Beautiful! Gorgeous! Wish you were here!

Yesterday I went on the most beautiful drive of my life. For those of you who have followed my blog for the past few months, you'll know that this is saying a lot as I have traveled many miles of landscape. What made this drive so perfect was that it was an unexpected treat. One of my Seattle friends was visiting family in Brattleboro, VT so I made the two hour drive over to see him! I left Albany expecting a typical drive along a highway, hoping that there wouldn't be a lot of stressful, morning traffic. As I made my way along the NY-7 E, I began a drive that makes you feel lucky, special, as if you were let in on a secret. I had seen the books and pictures of the amazing fall foliage of New England but it is something to be witnessed! The drive continues through NY for about an hour and then you head into Vermont, winding through part of the Green Mountain National Park along the VT-9. It's a drive so serenely beautiful that it should be experienced without concern for cars passing you, without news radio reporting on our economic woes, and definitely without cell phone conversations. Instead, put on your favorite music and take in the Northeast Fall.


After I got into Vermont, I met up with Dan and he gave me a tour of Brattleboro. Brattleboro is a very small town but offers unique charm with fun shops, coffee houses, and bakeries. After enjoying some coffee at Mocha Joes, Dan took me out for an authentic Vermont experience- APPLE PICKING! Vermont offers a lot of varieties of apples but we stuck to Dan's favorite: the Mcintosh. We had a great time walking through the orchard and even said hello to the farm animals including a reindeer! It was a fabulous afternoon and nice to get away from some of the noise our country has been facing the past few weeks. Now the real question/challenge- do I dare make apple pie?!?

When the Pottery Barn Collides with Toys 'R' Us

"Oh sure, that lamp would look perfect with the sofa but would it clash with the Little Me Activity Table?"

It has finally happened- I am now one of those people who sort of cringes when their neighbor knocks on the door because that means I have to invite them in and they'll see the clutter of toys, laundry piled high, diapers, wipes and the rest of the baby raising paraphernalia shuffled around the house. It doesn't matter how many wicker baskets you buy to tuck those toys away or how many times you try to prevent bottles and sippy cups from spilling- kids and clean, tidy houses- just don't go together very easily.

So why post a picture of all this on the internet, where everyone can view my domestic failures? It's simply a step toward self-therapy to say "I cannot do it all!" And, as my mother loves to say, "This too shall pass!" Gavin has entered his busy years and I can barely keep up with him. When he goes down for a nap- I have to decide: shall I shower, do laundry, figure out what's for dinner, or just say screw it and sit down and watch the Today Show?

This is simply a reality check- our once tidy home influenced by The Pottery Barn has been struck head on with the craze of Toys 'R' Us. Our fireplace has a baby gate attached to it, candlesticks, crystal bowls and picture frames have been stored away. Oh- and don't forget to "watch your glass!"

So to all of you mothers out there- I now understand the constant tug-o-war you face when trying to achieve a functioning household and also allowing your toddler to have fun. And now, after my rant- I think I really will sit down, enjoy a cup of coffee and watch the Today Show- because all that other stuff will still be there later...

Hurray for Comfort Food Season!

As summer winds down and the air turns crisp, we might get a little sad that we have to break out the long pants and actually wear socks for the first time in months! But then you remember all the wonderful meals ahead- I hereby declare it COMFORT FOOD SEASON! As many of you know, I just love to make soup! I have been known to make four or five soups on a Saturday afternoon! (that's way too many, by the way!!) My favorite is to make two pots of soup on the weekend and then have dinner/lunch options all week. I also love the classics such as Chicken Pot Pie, Pot Roast, Macaroni & Cheese and don't even get me started on Thanksgiving!! Throughout the fall- I will be posting my favorite comfort food recipes and hope that you comment back with some of yours. I unfortunately have been battling strep throat this week and nothing tastes better than Chicken and Noodles. It's really just my mom's version of chicken noodle soup but I always loved it growing up and still do! I have found an easy way to make this using just two bone-in chicken breasts which makes the proportions smaller which is nice when cooking for two. So here you go: the official toast to Comfort Food Season!

Chicken and Noodles

Ingredients:
2 split chicken breasts, bone-in with skin
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onion (about half an onion)
1-2 carrots- chopped
1 carrot - cut in three large pieces
1 stalk celery- cut in three large pieces
Half yellow onion- cut in thirds
Egg Noodles
1 can chicken broth* see note below
Thyme - fresh or dried
Salt & Pepper
Butter (2 tablespoons or so)

Place the chicken breasts along with the large pieces of carrot, celery and onion in the bottom of a medium sized stockpot. Pour enough water to cover the chicken breasts. Add sprig of fresh thyme or if you're using dried thyme- use about 1/2 teaspoon. Bring to a boil and then cook on medium high for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken and vegetables from stock and set chicken aside to cool. Return stock to a boil and then add egg noodles- because I cut this down- I use about 3/4 of a package of egg noodles and add can of chicken stock if needed*.

In the meantime, saute chopped celery, onion, carrots in butter (yes, butter- I suppose you could use olive oil if you're trying to be healthy but I'm telling you when you're sick- you want the goodness!!) Season vegetables with salt & pepper to taste. Saute until the carrots and celery are softened but still have some crunch.

Once chicken is cool enough to touch- discard skin and bone- and shred the chicken.

Add chicken and vegetables to the noodles and broth.

Let simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes to make sure vegetables and chicken are hot- then serve!

* you may need to add more chicken stock- which is why I list a can of chicken stock to the ingredient list- if you were to make a whole pot of this- you'd use a whole chicken and it would yield more broth. When you are just using essentially 1 whole chicken breast- you aren't going to get a ton of broth unless you made it really watery. It all depends on how many noodles you want- I tend to like mine more stew-like than soup-like so it's your call. You don't want to add water though because it will weaken your stock and your overall results.

Birthday Celebration!

Because Daddy has to work on Gav's birthday - we celebrated a day early!  We had lasagna which is his favorite dinner and finished it off with a cupcake!  Gavin knew just what to do with it- pick the whole thing up and shove it in his mouth!  He devoured the whole thing and even licked his tray!  Afterwards, Starsky enjoyed what was left on his chair!  Fun times!!

Happy Birthday Gav! A look back on year 1!

Can you believe it's been a whole year? I really can't believe it. Everyone told me that it would fly by but you don't realize it while living it! And yet, it seems like a long time ago that I changed that first diaper or watched him fight off jaundice in his little tanning bed. It has been an exciting year with lots of change. I would never have guessed that we'd be living in Upstate New York when we welcomed little Gavin into the world. We've had a great year becoming a family.

When I look back at all these pictures I get a little sad because those baby moments are coming to a close but I'm also excited to watch him grow into a little boy. He is developing a funny personality and he looks so proud when figures out how to do something like stand up or throw a ball. What more can I say? He's a little stud muffin! Happy Birthday G Man- we love you!

Oh yes, it's ladies night!!

So I realize that I risk sounding completely pathetic, i.e. desperate with this post but I am just so excited that I have finally made a friend here in Albany.  Adam and I met a really nice gal while we were walking the dogs and we exchanged phone numbers.  We had dinner with her and her husband and really hit it off.  So tomorrow night we are leaving our fellas home and having dinner and drinks at a really cute bistro/wine bar!  Probably the single hardest part of living here is missing my girlfriends.  They just get you through life!  I love my guys dearly but they simply can't replace my need to go dish about the latest accessory (i.e. us weekly... shh).  I am so excited to get dressed up and get out on the town sans child and sans husband to reclaim my sense of self!!  You can take the girl out of the cosmopolitan but you can't take the cosmopolitan out of the girl!!  

Hiking in the Adirondacks and swimming at Lake George

We had a great Labor Day taking a trip up to Lake George. We took a little hike up Prospect Mountain which is in the Southeast Adirondack mountains. Really beautiful landscape - the trees are all deciduous which is so different than the Pacific Northwest. Gavin enjoyed the views from up on daddy's back!