some grocery store grade fireworks and continue to
squeeze every last bit of family out of our trip home.
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and speaking of family...
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nothing like a photo shoot to make a mama wanting the perfect family picture to hang on her wall...rock it out like never before. evie wanted
no part of sitting still for even one photo, but when you're that cute...it just works!
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much, much love & hoping you are enjoying fun ways to spend these warm evenings with the people you love. i'm off to work on the
next blog post, because girlfriend has an overload of photos and recipes.

xoxoxo