We have tile!

Eric, our tile guy, was at our house from about 7:30am - 3:30pm. The tile is down and looks great! Will and I are really pleased with it. Tomorrow, Eric comes back to place the grout. Right now, Will and I are deciding between a few grout colors. I think we'll make the ultimate decision tomorrow morning when we have some sunlight though.

So - here it is, our kitchen with the new fabulous tile!

Will really wants to paint the cabinets, trim and bottom 1/2 of the walls white. I think we might be able to do white cabinets and trim, but I'm sort of thinking that the white walls will be too white...like startling bleached white. So, once we have this grout part figured out, on to the walls, woodwork and cabinets. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

The kitchen project - continued

The kitchen project continues!!

The tile guy came last week to install a special Ditra sub-floor. Its hard to tell from the pic below, but the sub-floor has little squares which have little grooves that apparently make Ditra sub-floor material better than just plywood.

Anyways, the first pic shows all the tile samples we were choosing between. They probably look fairly similar in the photo, but the colors were actually quite different in real life. The second pic (the orange floor) is the floor as it is now. Our appliances are in our dining room...our first floor is sort of in shambles and will continue to be for a few more days. The new tile will be installed tomorrow (Whooohoooooo) and the appliances will be moved back on Thursday. Due to my brother's wedding this weekend, we wont actually be around to use the new kitchen until next monday.

And here is the sub-floor (you can also see the missing baseboard in this pic. We removed that too....but it will ultimately be coming back of course):

How can something so tiny need SO.MUCH.STUFF?

Will and I have been researching everything baby. We took a stroll thru Babies R Us on Saturday to work on LittleBroneill's baby registry. I seriously can't believe how much stuff we need. It seems like it is never-ending.

From pack-n-plays, to high chairs, to cribs, to strollers, to bouncers, gliders and swings. I have no idea where we're going to put everything!

Though LB's registry isn't complete, we did order the stroller I've been eyeing for 6.5 months. It is the BOB Ironman jogging stroller. REI had a huge sale this weekend, so I got the stroller and the infant seat attachment. I can't wait until I get the green light from my Dr. after LB arrives to take him out on daily jogs in this.

Here it is:

An amusing pic from a work related project....

The project was work-related in that it was done at work for our boss, who is quite ill. It wasn't work related in the sense that it had anything to do with our actual work though. I was instructed to stick my belly out as far as possible for this one....so here it is:

The Second Best Day of My Life - kitchen project

The nasty, dust collecting, old carpet that

I absolutely loathe is...... GONE!

KITCHEN BEFORE PICS:


Where the toilet had been. We removed the ancient wallpaper from this bathroom about two weeks ago.

One of the problem areas. This cabinet was built over the baseboard.

-

The rusted sink that has left rust marks on all my white t-shirts (from leaning up against it when I wash dishes).

Will's cousin Pat came over on Friday night and helped Will get started on the floor removal. The hated-carpet was originally installed over a layer of linoleum. We'd initially thought about removing the glue from the linoleum and re-cycling it, but it didn't appear to be in great shape throughout. The linoleum, we assumed, had asbestos backing. The assumed-asbestos-backed linoleum was adhered to a plywood sub floor. So, Will decided that we'd remove the carpet layer AND the linoleum layer still attached to the plywood sub floor. Hopefully, this minimized our exposure to the asbestos. The plumber came last week and removed the radiators and toilet - removal of which is a prerequisite to having tile installed. The toilet is a goner....Will always hated the odd look of it, so we'll be installing a new one. I wonder if he hated it as much as I hated the carpet...probably not possible.

Once the radiators and toilet were removed, the problem we ran into was that a few cabinets were built OVER the baseboard. Some of the baseboard needed to be removed in order for the plywood to be removed. Some parts of the baseboard and plywood needed to be cut in order for the plywood to be removed.


ENTER PAT:















-

Pat and Will got to work Friday night around 7pm and in about an hour or so, the hardest part of the plywood floor was removed! WHOOO HOOOO!!!! Did I mention that this was the second best day of my life? I was so psyched to see the nastiness on its way out of our kitchen. I seriously can't put into words how much i absolutely positively HATE this carpet. Will is on my good side now for the rest of time....for eternity.

After the hard part was done on Friday, we all grabbed pizza and Pat headed back home. Will and I went to a few tile stores and lighting stores on Saturday to check out our options. We brought back a few samples.

Will and Pat hard at work:

-

Then today, after Will treated his mother and me to breakfast for Mother's Day, he covered the doorways to the kitchen with plastic, sent me out of the house, put on goggles and a face mask and removed the remaining awfulness (ie - the carpet, linoleum and sub floor). Did I mention that I have the best husband ever? What a mothers day to remember for this mother to be!

By the time I returned, Will had finished removing the carpet, linoleum and sub floor!














































Here are some of our tile samples.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE PICS AS THE PROJECT CONTINUES....

Finally - an update!!

Its been a while since our blog was updated. We've been sort of busy.
The biggest news is that Will and I are expecting a baby boy on August 3! That makes today the start of the third trimester. We're working on the baby nursery, trying to pick a baby name, reviewing consumer reports on all things baby, taking classes to prepare us, and working on finally finishing up our kitchen project that has been dragging on since....well....for a long time.

The Nursery:
This weekend, Will and I started clearing out all of our left over wedding items from the to-be-nursery. We just ordered bedding and we're leaning towards a puppy-themed nursery. Will has vetoed "anything too cute-sey". This doesn't leave a whole lot to choose from when it comes to baby things. We did, however, decide on bedding. We ordered this crib bedding set: http://www.baby-bedding-co.com/baby-martex-creme-brulee-baby-bedding-crib-cocalo.html?utm_source=froogle-home-decorating&utm_medium=cocalo&utm_campaign=Baby-Martex-Bedding-Creme-Brulee-Six-Piece-Crib-Set
We're planning to paint the walls blue and stencil some puppy design that I picked out (Will isn't yet convinced yet that the stenciling is a good idea, so I have a teeny bit of convincing yet to do). We will be posting before and after pics.

On Names:

Well. We're far from deciding on anything. I'd always assumed Will would want to name his son William, but apparently that isn't the case. We have a lot of date nights at Barnes & Noble looking through name books coming up. The most difficult part is finding names that neither of us associate with someone we knew growing up, someone we can't stand, someone who ate glue in elementary school, etc. We do have a few favorite names, but we aren't sharing any of those until August.


Classes:

We're currently taking a Hypnobirthing class. Google it if you've never heard of it. I have high hopes. Also - if anyone reading this has awful birth stories - PLEASE save them for after August. The class has been good so far. If nothing else, it definitely teaches relaxation and its nice to just spend some time together doing nothing but focusing on the big August event.



Here is me - my first Third Tri pic: I finally have an obviously pregnant belly. It didn't really pop until about week 19. In fact, I didn't tell my boss and co-workers until week 20. Anyways, it is REALLY obvious now!
I'm in green - with the belly.






The Kitchen Project:
The kitchen is well underway again! Will has been making significant progress. We've got linoleum and tile samples, we've got the wall above the chair rail painted, we've got first coats on all the lower wall, we pulled the wallpaper off the bathroom that is near the kitchen, Will has painted the insides of the closets in the back hallway and Will has painted the walls going downstairs into the basement. Will's cousin Pat is going to come over next Saturday to help with some baseboard and wood cutting things that have to be done before we go much further. I think we've also got a plumber coming over this week to remove radiators and remove the ancient toilet in the downstairs bathroom. Once all that is done, Will is going to remove layers of flooring...carpet, tile, plywood sub-floor. Then, we'll be installing either tile or linoleum (we're leaning toward tile). This is a huge project, but the thought of finally being done with it is propelling us forward.

Happy New Year!

Will and I had planned to go out for sushi tonight, but when we saw the weather forecast, we decided to stay in. So, we rented The Dark Night and decided to make sushi at home! We actually made veggie maki rolls. We had so much fun with this. For our fillings, our options were: cucumbers, sweet pickles, egg, sweet potato, shiitake mushrooms, avocado, peanuts, zucchini. We also made a version of spicy tuna (though it was cooked, not raw). Oh, and of course we made some Miso soup as well - it was delish! The only thing that was missing was seaweed salad.

Here are some pics. If you look closely, you can see the hand-made soy sauce dipping dishes that we made years ago.


Will refused to use his fingers like a true sushi chef. Oh well, it worked just as well with a fork. I used my fingers, though it was definitely messy.

Here are some of our rolls - mid way through being made. Mine is a Futo Maki and Will's is a Peanut Avocado (one of our faves from Natori Sushi). It took some time to figure out which way we were supposed to roll them....these were our trial two.

Happy New Year!!!

Ho ho ho....

Usually, Will and I spend Christmas with his family. Typically, Christmas Eve is at his parents house and Christmas is at his aunt and uncle's house. The menus are easy - not a turkey or ham sort of holiday. Rather, finger sandwiches, snacks, buddig dip, pickles, herring.....basically stuff that doesn't require cooking.

Will and I usually bring our Penguin & Igloo cheese ball and a HUGE tray of fancy homemade desserts.

This year, Will and I are having Christmas at our house. I figured we’d do something simple, but Will thinks we should make a turkey. I was almost in agreement with him, too. However, since neither of us have ever made a turkey and since we don't have a turkey roasting pan and since we wont have more than 6 people over, we ultimately decided on lasagna, garlic bread and chocolate trifle.

Here's us on Christmas Eve....Will refusing to smile for the camera :(

Our Winter Wonderland!

We got about a foot of snow Friday. It continued to snow a bit on Saturday and it is still snowing now. The snow in our backyard is undisturbed and looks so incredibly beautiful! Though not clear in this photo, there are some little animal tracks near the hemlocks. I'm going to venture out in a bit to see what they are. This morning, I tried to get Will to go make snow angels with me, but he refuses and is still in his PJs reading the paper.

Here is a pic of Will shoveling later in the afternoon.

And it just might be a snow day...

Apparently, school is already cancelled for tomorrow. We're under a winter storm warning (nothing new for this SD girl) and apparently are looking at accumulation of 8-12 inches.

WoooHoooo - a winter wonderland it will be this weekend!

BUT, given that I have to commute to work tomorrow, the worst part of the weather warning is this:
THE SNOW WILL BECOME HEAVY VERY QUICKLY. THUS TRAVEL IS NOT RECOMMENDED DURING THE AFTERNOON THROUGHOUT THE STATE. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR ARE LIKELY FROM MID FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING. ROADS DURING THE FRIDAY LATE DAY/EVENING COMMUTE WILL BE SNOW COVERED AND TREACHEROUS.

Nice. Last year during one whopper storm in particular, my company let us all out at 3pm...and so did every other company in the city. The buses were late and full. Everywhere I looked there was (1) snow; (2) traffic jams; (3) freezing cold workers who all got out at 3pm and had no way out of the city. It took me 3 hrs to get home (the normal commute is 20min). It was an awful mess.

Fingers crossed that the decision maker at my company decides to let us go early tomorrow so I can get snowed in at home with the Mr. :)

Such a lovely couple!

Here are the first few pro pics!

Chocolate Trifle Delight!

Will and I went to a holiday party for the Manchester Land Trust tonight. Will is the Attorney for the Land Trust (again, yet another reason why we call him Mr. Manchester). We were in charge of dessert. I got this recipe from a friend - it was super easy to make and definitely a crowd pleaser. Thought some might say our Trifle was the hit of the party, I thought listening to a geologist tell us about how CT was formed was the best part! How fascinating. I think I'm going to pick up a book on geology this weekend.

*****

In a trifle bowl, layer:

1st layer: Make a brownie mix from the box.

2nd layer: Whip a pint of heavy whipping cream. In a separate bowl, mix instant chocolate pudding mix with 1/2 cup water, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. Fold whipped cream into chocolate pudding.

3rd layer: Cool whip

4th layer: Heath bar crunch

Repeat 4 layers!

'Tis the Season

Holidays 2008 - Will and I just ordered our holiday cards on Sunday night and wooohoooo, they arrived yesterday! We're planning a marathon holiday card writing/addressing session for this weekend, so, I guess it wont really be a bad thing if we get snowed in (as the weather forecast is predicting). We're a little on the late side, but in our defense, we're using wedding photos and just got two sample photos from our photographer last week.

Since we're celebrating Christmas & Hanukkah, I made a wreath for our door (who knows if we'll get around to getting a tree, at this point, given that it is 12-18, my vote is NO WAY). Anyways, here is the reindeer wreath I created. Look at those cute little sparkly reindeer! :)

We'll hopefully have some Hanukkah pics up next week :)

Buffalo Meatloaf

I made this buffalo meatloaf last week and it was delish! I even got a thumbs up from Will and heard "yum, honey, this is really good" four times from Will, which definitely means it was a success.

I *think* I remember the recipe...i invented this one as i went along:


1 lb ground buffalo
1/2 pkg McCormick Meatloaf Spice Mix
1/3 cup low sugar tomato sauce
1 cup ground up shredded wheat cereal
2 eggs
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and patted dry

Mix, form into loaf on baking pan.
add an additional 1/3 cup tomato sauce on top
top off with sliced tomato
bake 350-375 ish about an hour.

Here is a pic - Will loved it! We also tried making meatballs from this recipe and they turned out really well!

THIS is Thanksgiving in Manchester!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Will and I have sooo sooo soooo much to be Thankful for this year. Our wonderful marriage, our loving families, the health of my brother who has had somewhat of a rocky ride this year, two nieces who bring laughter to our lives every day even though they live so far away, great great friends, jobs we love....the list goes on and on....

Will and I started T-day '08 by putting the finishing touches on our Pumpkin Cream Trifle (recipe below....YUM!)

A bit later, we headed to The Office for the big race. For those of you unfamiliar with Thanksgiving in Manchester, the day starts with the Manchester Road Race. The route is just under 5 miles and attracts serious runners....and not so serious runners, some of whom dress up in funny costumes, paint their bare bodies, and run in things like turkey costumes. This year, we saw several Spiderman runners, a few painted bodies, a lot of turkeys, two huge Pac-Mans, one family dressed as Dorothy, the Tin Can Man, Toto, the Scarecrow and even the Yellow Brick Road from the Wizard of Oz....very creative! Unfortunately, my camera battery died before I could get photos of the Wizard of Oz family :(

Will ran this year and did really well, especially considering he hasn't done much training at all. I watched it from The Office and got in a post-race, pre-turkey dinner run of my own in at the gym afterwards. I snapped a few race photos, including some of Will as he was running by, hooting and hollering in his typical Will-like manner. See him? - he is wearing a black shirt and black gloves, to the right of the guy in the red shirt...

Before we left, Will's dad's singing friends stopped by the office (at least I assume they are his friends, they come every year) and when Will's dad mentioned that I was a newlywed, they serenaded me with song! I think Nancy may have a few pics of that.

Later in the day, we headed over to Mark & Nancy's house for Thanksgiving Dinner. The food was delicious, the company was wonderful, and my Pumpkin Creme Trifle was a success (phew!). Here are some T-day pics (Will eye-ing the turkey and me eye-ing Will; Will and his brother):

On the way home tonight, we passed this house that has more Christmas lights than I've ever seen in one spot - Will turned around and pulled over so I could get some blog-worthy pics. The display seemed endless....

After we got home....and the highlight of Thanksgiving 2008 - for the first time we got to watch our Jes-Will-Fest '08 Wedding video that Will's cousin Matt made for us. The video was incredible....Will and I missed so much of the day and we really enjoyed watching it. I loved, Loved, LOVED re-watching the speeches that our dads, good friends and my brothers gave....definitely the best wedding speeches I've ever heard (yes, I'm biased). I got a lot of comments from guests that my Bridal Party were awesome partiers and could be hired out for wedding entertainment....watching them dance the night away on the video was priceless, Will and I had missed most of that too (table visits, you know). I really love those girls! The video was great and Matt was able to capture so much! Watching it, at times we had tears in our eyes, at times we were laughing so hard we were doubled over and more than once, one of us said - WOAH - can you believe we missed that!?! I even got to see my boss & his wife doing the polka (they were quite good, too!).

~~~~~~~~~~

Pumpkin Cream Trifle

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 cups cold milk
2 (3.4 ounce) packages cheesecake flavor instant pudding and pie filling
2 cups whipped topping
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
1 cup English toffee bits

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
Combine the cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin, water, oil, eggs, and pie spice in a large mixing bowl; pour into the prepared dish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Cut the cake into 1-inch cubes.
Whisk together the milk and cheesecake pudding mix. Allow to set, about 2 minutes. Fold the whipped topping into the pudding mixture.
Layer 1/3 of the cake cubes into the bottom of a large bowl; top with 1/3 of the cream mixture and sprinkle with 1/3 of the pecans and toffee bit. Repeat layering until all ingredients are uses. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Mom's Challah Recipe

I haven't tried this yet, but I think I will this weekend....

2 oz fresh yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water
1/2 c sugar
1/4 honey
3 eggs (or just yolks)
7 C flour (about...could be more or less a little)
1/4 c oil
t tablespoon salt

glaze
1 egg beaten
poppy seed
put yeast, water, sugar, honey in bowl....stir to dissolve...let stand until yeast bubbles. Add eggs, stir; add oil, salt, stir. Add flour one or two cups at a time*, stirring after each until most of the flour is incorporated and dough has formed. Turn dough onto board and knead until smooth...maybe 10 minutes...keep adding flour to the kneading surface so dough won't stick.
Put dough in oiled bowl, smooth some oil over surface, cover bowl and let dough rise till doubled in bulk. Punch dough down, knead 2 or 3 times, return to bowl and let rise again. When double again, turn onto board, knead a few times, cut into thirds and braid. Place braid on oiled baking sheet, cover with damp towel and let rise til about double. Beat egg and brush over surface. Sprinkle on poppy seeds.
place in 350 degree oven for about 45 mins or until loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom.

*humidity levels will affect amount of flour needed. when adding the flour keep adding until the dough does not seem to take any more

you just don't see this in SD

Connecticut is known for its vibrant fall foliage...but do you (meaning you who don't reside in CT) ever wonder what happens to all the leaves?

Check this out - this reminds me of a gigantic vacuum cleaner. We get a listing of when the town might pick up the leaves and everyone (everyone meaning the responsible homeowners) rakes them up onto tarps and dumps them at the curbs. This year, we had a lot of rain, compacting the leaf piles, but prior to the rain the piles were enormous.

This truck comes by with guys that have rakes. They just vacuum all the leaves up. Interesting. You can see the large vacuum hose in the photo below. The Leaf Truck fills quickly...so of course, there is an empty truck which follows and waits ....

Italian Pignoli Cookies

Italian Pignoli Cookies...I've never made these. Before today, I'd never even heard of these. Rewind to this afternoon - there was a posting about cookie exchanges on the Tribe board this afternoon and many people posted recipies. I found this one and decided to give it a try. Will is heading off to the Llama farm tomorrow to chop wood and I plan to send these with him. They are in the oven now and mmmmmm....the aroma! The house smells delightful!

Carrie's Very Italian Aunt's Pignoli Cookies

-1 can almond paste, cut into small pieces
(use only almond paste, not marzipan or canned almond filling)
-2/3 c. sugar
-2 egg whites
-1 tsp. grated lemon peel
-3/4 pignoli (pine nuts)

*Preheat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with foil.
*In a medium bowl, beat almond paste, sugar, egg whites and lemon peel with an electric mixer until smooth.
*Drop teaspoon of dough 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet.
*Sprinkle with pine nuts to cover, then press them gently to adhere.
*Bake 20 minutes or until tops of cookies feel firm and dry when lightly pressed.
*Cook completely on cookie sheet wire rack.
*Peel off of foil gently.
*Store airtight at room temperature for up to two weeks.
***Yield: 24 cookies

My notes:
-I tried dropping by teaspoon first and they were a bit small...i recommend increasing the size to approximately 1/2 tablespoon.
-Parchment paper works much better than aluminum foil
-20 min was too long in our oven. Start at 15 and work up...

Grade:
I give this one an A. It is a great cookie if you're a person who doesn't like everything to be chocolate. The smell of them baking alone is worth the effort of making them :) All in all, the recipe was very easy.

The final product:

I'd rather be....

Poor Will - no snowy-slopes yet...

by popular demand....

Many of our friends and family have asked for a copy of our ketubah text. So, what better way to share it (again) with all of you than by posting it here?

On the 19th day of the month of October in the year 2008, here in West Hartford, Connecticut, the beloveds Jessica M... M.... and William R.... B.... entered into this mutual covenant, as equal partners, loving and supporting companions in life.

Surrounded by family and friends, we promise to unite our lives in tenderness and devotion. We will treasure and respect each other with honor and integrity as we create a trusting and harmonious relationship. May the strength of our love provide us with the determination to be ourselves and the courage to pursue our chosen path. Let these rings symbolize our commitment to each other as beloveds and friends.

As we share life’s everyday experiences, we promise to strive for an intimacy that will enable us to express our innermost thoughts and feelings; to be sensitive at all times to each others’ needs; to share life’s joys; and to comfort each other through life’s sorrows; to challenge each other to achieve intellectual and physical fulfillment, as well as spiritual and emotional tranquility.

We also promise to establish a home shaped by our family traditions and values; a nurturing environment committed to the creation of a just society; a family filled with love and learning, goodness and generosity, comfort and compassion.
We joyfully enter into this covenant and solemnly accept its obligations.

Who doesn't LOVE Cookie Dough!?!

Now that Jes-Will Fest '08 has passed, I'm no longer a Knot addict (well, not as much). I do, however, have a few new obsessions....the Nest, the Tribe...our Blog...the list goes on.
Anyways, today on the Tribe board, someone posted this recipe for Cookie Dough Brownies (brownies...hmmmm...ya, that sounds interesting, right?). So, I emailed myself the recipe figuring it would come in handy...the poster said it was a "NO FAIL CROWD PLEASER". Well, tomorrow Mr. Manchester is heading off to Uncle Eds....the macaroons I sent with last time were a huge success, so I decided this time, I'd send him with some of these brownies. This crowd is good for testing recipes, so tonight after Mr. Manch and I go running, I'm going to give this recipe a whirl. Stay tuned for pics.

For now, Here is the recipe:
-Make a pan of brownies
- Set brownies aside to cool
-Cookie Dough layer:
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips

-In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars
-Beat in the milk and vanilla. Gradually add the cup of flour.
It will become a moderately creamy substance.
-Then stir in the chocolate chips
-Spread the mix over the brownies.
Store the whole thing in the fridge until you're ready to serve them-they apparently taste best when chilled!

- -- U P D A T E - - -

Here are the pics:


step one - make the brownies.... step two, add the topping.


Verdict:
Ease of Recipe: The cookie dough was difficult to spread. Everything else easy, but the recipe seemed to kind of have a lot of steps.
Taste: Eh...average...personally, I found it sickeningly sweet. AND, even though there are no raw eggs in the topping, I still think salmonella when i look at it.
Display: not great...they just look like brownies with cookie dough smeared across them. No big WOW factor...at least not in comparison to the things I usually make.

Final Grade: C+ ...Unless this is somehow a favorite of Mr. Manchester, I doubt I'd make these again.

The Bootleggers Ball...

Last Saturday, Mr. Manchester and I attended the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce's Bootleggers Ball..... here are some pics of us:

We had a blast, though we unfortunately didn't win any of the gift baskets (which included super-useful things for us east-coasters...like $500 gift certificates to the heating oil company). Mr. Manchester and I didn't dress up in 20's era clothing, but next year (assuming they do this again), I think we just might ;)

Our quest to become fine cooks...

Though Will and I usually have very different ideas of what makes the perfect meal, we both can agree on one thing...Fall is great weather for soups, stews and chili. With an extra hour today and with our newleywed goal of cooking more (and learning to cook more of a variety of things) still fresh in our minds, Will and I set out to find a perfect soup/stew/chili recipe. After a bit of searching, we decided to make a big pot of white bean chili. I found what looked to be a great recipe in Southern Living (no, we don't subscribe to Southern Living...but google does) and with a few minor modifications (more veggies, no meat), it turned out fabulous. The best part is that the recipe makes a humongous amount...which means that we don't have to cook for at least a few days...success! wink, wink.

In case any of you are interested in the recipe, here it is. We made some slight modifications (added fresh green & yellow peppers, added two small red potatoes-sliced, added 16oz bag of lima beans, added 1 can of chick peas, and didn't put the chicken in).

Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 skinned and boned chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 (15-ounce) cans cannellini or great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can free-range organic chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) package frozen white corn (we used Uncle Ed's corn from the Corn Party '08)
2 (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chilies
3 tablespoons lime juice
Garnish: fresh cilantro sprigs

Preparation
Sauté chopped onion in hot oil in a large pan oven over medium-high heat 7 minutes; add garlic, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in chicken pieces, and cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is lightly browned.
Stir in 3 cups water and next 5 ingredients; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, 10 minutes or until chicken is done.
Place 2 cans of beans in a blender; add broth, and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.
Stir bean pureé, remaining 2 cans of beans, corn, and chiles into chicken mixture in Dutch oven; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Stir in lime juice just before serving.
Garnish, if desired.

YUM!!! ENJOY!

Coconut + Chocolate Chips = Midge's Macaroons...Yum!

One of the great things about quaint little B&B's are the extra touches that you don't see in hotels. Midge, our innkeeper at the LaFarge Perry House, baked daily and always made these delicious chocolate chip macaroons. After a long day exploring the island, we'd go back and find a plate of these, along with various hot teas, cider and cocoa. When we left last Sunday, Midge sent us home with two of these heavenly macaroons along with a recipe card! I love to bake and couldn't wait to try these! Last night, Will and I were both home handing out candy to the hobgoblins....this was the perfect opportunity to try making these small fluffy pieces of heaven.

Take a look at our final product...

The recipe is quite possibly, the easiest recipe I've ever tried...just a few ingredients, one bowl, no crazy ingredients, no sifting....all in all, pretty fool-proof.

Yum! We had these for breakfast today, as Will was leaving early for Uncle Ed's to cut, chop & stack wood. Will never misses an opportunity to go to Uncle Ed's and LOVES chopping & stacking wood (seriously, he loves it) so he was very excited to go. I didn't go, but was equally excited to send a plate of Midge's Macaroons with him!

Here is the recipe, in case any of you want to give these a try:

From the Kitchen of: the La Farge Perry House
-3 eggs
-1 cup of sugar
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1 16oz bag of coconut flakes
-1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Beat the eggs with a fork and add the sugar and vanilla. Add the coconut and chocolate chips, mixing thoroughly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place mounds of mixture on baking sheet and bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 10-15 minutes (until they turn brown). Shut oven off and leave for 10 minutes before taking out of oven. When cool, dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!!

Recipe Review: Ease of Recipe - VERY easy. Taste: Delish! Display: very nice!

Final Grade: A+

Oh how we miss Newport...

Will and I snuck off to Newport, RI right after the wedding. We had an incredible trip...so relaxing. We stayed at the La Farge Perry House, this amazing little B&B. The house is located in a quiet area, yet within easy walking distance of Newport's bustling downtown. Here are some pics from our fabulous trip -

Us - the happy newlyweds! We're at the Breakers Mansion on a balcony overlooking the ocean. Wow... what an amazing place! It was a bit chilly in the mornings, but as the days progressed we had some perfect mild weather!

The Breakers Mansion is right on the ocean - here is an areal pic:

You can see a trail that goes around the edge of the property - this trail is part of the Cliff Walk, a 3.5 - 4 mile public trail along the shoreline. We absolutely loved walking along this trail - with the natural beauty of the ocean on our right and the enormous mansions from Newport's gilded age on our left - there was so much to see! The houses were seriously spectacular....so was the ocean, of course.

Here is Will along part of the Cliff Walk. This is a portion that starts to move from paved trail to rocks. As we continued, the trail got rockier and rockier....at one point, it seemed that it was just the two of us and the ocean. We were pretty sure that all the other 'Cliff Walkers' had turned back....but then, much to our surprise, this really old man and scruffy little dog went running by! We have a pic somewhere...maybe we'll post it.

Cliff Walk only covers 3.5-4 miles and Will and I hadn't had enough of the scenic ocean views....so, we rented this funny little 2-person scooter and took a spin around Ocean Drive.

We were both a bit hesitant to rent a scooter at first. There is quite a bit of traffic in Newport and the scooter is low to the ground and has a max speed of 30mph...not really all too safe, we thought. So, Will suggested that we instead rent individual scooters, not any safer, but we'd have the added benefit of being able to have our own "newlywed scooter race around the island" ...um...I kinda thought that wasn't such a good idea. Ultimately, we figured that the Bright Yellow two-person scooter couldn't be missed by anyone (hopefully making it a bit safer) and would actually be more fitting for a leisurely drive along the ocean. More pics of Ocean Drive to come....we even came across some stripped cows!

After about a week it was time to return to reality....much too soon though. Will and I squeezed as much as we could into our final day in Newport and left quite late in the evening. When we got home, we were very surprised to see this sign hung across our front door! Anyone who attended our Pre-Wedding Party may recognize it - Will's Auntie Carol had this sign made up. Its a bit hard to see in the dark photo, but it says To Have and To Hold Will and Jessica with some wedding-ish top hats and flowers, etc. Its still hanging there....who knows when it will come down. We both think its a nice touch for now ;)

Here are a few pics from the La Farge Perry House. The sweet little sheltie, Jax, lives at the house and greeted us with his stuffed teddy bear every morning as we came downstairs. We wanted to smuggle him back to Connecticut, but decided instead to go back to Newport and visit him again soon. We're already planning a trip back for December!~