Staffordville

Photo Card

2011-12-11T19:20:00.001-05:00

Picture Joy Christmas

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Long long long time ago....

2011-03-18T22:04:00.000-05:00

Hello blog world this is Ben aka Jenni's hubby. I am posting an update because after having Tipp in our lives time seems to fly by and I noticed that it has been too long since the last update. A lot has has happened since December! Our sweet boy has now started to crawl, wave, and today understand sign language and relay his needs this way! We did the sign language for "more" and he repeated it today! Super exciting to see our boy grow and develop, but a little bit sad to see him grow so fast. A stage in his life is about to be over and the next is coming up way to fast. This reminds me of my mom and how she loves to hug my neck, and now I know why, because when she can via the help of stairs, it makes that moment feel like she is still holding that small little baby a long time ago. When I hold my son, I know one day I won't be able to hold him like this for ever and a hug around the neck might be the next best option.

Our son like I said before is starting to crawl and it is fun and funny to watch. It is more of a "just got shot in the leg" using only my arms kind of crawl but hey he is going forward and that makes us proud! Since Christmas time we have had the pleasure or not of Tipp's daycare sickness, and doing this whole "parent" thing for the first time has put a toll on our saneness. Not knowing what to do exactly we resort to doctors, friends, family, and blogs to help our boy during his times of being sick. At times it feels like, we have been in the past 3 months in the doctor's office more than in our own bed!

Recently our boy turned 9 months old and it seems just like yesterday that we celebrated his half year mark, soon he will be a year old! At the beginning, my thought process was oh I can't wait till he is old enough to play ball, golf, soccer, or help me brew beer! haha But know I notice myself craving and wanting him to stay small and hold him a little bit longer. I guess Jenni and I are learning just as much as Tipp is but for us it is how and what to do right for him, but for him it is what and how this world works!

Besides Tipp activities, Jenni and Marianne ran the Raleigh St. Patrick's Day Run and they did very well! Tipp and I cheered them on! I recently turned a year older = 31, but I find my son's upcoming bday way more important than mine!

FYI he loves laugh and that might be the best part of our day!

Above is me at on the left at 7 months and Tipp on the right at 8 months.

Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours!

2010-12-23T21:42:00.001-05:00

This is the Christmas I have been waiting years for! The one where we will celebrate as a family of three, just as Joseph and Mary did so many years ago while holding their baby early in the morning in the manger. And now that I have a son of my own – I think it means so much more…more than I actually describe!

Over the next few days I am looking forward to many firsts – Tipp’s first Christmas Eve Church service, Our first Christmas morning of bounding down the stairs to see what Santa left, the first of many gifts with Tipp’s name on them from “Mommy & Daddy”, taking Tipp in his adorable Christmas outfit to visit family and hopefully a White Christmas (a first for all of us)!

Luckily I have the next 10 days off to spend with Tipp…so let Christmas Vacation begin!! We have lots of fun things planned – but secretly I want to be snowed in with no where to go.

Happy 5 Months!

2010-11-30T21:05:00.001-05:00

Yes – this is a little late considering we are halfway to 6 months, but such is the life of a working mother! I cannot believe Baby T is 5 months old. He has cut his first tooth and another one is on the way!

We are now getting much more structure to our lives and it’s quite possible that it is the result of me returning to work. Going back was easier than the anticipation, but there have been a few days when I would just love to stay at home all day playing with Tipp! Ben keeps Tipp Monday, Tuesday and Fridays. On Wednesday and Thursdays he goes to Nana’s house. They usually have fun playing, cooking, running errands or just hanging out with the girls after school. I’d say we have settled into a nice little routine.

My first day off was Veteran’s Day and it was heavenly to spend the day with Tipp doing what we used to do. We both snuggled in bed and slept in until 730am. We spent the morning watching The Today Show and Kathi Lee & Hoda, then went shopping with Aunt Sara.

We have adjusted to nursing and pumping while I am at work and so far that is going well. I cannot believe my initial goal of 6 months is coming up!

This month has been filled with visitors and weekends away. We took Tipp to the Outer Banks for the first time while Ben and I ran the OBX Half Marathon. We celebrated Halloween in Sanford at a big neighborhood party. Tipp rode the hayride to trick or treat for a few houses, then decided he would much rather ride in the comfort of his own car seat. We also survived daylight savings time – which is a curse to anyone with children!

Tipp is “talking” a lot more, reaches well for objects and can sit with assistance. He also loves his Jumperoo and can finally reach the ground to bounce.

Holiday Wishes Made Easy

2010-11-06T08:28:00.001-05:00

As the holidays are sneaking up on us and I’m thinking more and more about simplicity this year, I have fallen in love with Shutterfly holiday cards. Every year Ben and I take a picture to send in a Christmas card to our family and friends. Many of you may remember last year’s card where we “announced” the upcoming arrival of Tipp by standing in front of our Christmas tree holding one of the first ultrasounds we had of our baby.

For over 5 years now, I have used Shutterfly as a means to upload and store photos, print pictures, and make photobooks for our wedding, vacations and other special moments. After Tipp’s arrival I made it easy on myself and ordered his birth announcements - I could not have been more thrilled with them and they were a piece of cake to make! Never mind the quick turn around! Typically for Christmas cards I find them on sale the previous year, print each photo and stuff them myself. But, this year I think I would much rather let someone else do that work and spend the time with Tipp.

I love receiving Christmas cards, especially with photos of our family and friends. As our families are growing it is a treat to see updates, as well as get personalized wishes for the Holidays and New Year. And honestly, my first thought when we found out we were expecting was being able to send adorable Holiday photo cards featuring Tipp year and after year! This year Shutterfly has so many bright and cheery designs that I do not know how we will narrow down our choice. They range from classy to whimsical and have cards to fit every personality. Here are a few of my favorite designs:

Perfect with 5 pictures…because how could I ever choose just one of Tipp!

So classy…now we just need a family picture!

I love this one…I have dreamed of a holiday picture in black and white with Tipp laying in a pile of lights!

Now the only other hard part will be narrowing down my favorite photo or photos of Tipp to send!

Happy 4 Months!

2010-10-20T12:34:00.001-05:00

Tipp-

Oh My Goodness…I can’t believe you are 4 months old! You are no longer a newborn and growing into such a big boy with a bright personality. Although at times you are very unpredictable…when you decide you want something – you want it NOW! That must be a Stafford trait!

It’s been a busy month with lots of milestones for you. You have discovered your hands, started reaching for toys and you can roll over! Mostly you enjoy rolling over from back to front, then get frustrated being on your belly. Once on your belly you have gotten great at pushing up onto your elbows and holding your head up. As soon as I can flip you back you have rolled back to your belly. You have also started bearing weight on your legs and love “standing up.”

We had your 4 month appointment where you weighed 12 lbs and 4/5 oz…still at 10%, but gaining appropriately. You are 25 inches tall and your head is 16 1/2 inches…both are in the 50% range. We are learning you are going to be a lean baby! In the past month breastfeeding has gotten a lot easier and you have become an efficient nurser, but becoming more distractible! You also got 3 vaccines, which made for a sad and fussy evening. You were so pitiful and we felt so sorry for how bad you felt.

You spent your 4 month birthday weekend in Williamsburg shopping with me and Gommy. You were such a trooper spending 10 hours shopping with the girls and everyone thought you were so cute. I hope you enjoyed your weekend with the ladies since next year you will be having a boys weekend with Daddy – he missed you so much!

I am enjoying every second with you as the next few weeks are the last of me being at home. Even when you wake up at 5am for the day, I look forward to bringing you to bed with me and dozing together while you nurse. I also love playing with you and making you smile…I could stare at your smile all day as literally smile with your entire face.

We love you Baby T and look forward to what the next month brings to our lives!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

2010-10-13T12:51:00.001-05:00

Gracing the cover of the newest Cooking Light was Peanut Butter Banana Bread…a perfect idea for the extremely ripe bananas I threw into the freezer the morning Tipp was born. I had planned on making an extra loaf of banana bread, but time got away from me. Whenever I have ripe bananas, but no time to make banana bread, I peel the bananas and freeze them in chunks.

This issue had several versions of Banana bread including a Bananas Foster recipe, which I think we will making very soon!

The Peanut Butter version was awesome! I could have drank the icing!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread (Cooking Light)

Bread:

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
6.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts
Cooking spray

Glaze:

1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon 1% low-fat milk
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare bread, combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until blended.

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool.

To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, milk, and 1 tablespoon peanut butter in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over bread.

Tipp Rolling Over

2010-10-13T11:54:00.001-05:00

Sunday morning, Tipp rolled over for the first time and since then he has not stopped! He is best at rolling from back to belly, then gets frustrated…he hates tummy time! As soon as I help him roll to his back again-he rolls over to his tummy. He is quite proud of himself and smiles immediately after his “trick” then gets fussy out of frustration. Luckily he is forced to get more tummy time and in the past few days he has been able to push up on his elbows more.

Monday, he kept rolling over anytime I turned away even if just for a second! But, I finally caught it on camera very early Tuesday morning. I guess we will start trying to wean him from his Swaddle Me soon and take the bumpers out of the crib as he gets more and more mobile!

Sweet & Spicy Citrus Tilapia

2010-09-28T09:09:00.001-05:00

On our First “Little” Family vacation several weeks ago, we had many opportunities to enjoy relaxing meals al fresco where we could try new recipes. I found this recipe in the August edition of Cooking Light and it was perfect after a long day on the beach. You could use this marinade for chicken, pork, shrimp or any other type of fish – it is so versatile.

We enjoyed fresh grilled veggies and lime scented rice as sides. Sweet & Spicy Citrus Tilapia

4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
Cooking spray
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 1 orange)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Arrange fish in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Combine orange juice and next 9 ingredients (through garlic); pour over fish. Let stand 15 minutes.

Preheat broiler.

Sprinkle fish with paprika; broil 15 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Drizzle sauce over fish.

Tipp’s Baptism

2010-09-28T09:02:00.001-05:00

Tipp was baptized on Sunday, September 19 and this was an extra special occasion. Our new pastor, Dr. Carl Frazier was appointed to our church in June. Coincidentally he was my previous pastor at my parents church in Sanford and married Ben and I at Duke Chapel. The service was wonderful with all of our families in attendance. Tipp was so peaceful during the ceremony and woke up just in time to be baptized. He was very alert while Carl walked him through congregation while everyone sang “Jesus Loves You” to him; and I was filled with such emotion knowing not only the commitment we made to raise our child with Christian principles, but also the commitment our entire church family had made as well. After the service we enjoyed a fantastic lunch at Lucky 32 with everyone. The icing on the cake (or cupcake) was chocolate Cafe Carolina Cupcakes for dessert. Tipp received many wonderful gifts including photo frames to document the day, a book of Bible stories for children, many cute clothes for the winter season, and money for his 529 plan. Ben and I feel incredibly blessed that we have such a wonderful family that loves Tipp so much!! It was truly a special day that we will never forget.

Football and Our House Divided

2010-09-28T08:44:00.001-05:00

Football season has finally arrived and we are so thrilled to start dressing Tipp in our favorite team colors. One of the first games of the season was VT Hokies vs ECU Pirates and Tipp cheered on the Hokies to their first win of the season. I’m sure he was the good luck charm they needed. In true Stafford-Hedrick fashion we watched the game over lots of snacks and munchies, then followed with a cookout. Virginia Tech and ECU are not the only team Tipp is starting to root for…he has plenty of Carolina Panther gear for the season! Ben and Tipp enjoyed a Sunday afternoon watching football all day. The Panthers did not win, but we think we have one cute fanatic to take to the games soon! Laura and Lillie gave Tipp Stripes for a baby shower gift since it’s the Chinese year of the Tiger. They picked out a Carolina Panther outfit for him to wear, which conveniently Tipp is almost the same size as Stripes and could wear his helmet!

Miles 8 & 9

2010-09-28T08:38:00.001-05:00

I am now running into unchartered territory…the farthest I have ever ran! My mom and I have become training partners and conquered both 8 and 9 mile long runs in the past two weeks. This past weekend we braved the rain for a 9 mile run on the American Tobacco Trail. Running in the rain is so much fun…we did not have a dry bone on us when we returned, but we made amazing time at 10:56 per mile.

We both have enjoyed training together so much we kept thinking of ways we could run the races together. Finally around mile 7.5 I agreed to run the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon with her on Oct. 24 - she signed me up that night! I cannot believe I am running not one, but two half marathons within 3 weeks of each other, let alone just months after having a baby!

After the Myrtle Beach Mini, I’ll taper off again, but continue training with Ben for the OBX Half while she watches Tipp during our long runs.

Happy 3 Months Tipp!!

2010-09-28T08:25:00.001-05:00

It is already fall and Tipp has turned 3 months! Where has the summer gone? He no longer reminds me of a newborn even though he is still on the small side (11 lbs, 2 oz). He is nursing like a champ now and meeting all of his milestones so his doctor is not worried. Tipp is incredibly strong and can hold his head up really well now. He tolerates tummy time a little better, but would much prefer to lay on his back under his play gym. He loves to bat at the toys and kick which restarts the music and lights. He is also trying very very hard to roll over. He rocks from side to side, but favors his left, to rotate himself around the play mat.

He has become much more social and his entire face lights up when he smiles…we will do anything for a smile and a coo! Generally he has become a happy baby! Tipp is also becoming more aware of toys, so much so, I went out and bought him new one. He has also discovered his feet and hands.We have been so blessed to have such an awesome sleeper! Tipp’s bedtime routine is being established with a bath, book, and nursing around 830-9pm every night. He usually sleeps until 6am hardly waking any during the night. I think Ben and I will need the sleep training to let him be sometimes and not get up to pop the paci back in!! Lately we have been enjoying his morning nursing session in bed and Tipp usually falls back asleep. I come downstairs for coffee and a little “me” time while Ben dozes off beside Tipp. It’s the sweetest thing to go check on them and see my boys snoozing away!

New Friends & New Recipes

2010-09-28T06:51:00.001-05:00

Since I have such an extended maternity leave, I have been enjoying the benefits of being at stay at home mom. I joined our church’s MOPS group and love the fellowship every other Friday we share over breakfast.

Each group takes turns bringing a huge spread of breakfast that includes casseroles, breads, fruit, grits, coffee and juice – which is an awesome way to start the weekend. My group was chosen to provide breakfast for our second meeting and I decided to make a Chocolate Zucchini bread after reading several recipes in a latest issue of Cooking Light.

This bread is incredibly moist and tasted amazing. I was nervous about making a recipe without trying it first, but I got so many compliments and requests for the recipe. It makes 2 loaves and the first loaf I kept for us since I was too anxious to get it out of the pan and it crumbled. It was still wonderful and between Ben and I we ate it within 2 days!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, grated zucchini, vanilla and chocolate; beat well. Stir in the flour baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.

Tipp 0-3 Months

2010-09-27T18:19:00.001-05:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Ready to Run…

2010-09-08T10:51:00.001-05:00

I must be crazy, but I’m training for the OBX Half Marathon! I actually registered back in April while I was pregnant knowing it would be great motivation to get back out on the road running again. I got the go-ahead at my 6 week post delivery check up and have started a 16 week training program. Not having run a single time since last October, starting back was actually much easier than I thought! I started slow with just running/walking 2 miles and focusing on covering the distance. Slowly my pace has gotten faster, my endurance better and my distances longer. This past week at the beach I did a ton of running and it felt great! Saturday I ran 6 miles with my mom at a 11:30 pace.

13.1 miles seems pretty daunting and I have moments where I ask myself why I thought it would be a good idea, but overall I feel good setting a goal for myself. 2010 will be an awesome year with the birth of Tipp and me finishing my first Half!

Tipp’s First Church Service

2010-09-08T10:43:00.001-05:00

When Tipp was 8 weeks old, we finally decided it was time (or safe) to take him to church for the first time. Since our day starts around 6 or 7am we decided to go to an earlier service and had intentions of possibly taking him to the nursery if needed. Our timing was perfect and he ate right before leaving. At the start of the service he immediately fell asleep and slept the entire time. All of our “neighbors” loved having him in church and were so happy to meet him. Ben and I were happy to be back at church and to finally say hello to our new pastor, Dr. Carl Frazier. Carl is new to First United Methodist Cary, but not new to us. He was our pastor at my old church in Sanford and actually married Ben and I at Duke Chapel. We are thrilled he will baptize Tipp on September 19 and that Tipp will grow up with a wonderful church family!

Happy 2 Months Tipp

2010-09-08T10:25:00.001-05:00

Our sweet baby boy is now 2 months old and we are falling in love with him more as each day passes!! Tipp is becoming more aware and noticing his surroundings. He loves to smile, especially at his Daddy! I think the fussy period has finally passed and everyone is getting more sleep. At night he sleeps like a champ waking usually once around 3 or 4 am to nurse. Although he is cat-napper during the day, but we’ll take that as long as he continues to technically sleep through the night!He had his 2 month check up and got 3 shots and an oral vaccine and those were not fun. Luckily he did well with them and we only needed one dose of Tylenol when he got fussy later in the evening. Fortunately we did not have to experience any fevers. He is still a little peanut weighing only 9 lbs. 8 oz, which is in the 10th percentile. His length is 22.75 inches and puts him in the 50th percentile for height. Hopefully over the next month breastfeeding will become even easier as he gets more efficient and gains more weight, but overall it is going well and I’m so glad we have stuck it out!Over the next month we look forward to watching our little man grow and start to interact with us by cooing more and laughing. Ben and I cannot stop saying how cute he is…we now cannot remember life without him!

Tipp’s First Trip to the Beach

2010-08-03T13:34:00.001-05:00

At just 3 1/2 weeks old. Tipp enjoyed his very first trip to the beach. The thought of taking a newborn on a 3 hour drive was pretty daunting, but he was a champ and slept the entire way. We only made one stop for a feeding and diaper change!

The first night at the beach Tipp slept 5 glorious hours…I felt like a new person after a decent nights sleep. Saturday morning he was in such a good mood, so we set out on a shopping trip to the outlets. Of course no trip to the outlets is complete without a stop in Carter’s. I also did some shopping for myself since I only have 8 lbs to go until my pre-pregnancy weight. I was getting tired of the lounge pants and camis I’ve been wearing since Tipp was born.Over the weekend Tipp also met his Great Uncle Robbie and Aunt Linda as well as his Aunt Christie, Uncle Daniel and cousins Payne and Oscar. Ben took him into the pool for his first swim, which he sort or enjoyed! Sunday evening we took a walk to the beach for his first official trip to the beach complete with putting his tiny toes in the sand and surf.

The weekend was a great break from home and we look forward to enjoying many more trips to the beach over the next few weeks, months and year as a little family.

Happy 1 Month

2010-08-03T12:18:00.001-05:00

The days are flying by…so much so it has taken me 2 weeks to post this! We celebrated Tipp’s One Month with an informal photo shoot followed by his first dinner out at Tyler’s Taproom. Our friends Chris & Sam and Rick & Tara also joined us. Tipp loved Tyler’s and mostly slept the entire night. At one month we are still figuring each other out. He is finally over 8 lbs, and still nursing every 2-3 hours. Some nights are better than others, but I am really excited that I made it to my first goal of one month for breastfeeding.

We are looking forward to getting a little bit more sleep and seeing Tipp grow, although not too fast!

Fourth of July with Our Little Firecracker

2010-07-21T14:15:00.001-05:00

Since Tipp was only 2 1/2 weeks old, we stayed home for the 4th this year rather than heading to the beach. Nana, Big Daddy and the Aunt’s were also in town, so we finally left the house for more than an hour to enjoy a little cookout. My dad made ribs and we had homemade peach ice cream. We had such good evening being out of the house and I think Tipp enjoyed his first 4th of July!

Happy Father’s Day

2010-07-06T11:06:00.001-05:00

My wish came true and Tipp arrived just in time for Father’s Day! We could not have had a better day, celebrating with Ben and my dad and finally bringing home Tipp.

My dad, or Big Daddy, and the girls came over for lunch. They brought us a wonderful lunch of pork tenderloin, cranberry salad, broccoli salad, rolls and peach ice cream.

Other than the birth of his son, I gave Ben a braided leather bracelet with Dad inscripted on it. He received a couple of Fatherhood books from both of parents as well as a new Polo shirt.

We are so happy we could share this first Father’s Day as a family celebrating the newest arrival to our little family!

Tipp’s Arrival!!

2010-06-27T19:27:00.001-05:00

Tippett Jefferson Stafford arrived Wednesday, June 16 at 5:40pm. He was 7lbs. 6 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. Other than that he is just PERFECT!

On Monday, Jun 14 we went for my 39 week appt. with Dr. Anya. I had noticed a slight decrease in movement, but convinced myself it was normal due to his cramped quarters. However, I brought it up for reassurance with Dr. Anya. She suggested a Non-Stress Test and we sat hooked up to the monitors for 30 minutes in the office. It was exciting to know I was already having small contractions on my own, but they did not get a clear reading of his heart rate and movement, so we went to Labor & Delivery at Rex for a longer NST. Tipp responded well there with a little ice water and sugary popsicle so we were sent home. Dr. Gunter, the doctor on call wanted us to come back Wednesday for another NST. We were not at all prepared as Ben had left his cell phone at home and I did not have any numbers for his parents on my phone. I finally had my bag packed, but left it at home.

I was already working from home and getting quiet bored waiting on Tipp’s arrival. On Tuesday evening I went to my mom’s house for dinner and a long 2 mile walk to hopefully get things moving along. We also made plans to get a pedicure Wednesday evening and then eggplant parmesan from Daniel’s for dinner as it supposedly can help start labor.

Prior to Wednesday I was not really Nesting, but I spent the morning deep cleaning our stove and it suddenly dawned on me maybe I’ll go into labor Wednesday night.

At 2:45pm we headed to our appointment and spent 30 minutes on the monitors. Other than Tipp’s hiccups I did not experience any movement and his heart rate remained steady around 146. Dr. Gunter seemed a little concerned that it was a “perfect” test and when it comes to babies he wanted perfect. They got us an appointment at Duke Perinatal immediately for a Bio-Physical Profile.

We walked into ultrasound at 3:45pm. Everything on the ultrasound looked great - fluid levels were good, all of his organs were great, and the ultrasound tech estimated he was around 8 lbs. She left the room and said the Dr. would be in shortly. Two minutes later the tech returned and said we should head over to Rex and they were expecting us. She also added I should not eat or drink anything just in case they wanted to admit me. My first thought was “Oh wow – this baby might be born late tonight or early tomorrow morning” And slightly worried about an induction as opposed to going into labor naturally. Again we did not bring our bags to the doctor’s appt.

At 4:10 we walked into Labor and Delivery triage. I was gowned up and hooked up to the monitors again just as we had spent the afternoon 2 days ago. Within a few minutes Dr. Placide came to talk and they heard from Duke, but only that Tipp had scored a 4 out of 8 on the BPP and they wanted at least a 6. He was concerned it could take days to induce me since I was not dilated so he recommended a c-section. Still, I was calm and thought we would schedule it for a few hours from now when the OR would be available.

In between people coming in to talk to us I was able to call my parents to let them know what was going on. The anesthesiologist came in to discuss the spinal and risks while I had a nurse putting in an IV and another nurse taking off my jewelry. I was instructed to take out my contacts and I suddenly lost it realizing the c-section was happening faster than we had planned and there was no time for Ben to go home and get my bag. I am blind without my contacts and I knew it would be hours before I’d be able to SEE my baby. Never mind we did not have our camera and I was upset we would miss those first photos of his daddy holding him, being weighed and getting his first bath.

Our nurse Helen, was amazing and could read me like a book. She knew I was overwhelmed! Dr. Placide came back in and said the OR was ready and it would be an hour before my initial blood results would be back from the lab and a spinal was not an option. I was going to be under general anesthesia. Part of me was relieved since I was very anxious about being awake for the surgery, but the other part knew the consequences of being groggy and a longer time in recovery without Tipp. Luckily, the lab expedited the results and they determined I was able to get the spinal.

Next thing I know I’m being wheeled to the OR and Ben gave me a kiss as he went to get his scrubs on. They prepped me and I sat on the OR table to get my spinal – pretty terrified that a huge needle was going into my spinal column. I really surprised myself and remembered to use the relaxation techniques we learned in our birth classes. The spinal was in place within 2 minutes and by the time they got me lay back down my legs were already going numb.

Everyone finished their preparations while the nurse anesthetist stayed with me and explained the entire surgery and what was going on. I thought they were still getting set up when I heard suction and knew they had already started. I was pretty relieved knowing the incision was already made and I had not felt a thing. Ben was brought in and sat by my head. I was told to prepare for some pressure and then one more round of pressure – then we heard the sweetest sound – Tipp’s cries, then our cries of joy. Someone said 5:40, although I had no concept of time and then I heard "strawberry blonde hair.” Our son was born.

Ben went with Tipp next door to be weighed and assessed, then he brought him to me. I could barely make out his features, but knew he was perfect!

Recovery was a bit of a blur. It took a good 30-40 minutes to get me put back together. I remember hearing Dr. Placide and an OR Tech making small talk and then discussing the new dissolvable staples they were using. I was wheeled to recovery where I met up with Ben an d Tipp. I had given Ben my Iphone to get a few non-professional pictures of Tipp and was finally able to hold the pictures close enough to see our son. Once Tipp was given his first bath where he was still crying, he was handing to me to hold him – it was amazing – the moment I had waited for and I could finally comfort him!

We were finally moved to a post-partum room on the east side of the hospital since the Birth Center was full. At 8pm I was able to nurse Tipp and at 8:45pm our family was brought back to meet their newest grandson and nephew. My mom had gone to our house to get our bags and I finally put on my glasses to officially see my baby…he was perfect and absolutely gorgeous. We are so in love!

Our first night was a blur (as were the first few days now), but one of my favorite moments was finally cuddling and taking an early morning nap with my son the next morning. I was a little sad we never got the initial bonding time right after his delivery, but this moment made up for it!

Ben has been absolutely amazing and jumped right into fatherhood. He even took over the first diaper change and has become a master at diapers and swaddling. I always knew he would be a great father. We shared a special moment the night before we were discharged. We had sent Tipp to the nursery to get a few hours of sleep and Ben gave me a beautiful David Yurman pearl and diamond ring as a commitment to Tipp and our family.

For the next two days we had a ton of visitors stopping by to see us. On Saturday, June 19, Tipp’s due date we were discharged and could not wait to get home. Tipp loved his car seat and slept the entire ride home. We were greeted with a huge “Stork” announcing our bundle of joy from my brother and sister in law as well as a huge blue bow on our mailbox from my parents.

We finally had our son home after looking forward to this day for over a year.

Right now, Tipp is an excellent sleeper, especially at night. We are working really hard on nursing and hopefully within the next week things will start clicking. He has been to the doctor twice for his initial check up and his weight was 6 lbs 13 oz. Our second appointment was with the lactation specialist and he had gained weight back up to 7 lbs even. We have even made several outings to Target, Panera Bread and Babies R Us.

Tipp has already brought so much joy into our lives and we are so happy to finally have him here with us. We are excited to watch him grow and change over the next few weeks, months and years. I feel like he is already changing and growing in just the 10 days we’ve had him!

I’m starting to use our Shutterfly page since we have so many wonderful photos to share. Enjoy all the pictures we are taking as we watch Tipp grow.

www.staffordville.shutterfly.com

The 3rd Annual Girl’s Weekend

2010-05-31T17:07:00.001-05:00

This year marked the 3rd year myself, my mom, Meg and her mom have gotten together for a Girl’s Weekend. We have been taking turns hosting and this year we planned the weekend with my baby shower.

Overall our goal of the weekend was to relax and do fun girly type things. The first year we went to the beach and last year we went to Kathy’s house where my mom and I began our obsession with tea. This year was no different. We started the weekend off with a Chilean Wine Tasting at Southern Season - I even enjoyed a few sips. Then, of course we had to shop at Southern Season and pick up some new tea and other foodie goodies. I made reservations for us at 411 West on Franklin Street, which I think everyone enjoyed.

Saturday morning we were lazy sipping tea and nibbling on fruit, muffins and scones for breakfast. We packed a picnic lunch and headed to the Duke Gardens – which ended up being a perfect day and there were lots of people who had the same idea. After a leisurely lunch and stroll through the gardens we did a little shopping in downtown Apex. Apex has already grown so much since we moved to our house two years ago. There are so many fun shops and restaurants downtown and of course one of our favorite tea rooms, The Pineapple Tea Room, where we had afternoon tea.

Ben was a gentleman and offered to make us dinner – some of his gourmet pizzas and salad. Us girls relaxed with wine and gabbed while he endured many earfuls of girl talk that he probably wished he had not heard! After dinner we headed back to my mom’s house for a girly movie and lots more relaxing.

Sunday was my baby shower and it was a slow morning getting ready and heading back to Apex at Hilary’s house, where she and her mom Pat hosted. I had so much fun and got lots of nice things for Baby Tipp’s arrival. After munching on all the delicious food at the shower we were barely hungry for dinner. So we made a spread of munchies and had even more girl talk on the deck with wine. Who knew girls could talk so much!!!I think that’s the best thing about our girl’s weekends – we just pick right back up where we left off. I love this has become an annual thing and every year we reminisce about the first day our parents dropped us off at Virginia Tech and we all met. It’s amazing how many things have changed since that day – we graduated, had weddings, and now baby showers – all in the past 11 years! I’m already looking forward to the next many years celebrating our friendship even if I see Meg only once a year!

Babymoon: Savannah

2010-05-31T16:20:00.001-05:00

The second part of our vacation was spent in Savannah. My mom and Papaw headed north to the beach house and we headed south to the Savannah Waterfront and our hotel, The River Street Inn. Our room was perfect and had a wonderful view of the river. For dinner the first evening we ate at Moon River Brewing Company. That specific evening Earth Hour was being celebrated, so we enjoyed dinner by candlelight! The food was delicious and Ben loved the beer sampler. For appetizer we devoured Fried Green Tomatoes – a southern favorite - and I had chicken stuffed with crab and brie. They also serve an amazing side dish of brie mashed potatoes. We ended up making it back to Moon River several times for a mid-day drink, especially since Savannah allows open containers in the historic district – possibly the highlight of Ben’s weekend.Prior to any trip I do tons of research on the best restaurants in the area and we plan our trip around eating. I had read so many reviews about Goose Feathers for a favorite breakfast spot near City Market. Our first morning we headed straight there for breakfast. There were so many options and I almost could not decide, but settled on oatmeal with bananas and maple syrup. Ben had the most amazing bread pudding. Our only regret was we did not pick up a few whoopee pies while we were there. We eventually came back for them on our last day, but Goose Feathers had already closed. The rest of the day we spent getting acquainted with the city and took a trolley tour. It was by far the best way to see Savannah and we were able to make a list of all the historic homes and sites we wanted to come back to. Included in our tour we were able to get off and on the trolley all day. After our tour we enjoyed lunch at Vinnie Van Go-Go’s, a low key pizza by the slice place in City Market. Unfortunately as soon as we were finishing our pizza outside the bottom fell out and it took us forever to finagle our way back to the hotel. Once the rain cleared up we headed down the River Street for a little shopping and dinner at One Eyed Lizzy’s, which was a fun little Tex-Mex restaurant. (I told you all we do on vacation is eat!) It was a long day, so I was eager to get back to our room and relax early.Monday morning, after a fantastic night’s sleep, we started our day with fresh coffee in real coffee mugs in bed then headed downstairs to Huey’s Southern Cafe on the River front for breakfast. Huey’s is a New Orleans's style restaurant famous for it’s brunch and beignets. The brunch was amazing and it was probably the best breakfast I have ever eaten. I got the Pontchartain Omelette, which had spinach, artichoke and swiss cheese stuffed in an omelette and a side of cheese grits. Ben enjoyed the seafood omelette which was stuffed with shrimp and scallops. And of course we both split an order of beignets – I was so sad they were out of their famous praline sauce – nevertheless they were amazing without the sauce. Our plan for the day was to walk around the many squares and visit some of the historic homes, then head to Forsyth Park and St. John the Baptist Cathedral. We definitely got our exercise walking around!

For dinner we had made special reservations at the Olde Pink House which receives rave reviews. We ended up waiting almost an hour for our reservation, but luckily our dinner was amazing so we didn’t mind. We had been eating so much, so we skipped an appetizer although they looked amazing. I ordered the Crispy Scored Flounder with an Apricot Shallot sauce, stone ground grits and collards. I was quite shocked when they brought it to me and I had an entire fish to eat! It was different than I expected, but very good. Ben had an amazing piece of chicken with a berry reduction sauce. Since we skipped an appetizer we shared their infamous dessert – The Praline basket – served with vanilla bean ice cream, mango sauce and berries. Tuesday morning we checked out of our hotel and immediately headed to get in line at Mrs. Wilke’s Dining Room, which is listed in the book 1,000 Things To Do Before You Die. And believe us – her food is to die for and well worth the hour and a half wait! It’s southern food at its best all served family style with 10 people at each table. There were 22 things on the table and we stuffed ourselves silly before indulging in banana pudding for dessert. Lunch nearly put us into a food coma before our 5 hour drive home!

We arrived home with so many food goodies and had a wonderful little vacation as just the two of us before we bring Baby Tipp into the world. Although, we cannot wait to take Tipp on many trips in the future!

Babymoon: Charleston

2010-05-18T20:44:00.001-05:00

Before Baby Tipp’s arrival, Ben and I wanted to take a mini-vacation to relax and enjoy some quality time together before all the craziness of newborn life begins and we become a family of 3. Of course this will not be our last vacation as just the two of us, but any vacations in the future will certainly be different.

Charleston has always been a favorite southern city for us and I have always wanted to visit Savannah, so we made a long weekend out of it and planned it over the annual Cooper River Bridge Run. This was our 3rd Bridge Run and at first I thought I’d be waiting at the finish line cheering on Ben and my mom. At the last minute I decided I could definitely walk the 10k at 28 weeks and we invited Papaw to walk with me.

We made it to Charleston by 5pm on Friday, just in time for dinner at Fleet Landing, which was Ben’s choice. We have our “usual” spots, but Ben had read about this restaurant and made an excellent choice - I had the best fried oyster salad! The race came early Saturday morning and was quite chilly, but once we got moving with the other 40,000 people we warmed up. I got several looks and a few comments on being pregnant! Papaw and I finished in 1:41:15…although I came in just 0.01 seconds thanks to Tipp!After the race we continued our tradition of lunch at T-Bonz, then the Beer Exchange for Ben, before getting on the road. Since we were heading south we made a few stops on the way the to Savannah at The Charleston Tea Plantation and the Angel Tree (a 1,500 year old oak tree).

Ben’s 30th Birthday!

2010-04-29T18:56:00.001-05:00

I really wanted to do something special for Ben’s 30th Birthday, especially since it was on a Saturday and the big Duke-UNC game was on. Being pregnant, I was not interested in having 20 people at our house, cleaning up, preparing food, making drinks, etc… but I knew Tyler’s Taproom would be the perfect place to host family and friends. Plus, it’s one of Ben’s favorite bars with one of the best beer selections in the area!

We started the morning off with his favorite breakfast – Bojangles. I had a few last minute birthday errands to run and Ben had plans to brew a Dirty 30 Old Ale the same day, so any cleaning prep would be impossible! His ritual includes drinking beer while brewing beer, so he got his first gift over breakfast…a Birthday Pilsner glass. After a fun-filled beer day, we headed to Tyler’s Taproom where we were able to reserve a private room which had a nice flat screen TV for everyone to enjoy the game. We served a bunch of hot and cold appetizers and had an open bar with the full beer menu. The food was amazing – Chips with Salsa & Guacamole, Beef Satay, Veggies and Dip, Chicken Fingers, Jalapeno Poppers and Triple Cream Quesadillas with Pear-Ginger Salsa. For dessert I ordered an amazing Boston Cream Pie cake from Sweet Memories Bakery in Apex. Next to our wedding cake it was one of the best we’ve ever had!After cake the beer theme continued with lots of beer related gifts, including a Duke win! Of course no birthday bash would be complete with a late night breakfast. We thought we were out of luck with IHOP was closed, although Ben offered for me too cook pancakes at home for everyone! Our backup plan was Waffle House where we both ate more than we planned.

Buffalo Chicken – A New Way

2010-03-01T20:27:00.001-05:00

While browsing the newest Cooking Light since I have not had time to read it cover to cover, I came across a new chicken recipe. I feel like I’ve cooked chicken every which way, but this dish was a little different a definitely enticed the taste buds. If you love buffalo chicken this dish is your for you. Using the panko bread crumbs and “frying” the chicken in just a little butter for a few minutes before baking it gives it a great crunch flavor that is satisfying.

Also, I have never put a pan in the oven. It worked so well – and less clean up!

Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Buffalo Sauce (Cooking Light)

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided
6 tablespoons finely chopped drained bottled roasted red bell peppers
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff cheese mixture evenly into pockets.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Combine milk and egg in a shallow dish, stirring well with a whisk. Place panko in a shallow dish. Working with 1 chicken breast half at a time, dredge chicken in flour, then dip in egg mixture; dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken, flour, egg mixture, and panko.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan; swirl until butter melts. Arrange chicken in pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; place skillet in oven. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until done.

While chicken bakes, combine remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons butter, bell peppers, water, Worcestershire, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer; cook until butter melts. Remove from heat, and stir in hot sauce. Serve sauce with chicken.

Big Bowl O’ Oats

2010-02-21T08:44:00.001-05:00

For months now I have been eating a lot more oatmeal-usually instant for convenience in the mornings before work. This morning we woke up bright and early to a lovely sunny day and I decided to pull out an old recipe for rolled oats. Really they don’t take that much longer to cook than microwaving a bowl of instant oats. There is just the pot to wash!

Whipped Banana Oatmeal (KERF)

1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup 1% or skim or soy milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 a banana, sliced
Pinch of salt
Vanilla, stirred in at end

Combine the rolled oats, water, and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Slice a banana into VERY thin pieces, leaving just a few bigger chunks. As the oatmeal heats and it begins to steam or bubble, stir vigorously at times to “whip” the banana into the oats. The oats will take about 5 minutes on medium heat from start to finish to fully absorb the liquid. They’re done when they reach your desired consistency! Then I stir in vanilla and add any toppings you like, such as almond or peanut butter dollops, nuts, granola, coconut, crumbled granola bars, or trail mix – with dark chocolate chips! I love doctoring up my oatmeal with fruit, nuts, spices, and especially peanut butters. Right now we have 3 kinds of peanut butter in our pantry: Plain Natural, White Chocolate and Tropical Banana.

Today’s toppings included:

Extra banana
Sprinkle of brown sugar
Pecans
Spoonful of White Chocolate Peanut Butter

A New Spin on Yogurt

2010-02-01T21:04:00.001-05:00

It’s funny how it’s freezing outside and snow is on the ground, yet I crazy cold things like iced mochas, ice cream and smoothies. Before becoming pregnant one of my favorite breakfasts was yogurt with granola and now it’s really not. I don’t have an aversion to it - I guess there are just so many other breakfast things I started to like more.

On one of favorite baby message boards, I learned about these new Yoplait frozen smoothie mixes. We used to buy a frozen smoothie kit from Target, but it was quite high in sugar and came with some weird, but delicious powdery stuff. The Yoplait smoothie is 110 calories made with low-fat milk and only has fresh frozen fruit and yogurt added. The calorie content is a little low for breakfast, so I added a whole banana. One pouch makes 2 smoothies, so it was perfect to split with Ben. For a little texture I added a sprinkle of granola too…perfection in a glass!

Another 5-Star Recipe

2010-02-01T20:52:00.001-05:00

This is the last recipe I made over the snow weekend and it did not disappoint. I’m not sure if I could say what my favorite from this weekend was, but this is high on the list considering the abundant leftovers.

I think Ben was a little skeptical of the butternut squash being the main ingredient with little bulk from a protein other than bacon. However, it was a wonderful flavor. Roasting the squash provided lots of sugars and lended a sweetness to the saltiness of the bacon.

Again the theme of the weekend was not quick and easy, so this recipe does take a little time since the butternut squash needs to roast for 45 minutes. But, it can easily be made ahead of time and baked when ready. Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta (Cooking Light)

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
Cooking spray
6 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
8 ounces uncooked mini penne (tube-shaped pasta)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.

Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Better than the Cracker Barrel

2010-02-01T20:25:00.001-05:00

One of Ben’s favorite dishes is Chicken and Dumplings. When I was thinking of home-made dishes to make this weekend for the snow, many soups and stews crossed my mind. But on MyRecipes.com, they had a compilation of 5-Star recipes and I stumbled across Southern Living’s Chicken & Dumplings. Sure I’ve made this a few times in the crock pot…the “Semi-Homemade” way. However, this weekend I thought I’d tackle the real deal – cook the whole chicken, make my own broth and roll the dumplings.

Other than it being a long process of letting the chicken cook for an hour, cooling it, shredding it and rolling the dumplings, it is not hard. This recipe is definitely worthy of a special country cooked meal when you have a few hours of hanging around the house. Ben gave it at 10, saying it was the best Chicken & Dumplings he’s ever had!

Chicken & Dumplings (Southern Living)

1 (4-5-pound) whole chicken, cut up
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/3 cup shortening
2 teaspoons bacon drippings
1 cup milk

Cover chicken with water, and bring to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and next 3 ingredients; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Remove chicken, reserving broth in Dutch oven; cool chicken. Skim fat from broth; bring to a simmer.

Skin, bone, and coarsely chop chicken. Add chicken, bouillon, and remaining salt and pepper to broth. Return to simmer.

Combine flour and poultry seasoning in a bowl. Cut in shortening and bacon drippings with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Add milk, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into 1-inch pieces.

Bring broth mixture to a boil. Drop dumplings, a few at a time, into boiling broth, stirring gently. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring often, for 25 minutes.

Snowy Sweets

2010-01-31T10:13:00.001-05:00

Once I heard there was a chance for snow & ice this weekend, I immediately made “snow” plans for a weekend filled with lots of baking and cooking. Ben offered to bake me a cake as lately I’m always buying slices of cake from the bakery on my grocery shopping trips. I thought since we had the time and he has become quite the expert with grains and yeast to make home-made cinnamon rolls.As usual I searched for a recipe on Allrecipes.com and found the #1 Cinnamon Roll recipe with 5 stars and almost 4,000 reviews. It’s named Clone of Cinnabon and it did not disappoint! These are not for carb-fat-calorie conscious! The recipe calls for a bread-machine, so Ben adapted the recipe to use regular yeast, knead the dough in the Kitchen-Aid and let it rise.

Clone of A Cinnabon

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1 packet yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, margarine, salt, and eggs. Add flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball, using the dough hook, occasionally adding flour to prevent sticking. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

More Mushrooms

2010-01-27T21:19:00.001-05:00

I wouldn’t say I have a craving for mushrooms, but the two newest recipes I’ve made feature the meaty vegetable. My little sister, Sara made Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Sauce from the latest issue of Cooking Light and gave high marks. It seemed like the perfect cold-weather comfort food.

This recipe is a great weeknight dinner that is quick and easy, but still very homemade. My only complaint was I wish it had more sauce to cover the noodles. Maybe I made too many egg noodles, or we used up the sauce in the first go-round there was not much left for the leftovers. The sauce was amazing and full of flavor! Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Sauce (Cooking Light)

2 cups uncooked egg noodles
Cooking spray
1 pound top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 (8-ounce) package presliced baby bella mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

While noodles cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak; sauté 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan; cover.

Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in soy sauce. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly. Add pepper, salt, and thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thickened. Return beef to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Discard thyme sprigs. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

Sirloin Steaks with Mushroom Sauce

2010-01-10T19:04:00.001-05:00

Now that Christmas is over and our lives are somewhat normal of being at home, we are eating better at home. I’ve had the time and energy (finally) to start cooking again, although that probably will only last until June! But this “Gourmet” dinner needs to be added to When-Baby-Arrives Recipe book. It literally took me 20 minutes to make from start to finish and it was delish!

The recipe calls for pan-searing the steaks, but Ben really wanted to grill them. We also served broccolini and instant cheddar-garlic potatoes (yes…I LOVE instant potatoes!!!). I’ve also been craving a glass of red wine and this sauce was the perfect topping to our steak to give me a “taste” of red wine without the alcohol since it has been cooked out.

Sirloin Steak with Mushroom Sauce (Cooking Light)

4 (4-ounce) boneless sirloin steaks, trimmed (about 1 inch thick)

3/8 teaspoon black pepper, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (8-ounce) package sliced cremini mushrooms

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

Sprinkle steaks evenly with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add steaks to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add mushrooms to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Combine wine, 1/2 cup water, flour, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; stir well with a whisk. Add wine mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until thick; stir constantly. Remove from heat.

Top each steak and about 1/4 cup mushroom sauce.

The Best of ‘09

2010-01-05T22:00:00.001-05:00

When I think about the past year I mostly remember the not-so-great things, but after looking back through the thousands of pictures we took, it turns out we had a really great year. Here are just a few of our highlights in 2009. We can not wait to see what else 2010 has in store for us, as I know already it is shaping up to be an exciting year with Baby Stafford on the way!

We rung in the New Year with new friends at Maggiano’s. We ran our first race of 2009 as Expecting Parents! We’ll always miss our first little Peanut.We celebrated Ben’s 29th Birthday at the ‘Canes game. We spent a fun weekend at the beach with great friends that made us laugh so hard when we were grieving. Ben and I both had a personal record for the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k and celebrated at our favorite watering hole in Charleston, T-Bonz. Later in the spring, we spent an fun filled night at the Jimmy Buffet concert.We hosted a delicious Mother’s Day brunch on a gorgeous spring afternoon. Shared in Steph & Toby’s special day! Celebrated Forever 29 Birthdays at The Mint and Raleigh Times! Girl’s Weekend in DC with Meg and her mom, Kathy. Looking forward to the 3rd Annual! Completed backsplash by Ben, the newest handy-man. Celebrated July 4th at the Beach with lots of family and friends. A relaxing vacation at Topsail Island. Celebrated our 3rd Anniversary in Seattle and visited the same bench were Ben proposed. Found out we were expecting again…a Seattle souvenir!! My little sister, Sara, won ECU’s Homecoming Queen. Cheered my mom on in her first Half Marathon in OBX.Had a merry, merry Christmas as just the two of us!

As If We Aren’t Stuffed Enough

2010-01-05T21:28:00.001-05:00

This past week has been so cold and dark, I’ve been craving hot comfort foods, even after all the fabulous holiday food we’ve had the past few weeks. After a quick batch of Baked Potato Soup made with Ore-ida’s Steam & Mash potatoes, I added Stuffed Peppers to our menu this week. Unfortunately I could not find my usual recipe and had to pick a new one. I went to Allrecipes which is always trusty in finding highly rated recipes and found one that seemed pretty similar to my old recipe.

At first I was irritated I had to boil the peppers. I hate using more pots and dishes than I need, but it cut down on the bake time and the peppers came out nice and soft with just a little crunch – perfect. I also used ground turkey since it was on sale and much healthier, then added a small palm-full of red pepper flakes for extra heat and spice! Delish. The peppers I brought were huge, so I knew this recipe would not fill 6 peppers as it called for, and 4 was the perfect amount!

Stuffed Green Peppers (Allrecipes)

4 large green bell peppers
salt and pepper
1 lb ground turkey/beef
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 (14.5 oz) can diced italian tomatoes, slightly drained
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 can condensed tomato soup
water as needed

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.

In a large skillet, sauté beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.

Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-05T21:11:00.001-05:00

This holiday season we have truly been blessed with many celebrations with our friends and family. We kicked off the Christmas season by picking out the perfect tree. Unfortunately we didn’t make it to the NC mountains this year, but we went to the next best place for the freshest tree – the NC Farmer’s market. Our tree is not quite as big and obnoxious as last years, but still over 8ft tall! We spent all weekend decorating the house…we officially have enough Christmas decorations since I have to actually take down our regular decor in the living room.

December would not be complete with out my annual Cookie Swap…this makes the the 4th year and like I said last year, the cookies keep getting better and better! There were white chocolate cranberry, ginger, sugar cutouts, lemon, peanut butter and jelly, chocolate dream, loaded oatmeal, brownie bites, toffee, almond and snickerdoodle cookies to choose from. The next weekend I got all dolled up with friends for the Credit Suisse Holiday party at Solas. While it was only for employees our hubby’s all went to dinner at the Flying Saucer and we met up with them later at Busy Bee Cafe. The Solas bartenders made amazing non-alcoholic drinks for me all night.

The weekend before Christmas was a pretty big snow storm for western NC and Virginia, so we had a smaller than usual Family Christmas in Pittsboro. We saw my mom’s family for lunch and missed my aunts, uncles and cousins. For dinner, we headed to Greensboro where they had 4-5 inches of snow for the Hedrick Family Christmas.

Our traditions continued this year with our Christmas Eve dinner at my dad’s. Dad made Beef Wellington and we had brown rice casserole and asparagus-pea casserole before heading to Candlelight church service. After church we opened gifts and enjoyed raspberry cheesecake and saw the little girl’s off to bed before Santa arrived. We got so many great gifts: running stuff, Wii Sports Resorts, Scotch and gift cards for Ben. Maternity clothes, pj’s, jewelry, and a pedicure for me. And a new camera lens and bag for both of us.

Christmas morning we woke up at home really early- Ben and I are like kids on Christmas morning - to open our presents from each other. I think we both loved our gifts to each other this year. Santa brought Ben a new Garmin Forerunner, clothes, books, and cologne. Santa delivered new perfume, a robe, Philosophy body wash, Pandora gift card and an Ipod adapter for my car to me. Freddie even enjoyed his stocking full of treats, new toys and a collar.

After opening gifts from each other, we had our traditional Christmas morning brunch at my mom’s with Crème Brulee French Toast, Garlic Cheese grits, fruit, eggs, bacon and apple crisp. Santa was also good to us all and everyone loved their gifts. Ben finally got a gift card to get his build a mash tun for brewing beer and I got a Snoogle pillow, gift cards and a new purse.

Following presents and brunch Ben found the perfect spot for a quick nap in the rainy weather before heading to his parent’s house for more Christmas festivities. There we spent the afternoon snacking and playing a game of Dirty Santa. Susan and George gave us the cutest swaddling blanket with embroidered bumblebees. Little Peanut got quick the collection of gifts this year…I can’t imagine what next year will be like!

A Seattle Souvenir!

2009-12-13T20:57:00.001-05:00

We’ve been keeping a secret, which may be the reason for my lack of posting here! Two weeks after returning from Seattle, we found out we were expecting. The newest member of our family is due June 19, 2010 and we could not be more excited or feel anymore blessed!

I’ve been documenting the pregnancy so far and you can read more about it at Baby Stafford’s blog!

Blogger Tags: Baby

Now that I’m getting more energy back and feeling much better I hope to update you on everything else we’ve been up to since Seattle including a full post of our trip. Seattle holds an incredibly special place in our hearts as many life changing moments have occurred there. First we were engaged on Alki Beach during my first trip. Second we got the greatest souvenir of all when we went out to celebrate our 3rd Anniversary.

Homecoming Queen

2009-10-19T20:52:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago my little sister, Sara called me with the fantastic news that she was nominated for ECU’s Homecoming Court. Not wanting to miss this chance we made plans to go to Greenville for the weekend regardless if she made the top 5 or not. We knew it would be a fun weekend of tailgating and a great football game anyways.

Being that Ben is a student at ECU in their distance program he was able to vote for Sara. His vote definitely counted since she made it to the top 5. After a panel of interviews and a week full of parties and appearances she rode in the Homecoming Parade and was introduced during half-time on the field. We all held our breath as Sara was announced ECU’s 2009 Homecoming Queen representing Kappa Delta. I think everyone had a few tears in their eyes.

After half-time we ran down to meet her for pictures, and watched by the end zone where she and Tremaine , the Homecoming King, raised the No Quarter flag at the beginning on 4th Quarter. What a wonderful weekend full of good food, friends, family and wonderful memories! Congratulations Sara…Ben and I are so proud of you!

Fall Chicken and Cider

2009-10-19T20:10:00.001-05:00

The chilly weekend got both Ben and I in the mood for fall. Our menu for the week has already included Taco Soup, which was perfect for a lazy Sunday. I knew we would have chicken tonight, but I was in the mood for something quick, easy with a fall flavor…I stumbled upon Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce and it was perfect with 5 ingredients!

By cooking the chicken in the bacon renderings, it gave it wonderful flavor. The bacon and cider complemented one another too. Our sides included wild rice and maple roasted brussel sprouts. This will definitely become one of our favorite week night meals.

Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce (Cooking Light)

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bacon slices, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh onion
3/4 cup unsweetened apple cider
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Add chicken to drippings in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add onion to pan; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring constantly. Add cider and broth; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Stir in cooked bacon; serve sauce over chicken.

Hops & Hillbillies

2009-09-20T19:08:00.001-05:00

Saturday five us loaded up the car and headed all across the Piedmont of NC for beer and food! Chris, Sam, Shane, Ben and me started our day off at Natty Greene’s for lunch in downtown Greensboro. It was our first time as Chris, Sam and Shane went to UNC-G and discovered Natty Greene’s several years ago. I am always amazed at the local breweries we have in our state – so many fun places to eat and try new craft beer.

Natty Greene’s has so many beers on tap we could not decide, so we opted for the sampler tray of 6 different beers to start with. After sampling the Old Town Brown, Hessian Hefe-weizen, Elm Street IPA, Autumnfest Vienna Lager, Full Moon IPA and New Garden Milk Stout, Ben decided on a pint of the Elm Street IPA. I was enjoying taking sips from each, so I kept the sampler for myself!

The food was just as good and we all got something different. The portions are enormous and I got the Smokin’ Turkey Wrap: oven-roasted turkey with crisp applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, provolone cheese and chipotle raspberry mayo wrapped a sun-dried tomato tortilla. They have several sides, but I highly recommend the pesto pasta salad. Ben got the Chipotle BBQ sandwich with fries. After lunch we headed west to Foothills Brewery in Winston-Salem for Beer School and City Beverage for a beer shopping spree. They have a class complete with power-point presentation, quiz, beer-tasting, brewery tour and graduate certificates they developed for their employees and are now offering to the public. We all thought it was well taught, but being pretty knowledgeable about beer already most of it was a refresher, especially for Chris who recently completed real Beer School! For $10 to taste all of their beers on tap, it was a good deal and pretty fun. We wrapped up the night with dinner at the Hillybilly Hideaway in Walnut Cove, NC. This amazing homestyle, all-you-can-eat restaurant located in the middle of no where is about 20 minutes north east of Winston-Salem. It is only open Fri-Sun. and was completely packed, but the wait was worth it. We stuffed ourselves to the point of being miserable with fried chicken, bbq spare ribs, cream corn, green beans, pinto beans, creamed potatoes, slaw, cinnamon apples, country ham, biscuits, cornbread and the sweetest tea imaginable.

The Best of Both World’s Pizza

2009-09-19T19:18:00.000-05:00

Friday night we could not decide between pizza or Mexican…so Ben made us taco pizza after we had it a few weeks ago when we actually went out for pizza!He used a whole wheat crust and used our newest favorite salsa, Pomegranate Chipotle as the “sauce”. The added ground beef cooked in taco seasoning, tomatoes and Mexican cheese. Once it was cooked he topped it with shredded lettuce and extra cheese. This was better than what we had in a restaurant and has been deemed as one of his best specialty pizzas!We also had fun doing a mini-beer tasting to compare our top Oktoberfest beers and some pumpkin beers. Bells Octoberbfest won out over Otter Creek Oktoberfest and Ben and I had different opinions on the Dogfish Head Punkin’ Ale, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin and Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale, but all three are delicious and some of our favs!

Macadamia Nuts and Mahi-Mahi

2009-09-08T21:11:00.001-05:00

Fish is always an easy dinner for us since it cooks quick. So when I ran across this recipe which actually called for Tilapia, I was excited to try it. Mahi-Mahi was on sale and I thought I’d spice up some plain couscous with the leftover coconut milk.

I loved the heartiness the nuts gave the fish and the coconut added just a little natural sweetness. For the couscous I used 1/2 cup of coconut milk and 1 1/2 cups water, then added salt and pepper to taste. I tossed in some extra chopped macadamia nuts for extra crunch. My only complaint was the lack of presentation..I should have added some colorful veggies!

Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi-Mahi

5 ounces (about 1 1/4 cups) coarsely ground, roasted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for brushing foil
4 (6 to 8-ounce) mahi mahi fillets
Kosher salt and pepper
2 tablespoons coconut milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, stir together the nuts, panko, flour, and butter. Set aside.

Place a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and brush it liberally with vegetable oil. Place the mahi mahi on the foil and sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper on both sides. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush each fillet with the coconut milk. Divide the nut mixture among the tops of the 4 fillets, patting the mixture to spread and adhere to the fillets. Return to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

Happy 21st Birthday Sara!

2009-09-08T21:04:00.001-05:00

We recently celebrated my little sister, Sara’s 21st Birthday. Being it was a Sunday night we opted for a sophisticated Cocktail Party, dinner at McCormick & Schmicks and cake instead of a late night out on the town!I was in charge of the Cocktail party and the menu included Blue Cheese Pecan Dip with celery, Fig & Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Hummus with veggies and pita chips, and a cheese platter. No cocktail party would be complete without cocktails! I mixed up Raspberry and Cranberry Cosmos plus wine and champagne. Before dinner we gave Sara our gifts…she loved the wine and champagne glasses, wine tags, napkins and other fun wine things we gave her. Her BIG 21st birthday gift was an amethyst David Yurman ring. It was beautiful and one of those might be going on my gift list very soon!At McCormick & Schmick’s we had a fun surprise. When I called to make the reservation and let them know we were celebrating Sara’s birthday, they informed me a birthday message would be on the menu! For dinner most of us ordered the Salmon stuffed with Brie, Shrimp and Lump Crab meat or the Halibut with sautéed leeks, Gnocchi and lump Crab. After dinner we enjoyed a family favorite cake, Pineapple Cake…and we were thoroughly stuffed, but it was all so delicious. Happy Birthday Sara!

It’s All Greek To Me

2009-08-10T20:52:00.001-05:00

The past few weeks we have been eating a little lighter to balance out all the amazing food we ate on vacation. While I browsing the Complete Weight Watchers Cookbook a recipe for Turkey with Feta topping caught my eye (or taste-buds) since I have been craving Greek food with lots of Mediterranean flavors. I decided to adapt the recipe using chicken and added a Greek vinaigrette that we used as dressing on our salad. Also on the menu was couscous, which cooks in less than 5 minutes and is a Greek staple. This recipe was really quick and easy, which was perfect for an evening where we both went on a run.

Greek Chicken

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup greek vinaigrette
6-8 sundried tomato halves (not oil-packed)
1/2 cup boiling water
1.3 cup crumbles low fat feta cheese
1 shallot, minced
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Marinate the chicken breasts in the vinaigrette for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350*. Bake chicken in oven proof glass dish for 20-25 minutes until juices are clear.

In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes and boiling water; let stand 2 minutes. Drain and finely chop; return tomatoes to bowl. Stir in the cheese, shallot, garlic, basil and oregano.

Top the chicken with tomato and cheese mixture; broil 4-5 minutes until cheese is soft and slightly melted.

Wilmington Day Trips

2009-08-06T20:37:00.000-05:00

While we were vacationing in Topsail we took two separate trips to Wilmington. One day the entire family went for a little stroll through downtown Wilmington on the Riverfront, shopping at the Cotton Exchange and lunch at Dockside in Wrightsville. Before lunch we strolled along the riverfront and saw the Battleship as well as the Coastguard docked. We were intrigued with the “stickers” on the side of the ship and asked one of the crew getting on the ship and he confirmed the marijuana stickers were the number of drug busts that had done and the six round ones above that were for cocaine. All the others are other awards. It was really cool to see how proud they all were. For lunch we headed over to Wrightsville Beach to Dockside for lunch. It was hot, so we ate inside on the 2nd floor with a perfect view of the Inter-coastal Waterway. They even had a decent selection of beer, which I definitely enjoyed with my crab cake sandwich. While walking from the Cotton Exchange towards the Riverfront we came across Front Street Brewery. We actually had intentions of coming back, but made solid plans once we saw the place and their menu.

On our way home, we took the long detour and stopped at Front Street for a sample tasting and we loved the Scottish Ale so much we each had a pint. Knowing we’d be getting home late, we decided to try two appetizers for lunch so we could eat local rather than fast food off 40. The homemade salsa had just the right amount of heat, but the best was the Buffalo Blue Cheese sticks – Amazing! We had plans to eat dinner at my mom’s since we were picking up Freddie since they doggie-sat for us, so we picked up a growler of the Scottish for everyone to enjoy! It was the perfect ending to a perfect week at the beach.

Good Eats at the Beach!

2009-08-05T20:36:00.000-05:00

As I have mentioned before, on our family vacations we are each in charge of a day for breakfast, a drink of the day, dinner and dessert. Lunch is usually leftovers, sandwiches or one of the few salads we prepare in advance.

A few months before our vacation we literally draw days of the week we will cook and in the next few months we gather recipes and set our menu. Since we are a family who loves to cook…this is actually relaxing and enjoyable for us. I love having the time to put together an entire meal from scratch! Check the links for recipes…Paula Deen was a big hit for the week. I do not think any recipes was rated less than 5 stars and I’m pretty sure we all gained a few extra pounds from all the good food we ate all week.

Our first full day, Sunday, was Laura and Lillie. They chose Monkey Bread for breakfast and one of their favorite dinners of Sloppy Joe’s and fries!Monday was my dad’s day. We had an American breakfast of eggs, grits, bacon and toast for breakfast and a seafood feast for dinner. He picked up fresh shrimp, king crab legs and oysters from a local seafood market on the waterway. As our appetizer we all enjoyed shucking steamed oysters, especially Lillie! Our main course was a “low country boil” with the seafood, potatoes and corn. We did have to get a little creative with cracking the crab legs, but it was well worth the time and effort…they were delicious. Dinner was followed by Peach Cobbler and homemade vanilla ice cream. Ben was up next for Tuesday. He had us all build our Breakfast In Bowls with hashbrowns, sausage, eggs and cheese. He started dinner early by cooking his special ribs for several hours in the oven and Macaroni and Cheese on the crock pot. Roasted Corn with Chili-Lime Butter and cornbread rounded our his meal with Sticky Toffee Pudding and homemade vanilla ice cream as his dessert. The sticky toffee pudding was heavenly and we still have part of this frozen we brought back with the anticipation of making Sticky Toffee Pudding ice cream very soon! By mid week we did not think we could be eating any better, but Sara impressed us with Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze and one of my absolute favorite Paula Deen recipes, Baked Garlic Chesse Grits for breakfast. Our afternoon/evening cocktail was Bahama Mama’s…these were just like the ones I loved on our honeymoon!! After our family Christmas card pictures on the dock at sunset we feasted on Shrimp Carbonara and warm spinach salads. The dessert of the night was Cooking Light’s Berry Peach Cobbler and vanilla ice cream.Thursday was my day! Since I like to prepare things in advance I made Orange Pecan French Toast, that sits overnight. So all you need to do it pop it in the oven and I served it with fresh fruit and Spike Iced Cappuccino’s. For dinner I had a mexican theme and started the meal off with Blue Margaritas and South of the Border Mason Dixon Dip. The main meal was Chicken & Shrimp Fajitas and Corn and Black Bean Salad. Keeping with the Mexican theme, I made Banana Quesadillas with vanilla ice cream for dessert while we enjoyed a few rounds of Sequence.Last, but not least…Adam started our day off with homemade donuts – both glazed and iced chocolate! His drink of the day was Summertime Alligator and the Midori made this drink! Dinner was fit for a king…the biggest steaks I have ever seen and grilled to perfection, twice baked potatoes and Caesar salad. Ben was the only one who actually finished his steak and the rest of us took doggie bags home with at least two-thirds of our steak left. A perfect steakhouse dinner was not complete without Cherry Cheesecake. The little girl’s had their own special dessert of “Eat all you Can Chocolate Ice Cream” - what a perfect way to end the week!

2009 Vacation #1: Topsail Island

2009-08-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

Just last weekend we got back from our first official vacation of 2009 in Topsail Island with my dad, stepmom and sisters. I have not been to Topsail Island since I was a toddler and do not remember anything about that trip. Apparently we survived a hurricane where the winds were so strong it would have blown me and my then 1 year old brother, Zack, off the deck.

On our first day we met up with everyone at the Crab Pot in Surf City. It’s a hole in the wall place with no air conditioning and you order at the bar, but the food is delish. The oyster burgers and crab cake sandwiches were a great way to start off the beach week. While there is not hardly anything to do on the island besides a handful of restaurants, that was fine by us. The week was quite enjoyable, full of beautiful weather and lots of relaxation! So relaxing in fact, I took my laptop, found the WiFi and decided to shut off the computer for most of the week and read a few books. Like all of our beach vacations, we each draw for a day that we are in charge of making breakfast, a drink of the day, dinner and dessert. We are a family that loves to cook and entertain, so for us to finally have the time to try out new recipes and whip up some old favorites, we had lots of fun.

We also brought our camera and extra lenses. We were so lucky to have perfect sunsets every night off the marsh behind the house and beautiful days on the beach, we ended up taking 600 pictures!!

All Fun and Lots of Play

2009-08-02T19:25:00.000-05:00

While I mostly enjoy sitting on the beach reading a book with my toes in the sand, Ben and my sister’s boyfriend, Adam, along with Laura and Lillie enjoyed playing and occasionally convinced me and Sara to join in the fun. The girl’s loved having the boy’s around to take them far out in the ocean past the sandbar. After the first trip we can keep a close eye on them as they got a little too confident with themselves and were definitely not scared of being too far out in the ocean alone. Us girl’s did a make few trips to the ocean when were dying in the heat of the sun. Now that we’re older and wiser, we are pretty skeptical of the ocean floor and not being able to see the bottom, although the water was clear on calm days. Ben was such a good sport and let us bury him in the sand. Laura and Lillie had such a fun time shoveling sand onto him until he was completely covered. I think they were smart enough to know he would eventually have to go in water to get all the sand off! Daily, we also played horseshoes, Frisbee, and football. Adam and Sara taught Lillie how to hike the ball and she played Quarterback. But not all games were played outside. Sara, Adam, Ben and I had a little friendly round of family beer pong. It has been years since I played this and after losing 2 rounds in a row, I called it quits! Also one night we played Sequence and the little girl’s were quick to learn the game too.

Our 4th of July Celebration…

2009-07-31T20:02:00.000-05:00

As long as I have no attended Camp Seafarer for the summer, I have celebrated The 4th of July at the beach. This year was no different – me, Ben and Freddie got loaded up (after I worked most of the day) and made our way down for a sunny, fun-filled weekend. In 2004, my parents bought a new beach house and for the first few years the entire community has had an organized potluck by the pool as well as parade of golf carts. The past couple of years the tradition has fizzled out and we started a new tradition of our own and we enjoy a huge potluck dinner with our immediate neighbors. Every year we add a few more families and we run out of room for the dishes. I think this year I counted 35 people including us, my mom and stepdad, brother, Uncle Robbie & Aunt Linda, cousins, grandparents, and family friends! There is everything you could possibly think of – shrimp, pork lion, steak, grilled chicken, BBQ, salads, baked beans, mac and cheese, and many desserts. We all sit out side on our patios mingling and catching up with everyone while the kids run around and enjoy a few mixed drinks. This year our neighbors directly across from us, Julie and Ricardo, treated us to authentic Pina Coladas. Ricardo is Puerto Rican and says the trick to the best Pina Coladas is sweetened condensed milk…I don’t think I want to know how many calories is one of these. After we fully stuffed and nicely relaxed, we line up our chairs on the front that faces the Cherry Grove Pier to watch the fireworks (at a safe distance!) It really is the epitome of summer!!

Ben – The Handyman

2009-07-29T19:54:00.000-05:00

June was a big month for projects around our house and I barely lifted a finger!! Since we have been in our house for over a year now, we are on our second round of projects. Finally the big kitchen remodel (well - big for us and our practically brand new house) was completed!

Before we even made an offer on our house we knew we would want to add an over-range microwave and retile the backsplash. That dream came true while I was away on my Girl’s Weekend to DC…it truly felt like I was on one of those HGTV shows where the wife gets to go away for a weekend of pampering, while the husband stays at home to finish the project. Ben’s team was his dad who is very knowledgeable in home improvement projects. Surprisingly the project was on budget and on time, but not without at least one pitfall along the way. It turns out they had to replace the entire wall behind our stove! Once that was complete it was smooth sailing with installing a new outlet in the cabinet, then the microwave and finally putting up the tile, grouting and sealing. Once I arrived home to a spotless house on Monday to see the finish project…I was created with flowers and a card! Impressive - I was absolutely blown away with Ben’s handy work! Our kitchen is finally the way we want it and it feels like us now. Additionally Ben installed new pendant lighting over our bar area, a new ceiling fan in the living room and our bedroom. I also painted our master bath and we got a new down comforter for the new duvet I got for my birthday.

Girl’s Weekend in DC

2009-07-28T20:04:00.000-05:00

Each year, it has become tradition to enjoy a Girl’s Weekend with my college roommate, Meg, and her mom, Kathy. Last year they came down and we had a weekend at the beach with a day-trip to Charleston. We decided to switch scenery and head to Northern Virginia where they live.

It was a very enjoyable weekend which started when we left early Friday morning. Ben had a weekend warrior project of installing a new microwave and re-tiling the kitchen backsplash! After arriving at The Borghi’s, we shopped at Reston Town Center where I finally found a cream and blue shell dish to keep all of my jewelry. Kathy made a delicious dinner of Caprese Salad, crusty bread and Mushroom Ravioli. We ended Friday night with Confessions of a Shopoholic.

Saturday morning started out with a run for me and my mom followed by breakfast al-fresco on their amazing deck. We all showered then headed for our lunch reservation at he The British Tea Pantry in Aldie, VA. We had so much fun sipping tea and the quiche was delish! We spent the afternoon wandering in and out of shops in historical Middleburg and then made a quick shopping trip to the Leesburg outlets where I found two outdoor pillows for our Adirondack chairs and a tall floor vase for the curly branches I purchased almost a year ago for our bedroom. For dinner we ordered in, invited a few friends over and spent the entire night emptying bottle after bottle of wine, chatting in true girl’s style!

Sunday was deemed museum day. It’s been forever since any of us had been to the museums on The Mall in DC…after breakfast we headed towards the metro with a quick stop at Meg’s condo. Meg is an interior designer and I love seeing all the new things she’s found and work they have done on their condo. By lunch, we had arrived at the National Gallery of Art and decided to have lunch in the cafe by this really cool waterfall. After we had all intentions of touring the museum, but I think we spent more time in the cafe – we came back for gelato - and shopping in the gifts shops. I had never seen the Hope Diamond, so we finished off the day with a tour of the Smithsonian.

Monday morning was a lazy one and we got on the road by 12 noon. We decided to make a detour for another first - IKEA! Wow…how have I made dozens of trips to Northern VA and never stopped in IKEA! I got out of there under $100 with the biggest shopping bag I have ever seen.

By this point I was anxious to get home to see the Big Kitchen Remodel of ‘09…once we arrived home I could not have been more proud of Ben and his hard work. The kitchen looks amazing and better than I could have ever imagined. I think I should take more long weekends away and leave him with weekend projects more often! I’ll have to see what projects I can come up with another big project by the 2010 Girl’s Weekend!

The Official Birthday

2009-07-09T19:21:00.001-05:00

Like I said…we do multiple celebrations when it comes to birthdays! Ben surprised me by taking the night off for my birthday and inviting my mom, stepdad, brothers and sister in law over for dinner.

But before dinner - we enjoyed breakfast of my choice and best of all presents and cards!! Ben is an excellent card giver and shares my love of finding the PERFECT card…this year was no exception! He also gave me a new Michael Kors summer-white handbag and matching wallet. I love handbags and it was the only thing I wanted! I get so many compliments on it.

For dinner Ben made homemade pizzas – Ham & Pineapple, Sausage & Veggie, and Shrimp, Spinach, Mushroom white pizza - all were delish. My mom brought her amazing Spinach, Blueberry and Mandarin Orange salad. And as our tradition, Ben made my birthday cake. It’s a rule – the birthday person requests the cake and does not have to make it! He made my absolute favorite cheesecake…Banana Pudding Cheesecake. After we enjoyed cake it was present time! My mom surprised me with more of our crystal champagne glasses. When we got married we registered for just 2 champagne glasses in our crystal pattern for us to toast with. Over the years, we’ve found we drink more champagne when entertaining than anything else. She also got me the duvet I’ve been lusting over for months and Zack & Amanda got me a gift card to one of my favorite stores! Thanks so much for coming to celebrate and my gifts!

When one celebration is not enough…

2009-07-09T19:08:00.001-05:00

When Ben and I celebrate birthdays…the day turns more into a week and this year was no exception for my birthday! On Sunday before my actual birthday we headed to Sanford to have a joint lunch birthday celebration with my step-mom. We made it a day and went to church, enjoyed lunch and the lazy afternoon playing with their new puppy, Jack! Jack is a Chiporkie…he’s mostly Chihuahua and Yorkie, but he does have a little poodle in him too. He is 3 lbs of fur and spunk and is as cute and sweet as can be! The girl’s are loving having a dog and enjoy chasing and sometimes being chased by Jack around the house.We had a great afternoon - my pineapple cake as wonderful and I love all of my gifts, especially the Pandora bracelet.

The Forever 29 Birthday Party

2009-06-23T21:27:00.001-05:00

One of my best friends, Tara, turned 30 - only 3 days after my 28th birthday party. I was a gracious friends and donated a “year” to her and we had a “Forever 29” party to celebrate! Our day actually started with a Mommy lunch at California Pizza kitchen. I finally got to meet Tara’s Mommy since she just moved down from New Jersey. We spend the afternoon pre-spending our birthday money and finding new outfits for our big night out. Our night started at The Mint in downtown Raleigh, but no night would ever be complete without beer and how convenient that The Raleigh Times was literally around the corner.

The Mint was absolutely amazing! The decor is beautiful, the martinis were delish and the food was mouthwatering. We all got the three course menu and it was just the right portion. I had Truffled Mac & Cheese for an appetizer, Scallops with pearl pasta and tangerine butter, and the most decadent chocolate mousse for dessert! We even got gifts from Susan – she is so sweet and it was so nice to finally meet her!

The evening was perfect at Raleigh Times where more friends met up with us for delicious brews. It was a perfect silly summer evening and one of the best birthdays yet!

Celebratory beer!

Steph & Toby Get Hitched!

2009-06-23T21:03:00.001-05:00

At the end of May, my college roommate and one of my best friends got married in Williamsburg! We had a wonderful weekend away, celebrating - Steph met Toby a few weeks before Ben and I were married and unfortunately I did not get meet Toby until the Rehearsal. Toby is from London and after Steph graduation from Vet school, they moved cross-country to Seattle. Toby is a great guy and a perfect match for Steph - we wish them many years of laughter and love!

The weekend started off with the rehearsal and a Italian dinner that lasted over 3 hours! There was plenty of wine flowing and the party continued back at the hotel where it was karaoke night.Saturday morning the girls got ready at her parents house and before we knew it, we were arriving at the chapel. Steph was gorgeous in her amazing dress and the wedding was beautiful.

The cake…the best part of any wedding!

Hob-Knobbing Around

2009-05-17T17:29:00.001-05:00

This weekend we pretty much did whatever we wanted…ran a race, celebrated our finish times at Tyler’s Tap Room with a few brews (Terrapin Sun Ray Wheat & Big Boss Liquidator), met up with our friend Chris, Sam and Shane, enjoyed Sunday Sushi with my family and finally bought new knobs for our kitchen cabinets. Oh and we tried the #1 beer in the world…Westvleteren Abt 12.

Not that our other knobs were terrible or outdated, but we just wanted our kitchen to be more our taste. Hopefully soon, we will get to work on the “great re-tile and microwave install of ‘09” and the back splash will incorporate a few bronzed tiles mixed in with the natural stone we’ve picked out. It was pretty easy to settle on one of the hundreds of knobs at Lowe’s this morning and Ben and I could not be more happier with how they bring out the color of our cabinets. The next step is to faux paint our light fixtures. We love the design of them, just not the color and I want all the hardware and metals to match. Then comes the messy part of ripping out the old backsplash, installing the microwave and re-tiling. Additionally, we need a weekend to paint the dining room…the color is already picked!

Restaurant Week: Girl’s Night Out

2009-05-17T17:19:00.001-05:00

Many cities have restaurant weeks and I did not know Raleigh was holding their 2nd annual this past week. Tara and I enjoy having Girl’s Nights during the week while the boys are either working or having their own Boy’s Night. After weeks of talking about it, we finally settled on Solas for our restaurant.

Solas is one of Raleigh’s newest and hottest restaurants and honestly I was expecting more of a club and lounge than a fine dining type of restaurant. The deal is: $25 gets you an appetizer, entree, and dessert. When entrees are priced at $30, this was an amazing deal and a great way to try new places that have been our list for quite some time.

Everything about Solas left me impressed and already talking about coming back. It’s the perfect place for a group celebration, fancy night out or just grabbing drinks and appetizers with friends. After walking in the door, I felt like I left Raleigh and arrived in Miami, Las Vegas or New York. The decor is very chic, sultry, edgy and everything is softened with white sheer curtains around almost every table. The first floor includes the restaurant, bar and outdoor seating area. The second floor has another bar and a clear dance floor looking down below. Finally the third floor is the rooftop bar overlooking the Raleigh skyline.

Tara and I arrived a little early for our reservation and enjoyed a Strawberry N’ Balsamic Martini and Peach White Wine Sangria. For an appetizer we ordered the BBQ Duck Quesadillas and Portobello Fries, both were amazing. We both had our eye on the Filet Mignon with Cabernet Goat Cheese Butter. Between courses we ordered one more drink – the 419 Mojito (made with Grapefruit Vodka) for me and a Strawberry Gazpacho cooler for Tara. The steaks were almost as mouthwatering as our desserts: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Macadamia Nut ice cream and a Blood Orange Creme Brulee!

Everything was AMAZING! I can not believe something like this exists in Raleigh…we will definitely be back!

We’re Famous!

2009-05-17T16:50:00.001-05:00

After almost three years…it seems our wedding was so awesome, Duke Chapel wanted to feature it on their wedding website! We received an email from Mollie Keel, the Duke Chapel Wedding Coordinator, letting us know the website had been updated and wanted to know if we recognized anyone. There we were sharing our first kiss!

Things like this never happen to us, so we were quite surprised. Duke Chapel has hundreds of weddings every year and ours was almost three year ago! But, for now, we’ll enjoy our 15 minutes of fame!

Here is the link to see the entire webpage:

http://www.chapel.duke.edu/weddings/index.html

Happy Mother’s Day!

2009-05-10T20:18:00.001-05:00

Today we hosted my mom and grandmother for a Mother’s Day Luncheon. I just love a good excuse to get out on my china and crystal and have a house full of guests! On the menu was Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly on crackers for a light snack, Chicken Salad Croissants, Strawberry Pecan Mixed Greens salad, champagne and water. We found some delicious almond champagne that went amazingly with the chicken salad and my mom brought a friendship dessert bread for a sweet ending to a perfect lunch!

Even though I am not a mother yet, I was a mother-to-be, and Ben and my family did a wonderful job at recognizing the holiday for me too. I thought today would be hard and a little sad, but it was different…it was hopeful and I felt special to be included! Ben bought me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers ever, delectable chocolates and one of the sweetest cards. My mom gave me a massage at a new spa in Pittsboro and mentioned she also got herself one and we will be enjoying a girl’s day of pampering very soon!

Today was such a relaxing day, spending time with family and enjoying the beautiful weather!

‘Naner Puddin’ Cheesecake

2009-05-10T19:53:00.001-05:00

Saturday night Ben and I went to my dad’s to celebrate an early Mother’s Day dinner with my stepmom and I insisted I would bring dessert. Normally on my quest for a dessert recipe I look for no less than a 4 star rating and tons of reviews. I stumbled upon this recipe for Banana Pudding Cheesecake that was rated 5-stars, but only 3 reviews…and I am so glad I took a chance! Everyone loved it.

It is a relatively basic cheesecake recipe with a vanilla wafer and walnut crust that is not difficult at all. I was a little worried it would taste like plain cheesecake with meringue on top and would lack the distinct banana flavoring. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this cheesecake did indeed taste like banana pudding…two of my very favorite desserts. This recipe will be added to the Stafford’s 5 Star Recipe Book and will probably be one of my best-no-fail dessert recipes for the future!

Uptown Banana Pudding Cheesecake (Southern Living)

1 1/2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 large ripe bananas, diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon coffee liqueur
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Meringue

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Press evenly into bottom of a lightly greased 9-inch springform pan.

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Combine diced bananas and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a small saucepan. Stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Place over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute or just until sugar has melted. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer 3 minutes or until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup granulated sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in coffee liqueur and vanilla. Pour into prepared vanilla wafer crust. Spoon tablespoonfuls of banana mixture evenly over top, and swirl gently into cream cheese mixture.

Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set.

Drop spoonfuls of Meringue gently and evenly over hot filling.

Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until Meringue is golden brown. Remove from oven, and gently run a knife around edge of cheesecake in springform pan to loosen. Cool cheesecake completely on a wire rack. Cover loosely, and chill 8 hours. Release and remove sides of pan.

Wedding Season is Upon Us…

2009-05-06T20:47:00.001-05:00

The next few weeks will be spent at many different wedding events. This past weekend, my mom made the trip to Williamsburg for my college roommate, Steph’s Wedding shower. She is originally from Northern Virginia, but since college graduation, her parents have moved to Williamsburg. Steph now lives in Seattle with her fiancé Toby and Greyhound, Daisy where they just purchase their first home and she’s a Emergency Vet. The shower was amazing! Just imagine a spread out of a Martha Stewart magazine. The theme was a butterflies and flower and the attention to detail was everywhere. We enjoyed champagne, a luncheon, chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and handmade butterfly cookies as favors. All of Steph’s bridesmaids are literally spread out over the country from NC to NYC to Chicago to Seattle and unfortunately I was the only one who could make it. So I fulfilled my honorable duties writing down gifts as well as being photographer and floral consultant. We had a fabulous time and Steph received many wonderful gifts to start her life with Toby. It was so great to see her and I could not believe it has been almost 2 years since I last saw her - right before she moved to Seattle. Now we are looking forward to their wedding…when I finally get to meet the lucky groom!

Some Fun Pictures…

2009-04-26T20:13:00.001-05:00

We’ve been having a blast relaxing the past two weekends. We have not done much, at least not blogging about, but we do take pictures of the “fun” we have. Cooking, grilling, food, flowers, beer, etc…

Ben’s smoked ribs!

Beer and barbeque (homemade)

Cheeseburgers and Sweet Potato fries Alfresco!

Ben’s Beer Collection!!

Freddie enjoying the beautiful weather too!

Beautiful spring Iris

Green Eggs and Ham!

2009-04-26T20:04:00.001-05:00

We’ve had so many “events” lately that I’ve been buying groceries for special occasions and it’s been eating at our grocery budget, plus adding extra things to our fridge and pantry. In and effort to clean things out, use what we have and keep our budget in check, I refused to buy any groceries for dinners this weekend. (Other than the awesome sale on shrimp at Harris Teeter on Friday).

Today was spent running (literally) and running errands! After m run this morning, I set out to use my $10 Kohl’s gift card, check out TJ Maxx and Old Navy, get m hair cut and highlighted, and buy new food for Freddie. I found the greatest deal at TJ Maxx…Cole Haan Nike Air’s. I’ve been lusting over them for almost two years now, but could not come to make the $300 purchase. But today…sitting alone on a shelf was a perfect pair of brown pumps in a 7.5 for only $50!!!

After my shopping spree, errands and pampering, the task of dinner was upon me. I always like to make our weekend dinners special since those are the only nights we have together, but I was pretty tired and needed something quick and easy. We finally decided on breakfast…an omelet for me and scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits for Ben! Ben was pretty jealous of my omelet made with leftover ham from Easter, garlic basil pesto and sharp cheddar cheese! Ishared with them since it ended up being a ton of food. His compliments of it “tasting so gourmet” were awesome. I let him on my secret of quick dinners on the nights he worked.

I think we’ll make it through the week with only a quick trip to the grocery store for milk, juice and yogurt…this week should make up for the past few!

Fins to the Left…We are the People Our Parent’s Warned Us About!

2009-04-26T19:41:00.001-05:00

Thursday we were lucky enough to take an escape from the work week to Margaritaville! It’s been a few years since I’ve seen Jimmy Buffett and even longer since I’ve seen him at Walnut Creek. An outdoor venue is always so much more fun to see the tailgaters and all their attire. After finally finding the Tiki Hut…we enjoyed Cheeseburgers in Paradise, margaritas, rum punch, subs, mexican dip, wings, buffalo chicken dip, brownies, key lime bars and beer! The highlight of the tailgate was my little sister Sara convincing me to shot-gun a beer…in all of my years at Virginia Tech and tailgating, this is something I never did! I think all 17 of us including our parents circled around to enjoy the show. I think we made them proud!

This year’s show was awesome and we had a great time…we could not have asked for better weather with the high in the 80’s. It was the perfect kick off to the summer and it would have only been better if we got to enjoy Margaritaville a little longer! After the concert, my uncle and aunt, Eddie & Lisa, came back to our to stay the night. They are fun New Bern and came to Raleigh for the concert. We had such a great time hanging out with them…next time they’ll have to stay longer. Eddie also brews beer, so he and Ben have tons to talk about!

Spring To-do List…

2009-04-19T15:23:00.001-05:00

This weekend was the first weekend we’ve been home without any plans in a long while. We’ve recently re-organized our master to-do list and we started tackling the list. First on the list was finally putting up the dark chocolate velvet curtains in the living room. The room is basically complete now…we eventually will add crown molding, but as far as decor…it’s complete! We could not be happier with the colors of chocolate brown and green. The curtains really frame the window and soften everything up. Next on the list was new flowers for the bed in the front. Several weeks ago we planted Double Knock Out roses and an Azalea in memory of the baby we lost. I still had some space in the flower bed, so we decided on yellow African Mums and purple Salvia. It was quite a productive weekend…putting up curtains (that I actually ironed), planting flowers, organizing the bathroom cabinets, and cleaning the house until it’s spotless. We even found time later in the afternoon to go on a 3 mile run. It was a perfect spring day!

Next up is painting a desk, painting the dining room, more organization…and finally installing a over the range microwave and a new backsplash in the kitchen!

Impromptu Date Night!

2009-04-19T13:29:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, Ben and I were finally going to have a date night…it’s been way too long! It was going to be a nice quite night at home, making dinner, enjoying some wine and a movie. But, work and family and Easter celebrations took precedence.

This weekend was the weekend in months that we’ve had no plans and stayed home. It’s been wonderful! After working in the yard, cleaning the house, doing a few small house projects and going for a run together, we set out to get the ingredients for dinner. Both of us were starving and it was already 6pm when we got the grocery store. We decided on a cheese platter for an appetizer to tide us over. While we enjoyed our cheese platter of smoked gouda and jalapeño havarti with a Rex Goliath Pinot Noir, Ben grilled the steaks and I made a Balsamic Strawberry Salad with Walnuts and Feta Cheese and roasted baby red potatoes. Dinner was delicious, although both of us could have made a meal on cheese, crackers and salad. The potatoes were barely touched, but will be featured in a later dinner this week! After dinner, we watched Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler…such a cute movie. Disney movies always put us in a good mood. It was just a perfect day…no rushing, no worries, doing things as we got them done and doing whatever we wanted! The weather was beautiful too…Carolina blue skies and highs in the low 80’s!

Inaugural Beer Tasting

2009-04-19T13:14:00.001-05:00

Our friends, Tara & Rick, just bought their first house and moved in the past weekend and none of us could pass up the opportunity for the first weekend to have a beer tasting at their new house! I knew I could not show up empty handed, but for weeks I was stumped at what to get such great friends for a housewarming gift. Plants and wine would not do…but beer…YES! I found this tasting set by Mikasa and ordered it, plus a set for us. (We wouldn’t want Tara and Rick to have to bring their tasting set over to our house for beer tastings when we host!) Ben went to Sam’s Blue Light and picked up a nice selection of beer and I also found a great book on the different types of beer with food pairings. It made quite a nice basket, which I was quite happy to give to the happy new homeowners!So after an almost free dinner at Chili’s, which was the real reason we out that night, we headed over the Kups’ new diggs. Boy have they been busy in the past 7 days… After a quick tour of the house, we got down to business…tasting!

The beer flight set was a big hit. Sometimes we feel like we rate beers higher than others based on their reputation and rareness. We have discussed having blind tastings in the past, so everyone took turns taking the flight set, picking a beer and serving. Then, we all chatted about the beer and guessed which one it was from the collection we put together. Rick got us all pretty good! During one tasting, which no one enjoyed and I proclaimed, “I’d rather drink a low-calorie, watered down Miller Light”, he had snuck in a leftover Rolling Rock! This pretty much proves we’re all Beer Snobs!We did taste some great beer and had a phenomenal time relaxing at the new Kups’ house! I’m sure this is just the first of many beer tastings and fun memories with our great friends.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:58:00.002-05:00

What a glorious day it has been. Sometimes I think Fall is my favorite season, but now that we’re enjoying Spring…it really might be my favorite. Spring is so easy to be excited about. When it’s a beautiful day you can’t help but to be in a good mood! After winter everyone is excited to enjoy the warmer weather and this Easter weekend did not disappoint! We headed to Sanford for church, then Easter lunch. I brought what I thought was a new Macaroni and Cheese by Paula Deen, but turns out I made it for Ben’s 28th Birthday party and it’s one of his favorite. Ever since Julie, Johnny and the boys sent us the most amazing Mac & Cheese all the way from Seattle, (the perfect comfort food) I’ve been on a quest to replicate the recipe. The secret ingredient is Pepper Jack cheese.

After a few modifications I made something very close to Beecher’s Mac & Cheese. It cooks in the Crockpot and we timed it perfectly to be ready after church.

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stuck) butter, cut into pieces
2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Easter Dinner!

2009-04-12T18:48:00.002-05:00

Saturday evening my brothers and I all got together at my mom’s for an Easter dinner. A perfect ending to a pretty perfect day! My mom baked a ham, made a new baked macaroni and cheese recipe, green bean casserole and steamed broccoli.

I knew I wanted to bring a dessert since I have not made one in quite a while. I also knew I wanted it to include fresh berries now that they are back in season. After spending almost an hour searching for the perfect recipe…I finally stumbled across Tyler Florence’s trifle recipe. It calls for homemade lemon curd and while it does not have a lot of ingredients, whisking the curd for 10 minutes constantly almost made me change my mind. But it was worth every minute of vigorously whisking! Trifles are always pretty easy desserts that usually do not require baking…they are always beautiful in a glass bowl! This one did not disappoint and the lemon flavor with the berries was a perfect Easter flavor.

Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries

6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
4 lemons, zested and juiced
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in chunks
1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved lengthwise
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh blackberries
2 cups sweetened whipped cream
1 prepared lemon pound cake, sliced
1/4 cup Lemoncello or Grand Marnier liqueur (optional)
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

To make the lemon curd: Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a metal or glass heat-resistant bowl and whisk until smooth. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch, and continue to whisk. Keep working-out that arm and whisk it vigorously for a good 10 minutes, until the curd has doubled in volume and is very thick and yellow. Don't let it boil. Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of chunks at a time, until melted. Refrigerate until the custard is cold and firm.

To build the trifle: put the berries in a mixing bowl and toss them together so they are evenly distributed. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled lemon curd to lighten it up into a mousse. Line a glass trifle bowl with pieces of pound cake to fit. Drizzle or brush the cake with the Lemoncello, spoon a layer of the lemon curd over the cake, and then a layer of mixed berries. Repeat the layers until the ingredients are used up, the last layer looks best if it's the berries. Chill before serving. Garnish with fresh mint.

Cooper River Bridge Run 2009!

2009-04-06T21:20:00.002-05:00

This past weekend Ben and I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run with my mom and 83 year-old grandfather for 2nd year. Honestly, I was not really looking forward to it given the past few weeks events. I had not really run consistently since before Christmas and once we found out I was pregnant I really took it easy and did more walking and than running. Prior to the race on Saturday I had not ran in over 3 weeks!

I had high hopes of finishing better than my time last year and somehow I was able to shave off 7 minutes…over a minute per mile. I finished in 1:07:03 and Ben finished in 57:52!! I could not believe my time and I almost beat my personal record for a 10k I set back in November at the Old Reliable Run in Raleigh. Not too bad given the past few weeks and no training!

Over 31,000 people ready to run/walk 6.2 miles!

I’d say the theme song for my run was the 5th Dimension Age of Aquarius/Let the Sunshine. The weather was beautiful despite the chilly temps at 6am when we lined up for the shuttle bus to Mt. Pleasant. It’s an amazing experience to run alongside 31,000 other runners as loved ones cheer you on as your come down the final mile of Meeting and King Street.

The Kenyan’s running twice as fast as the rest of us!

Ben and I after the race.My mom and Papaw…he finished 1st in his Age Group!!

It was kind of bittersweet to think we might not be able to run next year…if we have another little one on the way! :)

After the race we all showered and headed out to T-Bonz for our traditional lunch and celebratory beers. No trip to any city is complete without finding the nearest beer store…we made it to the Beer Exchange without doing too much damage. We were so tired we decided to head to the beach house for pizza and early night in bed!

Enjoying a Nut Brown Ale and Raspberry Wheat post race!

Running this race was another weekend that Ben and I really needed. It’s been nice to get back to reality and do some of the things we both love! I’m so glad everything worked out for us to still enjoy the weekend in Charleston.

Lazy Sundays on the Beach

2009-04-06T20:53:00.002-05:00

The last full day of our Adult Spring Break was spent on the beach. It was a beautiful day, although slightly chilly due to the wind coming off the water. By 11am we packed up the cooler…it could have been the most expensive selection of beach beer we’ve ever taken out to the beach! We decided to bring a few of the beers we bought the day before on a surprise shopping spree at the Piggly Wiggly of all places.

Our Relaxed Beach Beer Tasting:

Terrapin Side Project #2: Roggenrauchbeir

Flying Dog Wild Dog Collaborator Doppelbock

Weyerbacher Blasphemy Quad Belgian

Well’s Banana Bread

Sam Adam’s Blackberry Witbier

In between beer tastings we went across the street to our favorite pizzeria at the beach…Basil’s. Other than eating and drinking we spent the afternoon wrapped up in towels while reading, chatting and taking walks. Tara and I were not exactly smart when it came to remembering that the sun was quite strong and we ended up with a nasty sunburn on our feet. So we headed back to the beach house and set out for ingredients for dinner.

We threw together the most amazing dinner of grilled scallops, NY strips, chipotle lime shrimp, asparagus and the last of the Beecher’s Mac & Cheese. AMAZING!! Dinner was followed by more beer tasting!! Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout, De Struise Black Albert, Dogfish Head Immort Ale, Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout and Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout. Our last day at the beach was exactly what we needed…it was so nice to do nothing and no one cared that we did that!

Myrtle Beach Beer Fest

2009-03-31T20:50:00.002-05:00

Our long weekend at the beach was centered around the Myrtle Beach Beer Fest. Even though it was cloudy and we had a round of spinkly rain, the beer fest was really fun. This was the first year it was held. We’ve been to several other Beer Fests and while this was smaller, it was also less crowded and much more relaxing and enjoyable. Despite a lot of your typical domestic beers, we were able to try a few local brews as well as others we just have not had the chance to try for one reason or another. It was also a great way to try different styles that I don’t normally like such as IPAs. Tara and I were the talk of the festival with our Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout shirts! Rick decided to the be the oddball and wear and Dogfish Head t-shirt.

My favorites were Clipper City Loose Cannon, Hook & Ladder Backdraft Brown, New Holland Poet Stout, Foothills Peoples Porter, RJ Rockers Buckwheat, Stone Smoked Porter, New South Nut Brown Ale and Thomas Creek Deepwater Dopplebock.

The festival was held in the new Market Street Commons. Afterwards, we ate at Gordon Biersch for a late lunch where I had the beer sampler, then walked around the shops. The trip was not complete without a beer-buying spree in the Piggly Wiggly of all places. What a great selection…we came out with Founder’s Kentucky Bourbon Stout, Southern Tier Java, Wild Dog Collaborator, New Holland Dragon’s Milk and Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout!

We were pretty exhausted from beer tasting, so dinner consisted of leftovers and the most amazing Mac & Cheese from Beecher’s in Pike Place Market…all the way from Seattle. My sister in law, Julie sent it to us since it’s the best comfort food she knew of. We were instant fans and plan on ordering more. It’s shipped fresh and ready to bake! DELICOUS!

Beachin' & Shoppin’

2009-03-31T20:26:00.002-05:00

Thursday evening, we departed for a great vacation at the beach with our friends Tara and Rick. Even after arriving at almost 11pm, the night would not have been complete without a very tastings of beer!

Friday morning, we were pretty lazy getting up and relishing in the fact our coworkers had been at work for quite awhile while we enjoyed Lemon Poppy seed muffins and fruit salad in our pjs. Our morning also included a quick walk on the beach.

Since it was cloudy and raining we decided on shopping for the day's activity...a little retail therapy was really needed after the week I'd had! The boys were not too thrilled and dropped us off while they went to the movies. Bad mistake! Two girls running around the outlets for almost 4 hours...we did some damage. We ended up buying out most of Ann Taylor Loft, but there were some amazing deals. We each ended up with a new spring wardrobe and I found dresses for the upcoming bridal showers and weddings in the next few months. Ben and Rick were pleasantly surprised when they picked us up that we had gifts for them too! They got a lot of matching things (including matching cowboy hats and beer boxers)!

For dinner, Ben and I introduce the Kups to T-Bonz...our absolute favorite place to eat the beach. The meal would not be complete without an appetizer of Tommy Fries, baked potato wedges smothered with cheese, bacon and ranch dressing. I could barely eat my dinner! We all brought home leftovers.

Friday night was our official beer tasting night. We tried 8 different beers and different they were. It always seems our beer tastings end up with all Stouts and Porters, but we had quite a few Belgians included this time. For several hours we spent hovered over tasting sheets, making notes and discussing beers like a bunch of nerds! Here's our list:

Drunkin' Punkin'
1809 Berliner Style Weisse
Thristy Dog Raspberry Ale
Stone Vertical Epic
Struise Pannepot
Żywiec Porter
Terrapin Side Project #4 Dos Cocoas Chocolate Porter
Thristy Dog Siberian Night Imperial Stout

A New Landscape

2009-03-23T19:33:00.002-05:00

Today was a particularly bad day…we recently found out I was pregnant and had our first ultrasound this morning, however we did not get news that we were hoping for. The baby did not have a heartbeat and the gestational age was a week off from where it should be. Ben and I are sad, but are looking forward to moving on and have resolved that this just was not the right one for us.

I did not feel like going to work and took off the rest of the week since I’ll be having a D&C tomorrow morning. We did not feel like sitting around the house all day…the weather was too gorgeous for that! All weekend I was itching to get outside, get some new bushes and add some color to our landscape. We figured it’d be a great day to plant some new life in our front yard!

We planted an azalea in the very front in an effort to cover up an ugly utility pole. We also wanted a breed of roses and found these great rose bushes, Double Knockout Roses, that are very low maintenance and grow tons of flowers for most of the year.

Not only did it get our mind of things, but we really enjoyed the great weather and spending some QT together!

Later we also received these gorgeous flowers from my brother, sister in law and parents. So many beautiful flowers in and outside of the house…they really cheer us up!

Human Treats!

2009-03-21T16:14:00.002-05:00

After a scare with Freddie earlier this week and his hind leg injured, we went for a check up to the vet. This is another chore I absolutely hate. I love my dog to death, but we tend to put off his annual check ups for as long as possible! Freddie hates the vet, freaks out and becomes a Tasmanian Devil as soon as they touch him. Today was no different! Freddie is only 25 lbs and it still took three people to give him his shots, drawn some blood and cut his nails. In fact, our vet said he’s the only dog under 50lbs that takes 3 people to get anything done to him. I think it affects me more than him. Once he was done and got treats, although he really did not earn them, he was the vet’s best friend.

After we paid our $222 vet bill for them to tell us his hip is tight and he probably hurt it jumping off the bed…we decided we needed a treat of our own for enduring Freddie acting out. So on the way home we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for a dozen and a Coffee Coolatta…DELICIOUS!

The boys dug right in before I could get a picture of the colorful dozen. I enjoyed a Berries and Cream, but can’t wait to bite into a lemon filled, or the plain, or the Boston Cream. Ben might open the box to find a bit taken out of each one!

The Worst Chore Ever!

2009-03-21T16:04:00.002-05:00

I love a clean house, but I hate hate hate dusting! Maybe I’ve never found a product that works and the dust just gets scattered around. Or maybe I just wait too long in between dusting that there is too much!

Today I was determined to get the house spotless, so tomorrow we can relax and enjoy the clean house without the last few lingering chores hanging over our heads. I remembered I had bought these Pledge Dusters with the Multi Surface spray. They work pretty good…the spray seems to help trap the dust even more, so the duster picks up 90% of the dust. And because I’m pretty lazy when it comes to dusting and hate moving all the knick knacks, it fits into tight spaces so you don’t have to move them every time. These are definitely going into my cleaning supplies. Over the years of living on my own I’ve started to become partial to cleaning products as I find the ones that really work with the least amount of effort.

Happy Spring!

2009-03-20T20:13:00.002-05:00

I don’t think I’ve ever been so anxious for spring and warm weather. When stopping at Harris Teeter to pick up a few things for dinner, I decided to celebrate the day with a few bunches of fresh flowers…tulips and Gerber daisies! Let’s hope the weather continues to improve and stay gorgeous.