The Story Of Us

February is a a big month in our house.. we have so much to celebrate. I celebrate a birthday and while I'm not there yet.. next year I'll be celebrating a big milestone birthday with a big 0 at the end.. yikes. M celebrates his birthday the very minutes mine comes to an end.. so it's a two day celebration.. though sometimes we celebrate just all week long. :) We also got engaged during this fabulous month.. and then there is Valentine's Day which honestly just gets over shadowed by all the other awesomeness of the month. This year and hopefully if you like every year from here on out I am going to host a BIG BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY! Eleven days and eleven great prizes.. Get my post directly in you inbox with  Bloglovin I am now also offering ad space.  See  Sponsors  for more information .  I've Been Cleaning House.. bid on some of the goodies  here Newsletter Sign Up - Let's Stay Connected, Shall We?

A Closer Look Break From The Herd  Parked  Take A Swing With Me  The Long Drive     View Finder   Under The Umbrella Into The Light Get my post directly in you inbox with  Bloglovin I am now also offering ad space.  See  Sponsors  for more information .  I've Been Cleaning House.. bid on some of the goodies  here Newsletter Sign Up - Let's Stay Connected, Shall We?

One of my favorite desserts, a non chocolate dessert that is, is bread pudding. I have loved it since I was a child, it reminds me of home and warmth. I love that it is an understated dessert, sans frills plus it has bread in it.. how could it not be loved? Not to forget your home will smell delectable.  It is also so simple to make. You start with a croissant .  Tear it into medium sized pieces and place in a baking dish. I like to add a handful of chopped walnuts  Then we have our five ingredient fix. 1 cup milk, 1 cup cream (it doesn't have to be heavy), 1 cup of sugar and 2 eggs. The fifth ingredient I leave to you.. a dash of cinnamon or a teaspoon of vanilla. I went with cinnamon. In a pot swirl a few tablespoons of water with the sugar to dissolve. Then cook on medium heat till bubbles and thickens. Whisk occasionally till it starts to caramelize.  In another bowl whisk the milk, eggs, cream and cinnamon. When sugar mixture is ready turn off

I've been having one of those weeks.. and while I do have some delectable food to blog about I'm just not in the mood.. so for those of you who like me are just waiting for Friday evening to arrive, here's a few laughs from me (courtesy of Aunty Acid) to you to help you get through the rest of this week Let the laughing begin! and now for some wisdom.. which while funny is also so very true: Get my post directly in you inbox with  Bloglovin I am now also offering ad space.  See  Sponsors  for more information .  I've Been Cleaning House.. bid on some of the goodies  here Newsletter Sign Up - Let's Stay Connected, Shall We?

Recently I stumbled upon a few photographs I had taken during a photo walk in Westfield, New Jersey. I had thought I had lost them when my hard drive crashed a few years ago. So I thought I'd share them with you.   At Peace Secret Garden And then here's a little something new.. I took these last May when we were driving along the beautiful Skyline Drive in Virginia.   Around The Bend Emerald Kingdom All photographs are available for purchase here Get my post directly in you inbox with  Bloglovin I am now also offering ad space.  See  Sponsors  for more information .  I've Been Cleaning House.. bid on some of the goodies  here Newsletter Sign Up - Let's Stay Connected, Shall We?

This wasn't the best year for me and books.. I read plenty but not many blew my mind.. I used to have this thing about never leaving a book unfinished. I thought it rude to the author to not finish. There was always a slight chance that things would turn around and with a little clever twist I would end up liking it rather than not. I can no longer afford to do that. I am mom to a toddler, I am exhausted, I barely get the time to read. I make the time because I love to read. If in the first few chapters I am not even mildly engaged then I just stop reading and move on. I also joined Good Reads this year and love it, I entered a few of the giveaways and one a few books :) Which in turn exposed me to a few writers I hadn't known.. Virgin of Small Plains - Nancy Pickard - Started strong but ended predictably The World According to Garp - John Irving - Loved this one. It made me laugh and cry. It stayed with me long after I finished reading it. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets

D turned two and a half just before Christmas.. I took it as an opportunity to introduce him to the world of baking. He has helped me out in the kitchen before but never have I let him be in control of the process from start to finish minus oven duties.. though he did spend a lot of time at the oven door staring in. He has yet to grasp the concept of licking.. he just stuffed the whole whisk in his mouth. He was so tired with all the mixing, licking batter and decorating that when the cake was ready and it was time to dig in he ate a bite, laid down and said no. Ah the life of a baker. Moist Chocolate Cake from  Hershey’s Kitchens 2 cups sugar 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Unsweetened Cocoa 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup boiling water Whipped Cream Frosting 1 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon

Here's a recap of how we spent our Christmas week.. we don't celebrate so there were no trees and presents but there was a Santa and some hot chocolate (Jacques Torres makes a great cup) , lights and fish and toddler fun all around. We spent Christmas Eve walking 5th Ave and checking out all the window displays. We also met with an old friend of mine.. we've known each other since we were twelve I think and it had been a few years since we had met.. and in those we years I had had D and she had gotten married.. so it was wonderful hanging out with her.. even if only for a few hours. we stopped by Grand Central Station's Transit Museum Store and Gallery Annex where they had set up there 11th Holiday Train Show.. D could hardly contain his excitement, he even tried to jump into the display a few times. Christmas Day was spent in the Camden Discovery Museum chasing fish.. And the next day we spent running around in Philadelphia's Please Touch