Crispy Fall

Fall has definitely hit New Jersey and there was really no transitional period at all. One week it was warm and sunny and the next week it was cold and rainy. Luckily this week it's been back in the 70s but at night it's in the 50s and on my run this morning at 8am it was 52 degrees! I don't even remember how to function in this type of weather. It's making me very scared for winter here. I definitely am a California girl at heart and love spring and summer and being outside all day long so the only thing that makes fall worth it is the pumpkin foods. I absolutely love them all. Pumpkin bread, cookies, cakes, pies, yum.

When I was in Sweden we wanted to teach the youth how to make pumpkin bread one evening so we went to the store and searched for canned pumpkin. We couldn't find it anywhere. We asked the store employees if they had any pumpkin in a can and they looked at us like we were completely nutso. In the end we had to buy a pumpkin and roast it and scoop it out, not knowing that canned pumpkin is actually made from little sugar pumpkins and thus, the bread wasn't tasty at all. Sad story. But here there is plenty of pumpkin in a can and delicious things to make with it. On my list this week: Pumpkin Black Bean Soup, Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, and Pumpkin Spice No-Bake Cheesecake.

Editor's note: I wouldn't put 2 1/2 T in the oatmeal if you happen to try it out. It was a little too sickeningly sweet for breakfast. Also I'd do half water and half milk next time cos it was just too rich.

Birthday for a King

T turned 31 on Saturday so I planned a super fun-filled day. We woke up at 5 am and headed over to this gigantic hot air balloon festival. Seeing how Boozie loves airplanes, helicopters, birds, and anything in the sky really, we knew he'd be in heaven. And he was. After walking through 2 fields of mud in my new gladiator sandals, we were finally there (mud-coated feet and all) and watched the AT&T balloon lead the way, quickly followed by over 100 other balloons. Boozie kept pointing and whispering "bop", which is his word for ball. There was an Energizer bunny hot air balloon, Darth Vader helmet, barn with animals heads sticking out, a golf ball, a giant panda bear, a strawberry (one of Boozie's favorite fruits and favorite balloons), a barrel with pirate paraphernalia poking out the top, and many many others. It was breath-taking. Now T would like to go up for a ride in one. Maybe next birthday.

Then we ate the breakfast for all true Northeasterners, bagels. T had a bagel with cream cheese and lox and I longingly drooled over it and thought good thoughts for the bambino in utero as I ate my multigrain bagel. Then it was time for presents. T was spoiled this year with Yankees vs Red Sox baseball tickets, a Canon Rebel XSi camera, and a few other gifts. So as he played with his new gadget, Boozie and I decided it was naptime. Staring up in the sun at all the balloons made my damaged corneal epithelial cells need some rest.

Apparently the 5am wake-up call was a lot for Boozie because he slept for over 3 hours. When he finally woke up, we headed out for delicious Indian food (Boozie's favorite was the mango lassi, of course) and onto Alstede Farms where we got to see animals, eat homemade ice cream, and buy freshly-picked peaches and blueberries. Yum. All in all it was a fabulous day. And here is documentation of T's new hobby:

Menus Shmenus

Ever since we moved to New Jersey it's been hard for me to cook. We're temporarily in a furnished apartment with a "fully-stocked" kitchen but the "fully-stocked" aspect is definitely up for argument. Apparently, fully-stocked means 6 place settings, 3 aluminum pans, 1 cookie sheet, 3 plastic slotted spoons, 2 horrid knives, and a few odd Pyrex pieces. So basically, if you're a businessman that eats out every meal but might buy a Hot Pocket or a Hungry Man dinner once in awhile, you'll have everything you need.

Try frying or scrambling an egg without any type of nonstick pan. Very hard. Don't use butter because it will burn before your pan is even warm enough to cook the egg. Don't use oil because the egg will still stick. You have to use a bit of each and the egg will just take longer because the pan has to be much cooler.

Try making T's birthday cake without a mixer, wooden spoon, etc... Instead of hand mixing everything, I made some peanut butter Rice Krispie butterscotch chocolate bars that were a big hit. But I digress, it's annoying to try to plan meals when you have such limited supplies. How did they ever do it before Wusthof, All-Clad, Calphalon, etc... existed?

But this week I sat down today and looked at some of my favorite menu idea websites and came up with a pretty good menu with some good variety: vegetarian chili, whole wheat pancakes, zucchini gratin, Chinese salad. And now here's to hoping I get them all made this week. Wish me luck. And if you've made any fab recipes lately that require minimal kitchen tools and are meat-free, feel free to send them my way.

The Beloved Woobie

Anyone who knows me well knows I still have the blanket that my grandma gave me when I was born. More than just have it, I love it, I cherish it, and I love to sniff it. It used to be white with pink bunnies and something blue with white seashells crocheted around it as the trim. Now it has a few very faded bunnies (maybe only I can tell they're bunnies now) and tiny patches of light blue. Much of the trim has come undone and is very thin, the blankie itself is very thin, and Lis is always trying to convince me to get a LimaBeanHome custom duvet made for it to protect it. I just can't imagine covering it up and not being able to sniff it directly each night before I go to bed. I don't like it to be on the floor so each night and morning it remains folded in a rectangle or square on the top of my pillow, just in case.

So when Boozie was born we got a little blankie from Trav's aunt and it seemed to be the perfect blankie, or woobie as we like to call it. Boozie was uninterested. I bring it along on vacations and he doesn't really care if it's there or not. When I excitedly pull it out of the suitcase he looks for something better. So I thought he wouldn't be attached to anything, which T was very pleased about, and I was a little sad about but thought it was fine. But we were wrong.

Last Christmas our best friend Ems gave Boozie a little sock monkey. We put it in his crib because he had nothing other than the blankie that he didn't love and we thought he might like a safe toy in there. Again, he didn't really seem to care either way but lately he's really been loving stuffed animals and the sock monkey has become his best woobie. Some nights we go in there to check on him and he's snuggling the monkey or lying on top of it with his arm around it. There's nothing sweeter to see. Each morning when I get him up he goes to find his large stuffed ape and hugs it and lies his head on it for 5 minutes or so. The Swedish word is "apa" and he sometimes says it over and over, most likely thinking of his gorilla or sock monkey. So even though he doesn't love his woobie, he still has his little monkey and I love it. Maybe when it's old, tattered, and ratty I'll think otherwise; but, probably not.

Upon Further Request

A horrific mousse-free pic of Boozie's new 'do after I washed it all out in the bath. Still cute, curly, and long.

A World of Firsts

Before

Boozie's having tons of firsts up here in Jersey. First time at the Atlantic Ocean, first time to walk, and most recently... first haircut! Very sad. There's not as much humidity up here so his curly locks have turned into hair in the eyes. So I found a funny kid's haircut place called Snip-Its in Princeton and off we went, coupon in hand. They blew bubbles and played music and he loved it. I saved his hair in a baggie. What a mama...

After
Not so sure about all the mousse and crazy styling. But it does look cute now.

He walks!

Well, it's been many months since a lot of his friends started walking but today was the day that he decided to join the ranks of the upright peeps. I say "decided" because he has been very coordinated and strong walking by holding my pinky for weeks now and I knew he could do it; he's just stubborn like mama and didn't want to fall, I think. So I tricked him by holding a toy and he held onto the other end and then he would walk to me. Then after a few times I let go of the toy and he walked to me, holding his little toy, unknowing that he was doing it alone. Then when Papa came home, he improved on his skills and now can walk from Mama to Papa with a huge proud grin on his face. The only grins bigger are ours. To celebrate we got Japanese food for dinner and Boozie ate more than we did. It's his second try at Japanese and I think it's his favorite type of food so it turned out to be a good congrats meal.

My little baby is getting so big. Good thing there will be another little mini in December so I don't get too sad that these little milestones are over.