Passport to Love: England

My sister over at Little Family Blessings had posted a little while ago about one of the gifts she'd given her husband for his birthday, the "Passport to Love" created by the Dating Divas.  It's basically 12 home date nights, one for every month, where you "travel" to a different country and have a home date night themed around that country.  I decided it would be fun to put together my own Passport to Love to give to Zenith "just because" and gave it to him last night.

The "kit" includes printouts to make your own passport, plane tickets, card, and travel itinerary.

August's destination? 

England!

 

The night's entertainment being a few episodes of BBC's "Yes Minister," which I just ordered and got in the mail yesterday.

  I set up the living room to look like an English pub and dug out the pewter set my aunt and uncle passed along to me and my sisters.

On the menu was Spinach Potato Pie with tomatoes (because everything these days has tomatoes in it since we're drowning in them from the garden :P)

 I love lanterns and kerosene lamps so I have a few that I've collected that I was able to get out and light up around the room to really make it seem authentic.

 Dessert? Why, I'm glad you asked.  I finally succeeded at making a decent gluten-free pie!  This peach pie was really delicious and definitely a recipe worth saving.  The crust was flaky and buttery, and the pie itself held together very well.  Nothing beats fresh fruit, in-season pies.

Are you drooling yet?

How about now? ;)

It was a really fun night.  We felt like a couple kids playing "house" in an old English tavern.  Next month's destination is France so we'll see what I can come up for that one!  Dating your spouse is so important and doesn't have to be expensive.  You don't even have to leave your living room to travel the world together! :)

Here are just a few shots from this morning of William helping Daddy vacuum the apartment.  He's a very helpful little man...just like his Daddy. :)

Have a great weekend!

~Lindsay

Chicken and Squash Tomato Soup

I haven't posted a recipe in awhile and I just had to share the recipe for a soup I made last night.  It was a rainy day and just a bit cooler (though still muggy) so I took advantage of it by making it a soup day!  I love making soups and I love creating my own recipes for them.  Last night was just a matter of looking around my kitchen and gathering what I had, and then throwing it in a pot.  The result: a delicious Chicken and Squash Tomato soup.

It was hearty and filling with just a hint of spice to make it a great soup for Autumn. Here's the recipe:

Chicken and Squash Tomato Soup

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1-2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil or butter (I used a combo of both!)
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1/2 medium acorn squash (or any squash/pumpkin you have); about 2 cups cut into cubs
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced or a can of diced tomatoes
• 2 rounded tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more depending on how much of a kick you want to give it)
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
• Just a pinch of allspice
• Dash of adobo seasoning (optional...once soup has cooked, continue to season with salt to taste if you don't have adobo)
• Water or broth (just enough to cover chicken and vegetables)

In your stockpot or dutch oven, throw oil/butter and onions and sauté on med/high heat for a a minute or two.  Add garlic and diced chicken and brown up the chicken a bit.  After a few minutes, add the rest of your ingredients and then fill the pot with enough water to just cover everything (I never measure my water).  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for about 30-40 minutes or until the squash is soft.  I like just overcooking the squash because it starts to fall apart a bit and thickens the broth.  I didn't measure anything while I was making this so everything is rough estimates.  Season lightly at first if you prefer, and then go back and season more once the soup is cooked.  I didn't happen to have any broth but if you do, you can add that instead of the water.  This serves about 6, depending on how big your bowls are. ;)  With Zenith and William's huge appetites (Zenith had 2 "mansized" bowls, I admit I went for seconds, and William even had 3 helpings!), it served the 3 of us, plus one big bowl for leftovers.

 Bon Appetit! 

Maudslay Park and Plum Island

Saturday was sunny and just gorgeous.  The temperature was in the mid to upper 70s and the humidity was low so Nana and Bumpa met us here and we all headed out for a lovely day.  We stopped at Maudslay State Park, which is just a 20 minute drive from us, and spent the afternoon walking the trails through the woods, fields and along the river, and strolled through the gardens there.

Rides are best with your feet up :)

Grape vines!

Family shot

...typical "wife fixing something" moment :P

Nana and Bumpa

I just think this picture is so cute :)

Dad's new hat...we thought the bush would like some sun protection ;)

Mouse on one of the buildings

After a couple hours of walking, we packed back in the car and headed over with a picnic to Plum Island for dinner on the beach.  It was the perfect time of day for the beach...sun wasn't too hot, ocean breeze was lovely, and people had dispersed enough where we could have a nice peaceful dinner without bodies lying mostly naked around us.  William enjoyed playing with the sand (as long as he didn't have to step in it :P) and watching the seagulls.

It was so nice to enjoy the outdoors.  Summer is going by so fast and I haven't been able to get outside and do much with the high humidity during this pregnancy.  I love getting out for walks, but it's been so hard with the heat.  

Speaking of which, 28 weeks on Wednesday and into the 3rd trimester!  I have good days and bad days but with a new diet geared more towards whole foods and repairing my gut along with some great supplements (probiotics, methylated prenatals, fish oil, iron, and digestive enzymes all in the most natural form I can get them in), I'm hoping I'm on my way to better health.  I saw a Natropathic doctor and am still waiting on results, but we're looking into a specific genetic mutation, Lyme Disease, and my thyroid.  For now though it's a matter of eating right, with a balance of nutrition and exercise.  I haven't been feeling quite so faint as I was and I do have more days when I have a close to normal amount of energy so that's definitely a blessing.

Time to start dinner.  Happy Monday to all!

~Lindsay

Greetings from William

Hello again Everyone,

William here.  I figured I'd give you an update as to the latest since Mommy's been kinda lazy with the blog lately.  Things have been pretty busy with the summer and we've been out and about doing a lot when it's not too hot to be outside.  Mommy often lets me run around in just my nappy since I don't like it when she puts clothes on me on hot days.  I really like our new home.  Throwing stuff on the hardwood floors makes a lot of noise and I just love to do it over and over again.  Mommy doesn't like it though, and sometimes I get punished if I do it after she tells me to stop.  I have lots more room to play now and we get outside in our back yard a lot so I can run around.

Last week we went out for lunch after Mass.  My favorite part was getting apple juice!  I love apple juice but Mommy usually only gives me water or milk so this was a real treat!  I was a little cranky that day because I was tired, but the apple juice made everything better.

I even got it in a special cup!

Daddy wasn't being very nice though and kept trying to steal it.

 I've also been learning how to feed myself.  Yup, I'm a big boy now.  I can use a fork and I'm trying to figure out how to get the stuff on a spoon.  For some strange reason by the time the spoon gets to my mouth, there's nothing on it anymore.  That's ok, I just like playing with the spoon anyway.  It's also fun to get food on you and it's best when you can get it everywhere.

"Ok, Dad, enough photos!"

 Mum and Dad thought it would be best to throw me in the tub afterwards to clean me up.  I wasn't happy at first, but Daddy played with me and I'm really starting to like bath time now.  I can splash and get Daddy allllllll wet.

This is my newest toy that I found in Nana and Bumpa's garage.  They let me take it home!  I love to ride it and have finally figured out how to get on and off all. by. myself.  I just sign "help" to Mommy if I get stuck and she gets me unstuck.  Of course a ride wouldn't be complete without my blankie.

After dinner Mommy, Daddy and I all say the rosary together and I'm learning how to sit quietly through it.  Sometimes I get bored and start to fuss, but I have my religious books that Mommy lets me look through and that keeps me entertained.  I just love blowing kisses to Jesus and Mary and every time I see a statue or picture of them, I have to blow them kisses.  I love it when Mommy and Daddy tell me stories about Jesus and Mary.  

Here I am before bed saying goodnight to Jesus and Mary.

I'm talking a bit more now and am learning lots of new signs.  My favorite words and signs are cracker, milk, more, Daddy, Mommy, help, food, all done, flower, hi, bye, banana (my most favoritest food in the whole world), and I even started saying Bumpa when I was over at their house playing the last time.  I could see my Bumpa outside working and I wanted him to come back in and play with him.  He's lots of fun.

Ok well, it's time for lunch so I think I'll just toddle off to the kitchen to see what I can find.  Hope everyone has a good week!

Love,

William