Lets Talk Turkey...

Or rather, lets not, since I don't plan to make a turkey (blasphemy I know).  But lets back just a bit...  This Thanksgiving, we will be hosting Seth's family- his mom, brother, sister in law, and 13 month old niece.  I am very excited to see my in laws and celebrate Ella's first Thanksgiving. 

But, like I said, I will not be making a turkey.  Simply, neither Seth nor I like turkey.  I find even  the best cooked turkey to be boring and I don't like boring when it comes to my food.

The only turkey we'll see on Thursday is the one on Ella's sweet bottom

So what will I be cooking?  So glad you asked...

Before dinner, I will have a few cheeses, some crackers, hummus, carrots and celery set our for munching.  I know one of the cheeses will be have to be goat cheese since Miss E seems to have a dairy sensitivity and I cannot say no to a cheese plate.

The star of the dinner will be a pork crown roast with a pecan apple stuffing.  We will also have braised kale, glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, spiced peaches if I can find them) and my mother in law's mashed taters.  I am sure my papa would be ashamed that I am skipping the picked watermelon rind...

And for dessert I will be making a pecan pie and an apple pie.

Most of these recipes are new to me, so there is always the chance that some dishes will fall flat.  However, I am pretty selective about choosing recipes, so I am hopeful that everything will turn out a-okay.  Plus everything seems pretty straight forward, so kitchen chaos should be minimal.  I'll be back sometime after the holiday with a full debrief.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

One of the many things I love about my husband is that he not only tolerates, but supports and encourages me to pick up things off the side of the road.  Imagine my delight when he came home with this ugly ass mirror...

He pulled it our a garbage can.  The things we do for love...  

Other than the light oak colored laminate and fake marble pieces (see below for picture), this baby had some real potential.  It is huge and has a nice shape to it.  I hoped a little spray paint could fix her right up.  But I was also knew there was the chance that no amount of spray paint could save this puppy.  Since the  mirror was free and spray paint is only $4 a can, I decided to go for it.

 

 Yes, those would be laminate counter top bits on top...  Oh my...

 

I started by wiping everything down really well and tapping newspaper over the actual mirror.  And then it was time for Valspar's metallic silver spray paint.

It only took a few coats to make this baby look good as new.  It even covered the laminate counter bits perfectly.  Having the frame in just one color (not two different types of laminate and metal) made a huge difference- it looks much more cohesive. 

And then it was time to hang it.  I forgot to take pictures of the mirror that was in this spot before, but don't worry it has a new home. 

I love that the mirror has similar detailing as the sideboard.  And  the scale of the mirror is much more appropriate based on how big the side board is.

Anyone else redeem a piece with some spray paint?

A Day

I love when bloggers do "a day in my life" posts.  Its so much fun to see how other people spend their days.  Before Ella, my day was so predictable and routine- wake up, hurry out the door, work, hurry home, go for a walk, make dinner, watch TV with Seth, go to bed.  Now, days are dramtically different, so I present a day...

5:30am- Ella is starting to bang around and its been 6 hours since her last feeding.  I get her up, change her diaper and feed her.  She eats pretty fast, but because she has reflux I need to hold her upright for a while before I can put her back to sleep.

6:30am- Ella is finally back to sleep, so I turn the light off and go back to sleep myself.

7:00am- Seth's alarm goes off.  He hits the sleep button until 7:30, when he gets up and goes for a run.

8:15am- I wake up.  Seth changes Ella's diaper and I feed her again.  We watch an episode of West Wing.

9:05am- Seth leaves for work. 

9:15am- I get out of my PJs, make up the bed, and start a load of diapers.  I make breakfast (instant oatmeal).  I then try to eat breakfast while holding the baby and checking email.  I mess around on the internet for a while.

10:30am- Ella needs a bath, so we set all that up  and have a grand old time in the bath tub.  After she's clean and dressed, its time to feed her again.  Because of the reflux, its better for her to have shorter, more frequent meals, so she eats every 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

11:10am- Seth comes home.  I hang diapers out on the line to dry and start another load of laundry.  We bundle Ella up and go for a walk.

12:00pm- We're home from the walk and Ella is zonked out.  We take the opportunity to eat together without having to hold the baby (a rare luxury).

12:45pm- I lay down to read and Ella spits up all over us.  We both change clothes.

1:05pm- The little bird is hungry and wanting her next meal.  I change her and feed her.

1:35pm- Lunch seems to be staying down, so I strap Ella into the car seat and we run to the bank real fast.  She falls dead asleep in the car.

2:00pm- Home from the bank and Ella is still sleeping.  I take advantage of the quiet and get some school work done.

3:15pm- Ella is still asleep, but its time to feed her again.  I wake up her, change her diaper, and feed her.  We watch another episode of West Wing.

4:00pm- I can't handle sitting in front of the TV anymore, so I strap Ella into the carrier.  We head outside and get the diapers off the line.

4:10pm- I figure I should start a blog...

5:00pm- The dogs are getting crazy cause its dinner time for them.  Seth gets home.  I realize I don't have anything for dinner, so I hand the baby off and run to Earthfare to grab something.

5:30pm- Time to feed the baby again.  Seth changes her, hands her back to me, and then heads out for a meeting.

6:00pm- Nighttime fussiness starts.  I throw Ella into the carrier and try to eat dinner.  Both hands free is nice, but its hard not to spill on her.

7:00pm- Baby is asleep in the carrier, so I read a bit and try and get comfortable.

7:45pm- Ella is awake and hungry.  Time to feed her.

8:00pm- Seth gets home.  The dogs bark.  Ella cries.  Its been a long day.

8:30pm- We finally figure out that she is crying because she is bored.  We break out the play mat and she happily flails around for a while.

10:30pm- Time for bed.  Ella gets a diaper change and pjs and I feed her one last time.  She goes back to her dad for a little bit for snuggle time and I head to bed.  She sleeps 6-7 hours a night, so I am officially done for the day.

In all, this is a pretty typical day for us- lots of sitting around feeding the baby.  And you are correct- I didn't get a shower in, but I did brush my teeth and the bed got made up (win).  I never thought my life would look like this, but for now, I am pretty glad it does.