My sister-in-law Anne has been at it again. Her son is about to turn two years old, and she planned another extremely creative, themed children’s birthday party for family and close friends. We weren’t able to attend, but she sent photos, and I thought they were just too clever not to share. The theme was trucks and trains–“Choo-Choo I’m Two.”…
Archives for September 2018
Modern ‘Little Women’ Review
Nearly 140 years after the release of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and 70 years after the premiere of the original film comes a modern version of the timeless classic. Four sisters, each with separate dreams and aspirations, navigate adolescence and early adulthood. Through trials, triumphs, and tragedy, they strive to remain true to themselves and loyal to each other.
Little Women opens in theaters nationwide tomorrow, and I had the privilege of pre-screening it. The story is a heartwarming one and is sure to have you laughing and crying along with the sisters. Jo (Sarah Davenport) is the independent first-born who dreams of writing a best-seller. Meg (Melanie Stone) is the slightly misunderstood second-born who desperately wants to be a wife and mother. Beth (Allie Jennings) is a gentle soul whose love and support for her sisters never wavers. Amy (Elise Jones and Taylor Murphy), the youngest of the four and an artist from an early age, wants nothing more than to be seen as an equal by her three older sisters….
Fort Phantom Hill
While in Abilene, Texas, visiting friends, we stopped by a historical site called Fort Phantom Hill. The sun was just about to set on the Texas plains, and the lighting was perfect for photos.
The fort was built in 1851 out of necessity, to manage increasing hostility between settlers and Native Americans. (The area was called Phantom Hill because it seemed to disappear when approached from the nearby river.)
The Fort was only occupied for a few years before it was abandoned and burned in April 1854. Although the wood structures were destroyed, the stone structures provided shelter to various individuals over the next thirty years. …
Gender Reveal Cake
Have you heard the news? We’re having a boy! As promised in Tuesday’s post, this is the story of our secret gender reveal party, during which we cut into an “ordinary” chocolate cake that turned out to be a gender reveal cake.
When we first found out we were expecting, we enjoyed keeping the news to ourselves for three months before announcing to family and friends. From the start, I knew that I wanted to find out the gender of our baby at the 20-week ultrasound, and while Mr. Handsome liked the idea of waiting until the birth, he allowed me to choose….
Our Baby is a…
Ever since we announced our pregnancy, our blog readers (and our family and friends) have been eager to find out the gender of our baby. We didn’t do a gender reveal party, but we did have a small gathering with a few family members. It’s a bit of a funny story that I’ll share later this week. Until then, the secret is inside this decadent chocolate cake! Will our new addition be a he or a she? Watch the video below to find out….
Coffee-Free Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
‘Tis the season for pumpkin flavored everything! Have you ever tried a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks? They’re all the rage and quite delicious, but I’m not a fan of the high sugar content, so I decided to make my own version a couple evenings ago. Caffeine any later than about 4pm tends to keep me awake at night, so I came up with a pumpkin spice latte recipe (posted below) that doesn’t contain coffee. I know that means that it’s technically not a latte, but “pumpkin spice beverage” just didn’t sound right. I plan to post one with coffee very soon….
My New Cheese Slicer
A few of you have asked that I share some of my favorite products. I recently acquired a cheese slicer, and I love it. Mr. Handsome and I both really love cheese, and we go through a lot of it. We have a cheese knife, but it doesn’t work as advertised, so for the first three years of marriage, we just used a regular knife….
17 Years Since 9/11
When I woke up this morning, I immediately noticed the date on my phone. September 11, 2018. Seventeen years ago, September 11 started off as a normal day for the American people. We were in the first year of the George W. Bush administration and the second year of the new millennium. Summer was ending, fall was beginning. Just an average day.
But just before 9:00am, it became clear that it was far from just an average day. An airplane hijacked by hate-filled, Al-Qaeda militants slammed into the North Tower of New York City’s World Trade Center. For the American people, the rest of the morning was a blur….
Morning Sickness Remedies
Morning sickness is one of the most unpleasant side effects of pregnancy. Pregnant ladies experiences it for varying amounts of time and at different levels of intensity, and some are lucky enough to avoid it altogether. When I found out I was expecting, I was anticipating some morning sickness but was hoping that it would be light. Sadly, that didn’t happen.
From week six until about week 18, I had all-day morning sickness. The mornings and nights were the worst, and I often found myself canceling evening plans because I didn’t feel up to leaving the house. After I reached my second trimester, it slowly started to improve, and when I say slowly, I mean S-L-O-W-L-Y. At this point, I usually only feel sick in the mornings and evenings, and it isn’t as bad as it was, so I’m grateful. Every once in a while, I’ll have an especially bad day, but they aren’t as common as they were.
While I was in the thick of morning sickness and desperate for relief, I scoured the internet for natural remedies and tried a bunch of different ones. Now I know that not every remedy will work for every woman, but these literally became lifelines for me, so I thought I would share….
Prairie Dogs
A few weeks ago, Mr. Handsome and I ventured down to the massive state of Texas to visit some military friends who are stationed there temporarily. They live three hours west of Dallas in Abilene, and one thing we noticed was that the area is a lot more arid than we had expected. There were some small trees, but nothing the size of what we are accustomed to here. The temperatures were in the high 90s (around 38 degrees Celsius), which I have noticed is a lot more difficult to handle while pregnant. Abilene is a large town that has plenty of amenities, but it is as much in the middle of nowhere as it gets….