A Golden Birthday Weekend

What a weekend. Fair warning, this is a LONG post. There is lots to re-cap!

And this blog post should more accurately be titled, "A Weekend of 1,000 Donuts."

The A's started the weekend off with a visit from Grammy and Grampy in their new van on Friday afternoon. While Sam and I awaited their arrival, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and played outside a bit.

Saturday morning we were up early for a trip to BJ's (gotta love everything in BULK) and an afternoon spent apple picking with the family. My cousin Colleen has a fabulous camera and a great eye and it was our mission to get a photo for Sam's holiday card out of the afternoon. Really, Colleen and I just wanted the photo shoot and the fresh apple donuts. Isn't that the point of apple picking?

We wrapped up the day with cocktails at my aunt's - I had a caramel vodka and apple cider concoction and it was divine - my family sang "Happy Birthday" to me and Colleen made yum-tastic funfetti mini cupcakes.

And Sam was LOVING this pumpkin. 

For my birthday eve meal, G and I feasted on donuts and milk. Totally inappropriate but absolutely delicious.

Sunday was my official golden birthday and I started the day with a golden ticket!

G made this! I was so impressed and felt pretty loved. 

Sam's adorable present for his momma was a new Pandora Charm - the cupcake with the golden sprinkle. Love it! So thoughtful is that Sam. 

The three of us had brunch at the Frog and Turtle. Sam decided he didn't want to nap. 

But quickly turned his attitude around when he saw these donuts. (Yes, we ate donuts again.)

These donuts were INSANE. Maple glazed topped with bacon bits (the "John Candy"), chocolate glazed stuffed with peanut butter, banana, and chocolate (the "Elvis"), and to get back to the root of the donut we also ordered a plain. 

I celebrated with a delish Bloody Mary - perfectly seasoned and not too tomato-y. 

Following brunch, G arranged a massage and steam for me at Nine Stones and although I protested as I wanted to spend more time with my boys, I was VERY happy to indulge. 

We wrapped up the weekend at a neighborhood potluck. We are new to the neighborhood so although it was my birthday, we had to go. I made these super easy, super yummy, Bacon-wrapped Chicken Bites and was so happy to see that they were flying off the plate. Bacon is a sure bet. Although we didn't last long at the potluck, Sammy was EXHAUSTED and made that quite known, it was great to meet some of the neighbors.

Suffice it to say, we were all exhausted by the end of the weekend. A huge thanks to my incredible husband for making my golden birthday sparkle so bright. 

Filling Sammy's Tummy

This guy is growing up. FAST. He takes a look at me holding a spoon of pureed baby food and says, "No thank you, mom. I'd like to serve myself." Or, he just takes that lil' fist and bangs it on the high chair and yells while looking directly at me. Interpret as you will. Trouble is, if he serves himself, we'd have to re-paint our freshly painted home. No dice.

Challenge was to find a protein rich, self-serve finger-food recipe that could be easily digested by 2.5 teeth. 

Enter turkey apple sticks - basically, pieces of turkey meatloaf. Sammy LOVED them. Inhaled them. I think the face above proves this.

Fair warning, this still got messy. Not quite re-paint any walls messy, but messy. 

Apple Turkey Sticks

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 egg or 2 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 cup pureed carrots
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup unprocessed natural wheat or oat bran
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
pinch of basil
pinch of garlic powder

Place your turkey in a large mixing bowl.
Add the egg or yolks, carrots, applesauce, spices, breadcrumbs and bran.
Mix well. If mixture appears too dry, add more carrots and/or applesauce. If mixtures appears too wet, add more bran and/or breadcrumbs.
Place into a lightly oiled loaf pan and bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. (I topped my loaf with foil so the top wouldn't burn.)
Remove loaf from pan after cooling. Break into small bits for finger food. 

From Wholesome Baby Food.

Week in Review

The A's are still very much in getting settled mode in the new home. Not quite living out of boxes, but we have a ways to go. The boys started off the week installing window treatments.

Sam is proving to be quite a little distraction helper. 

Diaper changing is a whole new challenge these days. Lil man does not appreciate our trying to tidy his bummy. A bottle of lotion or diaper cream is on Team Mom and Dad at diaper time. Trouble is, Sam did not want to let go of this lil bottle of Bacitracin after the diaper change. And didn't let go of it for most of the week. 

I couldn't resist picking up these goodies at the new BonTon when out shopping with my Gram. 

And Sam indicated that he was not a fan of my fall wardrobe choices - no faux fur please.

Now that he can pull himself up on EVERYTHING, Sam and the Lazy Susan have become fast friends. That was until he pulled down the pepper spilling it all over himself and the floor and couldn't stop sneezing. SERIOUSLY.

A Boston Photoshoot

Last May, I was Mother's Day brunching with my family in our old neighborhood in Boston. As we were wrapping up our yummy Eggs Benedict dishes and accompanying Bloody Mary's, a young woman approached me and said, "I'd love to photograph your son. He is adorable. Here is my card."

At first, I was all - Excuse me no. A stranger in a restaurant wants to photograph my baby??

Then after a few moments to process and taking a look at her card, I was all, YES PLEASE!

We met J.L. Photography in the Boston Common on a beautiful day in July. We moved the following month, so this shoot was really an homage Sammy's birth city of Boston. 

She did an incredible job with the photos, and "handling" Sam. It's not easy photographing a 6 month old. Check out Joani's web site - she does engagement shoots, weddings, portraits and is a talented young photographer. And she is sweet and delightful!

Mac & Cheese for Adults

Comfort food. I just love it. 

This is an ultimate comfort food. It's delicious and easy and even better on Day 2. or 3. I was calling this "Mac & Cheese for Adults", because it takes macaroni and cheese to a new level. Make this. Immediately. 



Cheesy Gnocchi Casserole with Ham & Peas

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. butter
1 onion chopped
1 8 oz. piece of deli ham, diced (I bought a package of Oscar Meyer's Carving Board Ham and diced that)
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Package of potato gnocchi
1 cup of peas, thawed
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt & Pepper
1 cup Swiss or Gruyere shredded (I used Swiss to save some money)

Melt the butter in a ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the ham and thyme and continue to cook until ham is slightly browned.

Add the chicken broth and 3/4 cup water and bring to simmer. Add the gnocchi, stir, cover and cook until the gnocchi is slightly tender, about 5 mins. Remove from heat. Uncover and stir in the peas, cream, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and broil until golden and bubbly, about 3-5 mins.

From the Food Network.

What's in a name?

My name is not Tallulah. 

In my years of reading blogs, I have always thought about what I'd like to title my own lil piece of the blogosphere. I read the cutest blogs with the cutest names and marvel at their creativity - both in posts and blog name.

I am not so creative when it comes to words. But, there is a nickname that has made its way around my family and I think it is adorable, so this blog is an homage to Tallulah.

My Gramps always called my Gram, "Tallulah" - I am not sure where this came from. Her actual name is Barbara. The nickname would be used when he was "annoyed" with my Gram, as in, "Tallulah made me stop at the Farmer's Market again yesterday," or "Come on, Tallulah" as my Gram began yet another conversation with yet another random person in yet another random store. 

Maybe he was actually annoyed. He probably was. But we all knew how much my Gramps loved my Gram and now, to me, Tallulah is associated with quirks. Loving someone completely and unconditionally that their lil quirks just make you love them even more. I imagine that through this blog, a few of my own quirks will be exposed.

My grandparents raised 6 (SIX!) children. Those children went on to give my grandparents 12 grandchildren. And the family continues to grow, now with 10 great-grandchildren. For now, my babe is the youngest of these ten.

My baby boy with Tallulah at her 80th birthday party: 

Welcome to Tallulah's Notebook

Welcome!

Or, maybe I should welcome myself to the blogger community. I've been reading fashion blogs, family blogs, foodie blogs, wedding blogs, and design blogs for years now and have enjoyed being a silent visitor to this blogging world.

Now, I want to step in.

I'm creating "Tallulah's Notebook" as a space to share the life of my lil' family with friends and family around the country - hi Philly, Boston and Gaitherburg, MD! It will be a notebook of snippets of life in our new home and our new state. 

Some disclaimers:
I am not a writer or editor and I have blocked out most grammar lessons from elementary school. I overuse commas and exclamation points. Apologies in advance. Unfortunately, I am not skilled in the art of web design or really, anything technology related. 

Again, apologies in advance. 

But the good news, I have a really, really cute kid, so that should keep you around.