Memorial Day Weekend Visitors!

During Memorial Day two of my best friends from Belhaven College came to visit me so they could see me while I am huge and pregnant; it really is quite the spectacle! I am 32 weeks pregnant, and due to back pain, I am pretty limited in how much I can do, so it was a mild weekend (especially considering the fun and crazy times we had together in college). It was a true testament to being at a new stage in life - the married with kids stage! We had a great time catching up, relaxing, eating good food, and looking at all sorts of adorable baby stuff! So, here are some pictures from the weekend.
This is a blurry picture of the steak dinner we made, with grilled asparagus, salad and wine. MMM, delicious!
This is Jerremy's reaction to the Renaissance Fair of Muskogee. Okay, not really, we didn't take them there, we just told them all about it.
This is to show you my largely protruding belly and how funny I look sometimes. We picked out two movies and watched both of them in one night! Traitor and Man From Snowy River- odd combination, I know.
The friends - Kendra, me and Aimee! Thanks for visiting girls! You're the best.
Another dinner at home in the back yard. We made fajitas with guacamole, green tomatilla salsa, grilled pineapple...Wow, so good. Maybe one of these days I will get around to posting recipes for all the yummy food we made! I know you want them.

My Belly After Eating

In case you have ever wondered what a pregnant belly looks like from the mother's perspective, here is a picture. I also wanted to show this because it seems I can't keep food off my belly when I eat. I have figured out that this is because I have to lean so far forward at an angle to get my face over a table or else rest my plate on my stomach in order to prevent crumbs from landing there. So, this is after eating a sandwich, and yes, we were in such a hurry that I ate in the car. At least I wasn't driving!

Nursery Inspiration

So, I saw these two ideas online throughout the past week +. I am considering these for the nursery somewhere, maybe?
For this one, I loved the paint on the walls! I am thinking of maybe using stenciling on an armoire instead of the wall though just for the sake of time, space, and the busy factor in the room.Since we decided on the name, Daisy Renee, these felt flowers would be so cute! I like the little light that beams out in the center too. Maybe above the changing table, but this might also be one of those projects that there is a good chance I won't quite get around to!


Micah and I visited his family this past weekend and made a trip to Ikea where we purchased a chandelier! He installed it last night and well, I LOVE IT! I will be posting a picture soon. It is so girly, and such a perfect centerpiece to what will be the nursery; although it does remind me how low our ceilings are. If you have read this blog for very long, you know I love chandeliers and this is the first one I have ever owned, I am sure it won't be my last though!

I also decided on painting one wall, so that project will probably be completed this weekend with the help of some fabulous college girlfriends who are coming to visit me! So, many more projects and pictures coming soon!

Lamb Burgers with feta Sauce and Cucumbers

So, the wonderful meal I made on the evening of my new embarrasing moment- Lamb burgers with feta sauce and cucumbers, it was also delicious! So, I thought I would recommend at least the dinner portion of that evening, if not the bonfire. I served this with a light summer strawberry/orange feta salad with poppyseed dressing.
1.5 lbs lamb
2 tspn. curry powder
3 scallions, thinly sliced
course salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 oz. feta cheese
2 tblspn plain yogurt
8 slices country bread, toasted if desired- yes I did desire
1 kirby cucumber, cut lengthwise into ribbons with a vegetable peeler

• In a medium bowl, combine lamb, curry powder, and 2 sliced scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper. Mix gently with a fork and form into 4 oval patties to fit on the bread, and about 1 in. thick.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season patties with salt and pepper. Cook until browned and just cooked through, 4-6 min. per side. (reduce heat if browning to quickly, or grill outside over fire)
• Meanwhile in a small bowl, mix feta, yogurt, and remaining scallions, mashing cheese gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper
• Spread for slices of bread with feta mixture, top with cucumbers, lamb patties, and remaining bread.

Picture taken with my phone, so not that great! Sorry!

A New Embarrasing Moment

I am not one of those people that has had the luxury of walking through life without embarrassing moments. Whether it is accidentally flipping my school uniform skirt over my head in drama class in high school, peeing the bed in college, or any other number of stories. Well, I have recently added a new one, and surprisingly, this one is not pregnancy related. I made lamb burgers with cucumber and feta sauce for dinner for Micah and I one night (I told you, I like lamb all the sudden!). It was a pretty evening, so I suggested that while I make dinner, Micah create a fire in the fire-pit in the backyard. We sat outside for a couple of hours, eating, talking, and enjoying a nice date night at home together.

The Fire Culprit

Then knowing what we had coming up that weekend we decided to go to Target and run a quick errand. So, here is where it gets embarrassing...
I mentioned to Micah that we probably smelled like smoke, but he brushed it off and said it wasn't too big a deal. So, at Target we are shopping and an employee was helping us when all the sudden she asked, "do you smell fire? I think something is burning." We shyly admitted she was just smelling us and that we had been at a bonfire. We quickly left the area, and then Micah went to try on a pair of jeans while I looked at maternity clothes. He called me on my phone to come look, so I quickly gave him the "nah, not that great", and started to walk away when I heard the four attendants at the dressing room start asking what was burning. They were so concerned they were checking their walkie-talkies for fire, asked if they thought someone was smoking in the dressing rooms...I quickly backed away and called Micah. Micah picked up the phone by responding, "I hear every word." I told him we were leaving, our smell was causing panic to break out at Target! I walked to get basil, and on my way happened to pass the hairspray aisle, and I will admit, I sprayed hairspray on my clothes to try and lessen the smell. I don't think it helped. We quit shopping at that point and quickly checked out with our few items. We couldn't stop laughing on our way out- I was mortified we smelled so bad that multiple employees were contemplating calling the fire department, but fortunately, no one did and the false alarm of a fire at target from two smelly customers was averted! I made us take all our clothes off in the laundry room before walking into our house when we got back, so fortunately, our home never smelled quite that bad!

Sweet Onions Stuffed with Lamb

In the past year I have discovered lamb. It is healthy (at least according to Jordan Rubin), and it has it's own unique flavor. I recently found a recipe for Sweet Onions Stuffed with Spiced Lamb and had to try it. It was really good when I first made it, but I wouldn't recommend for left-overs (could be pregnant taste talking there though too). So, here is how you make it, courtesy of Food and Wine Magazine with my adjustments:
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 c. dried apricots
2 tspn. finely grated lemon zest
6 medium sweet onions, 10 oz. each, unpeeled
4 tblspns butter
1 lb ground lamb
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
salt and pepper
6 tblspns finely chopped mint
6 tblspns finely chopped parsley
4 tblspns coarse dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. water

• Preheat oven to 400
• In a small sauce pan, combine chicken stock, apricots, and lemon zest and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until the apricots are plump and the liquid is reduced to a few tablespoons - about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut the top third off of each onion; reserve the tops. Using a melon baller (or a spoon like me), remove the center of each onion, leaving a two-layer shell. Coarsely chop the centers. Trim off the root ends and stand the onions upright in a medium baking dish.

Here is Micah helping me with this step (he is a big onion crier!)

• In a large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Add the chopped onions and cook until soft, about 12 min. Add the lamb and cinnamon, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until the lamb is cooked through and any liquid has been evaporated- about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the apricots and the chopped mint and parsley.
• Spoon the lamb filling into the onion shells, packing it tightly and mounding it over the onions. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, and dot with the remaining butter.
• Set the onion tops beside the stuffed onions and add the water to the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for about 20 min. longer, until the onion shells are tender and the tops are golden.
• Let the onions rest for 10 min. then sprinkle with remaining mint and parsley. Transfer to plates and serve!

I made cous-cous as the side, and it was a perfect accompaniment, and the 5 min. it takes to make that, helped make up for this more labor intensive main dish. All in all, yummy and if I say so myself, quite fancy too.

Indian Dal and New Patio Furniture

I promised I would make the Indian feast posted on another blog, and I have made or eaten most of the dishes since, so I thought I would share the experience - it was delicious! We have also been looking for patio furniture so we can enjoy our backyard in the spring (although it has been raining constantly so far). So, as I made dinner, Micah set up our new patio set, poured some wine, lit a candle and set the table for us! The dinner was great, but the company and thoughtfulness of my husband was the best. The recipe for the yellow indian dal can be found here.

Nursery Update

So, I went to the manufacturer of the polka dot fabric I really liked, and while there I found a different fabric that I love! So, I am switching. Here is the new nursery fabric (yes, it is silk). It will only be used on the bed skirt and then as trim in other places, the solid fabrics you see with this will be used for bumper, curtains, etc. and that is made of cotton and polyester so it is more washable.


My parents also bought us an armoire over the weekend for the nursery. It is unlike any you have seen in that is has 4 colors on it and is a very whimsical shape. I have not 100% decided if I will leave it all colorful or if I will end up painting it to match the crib I have picked out. But, I am just happy that decisions have been made! That makes me feel a little better about only being 12 weeks away from my due date! I will post pics of the armoire soon.

I need some ideas on window treatments. Anyone have suggestions?